Onc2026 Stories

Seventeen-year-old Aemilia, an orphan raised at a secretive Scottish academy, becomes obsessed with an ancient arch hidden in the nearby woods. When she deciphers its forgotten inscription, it opens a portal to a magical medieval kingdom. There she meets Brian, a young prince she cannot forget. Back home, the young man she had been enamoured of for years, Francis, finally returns her affection-but Aemilia's heart is divided between two worlds. As she continues crossing the portal, Brian's hidden destiny awakens: he is a dragon shifter whose power threatens both realms. When he is declared an enemy, Aemilia must choose-destroy the dragon to save her world, or protect the boy she loves. My entry for the ONC 2026.

25-year old Lee still hasn't figured out why they could not form any long-lasting relationships, even friendships for that matter. Aside from family members, which they are obligated to talk to, there is no one else Lee had even come close to calling a friend. Well, maybe except for one. -------- Submitted for ONC 2026 @OpenNovellaContest Using the following prompts : 29. You will meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some will leave footprints in your heart. 104. While wandering in the woods, you dismiss the rustling behind you as nothing more than wind through the trees until you turn around and realize it isn't the wind at all. 106. After waking at 3AM to a freezing room and a door you're certain you closed, you find wet footprints and melting snow leading from your bedroom into the hall. Realizing someone or something is inside your home, you follow the trail to uncover the truth. ------------- © 2026 J. Lee Kennedy. All rights reserved. Cover design © 2026 J. Lee Kennedy. Images used in this work belong to their respective copyright holders and are used under license or in accordance with applicable Creative Commons terms. Edited or altered images are copyrighted by the author in their final form.

This space is created especially for writers participating in the Open Novella Contest 2026 Writing a novella is exciting... but also confusing, lonely, and full of self-doubt. ❤️ Is my story good enough? ❤️Is my opening strong? ❤️Will readers understand my characters? ❤️Am I even on the right track? You don't have to figure this out alone. This book club is a place where contestants can: ✔ Share their entries ✔ Get genuine reads ✔ Receive honest and helpful feedback ✔ Improve their chapters ✔ Support fellow writers Here, we don't compete. We grow together. If you are writing for the Open Novella Contest and want readers, reviews, and real feedback - this circle is for you. Let's help each other write better stories.

Zanrok is an orc fresh out of college. He is welcomed home, but knows that as a bard, he'll never truly fit into his tribe filled with warriors, and thus leaves to travel Faerien in hopes to make a living. He makes a name for himself, and somehow not only manages to become a Court Jester at Hartbrueage Castle, but also stealing the heart of both His and Her Royal Majesty. But then the King is murdered, and the Queen is prime suspect. It is up to Zanrok to not only clear the Queens name, but also avenge the Kings death. Not an easy task for a simple bard.

Genesis de Valois has been cursed from a young age, one that constantly reminds her of the wretch that she is. Every morning, she wakes up to the catastrophe of trouble she's caused her whole life. Every night, she sleeps to the suffocating smell of her wrongs. When a man appears on her flower field near dead, Genesis knows that this could be her chance. This could be her chance to do something good, something right for once. But healing and helping this man would prove harder than it seems. Especially when he seems so intent on dying. Graphic by caralogues/seertostar/ @toruinagod -------------------------------------------------------- Main prompts: 10. Every time you've failed something, a flower appears in your yard. You now have the most spectacular flower garden in the neighborhood. But all you want is grass. 28. Self-love often starts small, like planting a single seed. With time, patience, and a bit of light, it will grow. Sub-prompts: 7. One morning, the ocean washes up a message. One you've been waiting for your whole life. 29. You will meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some will leave footprints on your heart.

