Aro Ace Awards

Round Three - Winners!

Huge thanks to all of our wonderful participants in our first ever Aro Ace Awards! We loved reading every single one of the entries we received, and we were absolutely delighted to see so many people excited for this contest.

Without further ado, here are this year's winners!

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Third Place

On Love and Desire indigosa

On the day of their college graduation, best friends Desmond and Mercy decide to date. Everything's "perfect" except for the fact that Desmond can't feel any butterflies in his stomach and knows he will never do so with anyone.

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Second Place

Penned Sea Hearts dragonthusiast

As a librarian working in an underwater library, Ramos likes his peace and quiet, which is distrubed only a few times a year when an author swims by to do a book signing. This time around, it's Kai, a famous writer of steamy romances going by the pen name Phish Seaman, and despite never reading any of his books, Ramos greatly dislikes the man even before meeting him, the pen name being the majority of the reason.
Once the signing is over, Ramos is relieved that he will never have to see Kai again. Or so he thinks until the library finds itself with no funding thanks to the new, corrupt mayor. With his library in danger of closing, Ramos has to enlist help from Kai, asking him to come by again for another book signing if only to get a few more months to figure out a new plan to keep the library afloat.
Kai does a lot more than that, and the more time he and Ramos spend together, the closer they get, until their tentative friendship turns into something else. Much as Ramos doesn't want to.

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Grand Winner

Flight Risk Voyageavecmoi

When visiting Canada for a wedding, a commitment-averse dive instructor must pretend to date her Australian seatmate to avoid conflict with her ex and judgmental mother.
Audrey Clarke rarely felt like other women her age. Not as a teen who'd never gushed about gorgeous celebrities, nor at almost thirty, with no desire to marry, have kids, or settle down. She would much rather explore reefs in Southeast Asia and adventure around exciting places. Even when she meets travellers with similar dreams, none are the right romantic match. Until Caleb.
When flying home to Canada for her friend's wedding, Audrey dreads confronting the pain she caused her ex and facing her judgemental mother. It drives her to connect with her seatmate, Australian environmental scientist, Caleb, who also craves a distraction. Despite his charm, he is enigmatic about the cause of his stress. They agree to fake a relationship to make their lives easier. The more time they spend together, the more real their act feels.
Will Audrey be brave enough to share her true feelings before the trip is over?

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Winners may message sandydragon1 or itsmeimthevampire on Discord to receive your sticker. The Rainbow Bookclub on the FreeTheLGBT profile will be featuring your stories in the Events section of their January update, so make sure you check out their club and Discord server, both of which are linked in the in-line comment here -->

The 2024 Aro Ace Awards have now come to a close. We hope to see you and all your amazing stories next year!