1893. In Victorian London, a world marked by deep class divisions, young worker Henry Hops stumbles upon a secret manuscript by an unknown thinker. Fascinated by the radical ideas regarding the liberation of the working class and the contradictions within society, Henry embarks on a quest to find the mysterious author. A handwritten invitation in the manuscript leads him to an exclusive book club. Henry must decide how to navigate these ideas and how to fight for the rights of the working class, all while grappling with his own emotions, relationships, and the tension between aristocracy and social justice. ONC | 2025

A poisonous trade, powerful secrets, and a dark fate linger amidst ritual murders and ill-timed desires... Despite the golden rays and flowing waterfalls, the lands of the kingdom of Tiarella hide a growing greed and lust for power. The unity and legitimacy of the ruling family, which had only become one through Sylph's marriage, stand proud to all but those who know the dark deeds it took to rise to begin with. Sylph, trapped in a marriage of another's making, spends her days betraying an oath to the celestials worshipped by those of the zodiac faith. Determined and yet conflicted in her wish to kill her secret before those of malevolent hopes, rise from the bloody shadows they have cast to find her. She waits, biding her time, day by day, until he appears after years of only mere glances, but now he threatens all. Known as the scarlet heir, he quickly becomes a thorn in her side with an iron fist while still hiding secrets of his own, that may well be as dark as hers. Only time knows if their meeting will be the beginning of fate or the betrayal of it.

" To be in love with a demon was the last thing on your Wishlist. " *** Three thousand years ago, Anna, a young girl, married Lance, one of the knights of King Arthur's court. They lived a good life, but one war changed everything. A boon became the bane of her life, tearing her and Lance away from each other. **** Annahita Singh Sisodiya was born into a royal family in Rajgarh, a small kingdom in the west of Rajasthan. Despite her royal lineage, she preferred to live as a commoner. Her life was not as lavish as that of a typical princess. Around 250 years ago, one of her ancestors summoned a Yakshini, only to be cursed by her-no girl born in his lineage would ever reunite with her true love. **** #OpenNovellaContest2025

𝑴𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓, 𝑴𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒍... **A mirror-wandering thief and a knight who has lived hundreds of lives try to return the most precious thing to the Queen of Ice and Snow: the Heart of Winter itself. ** "When leaves have fallen And skies turned to grey The night keeps closing in on the day A nightingale sings his song of farewell You better hide for her freezing hell" - Ice Queen, Within Temptation - Keir, a self-proclaimed master thief, finds himself in a very unfortunate situation after a failed robbery: in exchange for his life, he agrees to free the stolen daughter of the ice-cold Winter Queen from the hands of the Summer Court. However, Keir is anything but a shining hero. To succeed, the infamous 'Mirror Walker' must use his extraordinary abilities and join forces with the noblest soul under the sun: Ser Drustan, also known as the Iron Knight. The two unlikely companions must work together to brave the dangers on the journey to the Summer Court, especially since Keir is still wanted in the desert country for murdering his former master, a mighty sultan. When Keir finally manages to break into the Amber Palace amid the rust-red deserts, he discovers much more is at stake than his own life. Can a former slave, a heroic knight, and a stormy shieldmaiden change the fate of the Ringrealms? Or might dark intrigues and the war of the High Courts bring ruin to the mortal world? **** Cover by Thinkerling ONC2025 Start: 06.02.2025

College life should be all about experiences. Studying, partying, having fun with your friends. That's how it should have been. Sharing an apartment with my sister instead of a dorm room with my friend. Sitting next to a super famous pop star in class who my sister has a huge crush on. Helping my sister to win over the love of her life by playing cupid? None of that could I have expected. But the most unexpected thing of all? Developing feelings for my sister's crush. ONC prompt 113. ___ The picture used to make the cover doesn't belong to me! I don't know who the original creator is, but all rights belong to them and if they want me to take it down, I will!

Anorakii. They are not just a tribe; they are the only life Giiunayi has ever known. As the winter solstice approaches, he anticipates the sacred rite of passage that will mark himself into the heart of the Anorakii, bringing a close to his restless belonging. But as the ancient rituals unfold, they awaken a wrathful force, unearthing dark secrets long buried beneath their warrior ethos. In Knowing, There Is A Sun is a novella of a blessing and a curse, of the struggle against unleashed fury as the shadows of the past close upon not only the fate of the Anorakii but also upon the essence of who Guiinayi is. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Published in February 2025 for Open Novella Contest 2025 Book Cover (Design & Illustration) © by Maddy Alson 2025 Copyright © by CrownedMadness (Maddy Alson) 2025

Where 'ABC' by Gene Luen Yang meets 'Starry River of the Sky' by Grace Lin... Kieran Fu and Katharyn Kuang have been inseparable since Day One, building their friendship on shared stories of ancient folktales and a love of home-cooked, non-American food. But they're more connected to those old fables than they think: riddles and red strings run deep in Kieran's family, while Katharyn can trace her family tree back to a tragic myth of star-crossed lovers. During their formative years, the pair encounter groundbreaking discoveries and strange signs that reveal the truth - and the interconnectedness - of the folktales they know and love. When Kieran and Katharyn return home for the summer after university, their families start pushing them toward a fate of eternal union that neither of them wants. Bound by ancient prophecies and long-standing tradition, the two must decide: can they rewrite their destinies, or will the red string of fate tie them down a path they can't escape? After all, only one thing is for certain: legends are more than lessons - and they can turn to reality in the blink of an eye. ----- 'red string:' an ONC 2025 novella by Faith @kth_disneyfanatic cover by @Saramitra_

Bcqu is a closely knit research squad which specializes in exploring and documenting the life of dangerous planets. After all, it's easy to coordinate risky plans if you're all the same person. Planet GU-T64A isn't supposed to be one of those missions, but when one of him makes a critical mistake, Speaker is ripped from the rest of himself and thrown into the depths of space. Trapped 10,000 lightyears away from known civilization and floundering as a mere portion of his entire self, Speaker hardly knows how to function. The engineer who effectively murdered him is determined that they work together to steal a ship and find a way home, but the civilization they have landed in offers new and deep connections he never knew he could have. It's no replacement for the rest of himself, but the longer he stays here the more he begins to wonder if returning to his old life is a goal worth pursuing at all. After all, what could be more fulfilling than being understood by minds completely different than your own?