Winning entries can be found in our anthology.

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Welcome to our brand new contest—A Merry Scary Christmas!

This December, your task is to write a microfiction (a short piece) based of the following prompts:

It's the winter holidays and your family decides to visit the newly renovated resort. You're the first to arrive and decide there's time for a nap. Just then, you hear a knock on the door. A paper is slipped beneath the door and scrawled in bright red ink is a single word: HIDE.

A chill runs down your spine—your family wouldn't have arrived this soon, and they wouldn't play pranks on you either. What or who else could it be? And what happens next?

It's Christmas Eve and your daughter can't wait for Santa's visit. You, of course, don't believe in fictional characters anymore. After she goes to bed, you settle down by the fireplace to read your book.

Suddenly, the fire starts to flicker. A strong gust of wind douses it out. Scratching noises echo from within the chimney. Could it be Santa, or someone else? And what happens next?

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(Entries that do not adhere to the following guidelines will be disqualified.)

Your entry should be (acceptable range is between ). Anything under or beyond that range will be disqualified.

Mystery should be the primary genre of your entry. Secondary genres (e.g. Action / Teen Fiction / Romance) are acceptable too.

Only one entry allowed per user.

The deadline is .

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Winners will receive a promotion on to ~180'000 followers. The winning entries will also be featured in our anthology.

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Good luck & happy writing!