No one ever dreams, until one day someone does. Filippa's world is turned upside down when she dreams for the first time ever. She doesn't know what her cryptic dream means but something tells her it's important. Then her cat leaves like usual, and she realises that her dream might not be a dream at all but a vision. When she meets Emory, a vampire with a lot of keys, and Merrick a necromancer who can hear the stars whispering, she realises that this vision was aligned perfectly for her, and she has one job only, to find the key that opens all the doors. But when the stars start disappearing, and Fillippa meets Alodia, just how far will she go to find the key, and who will be left behind when the world ends?

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.

A 1970s family camping trip in the west turns deadly when Zombies appear. Rowan's dreams have always been vivid. This latest dream about Zombies attacking for example. Never in her wildest dreams does she expect a real black cat with an ear missing to show up at her tent. The exact same cat she has dreamed about since young. Seeing him now brings a terror in her soul. Without thinking twice, Rowan rouses her family, shoving clothes and supplies into the station wagon. Then they are racing down the roads driving until the gas gives out. Up to today, her Dad's tone deaf singing is the worse thing she has ever experienced. The best thing turns out to be most surprising. Rowan is immune to Zombie bites which saves her family. But can she do it on a global scale? * Prompts: 43, 98 and 108

*Note: This is based off an old and discontinued story that had its outline scrapped and reworked to fit the prompts for the ONC. Essentially, a new book for this competition. Only the core concept, title and the protagonist's name are kept the same.* ----- A ribbon, a hair-clip, a pen, a notebook and a radio, held in the arms of a sixteen year old girl... ... It's been four hundred of years since The Rot ravaged the world and sent people downward with its decaying touch, four hundred years since humanity has inhaled even a breath of fresh air and twenty years since the first fifth-generation child was born in the shelters deep underground. And now, beneath the poisoned earth at the edge of the world, only six of them remain living in the last surviving shelter, the last surviving Lifelight illuminating a darkened board. For the rest were claimed by The Rot. Protected at all costs, older generations shields the worst of the consequences, the worst of the panic, but truth cannot be hidden forever. With increasing tensions and increasing crime, it becomes clear that there are only two outcomes: to die in strife or to die in silence. That is, until an inexplicable hope presents itself in the form of a radio transmission originating from the single most uninhabitable place on Earth, the surface. But it's too late, too late for most, other than the most protected, the youngest, the fifth generation. The waiting game is over and now it's a race against time. Before The Rot reaches them, before they run out of supplies, the handful of survivors must reach out and find the source of the transmission. From this, there are only two possible results: death or a secured future. *Cover done by the amazing @toruinagod*

If you got anyone to describe Jessie Reynolds-Somber in one word, it would be 'lucky.' She survived childhood leukemia (twice), has the best friend-slash-roommate in the world, and she's studying something she loves at the university she's forever adored. But not even November can describe why she feels so incomplete, as though she's forgotten to do something she'll never get a chance to do. Why she feels like she's failed---no, worse, like she's a failure.

Tris McCoy is having an uneventful summer. It's the summer before eleventh grade, and it's the last summer she has before she has to start worrying about driving, and college, and a career. With her mom being in the hospital and her dad enjoying the title of father out in Australia, she's left to spend the next six weeks alone. Until she (literally) stumbles across a stack of old letters from her pen pal, July Souders. July lives in British Columbia---four provinces away---but Tris knows of a camp she used to attend. Unwilling to spend the summer alone and desperate for any change, no matter the size, Tris sets off for summer camp.

The Open Novella Contest is back for 2026! Join fellow storytellers and plant the seed of a tale that will blossom into a 20,000+ word novella within 12 weeks! Your epic quest begins February 1st, 2026, so mark your calendars with this date!

Melinda starts her first day as shift manager of Cozy Retreat with a personal disaster. After spilling coffee into the lap of the most influential food blogger online, she is sure her brief carreer as shift manager was over. An unexpected connection forms and all she needs to do is believe she deserves a second chance. But can Melinda trust her heart as she struggles to keep the secrets of her past and the footprints of her memories beat a path to her door? @XxxSistersxxX is my cover artist. Thank you for the amazing work.

How do you find your future soulmate whom you have yet to meet? Better question; how do you find them within the week? Any ideas? All you know is that if you don't, you will lose them forever. So wouldn't you drop everything and try anything to find them? ONC Prompt: 90. You receive a voicemail from someone you love, recorded one hour after their confirmed death. Started: Feb 1, 2026 Ended: ~ Book Blurb/Author Notes can be found after the last current chapter ~ Cover created in Canva ***This book might contain occasional colorful language***