Twisted 50 Vol. V

Submissions open now. GET WRITING!
Submissions close on October 31 2027, midnight cold.

Can you write a short Twisted tale in 2,000 words or less?

Submit yours, get feedback, redraft and the 50 best stories will be published in both paperback and online.

 Interested…? Let’s dig a little deeper into this paranormal, wicked and dank shallow grave…

We want you to get under our skin, to pull everything we loved about those books and TV shows, writhing, screeching and gnarling into the 21st century.

Together we will create a modern masterpiece of horror, inspired by what terrified us all as kids. Think ‘Pulp Fiction’, only for horror literature.

 There is no minimum word count, so if you can disturb us in fewer words, perhaps even 50 words, then DO IT.

We urge you to experiment and connect with your dark side and to write what scares or maybe even excites you…

The 50 winning writers, along with the whole community, friends and family, will be invited to the book launch where we will present awards and prizes for outstanding work.

Winners For Best Writing Will Include

Winners will be announced  at the gala book launch in London. We will be platforming…

• Best Story (1st place)

• Best Story (2nd place)

• Best Story (3rd place)

• Most Terrifying Tale

• Most Haunting Story

• Best Character

• Best Death

• Most Original Writing

We will help you GROW

Twisted is not just competition, it’s a creative community and self driven writing school. 

You will be asked to feedback on other manuscripts submitted by other writers and creatives and you will also receive feedback on your work too. Unlike any other initiative, you can then redraft and resubmit based on the notes you get. This is the Create50 model. We achieved outstanding results from our 50 Kisses and Impact50 film initiatives and we believe this process makes us better writers – the writing, the feedback and the rewriting.

Across the previous editions of Twisted50, we have had well over 1,000 stories submitted, and the feedback from the whole process was outstanding, with writers really appreciating giving and getting feedback, then having the chance to redraft their work.

Movie Rights? We have already considered the possibility of moving the paperback of ‘Twisted’ into a Create50 screenplay and feature film initiative. We cannot make a decision until we have assessed the completed work to see if it is suitable for feature film production. There are many factors to consider, none of which relate to the story content, more production viability on reduced budgets. We have high hopes.

Let’s CELEBRATE

Once the paperback book is in print, there will be a launch party in London where we will celebrate with Awards.

You will rub shoulders with other authors, some at the start of the journey, others veterans and a few world-renowned names to give out the prizes. This will give you the opportunity to network with publishers, agents and other extraordinary creatives. It will be an extraordinary experience for everyone involved.

Notes for Writers

Don’t get lost in the woods waiting for the BEST story… start writing now. Writers write.

• Think about your prose, it is YOUR personal style, and it can make all the difference between your story being outstanding or boring.

• Do feel free to redraft, rewrite and polish after you receive feedback from your peers. But remember you can only re-submit once, so make sure that final daft is terrifyingly Twisted.

• Please give your story and original title, do not call it ‘Twisted’.

• Be prepared to engage with the community in a positive and constructive manner. Expect to receive some feedback, some of which you may not like, but remember this is a critical part of the process and will be a constant throughout your writing career.

• Submit at least two stories. The one you think is a great spooky tale, and the one that scares you to write.

• Don’t feel obligated to have a big story arc, we are interested in all kinds of stories, just make it chilling.

• Stories must NOT exceed 2,000 words.

• There is no minimum word count.

• Anyone can enter from all around the world, though stories must be submitted in English.

• You can submit as many stories as you wish. The submission fee is per story, you pay this ONCE only, per story.

• Previous volumes of Twisted50 are available on Amazon HERE, take a peek and read the stories that previously got through – this will guide you.

About The Rights You Will Give Us

In order for us to put your story on the site, we will need your agreement. The same if it is selected in the final fifty.

This will be an industry standard agreement.

You will retain copyright in your idea should you wish to expand it or develop it for another platform.

If your story is selected for the final 50 we ask that you do not place it anywhere else for 12 months. That said, if you do manage to do something with it, connect with us and we will release you from the contract so you can pursue that.

We want to see you succeed, and have no interest in applying ANY brakes to any career!

What do you need to do?

Make sure you have read the rules. Write your story or create your work and submit it. Then read other work from the community and offer feedback, then get some feedback on your work and rework and resubmit if you wish.
This is YOUR creation and YOUR career that you are advancing.
And if you want to submit more than one story go ahead. Just remember – we are seeking outstanding work, there’s no prize for volume of work.

