Competitions

Competition Name: The Anniversary Challenge, 2008
Competition End Date: Wednesday 3rd September 2008

On September 29, 2003, a diverse group of Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione shippers got together and started posting fanfiction here on PhoenixSong.net. More than 1300 stories and nearly 20 thousand users later, we're getting ready to celebrate our fifth anniversary, and as we do, we'd like to showcase the wonderful writers who make the site what it is.

Thus, PhoenixSong is pleased to announce The Anniversary Challenge, 2008:  a writing contest for new and existing authors. Topics for this challenge are the anything that has to do with the number five and/or any anniversary that is divisible by the number five (five, ten, fifteen, etc.). Entries may cover any genre from comedy or fluff about our favorite characters' lives together to laments for the Dark Lord's victims, so long as one of the two topics is used.

Here are the ground rules:

Story Subject: Anniversaries divisible by five and/or the number five. In addition to the obvious link to events such as wedding anniversaries, this can be a commemoration of the start of a relationship or an observance of the loss of someone dear.  It can deal with five children or five friends. The spectrum is extremely varied, so have fun!

Story Length: 3000 words or less (to check your word count using MS Word, go to "Tools" in your menu bar and select "Word Count").

Competition Name: PhoenixSong "Best Of" Competition
Competition End Date: 14^th September

As our one-year anniversary approaches, we want the opinions of you, our valued readers, on which fictions are the best of the best at PhoenixSong!

This will be done in two phases.

Phase One will be preliminary voting. This voting will nominate those stories that will be considered finalists for the awards in each of the categories listed below. Every story on PhoenixSong is eligible to be nominated, provided it meets the criteria of the specific category. You can nominate in as many categories as you'd like; however, please only nominate one story per category. The nomination period will run until 10 PM PDT, September 14.

Phase Two will be final voting. The three stories with the most nominations in each category will be listed on the website for final voting. Final voting will take place from 12:01 a.m. PDT September 17 through 10 PM PDT, September 27.

Announcement of winners in each category will be made on our anniversary date: September 29^th!!

Competition Rules

Competition Name: Summer 2007 Writing Challenge
Competition End Date: Wednesday 27th June 2007

Summer 2007 has arrived and it's bringing loads of HP goodness our way. For most of us, one of the major emotions we're feeling as both the movie of Order of the Phoenix and the publication of Deathly Hallows approach is one of anticipation. So why not put those feelings to good use, and help us all pass the time by imagining the way our favorite characters anticipate important events in their lives?

Thus, PhoenixSong is proud to announce our Summer 2007 Writing Challenge. This year's theme is "Anticipation", and you have plenty of freedom to choose the characters you want to highlight, and just what it is they're anticipating. Perhaps they're getting ready for a wedding, or a birth… or some other joyous occasion. Perhaps they're preparing for the Final Battle, a funeral, or a memorial service. Maybe the twins or the Marauders are making plans for an elaborate prank. Whatever sort of "anticipation" plot bunny you choose to follow, this is the place to submit them!

Beginning Sunday, June 24th at 12:01 AM Pacific Time until Wednesday, June 27th at 11:59 Pacific Time, we'll accept submissions for our Summer 2007 Writing Challenge.

These submissions will be for BOTH new and current authors.

CURRENT AUTHORS: please submit your stories through the Competitions Page during this time as well, so that we will know exactly how many stories/authors we'll be dealing with. Current authors' stories will then be sent to their usual betas.

Competition Name: 2007 Valentine's Day Challenge
Competition End Date: Saturday 27th January 2007

PhoenixSong is pleased to announce its 4th Annual Valentine's Day Challenge! We'll be accepting submissions for Valentine's Day fics only beginning Thursday , January 25th at 12:01 AM Pacific Time until Saturday, January 27th at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. These submissions will be for BOTH new and current authors. Current authors: please submit your stories during this time as well, and it will then be sent to your usual beta.

Official Rules

What would a challenge be without a bit of a challenge? All stories submitted must adhere to the following requirements, or else they will be disqualified:

• All stories submitted must include one of the following lines:

1. "You want to take him/her where?" & "And do what?" (both must be used)
2. "Where did find that?"
3. "Ron, I could kiss you!" said Harry (or any other characters' names of the same gender can be substituted)
4. "Will you look at the size of that!"
5. "We're already married, you prat!"
6. "This is our seventieth Valentine's together, you know."
7. It was his/her first Valentine's Day alone since fourth year.
8. "Happy Singles' Awareness Day," he/she said bitterly.
9. Harry reckoned Valentine's Day was celebrated in February to lighten up the gloom and doom of the long winter months. He also reckoned the whole thing was a load of . (Again, any other character's name can be used instead.)
10. "Oh!" he/she exclaimed. "Oh... that's a really terrific present. Thanks! "

The names of any canon-consistent couple can be substituted for Harry and Ginny, of course: James/Lily, Ron/Hermione, Remus/Tonks, Molly/Arthur, etc. (Neville/Luna is not acceptable since Ms Rowling has stated this is not a canon couple, but Neville/Susan could be, since we have no information to contradict this at this point.)

