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Every year in September, Cast of Wonders celebrates Banned Books Week, an annual international event celebrating the freedom to read and raising awareness of the immense social value of free and open access to information.

 

This we are looking for stories on the theme:

Seeds That Grow (Inspired in part by Nathan W Pyle’s comic )

For Banned Books Week 2026, we want to see stories themed on the power of Little Free Libraries, and their science fictional/fantastic equivalents. Send us your stories of story seeds finding fertile soil, of green shoots of hope, capsule libraries cast out into the universe. You can see the ALA’s Banned Books Week theme of ‘Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read’ and more including their artwork for this year at https://bannedbooksweek.org/banned-books-week-2026-artwork-unveiled/ – let it inspire you!

 

At Cast of Wonders, we welcome stories that portray the full spectrum of human experience. We don’t challenge stories; we want stories to challenge us! Cast of Wonders looks for stories that evoke a sense of wonder, have deep emotional resonance, and have something unreal about them.

We aim for a 12-17 age range: that means sophisticated, non-condescending stories with wide appeal, and without gratuitous or explicit sex, violence, or pervasive obscene language. Preference for this submission window is under 5,000 words with an absolute limit of 6,000 words.

Flash submissions under 1.5k are also very welcome! Submissions must adhere to Cast of Wonders guidelines, and our standard rates apply (8c/word for original fiction, $20/$100 for reprints depending on length).

Submissions will be accepted from June 1-15 through our Moksha Portal – we can’t wait to read what you send in!

Our guest editor for this window will be our very own Amy Brennan