What to do next...?

Get writing YOUR Twisted tale…

Read some stories and offer feedback...

Submit your story by the deadline...

Previous Create50 Projects

The Impact 50 // Feature Film

An asteroid is discovered hurtling toward earth, with only hours before impact.

And it’s so big it’s a planet killer. ‘The Impact:50’ is a crowd created feature length film and screenwriting initiative that explores the question… ‘As we face death as a species, who do we become in our final two hours of life?’ Can you write a two page script about what would happen in these final two hours? Can you make a script into a short film? Get involved…

Twisted50 // Books

Twisted50 is a collection of 50 tales of wickedness, evil and the paranormal.

If Hammer House of Horror, Tales of the Unexpected and Pans Books of Horror set your pulse racing and mind spinning as a youngster, then writing a short story for ‘Twisted’ offers a deliciously macabre feast for the darkest recesses of your heart. You know you shouldn’t. But you know you will.

50 Kisses // Feature Film

Fifty Kisses is the first feature film produced by Create50, a film with multiple stories connected by one thing – a Valentines kiss.

Irreverent, charming, ridiculous, moving and at times wonderfully profound, 50 Kisses features everything from love struck zombies, androids and teddy bears to… fatigue fighting lesbians! 50 Kisses is the world’s first crowd generated feature film; a multi-cultural and global reflection of pop culture’s vision of love in the 21st century.

We have a Facebook page for this initiative with nearly 1,000 writers. It’s where we want writers will come together for peer reviews of their stories ahead of the deadline. Join the page now at https://www.facebook.com/Twisted50Book

We have a new Instagram account where we will share art, excerpts, audio and updates.
Please follow here…  https://www.instagram.com/twisted_50book

Twisted50 is part of the Create50 initiative that is run by the London Screenwriters’ Festival, to help writers get first meaningful credits for their work, while helping each other and getting WRITING WRITING WRITING!

What people said about past Create50 projects

‘50 Kisses’ opened the doors for my first time exhibiting a film in a festival, the first time going through an entire creative process, the first time people looking at me like I could really be a filmmaker. But more than this, showed me what we can achieve if we join forces and work toward our goals.
Carolina Rodrigues, Filmmaker (Brazil)

‘50 Kisses’ has shown that collaboration on a global scale is possible and it can yield beautiful and cohesive results. It pushed us all to deliver to a very high standard and then to give ourselves up to unpredictable, exciting and possibly brilliant interpretations of our work. Witnessing so many different interpretations of my script, being part of such a large project and collaborating with people from all over the world was extraordinarily rewarding.
Nigel KariKari, Screenwriter (Australia)

‘It has been amazing to be part of something so global. As a result of ‘50 Kisses’ I have met and collaborated with filmmakers, screenwriters, producers and agents from around the globe.’
Jo Buckman, Screenwriter (America)

‘After being selected as one of the final 50 scripts I was contacted by producers, agents, directors and became friends with plenty of my fellow 50 kisses writers/directors. One of those producers was ‘50 Kisses’ director Stare Yildirim who I ended up writing a TV Pilot for, for Turkish TV. This was my first ever paid writing gig and it came out of the exposure my 50 Kisses script got. Between the paid writing gig and the huge 50 Kisses world premiere I got to take a peek at my future. Loved what I saw and want more.’
Stephen Cooper, Screenwriter (UK)

‘After I put my film entry up on the ‘50 Kisses’ website I got all this wonderful and constructive feedback from other ‘50 Kisses’ filmmakers and I could then re-edit and improve the film before the deadlines closed. Over the 2 years of the project I have met so many other filmmakers, actors and writers in the 50K community and it’s spun off into so many other projects.’
Phil Peel, Filmmaker (UK)

‘The breadth of opportunities available are vast if you’re willing to accept the challenge. I was part of a team distributing ’50 Kisses’ commercially which, as a writer, was invaluable in understanding audience, the importance of concept and how a film is marketed. It will certainly effect how I view my own writing projects going forward.‘
Tracey Flynn, Screenwriter, ‘50 Kisses’ (UK)

‘I take my hat off to Chris, Judy and their hardworking team. What they achieved on a shoestring is incredible – give them a little bit of funding, help and support and they’d blow our minds!’
Mark Pallis, Screenwriter, ’50 Kisses’