Once again, July has come and gone, and Summer/Winter Holidays are over for another year. Once again, we've had a host of really amazing entries, fanfic and fanart and combinations thereof. Many thanks to all the participants, to everyone who is reading/viewing and commenting, and in particular to our fabulous pinch-hitters!

There'll be a community announcement shortly. In the mean time, here is our masterlist for this year's Summer/Winter Holidays. Time to get caught up - or start reading/viewing! As usual, you can also find all the entries under the challenge: summer holidays 7 tag, or just click here.

( fanart )

( fanfic )

It's our SEVENTH year of Summer/Winter Holidays - that's pretty amazing!

For those who are new: we have a terrific group of authors and artists who have spent the last month creating works for a special set of 15 prompts, and now it's time to showcase them, one by one - and to let you all loose on them as well!

We think seven's a pretty fantastic age, and so this year, we're taking our theme from Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World," the song that starts "Don't know much about history/ Don't know much biology/ Don't know much about a science book/ Don't know much about the French I took," and ends "But I do know one and one is two/ And if this one could be with you/ What a wonderful world this would be." (Have a listen!)

Each prompt contains an art form, a science, a book title (some real, some made up), and a language (again, some new, some made up). How much the Doctor and Jack know about any of these is up to you, but we all like the one plus one part. :D

Every creator was assigned one of the prompts, and we'll be posting their works over the course of the month. In addition, for the whole month of July, all of these prompts are open for anyone in the comm to write or create to. As usual with Winter Companions challenges, you can interpret any of these however you like. You're not required to use all of your prompts - they're just meant as something to get your ideas flowing. You're not required to create the art listed, write the book, or speak the language.

Please let our authors and artists know you appreciate their work! And while you're at it, we hope you'll offer some of your own. Come and join our party!

The prompt groups are listed below, and they're all open for the taking. There's no particular order to them, and you can post your responses any day this month.

( Prompts under the cut )

The first showcased entry will be up in a moment - enjoy!

As a gentle reminder, please don't crosspost stories for this challenge elsewhere until the challenge closes about one month from now. And don't forget - leave a comment in THIS post that we can use for voting in our next regular challenge poll!

We've crossed the halfway point of the year, folks. Miniamnesty is over - but don't worry, the holidays are about to begin!

For those of you participating in Summer/Winter Holidays this year, remember, your assignments are due tomorrow, on Saturday 27 June!

Also, as usual we'll probably need a pinch-hitter or two, so if you can help us out, please comment here! (Just leave your email address, and whether you can pinch-hit for fic or art. Thank you!)

For those of you participating in Summer/Winter Holidays this year, remember, your assignments are due in a few days, on Saturday 27 June!

Also, as usual we'll probably need a pinch-hitter or two, because life does have a habit of getting in the way of things. So please comment here if you can help us out! (Please leave your email address, and whether you can pinch-hit for fic or art.)

We're halfway through the year. And in fact, in a little over a month, this comm turns EIGHT, which is pretty amazing.

As a lead up to Summer/Winter Holidays, we thought we'd let our December holiday spirit make a mid-year appearance, and offer up another amnesty - with a twist.

It's only the halfway point, after all, so this is amnesty in miniature. Like our traditional amnesty, this month, you can write or create for any of our previous challenges. Unlike traditional amnesty, we're asking you to keep it simple! For you writers, the rule is drabbles - 100 words on any topic! For artists, the lines are a little less clear, but think sketches rather than full on paintings, icons rather than wallpapers. The idea is to give us a little - a little of anything.

The fest will close when we start posting for Summer/Winter Holidays on July 1.

You can find all our previous challenges via the list in the sidebar or under the !admin tag. Please mention both the amnesty challenge and the challenge you're writing/creating for in your headers, and add tags for both challenges to your post. Thank you!

As a gentle reminder, please don't crosspost stories for this challenge elsewhere until the challenge closes two months from now. And don't forget - leave a comment in THIS post and tell us what you think the next challenge should be, so we can use your suggestions for our next regular challenge poll!

Somehow, June is upon us. Summer/Winter Holidays are drawing near, but there's still a month to go. Sadly, so many things on the horizon mean that it's time (and slightly past, sorry!) to close the Spring Prompt Fest. Watch this space for June's event!

(And if you missed Summer/Winter Holidays signups, but still want to play, leave us a note here - we can find you a space!)

There’s still time to join this year's Summer/Winter Holidays here at wintercompanion! It’s just turned May 30th here, and sign-ups will remain open until it's no longer the 30th anywhere in the world.

Right now, we still have slots for seven authors and eleven artists - and we always need pinch hitters for fic.

Willing to write 500 words of Doctor/Jack based on a specific prompt?
Willing to create a Doctor/Jack fanwork of any type - a vid, banner or drawing, icons, ANYTHING?

Here's the link to the sign-up post! Leave us your name and an email address, and whether you'd like to do fic, or art, or both(!).

Please come help us make July a fantastic month again!

Thanks to everyone who has already signed up! Great to see some familiar faces around, and of course this fest is a great start if you're new around here. :)

Sign-ups are still open until May 30 - come and join us! (I got an advance look at this year's prompts, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone will make of them. Just saying.)

Here's the short version:

• Writers are asked to write at least 500 words of Doctor/Jack based on specific prompts, to be finished and submitted June 27.


• Artists are asked to create a fanwork of any type - vids, icons, banners, drawings, ANYTHING! - again, based on specific prompts and to be finished and submitted June 27.

The long version is here - go there to sign up, or to volunteer as a pinch-hitter.