𝑯𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆. 𝑺𝒐 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑴𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒓. ~•~★~•~ Avyxia Kleymor's peaceful life was shattered when an elvin assassin murdered her parents before her very eyes. Kneeling in a pool of her mother's blood, Avyxia vowed to find the person who took everything from her. Rage and sorrow consumed her young heart as her life gained a new and horrible purpose: vengeance at any cost. ~•~ 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩: 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧, 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝙥𝙤𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚. ★OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026 ★Cover art not by me ★Thanks for reading! «Tales Of Yvenia» ~•~★~•~

He's fighting battles everywhere. On the race track, in the board rooms, and his mind. Seems like he will lose one of them. Or all of them? __________________________________________ ONC 2026

Everyone thought she was an angel. Gentle voice. Soft smile. Always hungry - never satisfied. I was the only one who saw the teeth behind her kindness. The way she fed on secrets, admiration, silence. By the time they finally noticed the devil, I had already learned something worse: Nobody believes the victim when the villain looks like an angel. Book for the Open Novella Contest 2026. Prompt: 112 Also participating in The Nano Watt 2026 A.I. Usage ; Girl on the book cover

In 1897, Charlotte Moreau has been in an abusive marriage for years and the only solace she has is in the quiet moments when her husband and children are asleep. She often spends time by the lake and usually finds it a place of solace until one day when she receives a message in a bottle from her former best friend Marie who passed away. She encounters a friend of her acquaintance, Julien Deroche, a man she despises. She begins to argue with him, telling him to leave her alone. She begins to argue with him, telling him vicious things and to turn the other way when they cross paths. When she goes to the woods to find a new place to escape from her daily hell, she encounters Julien and must come to terms with what happened to Marie because Julien knows the truth. And because of their connection to Marie, she begins to soften toward him until she begins seeing him every day in this isolated place. But then Charlotte realizes that she has fallen desperately in love with him. And her husband begins to suspect something when she has dirt on her dress nearly every day. She must choose between her heart and her duty to her husband and children.

Rocked by recent personal tragedy, Anna Carlton is craving a fresh start. So, when her husband Simon is offered an amazing opportunity within his real-estate development company, Anna agrees to leave behind their home in London and relocate to Ibiza, Spain. Ibiza is a paradise. Simon, his work colleagues, and their wives embrace the sun, sand, and exciting nightlife with open arms. But for Anna, the island is an isolated fever dream. Simon's work schedule and active social life keep him away, and despite the crowds and parties, Anna feels alone. Well...not completely alone. Since the moment she arrived in Ibiza, Anna has felt a presence. The persistent presence of someone watching her. Items begin to move inside her beachside house, perfume lingers, messages appear in the sand, and the image of a dark-haired woman is always just beyond Anna's peripheral. A woman Simon seems to already know... Who is she? || A novella of suspense, written for ONC 2026 with prompt #80. ||

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.

While going for a job interview that he is woefully unprepared for, Brice is startled when his reflection in the mirror smiles at him. When the interview turns sour, Brice finds success when he receives help from the figure in the glass. Soon, his reflection starts accomplishing the life that Brice, his friends and society thinks he should achieve. However, once Brice begins questioning whether this is what he wants for himself, he realises what he really should be asking is whether he is already too far gone. ONC 2026 Prompt used: 76: Your reflection smiles before you do and then begins mimicking things you never did

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.]

ONC 2026 round two qualifier "Everyone loves Lingling, especially Orm. Why? Cause Lingling hates her." ------- The campus heartthrob of the college, Lingling had always been polite and charming to everyone. Her smile and gaze always had everyone around sway, even though she didn't really care much about it. Even while she was popular, she was a lovely person. Or at least that's what Orm had always known before. Until she met her herself. Their encounter left a bitter aftertaste in her heart, because why did the campus darling turn icy at her presence? And now, she's determined to find out the reason. Come on in the journey with Orm to sneak a peak at the Icy Campus Darling . Tropes: Strangers to lovers, Romcom, Grumpy x sunshine Secord couple trope: Best friends to lovers ONC 2026 entry with the tropes 49, 57 and 24 Temporary ending for the ONC (P.s. this has nothing to do with LingOrm's series. This is an RPF.)

