For the last few challenges, I've tried to use something vaguely relevant for the time, but this one's back to random - write a story about making something about of nothing.  You can interpret that as completely literal, completely figurative, or anywhere in between, but it has to involve making something out of nothing as a central feature of the story.

Please read on for the complete rules. Failure to follow the rules will lead to disqualification, whether you read the rules or not.

Many of our members will have read and listened to reports about the legislation known as SOPA and PIPA currently making its way through the American legislative process.

The owners, administrators and moderators of Fantasy-Writers.org have grave concerns about the viability of our site should the legislation pass as it is presently written.

Our concerns are not politically based, but lie in the the way the wording and retroactive nature of the legislation, should it become law, would affect our site and the personal liabilities of those who own, administrate, and post on it.

To draw attention to our concerns, FWO will join other internet sites in a voluntary 24 hour shut down on 1/18/2012 and 1/23/2012 in protest against SOPA and PIPA.

Only three entries this month, so there's no Members Choice, but all the stories scored pretty well in the judging.  We've got them into this order, though:

1st Place: Holiday Spirit by Serafyr
Decebal is severely lacking in Christmas cheer. Will Zev be able to squeeze some warmth out of the wizard’s typically cold heart? A Decebal and Zev (Seal of the Wolf) story.
About 2000 words. Contemporary Fantasy.

2nd Place: The White Moon Bride by Robster
Every eleven years a full moon falls on Midwinter’s Night. By the light of this sacred White Moon, the people of Bleake elect a beauty queen to honour an ancient festival and a duty to the God of the Snows.
Cysna really hopes that it will be her this year. Good fortune and celebrity always befalls this Bride, and a slave girl needs all the luck she can get. Dan, a Freeman of the city, shares in her hopes, and in the dream of a happy life together. Their fates are intertwined with a forgotten truth; what does the night hold for this year’s White Moon Bride?
High Fantasy afterwards please. It's set in the same world as my novel project, but far to the north. Roughly 4000 words.

3rd Place: Under the Dead Moon by tp
Fidel Portolli makes a dreadful mistake one night when he takes a girl home. His life will never be the same again. But what desision will he make under the Dead Moon?
Set in the same world as 'The Winds Awaken'.
Just shy of 5,000 words. Contempary Fantasy? after the competition.

Congratulations to all of you.

Happy New Year to everyone.  We're embarking on the year that, according to popular belief, the Maya predicted would mark either the end of the world or the beginning of a new age.  There's actually no evidence that the Maya believed any such thing, but hey, we're fantasy writers

Your challenge, therefore, is to write a story about one age of the world (any world) ending and another beginning, whether for good or ill.

Please read on for the complete rules. Failure to follow the rules will lead to disqualification, whether you read the rules or not. 

This month's challenged was decimated by NaNoWriMo, and we only had two entries - but you know what they say about quality and quantity.  The scores were pretty close, but we have a first and second place:

1st Place: The Homecoming by Hume
A wife awaits the return of her husband from battle. 2,400 words.
Hmm... Romantic Fantasy? after the competition, please.

2nd Place: Birth by JudyBrewer
This is my first story entry.  Hope I do it right.
A mother star dragon anticipates the birth of its child.
Just under 700 words.  Science Fantasy

Congratulations to both authors.

December.  'Tis the season to be jolly, if it kills us doing so.  The challenge this month is (almost predictably) to write a story that revolves around a mid-winter festival.  It can be Christmas, or another RW festival; it can be an invented festival for another world; it can even be a festival that's unique to one group of people, as long as it's purpose is to celebrate mid-winter.  It's up to you.

Please read on for the complete rules. Failure to follow the rules will lead to disqualification, whether you read the rules or not. 

Some great stories this month, but a very clear winner:

1st Place: Hunting Fire by Aiara
When the glaciad caverns are threatened by unseasonable heat, scout Sarril sets out to discover the cause ... but the solution may be closer to home than she thinks.  Appr 6700 words.  High fantasy after.

2nd Place: Let It Snow by DancingFaerie
Sebastian has an unusual familiar for a wizard: a small faerie named Grace. But graceful she is not and trouble she is. Something goes wrong with the rain making spell Sebastian casts. It brings snow instead of rain. Will they survive until it melts?  
Light Fantasy after the contest, please. 

3rd Place: Howling by Serafyr
 A spirit deals with the blizzard and its affects on a wizard. A Decebal and Zev (Seal of the Wolf) story.
A bit over 2000 words. Historical Fantasy

Members Choice: Clouds by LMKirk
Inspired by an old Asimov story, this is my first competition entry in ages (life just keeps on getting in the way)
1900 words
Science Fantasy after the contest please.

Congratulations to all the winners.

I was intending to have a straw poll to see if people wanted a challenge in NaNo month, but someone took the last few days away and it's suddenly the 1st.  So I'll post a challenge, which you can enter or not as you see fit.

It's November, and everything's changing - the leaves, the weather, the clocks (well, ours have already changed).  So the topic is simply to write a story about an expected change.

Please read on for the complete rules. Failure to follow the rules will lead to disqualification, whether you read the rules or not. 

A good haul of stories this month (in which, inexplicably, single-word titles seem to have done well) and very tight for the places, but the final results were:

1st Place: Harold by jas
A dark fantasy told in  a stream of consciousness style of narrative. A man who has lost most things….including, perhaps, his mind.
only an 1,100 word read. 

2nd Place: BORDERS by lenamilo
2K words. Contemporary after Challenge. An older sister tells of her journey with her younger sister to a better life in the US. How much is she willing to lose to keep her promise to her family?

3rd Plce: Boden by Duvanok
A short story about things lost.  3,000 words.  Critiques and suggestions appreciated.  Low Fantasy after the challenge please. 

Members Choice: A Familiar Tale by starbeam
When a striggling private detective makes a  bargain to keep his practice afloat, the price is higher than he bargained for.
High Fantasy after the challenge please

Congratulations to the winners.

It's October - even though, here in the UK at least, it's pretty convincingly disguised as August.  In recognition of this, the challenge is to write a story that revolves around unseasonal weather.  Note that this must be a crucial element in the story, not merely background.

Please read on for the complete rules. Failure to follow the rules will lead to disqualification, whether you read the rules or not.