Please come help us make July a fantastic month again! And feel free to spread the word. :)

Wow, where did the time go? It's almost June, and like every year since 2009 (OMG!), that means it's time for wintercompanion's Summer/Winter Holidays. This has been a fantastic fest every single year - so many amazing submissions! It always seems like everyone brings their absolute best game, and I can't wait for this year's entries. A big huge thank you to all the comm members who have been making July amazing for so many years now!

For those who are new, or who need a refresher, here's the deal:

Summer/Winter Holidays Round 7

For those who are new - every year, during the entire month of July we're throwing a party here at wintercompanion. During that month, we post new fic and art created to a prompt list kept secret until the month starts. On July 1, we start posting the created works, and all of the prompts are open for anyone in the comm. Each year, it's been a great opportunity to showcase the really fantastic stuff you all create.

So here's what we're looking for:

• up to 15 writers willing and excited to write at least 500 words of Doctor/Jack based on specific prompts, to be finished and submitted by June 27


• up to 15 artists interested in producing a work (wallpapers, icons, banners, drawings, vids, etc.) based on specific prompts, to be finished and submitted by June 27

(As usual, prompts can be interpreted as strictly or loosely as you like.)

Interested? In the comments, leave us a note telling us:

your name,

your email address, and

whether you're interested in creating fic or art!

Of course we always have a need for pinch hitters for art and fic - life has a way of happening, and for betas. Let us know if you're willing to join the ranks of those lifesavers! (And if you're willing to beta, please check out our beta volunteer post to leave your information.)

Sign-ups will be open until May 30 - they'll close when it's no longer the 30th anywhere in the world, and prompts will go out no later than June 1.

It doesn't matter if you're new to the comm or you've been here since the beginning. Anyone and everyone is welcome! Feel free to spread the word - the more the merrier. :D

Our profound apologies for beinv late, but: we have had several requedts, so we're extending the Prompt Fest through the end of May! All the rules still apply, and now you have a few more weeks. :)

So it's been awhile - hey, for New Who, it's been ten years! - so we thought we'd celebrate both spring and our show by running a prompt fest! Even given ten years, there's only so much Jack and the Doctor on screen, after all, and no itch for fic is every completely scratched.

The rules, as always, are simple.

Phase 1: Prompts

From now until April 7th, midnight GMT (when is that?) we'll be collecting prompts for the fest on this post. Leave a comment here with the fic you've been wishing for -- whether it's a sentence or a word, an item or a quote, or a particular Doctor/Jack pairing or point in time, or even a particular scenario you'd like to see, anything goes.  All we ask is that you keep prompts under 50 words -- inspire people, don't do their writing for them!

On April 8th, we'll post the complete prompt list to the comm, and then it's time for...

Phase 2: Writing/creating

Couldn't make the deadline? Sometimes you just have to let go and give up - and that time is now. Stay tuned for our April fest, coming later this evening - but the Surrender challenge is now closed!

There's no helping it.

Give up. Let go. Acquiesce. Succumb. Submit.

Sometimes it's temporary. Sometimes it's inevitable. Sometimes it's a blessed, blessed relief.

This month, you choose. But tell us what happens when, just for once, Jack or the Doctor just... stop.

After all, what will happen, will happen.

As a gentle reminder, please don't crosspost stories for this challenge elsewhere until the challenge closes two months from now. And don't forget - leave a comment in THIS post and tell us what you think the next challenge should be, so we can use your suggestions for our next regular challenge poll - we're running low!

[Poll #1996649]

It's that time of year again - time for the last challenge of the year. And as usual, this means it's time to catch up on all those challenge entries we meant to create but never quite did, all those WIPs we started but never quite finished in time.

In other words: same procedure as every year - for the seventh time now (wow!), welcome to the Amnesty Challenge.

As always, this means that this month, you can write or create for any of our previous challenges. Anything goes - and we mean anything. Half-finished stories, artwork or vids, ideas that never got off the ground, plot bunnies that have been biting your ankles for months - now's the time to come back to them.

And by "now" we mean any time within the next two months - Amnesty lasts all of December and January.

You can find all our previous challenges via the list in the sidebar or under the !admin tag. Please mention both the amnesty challenge and the challenge you're writing/creating for in your headers, and add tags for both challenges to your post. Thank you!

As a gentle reminder, please don't crosspost stories for this challenge elsewhere until the challenge closes two months from now. And don't forget - leave a comment in THIS post and tell us what you think the next challenge should be, so we can use your suggestions for our next regular challenge poll!

After the meeting comes the parting, and we're parting company from another challenge now. The "We have to stop meeting like this." Challenge is now officially closed - alas without any meetings (or entries).

But fear not, if you have anything in the works for this challenge (or any others we've had, in fact), it's not too late - the next challenge is our yearly Amnesty Challenge. And it's coming up in a moment!

You've voted and made your decision for the next two months - so, welcome to the "We have to stop meeting like this" Challenge!

Do Jack and the Doctor keep running into each other during the latest world-threatening crisis, as you do? Do they meet in between saving the world and buy each other drinks? Are they literally bumping into each other? And do they really have to stop? Answers are, as always, up to you!

As a gentle reminder, please don't crosspost stories for this challenge elsewhere until the challenge closes about one month from now. And don't forget - leave a comment in THIS post that we can use for voting in our next regular challenge poll!

Time to part company - the Companions Challenge is now officially closed!

Thank you to our lone participant - and don't worry, everyone else, you'll have your chance again with the Amnesty Challenge in December. :) You can find the entries for this challenge under the challenge: companions tag, or just click here.

Next challenge coming up in a moment!