Alec Monroe has a gift, and Paul Barrington wants to profit by it. Neither understands the true cost of their arrangement. The Great War casts a long shadow in 1926 Philadelphia. Prohibition is in effect, but largely ignored in the city dubbed "wet as the Atlantic." Séances remain popular, despite the efforts of men like Houdini to reveal mediums as frauds. Class, social, and racial boundaries are razor sharp. Against this backdrop, Paul enlists Alec to help him defraud Henri Deschamps, a wealthy scholar of antiquities from France. Little does Paul know that Henri holds more power than money can buy, and Alec is the key to unlocking it. ONC Prompt 72: A real necromancer sits in on a fake séance. [Author's note/trigger warnings: This story uses period-appropriate language, including terms related to race and sexuality, and discussions of mental health, including suicide.] [All rights reserved. This story is 100% human-generated. No part of this story may be used for the purpose of training A.I.]

An orphan on the run from her past. A mysterious orb. A guild of thieves. A princess. A prophecy. Love and betrayal. A kingdom in need of a hero. Or a heroine.

In a world where individuals with otherworldly abilities walk among their less gifted counterparts, an organisation called the Watchers exists to ensure that the two worlds keep their peace. Hiding behind their mask of providing security services is a widespread web of assassins and spies. They have always made sure to eliminate anyone who was too dangerous for the ordinary police to handle. Faolan Devoe has become one of their best with his sheer hard work and skill, just an ordinary man among a sea of extraordinary powers. When he's called in for a top-secret mission, he expects to assassinate a public figure or something along those lines. What he doesn't expect is to be sent undercover to babysit a killer's child. The catch? The kid is no normal human, and if his father gets his hands on him, it might lead to the end of the world. TW: violence, death, gore, strong language |ONC 2026 HONORABLE MENTION, ROUND 3 AMBASSADOR PICK & ROUND 3 WINNER||1X FEATURED|

Prompt 109 Grace Elena Diego is a good daughter and student St Will high school, Grace Elena Diego was born 1212.

Catastrophe || An event causing great and usually sudden damage or suffering; a disaster. A chance encounter leads to misadventure when a curious cat and a rebellious young reaper's world collide. The daughter of the Grim Reaper, Eulalie, is nothing like the legendary phenomenon. She's not built for reaping, unlike her older brother, Nemorin. It's hard enough being a teenager without collecting souls. Let alone when an entire council of reapers wants to get rid of you. It's not her fault she doesn't fit in. And reaping doesn't get you out of algebra. After one too many mistakes and a lost heirloom, her father can't protect her any longer. Thirteen Souls. She has until midnight to prove herself. Or else risk losing her powers and returning to Earth to live with her human mother, whom she's never met. CW: Themes of Death. #ONC2026 || Prompt #65 On the way to collect a soul, the Grim Reaper is distracted by a stray puppy. Instead of completing the task, he decides to find the puppy's owner, much to the frustration of his assistant.

[ 2026 Open Novella Contest Entry ] Jane Newton isn't grieving; she's furious. Two years after burying her husband, Mark, a security protocol triggers in her empty home, revealing a digital ghost that shatters her reality. She didn't bury the truth-she buried a stranger. Mark wasn't the quiet graphic designer she loved. He was a cyber-intelligence specialist who staged his own death in the midst of a plot at the highest levels of power. Now, Jane is the accidental courier of evidence of a looming assassination-and the only person who knows that Mark is still alive. With SQUID tracking her every digital heartbeat, Jane must vanish into the analogue world. But when the hunters take her sister, Jane stops running. In a world built on encrypted lies, the truth is the most lethal weapon of all.

When you think of vampires, you probably think of Dracula or--shudder--Edward Cullens. You know what I mean: the romanticized, sexy version of a vampire. The one with sparkly skin and a charismatic compulsion. Hot. Sexy. Let's be real here, Gary Oldman really set the bar, right? But what fiction doesn't tell you is that being a vampire is messy and, quite frankly, HARD. It's ugly and lonely, and don't even get me started about tracking down blood. I'm wanted in every province (ever hear of the Bloody Killer? Yeah, that's me. Totally lame serial killer moniker, by the way, RCMP). I didn't have the choice to turn into a vampire, but, boy, did my creator pick the wrong person. Out of control, clumsy, drunk, messy, blah, blah, blah. You get the idea. I know, I should probably see a therapist, huh? Well, my trail of bloodless bodies soon catches up to me when a chance encounter with a hottie in a cafe leaves me with his phone by mistake, and I realize just how f***ed I am. And as I do my best to keep him away (while trying to survive as a vampire), I can't help but fall for the cafe hottie, putting a stake on my life. *** ONC '26 prompts: #56 and #81

ONC26 Second Place - A counterfeit claim against a legendary wine ignites a high-stakes investigation in which a neurodivergent restaurateur and a forensic wine analyst must navigate forgery, deception, and their own unexpected connection to save a century-old legacy. Luc, owner of London's prestigious Le Rêve restaurant, faces a devastating crisis when a valued patron declares a prized vintage a fake. To protect his family's century-old reputation, he enlists Izzy, a brilliant but socially unconventional forensic wine analyst, eager to prove her mettle. Their shared autism initially creates an unexpected but undeniable spark of attraction, challenging their focus. But as they delve deeper into the complex world of wine fraud, they suspect a widespread conspiracy that threatens to destroy Le Rêve. Together, they must harness their unique abilities to expose the truth, safeguard the restaurant's legacy, and navigate their intensifying relationship, even as they battle their own internal worlds.