If you're not ready to sign up for a Challenge now, but you'd like to hear about future Challenges, you can sign up HERE!

Welcome to our Short Story Writing Challenges for 2026!

Sign Up Now!

This year we'll have two Halloween Challenges. One regular Challenge and one specifically written for children.

Challenge Dates: September 19-October 3

The theme for the regular Challenge is: 

Curses and Cadavers

And the theme for the Challenge written for children is:

Goblins and Gummy Worms

You can sign up for one Challenge or both of them!

For these Challenges, you'll have two weeks to write a short story, essay, poem, letter, or other entry that fits with the theme. The regular Challenge should be written for all ages, while the children's Challenge should be written primarily for kids, but be appropriate for all ages. 

I'm pretty flexible, but please submit entries that fit the theme in some way. Since these are for our Halloween editions, there should be some Halloween elements to the stories. Or at least some Fall/Autumn elements. The stories can be funny, scary, spooky, etc. 

For the children's version, I don't have an age or reading level specified, just be sure that the stories aren't too scary and don't contain anything that's not appropriate for children to read or have read to them. If you're not sure, please check with me and I'll be happy to discuss your ideas with you! 

I will be sending out writing prompts, so if you're not sure what you'd write, but you're interested, go ahead and sign up. The prompts will give you ideas and stimulate your imagination, but you're not required to submit anything if you're not ready.

IMPORTANT!

These Challenges start on Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 6 am PT and end Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 6 pm PT.

Please note: in order for your entry to be considered, it must be submitted before the deadline. No late entries will be accepted!

Please submit original works, written by you, that have not been published previously. (You retain the rights to your entries so you are free to publish them or submit them elsewhere in the future.) You can submit as many entries as you like. They can be fiction, non-fiction, essays, stories, poems, letters, etc. Most genres are accepted but please read the rules below for more information.

No AI written entries accepted. Please submit stories that you have written yourself. The point of these Challenges is to get you writing, increase your confidence as a writer, and get your original works published.

Entries must be submitted as a word doc, google doc or in the body of an email. Please submit your entries by emailing them to me at: michelle@mfranciktheauthor.com.

Please proof-read and edit your entries before submitting them!

I'll acknowledge entries when I receive them and I'll let you know if your entry is accepted. If there's an issue, I'll discuss it with you and give you an chance to fix it before I fully reject it. I reserve the right to reject any entry that doesn't meet the rules and requirements, or for any other reason.

For these Challenges, I'll send a prompt every day. If you sign up for one, you'll just get that email. If you sign up for both, you'll get two separate emails. The prompts are meant to stimulate your imagination and generate new ideas, but you are not required to use them.

All entries accepted for the Challenges will be published in anthologies! I plan to publish the anthologies for these Challenges in mid-November. As of now, it will be available for Kindle and as a paperback on Amazon. (There is another way to publish/sell e-books that I'm working on, but I haven't got the kinks worked out yet!)

If this sounds good to you, please read the Challenge Rules, then sign up below!!

If you have any questions or need clarification please reach out to me at: michelle@mfranciktheauthor.com

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION AND RULES BEFORE SIGNING UP! I would also suggest you copy and paste them and keep them to refer to later. You are responsible for knowing what you signed up for!!

1. What is a Short Story Challenge?
It’s a two-week event where your goal is to write a short story, poem, or any other type of writing that fits the theme of the Challenge.

2. What is the point of the Challenge?
It’s to get you writing! Once you’ve signed up, you’ll get a writing prompt every other day. You’re not required to use the prompts, but you’re encouraged to use them, especially if you’re feeling stuck or need some inspiration. It can be something as short as your reaction to the prompt, a memory it stirred up, a poem or a very short story. The Challenge is here to motivate you, provide support and—if you submit an entry and it’s accepted, your entry will be published as one of the stories in an anthology on Amazon! (An anthology is just a collection of stories.)

3. An anthology? What anthology?
After each Challenge I take the entries and create a book with them. It’s published on Amazon for Kindle, KU and in a paperback version. (We have some hardcover editions as well.) You can find past anthologies here:

