Short story contest #46 launched on Sunday, October 12, 2025. Its premise is
 

THE RETURN OF...

For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which someone or something has returned after a significant absence. Does this return make people happy, unhappy, or somewhere in-between? That's up to you. Also: Was this return a surprise, or was it expected? That's also up to you.

 GENRE RULES: No fiction aimed at readers younger than 12, no exploitative sex, no over-the-top grossout horror, and no stories that are obvious parodies of (or other uses of) well-known fictional worlds/characters created by other authors. (So, no "fan fiction".) Other than that, we'll take anything from the most super-realistic literary drama to crazy farces (real-world or otherwise) to any variant of science fiction or fantasy you can imagine. Read our past issues and you'll see.

 DEADLINE: 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Friday, January 2, 2026

On The Premises magazine accepts submissions in the following formats only: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), Rich Text Format (.rtf), plain text (.txt), and OpenOffice/NeoOffice (.odt). If you have any questions, please write to Questions@OnThePremises.com. Thanks!