#augurmicros2025
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augursociety.bsky.social
Drum roll please...🥁 the WINNERS for the 2025 Microfiction Contest‼️are LIVE!

A huge, huge thank you to everyone who submitted; we had a BLAST reading the 80+ fantastic stories 🌌 on this year's theme!

Winning pieces ⬇️💫

#augurmicros2025
A red background with a purple galaxy graphic near the bottom. A purple four pointed star appears at the top. The text "augur society, microfiction contest, winners" appears in the upper half of the image. A dark purple translucent rectangle is in the middle of the screen. Within it are the names of the winners and their stories, with a golden medal above each entry. The winners are as follows: READER'S CHOICE: Taran Bhartt's “…I’m an artist, so I can add colours to the Moon” AUGUR'S CHOICE: Nadia Born's The Cartography of Lands That Shall Remain Lost PUBLISHER'S CHOICE: Shantell Powell's The Bison Return With the Prairie Grass
October 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM
augursociety.bsky.social
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who submitted 🎉 stay tuned - winners to be announced next week 👀

Check out #AugurMicros2025 to read the AWESOME subs!
augursociety.bsky.social Augur Society | Augur Issue 8.1 is NOW LIVE ! @augursociety.bsky.social · Sep 5
The Augur Microfiction Contest is BACK for 2025 🏆 until Sep 30!

THE THEME: We want microfiction that bursts open the futures we need to see 🌌 show us the who/what/where of your tomorrows!

More info below ⬇️ and in our bio!
A purple background with a galaxy and birds flying in front of it. A four pointed star is on the top of the image with text below. The text reads: "augur society, Microfiction Contest, stories for the futures we need." A purple bar beneath the text has a symbol of an arrow inside a circle with the text "swipe for guidelines" to the right of it. A darker purple bar at the bottom of the image reads "Enter by September 30, 2025"
October 14, 2025 at 12:06 PM
nicowritesbooks.bsky.social
Sharing 'Citrus & Sky', my entry for @augursociety.bsky.social's #AugurMicros2025 contest!
Citrus & Sky The orange’s mottled skin settles into my left palm, and I lower myself onto my back, the roofing made comfortable by my thick sweater. The usual urban lights dim after sunset to make way for the blaze of the aurora, and I’ve always enjoyed the peaceful quiet of the midnight city. My fingernail digs under the orange’s peel. The soft scent of citrus merges with the chilly breeze. Nico Martinez Nocito
October 1, 2025 at 3:08 AM
yasmeenfahmy.bsky.social
“a closed system” (100 words) for @augursociety.bsky.social micro contest. I loved this little challenge.

#AugurMicros2025
September 30, 2025 at 7:44 PM
hanmarin.bsky.social
I humbly offer the #AugurMicros2025 contest forbidden foraging and blissful reawakening. @augursociety.bsky.social
September 28, 2025 at 9:29 PM
alderling.com
For the #AugurMicros2025 contest, some thoughts about the net. @augursociety.bsky.social
The microfiction piece "Reprise" appears against a background of a photo looking up a limestone cliff at the trees above. The piece reads: "*Not enough*, we hold, the round hulls of our wings casting oars into the dark, the splash echoing to spill into distant coves. The land will not sustain us; its rocky shores cast a soaring cry over the waves, defiant and daring, but rocks repelling teeth bear little fruit. Our voices swell, songs replete with the ken that magnates always outpace kings: weighing anchor, trading empire, casting out the net. Industry and worship. Reassurance and rapine. One calamitous scramble after another and then: devoured. Reprising, splashing, throats forming the chorus behind bloody teeth. Not enough. Never enough." by Kieren Alderling
September 29, 2025 at 1:26 AM
jeanniemarschall.bsky.social
Throwing my coin into the Fountain of Fortune for the #AugurMicros2025

Thank you for hosting, @augursociety.bsky.social!

#sff #writing #scifi #biology #litter #plastic
Crinkled-paper background & story: ... Finds A Way 1839: German apothecary Eduard Simon discovers polystyrene. 1950s: Humanity begins production of history's twelve billion metric tons of plastics. 2016: Scientists identify the first bacterium capable of digesting PET. "Hey Ive, look at this." The other archaeologist ambles over to squat beside Lete. "Whatcha got?" "Thermos. PE. Single-use." Lete smoothes dirt off the chipped, discoloured find to reveal the ancient human-and-wire-basket glyph. "A therm—...psha." Ive snorts. "Every time you think they've reached peak ridiculous." Lete just smirks, then creates scans for the museum before Ideonella superior can finish unmaking the brittle artifact. by Jeannie Marschall #AugurMicros2025
September 24, 2025 at 12:50 PM
seleneheidlman.bsky.social
#AugurMicros2025
@augursociety.bsky.social
White text on a black background reads: "And they all had a lovely wolf stew for supper." I finished, and smiled at my fellow passengers. Children smiled; adults applauded; I tipped my hat to the group. Sharing stories had long been my passion, and with advent of affordable mass transit, we troubadours had finally made a comeback. Sometimes a few of us would gather, bands with stories and songs or rhymes. Others we wandered solo, but never alone: we gathered up stories and dreams, nightmares and schemes and shared them with all in the smaller worlds we drifted between.
September 24, 2025 at 4:42 PM
monochromayhem.bsky.social
My entry for #AugurMicros2025! Thank you to @augursociety.bsky.social for the opportunity. :)
White text on black background that reads: It started as a grassroots movement— a few people here and there, each with a fire in their hearts towards their neighbor. No matter the creed, the color, the shape, the identity of their fellow man, they all held their highest moral law: “All Deserve Love. All Deserve a Hug.” And thus, with two arms folded unconditionally around humankind, the Society of Cuddles was born.
September 24, 2025 at 1:35 AM
leighaplin.bsky.social
Taking a crack at this micro challenge. Exactly 100 words!
@augursociety.bsky.social #AugurMicros2025
September 18, 2025 at 9:43 PM
marcc.bsky.social
Entry for Augur's 2025 Microfiction contest: Departing on Time

