[Imagine this introduction in the voice of Andrew Winch, our fearless editor-in-chief:]
Ever since Havok’s REBIRTH, we’ve had a passion for STORIES THAT SING—BINGEWORTHY flash fiction just as SENSATIONAL as anything a reader can find in longer formats. Because of this, we’ve been able to present a PRISMATIC array of season themes that attract both new and veteran authors to write for us. Unfortunately, that also means that those who haven’t been with us from the beginning may have missed the CASTING CALL for earlier themes, and our ravenous writers have let us know that fact louder and clearer than any howl, trumpet, or bellow from the ANIMAL KINGDOM. More passionately than any VICE AND VIRTUE, more widespread than any WORLD TOUR, you’ve declared your desire to revisit the LEGENDARY themes from our past seasons.
And now, it’s our great pleasure to grant your wish. Each month in Season 13 will re-visit one of our past twelve themes and all their subthemes. But don’t worry, you won’t have to REMEMBER WHEN we originally published those themes or what all the sub-themes were. No, we’re providing all of that right here in one easy-to-access MULTIVERSAL list so you can focus on what you do best—writing! So go ahead, dig out your story that didn’t quite make the original deadline, rewrite the one that didn’t quite make the cut last time, or create something completely new and inspired. With this many options, there’s no excuse. Don’t miss another opportunity to wreak Havok with us in our most exciting season yet!
[Enter our marketing kraken, Teddi:]
When Andrew Winch, Lisa Godfrees, and I reimagined the quarterly magazine Havok as a daily ezine and flash fiction contest, we weren’t sure whether our phoenix would actually rise from the ashes. Nobody we knew had ever launched anything like it. Would anybody submit stories? Would we find enough editors to manage the submissions? Would we be able to afford to pay authors prizes and keep the website running? It was a grand adventure, and very exciting.
That first season was themed around “Rebirth”, appropriately enough. And yes, the reborn phoenix has been flying ever since. We haven’t missed a single publication day since our launch on January 1, 2019, thanks to our amazing volunteer staff. The demands of family and work have pulled Lisa Godfrees away from us, but she’ll always be a huge part of what made Havok what we are today. Most of the editors who helped launch Havok eventually moved on over the past seven years (we started accepting submissions in 2018 for our 2019 launch), but we are thrilled to still have founding editors Andra Marquardt and Ronnell Kay Gibson with us, as well as our founding operations whiz, Kat Vinson. We couldn’t do this without all of you!
Well, we may have gotten a little addicted to the thrill of trying new things. Every season we challenged writers to themes that would hone different aspects of their writing craft. Tropes, character development, imagery, engaging the reader’s senses, immersing us in exotic settings, and more. The biggest challenge yet was our innovative Multiversal challenge: all our authors writing their own versions of the same characters!
But now, back by popular demand, and for the love of our amazing author community, we are giving you a chance to dive for new treasure in the deep pool of Havok’s themes collection. Whether these themes are brand new to you, or if you have a story idea in your back pocket from the first time these themes rolled around, we are confident you are going to love Season 13! You get to write YOUR characters YOUR way. You get to choose ANY of the sub-themes from our previous seasons. And the winning stories generated during this season are going to create a truly epic ENCORE collection of flash fiction.
The 12 Themes of Season 13
For each theme, we’ve provided links so (if you’re a Havok member) you can see what winning stories for those themes looked like the first time around. Many writers find it helpful to see what a magazine has published in the past to understand what it’s looking for. Such research is not required, but provided for your convenience. We offer a free story every weekday if you want to familiarize yourself with our publication without paying $4.99 for an annual membership.
