For this challenge Voyage YA by Uncharted welcomes authors to submit their fiction and creative nonfiction as it pertains to the butterfly effect. The butterfly effect is when something small creates much larger effects, rippling across time and terrain in unexpected ways. (Read more here!)
We want to see how one small plot point or detail ends up greatly impacting the character or story arc. This phenomenon can be tied to many narratives, so Voyage editors encourage writers to exercise their creativity and explore what this prompt could mean for them. We are looking for bold stories that enlighten us.
This challenge will be open for submissions from March 10, 2025, to March 30, 2025, and will be judged by Voyage YA editors. One grand-prize winner will receive $500.
Guidelines
- The Butterfly Effect Challenge opens on March 10, 2025, and the deadline for entry is March 30, 2025. Work may be written prior to the twenty-day challenge period.
- All entries must be in the YA genre.
- The $20 reading fee allows for the submission of one <5,000 word short story/essay or two flash prose pieces <1,000 words apiece. If submitting two flash pieces, please put them in the same document.
- Stories must be written primarily in English, but some code-switching/meshing is welcomed.
- We encourage multiple submissions, but each entry must be submitted separately, each with a separate reading fee.
- Reprints are not eligible. If your story has been published anywhere else, even on a blog or social media, it will be automatically disqualified from the contest.
- If your story is a simultaneous submission, please withdraw immediately if it’s accepted elsewhere.
- Submissions should be double-spaced and use Times New Roman 12, or larger if needed.
- All submissions should include a cover letter, however brief, with your publication history, if applicable.
- We do not accept anonymous submissions.
- Please include a content warning, if applicable. This information will not factor into whether your submission is accepted, but rather simply serve to safeguard our staff.
- AI-generated stories will be automatically disqualified.
- We are always happy to answer questions. Please email delaney@voyageya.com.
Editorial Feedback Option
Submitters have the option to purchase editorial feedback letters from a qualified editor. The single feedback letter option costs $69 and will provide you with two pages of detailed and actionable feedback on your submission. The three-letter option will provide three separate letters (two pages each) from three different editors for $179. Our guest editors are paid a significant portion of the fee and all are incredibly astute professionals.