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Witcraft (Gold Star Program) Gold Star

The home of skillfully written stories that are brief, humorous and engaging, with the emphasis on wit, word play, absurdity and inspired nonsense.

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Go stand in the funny corner Free

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For some reason, many people look down on witty writing. They seem to believe that it requires little skill, zero writing craft and certainly won’t put you in the pantheon of the writing gods. We strongly disagree.

Witcraft is a free-to-submit litmag solely dedicated to providing a home for skillful writing that is brief, humorous and engaging, with the emphasis on wit, word play, absurdity and inspired nonsense.

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Not everything has to be serious Free

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We're looking for writing that is founded on wit, humour, puns, absurdity and irony. Put away the sledgehammer, the cliches, the tired tropes and the nastiness.

Length: Submissions must be a minimum of 200 words and a maximum of 1000 words. Poetry submissions only may include two or more pieces within these limits but need to be included in a single document. Submissions outside those guidelines will be deleted unread.

Format: Use a readable font. Times New Roman 12 double spaced is a guideline.

Reprints: Reprints are acceptable provided any rights have reverted to you. Include details of where your piece was previously published, date of publication and, where possible, a link.

Rights: We seek no rights but please acknowledge Witcraft as first publisher in any later publications.

n accepted elsewhere.

Submission Fee: None

Payment: 3 monthly prizes for best submissions.

Response Time: Our aim is to respond within 2 weeks but usually with 2 days.

How to submit: Submit via Duotrope Witcraft Submission Manager | Duosuma by Duotrope

Publication Schedule: Chosen pieces are published daily.

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Witcraft Annual Humour Competition

Temp Closed

Opens on Saturday, June 1, 2024 12:00 AM Cen. Australia Standard Time (in 14 days)

What we are looking for from entrants

This is a competition dedicated to skillful writing that is brief, humorous and engaging. The emphasis is on wit, word play, absurdity and inspired nonsense. Whether your work is designed to raise a smile or a belly laugh, we want pieces that are a refuge from the relentless barrage of negativity, angst, war and climate catastrophe that dominates the web.

We’re looking for fiction, nonfiction and poetry that is founded on wit, humour, puns, absurdity and irony. Put away the sledgehammer, the cliches, the tired tropes and the nastiness.

If you are looking for examples of what Witcraft wants to encourage, spend time browsing our site. https://witcraft.org/

Length: Entries must be a minimum of 200 words and a maximum of 1,000 words of fiction, nonfiction or poetry. For poetry only, you may include more than one piece, all in a single document, in order to reach the minimum requirement. Entries outside these guidelines will be deleted unread.

Format: Use a readable font. Times New Roman 12, double spaced, is a guideline. Do not include anything that will identify you in your submission attachment.

Reprints: Reprints are not acceptable for this competition. All entries must be the entrant’s new original work.

Rights: We seek no rights but prize winners are asked to acknowledge Witcraft as first publisher in any later publications.

Simultaneous Submissions: Sorry, no. We believe that the time frame for entries is sufficiently short to not inconvenience entrants.

Multiple Entries: Maximum of three (3) entries per person.

Submission Fee: US$5 (payable via PayPal)

How to submit:

Firstly, pay your US$5 entry fee via PayPal, using this link: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/TMUVPSU2VNXKL If you are entering two or three pieces, each will need to be entered and paid for separately

Then, submit your entry/entries via Duotrope. https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/witcraft-064wz Again, submit each piece separately.

Publication: Prize winning works will be published shortly after the competition ends, along with entries awarded an Honorable Mention by the judges.

Terms and conditions

  • All decisions made by the Judges regarding the winners are final.
  • The Judges will choose from a short list of 20 stories provided by Witcraft.
  • No contest entry fees will be returned
  • By submitting, you are agreeing to all contest rules

Payment: Three prizes will be awarded (payable via PayPal only): First US$250, Second US$100, Third US$100.

This competition is not being run for the profit of any individual or organisation or company, including the judges. The prize money is based on a presumed minimum of 80 entries.

If the number of entries exceeds that, the prize pool will increase and be distributed proportionately. Witcraft reserves the right to retain a portion of the entry fees to cover its processing and foreign exchange costs.

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