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The DEF CON Short Story contest is a pre-con contest that is run entirely online utilizing the DEF CON forumsand reddit. This contest follows the theme of DEF CON for the year and encourages hackers to roll up their sleeves, don their proverbial thinking cap, and write the best creative story that they can. The Short Story Contest encourages skills that are invaluable in the hacker’s world, but are often overlooked. Creative writing in a contest setting helps celebrate creativity and originality in arenas other than hardware or software hacking and provides a creative outlet for individuals who may not have another place to tell their stories.
So many hacker skills depend on your ability to tell a story. Whether it's social engineering, intrusion, or even the dreaded customer pentest report, ALL of these require the ability to tell a story. Storytelling is one of mankind's oldest traditions. Presenters even engage in storytelling when they get up on stage. A contest that celebrates and focuses on the ability to wind a yarn that captures and engages an audience is highly appropriate.
So why not?
Short Story Contest Themes and Rules
THEME:
ACCESS EVERYWHERE
The theme for DEF CON 33 is “Access Everywhere”.
Imagine that we're building the digital commons from scratch. What could we do to make sure everyone benefits? How would we make it a freer, healthier place to inhabit? How do we protect each other from the worst parts of the current system?
- Services should be usable no matter who you are.
- Services should be accessible no matter where you are.
- Services should not violate user privacy or security.
Please read more here.
THE RULES:
The contest, as usual, will be run pre-con. The contest will run from May 5, 2025 to June 12, 2025 11:59 PM Las Vegas time (no entries will be accepted after this) in order for stories to be included on the Def Con Server. Judging will run from June 16, 2025 to June 30, 2025. Winners will be announced July 8, 2025.
People's Choice Judges representing different parts of the hacker community will be chosen secretly and announced publicly when winners have been decided upon.
All stories will be posted via public links by July 1, 2025, and announced via Reddit and the Def Con forum. All winners will be announced on July 8, 2025.
WHAT WE WANT:
Please submit to DCshortstory[at]gmail.com.
Please submit ONLY in a .txt file, all other formats will be REJECTED. You may include line breaks and specific formatting you feel is important to the tone of your story. "Bad" language is not proscribed, but do remember, your winning story will be published for all ages to read. Again, ONLY a .txt file.
CHECK your text file before you submit on more than one system and OS. What you submit, as a .tx. file will be what is published.
Please do not include any of the DEF CON staff, goons, etc., without EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION from the individual which MUST BE forwarded to DCshortstory[at]gmail.com, along with contact information. The individual will be contacted by a member of the short story contest staff before the story is considered eligible for entry.
Please keep your short stories to actual SHORT stories. That means a submission no less than 1,000 (preferably at least 1,500) words and no more than 7,500. If you feel you have a story worthy of, and requiring, additional length, save that story for a publisher and provide us a short story, not a novella or novelette.
Leave the manuscripts and 404 page novels for another day.
Please keep your stories in tune with our community. We want stories about hackers hacking, science, technology, nerdy things, geeky things, zombie things, making things work the way they were never intended to work, you all know the drill. Story MUST include the DEF CON convention in some way, either located at it or influenced by it as a few examples.
One entry per author. Please do not spam us with the "thousands of resumes sent out is sure to get me an interview!" technique. Write one GREAT story, not lots of MEH stories.
Illustrations and graphics are not accepted. This contest is about the beauty of the written word. We don't want graphic novels. Show us a picture in our heads painted with your vocabulary.
Please remember when submitting to include the TITLE OF YOUR PIECE and the AUTHOR NAME you wish to have published. Real or handle, that is up to you but include it in your .txt file. We can't be chasing you down for titles and names. It will go in as "Untitled" or "Author Unknown" if you do not.
Please save your file with the TITLE and AUTHOR NAME in the saved .txt file. For example, William Gibson (Neuromancer) would submit his file as NeuromancerWGibson.txt.
After submission you will receive a confirmation email within 48 hours. If you do not receive a confirmation email then your submission has not been received and will be ineligible. Please contact us at the provided email if your submission is not going through.
It is your responsibility to verify that your story is included in the public listing on June 22nd. Failure to contact us within 24 hours after it has gone up disqualifies your story. If you do not see your story, please contact us at the provided email.
WHAT YOU GET:
We will be putting ALL of the short story entries on the Conference media and we will be listing the winners in the online Conference program in a short blurb, letting everyone know where they can check to read more.
The winners will get recognition in the online program and in social media. Time permitting, the winners will walk the stage and/or be recognized at the Contest Closing Ceremony.
PRIZES:
First place winner will receive two (2) human badges, received at con, onsite.
Second place winner will receive one (1) human badge, received at con, onsite.
People's Choice winner (voted by the community representatives) will receive one (1) human badge, received at con, onsite.
If you are not attending and win, please contact the contest organizers at the email provided to arrange alternative prizes.
All entrants will get their story in the DEF CON media.
Tips for winning:
Spell check, grammar check, watch your tenses and your "voice." Double-check your dates, your math, your facts. We are paying attention. If you misspell on purpose, make sure the reader can tell it's on purpose! Follow the rules as mentioned above. Write a good story.
*IMPORTANT: Communication/Updates/Contact at Con will be done through the forums and email listed above.
Best of luck to all of you! Now get writing!
Need some inspiration?
Last year's winners can be found here.
Last year's stories can be found here.
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