June Creative Challenge
#GastromancyJune
Welcome, Fellow Creative Traveler!
Thank you for stumbling into our little corner of the internet where creativity runs wild, support is endless, and good vibes are mandatory!
In just six short months, this community has been steadily growing with passionate creators like you, and now? It’s time to give back!
Whether it’s a high-five, a shoutout, or some hard-earned wisdom, we’re all about lifting each other up.
We grow together.
So, we bring you a month-long, four-week feast of food, stories, music and surprise twists to rally our community, supercharge engagement, and reel in fresh faces.
Think of it as part cook-off, part open-mic, part art jam…with a bit of coin as well for your next caffeine shot or addition to your spice cabinet!
The intention is to start off nice and light so as to get as many of you involved. If with time the interest garnered keeps growing, so will our themes and ultimately prizes.
Campaign Timeline & Weekly Themes
Runs June 1–30, 2025.
Every Monday at 8:00 AM ET we kick off a new theme.
If you are a busy bee you will have a full workweek to cook up something epic.
Week 1 Jun 1–7 THEME: TASTE/FLAVOR
Share an original recipe, food photo and story behind it, food-inspired art, micro-essay, music playlist or video about a flavor or taste that changed you. Any original media with where your creativity sends you.
Week 2 Jun 8–14 THEME: TALES
Spin us a yummily written flash-fiction, poem or illustrated comic with food/drink at its heart. Again, you choose where your creativity takes you in any form as long as you give us a captivating tale with it.
Week 3 Jun 15–21 THEME: TUNES
Drop a music-inspired piece: a playlist, song lyric, short video, literary works or artwork that blends sound & flavor. Once again, you guessed it, go where your creativity calls!
Week 4 Jun 22–30 THEME: TWISTS
Creatively mash up any of the above themes from the previous week. It may be a cocktail recipe told as a rap; a love-letter poem turned into an ASMR video; or any mad creative hybrid you can conjure up!
How to Participate
Subscribe & follow This Is Gastromancy, if you haven’t already
Submit the link to your Substack post’s original piece created in June, to our Chat/DM in each before the beginning of the start of the next week’s theme. For those who would like to submit an for e.g. the last week of June you may do so in advance of wait for the last week.
Tag your public social-share on Bluesky/Twitter/Instagram etc. with #GastromancyJune, and send us a link back to your post.
Engage by commenting and liking fellow entries on This is Gastromancy Substack discussion thread.
Food for Thought: Sharing your entry outside our circle on socials (with #GastromancyJune) or restacking fellow entrants earns extra attention in our final choice of overall winners!
Prizes & Payouts
Weekly Prizes: Every following Sunday, five entrants will be awarded $10 at our discretion.
Grand Prize: On July 4, the overall champ (highest cumulative score) scoops $50.
Payments will be sent ONLY via Buy Me a Coffee or Ko-fi within 72 - 48 hours of winning announcements, so you better get yours set up. We chose these 2 payment methods as we have observed them to be inclusive to the most number of countries for people on here and they are setup in minutes.
Rules & Fair Play
One entry per person per week. (You can re-enter in new themes.)
Stay civil. Harassment or plagiarism disqualifies you instantly.
Engagement eligibility: We have no way of knowing if you are getting upvotes via Sock-puppet accounts. So that is not how we should base our judgement of the pieces submitted. I’m basing it on what I know to be good. Ya’ feel? You putting us out into the world on social, on your dime and your time. Putting that out there into the aether is reward enough for us. (Maybe put this somewhere else)
Works you submit here belong to you, but submitting it here, you allow us the right to publish it in future anthologies. So you have to decide now if you even want that. Reason being, if you publish the same article in a more serious publication, you might get sued for plagiarizing yourself in others.
Recipes cannot be Copyrighted, but how you describe the process can, so don’t you be copy pasting!
FAQs
Q: What if I can’t submit until mid-week?
A: All entries received by the following Monday at 8:00 AM ET count for that week…so no sweat.
Q: Can I submit video?
A: Absolutely…short form only (≤15 minutes), hosted on YouTube/IG/Reels, with the link to your post on Substack. Remember we want you to also grow your individual Substack
Q: How do you judge “Editor’s Pick”?
A: We’re looking for creativity, craft, and how well you embody the week’s theme. Surprise us.
Q: Do I have to be a subscriber?
A: Yup…only “This Is Gastromancy” subscribers may enter. But anyone (subscriber or not) can vote, share and comment!
Q: How do I increase my chances?
A: Engage! Share your own piece, rally your friends to vote, and sprinkle some kitchen-magic into your storytelling.
You may also participate in each week’s theme instead of only once.
Q. Can I reach out to you if I have any questions or need help?
A: Sure…we are here to help each other.
Spread the Word
Forward this to a friend.
Post the poster image on your socials.
Let’s turn June into a fun creative block party where food, stories and music collide!
READY, STEADY, GO!!
I finally found the challenge and the rules. OMG. I didn’t kick the dog. merely tripped over him. Woof! I wanted to write something specific to the challenge, so the Baby Vegan is a great post but it doesn’t follow the guidelines, so please delete for this week. My submission this week is the Magical Corn Cookie Tour. Thanks. Kana
I’m working on the piece about the corn cookies with photos. Though today a journey piece called Baby Vegan. That one’s here. I’ve tagged Gastromancy in it, but this is all new to me. Ok stop thinking … https://open.substack.com/pub/dwkanashephard/p/baby-vegan?r=9ofto&utm_medium=ios