NYC Midnight
NYC Midnight, founded in 2002, is a private writing competition platform running timed fiction and screenwriting contests with randomized prompts for a global community of over 31,000 writers, monetized via per-entry fees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersNew City, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What NYC Midnight does
NYC Midnight is a privately held writing competition platform founded in 2002 and operated as NYC Midnight Movie Making Madness, LLC. The company organizes timed creative writing and screenwriting contests in which participants receive randomized prompts (genre, action, location, object, character, subject, or word) and must produce submissions within strict deadlines ranging from 24 hours to 8 days and within defined word or page limits. The platform serves a global community of writers at all skill levels through nine distinct challenge formats covering microfiction (100 and 250 words), 500-word fiction, flash fiction, rhyming story, scary story, short story, two-story, and screenwriting contests, with a flagship Two-Story Writing Challenge scheduled for July 30, 2026.
The underlying technology is a web-based registration and submission platform paired with a hosted online forum community of more than 31,000 members where participants discuss challenges, post and review stories, and provide peer feedback. Every submission receives written feedback from judges, and the company maintains public archives of winning stories and screenplays as reference content. There is no mobile app, no public API, and no disclosed AI or ML functionality; the website appears to be a Squarespace-hosted commercial site.
The business model is straightforward: writers pay per-challenge entry fees to participate, and a portion of that revenue funds cash prizes awarded to challenge winners. Two percent of each entry fee is donated to global charities chosen by participants. Distribution is entirely self-serve through nycmidnight.com, with marketing driven by content (blog with writing tips and winner interviews), email newsletter, and word-of-mouth from the forum community. Specific entry fee amounts are not publicly disclosed. The company is founder-owned with no disclosed external funding, acquisitions, or strategic partnerships.
NYC Midnight firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NYC Midnight
- Legal name
- NYC Midnight Movie Making Madness, LLC
- Website
- https://nycmidnight.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- NYC Midnight, founded in 2002, is a private writing competition platform running timed fiction and screenwriting contests with randomized prompts for a global community of over 31,000 writers, monetized via per-entry fees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NYC Midnight industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Creative Writing & Screenwriting Competitions
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fiction Writing Workshops (Short Story, Novel) (EDAMAMAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Genre Writing Workshops (Sci‑Fi, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Horror) (EDAMAMAG), Playwriting & Scriptwriting Workshops (Stage) (EDAMAMAD)
Keywords
Where NYC Midnight is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
NYC Midnight business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Competition Entry Fees: Writers pay entry fees to participate in writing challenges. Two percent of each entry fee is donated to global charities chosen by participants.
- Cash Prizes: Thousands in cash prizes are awarded to winners of each challenge, funded by entry fee revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Entry fee per challenge |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
NYC Midnight product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NYC Midnight runs timed creative writing and screenwriting competitions where participants receive random prompts (genre, action, location, object, character, subject, or word) and must complete a story or screenplay within strict deadlines of 24 hours to 8 days. Participants pay per-entry fees to compete for cash prizes, retain all rights to their work, and receive written judge feedback on every submission. The platform supports nine distinct challenge types and includes an online community forum of more than 31,000 writers.
Product overview
NYC Midnight is a writing competition platform offering multiple distinct writing challenges with varying word counts and genres. The portfolio includes nine distinct competition products: 100-word Microfiction, 250-word Microfiction, 500-word Fiction, Flash Fiction, Rhyming Story, Scary Story, Screenwriting, Short Story, and Two-Story challenges. All competitions provide participants with genre, action, and object prompts along with tight deadlines (24 hours to 8 days) and maximum word/page counts. The platform also supports its writers through an online forum community (31,000+ members), an archive of winning stories and screenplays, and writing resources including how-to guides and a blog. Writers retain all rights to their work and receive feedback from judges on every submission.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- 100-word Microfiction Challenge A writing competition where participants craft microfiction stories of 100 words or fewer within 24-48 hours based on assigned genre, action, and object prompts. Participants receive written judge feedback on every submission and compete for cash prizes.
- 250-word Microfiction Challenge A writing competition where participants craft microfiction stories of 250 words or fewer within 24-48 hours based on assigned genre, action, and object prompts. Participants receive written judge feedback on every submission and compete for cash prizes.
- 500-word Fiction Challenge A writing competition where participants craft short fiction of 500 words or fewer within a set timeframe based on assigned genre, action, and object prompts, with written judge feedback and cash prizes.
- Flash Fiction Challenge A writing competition where participants craft flash fiction stories within a 1,000-word limit over 48 hours based on assigned prompts, with written judge feedback and cash prizes.
