Winners & Recap: Milk & Honey's June Writing Challenge 2025

A recap of our June Writing Challenge and Winners Announcement

I have had four weeks of reading submissions from some very talented writers both known and new to me. The theme, as always, was horror and we dived into four very different but also very interesting subgenres including, psychological, gothic, folk & ecological horror.

Horror as a genre is meant to scare its audience. It’s meant to cultivate feelings of anxiety and terror. Horror, in my humble opinion, is one of the hardest genres to write. Invoking fear and unsettledness through words on paper or screen is undeniably difficult to do but there are so many ways to do it. Through the submissions for this challenge I have been thoroughly disturbed, disgusted, and just plain been given the heebie jeebies. Horror for me is a place of comfort. You guys are awesome. I loved every bit of it. The talent that is hidden on Substack is unreal.

This challenge was meant to gather a community who has the same love for horror as I do. I was looking for my people. I was looking for validation and like-mindedness. I definitely found it. I also found incredibly talented writers. Our challenge was also meant to be a learning experience for all of us. While practicing writing within other genres we grow and become better. This also allowed us all to find and consume writing from a variety of different styles, skill levels, and unique voices. The creative takes on each prompt throughout the month surprised me in the best way.

Another thing I have learned through hosting a challenge like this is that it is a lot of work. The amount of time it takes to create each prompt and read everyone’s post was overwhelming, however, I have learned so much myself and I give credit to anyone who has hosted or is hosting anything similar.

There are many of you who deserve to be mentioned and recommended by Milk & Honey but sadly I have to pick one per each prompt. I plan on creating many different challenges as the year goes on so there will be more opportunities to win and grow as this newsletter grows as well. Please take a moment to vote in the poll below, I will use this as a guide to determine my next move as the author of Milk & Honey.

Prompt 1: Psychological Horror

The premise of this prompt was to evoke fear using the mental and emotional states of your characters within your work. This is typically done through unreliable narrators, paranoia, or gaslighting. The submissions I received for this prompt absolutely made my blood run cold. The winner I have chosen for Week One: Prompt 1 of Milk & Honey’s June Writing Challenge is:

E.J. Moon

for their piece titled: Flicker and Fade.

E.J. Moon perfectly captured the characteristics of psychological turmoil through this poem. Being able to instill fear or unsettledness in your audience through stanza lines is incredibly difficult work so it was a no brainer for this to be our first winner.

My favorite line: The clock’s heart stutters through the night.

A huge congratulations to E.J. for their ability to completely wow me with this poem. You will be featured in Milk & Honey’s recommended section for your writing talent. Please consider subscribing to E.J. Moon here:

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this prompt. I wanted to highlight a few other submissions that I really enjoyed and I highly recommend that you check out these pieces and their other work as well:

The Verdant Butterfly

for Paint it Shut

Riker Rhodes

for “I Hear Buzzing…” Part 1

Artemis

for The Voice of Grief

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Prompt 2: Gothic Horror

Gothic horror romanticizes the genre through the use of forbidden love, vampires, themes of death & decay, or family secrets. I really enjoyed reading the submissions for this subgenre. I felt haunted. I felt the torture of loneliness and love lost. I felt the undeniable dread and eeriness that gothic settings convey. You all had incredible submissions that really exemplified your talent. With that being said, the winner I have chosen for Week Two: Prompt 2 of Milk & Honey’s June Writing Challenge is:

Laura B

for their piece The Embroiderer.

Laura embodied gothic horror with this piece. It slow-burned dread right into my skin as I was reading it. The merging of gothic and body horror was a perfect combination for this prompt and I felt my skin crawl with each of the MC’s diary entries. The writing expertise that was exhibited through this piece was unmatched by any other gothic/body horror I have ever read. I truly loved reading this and everyone should take the time to read it as an example of these genres, it will make you a better writer when you do.

My favorite lines:

I only felt joy and ecstasy as I slid my mirrored blade along the bone and parted the flesh, it was quite a magical experience. It was as though I was removing the meat from an animal, something apart from me and yet knowing it was mine own body, I trembled with delight Mother and there before me, I saw a sparkling light, shining above me, bringing me great peace.

A huge congratulations to Laura. You will be recommended by Milk & Honey for your incredible talent as a writer. You can subscribe to Laura here:

I can’t thank everyone enough for participating in this prompt. I wanted to highlight a few other submissions that I really enjoyed and I suggest that you check out these pieces and their other work as well:

Bradley Ramsey

for An Eternity of Longing

Emma Steel

for The Mirror

Sami O'Neal

for Amor Omni Vincit

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Prompt 3: Folk Horror

Folk horror draws fears from rural isolation, communal beliefs and ritualist tendencies. It often relies on pagan or other spiritual traditions that an outsider happens upon and severely underestimates the deep, dark roots of the locals. The submissions that came in for this prompt instilled a dread in me. A dread that chilled me all the way through. This one was so tough. I want to extend the biggest congratulations to

Clara MacGauffin

for their piece The Clearing!

The imagery in this story was viscerally horrific, especially when it came to the descriptions of the deer. I felt the fear that the hunters felt. I loved reading this. It felt like I was being told an old folktale from long ago.

My favorite lines:

A jaw hung open, slack and too wide. And behind it, something too large to be a man, but too upright to be a beast, unfurled its limbs from shadow.

Congratulations, Clara. You will be recommended by Milk & Honey for your writing ability. You can subscribe to Clara here:

Thank you to everyone for participating in this prompt. I wanted to highlight a few other submissions that I really enjoyed and you can check out these pieces and their other work as well:

Skelly

for The Solstice

Mina Howell

for Grianstad an Fhómhair

Maryellen Brady 💗📚

for The Thornwood

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Prompt 4: Ecological Horror

Last but certainly not least, ecological horror is where mother nature finally fights back. The natural world is tired of being taken advantage of and uses the fragileness of humanity to its advantage. Other subgenres are often seen here as the world turns into chaos or even apocalyptic, it is a genre where the creative freedom can go absolutely wild. Submissions for this prompt created phobias that I didn’t know I had. I want to extend congratulations to

Artemis

for their piece Mycelium Eyes!

This piece haunted me in a way that only decay could. This story captures a world both overgrown and rotting. The emotions the MC experiences as he traversed feelings of guilt, grief, and surrender were unforgettable. This felt incredibly intimate to read.

My favorite lines:

But she tilted her head up and brought her lips to his. Where they touched, the fungus blossomed. It dampened his cheeks, mingling with his tears. It threaded through the cavity of his chest, until he no longer knew what he felt.

Congratulations, Artemis! You will be recommended by Milk & Honey for your writing ability. You can subscribe to Artemis here:

Thank you to everyone for participating in this prompt. I wanted to highlight a few other submissions that I really enjoyed and you should check out these pieces and their other work as well:

Wendy Cockcroft

for The Last Cruise Of The Faery Queen

Anndrais mac Choluim

for Erasure

Pages After Dark

for Fertile Soil

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To conclude: There are some really talented people on this app. It was nearly impossible for me to pick the winners for this challenge. You all should be so proud of yourselves for showing up for this challenge and for me. Thank you.

Until next time…

meg