Congratulations
To the winners of the mythology writing challenge!
Thank you to everyone who participated in this challenge!
Everyone who submitted a story will be receiving feedback, regardless of whether or not the story placed. You can expect to receive your feedback in approximately one week!
And now for the winners!
Drumroll please . . .
FIRST PLACE
Galatea by jonna batten
After Pygmalion sculpts his dream bride out of ivory and petitions the goddess Venus to bring her to life, Galatea takes her first breath. She was created to be the perfect woman in a perfect love story between an artist and his creation, but she cannot hope to meet her maker’s impossible standards… and although her initial form might belong to Pygmalion, her heart belongs to another: the goddess who granted her life.
Trigger Warnings: nonconsensual touching, implied SA, mentions of physical abuse, talk of poisoning, MILD for all
second PLACE
Shifting Stone by Angela Ostley
Athena, a Goddess worshipped for her wisdom and the fierce way she protects her devotees, can’t stop questioning a choice she made long ago. A choice that could undo everything she is. She visits Medusa to search for answers or even forgiveness, but what she finds is something else entirely. Something to remake them both.
Trigger Warnings: mild references to sexual assault and violence
third PLACE
The God of Lost Things by Sarah Lineberry
Tethemus, God of Lost Things, is quite content to live alone in his isolated cave of misplaced treasures. When a divine misunderstanding brings a frightened little girl instead, Tethemus ventures back to the human realm to try to bring her home.
Trigger Warnings: N/A
FOURTH PLACE
A Warrior's Heart by Anne Gallagher
When shield-maiden Katla dies tragically in childbirth, she awakes not on the shores of Valhalla, as she’d anticipated, but in Helheim. Will a self-assigned trial be enough to reunite her with her husband-and prove her worth as a warrior?
Trigger Warnings: Complications of childbirth, death, afterlife, grief/loss
Fifth PLACE
How The God of the Forge Found His Tools by Vincent van Eykelen
The god of the forge has lost his tools; wherever might they be found? Perhaps the prince of crows might know where they are. And perhaps a punishment is in order, for those who dared to take them.
Trigger Warnings: Natural disaster - mild
sixth PLACE
Nøkk by Victoria Bjordahl
In 1660 Christiania, Marte’s abusive husband vanishes into the black waters of the fjord, and whispers of witchcraft begin to circle her. Desperate to protect herself and her daughter, she strikes a silent bargain with the Nøkk—a shadowed water spirit—that teaches her and other women to resist the men who would break them. But when the trials close in, Marte sacrifices herself to unleash a flood that redraws the map, leaving behind a legacy of resistance that her daughter inherits as the Nøkk waits, endless and inevitable.
Trigger Warning: Domestic violence / spousal abuse – MILD Child endangerment – MILD Sexual assault (rape referenced) – MILD Murder / drowning deaths – MILD Execution by burning (historical witch trials) – MILD Torture (historical methods referenced) – MILD Religious persecution – MILD General violence (implied / supernatural revenge) – MILD
seventh PLACE
Two Coins, One Stone by K. Anderson
After her sister commits suicide, Mierla must takes measures to keep Fetia’s soul from becoming unclean.
Trigger Warnings: Suicide mention, discussion of suicide, murder (off screen), mild voilence and blood, miscarriage, death, death of loved ones
eighth PLACE
The Flock by SK Lynne
When ancient dark forces stir in the pious town of Ashewell, Mercy struggles to reconcile her inner voice with a religion that demands women’s silence and submission. As her best friend’s envy turns against a newcomer in the name of the faith, Mercy must choose between complicity and defiance. In Ashewell, silence burns as hot as the flame.
Trigger Warnings: Religious trauma & misogyny (severe), Sexual shaming (mild), Supernatural horror (moderate), Graphic violence & body horror (severe), Pregnancy Loss (mild), Death (moderate), Emetophobia / vomiting (mild)
ninth PLACE
The Keeping Jar by Meredith Pominville
This is the story of how we came to carry our children within our wombs before they are born. For as long as we can we remember, we grew our children in Keeping Jars until they were ready to be born. Then, the Spider Goddess Morrigan intervened on behalf of a fearless and curious weaver, Taiya, who had prayed to Morrigan to protect her growing child from wolves.
Trigger Warnings: Spiders, Arachnophobia; MILD: Sexual Situations Pregnancy, Fear of Child Loss/Death
tenth PLACE
The Senator by Liz w.
A journalist interviews a Senator running for President to learn the secret behind his recent campaign success and meteoric rise in popularity. In the process, he encounters an impossible creature.
Trigger Warnings: death (implied) MILD
