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 CEST. 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.

Single-month entry fees are £9.00 for Early Bird entries, available until the 25th of each month, and £12.00 for Standard entries, available from the 26th until sign-ups close on the final day of the month.

For 2027, Whimsy offers two annual pass options: Whole Whimsy, covering all 12 monthly contests from January to December 2027, at £90.00 for Early Bird purchases made by 30th November 2026 and £96.00 for purchases made from 1st to 31st December 2026; and Half Whimsy, covering the six monthly contests from January to June 2027, at £50.00 for Early Bird purchases made by 30th November 2026 and £54.00 for purchases made from 1st to 31st December 2026.

The 2026 Founding Writer Pass was a special introductory offer covering the remaining 2026 contests. It was available at £45.00 for six contests when purchased before July, and £36.00 for five contests when purchased between 1st and 31st July. This offer closed on 31st July 2026. Existing Founding Writer Pass holders remain entitled to the contests covered by their pass.

All payments are processed securely via Stripe.

Single-month entry fees are non-refundable once the writing window has opened on the 1st. Whole Whimsy, Half Whimsy and Founding Writer Pass payments are non-refundable once the first writing window covered by the relevant pass has opened. If you have paid for a pass but its first 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 or passes. Fees will always be published on the Whimsy website before the relevant sign-up period opens.

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 and social media.

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 set portion of entry fees go 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 may vary depending on the number of entries received each month. The monthly prize pool for 2026 is £500 split equally among five selected stories (£100 each).

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 and honourable mentions about potential inclusion in the annual Whimsy anthology.

We pay £5 per story for non-exclusive publication rights, and 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.

Whole Whimsy and Half Whimsy are annual pass options for 2027. Whole Whimsy covers all 12 monthly contests from January to December 2027. Half Whimsy covers the six monthly contests from January to June 2027. Both passes are paid for upfront and are intended for one writer for the contests covered by the relevant pass.

Whole Whimsy and Half Whimsy passes are non-transferable. A pass may only be used by the writer who purchased it and may not be sold, transferred or assigned to another person.

The Founding Writer Pass was a special introductory offer available until 31st July 2026. It covered 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.

Founding Writer Passes are non-transferable. Each pass belongs to the writer who purchased it and may not be sold, transferred or assigned to another person. Existing Founding Writer Pass holders remain entitled to participate in the contests covered by their pass under these Terms.

If Whimsy is unable to run a contest covered by a Whole Whimsy, Half Whimsy or Founding Writer Pass, Whimsy will issue a pro-rata refund for the contest or contests that it is unable to provide. This does not create a general right to cancel or receive a refund for a pass once its first writing window has opened.

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 here for stories that cover the full range of the human experience, including some of the more difficult or morally complex ones—though always with the aim of finding the light. However, submissions must not contain content that is gratuitously harmful or hateful towards any individual or group. We recognise the line between what does and does not constitute harmful or hateful varies between writers, but ultimately, Whimsy is not the place to be venturing near that line.

Whimsy reserves the right to exclude stories deemed to contain such content from judging, from the Wandering Library (our celebratory communal space), and from any publication or recognition. Decisions made on these grounds are 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.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Sweden. Any disputes arising from participation in Whimsy will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Sweden.

For any questions about these Terms, please contact hello@whimsyfiction.com.