⏳ Weekly Writing Contest | October 27: A Knock at the Door
Submit your entry by Friday November 1, 5pm BST / 1pm ET / 10am PT
Welcome to the Weekly Writers' Hour Contest!
This week’s challenge invites you to explore the tension and mystery of the unknown.
Prompt: A Knock at the Door
Use the classic horror trope of an unexpected knock at the door as the jumping-off point for a new piece of writing. Let the question of who—or what—knocks guide your narrative in the genre of your choosing.
Unpublished pieces of 500 words or less in any genre are eligible for this contest.
Submissions are due by Friday, November 1st at 5pm BST / 12pm ET / 9am PT.
Keep reading below for more information on prizes and FAQs – plus an introduction to this week’s guest judge, Dawn Kurtagich.
Happy writing!
The Writers’ Hour Magazine Team
Meet Our Guest Judge: Dawn Kurtagich
Dawn Kurtagich is an award-winning horror and suspense novelist. Her books have been Buzz Books, YALSA Top 10 picks, Audie Award-nominated, Earphone Award winners, and optioned for television. Dawn writes novels are gothic, spooky and intriguingly formatted. You can find out all about them here. Her debut adult novel THE MADNESS is out now from Graydon House. To keep up to date with her latest news, interviews and giveaways, you can sign up for her newsletter.
A Note from our Editorial Team:
As you approach this week’s challenge, we invite you to consider the mood you want to create: Is it ominous, mysterious, or perhaps something else entirely? You could experiment with different genres or let the knock symbolize something more metaphorical.
Whatever direction you choose, focus on building suspense and tension. Play with pacing, description, and the emotions of your characters as they react to the knock. Most of all, have fun and let the knock lead you somewhere new.
How to Submit:
Submissions should be made through our online submission platform, Submittable, and formatted as a Word Doc.
For more details, please read the full Contest Guidelines.
The winning entries will receive:
First Prize:
$100 USD (about £75 GBP)
Publication in Writers’ Hour Magazine
3-month complimentary London Writers’ Salon Silver Membership
Commemorative Writers’ Hour trophy mug
Second Prize:
A special mention in Writers’ Hour Magazine
1-month complimentary London Writers’ Salon Silver Membership
Third Prize:
A special mention in Writers’ Hour Magazine
FAQs:
What genres can I write in?
All genres - fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc - are welcome.Is there a word limit?
Your piece must be 500 words or less. Pieces that exceed this will not be considered. There is no minimum word limit.Do I need to submit in a specific format?
Please follow the instructions outlined in the Contest Guidelines.When is the deadline to submit?
Submissions are due by Friday, November 1 at 5pm BST / 12pm ET / 9am PT. Submissions received outside this window will not be considered.When will the winner be announced?
The winner will be contacted via Submittable, and the winning entry will be published in Writers’ Hour Magazine by Saturday, November 16th.Can I submit a piece I’ve already published?
Only previously unpublished pieces are eligible for this contest. (Published means anything that has already been made publicly available in print or online.)Is there a fee to submit?
No, there is no fee to submit. However you must be subscribed to Writers’ Hour Magazine in order for your submission to be considered.
Congratulations to winners of Prompt Word Bank!
We are thrilled to share the results of the contest for the week of October 6. Writers were tasked with using all ten words in our word bank to help craft their pieces. Special thanks once again to our guest judge, Parul Bavishi.
First Place: Honey scented melody by Simon Kartar
Second Place: Banshees of Maureen by Mary Ellen Saha
Third Place: Afterwards by Michelle Alexander
Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who participated. It’s a pleasure to share these pieces with you, and we can’t wait to see what you create in the next contest!
PS - Write with us
Come work on your submission at Writers' Hour—our daily silent writing sprints—where writers from around the world come together to work on their projects. It’s the perfect environment to focus, share space with other writers, and make progress on your contest entry.
Submitted!