FESTS
We're planning our next FEST and looking for JUDGES. As of this moment (August, 2025), we do not have dates or a theme yet. We're looking at maybe April ('26) for training and May weekdays for challenges with most judging over the weekends.
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Judges help set the theme and design the challenges, then score and critique submissions. Fests have limited registration based on judge availability. Training is provided. If you're interested, contact us!
It is possible we might run a condensed internship program for judging.
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Leapfest: Universal elements help us measure and understand our surroundings. Join us through the month of February ('24) for Leapfest, a series of three surprise weekly challenges to test your perception of what is possible.
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This competition is finished.
Feedback is available in your linked folder.
Scroll to see who won!
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The Writer's Workout is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit run by volunteers.
We provide accessible, free creative writing education through competitions, workshops, and publication opportunities. Check our donations page to learn more about how The Writer's Workout strengthens the global writing community.
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Leapfest Events begin on the cusp of Saturdays and end on the cusp of Tuesdays, UTC. Feedback is free, optional, and will be released after the conference in March. Find the Leapfest Rules below. Registration is full but you can try the challenges on your own.
Access the Leapfest Welcome Letter here.
2026 Events & Winners
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Event 1: TBD
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First Place:
Second Place:
Third Place:
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Event 2: TBD
First Place:
Second Place:
Third Place:
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Event 3: TBD
First Place:
Second Place:
Third Place:
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Overall Winners
First Place:
Second Place:
Third Place:
Fourth Place:
Fifth Place:
Share your journey with #wwfest
Questions?
Join us on Discord or email Theresa
We reject religious, political, and erotic themes; fanfiction and AI-copied or generated content are not accepted.
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We can only accept entries from registered participants.
Registration is closed for this competition.
Leapfest General Rules
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Leapfest consists of three Events, each lasting 72 hours. Events are open to registered participants.
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Events begin and end at midnight, UTC, on the cusp of Saturdays and Tuesdays, respectively.
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Registration is required in advance. Registration opens January 15 and closes when all spaces are full.
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Registration is free and open to all ages worldwide.
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Registration space is limited by the number of volunteer judges.
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Event announcements are available on the Leapfest page, Discord, and by email mailing list.
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Entries from registered participants are accepted before the Event deadline.
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One entry per registered participant, per Event.
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Registered participants may resubmit a corrected file before the Event deadline.
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Entries must be in English, complete stories, and original works of fiction written during the 72 hours.
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Entries including fanfiction, religion, politics, erotica, or AI-generated content are not accepted.
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Entry information must be kept private for the duration of the competition, ending with the final overall winner announcement.
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Submissions are accepted via email (submissions [at] writersworkout.net) or Dropbox.
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Accepted file types include .doc, .docx, .odt.
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Links to live, unlocked Google and Word docs are accepted via email.
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The Writer’s Workout will not request access and is not responsible for locked docs.
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Please keep formatting professional. Check our Submissions page for recommendations.
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Submissions must include correct Title Information at the top left of the document body to be considered. All four margins must be empty.
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Title Information must be in this order:
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Name or Pseudonym, email
Entry Title
Leapfest Event Name
Word Count
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Scoring is by expression of the Event’s Core Concepts, as specified in each Event announcement.
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A participant’s Event score is the average of all judges’ scores for that entry.
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A participant’s overall score is the sum of their Event scores.
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Winners will be posted to the Leapfest page prior to the next Event.
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Overall winners will be announced on Saturday, March 2, 2024.
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During registration, participants may elect to receive feedback on their entries. Feedback will be delivered privately at the end of March.
Rights
The Writer's Workout requests you keep all information regarding your entries secret until after March 2, 2024. This is for your protection, to help you remain anonymous and prevent judgement bias. The Writer's Workout does not hold rights to your creations and will not publish Leapfest entries.
Fest judges set the theme, develop the challenges​, and judge and critique the submissions.
Volunteer to judge our next Fest.
Theresa Green (emergency only)
Theresa is a co-founder of The Writer's Workout, a crime fiction writer, and the editor at Premier Literary Services.
premierliterary.com
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Event 1: Quest
First Place: Charlie Rogers
Second Place: Lisa Short
Third Place: Dominique Goodall
QUEST
Travel a great distance to discover something vital.
Core Concepts: backstory, character development
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Event 2: Transhumanism
First Place: R.A. Clarke
Second Place: T.E. Fahlstedt
Third Place: MM Schreier
TRANSHUMANISM
In a race to be first, use any technology to win.
Core Concepts: description, foreshadowing
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Event 3: Countdown
First Place: Elizabeth Hakken Candido
Second Place: Ej Sidle
Third Place: Alyssa Beatty & Katie Ess
COUNTDOWN
Within 24 hours,
everything changes.
Core Concepts: pacing, perspective
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2024 Overall Winners
First Place: Charlie Rogers
Second Place: Elizabeth Hakken Candido
Third Place: R.A. Clarke
Fourth Place: Lisa Short
Fifth Place: Karen Mitani