2026 First Chapter Challenge Writing Contest

The Early Bird submission window ends on June 4, 2026 at 11:59pm CST. The Regular submission window ends on June 18, 2026 at 11:59pm CST.

Early Bird Submission fee (apply before June 4, 2026 at 11:59pm) is $25 per submission. After that, the Regular Submission fee is $30 per submission. These costs allow me to compensate our judges for their generous time and effort. Multiple submissions are allowed, but each submission requires its own fee.

For an optional $40 fee, you can receive ~200 words of personalized feedback from one of our judges, including their overall impression, perceived strengths, and suggestions for improvement.

Any genre or style of fiction is accepted (excluding non-fiction & poetry) as long as it is double-spaced with 1-inch margins and a standard 12-point font (Times New Roman, Arial). It should be chapter one of your novel-in-progress.

Your submission must be from an unpublished manuscript.

Because of the volume of entries we receive, we cannot provide feedback on every submission.

Writers may optionally request feedback on their submission for $40. This option is available on the contest form. (LIMITED AVAILABILITY)

Feedback includes a ~200 word writeup with personalized notes from one of our esteemed judges with their overall impressions, perceived strengths of the work, and suggestions for improvement.

Feedback will be delivered approximately one month after the contest results are announced.

Either! Whichever you feel is a stronger representation of your talent as a writer.

Absolutely! The contest is open to writers across the globe.

If your novel-in-progress is unpublished and unrepresented at the time of submission, you may enter it to the contest.

We will make exceptions for work published on personal blogs, like Wattpad or Substack.

Sharing your work on the WoN website and social media will NOT affect your novel's eligibility for future publication. It's a great opportunity to build readership and momentum for your novel, but if you prefer to keep your work private, you'll have that option on the submission page. Simply leave the box unchecked if you'd like to stay anonymous and/or not share your work—your submission will still be evaluated the same either way.

I want to keep these opportunities accessible for everyone. If you are a member of a historically marginalized group or are facing financial hardship, you are welcome to apply for a submission fee waiver. Recipients will be notified in early June, and the form will be closed after that date. You can find the application here.

The contest will be judged by four esteemed members of the literary community, including senior editor & former Short Story Showdown runner-up Danielle Robertson, book coach Meghann Harris, literary agent Kelsey Evans, and writer November J. Brown.

You can read more about the judges here.

Winners and all participants will be notified via email in late July to early August. Announcements will be made on social media shortly after.

Guaranteed Feedback will be delivered by end of August.