Your challenge, should you choose to accept it...

... is to write a short story for our forthcoming collection "21st Century Intolerant". We are looking for stories about characters who find the modern world challenging - whether it's a light-hearted tale of "first-world problems" or a darker look at some of the less savoury aspects of life in the 21st century - specifically, in 2025.

As with all of our Community Collections, there is no cost to you to submit a story. 

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About Your Story

• Your story can be serious, humourous, dark or light.

• The title of your story is up to you

• It must be set around the present day or in the very near future

• The plot must centre around a character who struggles with an aspect - or aspects - of modern life, whether it's a young person struggling with dating and house buying, a middle-aged person who can't understand modern music and reality TV, or an older person who feels left behind by technology. You choose the frustration(s), the story and the tone. We are sure you can be more creative than the examples given!

• Your characters must be entirely fictional

• This book is intended for adult readers

• Each story should be 3000 - 5000 words

• You remain the copyright owner of your story and you are free to publish it elsewhere. More details 

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Full Story Brief  - Click Here

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​About the Charity

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• All of our Community Collection books will raise money for an appropriate charity, which will be at least 10% of the profits. ​

• For this project our chosen charity is Zarach  - a Leeds based organisation whose mission is to end child bed poverty in the UK. Over 900,000 children are experiencing bed poverty, without a proper place to sleep in the UK. 

• Find out more: www.zarach.org 

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Formatting

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• We will provide a Microsoft Word template for you to use, along with style and formatting guidelines. 

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Project Rules

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• No submissions from under 18s for this particular project.

• Your story must be all your own work.

• Your story must not contain anything that is legally questionable or libellous.

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How the book will be sold

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• The book will be sold primarily on Amazon.  

• You will have the option to buy as many copies as you like at a discounted rate if you choose, which you can resell or give away.

• We ask authors to spread the word among friends and family - after all, they'll want to read your story!

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Deadline and Publication Date 

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• Submission deadline: Wednesday 31st December 2025

• Publication date: Monday 2nd February 2026

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Money

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• We will never ask you to pay to contribute to our books

• We do not pay royalties, instead we donate at least 10% of the book's profits to an appropriate charity

• You can make money from your story by buying books at a discounted rate and reselling although there is no obligation to do so. 

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