Call for Submissions: Share Your Story, Written the Retro Way!

More information about this virtual event can be found here.

Are you a writer who loves vintage technology?

Do you enjoy the charm of classic word processors?

Do you have a new retro Amiga keyboard that you''re wanting to use?

Retro Words, Timeless Stories is an online short story exhibition where every entry must be created using a retro word processor on vintage Commodore computers (be it real or emulated) such as AmigaWriter, WordPerfect, ProWrite, Final Writer, Wordworth, Personal Write, or any classic software of your choice that ran on a Commodore 64/128/Amiga computer!

This is more than a writing challenge—it’s an opportunity to
blend nostalgia with creativity, bringing vintage digital tools back to life in a modern storytelling space. It's also an opportunity to use your new or old Amiga-based keyboard! These vintage tools provided a focused and tactile writing experience, free from modern-day distractions. Now, in this online exhibition, we celebrate both the artistry of storytelling and the charm of early digital word processing.

How to Participate

📖 Write Your Short Story Using a Retro Words Processor
Your story must be written using an authentic vintage word processor—such as AmigaWriter, Final Copy, Final Writer, WordPerfect, Personal Write, ProWrite, or another pre-2000s word processing software.

📖 Writing Topic
Write a retro computer game short story narrative for a text-based adventure game, RPG, or action game of your choice. The short story can be based upon a real game or a fictional game. You can also write a story based upon a game developed by BrigadierComputers.com. There are several from which to choose.

📖 Writing Categories
There are two main categories for this Exhibition:

Plain Text Short Story. These are stories that are text only.
Illustrated Short Story. Written stories that include illustrations. Illustrations must have been created using a retro Commodore art program such as Deluxe Paint, Brilliance, Personal Paint, etc.

Depending upon the number of submissions, these two categories will be broken down further into the number of words written.

Any vintage word processor can be used to write a Plain Text Short Story, but, obviously, to include illustrations the use of a word processor that can include images is needed.

💾 Register Your Participation

It is not a requirement, but please let us know of your desire to participate by filling out the Registration form here. This will help us in determining the level of interest plus ensure we have the software needed to read your story in your chosen Word Processor.

💾 Submit Your Work in Retro Format
Watch this page and a submission link will appear in this area. We welcome submissions in original file formats (e.g., .DOC, .TXT, .WPD, .PW, .AW). We would also like for you to be able to also provide your Short Story in a modern format (RTF or plain text) for accessibility if, for some reason, we're unable to find a copy of your chosen Word Processing program.

🎞� Share the Process (Optional but Encouraged!)
If you have screenshots, videos, or behind-the-scenes photos of your vintage writing setup, send them along! We'll showcase the unique process of writing on retro word processors in our online exhibition. Include a short discussion, at the end of the short story or in a separate file, on the joys and challenges of writing using retro word processing.

🖥� Experience the Virtual Exhibition
Submitted Short Story entries will be displayed in an interactive online showcase, an Amigaguide document, and possibly a Pagestream or eBook document featuring:

A digital reading gallery for submitted stories.
Screenshots and images of vintage writing setups as submitted by the authors.
Author Q&A sessions discussing the joys and challenges of retro writing.
Readers Choice Awards so that readers can rate their enjoyment of the submitted Short Stories.

Submission Guidelines


✔ Theme: Open! Your story can be any genre of computer game as long as it follows general decency guidelines.
✔ Rating: Keep story content on par with a PG movie rating.
✔ Use of AI: You can use AI; however, please personalize its output to match your writing style.
✔ Number of Entries: Up to 4 per person
✔ Length: Up to 12,000 words
✔ File Format: Preferably in its original retro format (or RTF for readability)
✔ Deadline: May 4, 2025
✔ Rights: By submitting, you grant us the right to feature your story in our online exhibition, but you retain full copyright and may publish it elsewhere. We make no money on your efforts. This is merely an opportunity to use vintage Commodore Amiga word processing programs on a platform that many have enjoyed through the years.
✔ Where to Submit: See below.

Start writing now.

Why Join?

🕰� Celebrate Retro Technology – Revive the beauty of distraction-free, classic word processors.
📚 Be Part of a Unique Literary Experiment – This is not just a writing challenge; it’s a historic creative experiment!
🌎 Connect with Like-Minded Writers – Meet fellow enthusiasts who appreciate vintage tech and storytelling. Whether you like Amigas, vintage computing, or just like to write...you are welcome to participate.

Submit Your Story & Join the Exhibition!

📅 Submission Date Deadline: May 4, 2025
� Virtual Exhibition: Will be available on the BrigadierComputers.com website starting May 23, 2025. Watch this spot for the exact link.
💾 Submit Your Work: Watch this spot for a submission link. Should you complete your short story before the submission link appears, then you can send the story to david@brigadiercomputers.com.
� Readers Choice Award prize: $40 USD for the Top Pick in Each Category (Plain Text Short Story and Illustrated Short Story). Award can increase if other sponsors are interested in contributing.

Get your vintage setup ready and bring the past into the present—one story at a time.

📌 Decide on a vintage Commodore-OS based word processors for your Short Story now and start writing!

More information about this virtual event can be found here.

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