Terms & Conditions

Whimsy is a monthly 300-word microfiction contest. Each month, signed-up writers receive a theme, five creative "whims", and a unique personal Object. Writers submit an original story of no more than 300 words by the deadline.

The contest runs on a monthly cycle. Sign-up closes at midnight on the last day of the month. Prompts are released on the 1st. The submission window closes on the 7th at 11:59pm UTC. Results are announced on the 28th.

Whimsy is open to writers aged 18 and over, anywhere in the world.

One entry per writer per month. Additional entries will be disqualified.

Entry fees are as follows: Early bird (available until the 25th of the month): £9.00. Standard (available from the 26th until sign-ups close on the final day of the month): £12.00. Founding Writer Pass (six contests: July-December): £45.00. Available until 30th June. Founding Writer Pass (five contests: August-December): £36.00. Available 1st to 31st July.

All payments are processed securely via Stripe.

Single month entry fees are non-refundable once the writing window has opened on the 1st. Founding Writer Pass payments are non-refundable once the first writing window of your pass has opened. If you have paid but the writing window has not yet opened, please contact hello@whimsyfiction.com to discuss your options.

Whimsy reserves the right to amend entry fees for future contests. Fees will always be published on the Whimsy website before sign-ups open.

Submissions must be original work written specifically for Whimsy and must not have been previously published anywhere, including personal blogs, social media, or other contests.

Submissions must be no more than 300 words. Submissions exceeding the word limit will not be accepted.

Each submission must engage meaningfully with the chosen whim and the writer's assigned Object. The Object must appear in or meaningfully inform the story.

No identifying information should appear within the story itself, as judging is conducted blind. Doing so may result in disqualification from the contest.

By submitting a story, you confirm it is your own original work and that you hold the rights to it.

Whimsy reserves the right to disqualify any submission that does not meet these requirements, is submitted after the deadline, or is submitted by a writer who has not completed payment.

All entries are judged by the Whimsy founder in good faith based on the judging criteria. This includes originality, voice, and how inventively the writer has engaged with their whim and Object. Whimsy is a contest of skill, not chance; outcomes are determined solely by these writing criteria and not by random selection.

Judging is conducted blind. Entries are assessed on writing quality alone.

Five stories are selected each month and share the prize pool equally. One of the five is designated the monthly Spotlight and published on the Whimsy site.

Five honourable mentions are also recognised each month.

One opening line from across all entries is selected each month for the Whimsy Wall of First Lines.

All judging decisions are final.

The monthly prize pool is funded by entry fees. A fixed percentage of each entry fee goes into the monthly prize pool, with the remainder covering the costs of running Whimsy.

The prize pool is shared equally between the five selected stories.

Prize payments are made via PayPal or bank transfer. Selected writers will be contacted to arrange payment directly following results.

Whimsy does not guarantee a minimum prize pool amount. The pool grows in proportion to the number of entries received each month.

Writers retain full copyright of their submitted work at all times.

By entering Whimsy, you grant Whimsy Fiction a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to: publish the monthly Spotlight story on the Whimsy website and social channels; display selected opening lines on the Whimsy Wall of First Lines; and approach shortlisted writers about potential inclusion in the annual Whimsy anthology.

No work will be included in the annual anthology without the writer's explicit written permission.

Whimsy may reference contest results, titles, author names, and published content—such as Spotlight stories and Wall of First Lines entries—publicly (e.g. sharing them on the website, in newsletters, or on social media) without further permission.

The Founding Writer Pass is a special introductory offer available until 31st July 2026 only. It covers all remaining contests in the 2026 calendar year for a single upfront payment—six contests if purchased before July, and five contests if purchased between 1st and 31st July.

The pass is non-transferable and covers one writer only.

In the event that Whimsy is unable to run a contest covered by a Founding Writer Pass, a pro-rata refund will be offered for any uncompleted contests.

Whimsy reserves the right to disqualify any writer whose conduct is deemed harmful, dishonest, or contrary to the spirit of the contest — including but not limited to submitting AI-generated work, plagiarism, or harassment of other participants or the organiser.

Decisions regarding disqualification are made at the sole discretion of the Whimsy founder and are final.

Whimsy is a contest for work written by humans. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), large language models (LLMs), or any generative AI tool in the creation, editing or revision of a submission is strictly prohibited.

By submitting a story and therefore agreeing to these terms and conditions, you confirm that the work is entirely your own and written without the use of any AI tool or system.

Whimsy reserves the right to disqualify any submission believed to have been produced or assisted by AI. Disqualifications made on these grounds are made at the sole discretion of the Whimsy founder and are final.

Whimsy’s judging process is conducted entirely by a human judge. Specifically, Whimsy founder, Timothy Hayes. No AI tool, system, or language model is or will ever be used at any stage of the judging process.

Submitted stories will never be fed to AI at any point, for any reason. Writers retain full copyright of their work and Whimsy will never use submitted stories for any AI-related purposes.

Whimsy reserves the right to amend these Terms, contest rules, or entry fees at any time. Changes will be published on the Whimsy website. Continued participation constitutes acceptance of any updated Terms.

In the unlikely event that a contest must be cancelled, signed-up writers will be notified as soon as possible and offered a full refund.