Onc2026 Stories

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.

Abrie Warren didn't go to the Portland synagogue wedding looking for anything life‑changing - until Judd Nelson walked in wearing sunglasses indoors and staring at her like she'd rewritten his script. What follows pulls her into the warm chaos of his sisters, his unpredictable actor friends, and a chemistry that unfolds with the slow‑burn tension of a 90s indie film.

Liora never meant for her letters to be answered. She writes to hope, to escape the life she once dreamt of but didn't get. But when Winter answers - their bond becomes something dangerously close to love. He is a ruler shaped by shadows and she is a healer marked by quiet magic. What happens when seasons which are never meant to meet entwine in a fate impossible to break? Can they stand the gusts or will the seasons prove too fierce to endure? Read to find out!

An ONC2026 entry Magic is law and every mage is bound by Summon Cards; anchor tools used to call beasts, spirits, and even gods. The gifted train in Terra City where they must choose to either serve Creation, Justice, or Death. But Amara breaks every rule. She can summon without a card; even moreso she can summon Annatah, the god of creation. To the Order of the First, she is a miracle. To the Brotherhood of Night, she is the perfect vessel to incarnate Althera, the goddess of chaos. When eight year old Cassandra Apollos is kidnapped after awakening her abilities and calling forth Python, a rare divine protector, Terra City teeters on the brink of war. With enemies closing in, Amara must shape her own destiny before chaos takes form. An ONC 2026 entry

Minnie Morgan has it all. A well earned bachelor's degree alongside a full ride to her MFA program, a boyfriend who she's deemed actually tolerable, and her hair finally decided to work with her and not against her. 2017, she's decided, is going to be her year. Then, she's pushed down a well. As if waking up in 2012 wasn't bad enough, a world famous boy band that claims they can see the future have their sights set on her - and more importantly, the promise that she's going to someday break their lead singer's heart, resulting in a song that will top the charts. With a scandal on their shoulders and Minnie unable to enact the future the well-pushing diverted her from, now is a better time than ever to wield that inevitable heartbreak. Until the reluctant Jackson falls in love with her and writes that hit song, she's stuck in the past. Too bad he can't stand her. ... Originally written for Open Novella Contest 2026, prompt #14. Reworked. cover made by pharmakis!

When a cautious Formula One engineer crosses paths with a damaged comeback driver, she discovers that the most dangerous variable she should assess in the sport isn't speed-but attachment. ✦✦✦ Adriana Santos has always known her place on a championship-winning Formula One team is contingent. Excellence, she learned early, is not the same as security. She works in a role the paddock barely understands-simulating failures before they happen, answering 'what ifs' before they become 'what went wrong', and treating the car like a living thing whose future rests in her hands. Her work is quiet, precise, and easily erased the moment she becomes inconvenient. She is careful because she has to be. She knows Joshua Thomas long before she meets him: the driver who changed his name to fit in, the anomaly on a rival team forever tipped for titles. To Adriana, he's a reaction curve that never quite returned to baseline after last season's crash. His comeback is framed as resilience. Many are simply waiting to see him fail. They meet by accident, in a moment stripped of his usual extravagance and pretence. Adriana notices what she always notices-the face behind the mask, the way he laughs through failure like it doesn't frighten him. Adriana doesn't forget him, though. She keeps her distance but Joshua doesn't, and their reluctant friendship begins to bend into something riskier. And they both know exactly what it could cost them. ✦✦✦ ✦ Open Novella Contest 2026 | Prompts 24, 29, 30, 44 ᴄᴏᴘʏʀɪɢʜᴛ © 2026 ʙʏ ᴀᴜᴅʀᴇʏ ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛꜱ ʀᴇꜱᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ.

What happens when Death falls in love with the paramour he is gifted? Cursed to kill everyone he touches, beastly Lord Damien Casteel lives in anger and loneliness. During a rare game of poker, he wins the final hand against a petty criminal named Luca. The prize is a pouch of twelve precious gemstones. But Luca is determined to get the stones back, no matter what. Breaking into Damien's mansion to exchange the real gems for fakes, he is captured and threatened with death. Begging for his life, he strikes a deal: his freedom in exchange for his adopted son, Jemison, who will serve the lord as his paramour for twelve days; one day for each stone. Although he is reluctant to let anyone into his life, Damien is desperate to keep Jem away from Luca's abuse, so he agrees. What he does not expect is to fall for the tormented young man. Prompt used is number 46. We love broken, beautiful people. And it doesn't get more obviously broken and more classically beautiful than you. (Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid) My writing is AI-free. Any emdashes are here because I LIKE them. The poetic purply prose is here because I LIKE it. Computers don't write my stuff. The Muse inside my head who keeps me up till 3 AM and wants to drive me bonkers, does. Warning for: spicy situations, alcohol, some swearing, blood, abuse, and typical Christine darkness. There's no graphic sa, torture, gore, or animal abuse.

