Rules:
* The submission must be based on the writing prompt: “Dead men tell the best tales.”
* The submission must be written during the month of January.
* The submission must be independent and not a part of any other work. The judges need to be able to review it fairly without needing to read any other book or material.
* No sexual content is allowed.
* The submission must have at least 8,000 words by the second deadline.
* The submission must not contain any AI-Generated or AI-Assisted Content
Deadline: January 31st.
On January 10th, the first chapter of each entry will be compiled and published in a magazine format. No new entries will be accepted afterward.
This means you have to publish at least 1 chapter before January 10th and then submit the participation form.
You can view the previous three editions as an example:
January 2022 edition
June 2022 edition
January 2023 Edition
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
June 2023 edition
January 2024 edition
Second Deadline: (Closed)
As long as you participate before January10th, you will have until the end of the month (January 31st), to write and publish at least 8000 words in your own fiction page.
The judgment:
There are multiple volunteer judges who will review the entries and assign scores to them.
* The judges will judge up to a maximum of 40,000 words, but the submission may exceed that amount.
* There is no requirement for a definitive ending. You don't need to complete the story within the contest period. However, the content needs to be enough for the judges to get a sense of how the story will proceed.
* The prompt writing theme must be obvious to the judges. If they are unable to see where you included the prompt, the submission will be disqualified. There are no clear requirements on how to include the prompt. Be as creative as you want to be.
The top 3 scorers will receive the fabulous prizes listed below!
The Prizes:
First Place: $550 Royal Road Ad Campaign
Second Place: $275 Royal Road Ad Campaign
Third Place: $165 Royal Road Ad Campaign
*All three winners will also receive One Month Author Premium alongside their campaigns.
We look forward to your participation and can’t wait to see what sort of stories you will create!