The challenge: Write an AU for any fandom using no more than 5,000 words. Post any time in August!

<aside> 🍍 EVENT UPDATES

2/14/25: Page tidied for the year! Sign-up links will be available in June when we open.

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The 5k began as an off-season complement to a big bang. Between rounds, we wanted to keep our writers engaged without the strain of a 20k minimum. That bang centered around tropes, so we challenged the writers to create compact AUs.

The original Mid-Winter 5k ran for two rounds and went on hiatus along with its parent bang. In 2020, I reached out to my co-mod for her blessing to evolve the event into an all-fandoms format.

The 2025 round will be our sixth!

<aside> 🍍 Here’s the pretty link for sharing this info: https://tinyurl.com/theficwip5k

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<aside> 🍍 Sign up

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<aside> 🍍 Schedule

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<aside> 🍍 Rules

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<aside> 🍍 FAQs

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<aside> 🍍 Posting

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<aside> 🍍 Questions

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📈 STATS!

2020

authors: 28

words: 143,163

2021

authors: 43

words: 181,785

2022

authors: 63

words: 267,534

2023

authors: 80 words: 314,158

2024

fics: 186 authors: 123 words: 509,687

all 2024 works ao3 collection

Sign up

Sign up any time, even on the last day of posting! The 5k is a public event and takes place on tumblr, bluesky, and AO3.

<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-right_orange.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-right_orange.svg" width="40px" /> Sign up for the 5k Sign ups open on June 1st

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2025 Schedule

June 1: Sign-ups open

July 11: 30-second check-in (I’ll email you!)

August 1: Posting opens 🍍

August 31: Last day to post!

September 1: We all take a nap 😴

🍍Rules

Eligibility: The 5k is open to writers who are 14 & up. Writers of all experience levels are welcome!

• Write an AU for any fandom using no more than 5,000 words.
• We have no content restrictions. Anything not strictly canonverse is welcome. So are crossovers, fusions, and all genres and tropes. Please see FAQs for more.
• Open to all fandoms and ships. Original fiction is also welcome.
• If you will be under 18 at posting time, please keep your rating from General to Teen.
• Co-writing is okay! Please sign up separately.
• What you submit must be new, previously unpublished, and human-made (by you). Generative AI is prohibited in all of our events.
• Write one fic OR multiple separate fics for the challenge.
• As long as the work can be read on its own, it can be a prequel, sequel, or otherwise related work. It can even be related to another 5k fic you write, as long as they can both be read and understood on their own as independent stories.
• No need to keep what you’re working on a secret (tag teasers #ficwip or #ficwip5k on social), but please don’t post the whole thing anywhere until August.
• We welcome fic written in all languages. See FAQs for more on this.
• Beta readers suggested.