Why themes? Readers play favorites, you know. Everybody has their favorite genres and our contest’s season themes are here to assemble winning story collections that readers will love. These themes function as story prompts for our author base, suggesting fun mashups and settings for the most creative, hard-hitting fiction. We only accept stories that fit these themes, and we wish you much Havok as you craft your best work!
Season 13: Encore!
SEASON 13 THEMES PDFs: We highly recommend checking out these resources for ideas as you craft your story! Feel free to tag @havokauthornews on Instagram or email authorcentral@gohavok.com with any questions about our themes and guidelines. Sign up for our author newsletter (see sidebar on this page; scroll down on mobile) for tips from our editors and news about author contests.
Download Season 13: Encore! themes and deadlines
Get inspiration from all 12 original Season theme details
NOTE: Deadlines are always for 11:59pm Pacific time on the date indicated. Get those stories in by midnight, or they’ll turn into pumpkins!
Season 13: Encore! Legendary: SUBMISSIONS CLOSED (July 10).
Season 13: Encore! Multiversal
(DEADLINE: August 14, 2026 – UPDATED)
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 James (aka Therrus), Alice (of Wonderland fame), Dorian Gray, and the ever-lovable curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge.
Your story must feature one of these twelve characters, although they do not have to be the “main” character of the story. See the entire list of character profiles at our website or you can download them as a printable PDF. Publishes in December 2026.
Now Go Write!
Using the season theme above for ideas, go write and then send us your best story that fits any of our Accepted Genres (mystery, thriller, humor, science fiction, and fantasy). Be sure to download and use our Manuscript Formatting template and follow the Submission Guidelines!
Each theme listed below will open the day after the previous theme is closed.
Season 14: Two’s Company
Nomadic adventurer Chris McCandless scrawled this revelation in the margin of Doctor Zhivago just before he died in the Alaskan wilderness, hungry and alone. For McCandless, those five words summed up the novel’s theme of finding meaning in the relationships all around us.
Let me say that last part again—in the relationships all around us. That’s because interactions with others are the glue that hold life together. Whether an extreme extrovert or a reluctant recluse, we all find purpose through interacting with others, so it’s no surprise that the same is true of great stories. From Frodo and Sam to Luke and Vader. Bonnie and Clyde to Laverne and Shirley. Zelda and Link. Katniss and Rue. Wall-E and Eve. Paul Muad’dib and Stilgar. Our dearest books, movies, and games all revolve around one thing: relationship.
That’s why Havok’s Season 14 is all about those ties that bind. We’re calling for the funniest friendships, biggest breakups, corniest encounters, rowdiest romances, angriest arch-enemies, bravest BFFs, and any other scenario featuring two or more humans that you can dream up, 1,000 words at a time. So, for the next twelve months, pull on our heart strings, tickle our funny bones, and steal our breath with the very best and worst relationships ever written.
Theme: BFFs
Deadline: Friday, September 11
It’s always best to start at the beginning. With a shared toy in kindergarten. A whispered secret. A common tragedy. Even an imagined monster under the bed. Seldom realized at first, childhood BFFs (“best friends forever”) fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and afford an irreplaceable source of belonging, confidence, fun, and usually mischief, even if they seldom truly last “forever.” Whether your young characters are thrown together amidst a revolution on a lunar mining base, a missing persons case in suburban neighborhood, or a housing mix-up at a peculiar boarding school, give us all the feels that come with two young characters who know they’ll face the world together, no matter what. Oh, and one last note for discerning writers: for this month, our editors will be keeping a special eye out for middle-grade fiction (if you know, you know. If not, look it up. You are a writer, after all). So if that’s your genre, or even if you just want to try your hand at it, now’s your time to shine! Publishes in January 2027.
The rest of the Season 14 themes will be listed here soon!
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