Story Review: 2025 Holiday Special Short Story Challenge Winner
Guest post by Jacklyn Walters
This review contains spoilers of the winning story. We highly recommend reading the story before the review.
When writers enter our short story challenges, they often ask, “What sets apart the winning stories from the rest?”
The truth is, very few things set them apart. With over 700 submissions to our Holiday Special Challenge, it was nearly impossible to narrow it down to just 10 winners.
Our writing challenges are designed to bring the fun back into writing. Whether you’re a published author or brand new to the craft, these challenges are for everyone. They allow writers to dip their toes in, reignite their passion for writing, and reconnect to their creativity.
Each challenge has a theme, which we share when we announce the competition. What makes it a true challenge is that we don’t reveal the specific writing prompts until the day the challenge starts. Then you have 10 days to write and submit your work.
Our 2025 Holiday Special Challenge featured three prompts
A clock that chimes at the wrong time
A frazzled shop owner
A secret is revealed
What set the winning story apart is the way it seamlessly intertwined each of our prompts. They weren’t just minor details; they were integral parts of the story.
In The Faerie Thieves of Mabon, Nicole Marcotte transports us to a pub amidst late-night harvest celebrations. Caught up in the revelry, the locals don’t realize the fiddler accompanying their merriment is a faerie. But Daisy does.
We follow along as Daisy bears witness to the fiddler’s glamour and thievery. What we don’t realize is the true reason Daisy is so enraged by the fiddler’s deception.
A Clock that Chimes at the Wrong Time
The barmaid called Daisy Grue knew the fiddler was a problem when the clock went wrong. The jangling chime of the silver bells—seven minutes too soon for the hour—was too soft for the tavern patrons who laughed and clapped and sang uproariously to the fiddler’s bawdy tunes. They did not hear the omen of an unlucky encounter, nor did they see what Daisy witnessed from her place behind the bar.
Our story begins with the clock chiming too soon. Not only is it unheard by the patrons, but an indication that the worst is yet to come. More than checking off one of the three boxes, our author weaves this prompt into the fabric of the story.
In his honest opinion, Jack of the Wild Woods had never played better. The glamour of the fiddle felt strong and alive. The humans felt like clay he could mold into anything. The night was his.
But then the clock went wrong—seven minutes too soon for the hour—the omen of an unlucky encounter. It was only then he took notice of the barmaid. She appeared to be the only person unaffected by the glamour, continuing to pour drinks and clean off tables when she should be dancing atop them with everyone else.
Our prompt comes back around when we switch perspectives, tying together the theme of foreboding omens and drawing parallels between our two narrators. This also gives us an indication that the perspective switch isn’t a continuation of where we left off, but rather a retelling of the same moments we just reviewed. Jack shares the belief that the clock chiming early is an unlucky omen, reasserting that this isn’t just a one-off occurrence, it’s a superstition intrinsic to this world and its people.
Point 1 for The Faerie Thieves of Mabon: using the prompt as a world-building tool.
A Frazzled Shop Owner
The tavern’s flimsy door flew open, offering a brief respite of cool autumn air as Cyrus Wibble’s pudgy frame stumbled through the threshold. “You!” He snapped his fingers several times, as if trying to conjure up something to call her. “Barmaid! Did you not hear the Midnight Bells?” … “Harvest trading is finally over. I am but the frayed rope on a dead man’s noose. One more disturbance and I will snap! Do you hear me? SNAP!”
Cyrus Wibble is the shopkeeper upstairs. Frazzled, frantic, and fraught from lack of sleep, he barges into the tavern ready to put an end to the revelry. Once inside, he quickly becomes enthralled by the fiddler’s glamour himself.
Our frazzled shop owner acts as more than a passing bit. Once again, our author transcends merely meeting the challenge requirements, she leverages the prompt as a turning point. Cyrus’ appearance pulls our narrator out of her post as the observer and into the fray. With Daisy distracted, we’re able to entertain the perspective of a new narrator.
Important to note, again, that Cyrus Wibble reminds us of the clock chiming midnight. While he doesn’t mention its early arrival, he furthers our understanding that the midnight bells mean something to the characters. And to Cyrus, it meant he should have been experiencing some semblance of peace by now.
Point 2 for The Faerie Thieves of Mabon: using the prompt as a critical plot point.
A Secret is Revealed
The barmaid was a faerie.
And the faerie was a thief.
There are plenty of secrets revealed in the seven pages of this tale. By far the most shocking (and my personal favorite) is that Daisy isn’t just a concerned local, but a trickster herself. With just two sentences, the author reveals two secrets, adds a plot twist, draws another parallel between our dual perspectives, and establishes Daisy as an unreliable narrator. It’s beauty. It’s grace. It’s multiple literary devices in your face.
Our second-favorite secret revealed is that the fiddler is no ordinary faerie thief, but Jack of the Wild Woods himself, here to collect upon his earned—albeit not offered—tithe. The moment we switched perspectives felt like meeting a celebrity. Jack is mentioned as a local deity, but never would we dare imagine that we would one day meet him ourselves
Jack’s perspective unlocks the reality of this world, giving us a full view of the elements at play. It illuminates the truth about the locals. It uncovers the identity of our narrator. And it unveils the motivations of our mischievous fiddler.
Point three for The Faerie Thieves of Mabon: using the prompt voraciously throughout the story. Bonus points for using it as a plot twist.
This is what we want to see you do with the prompts.
Our writing challenges are meant to expand your comfort zone. To stretch your brain and your creativity into places you may not typically explore. Each group of prompts backs you into a corner so we can see how you maneuver your way out. The Faeries Thieves of Mabon did more than just include the prompts, it made them foundational to the plot. That is key to these competitions. We want to see you think strategically. Don’t just step outside the box, redefine what a box can be.
We can’t wait to see all the ways you surprise us—and yourselves—in our upcoming challenges.
Read The Faerie Thieves of Mabon, and our other winners, here: https://www.woodlandwriters.com/challenge-winners/holiday-special-2026-finalists
Learn more about our writing challenges and submit your own short story here: https://www.woodlandwriters.com/about-our-challenges