A year to remember
Exciting news! With over 70 members of 26 responding so wonderfully to the brief (so far), the 20:26 Project will launch on 1st January 2026.
Hello, dear followers. From 1st January 2026, you can enjoy the 20:26 Project right here on Substack. We can’t wait to start sharing pieces with you.
Back in September, we invited the 26 community to take part in a project to mark the year 2026. The brief was simple. But also, we learned, it would take many writers to places they haven’t been in years.
Choose a single life-shaping event between 2000 and 2025. You have just 20 words to bring the event to life for your reader, and another 26 to reflect on how it helped shape the person you are today.
As we said in the brief, we hope to create a powerful record of 26 years pivotal to global society, and our own lives. Often moving and touching, at times charming and funny, our writers’ responses invite you to explore what it means to be human.
Read fears and joys around the birth of a first child. Longing for love and family lost. Friends finding their voices in older age. New starts in countries far away. You’ll even learn the story of how 26 started back in 2003, if you don’t already know.
Visit our 20:26 Project page for a new piece every day of 2026, or dip in whenever you have time. You might just find your own life shaped as you read.
Oh and excitingly…
Because we’ve had such a positive response to the project, we’re doing another push for writers. If you’d like to be part of the 20:26 Project next year, email 2026projectinfo@gmail.com and we’ll share the brief.
We hope you enjoy the wonderful responses written by so many of our members. Please leave plenty of comments, and spread the word/s.
