Welcome to the Home of Sledgehammer and Mini Sledgehammer Writing Contests

How It Started

It all started with a wacky idea back in 2008 when Ali Shaw and Kristin Thiel were brainstorming ways to make write-in events more interesting. And thus a timed contest driven by prompts and rewarded with prizes was born! In 2008, we held the first Sledgehammer 36-Hour Writing Contest, and shortly after the second contest, in 2009, we started hosting monthly Mini Sledgehammer 36-Minute Writing Contests.

After eight magical years of running the 36-hour contest, we decided to give ourselves a break from the massive amount of work that goes into putting on a weekend-long, international contest with more than $10,000 worth in prizes. The Sledgehammer 36-Hour Writing Contest has been on hiatus since 2015. The stories are still a blast to read, though, so feel free to poke around the site, using the categories in the sidebar to guide you.

A spin-off of the big contest was born in 2009: monthly Mini Sledgehammer 36-Minute Writing Contests. We would give the writers four writing prompts and set the timer for thirty-six minutes. When the time was up, they’d read their stories and the judges would select a winner—all right there on the spot. No time to hesitate, second-guess, or hold back. Then the winner would take home prizes! Mini Sledgehammer continued regularly at Blackbird Wine and Atomic Cheese in Northeast Portland until 2020, when Covid paused all in-person fun.

How It’s Going

In 2024, Ali and her husband, Tim, opened BOLD Coffee & Books in Southwest Portland and relaunched the short version of the writing contest. By then, no one remembered Sledgehammer, Mini Sledgehammer, or what any of that referred to. One attendee mentioned that the contest was like the writing version of The Great British Bake Off, and The Great BOLD Write-Off was born. We still use four writing prompts, the time limit is set to the more standard 30 minutes, we still read our stories aloud, and a judge still picks a winner for prizes. It’s a blast. Join us!

All writers are welcome, from published professionals to newborn novelists. We give the writers four writing prompts and set the timer for thirty-six minutes. When the time is up, they read their stories and the judges select a winner—all right there on the spot. There’s no time to hesitate, second-guess, or hold back. Then the winner takes home prizes!

The dates roam, but the contest happens on a monthly basis. Check www.boldcoffeeandbooks.com/events for our the next event, and sign up for Bold’s newsletters while you’re there so you can get notifications in your inbox.

The Great BOLD Write-Off
BOLD Coffee & Books
1755 SW Jefferson St.
Portland, OR 97201
http://www.boldcoffeeandbooks.com

NEW! Mini Sledgehammer Anthology

The team behind the Mini Sledgehammer Writing Contest is excited to announce our anthology: The Exquisite Rush: 36 Stories, now available!

We have met once a month since 2009. Some truly amazing writers have come through our doors, and this anthology features 36 of the best winning stories from the first eight years!

Whether you like thrillers or romance, there’s a story for you in this anthology. Sci-fi, absurdist drama, voodoo noir—they’re in here! You’ll hold every genre in your hands.

See the Anthology tab for more details.