CC-BY-NC: Andrew Stuck We invite you to write a (micro-flash) story of 39 words inspired by John Buchan’s The Thirty Nine Steps.
Why this theme? The classic ‘man on the run’ thriller, some have even dared describe the story as the original spy novel, and before John Buchan died in 1940, it had already proved popular, by selling over a million copies. Well we could say it was an anniversary, which it is as 2025 is the 110th anniversary of the publication of The Thirty Nine Steps, and it is 90 years since Alfred Hitchcock made the first film adaptation of the novel. However, since we ran One Small Step, a micro-flash fiction competition to celebrate the anniversary of the first Moon walk, we have been receiving requests to run similar micro-flash competitions, and we feel that The Thirty Nine Steps is a worthy theme as the novel is full of adventure, mystery and suspense, and quite a bit of fast walking!
You can choose how you wish to interpret the theme, however, your work must be a story and must not exceed 39 words (excluding the title that is limited to 8 words or under). The Thirty Nine Steps is in the public domain, and is available to download free from the Internet, should you require some inspiration.
You will be asked to select a location that is publicly accessible (it could be a staircase), at which you would like your submission to be assigned and where (if possible) we will geolocate an audio anthology.
We will publish an anthology of the best 39 submissions in an illustrated chapbook, as well as an audio locative podcast. You can submit an audio recording of your 39 word story, but entries will only be selected from the written story. Entrants will also be encouraged to join a public online showcase event where they can read their work.
Prizes will include a €100 cash prize (the more entry fees we receive the higher the cash prize will become) and artwork created by Alban Low for an outright winner, and a copy of our limited illustrated edition 39 steps chapbook. The authors of the 39 selected stories will receive a copy of our limited illustrated edition 39 steps chapbook and be invited to an Invitation Only Writers’ Circle online event, plus a public online showcase to celebrate their work.
An audio anthology will be created and geolocated at different locations – authors can choose to read and record their story or we can hire an actor to read on their behalf.
There is an entry fee of €10, for which you can submit up to 4 stories. Should you be unable to afford this fee, it will be waived – please email us at admin[at]walklistencreate.org.
Our volunteer judge is Nick Sayers, former Fiction publisher at Hodder.
The writing competition is dedicated to the author Geoff Nicholson who passed away earlier this year. He had kindly volunteered as a judge for our writing competitions, having been a guest at a Walking Writers’ Salon. Coincidentally, as we were planning the competition and considering its theme, unbeknownst to us, Geoff was putting words to his blog about walking just 39 steps. You can read his blog piece here.
Geoff’s partner Caroline Gannon has generously offered a special prize for an entry in this year’s competition and we are delighted that she is joining our judging panel.
We accept submissions for 39 days from Friday 14 March, until midnight (UTC) on Tuesday 22 April, 2025. Please click on other tabs to read details of how to enter, key dates and eligibility.
You need register first on the walk · listen · create website, return to this page to pay the submission fee (a purchase), check that your ticket purchase has been successful on your profile page, and then submit your piece(s).
Eligibility
- Entrants must be 16 years or over.
- Entry is open to everyone.
- An entry can only be made by the work’s individual author.
- Entries must be fiction.
- Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize.
- Entries must not include any defamatory language.
- Entries must clearly respond to the theme, be original and written in English. They must also be for adult or young adult readers. Submissions written for children under 13 years are not eligible.
- Simultaneous submission is permitted. Should your writing piece win a prize or be published elsewhere, please let us know so that we may remove your entry from the current competition.
- Authors retain full worldwide copyright throughout.
Prizes will include a €100 cash prize (the more entry fees we receive the higher the cash prize will become) and artwork created by Alban Low for an outright winner, and a copy of our limited illustrated edition 39 steps chapbook.
The authors of the 39 selected stories will receive a copy of our limited illustrated edition 39 steps chapbook and be invited to an Invitation Only Writers’ Circle online event, plus a public online showcase to celebrate their work.
The authors of the 39 selected stories will be offered complimentary tickets to online Walking Writers’ Salon events taking place in 2025.
The results of the competition will be announced on the walk · listen · create website in May.
The competition closes at midnight UTC, Tuesday 22 April.
Key dates and competition time line:
- Competition launch – Friday 14 March
- Submission deadline: midnight (UTC) on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
- Judging will be completed by the end of April
- May – authors of the 39 stories with the highest judged scores will be informed
- Mid-June: Limited edition of chapbook anthology and audio locative podcast published.
- Saturday 28 June – Writers’ Circle Prize online event – exclusive private event – followed by a Showcase – public online event at which the winners & runners-up are announced.
Entry constitutes acceptance of all rules. Entries that fail to comply with the rules will be disqualified. No correspondence can be entered into, judges’ decisions are final.
There is an entry fee (to cover administration costs) of €10 for up to 4 stories. The entry fee will be waived for those unable to afford it – please email us at admin[at]walklistencreate.org to request a waiver. We cannot guarantee issuing a fee waiver after 1800 BST Monday 21 April.
Format
- Maximum length is 39 words excluding the title (that mustn’t exceed 8 words).
- Entries should be typed into the online form on this website or submitted as PDF in a plain legible font. A sans 12pt font is suggested.
- Entries will be read and judged anonymously so do not put your name, address, email, telephone number or any personally identifying information on any page.
- If the piece has no title, then its first five words must be used as the title.
- Acceptable file types is direct online submission to the website or PDF only.
Submitting
You need to register first on the walk · listen · create website, return to this page to pay the submission fee (a purchase), check that your ticket purchase has been successful on your profile page, and then submit your piece(s).
- Entries will not be returned so please keep a copy.
- Entries can be retracted at any time up to the closure of the competition.
- Entrants are limited to 4 entries each.
- The competition closes at midnight UTC, Tuesday 22 April 2025.
- No correspondence will be entered into regarding the judges’s decisions and no feedback will be provided.
Editing the anthology
As the anthology editor may need to make slight editorial changes, the authors of the 39 selected stories grant access to their email address to the editor.
Audio recording of pieces within the anthology
Authors will be invited to record themselves reading their work, or can choose to be contacted by the organisers, to record them over the Internet, or can choose to have a reader hired by the organisers, to read their work on their behalf.
| Babak Fakhamzadeh | Instance administrator | |
| Andrew Stuck | Instance administrator | |
| Nick Sayers | juror | Story |
| Annemarie Lopez | editor | Story |
| Alban Low | illustrator |