Rebirth (January)—Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, our very first season celebrated life’s enduring spirit. And true to form, we’re doing it again! And you’ll get the chance to revisit our sub-themes of rebirth, recycle, relocate, reform, recover, and redo. See the winning stories | Browse all stories by theme
Stories that Sing (February)—Music moves us. It shapes the world and immortalizes each generation, telling stories in a way that stays with us forever. In our second theme, we’re tapping into the power of song from any time period or music genre of your choice. See the original winners | Browse all stories by theme
Bingeworthy (March)—There are some storylines and concepts that hook us every time. When done right, they transcend the label stereotype or the dreaded “cliché” and enter the realm of treasured trope and become the formula for a blockbuster hit. Havok’s third theme is all about the stories that we watch, re-watch, and stay up all night to binge watch. Sub-themes include dynamic duos, answering the call, strange new worlds, the end of the world as we know it, super-duper, and the one thing (aka the MacGuffin). See the original winners | Browse all stories by theme
Sensational (April)—Theme four is a journey of the senses, immersing our readers in everything that’s possible for a human to experience—and beyond. Sub-themes include touch, taste, hearing, smell, sight, and the sixth sense. See the original winners | Browse all stories by theme
Prismatic (May)—There’s a reason television and movies went from black and white to Technicolor™. The world around us is painted in a kaleidoscope of hues. And in theme five, we’re wreaking Havok with color. The original six themes were yellow, red, green, blue, purple, and orange, but we will accept any color-centric story for Season 13. Bring on your white knights and black hat villains. See the original winners | Browse all stories by theme
Casting Call (June)—Classic character archetypes make for legendary stories! Throughout history, certain types of people show up again and again in the stories we tell. And sometimes, especially in speculative genres, they aren’t technically… human, even though they fill an archetypal role. These archetypes include the ruler, rebel, hero, magician, creator, explorer, everyman, jester, caregiver, lover, innocent, and sage. See the original winners | Browse all stories by theme
Animal Kingdom (July)—The relationships humanity has with the living creatures of our world are as varied as the ones we have with each other. We have fought to keep from being eaten by the predatory, we have nurtured and raised domestics as companions and partners in labor, we have driven some to extinction, we have studied to increase our understanding of life. In theme seven, we explore the wonders, rewards, and tragedies of the animal kingdom. Sub-themes include partners, predators, swimmers, explorers, discoveries, extinctions, beautiful, dangerous, symbiotes, parasites, micro (small), and macro (huge!). See the original winners | Browse all stories by theme
Vice and Virtue (August)—You’ve heard of the Seven Deadly Sins. You’ve seen the four Greek virtues. And there are myriad other lists throughout history that define humanity’s positive and negative character traits. But how often have you seen them applied to actual characters? We thought it would be a truly polarizing—and entertaining—experience to slap an entire theme’s worth of vices and virtues on those characters we love (and love to hate). So go ahead. Pull out the best and worst your creations have to offer and lay it on thick. But remember to keep things PG-13. After all, too much of a good thing is, well, a bad thing. This list of vices and virtues include cowardice, courage, laziness, diligence, pride, humility, rage, peace, gluttony, temperance, selfishness, and sacrifice. See the original winners | Browse all stories by theme
World Tour (September)—We’re updating our passports and putting in our time off requests, because Havok is going back on tour! North to South, East to West, we’re celebrating every corner of this rock we all call home. From geography to history to culture, we want you to craft unforgettable stories that immerse us in the awesomeness of, well, everywhere on Earth. And don’t forget your sunscreen and your Chupacabra spray. You never know what’ll happen when you step out your front door! Your stories can highlight the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and, well, anywhere on Earth or in its orbit with our “sky’s the limit” sub-theme. See the original winners | Browse all stories by theme
Legendary (October)—In an age bursting with “award winners” and “bestsellers,” it’s easy to imagine all of our favorite stories being immortalized in leatherbound tomes for all future generations to enjoy. But in reality, very few tales stand the test of time. But every so often, magic happens, and a certain combination of words conveys something so unforgettable that humanity has no choice but to preserve it. So, prepare to harness the most enduring elements throughout mankind’s literary tradition and create your own version of something truly LEGENDARY, which includes legendary creatures, people, locations, things, and events. See the original winners | Browse all stories by theme
Remember When (November)— As writers, we spend most of our time in the background, watching and writing about everyone else’s experiences and exploits. But Havok wants to hear about you… again! Pick any of the four seasons of the year and narrate your tales of winter wonder, spring storms, summer staycations, and fall frights. And, strictly speaking, it doesn’t have to be an auto-biographical account, as long as you narrate the story with a strong personal voice. So, feel free to share your grandpa’s claims about the time aliens abducted him from Mardi Gras. No judgment here. Just make your story reflect something about a specific day or season of the year. January winter storms and resolutions, February Valentine’s day thrills (or disappointments), March sporting madness or springtime floods, April Easter celebrations or wildflower tours. You get the idea. (Winners were announced monthly; browse the announcement archive.)
Multiversal (December)—If you’re like most writers, you can trace your love of creating stories back to a particular author. And at some point, you probably dreamed of collaborating with them or writing stories based on their worlds or characters. Historically, this was an impossible dream except in the limited scope of fan fiction… Until Season 12, when Havok acquired stories all year long based on original characters created exclusively for this contest by our hand-selected lineup of best-selling and award-winning authors! Our list of unforgettable characters includes Joe Enza, Kytt Windthorn, Spark Spaulding, Zaivar “Zai” Witz, Phezznibbet “Phezz” Maplebark, Ethel Grieves, Miriel Takkenridge, Harmony Star, Luke “Therrus “James, Alice (of Wonderland fame), Dorian Gray, and the ever-lovable Ebenezer Scrooge. (Winners are being announced monthly through December; browse the announcement archive.)
We hope you’ve enjoyed this overview of our new season. Visit the Season Themes page for deadlines and (soon) a downloadable PDF to help you plan your submissions for the coming year.
Bonus challenge: The Havok Gauntlet. Get a story published every month for the whole season, with at least one on each of our five genre days. If you have completed this challenge, please let us know–it’s a tough one, and we’re not currently aware of anyone who has done it. Drop a comment if you have prize ideas for this achievement!
Tell us your thoughts!