Leprechauns and Limericks https://amzn.to/4bS6hsK

Acrowbaticks: Halloween 2025 https://amzn.to/44ibTIH

Sandcastles and Secrets : https://amzn.to/44oxf6y

Grandma Gets Her Christmas Revenge: https://amzn.to/41u8t4X

Delightful Frights and Fanciful Flights: https://amzn.to/3Y3hRcy

Hayrides and Hobgoblins: https://amzn.to/3zMEEBn

The Meaning of Happiness: https://amzn.to/3WyhHsN

Halloween 2023: Ghosts and Hauntings: https://amzn.to/3Q49LfQ

Double Trouble: Bumps in the Night: https://amzn.to/3tz2HQN

Second Chances: https://amzn.to/41KO20Z

Grave Mistakes: Halloween 2022 https://amzn.to/3ItNmV6

Cobwebs: Halloween 2022 (scary stories for kids) https://amzn.to/3KIoziZ

Myth or Memory: https://amzn.to/3d4uJLx

Unconditional Love: Families Edition: https://amzn.to/3Bf7bLS

2021: Hope and Renewal: https://amzn.to/3lcJtJm

Halloween 2021: Candy, Carnivals and Carnage: https://amzn.to/2Y5Iana

Unconditional Love: Animals Edition: https://amzn.to/3vTx28A

Fantasy and Fairytales Anthology: https://amzn.to/3kFIgsM

Halloween 2020 Anthology: https://amzn.to/3bXwtDP

2020 Spring Fever Anthology: https://amzn.to/3dVaUBB

2020 Love Letters Anthology: https://amzn.to/2UJlzZG

2019 Christmas Spirit Anthology: https://amzn.to/2DyjZA6

2019 Halloween Anthology: https://amzn.to/3bd5rpg

4. Prizes? What prizes?
Everyone who's published in the Anthology will still get an advance author PDF version of the anthology for free! I'm planning to offer prizes for this Challenge but I haven't worked it out yet, so TBD.

5. Do I have to pay to enter?
No, there is no cost to enter. If your entry is published, you keep your rights to the story, and you give me permission to publish it in the anthology. I’m responsible for all costs associated with this Challenge.

6. Do I get free books? Do I get royalties?
No, you do not get any free books or royalties. Since all costs come out of my pocket, any income from the sale of the anthology goes to cover those costs and allow me to continue hosting Challenges.

7. Can I write anything I want?
As long as your entry relates to the theme, there are no restrictions on topics or type of story, but keep in mind the following rules:
-No politics
-No religion
-No racism
-No graphic violence
-No graphic sex
-No hate or divisiveness.
***I have the right to reject any entry on any basis at my discretion***
(If you have any question about whether or not your entry will violate one of these rules, please just ask me! I’m willing to discuss it and work with you.)

8. How do I reach you if I have a question?
You can email me at michelle@mfranciktheauthor.com.

FAQ's about Short Story Writing Challenges

1. What is a Short Story Challenge and why should I care?

If you're an author who wants to build your business, an author who's struggling a bit, an author who isn't in love with writing anymore, a writer who only writes for themselves but would like to be a published author, or someone who wants to write but is nervous about it, then these Challenges are for you! Everyone who loves to write is welcome! The Challenges usually last two weeks and any entries that I accept (usually all of them, unless they don't follow the rules) will be published in a book for sale on Amazon. I publish a Kindle ebook and a print book, and sometimes I also publish a hardcover book. 

2. Does it cost anything to enter?

No. This project is my way of giving back and helping other authors. 

3. I'm an established author. Am I going to get lots of new readers if I participate?

That's up to you. In order to keep the Challenge free, I don't run ads or spend money on promotions. If you have a list, a book club, a FB group, etc. then I urge you to promote the book yourself. Some authors promote to family and friends, others promote on social media, some have YouTube channels. If you need promotional materials, let me know and I can help with that. Unfortunately, I don't have thousands of dollars for promoting and I want to keep this free and open to everyone! 

If you think that's unfair, I checked out several other writing challenges and here's what I found: 

They charge between $50 and $150 dollars, just to sign up. You don't get a refund if you don't submit an entry. 

All of the challenges I saw allow only one entry and one challenge limited the entry to 200 words! (I don't limit entries that meet the requirements and I usually don't have a word limit.) 

They take several weeks to months to publish the book. (My turn around time is usually a couple of weeks or less.) 

One of them charges another $50 if you want them to advertise the book and mention you and your story. Otherwise, they have promotional requirements and you have to provide proof that you promoted the book. (Some of my authors don't have lists, are just starting, or aren't interested in promotions, so I don't have that requirement.)

When I look at these other challenges, I can see they're making money off of the fees they charge, not so much the sales of the book. I only get paid for sales of the book and I promise, with all of the hours I put into the Challenges, I'm not making much, if anything! I do it all myself and sometimes it's a lot, but I keep doing it. 

4.How can I participate?

Read all of the information below. If it sounds good to you, sign up at the bottom of the page. You'll start getting emails about the Challenge. You'll get an email with a prompt every day of the Challenge (unless it states something different in the information for the particular Challenge.) You can use the prompts to stimulate your imagination or you can ignore them, if you already know what you want to write. If life happens or you're just not feeling it, no hard feelings. You don't have to submit anything. But if your muse hits and you're having fun, you can submit as many entries as you'd like!

5. Can I use AI to write my entries?

NO! You cannot use AI to write the stories! These Challenges are meant to stimulate your imagination and improve your writing. Using AI to "write" is not writing. I ask in the release form if you used AI to write anything and you need to mark yes or no. If Amazon catches any AI written materials in any of our anthologies, they could ban me from publishing on their site. So please, do not use AI to write your entries. 

You can find all of the Short Story Challenge Anthologies on Amazon!

The links on this page are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn a few cents if you use my links to purchase anything on Amazon. This doesn't cost you anything and it allows me to keep running these Challenges. Thank you!