Introducing Our Eleventh Playground Challenge:
A Fiction Short Story Competition
July 10 - July 20, 2025
The individual feedback has been sent out! If you submitted a story, and have not received feedback, email us right away at admin@writersplaygroundllc.com and we will get that sorted out…
Featured Story:
When 14-year-old Ivy learns she’s moving, she retreats to her childhood treehouse to work through her complicated feelings about her mom, her dad, and what it means to let go... "Holding Pattern" won 2nd Place, out of 697 entries, in our Eleventh Playground Challenge. Corrie Haldane is an award-winning short fiction writer whose work appears in numerous online and print publications, including anthologies "Forgetting Something?" and the upcoming Fraidy Cat Quarterly, Vol. 7, as well as online with Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, The Quiet Ones, Short Edition, and others. She lives in Ontario, Canada, and finds inspiration in nature, bubble baths, and carefully curated playlists. Check out her website, corriehaldane.com. You can also listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
$3500 in Prizes
Choose Your Character
Choose Your Setting
You Have 10 Days to Write Your Story
10+ Winners
$28 Entry Fee
Every Entry Receives Feedback
“This was a great contest! I loved the time frame, it allowed for some real thought and work to be put into a new piece while also pushing me because deadlines just work. I loved the prompts, feedback and critiques. I’ll be signing up again!”
-Marissa Isch, Denver, CO, USA
“I was so happy to come in 4th in this fascinating competition. Great prompts and probably the most helpful and encouraging feedback I’ve ever had.”
Katja Sass, Wellington, Somerset, UK
“This was a ton of fun to do. Great setup with the prompt choices and quick time frame. Thanks for doing this and for the feedback as well. That’s a great motivator. Looking forward to the results and the next challenges!”
Dan Scamell, Salem, NY, USA
“I have participated in both of these rounds and have loved this challenge both times, along with the feedback. I am eager for the third round. This has been a great catalyst and spark to my dream of improving my writing. It is a major life goal to create stories that I would like to read!”
Molly Valentin, Forest Lake, MN, USA