#AugurMicros2025
@augursociety.bsky.social
The text reads: Departing on Time by Marc A. Criley. A cappella “O Death” scorches the station’s ancient public address speakers. A train whistle pierces the cold dark. I glance up. DEPARTING ON TIME : 0242 AM “You’re really going, Dad?” I squeeze my daughter’s hand. “I am, and I’m sorry for keeping you up so late. Thank you for waiting with me. Tell everyone I loved them.” “I will. We’ll miss you.” “I’ll miss you all too. Go on now, be safe.” # Metal screeches as a black-iron locomotive hauling three Pullman cars pulls in. A window slides open. “Stanley, is that you?” “Eileen?” “Get on the train, Stan, supper’s waitin’.” The background is a black and white photo of a train with three passenger cars stopped in front of a train station with an almost steeple-shaped roof.
September 17, 2025 at 8:45 PM
taranbhartt.bsky.social
@augursociety.bsky.social here is my entry for the #augurmicros2025 contest (posted to instagram as well www.instagram.com/p/DOoF9i5jna...)
I hope everybody enjoys it!

#space #writing #scifi #microfiction
Sci-fi story comprised of white text on a blue-purple star-field. The text reads as follows: “…I’m an artist, so I can add colours to the Moon” Traditionally, starships were unmanned during intergalactic voyages. Rations. Waste. No consent from generations born midflight. Simpler to mentally upload crew and leave maintenance to droids. And yet… The bio-printer hummed. Lal Singh’s digitized mind had accessed sensors galore, but it was only now, decanted into his body, that he could see. Redshifted antimatter thrusters: palette knifed alizarin crimson. Relativity squeezing every star into a cluttered constellation ahead: pollock splatters of phthalo blue. The cosmic microwave background blueshifted visible at 0.99999835% lightspeed: a gauzy flash of titanium white. The cameras had their view; Lal would find his truth in paint.
September 17, 2025 at 9:37 PM
unrealhistories.bsky.social
Super excited to post my submission for #AugurMicros2025 !
@augursociety.bsky.social
September 15, 2025 at 3:32 AM
katherinegarrison.bsky.social
Decided to write something for the #AugurMicros2025 because I couldn’t resist the theme. @augursociety.bsky.social
September 12, 2025 at 3:06 PM
gontijo.bsky.social
A science-fantasy micro fiction I wrote inpired by my recent reading of Ovid's Metamorphoses.

[100 words]

#AugurMicros2025
@augursociety.bsky.social
September 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
rudexvirus.bsky.social
My entry into the Augur micro comp <3
The Myths of What Will Be
@augursociety.bsky.social
#AugurMicros2025
Brown Background with white text. The Myths of What Will Be by Alyson Tait I recount ancient myths until they sour on my tongue, then I do what I must—fulfill the prophecy. I find a sun-haired woman strong enough to shoulder the coming war and give myself to her—flesh and soul—realizing too late it binds me to being the first to die. But that's okay. I wouldn't want to be Achilles anyways; to bear such grief, such guarded love. All I want is her love, her breath against my skin. To watch the stars together as they fall closer toward us. Maybe, there in the dark, we measure the few days left to us.
September 11, 2025 at 2:42 PM
aggie-novak.bsky.social
Excited to share my piece for Augur's micro fiction contest!
@augursociety.bsky.social l
#AugurMicros2025
Soothsayer for the 21st Century by Aggie Novak You come to me— (fabric draped, costume jewelled, incense clouded). You ask me real questions, but you don’t seek real answers. You want— Comfort. Platitudes. It’s not your fault, there was nothing you could do. Tell me, you ask— What the future holds. Where I will be in 20 years. How successful. How loved. How normal. I draw the cards— The Star, reversed. All hope gutters out. The Tower. Cities, fire in their bones. The World, reversed. The circle breaks. Well? Your eyes wide, full of— Hope, I say. New constellations. Collapse clears the way. The world resets. @augursociety #augurmicros2025
September 11, 2025 at 3:12 AM
megthewriter.bsky.social
Life is stubborn, and we keep growing

