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

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.

You can start working on your 5k at any time, even before the event officially opens for the year. No waiting on approval! It’s 100% your decision what you make.

<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 Discord members get an @. Everyone else, I’ll email you!

August 1: Posting opens 🍍

August 31: Last day to post & submit your work to the official list!

September 1: I close the collection, tally some stats, and 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. It’s an AU if you say it is! 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.