The creator of a 26th century matchmaker is anti-romantic, but when an analyst challenges her views, she relives painful memories, exposing her technology's flaws and threatening her identity. ｡ ✴︎ ⋆⚛ 🤖 ⚛⋆ ✴︎ ｡ Kayla Lacson believes that love is a biological equation that can be solved. She is the brilliant mind behind Dorothea, the most advanced AI dating application of the 26th-century, designed to calculate compatibility with extraordinary precision. Kayla's world is crafted in data, logic, and predictable outcomes. That is, until Mathew Matel, a Behavioral Analyst whose brilliance matches hers, joins her team and challenges her views. When Dorothea's latest revision loses public trust and corporate pressure mounts, he becomes the catalyst that forces Kayla to confront buried trauma, uncovering the flaws of her creation and fracturing her carefully structured reality. Despite Dorothea's calculation of their incompatibility, Kayla finds herself drawn to Mathew. Flashes of his face begin to haunt her as she tries to unravel his unexplainable familiarity. And when her very identity is threatened by tangled feelings, she must decide whether love is something to manipulate or something to surrender to. ｡ ✴︎ ⋆⚛ 🤖 ⚛⋆ ✴︎ ｡ ONC 2026 Round 1 Winner and Ambassador Pick Round 2 Winner and Ambassador Pick ｡ ✴︎ ⋆⚛ 🤖 ⚛⋆ ✴︎ ｡ Genres: Romance SciFi Speculative Fiction Unconventional SciFi Hard SciFi Slow Burn Romance

"I like being out of the spotlight. It's the only place I can breathe." 💫💫💫 Hazel Brooks has always loved Poppy Sparks, one of the most popular singers. From the posters on her walls to the songs she hums without thinking, Poppy has been the soundtrack of Hazel's life. As a dedicated fan, Poppy was always meant to be a world-famous star, someone Hazel never imagined she would meet beyond a crowded concert stage. But at the start of sophomore year, a quiet transfer student stepped into her life. She's soft-spoken, careful, and oddly familiar. Everything fell into place when Hazel heard her soft, unguarded singing on the rooftop. The voice she's admired for years is sitting right beside her. 💫💫💫 PROMPT USED: Number 23

William Grombo is a librarian who tries to forget the fact that he has super powers, but then he meets Kaya Ravens, who is just as obsessed with super heroes as he once was. But like William, Kaya hides a secret she doesn't want anyone to know.

Ian has always had very vivid dreams that feel like memories. Seeing people she's never met before and even places she has never been to before. Her therapist told her that there are just dreams and not memories. She performances hypnosis to help her shut out her memories. But not all dreams have disappeared. The moment she arrives in a town called "Zoey." Upon her arrival, she continues to be mistaken for Anna. But the question is: Who is Anna?

Isolde Hawthorne thought her senior year at Hohenfels Academy would be ordinary - the usual mix of familial pressure, exams, whispered secrets in hallways, and the subtle dramas of teenage life. That is, until she brought a hand mirror with a history darker than anything she had ever studied. Some reflections hide secrets. Some secrets are alive... and deadly. When shadows twist where light should be, and whispers echo through empty corridors, only a few can see the truth. Fewer still can survive it. And in the shadows of the academy, she isn't sure which she fears more - the spirit, or its potential to reveal parts of her that have been carefully hidden.

