Opennovellacontest Stories

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!

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- A slow-burn romantasy with fae courts, false identities, and dangerous choices - "I was taken from my world to replace a girl who was already dead. They dressed me in white, gave me her name, and promised me safety if I stayed silent. I was meant to be a bride. A symbol. A lie. But the prince I was promised to doesn't see me the way he should. And the man who brought me here is watching, waiting for me to break. I am not the girl they think I am. And if the truth comes out, it will destroy us all." #fantasy #fae #fairies #romance #slowburn #enemiestolovers #royalty #forcedmarriage #fakeidentity #darkfantasy #forbiddenlove Note: This story is taking part in the Open Novella Contest 2026 #ONC #OpenNovellaContest

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 through wit, longing, and the complicated reality of choosing love when friendship feels safer. Updates ongoing as part of the #ONC2026 contest. Prompt #24: Staying as friends is meant to be safe, but that doesn't mean it's the path you're meant to take.

Lights, camera, action. When an Alien gets curious, too curious, things go... south. Calliope is from the species Llanci, and when her fascination to mankind grows, so does her list of major crimes. Her thirst for knowledge never wavers, quickly snowballing to a dead corpse of a human in her space station. No one can find out the truth. She shifts into the humans appearance, completely replacing the human with herself and taking on its life on Earth. All she has to do is play the part, just like all those humans she sees on those pixel light boxes, and make sure no one finds out. Easy, right?

ONC 2026 Round One Qualifier❤️ Natasha is a young, published author whose book never quite found its audience. At home, her words are dismissed, her dreams met with silence instead of support. Slowly, she learns a truth that no one ever taught her-that before asking the world to choose her, she must choose herself. Her journey of self-love begins small and unremarkable: solitary café visits, writing without seeking validation, doing things simply because they make her feel alive. Like planting a single seed, she nurtures herself with patience, light, and time, watching her confidence grow in quiet ways. On a train journey meant to be nothing more than an escape, Natasha notices something unexpected-a stranger reading her book, smiling as if the story was written just for them. The sight moves her deeply, proof that her words mattered, even if the world never applauded. She gathers the courage to speak, but the stranger seems distant, uninterested, and the moment slips away. Fate, however, isn't done with her yet. When their paths cross again, Natasha realizes that her book has already spoken on her behalf. Through the story she once wrote in loneliness, she finds connection, understanding, and love-only after she has learned to give all of it to herself first.

Hari's dreams were dying, from continuous failed government-job exam attempts and the weight of his family's disappointment, he flees to the concrete heart of Mumbai. He isn't looking for greatness anymore-just survival. In the grueling heat of a suburban factory, he meets Babban. A man who has spent twenty years inhaling smoke so his son can breathe clean air. Babban becomes more than a mentor, he becomes the mirror Hari afraid to look into. While Hari has given up on his fate, Babban refuses to let him compromise with fate, pushing him toward one final, desperate attempt at the SSC exams. But Mumbai is a city of sharp edges. When a spark of local unrest ignites into a violent riot, the dream Hari worked for suddenly carries a devastating price. They say many people will come and go in your life, but some leave footprints on your heart. For Hari, Babban's footprints lead all the way back to the village he tried to escape-carrying a debt that success can never truly repay. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ -•-•-•-•-•-•-•-• -•-•-•-• Written for ONC 2026 Prompt No. 29 :-- You'll meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some leave footprints on your heart.

Her return was supposed to be simple. Go inside, clear the house then file the rapport. Happy ending, she gets her career back. Except she gets greeted differently. And the longer she stays the harder it becomes to tell whether she is investigating the house or someone is investigating her. Based on prompt 82 "You are in love with someone living and someone long dead. Neither one is willing to let you go."

Open Novella Contest 2026- Round One Qualifier After Hyppa's village is destroyed, she sets out on a path of vengeance to bring those who have taken everything from her to justice. Aided by Wren, the machine-intelligence that powers her Galant- a suit of magic-powered armour- she journeys out across the wastelands of a world ruined by war and shattered by greed. Will she walk the same path as those that destroyed her world? Or will she be able to retain her humanity despite the fact that the only magic that still exist is used to power machines of war? A post-apocalyptic tale blending elements of Science-Fiction and Fantasy, Galant is a story about revenge and how much it can cost when weapons are the only tools we have to hand.

