August 2026 Theme

Happy
Travels

How 'bout that exchange rate? Only twenty thingies to the dollar!

Illustration by Stella Backman

Welcome to the second ever Whimsy!

The theme for our August contest is… Happy Travels.

Choose one of the five whims below, find your unique Object in the prompt email, and write a 300-word tale of whimsy that explores this month's theme. Feel free to interpret your prompts as creatively as you wish, but we encourage you to try and incorporate them in a meaningful way. It's a whole lot more fun and rewarding!

If you need some inspiration, each of the whims comes with four mood words/phrases to give you a sense of the creative territory. You don't need to include these words in your story - they're just there to get your imagination going.

And that, wonderful writers, is how we Whimsy:

  • Pick a whim
  • Pair it with your assigned object
  • Spin a yarn about happy travels of some variety

Please note: the Happy Travels illustration and caption are not prompts.

Now it's time to follow your whim!

Choose your whim

Below are this month's five whims. You will confirm your chosen whim on the submission form when submitting.

World's Best Tourist
sightseeing · confident traveller · embracing experiences · just happy to be here
Quite the Travelogue
extraordinary accounts · unfathomable journeys · recorded for posterity · notes from the road
This Wasn't on the Itinerary
unplanned · spontaneity · unusual customs · wait, where are we?
Tagalongs and Stowaways
travel companion · shared adventure · hitchhiker · in it together
Home Sweet Home-ish
changed · returning · new perspective · (un)familiar surroundings
Deadline: 7th August, 11:59pm (CEST)
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Submit your story