A secret uprising hinges on a prophecy that can only be fulfilled if a wizard wins the favor of a princess-and Caen of Piddler's Grove is determined to be that wizard. But when his ambition leads him to choose the wrong familiar in his quest to woo Princess Ori of the Sun Throne, he sets in motion a mistake that will forever change the kingdom of Sporque.

"Nothing is what it seems in dreams." In the depths of a dark and twisted forest, Aris, crown prince of Lancaster, is tormented by recurring nightmares of the Tainted--monstrous creations of the black fae, a corrupting force that seeps into all who live within its woods. Relentlessly hunted in the dreams, he finds unexpected aid from a mysterious girl named Elara, and with her help he is able to elude the creatures each time, breaking free from the nightmare's clutches. But when Aris is wounded by one of the Tainted, the line between dream and reality begins to blur. When a weapon deadly to the black fae appears in his grasp from the dream, Aris and his sisters--Tamryn, Maeve, Maeril, and Aine--must race against time and Aris' failing health to uncover the ancient truth behind the forest's curse--or face the imminent threat of the black fae and its vengeful master, the guardian of the dark forest, Erebus Nocturne. ✧☽ ✧ ☼ ✧ ☽ ✧ Submitted for the Open Novella Contest 2026. Main Prompt: 75. A cursed forest hides an ancient creature longing for freedom. When it senses someone carrying the bloodline of the witch who once bound it, the creature summons monsters to a mansion where the forest and human worlds collide. The doors are open to anyone brave enough to enter. Side Prompts: 18. At eighteen, you begin dreaming of a stranger who feels like your other half. When they finally appear in real life, everything you thought you knew about love and reality begins to shift. 78. You begin to realize that nothing is quite what it seems.

Liz von Althuis has been sent by her mother to negotiate with Tsar Koschei, King of the Fairies. If she fails, her family's life (as well as the lives of all Humans in America) is at risk. To make matters worse, Liz has done the unthinkable. She's fallen in love. Will she be able to navigate her mother's will, her new feelings, and the King of Fairies, or will she lose herself and her sanity to the woods? CW: Arranged, forced & coerced marriage, emotional abuse (psychological manipulation), depression, postpartum depression, PTSD, suicide & attempted suicide (implied), death of an infant (off-screen, never directly shown), grief & loss depiction NOTE: I spell the city of Kyiv as Kiev on a few occasions. Because Liz is an American from 1994 and this is a period piece, she would only know the Russian spelling of the word. I have all Ukrainian characters (and eventually Liz) spell it as Kyiv. ONC2026 Prompt: 16. And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. (Quote by John Muir)

Working as a bookseller's aide was not Solys' job of choice. But when an extremely attractive sailor opened the town's first bookstore, Solys found herself rethinking all her decisions and signing up for the job. Just as things are getting cozy, trouble enters in the form of a tiny red dragon. Solys adores it at first sight, but just the thought of getting it through Inara is enough to make her want to roll through a field of cacti. And so ensues hilarious mishaps and coverups as Solys perseveres on her mission with a secret dragonling in tow. But when Inara discovers her secret, it turns Solys' world upside down, and she realizes that she has so much more to lose than she did when she began. Will Solys miss out on more than her chance with Inara, but on her adoring dragon, as well?

🏆 R2 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026 🏆 To revive the fallen God of Spring, the God of Winter must journey to the sky's end with the God of Death, only to realize that bringing back Spring may cost him his own soul. ⋯⋯⋯ ❝ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɢᴏᴅꜱ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ.❞ Muli, the God of Winter, is a threat. His touch brings death, and Xua, the God of Spring, learned this too late. With the Star of Spring gone, the mortal realm is trapped in an endless winter. To bring Xua back to life, Muli must reach the Edge of the Stars, and he cannot do it alone. With the help of Ansa, the elusive God of Death, Muli's journey through the seven kingdoms forces him to face his past, present, and future. As they approach the Edge of the Stars, the cost of their mission becomes clearer. To save a life, Muli must choose what he is willing to give up: his soul or the god he loves. The gates are open. The stars are watching. And Muli is about to discover the ultimate truth. ❝ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɢᴏᴅꜱ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴀᴠᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ.❞ ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2026 (First Edition) UPDATES WEEKLY ON MONDAYS, 8:00 AM (GMT+8, SGT) [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] 🏆 R1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026

Cursed to never find love, Sandhya steals a forbidden spellbook and breaks every rule of magic to rewrite her fate before it gets sealed on Valentine's Day - only to discover that the magic answering her might be the same magic destroying her.

What is the price for knowledge, and what will you do to get it? Felix North, dreamer, sailor, charmer, friend. From when he was young he had heard tales of the fabulous and mysterious Drowned Library of Watu. Descriptions of its grandeur had ensnared him and his friend Pedro for many years, and finally they are embarking on an adventure of perilous proportions. What secrets does the Drowned Library hold? Is it magic? The secrets of immortality? Or perhaps something more... But before they arrive, they must face the open sea, and no man has ever claimed she is an easy thing to master.

🏆 ROUND 1 WINNER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026 🏆 To assume her mother's title as the forest's guardian, a young elf-witch works with a common thief to unravel the truth behind a life-devouring blight―and the ancient dragon at its heart. ⋯⋯⋯ Princess Adalese has two problems: a life-eating Blight is devouring the forest, and her soulmate is destined to kill her. Mikal, a jaded thief from the Wastelands, has two options: steal a dragon's heart for coin or starve. His only obstacle? An eccentric princess and her overbearing witch-mother who seem determined to end him. As the Blight sweeps into Terrelis, Adalese and Mikal band together to uncover the truth to the ancient dragon's magic and the Wasteland's past. But in a world where magic and defying fate require hefty prices, saving the forest may mean losing each other. ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2026 (First Edition) [25,000 - 35,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] 🏆ROUND 1 AMBASSADOR PICK - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026 🏆ROUND 1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026

The dead in Lake Superior don't lie. Neither does Delta. She's got two months with the Crowlers - logging royalty, general nightmares - as part of the arrangement that keeps Hemlock Falls alive. She didn't expect to spend them investigating an angry, sick lake or the winter guardians that wouldn't leave her alone. And she certainly didn't expect Rowan Crowler to actually be useful or unrepulsive. But something is poisoning the water, someone knows about it, and the closer Delta gets to the truth, the more dangerous her two months become. In the UP, secrets don't stay frozen forever.

The latest rider of the king's dragon is dead, which means she is trapped in human form until she binds herself to a new rider. Garren is curious to know who the king will choose, but discovers that the king has decided the dragon has served her purpose and shall be disposed of. Garren won't stand for it and decides to inform Astryn of the king's plan. However, there seems to be only one way to help her escape, and that demands a lot more from Garren than he'd ever imagined. Open Novella Contest 2026. Prompt 4. "You discover that the dragon everyone fears is in danger, and you are the only one who can save it from the knight sworn to slay it."