The time is upon us! LitReactor's crime fiction writing challenge, Arrest Us, is open for submissions! You can learn more about the challenge by reading the announcement post, but to recap:

This is a free, public challenge. Anyone can submit. Also, anyone can read and rate stories, and offer comments and criticism. It's designed to develop new and exciting stories for readers, while pushing writers out of their comfort zones and into new territories.

But we're not exactly making it easy. After all, it is a challenge.

Stories should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words, and CANNOT contain:

Italian mafia

Sex crimes

Hitmen (or hitwomen)

Serial killers

Why? Because these are some of the most common tropes in crime fiction. So you can't use 'em.

Again, here's the run of show:

TODAY: The challenge opens, and you can begin submitting stories. The reading period opens on this date, too.

The challenge opens, and you can begin submitting stories. The reading period opens on this date, too. Tuesday, July 1: The challenge closes to submissions, but the reading period remains open.

The challenge closes to submissions, but the reading period remains open. Friday, August 1: The reading period ends, and we start the process of sorting out of the prizes.

Yup. We've got prizes. And they're pretty rad. Like publication in Thuglit. And reader prize packs. And critiques from industry professionals.

Our community manager, Nathan Scalia, will help us report on this event, so expect to hear updates on how things are going.

And we've still got some cool stuff to announce. But you're going to have to wait for that. In the mean time...