#ONC2026 | 🏆 Round 3 Winner | 🏅 Round 1 & 3 Ambassador Pick | Speaking to the dead is permitted, but raising the dead is forbidden. After discovering an unlikely copy of The Necrotic Guide, budding necromancer Emelie is both delighted and disgusted by the powers the book promises. Will it be enough to speak to her lost love again?

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.

** 𝑺𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆 - 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒘𝒃𝒐𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 - 𝑭𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑾𝒚𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈-𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓. ** After her husband not only cheated on her but also took her best friend for this little ride, Alice digs up her past, packs her bags and heads straight for the one place he's sure not to follow her: her hometown Grandfalls in Wyoming. What awaits her there is her parents' run-down ranch, dusty roads, stubborn horses - and cowboys who throw her good intentions out the window with a smile. Shortly after her arrival, Alice stumbles upon the charming cowboy Blake at a town festival and straight into a hot one-night stand that turns out to be a load of horseshit the next morning -because Blake turns out to be working at her parents' ranch. As if that weren't enough, Blake turns out to be a charming mess with a talent for chaos, while his gruffy brother Cole criticises her every idea as if it were his personal mission in life. And then there's Byron Carter: dashing, influential, and clearly too interested in the ranch... and in Alice. Between bankrupt finances, broken high heels, old enemies, and way too hot cowboys, Alice quickly learns that a heart is harder to tame than a wild ranch horse. In the end, she is faced with the all-important question: does she trust her feelings, or does she save the ranch before everything goes down the drain?

When Brie lands a spot on Cheese Whiz, a cheese-themed cooking competition, the last thing she expects is to run into Colby Jackson, the man who left her heart with more holes than Swiss cheese. ~~~ It was supposed to be simple. Enter the contest, win the prize money, open her own restaurant. Easy peasy, extra cheesy. So of course Colby freaking Jackson and his smug, entirely too sexy face just had to come back into Brie's life like an extra stinky wheel of limburger cheese. Surrounded by fierce competitors and legendary amounts of dairy, Brie and Colby exchange barbs sharper than any cheddar. Yet, as the competition heats up, Brie quickly discovers the mozzarella isn't the only thing melting. Against her better judgment, Colby is once again worming his way into her heart. Will Brie find a whey to make things work between them, or will he leave her feeling bleu? 🧀 Rivals to lovers 🧀 Second chance romance 🧀 All puns are fully intended ONC 2026 4th place winner! Cover and banner by @-DeeIsDead-

This is not enemies to lovers. This isn't even a love story. At least, not yet. -- oc x oc (onc 2026 entry) (prompt 24: Staying as friends feels safe, but that doesn't mean it's the path you're meant to take.) (COPYRIGHT! DemigodLegends © 2026)

Time around the world has frozen and a boy has grown tired waiting for it to melt, as his humanity begins to drain from him, a cat shows up at his front door to change everything. #ONC2026

Two teachers. Two rivals. Two hearts. Poppy Newman, an English Literature teacher, has worked at Twin Oaks Academy for the last six years. When she finds out that Logan Matthews, her high-school rival, is going to become her new colleague she can't quite believe it. With his classroom next door, there really is no avoiding him, and when the head teacher announces a competition, in order to get the A-Level students more engaged with their learning, their rivalry is sparked back into life. And with competition comes something unexpected: the students shipping their two English teachers. Will Poppy and Logan see each other beyond the competition, or will they just focus on being number one? *** This story was originally written for the ONC 2026, but this version complete with a new cover has been updated and rewritten for the Wattys 2026.

Dorian Dallowmarsh is a man on the run. The necromancer thought he'd be safe masquerading as a vacationing professor at a seaside resort, but his attempts to lay low at The Beacon have failed spectacularly. Spirits appear with cryptic messages at the worst possible moments, and Bitzy, an exuberant young widow, has taken a shine to him. She even secures him an invite to an exclusive soiree: a séance featuring the famous medium, Madame Draga. Dorian assumes Draga's a fake. Most self-proclaimed mediums are. But when a ghost delivers a disturbing message, he faces a terrible choice: risk exposure by a medium who may be a bounty hunter in disguise or disappoint his new friend. Either way, Dorian's quiet escape plan is about to get very complicated! Prompt 72: A real necromancer sits in on a fake séance.