#AugurMicros2025 @augursociety.bsky.social
Image reads: This is not a place of honour. No highly esteemed deed is commemorated here. Nothing is valued here. This place commemorates no good deeds. They were wrong. Everything is valued here. Life is valued. They created a place of warning, to hide their shame. All they left behind was desecration and decay. Or so they thought. My limbs are dust and rubble and spikes. No living thing has touched my skin and lived. But life is returning as I fade with time. Verdant and vibrant vines twist desperately upwards against desolation, determined to prove that life goes on. @megthewriter
September 11, 2025 at 1:07 PM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
#AugurMicros2025
@augursociety.bsky.social
For a geologist, the past is the key to the present and future.
Geologic Journey by Melissa O. Anderson At the top of the lonely mountain, I extracted my quarry from the cold slate. "Hello, my friend," I said to the Cambrian trilobite, whose slow tectonic ascent mirrored my own. Inch by inch, irresistible forces conspired with time to bring us here. In the language of geology, my rock companions spoke of the history of the world: trilobites ruled the oceans for millions of years before extinction. How long until our own? Yet, as my mind expanded to encompass Eons, the constraints of humanity relaxed: anxieties that were fossilized in my chest gave way to awe.
September 10, 2025 at 9:35 PM
goodwords.bsky.social
I'm excited to share my 99-word story for the Augur Microfiction Contest!

The Ocean's Bones 🌊💀

@augursociety.bsky.social
#AugurMicros2025
Text: I visit her bones on Tuesdays. In seven seconds, my lungs will scream for air. Seven seconds to mourn a body that nourishes an ungrateful seabed. Cracks divide her sternum into four parts. Temptation whispers, begging me to take take take. But she’s no longer mine to keep. Memories crawl forward—unwanted parasites no different than the bone-eating worms sucking on her vertebrae.  My lungs burn, raging at my lack of time management. But I linger, thinking about her touch. Her heart. Her morbid sense of humor. She was afraid of sharks, but men are so much scarier. (The background image is of waves with a faded blue image filter. The text is white).
September 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
obsidianmichi.bsky.social
#AugurMicros2025
@augursociety.bsky.social
The Dragon is in My Ceiling I’m naked when I see a dragon in my bathroom ceiling. Its giant face looms as I reach for a towel. Like a featherless eagle. Yellow eyes and a curved beak paired with the gaudiest gold scales I’ve ever seen. All I can think is: Dungeons & Dragons was right. The dragon lifts a claw. Energy buzzes on my skin. Magic. Spellcasting. Fuck. A second gold dragon slams into the first. Head down, neck locked, a train ramming through a luckless car. The dragons vanish. On my bed, my cat looks smug. I gotta stop going to seances.
September 10, 2025 at 10:17 PM
catherinewinters.com
Here's "Mission Specialist", my entry for @augursociety.bsky.social's #AugurMicros2025. Enjoy!
A poster in the style of "STAY CALM AND CARRY ON": Mission Specialist "Dame Ivy Smith felt every moment of her seventy years as the Blackhawk thundered over London. As always, the SAS men towered over her, grateful looks on grim faces. Two Oscars, six BAFTAs, a Tony... they didn’t matter. She’d earned this role, whether she wanted it or not. "As the door opened, Dame Ivy readied her rifle. Everyone knew humanity was pushing back the adversary at last. But as she aimed at the massive beast atop the ruins of St. Paul's, she wished it had taken less time to discover that only a knight can slay a dragon."
September 10, 2025 at 3:38 PM
chrisszego.bsky.social
@augursociety.bsky.social #AugurMicros2025
A micro story titled 'Every One Chosen'. "Han was the twelfth? thirteenth? kid I'd escorted from the badlands. Funny and energetic, she also talked more than the rest combined. Absolutely charming but I appreciated the moment when the flower shrine surprised her into awed silence. I pulled a seed from my smallest pocket. "Wanna plant one?" Han covered it gently, poured a careful cupful of water. "Be healthy," she said, instruction and entreaty both. "Grow well." When I looked back, a dozen new leaves had unfurled. I smiled. The badlands didn't value their discards but we did. We would.
September 9, 2025 at 2:08 PM
minervacerridwen.bsky.social
"Our Future Is Death", for #AugurMicros2025 @augursociety.bsky.social
CW: death.
#writing #microfiction
“Our future is death,” claimed the huge banner on the space station’s only mansion. The warmest welcome they could have thought of, surely. A stark contrast with the waiting lounge inside: carpets, flowers, comfort-scented candles. A client gave me a friendly nod. Here for refreshment, going by the pallor of her skin. Deceased in her late twenties, but the necromancy process had gained her some wrinkles. It only worked when you got to this mortuary in time, but it worked. As I stepped into the airtight pod for my application interview, all I could think of was that banner.
September 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
j-needham.bsky.social
#AugurMicros2025
@augursociety.bsky.social

⭐ From Nebula to Neutron Star
September 7, 2025 at 2:51 PM