Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · 6d

The 2nd Round of the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2025 is underway! View the list of participating writers, genre/action/object assignments, and a countdown until the deadline at nycmidnight.co/46SLX6W. Best of luck to the 880 participating writers over the next 48 hours!

nycmidnight.co

8

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · 8d

The 1st Round results for the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2025 are up at nycmidnight.co/4gQYNXG! Congratulations to the top 10 in each group for advancing to the 2nd Round, which kicks off this Friday, October 3rd. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

1st Round Results 2025 — nycmidnight

The 1st Round results from the 500-word Fiction Challenge 2025.

nycmidnight.co

1 1 10

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · 10d

The 20th annual Short Story Challenge kicks off on January 23rd and will challenge writers worldwide to create short stories based on genre, subject, and character assignments. Learn more, register, and read previous winning stories at www.nycmidnight.com/ssc. Good luck, writers!

The Short Story Challenge — nycmidnight

The Short Story Challenge is an annual creative writing competition that challenges writers around the world to create short stories based on genre, subject, and character assignments in as little as ...

www.nycmidnight.com

9

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · 12d

We would like to send a hearty congratulations to long-time participant Paulene Turner on the publication of her most recent book, Heartbeats! Heartbeats is a compilation of short stories in a variety of genres, and most were created for our challenges. Learn more at shorturl.at/cGkEW.

5

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · 20d

The Final Round of the Flash Fiction Challenge 2025 is underway! The final assignment of the competition is Open (genre), A visitor center/centre (location), and leftover food (object). Best of luck to the 66 finalists with their 1,000-word stories over the next 48 hours!

5

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · 22d

The 2nd Round results for the Flash Fiction Challenge 2025 are up at nycmidnight.co/3IrOVXO! Congratulations to the top three in each group for advancing to the Final Round, which kicks off this Friday, September 19th. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

2nd Round Results — nycmidnight

The 2nd Round results from the Flash Fiction Challenge 2025.

nycmidnight.co

1 7

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · 29d

We finally have a winner of the Short Story Challenge 2025! Congratulations to D.R. Forge (New York, USA) for taking the grand prize with their story, "When Dragons Do Laundry." Check out the full list of 2025 winners at nycmidnight.co/4gfpghq. Thanks to all who participated!

Final Round Results 2025 — nycmidnight

The Final Round results of the Short Story Challenge 2025! This page contains the top 10 stories and honorable mentions from the fourth and final round of the competition.

nycmidnight.co

8

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Sep 6

The Rhyming Story Challenge 2025 is officially underway! View the genre/theme/emotion assignments, a countdown to the deadline, and upload link at nycmidnight.co/3VxkSRo. Best of luck to the 1,500+ writers participating worldwide over the next 8 days!

1st Round Assignments 2025 — nycmidnight

The Rhyming Story Challenge 2025 is officially underway! This page contains the 1st Round assignments, a countdown to the submission deadline, details on how to upload your story, and more. Good…

nycmidnight.co

1

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Sep 5

The Rhyming Story Challenge 2025 kicks off tonight, and there is still time to register! The 4th annual competition will challenge writers worldwide to create short rhyming stories based on genre, theme, and emotion assignments. Learn more and register at www.nycmidnight.com/rhyme. Good luck!

The Rhyming Story Challenge — nycmidnight

The Rhyming Story Challenge is a creative writing competition that challenges writers worldwide to create rhyming stories based on three assigned prompts in as little as 48 hours.

www.nycmidnight.com

1 3

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Sep 3

We would like to send out a massive congrats to Joanne Yi on her debut novel, "All the Tomorrows After"! Joanne helped out behind the scenes with NYC Midnight for several years before moving on to focus on her novel, which was an August Book of the Month pick. Learn more at her website, joanneyi.com

4

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Sep 2

We're proud to present the winning story from last year's Rhyming Challenge! Get the tissues ready, and read "Motel-day" by Louise Walton (Australia) at bit.ly/motel-day. Original illustration by @znayberg. Enjoy, and get ready for this year's Rhyming Challenge on Friday!

Motel-day — nycmidnight

An Aussie ballad: A son recalls days of hay-making, burnt chicken and gobstopper-filled family road trips to Aunty Jo's as he visits his unstoppable Dad for the very last time. Length: 490 words Ye...

bit.ly

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 29

Check out the 2nd place story from last year's Rhyming Story Challenge, "The God of Giving Up" by Alexandria Bellani (Canberra, Australia), at bit.ly/45VZc6l. The original illustration is by Yevgenia Nayberg. Enjoy, and get ready for this year's Rhyming Story Challenge on September 5th!

The God of Giving Up — nycmidnight

An elderly woman accepts her fate among the stars. Length: 448 words Year: 2024

bit.ly

2

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 28

A huge congratulations to Christy Hartman (Canada) for winning the 100-word Microfiction Challenge for the second consecutive year with her final round story, "Impossible Choice." Check out the full list of 2025 winners at nycmidnight.co/4p1p5KM. Thanks to all who participated!