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!

The dream always ended the same way: with the salt-spray of an ocean I'd never visited and the warmth of a hand I couldn't quite grasp. He never had a face-just a silhouette cut out of the moonlight-but his voice was a low rumble that vibrated in my chest. "Find me," he'd whisper. "Before the clocks stop." When I woke up, the silence of my apartment felt like a physical weight. I checked my pulse, my skin still buzzing from a touch that didn't exist. I told myself it was just stress. I told myself that "Thorne" was a name I'd probably seen on a billboard or a dusty law book. But then I saw him.

The day Jade stumbles upon a forgotten temple and the god once worshiped there, her life changes forever. She's finds herself with a curse and no choice but to work with the mischievous god if she hopes to break it. However, he has an agenda of his own, and nothing is quite as it seems.

Dead men tell no tales. Or so they say... Having survived a series of catastrophes, disgraced detective Penny Dubois is thinking of retirement. After all, she sees no reason to come back. However, everything changes when her best friend, Irma Hale, is framed for the murder of renowned heiress Charity Payne, and all the clues point towards her. The victim's ghost is summoned from the dead and says she's guilty. As a necromancer, Penny instantly recognises that the seance had been rehearsed, but she must keep it a secret, because if she gets found out, it could be her awaiting the final sentence. As the clock ticks, Penny must start a new investigation and find out who the real killer is before it's too late. *** Based on Prompt 72.

Mariella intends to marry rich. Then she'll live as she chooses. But there's a problem. The crown prince isn't as blind as everyone else, especially after he sees her true self. He now notices everything, the little lies, the carefully crafted manners, the rehearsed kindness. He is indifferent, dismissive, and dangerous in ways she can't anticipate, but she needs him on her side, because one slip, one glimpse behind her mask from the court, and everything she has clawed towards will collapse. She has spent her life perfecting the art of being the sweet, proper lady no one suspects. How to appear harmless, timid, and polite. But every word, every gesture, every tear is calculated. Because, in a world of wealth, titles, and ambition, the clever survive and the careless get left behind. And she will not be left behind. ××××× "She is deceiving you, Your Majesty!" Percival insisted, dragging Mariella back to the present, ''I swear upon my honor.'' The throne room felt smaller than before as the silence after Percival's words stretched. The King's gaze softened. "Mariella has served this court with nothing but grace." Mariella sobbed harder. The sound loud in the silent room. Finral's gaze burned into her. He had not spoken or shown any indication of revealing the truth. Maybe he was still in shock from her magnificent performance but she had to be sure. So she slowly lifted her head slightly, meeting his eyes for the briefest moment. Just for a second. And winked. The smallest movement. Gone in an instant. His lips parted. Whether from shock or apathy, she couldn't tell but he still said nothing. And in his silence, the ruling fell swiftly. ××××× Written for the open novella contest 2026 prompt 16: And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul (Quote by John Muir) Interpreted in a romantic sense.

PROMPTS USED: MAIN: 97. When the world slips into endless darkness, something begins to move in the shadows and you must find a way to survive in a night that never ends SIDE: 93. Buried beneath the ruins lies an artifact that whispers the memories of an ancient being. The first memory it reveals is a warning and it's meant for you. 104. While wandering through the woods, you dismiss the rustling behind you as nothing more than the wind until you turn around and realize it isn't the wind at all.

Liora Elise Vale lives a quiet life arranging flowers and believing the world is kind. Nikolai Arsen Virel knows better. Kindness is a weakness. Softness is a liability. And attachment get people killed. ___ He was hired to watch her. Just watch nothing more. But the longer he observes her gentle smiles, her soft voice, and the way she treats broken things like they can be fixed... the more dangerous his mission becomes. Because now anyone who looks at her too long becomes a threat. Anyone who touches her becomes a problem. And problems don't live very long. ____ She thinks she's being stalked. He knows he's protecting what's his. She was supposed to be target. Instead, she Became his obsession.

