In the brutal universe of Warhammer 40,000, anything is possible—except certainty. War, betrayal, and fleeting hope define the galaxy.
In our Fast Fiction competition, aspiring scribes test their storytelling skills by crafting gripping, character-rich tales within 1,000 words – delivering fast-paced fiction that captures the brutality, heroism, and intrigue of the 41st Millennium.
Submission deadline is June 30, 2025 @ 11:59 PM PT
After the cataclysmic events of the Horus Heresy, the Imperium of Man stood on the brink of annihilation. The Emperor had been interred within the Golden Throne, the Loyalist Legions were battered and leaderless, and the Traitor Legion shad fled into the Eye of Terror after their failed Siege of Terra. But the war was far from over… the years that followed were known as The Scouring.
The Scouring presents rich storytelling opportunities for writers, offering perspectives from both loyalist and traitor forces, as well as those caught in the crossfire. Possible story angles include:
This period in Warhammer 40,000’s history is one of loss, betrayal, and irreversible change. For the defeated traitors, The Scouring was not just a retreat—it was the death of everything they had fought for. They now found themselves hunted like animals, cast into the warp, and cursed as monsters. Their brotherhoods, once unbreakable, splintered into warbands, their ideals consumed by the corruption they had once believed they could control.
For the Imperium, victory came at a terrible cost. The dream of unity died with the Emperor. No longer a secular empire built on reason and ambition, the Imperium became something darker—a theocracy ruled by zealotry, fear, and unyielding dogma.
Entire worlds burn in purges meant to cleanse even the faintest stain of heresy. Who will be left?
Dive into the universe of Warhammer 40,000 and tell your story within its vast, grimdark setting.
Weave your story according to the theme - as told through the subtext, environment, characters, or conflict.
This isn't world-building: Fast Fiction stories must have a beginning, middle, and end and come in at under 1,000 words. No cliffhangers!
Review your submission for grammar and spelling. Formatting details can be found below.
Create someone new! We prefer original, distinct characters that grow and change through the story.
Participants in the contest are limited to one submission each.
To foster creativity and diverse storytelling, each competition enforces a Faction Restriction List. This prevents repetition and encourages writers to explore lesser-seen narratives. A restriction means your narrator, protagonist, or POV character cannot be from the banned faction. Questions? Ask in our Discord.
☑️ WHITE = Allowed | 🟢 GREEN = Recently added & allowed | 🚫 RED = Not allowed
✅ Step 1: Format your story using the Cold Open Stories Submission Template with British English spelling (Oxford Style Guide). Fast Fiction entries must be 1,000 words or less.
✅ Step 2: Save as .docx or .doc and attach it to an email.
✅ Step 3: In the email body, include:
✅ Step 4: Set the subject line as: 📩 FAST FICTION THE SCOURING 2025 SUBMISSION – [Your Story Title]
✅ Step 5: Send to coldopenstories.editors@gmail.com
The Cold Open Stories Discord is a great place to get feedback on your entry before submitting, or to scope out your competition.
Colyn DeGraaff (He/Him) is a communications director, intercultural advisor, and designer living in Canada. He launched Cold Open Stories with the goal of merging Warhammer’s setting with the presentation of old time radio, and to tackle the stigma behind fan fiction and give amateur authors a place to explore non-canon stories.
Tristan Parker (he/him) is a sports broadcaster, public speaking educator, and amateur author living in Southern California. A graduate of the University of Oxford, Tristan was previously a human rights researcher, journalist, and radio DJ. Having spent much of his life enthralled with Warhammer fiction, he hopes to one day pass on his love of the setting to any unfortunate person willing to broach the subject in polite conversation. Two pictures, whichever works best in terms of quality!
Terms & Conditions
COLD OPEN STORIES is a place for authors to share their talents, get seen, and celebrate fandom. We are committed to helping new and emerging voices get recognized, and no money exchanges hands through our site. We believe that diversity in fiction in an excellent way to find new voices and stories. We want this to be reflected in our content and welcome submissions from every race, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation.
Want to learn more about how your Short Fiction submission will be presented, promoted, and potentially adapted into an audio drama? Expand one of the categories below for more details.
Reply Process
1. Upon submission, writers will receive an email confirming that their entry has been received.
2. If the piece does not meet submission criteria, the writer will receive an email explaining why the piece has been rejected. If the writer does not receive a letter of rejection at this point, then the piece has met all submission criteria and will be passed on to the editing team for review. (This review process may take some time, potentially several weeks depending on the size of the amount of submissions received during any given period.)
3. Once the piece has been reviewed, the writer will either receive a letter of rejection if the piece needs more work, or an offer to continue with the revision process in preparation for publication.
4. Upon acceptance, the writer will work closely with the editing team in order to further revise the piece and come up with an end product that all parties are satisfied with.
5. Once the piece is ready, both parties will sign a contract allowing Cold Open Stories permission to publish the piece. More about this process can be found below.
Our average initial response time is one to three days, however the tides of the Warp are ever-changing and some astropathic emails may be missed! If you haven’t heard back from us after a week, feel free to contact us as coldopenstories.editors@gmail.com.
Publishing
1. The Author grants Cold Open Stories permission to reproduce and publicly distribute the short story in digital form on the Cold Open Stories website (http://www.coldopenstories.com).
2. Authors maintain the ability to publish their work with other partners or websites, blogs, subreddits, but a “First published on www.coldopenstories.com” is greatly appreciated.
3. The Author agrees that the short story was written by them as an unofficial fan work and was made for non-commercial entertainment.
4. The Author agrees that any edits to the short story’s content will be offered for review and consideration, and that creative control over these edits remain with the Author. Control over these edits are waived for formatting requirements necessary for posting on the Cold Open Stories website (font size, colour, page breaks).
5. The Author will maintain ownership of the short story. Publishing, submission, and selling rights remain with the Author if the story goes to print or it is shown there is a demand for it.
6. The Author will receive written credit on the Cold Open Stories website with a “Written By” acknowledgement preceding the short story. The Author will receive links to their social(s) and website (if available) and will provide Cold Open Stories with a brief biography to include on the site.
Promotion
1. The Author assigns to Cold Open Stories the permission to promote the short story across social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) for the purposes of directing traffic, generating readership, and reader entertainment.
2. The Author grants Cold Open Stories the permission to include extracts or passages of the short story in promotional materials.
Adaptation
1. The Author gives Cold Open Stories the option to adapt the story into an audio drama or dramatized narration (digital format) which would include dialogue by actors, composition of original music, and sound design. Creative control to make edits or changes to the short story to fit this adaptation is understood. Authors have the option to opt-out if they are not comfortable with this.
2. The Author grant Cold Open Stories permission to publish, reproduce, and publicly distribute the produced audio drama or dramatized narration across streaming services (Apple Podcast, Soundcloud, Podbean, Spotify, YouTube) in serialized and completed formats.
3. The Author will receive verbal and written credit in the Cold Open Stories adaptation with a “Story By” acknowledgement.
4. The Author agrees that Cold Open Stories receives an exclusive first right of refusal for other proposed fan audio adaptations.
Financial
1. The Author agrees that the work performed in writing the short story was done on a volunteer, non-commercial basis and acknowledges that there is no employment relationship, remuneration, or salary offered by Cold Open Stories for the actions of publishing, promoting, or adapting the short story online.
2. Individuals or organizations who are interested in financially supporting Cold Open Stories or the Author will be directed to support the Author directly on their website or social accounts, or to donate to a charitable organization, identified by Cold Open Stories, which is committed to improving accessibility for multi-barriered populations.