Final Round Results 2025 — nycmidnight

The results are in for the Final Round of the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2025! This page contains the top 10 stories and honorable mentions from the final round of the competition.

nycmidnight.co

1 18

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 27

We’re happy to announce that we'll be publishing the top 3 stories from last year’s Rhyming Story Challenge! First up is the 3rd place story, “The End of Nanga Brook” by David Trunkfield (Perth, Australia), at nycmidnight.co/47N21sO. Original illustration by Yevgenia Nayberg. Enjoy!

The End of Nanga Brook — nycmidnight

In January 1961, bushfires destroyed the town of Nanga Brook in south-west Western Australia. It was never rebuilt. Length: 448 words Year: 2024

nycmidnight.co

Reposted by NYC Midnight

Eloise Hart @ehartwrites.bsky.social · Aug 17

Always a wonderful feeling to submit! Despite despairing at the genre assignment, I have to say I rather adore my story in all its darkness!
Thanks @nycmidnight.bsky.social for pushing me out of comfort zone as always!
#Writing #WritingComps #NothingBetterThanTheFeelingOfSubmitting

Upload success screen for the NYC Midnight 500-word fiction challenge 2025

1 11

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 16

The 500-word Fiction Challenge 2025 is officially underway! View your genre/action/object assignment, a countdown to the deadline, and upload link at nycmidnight.co/41K87Gu. Best of luck to the 3,400+ writers participating worldwide over the next 48 hours! #500WordChallenge2025

www.nycmidnight.com

9

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 15

Thanks for your interest! The dates are not finalized just yet, but will most likely be announced by next month. Please let us know if you have any other questions or need anything else in the meantime. Thanks again!

1

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 15

The 500-word Fiction Challenge kicks off tonight, and there is still time to register! The 3rd annual competition will challenge writers worldwide to create short stories based on genre, action, and object assignments in 48 hours. Learn more & register at nycmidnight.com/500. Good luck, writers!

500-word Fiction Challenge — nycmidnight

The 500-word Fiction Challenge is an international creative writing competition that challenges participants to create short stories based on genre, action, and object assignments in 48 hours.

nycmidnight.com

2

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 12

We are proud to present the winning story from last year's 500-word Fiction Challenge! Read "Watchmaker's Hands" by
@scmillsbooks.bsky.social at nycmidnight.co/411DmwA. Original illustration by Yevgenia Nayberg. Enjoy, and get ready for this year's 500-word challenge kicking off on August 15th!

Watchmaker’s Hands — nycmidnight

Steady as the earth below, until they weren’t. Length: 500 words Year: 2024

nycmidnight.co

8

Reposted by NYC Midnight

iA @ia.net · Aug 7

🥳 Congratulations to Tom and the top finishers in
@nycmidnight.bsky.social's Screenwriting Challenge 2025! We're happy to have been a title sponsor for this year's contest and want to thank all participants.

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 7

We have a winner of the Screenwriting Challenge 2025! Congratulations to Tom Glasson (Sydney, Australia) for winning the competition with his final round screenplay, "An Abundance of Five." View the full list of winners at nycmidnight.co/4op0FdG. Thanks to all for participating!

1 4

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 7

Check out "When The Blue Smoke Drowns" by Rachel Harbaugh (USA) at nycmidnight.co/4m6qeyR, which took home 2nd place in last year's 500-word Fiction Challenge. Synopsis: An Appalachian woman ponders life after Hurricane Helene. Illustration by Yevgenia Nayberg. Enjoy!

When The Blue Smoke Drowns — nycmidnight

An Appalachian woman ponders life after Hurricane Helene. Length: 500 words Year: 2024

nycmidnight.co

5

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 7

We have a winner of the Screenwriting Challenge 2025! Congratulations to Tom Glasson (Sydney, Australia) for winning the competition with his final round screenplay, "An Abundance of Five." View the full list of winners at nycmidnight.co/4op0FdG. Thanks to all for participating!

4

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 4

The 250-word Microfiction Challenge kicks off on December 5, and registration is open! The 7th annual competition will challenge writers worldwide to create very short stories based on genre, action, & word assignments in 48 hours. Learn more & register at www.nycmidnight.com/250

The 250-word Microfiction Challenge — nycmidnight

The 250-word Microfiction Challenge is an international creative writing competition that challenges participants to create very short stories based on genre, action, and word assignments in 48 hours.

www.nycmidnight.com

1 3

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Aug 2

The 2nd Round of the Flash Fiction Challenge 2025 is underway! View the list of participating writers, genre/location/object assignments, and a countdown until the deadline at nycmidnight.co/455TSN6. Best of luck to the 616 writers participating over the next 48 hours!

1 2

NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Jul 31

The 1st Round results for the Flash Fiction Challenge 2025 are up at nycmidnight.co/4l4Ezu2! Congratulations to the top 7 in each group for advancing to the 2nd Round, which kicks off this Friday, August 1st. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

1st Round Results — nycmidnight

The 1st Round results from the Flash Fiction Challenge 2025.

nycmidnight.co

2 1 12