800 writers participated in the Short Story Challenge 2013 and the field was whittled down to 25 writers who were challenged to write original stories based the final round assignment below:

Genre: Open

Subject: The end of the world

Character: A Surgeon

The winning stories are listed below.  Congratulations to the winners and everyone that took the challenge this year for creating so many amazing stories, it was definitely our most competitive year yet.  We look forward to many more challenging and exciting competitions in 2013 and beyond.  Congratulations again to all the writers, keep telling great stories!

#1 'Before the Inevitable' by Alex Stephens SYNOPSIS - The narrator explains the unfolding circumstances, which center on the impending surgery of a loved one.

#2 'The Hollow Men' by Jessica Zimmerman SYNOPSIS - Nothing can cure the new disease that's making people terrifyingly feral. Surgeon Kate Bell has been performing a procedure that at least renders patients less dangerous – but she finds it's harder to do the operation the closer it gets to home.

#3 'The Five Stages' by Aubry Andersen SYNOPSIS - There are five stages for accepting death. Not everyone goes through them all.

#4 'Aperturae' by Melinda Melin SYNOPSIS - A woman loses her only child. The end of her world is only the beginning of her story.

 
#5 'Anthropocentrism' by Amanda Cobb SYNOPSIS - When disaster strikes the planet, humanity turns to its most advanced creation for salvation. Saving the world, however, is open to interpretation.

#6 'Both Ends of the World' by Susannah Carlson SYNOPSIS - An expectant mother faces the inevitable.

#7 'Magic Kingdoms' by Hannah Thurman SYNOPSIS - After the world splits open, a surgeon tries to reconcile with her pregnant daughter by taking her on a long-promised trip to Disney World.

 
#8 'The Sacrifice' by Muddy Kinzer SYNOPSIS - There are four people left on earth and the last man is dying. Sarah is the only one who can save him and possibly avert the end of civilization, but doing so comes with a price.

#9 'The Black Fox' by Sophie Dutton SYNOPSIS - A veterinary surgeon and his nurse find a strange black fox one warm September evening. They bring the weakened creature into the surgery, but when they operate upon it, nothing can prepare them for what they find inside…

#10 'Wasteland' by Anthony Jones SYNOPSIS - Apocalyptic survival at the edge of our earth.

#Honorable Mention 'Amy' by Rachel Unkovic SYNOPSIS - A friendless girl grows up to be a surgeon, putting people back together like puzzles. In the middle of a war, she begins to learn the importance of other types of healing.

#Honorable Mention 'Finite' by Emily Clements SYNOPSIS - A dwindling of experiences, of life, of things experienced in life.

#Honorable Mention 'It's Not' by Margaret Ronke SYNOPSIS - Liam’s wife lay dying in the hospital, and, surrounded by clean white walls and florescent lights, he faces the end of his world.

#Honorable Mention 'Nigh' by Joseph Miller SYNOPSIS - Doctor Williams is left with a nagging question: with hundreds of 'end of the world' predictions, is it possible to almost let the end slip by unnoticed?

#Honorable Mention 'The End' by Nicholas Hutchinson SYNOPSIS - Facing the ultimate plague, mankind’s last surviving medical specialist struggles to save what little life remains.

Click here to view the 1st Round Assignments

Click here to view the 2nd Round Assignments

The 7th Annual Short Story Challenge is a creative writing competition open to writers around the world.  There are 3 rounds of competition.  In the 1st Round (February 22-March 2, 2013), writers are placed randomly in heats and are assigned a genre, subject, and character assignment (see examples of past assignments here).  Writers have 8 days to write an original story no longer than 2,500 words.  The judges choose a top 5 in each heat to advance to the 2nd Round (April 11-14) where writers receive new assignments, only this time they have just 3 days to write a 2,000 word (maximum) short story.  Judges choose a top 25 from the 2nd Round to advance to the 3rd and final round of the competition where writers are challenged to write a 1,500 word (maximum) story in just 24 hours (May 17-18).  A panel of judges review the final round stories and overall winners are selected!

Registration is now closed.  The first round assignments will be posted here tonight at 11:59PM EST.  Good luck to the writers participating!  Official Rules & Participation Agreement

If you wanted to register but didn't have a chance, make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on facebook and twitter for updates and announcements.  There will be many more exciting writing competitions in 2013!

Not only does every writer receive feedback from the judges for every story submitted, but a special review forum is available for the participants to submit their stories for review from fellow writers throughout the competition.  During the Short Story Challenge 2012, there were over 1,700 comments made on the 140+ stories submitted on the forum.  Click here to visit the forums.