(First draft - unedited) Evangeline Winterbourne thrives on the unknown. Driven by an unrelenting curiosity, she has spent her life chasing what history tried to erase. Unearthing ancient knowledge, deciphering forgotten languages, and dragging buried civilizations back into the light. Discovery is what she does best. It has never failed her. Until one expedition does more than leave its mark. Deep within a dense forest, Evangeline and her team uncover an ancient temple tied to a lost civilization. What they find inside refuses to stay buried. Whatever stirred there follows her home, settling beneath her skin, awakening something long dormant. Because Evangeline is not entirely human. Drakonian blood runs through her veins, a fractured legacy passed down through generations. Heightened strength. Accelerated healing. A heritage she never fully understood. Until now. As strange coincidences begin to stack and ancient artifacts whisper of memory and chaos, Evangeline realizes the past isn't finished with her. An ancient presence is stirring, one bound to her blood and to the choices her curiosity keeps leading her to. And it wants to be found.

If monsters need humans, and humans don't need monsters... which species is truly powerful? And what happens when humanity finally realizes that? The strategist Hugo meets Merille. She is not human, and so they stand in direct opposition. But Merille is unlike any monster he knows. She doesn't need him. Control is the answer. But how can he wield power when the rules have changed? It's time to control the system before it masters him. According to prompt 80. Monsters don't live under our beds. They live in the recesses of our minds.

• A Greykin Chronicles Origin Story • What the hell did a mutt like Emrys think he was doing entering the Redblood Trials? Winning, that was what. He'd prove he was more than an outcast runt, and he'd become the first of his kind to claim a place in the Monarchy. *** Since the beginning of the human-Caeleste war, Emrys' pack has moved from territory to territory. When they finally reach the Pactlands, a city far from the chaos and neutral ground between the surrounding packs, it is immediately made clear that mutts aren't welcome, and runts never last long. Unfortunately, Emrys is both. If it weren't for Finn, he wouldn't have survived long enough to witness the twentieth Grey Moon. With it comes the Redblood Trials, a brutal tournament which promises the victor a royal title. That was his chance to prove that a mutt was more than a revolting cross of far too many bloodlines. But his fight for survival starts before he can even sign up. Driven from the city by the Silveinbloods, he trespasses into forbidden woodland, a place no wolf dared to go. Abandoning sense and instinct alike, he ventures into the ruin of an old castle, where he uncovers an ancient Aegis artifact. However, the discovery doesn't promise fame and fortune; it warns that entering the trials will bring only danger and despair. With the moon just around the corner, he has to decide what he fears more: a life forever of humiliation and seclusion, or the apparent fate waiting for him in the arena. ❅ Dark Fantasy ❅ Mystery-Thriller ❅ MxM Romance ❅ Werewolves vs Wolf Walkers ❅ Word Count: 7,443 ─────────────────────────────────── ✵ Numenverse year: 1150 2026 © Tate Csernis

A world at war. Spies fighting in the shadows. Niko Sapphire, a dedicated young agent of the Quorum, must unravel the sinister plots of a notorious alchemist and his alliance with the Siren kingdom of Lokesha before his homeland is ravaged by a new breed of creature, born of chaos and hellbent on tainting the ocean tides with blood for eternity. *** As the war between the evil Dragoness and the noble Lightsworn rages across the shores of the Southern Isles, tensions rise as new pawns of darkness arrive to swing the pendulum of fate in their favour. Recruited to seek out the mysterious dealings of corrupted alchemist, Doctor Kief Thondial, Quorum Agent, Niko Sapphire, joins forces with mermaid operative Skilla Striker to uncover the mysterious alliance between Thondial and the Siren Queen of Lokesha. Rivals by nature forced to work together for the sake of their people's survival, Niko and Skilla soon discover that Thondial has returned to his wicked experiments, and this time, what he creates could guarantee the outcome of the war. James Bond and Mission Impossible meet Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in this action-packed novella about spiritual warfare, second chances, and the dangerous consequences of resentment. *** Entered into the 2026 Open Novella Contest Prompt #32