Against the backdrop of a damp, golden London autumn... ​In 2026 London, history professor Sarah uncovers a centuries-old letter hidden behind an old framed painting in her new flat. As she deciphers its secrets, she becomes entwined in a long-lost love and a mystery that spans generations-leading her to a man who holds the final piece of the puzzle." Participation in the Open Novella Contest 2026 Prompt used: #79 © 2026 by Nermein Sami El-Kurdi. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission is strictly prohibited #onc2026 #opennovellacontest2026 #oncprompt79

When Teia Cloto travels to Naples, Italy, hoping to steady a life already quietly unravelling, the last thing she needs is blind date that turns into an easy, unexpected friendship. Alden instantly makes the city feel strangely familiar in ways Teia didn't know she needed. Drawn deeper into Naples' ancient past and her own unsettling sense of déjà vu, the line between coincidence and destiny begin to blur. Staying friends is simpler. But Teia must confront whether destiny is a story we inherit, or one we choose to rewrite, no matter the cost. Water and Sand is a contemporary love story that reimagines the myth of Theseus and Ariadne, where love is a labyrinth and friendship feels like the safest way out. #ONC2026 contest. Story is complete. Prompt 24: Staying as friends is meant to be safe, but that doesn't mean it's the path you're meant to take; Prompt 28: Self-love often starts small, like planting a seed. With time, patience, and a bit of light, it will grow; and Prompt 29: You meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some will leave footprints on your heart.

After the War of the Fractured Crowns, the kingdoms built Aurevane Academy; a gilded institution where royal heirs are trained in warfare, diplomacy, and control. No ruler would ever rise uncontested again. Athelia Payton Verdanor was never meant to attend. Hidden from the world as the secret daughter of a forgotten throne, she arrives as the first female heir in five decades, determined to reclaim what was stolen from her kingdom. Standing in her path are two princes: Lionel Lysander, the golden Light Prince beloved by all. And Mythias Vindex, the feared Dark Prince sworn as her enemy. Beneath Aurevane Academy lies a forbidden relic, when Athelia and Mythias destroy it, an ancient curse binds them. Their wounds mirror. Their fates entwine. The only way to break it? A true love's kiss. A cruel joke considering their souls are carved with the same vow: Better dead than yours. With kingdoms preparing for ascension and betrayal brewing in every corridor, Athelia must decide... End the curse. Or take the crown. Because in Aurevane, power is forged in gold. And love? Love might be the most dangerous weapon of all...

Myia Hollowbourne receives an antique pocket watch in the mail from an unknown sender. When she winds it, she slips into the future-where she witnesses what she believes to be her own death. The more she winds, the darker the visions become. She soon discovers a hidden world that exists alongside her own, known only to a select group with divine connections. As she delves deeper, Myia uncovers her true identity and royal lineage, revealing the mystery behind her family's past. Now, she must find a way to save her family and confront the dangers that lie ahead.

One moment, Avery was the author. The next... she woke up inside her own novel. Her characters are alive. Her plot is wrong. And Aiden-the man she wrote to break hearts- is looking at her like she's his. The scariest part? She's no longer the one holding the pen. Every page pulls her deeper, every twist makes her question who's really writing the story-her, or something else entirely. And somewhere between fiction and reality, she'll have to decide... does she want to escape this world? Or rewrite it forever? [New chapter: Every week on Monday.]

In the silk-producing valleys of the Kingdom of Naples, Renza, the daughter of a respected silk merchant, has been raised within the careful order of family and tradition. Lucien arrives as a restless outsider, marked by a past he cannot escape. Around them move others bound by secrecy and survival, including a spy for the Inquisition trained to live between two worlds. As tensions deepen and suspicion spreads through Silk County, their lives draw toward a tragic event history has nearly erased. Echoing the ancient myth of Galatea and Acis in a 16th century setting, Silk County explores how love endures in fragile and often dangerous spaces, where even the most delicate threads can bind souls across time. #ONC2026 contest. Story is complete. Prompts: #16 - Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. And a slightly modified version of #104 - while wandering through the woods, you dismiss the rustling behind you as nothing more than the wind through the trees until you turn around realize it isn't wind at all. Content Note: This story contains references to non-graphic sexual situations. It also draws on historical accounts of the Inquisition, including themes of religious persecution and some chapters contain acts of violence. While these elements, as well as 16th century attitudes toward women, are handled with care, they reflect the realities of the period and may be difficult for some readers. They do not reflect this author's viewpoint.

(Nocturnal Law Series) One fatal night changes everything. Vampire detective Percy Ashmidia hunts down the worst supernatural criminals in all of Sanguine City, but he's chasing ghosts trying to figure out the identity of their latest killer. A fresh lead has him eager to uncover their identity, only to find himself fallen for a sinister trap that nearly costs his own sorry fangs. Injured, he stumbles into a witch-run clinic just before the sun rises and encounters a very exhausted, handsome witch doctor who doesn't have the heart to turn him away.

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?