The daughter of the most powerful priestess is nothing like her mother. The Oracle of Delphi has always been the most influential and powerful woman in Greece. But Pythia is dying inside everytime she channels the god Apollo because she is the only one who knows that all of the prophesies are false. Until one day a stranger comes seeking their fate and Pythia gives them a very different kind of answer.

En una ciudad donde los hombres arriesgan todo por pactar con dragones, Junia siempre supo que su hermano seguiría el mismo camino que su padre: uno del que pocos regresan. Cuando su hermano desaparece tras partir al castillo del gran dragón Zeros, ella decide romper las reglas que han mantenido a las mujeres al margen del poder y va en su búsqueda. Al llegar, descubrirá que el líder del clan Zarco no es quién promete ser. Junia se verá enfrentada a secretos que podrían desestabilizar el equilibrio que ha mantenido en paz a la ciudad durante los últimos años, teniendo que elegir entre el equilibrio o seguir en la búsqueda de su hermano. En un mundo donde los pactos prometen poder a cambio de un precio incierto, Junia deberá decidir hasta dónde está dispuesta a llegar para salvar a sus seres queridos... y qué está dispuesta a sacrificar cuando el fuego de los dragones deja de ser protección y se convierte en amenaza.

In East Texas, you're expected to come back with pie, gossip, or maybe a good story. Just not blood on your hands. Briar brought home a Frenchman, a secret, and more trouble than her mama's prayers could fix. Prompt 51: "While in search of a missing friend, you accidentally kidnap the most feared crime lord." #ONC2026 (Open Novella Contest 2026)

After a year spent healing at St. Francis Mental Hospital, Neillah must piece together the life she was forced to leave behind without getting caught. ⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆ When Neillah Thomas is released back into society she expects her family and friends to have moved on--not believe she's dead. Convinced it was for the best, her mother assures her temporary grief was better than long drawn hardship that could only end in pain, keeping her wellbeing a secret from everyone, but also single-handedly cutting off Neillah's entire support system. Sworn to secrecy, she attends college at her dream school only to find her former friend group in shambles. Between the cold stares, scathing retorts, and literal evasion, Neillah is shocked to find her first crush is a loner and that hot-headed best friend of hers? He seems to be staring in her direction a little too long. Clinging to her promise to remain out of sight, Neillah stubbornly fights for the closure they all deserve and answers she never got, no matter the cost. | An Open Novella Contest Entry | | Cover by the Amazing @Caralogues |

At eighteen, she begins dreaming about a boy she has never met-yet somehow knows by heart. In her dreams, he feels like her missing half, someone who understands her in ways no one else ever has. She wakes up every morning wondering if he's real... or just a creation of her lonely imagination. Then one day, she spills her coffee on a stranger. Late, stressed, and embarrassed, she expects the moment to ruin her day. Instead, it becomes the beginning of something unexpected. The boy she drenched in coffee is kind, funny, and strangely familiar. Too familiar. As their awkward meeting turns into friendship, and friendship slowly turns into something deeper, she starts noticing unsettling similarities between him and the boy from her dreams. The same smile. The same voice. The same way he looks at her like he's always known her. With every shared laugh and late-night conversation, the line between dreams and reality begins to blur. Was their meeting just an accident? Or was fate slowly guiding them toward each other all along? And when love begins to bloom, she must face the truth- Some souls are destined to meet... long before they ever touch.

Life isn't fair, and some have accepted that. I haven't. Some seem to be in charge, while others can never stand up for themselves. That can also be done differently. The hierarchy is cracking, more and more with each passing day. Vaméa and Roche live in the same world, yet their position couldn't be further apart. One is a predator, the other prey. Both carry a hidden agenda when fate forces them together. It is time to break the system before it breaks them. According to prompt 45. Kings have honor, soldiers are brave, poets have hearts, and all I have is rage!