• Also, each story must also be generally set, for the majority of the fic, in one of the following places:

1. In Hogwarts
2. In the Ministry of Magic
3. In Grimmauld Place
4. At the Burrow
5. In Hogsmeade
6. In Muggle London
7. In the hospital wing
8. In Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
9. At the Quidditch Pitch

• Length of story: All stories are required to have a word content of between 3000 and 5000 words.

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGES TO THE DATES BELOW:

All stories will post onto the site on February 7th. Our site members will have the opportunity to vote for "Members Choice" between February 7th and midnight on the 14th. The entries will also be judged by the PS staff and all winners will be announced on February 15th!

Please note : As usual, all stories are subject to our typical "Silencing Charm" – do not announce which story is yours via email, LiveJournals (or other blog-sites), etc. You may encourage your friends to vote in the contest, but do not do anything that specifically gives away the identity of your specific story, or it will be disqualified.

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Entrants

Competition Name: The Anniversary Challenge, 2006
Competition End Date: Friday 13th October 2006

As many of your know, we have previously held a "Best of the Best" contest to celebrate our anniversaries as a Harry Potter Fanfiction archive. After careful consideration, the Admin Team have decided not to hold the "Best of the Best" contest this year. Instead, we would like to invite the incredible authors of PhoenixSong to participate in a special writing challenge featuring the acknowledgement of anniversaries for our favorite HP characters.

Because we have other contests throughout the year that especially invite new authors, we decided that this contest's competition would be limited to our current authors, as recognition of their talents and their creativity throughout the years. However, Readers, your job is just as important: you are to cast your votes for which of our contest entrants you like best. The winner in this part of voting will be awarded our Readers' Choice Award for The Anniversary Challenge, 2006.

Story Subject: Anniversaries. In addition to the obvious link to events such as wedding anniversaries, this can be a commemoration of the start of a relationship or an observance of the loss of someone dear. The spectrum is extremely varied, so have fun!

Story Length: 3000 words or less (to check your word count using MS Word, go to "Tools" in your menu bar and select "Word Count"):

The Challenge: What would a contest be without a little challenge? We've posted some phrases and sentences below. Your fic MUST use one of the following lines within the body of the story.

• "You prat! You forgot again, didn't you?"
• "I prefer third anniversaries," (character) said with a wink. "That's when you get ... leather."
• "It's all Moaning Myrtle's fault, you know." (Myrtle could be replaced by another comedic tertiary character like Colin Creevey, Millicent Bulstrode or Professor Trelawney, etc.)
• "Do you remember what you were thinking X years and two hours ago?"
• There were visible reminders everywhere (character) looked.

Competition Name: 2006 Summer Drama Contest
Competition End Date: Friday 28th July 2006

Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts brought on several major life-changing events:  the death of Dumbledore, the development of Harry and Ginny's story as a couple, revelations of love for Remus and Tonks... (It's a wonder Harry isn't a right drama king with all that's going on in his life.)

This summer, we're itching for more.  And, if Harry's fifth and sixth years didn't have enough angsty drama moments to make all of us want to grab a tissue as we turned the page, we're craving it.  That's right ladies and gentlemen.  Drama. 

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Competition Name: 2006 Valentine's Day Challenge
Competition End Date: Sunday 22nd January 2006

The Founders and Admin staff of PhoenixSong.net are pleased to announce our 3rd Annual Valentine's Day Challenge! We are accepting fics of all genres (humor, romance, angst, etc...), as long as it fits in with the challenge we have in mind. For more details, click on the rules below. Off you go!

Competition Name: Summer 2005: Short 'n Sweet
Competition End Date: Tuesday 5th July 2005

PhoenixSong proudly presents our Summer 2005 fic contest. Since the time is growing short before the release of Half-Blood Prince, we thought a short 'n sweet contest was just what we needed to help us pass the time.

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Competition Name: Valentines Day 2005
Competition End Date: Monday 24th January 2005

It's Valentine's Day gone wrong: Our characters just can't get things to go their way, be it wayward gifts, incorrectly-brewed love potions, or forgetting that special day altogether. That said, it can be any genre: humor, romance, angst, etc.!

Competition Name: Summer Lovin' Teenage Angst
Competition End Date: Sunday 27th June 2004

For the students at Hogwarts, the beginning of summer means holidays with their families, having a lie-in and staying up into the wee hours of the night. For Harry Potter, the summer holidays mean only one thing: a return to the Dursleys’ at Number 4 Privet Drive. The poor kid...

Sounds like a good excuse for a contest to us, don’t you think? And since a return to the Dursleys’ has got to be pretty dismal...it’s time to get angsty!

UPDATE ON PRIZES! Click the link below for details!!
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Competition Name: 2004 Valentine's Day Challenge
Competition End Date: Saturday 14th February 2004

With dwarves dressed like Cupid or trips to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, Valentine's Day has played a role in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, not to mention a good many fan fiction stories out there. The PS Founders are pleased to announce that Valentine's Day will ring in PhoenixSong's first writer's challenge!
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Entrants