Submissions are invited for the Furious Fiction Challenge for August 2023 by the Australian Writers’ Centre. Submit by Aug 6!

About the Australian Writers’ Centre

AWC was created with a simple goal – to provide practical, industry-relevant training for anyone with a desire to write.

Since launching their first courses in 2005, they’ve grown into an empowering destination for creatives – a dynamic hub for writers all over the globe. They’ve helped thousands of students achieve their goals – from landing book deals, getting published, amassing freelance clients, changing careers and ultimately surprising themselves with what can be made possible through doing a writing course.

About the Furious Fiction Challenge

Here are your creative criteria for AUGUST:

• Your story must take place in a RESTAURANT.
• Your story must include a character who smashes something.
• Your story must include the words EUPHORIA, LABYRINTH and SILHOUETTE (plurals etc are also fine).

Embrace the creative challenge and be as original as possible!

Your story must be a maximum of 500 words. Hyphenated words and contractions each count as just one word.

They also love seeing you share the fun throughout the weekend by tagging #furiousfiction in your Twitter and Instagram updates.

Location, Location!

Confining your story to one location in flash fiction can help to hone the story – it’s one less element that the reader needs to keep track of, allowing you (and them) to focus on the characters and action alone.

• Keeping one location keeps things simple – flash fiction gold!
• A familiar location allows for less exposition, saving words.
• Consider all the different types of restaurants… everything from fine dining to takeaway joints or diners… or maybe there are some other creative ideas?
• Remember, restaurants have a lot of moving parts – you have diners, wait staff, chefs and kitchen hands, owners, bar staff, maitre d’s and so on.
• There are lots of cliches in restaurants – they’re relatable places that we have all been to. The key will be to try to write something unique. The judges will reward you if you do!

NOTE: Their submission box is allergic to italics. So if you require italics for your story, please place an asterisk *before and after* in the italic section(s).

How to Submit Entries?

Please complete the form HERE to submit your story.

Deadline

Submissions close MIDNIGHT Sunday 6 August 2023 (Sydney/Melbourne time). A countdown timer is located on the website.

Terms and Conditions

• This is a challenge conducted by Australian Writers’ Centre Pty Limited (“AWC”) ABN 68 118 584 071.
• Information on how to enter form part of these Terms and Conditions. Participation in this challenge is deemed acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.
• Entry must be in English and is open to entrants worldwide aged 17 years and over. AWC employees and the immediate family members of such employees are ineligible to enter.
• Immediate family means any of the following: spouse, ex-spouse, de-facto spouse, child or step-child (whether by natural or by adoption), parent, step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, brother, sister, step-brother, or step-sister.
• The challenge is FREE to enter. Any other costs associated with accessing the competition (e.g. Internet access charges) are the entrant’s responsibility.
• The challenge is a game of skill in which chance plays no part in determining the best stories.
• The challenge commences at 5 PM AEDT on the first Friday of each month and closes at 11.59 PM AEDT Sunday three days later (“the competition period”).
  To enter, entrants must complete the Entry Form on the Submit Your Story page, including the required details, and submit their story within the word limit during the competition period. Emailed, posted or late entries will not be accepted.
• The entered story must be 500 words or fewer and adhere to the defined challenge criteria. Stories must be the original work of the entrant, and previously unpublished. Once an entry has been submitted, it is final and cannot be withdrawn or edited by the entrant. However, the Australian Writers’ Centre reserves the right to edit for obvious minor typos before publication if required, where it will not substantially change the work.
• Only one entry is permitted per person per round.
• Copyright is retained by the author at all times. By entering this challenge, all entrants grant permission for their story to be published (along with their name/pen name) on the Australian Writers’ Centre website, newsletter and social media platforms, and read aloud on the ‘So you want to be a writer’ podcast. 
• AWC reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and entrants (including an entrant’s identity and place of residence) and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Terms and Conditions or who tampers with the entry process. Failure by AWC to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.
• If this challenge is interfered with in any way or is not capable of being conducted as reasonably anticipated due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the AWC, AWC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to the fullest extent permitted by law (a) to disqualify any entrant; or (b) subject to any written directions from a regulatory authority, to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the competition, as appropriate.
• Except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law, AWC (including its officers, employees and agents) excludes all liability (including negligence), for any personal injury; or any loss or damage (including loss of opportunity); whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising in any way out of the competition, including, but not limited to, where arising out of the following: (a) any technical difficulties or equipment malfunction (whether or not under the AWC’s control); (b) any theft, unauthorised access or third party interference; (c) any entry or prize claim that is late, lost, altered, damaged or misdirected (whether or not after their receipt by AWC) due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of AWC; (d) any variation in prize value to that stated in these Terms and Conditions; (e) any tax liability incurred by a winner or entrant; or (f) use of a prize.
• AWC collects personal information in order to conduct the competition and will never disclose this information to a 3rd party. AWC may, for an indefinite period unless otherwise advised, use the information for its own promotional, marketing and publicity purposes including sending electronic messages or telephoning the entrant. Entrants should direct any request to access, update or correct information to AWC.
• These Terms and Conditions are subject to change at any time without notice.

Click here to read the official notification of the Furious Fiction Challenge [August 2023] by the Australian Writers’ Centre.