- Rhyming Story Challenge A writing competition focused on crafting stories with rhyming verse and poetic elements based on assigned prompts, with tight deadlines, written judge feedback, and cash prizes.
- Scary Story Challenge A genre-specific horror and thriller writing competition where participants craft scary stories within tight deadlines based on assigned prompts, with written judge feedback and cash prizes.
- Screenwriting Challenge A screenplay writing competition where participants craft short films of 5-12 pages within tight deadlines based on genre, location, and object assignments, with written judge feedback and cash prizes.
- Short Story Challenge A longer-form fiction writing competition where participants craft short stories based on assigned prompts with higher word counts than microfiction challenges, with written judge feedback and cash prizes.
- Two-Story Writing Challenge A writing challenge where participants create two short stories of no more than 300 words each within 72 hours based on genre, action, and object assignments, with written judge feedback and cash prizes.
Quantifiable outcome
- Writers who compete regularly report significant improvement in writing skills and ability to work within constraints
Companies that use NYC Midnight
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
NYC Midnight technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
NYC Midnight partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights3 records
NYC Midnight competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- NaNoWriMo (Office of Letters and Light): The original mass-participation timed writing challenge organizer (National Novel Writing Month); competes for the same hobbyist-writer attention and runs community-driven deadline-based writing events, though historically free rather than paid.
- Reedsy: A marketplace and community for writers and publishing services, including writing contests, prompts, and editor connections; targets the same aspiring-author audience with a broader publishing-services stack.
- Writer's Digest: Long-running writer-facing brand running multiple paid writing competitions across genres and formats, alongside educational content; closest analog in monetizing competition entry fees from amateur and professional writers.
- Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition: A leading screenwriting competition with timed rounds, judging, and industry exposure; directly overlaps with NYC Midnight's Screenwriting Challenge in format, audience (aspiring screenwriters), and judging model.
- The Black List: A platform for screenwriters to host scripts and receive industry reads and ratings, with paid evaluation services; comparable in serving aspiring screenwriters through structured feedback loops, though focused on feature-length scripts.
- Scribophile: An online writing workshop using a karma-based critique exchange model; overlaps with NYC Midnight's peer-review forum community for amateur writers seeking structured feedback.
- Zoetrope: All-Story: A short-story and screenplay competition associated with Francis Ford Coppola, offering judged contests with peer-review forums; directly comparable to NYC Midnight in mixing paid judging with writer feedback loops.
- Gotham Writers Workshop: NYC-based writing school offering paid courses, workshops, and community events across fiction and screenwriting; competes for the same aspiring-writer cohort with structured, paid learning experiences.
- Critique Circle: A long-running online writing workshop with reciprocal critique groups; comparable as a global amateur-writer community offering structured feedback, though without paid competitions.
- Short Script Awards: A competition platform focused on short-form screenwriting and pilot scripts, with paid entry fees and judged rounds; directly comparable to NYC Midnight's Screenwriting Challenge for short-form work.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
NYC Midnight social profiles
Digital presenceNYC Midnight financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NYC Midnight leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
NYC Midnight funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NYC Midnight M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NYC Midnight
What does NYC Midnight do?
NYC Midnight runs timed creative writing and screenwriting competitions where participants receive random prompts (genre, action, location, object, character, subject, or word) and must complete a story or screenplay within strict deadlines of 24 hours to 8 days. Participants pay per-entry fees to compete for cash prizes, retain all rights to their work, and receive written judge feedback on every submission. The platform supports nine distinct challenge types and includes an online community forum of more than 31,000 writers.
Is NYC Midnight a public or private company?
NYC Midnight is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was NYC Midnight founded?
NYC Midnight was founded in 2002. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is NYC Midnight based?
NYC Midnight is headquartered in New City, United States, in the North America region.
How does NYC Midnight make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Competition Entry Fees are the primary driver. The others are cash Prizes.
Who are NYC Midnight's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are NaNoWriMo (Office of Letters and Light), Reedsy, Writer's Digest, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition, The Black List, Scribophile, Zoetrope: All-Story, Gotham Writers Workshop, Critique Circle and Short Script Awards.
Does NYC Midnight have an API?
No public API is recorded for NYC Midnight.
What industry is NYC Midnight in?
NYC Midnight's product category is Creative Writing & Screenwriting Competitions. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAMAA, Fiction Writing Workshops (Short Story, Novel), with a secondary code of EDAMAMAG, Genre Writing Workshops (Sci‑Fi, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Horror).