Congratulations
To the winners of the romantasy writing challenge!
Thank you to everyone who participated in this challenge! We received over 1,100 submissions (whoa!) and had the best time diving into all stories spicy and sweet.
Everyone who submitted a story will be receiving feedback, regardless of whether or not the story placed. You can expect to receive your feedback within the next week!
And now for the winners!
Drumroll please . . .
FIRST PLACE
the sea and her moon by Blü Tate
Captain Aven Taner has everything a pirate could want. But when he sees a beautiful woman walking alone on a beach, he will stop at nothing to see her again. Even if that means hiring the help of a witch.
Trigger Warnings: Descriptions of blood and moderate gore, alluded death and drowning
second PLACE
Barbarian Knight by Juliette Caruso
Katla knows the wizard she works for would never want a battle-scared warrior like herself. But when her careless accident in his workroom unleashes a magical Horror, she has no choice but to ask for his help.
Trigger Warnings: mild violence
third PLACE
the house of wandering bone by morgan frederick
An old woman struggles to accept her new husband, the guardian spirit of a magical house. When he begins to fade, she must acknowledge a love already made.
Trigger Warnings: N/A
FOURTH PLACE
wanting by Lys Robins
The heirs of warring countries come to terms with their sudden arranged marriage.
Trigger Warnings: Light sexual content, reference to war, reference to death, reference to violence.
Fifth PLACE
colors of the heart by aris thomas
Two lonely painted portraits that are magically alive learn to fall in love with life and find love within each other as they travel through the dreamy realms of other paintings.
Trigger Warnings: N/A
sixth PLACE
threads of destiny by Hallie Brynn
Haunted by a seer’s prophecy, adventurer Elowyn Nightingale must make a choice: continue her life of wandering, or settle down with her lover - a tavern keeper with a passion for weaving.
Trigger Warning: N/A
seventh PLACE
our own silent song by summer weaver
Trapped in a silent underwater palace with only one memory of the surface, a rune artist finds a stranger's journal and decides to write back.
Trigger Warnings: Implied, non-explicit death
eighth PLACE
above or beneath all things by mason kiser
Two young men–one living on the water, the other, in the sky–find quiet connection in a cave. One flees to fight a war, while the other waits desperately for his return.
Trigger Warnings: N/A
ninth PLACE
as soft as gold by elaine raven
As a child, Sunda had heard stories of heroic knights saving princesses from towers. He’s certainly not a knight, now, and she might not even be a princess, but when both of their plans go awry, they just might end up saving each other.
Trigger Warnings: Implied past domestic abuse
tenth PLACE
thalatta! thalatta! by samantha bonanno
Faced with a prolonged journey, sailors pass the early hours by swapping tales of their lovers. But as the ship’s new captain begins reminiscing of the man who claimed his heart, his shipmates learn of an unsettling, unexpected hobby that threatens to doom them all.
Trigger Warnings: N/A
