No Sweat, The M.O. Returns with a New Theme!

Summer's flying by and The M.O. is sweating with panic over the theme “Lesson Learned.” Write us a crime story in your blue book of one-thousand to fifteen-hundred words.

The theme can be interpreted widely, in whatever style, tone, subgenre, targeted age range, and/or era the writer chooses. If you've ever read stuff like it here, we're interested in more!

On Friday, August 14th, 2015, a trap door will open over the oozing pit of submissions—or is that just the cafeteria?— at 12:01 a.m., Eastern U.S. time zone, releasing toxic fumes for two whole weeks. Here's where to check out all The M.O.'s submission guidelines and important dates!

Maybe your very-short story will eventually land you in the bad kids' class with S.W. Lauden's “Fix Me” or “The Coccoon” by Louis Rakovich. And just see the, uh, happiness on the faces of the 2015 Rogues' Gallery of scholars. Soon enough, all this happy summer fun and sun gives way to the School of Hard Knocks, and we can't wait!