Pens/keyboards down, your time is up!
Starting Tuesday, our Owl Judges will begin making some undoubtedly tough decisions! The Judges will be assigned your stories soon. Debrief will be live Tuesday, April 21.
Art by Vincenzo Ingenito
We'd also like to share some stats:
The final number of writers for the Verdant Owl Battle is 5,300! The most writers in a Battle by far (almost double the previous record).
The final number of redraws used (total cards redrawn) was 14,249!
Need a Beta Reader?
writingbattle.com/tavern?battl...
The prompts are now locked and can no longer be redrawn. The deadline to submit your story is Sunday, April 19th, at 10pm ET. Look out for an email in your inbox with further instructions. Submission is done on the Battle page of the site:
www.writingbattle.com/battle
Second Chances -- Curse of Just Right by author Medina Demiri
Workplace Comedy -- Casual Friday at the Temple of Arnak-Shai by author Laura Jarosz
Congratulations everyone!
Cursed Artifact -- The Chessboard by author Gigi Chérie
Dying Earth -- Snowbirds by author A Winchester
Origin Story -- Pay The Rent by author Sam James
Paranormal Romance -- Undertow by author Glen Creed
Runner ups (Genre Runner-up (x9) each won $334 USD):
Ancient Astronauts -- Taken With a Grain by author Derek Hersen
Conspiracy Theory -- Hatching Dragons by author Elle Davis
Crossworld Fantasy -- Proof of Concept by author lurking lab
Second Chances -- Here Comes Your Man by author Jaime Gill
Workplace Comedy -- A Simple Hell Determination Guide by author Gary Sharp
Cursed Artifact -- Do No Harm by author Ava Satani
Dying Earth -- Luna and The Wind by author Austin Ambrose
Origin Story -- Homesick Honey by author Ryan McCarthy
Paranormal Romance -- Pleasant Haunting by author Tūī Kraal
Winners (Genre Winner (x9) each won $1,334 USD):
Ancient Astronauts -- A Bond of Roses by author Kristin Noller
Conspiracy Theory -- That's Puppet Town For Ya by author Rev
Crossworld Fantasy -- A Midwife's Guide to Portal Births by author Mio Aoki-Sherwood
🎉Tempest Raven 2026 Final Results!🎉
Of the 2231 registered writers, 1757 entered a short story to face off in Battle.
(cont'd...)
SPOILER ALERT: I WON!
Thanks to all my haters for keeping me motivated and my fan (singular) for putting our kids to bed so I can write and thanks to Murderbot for helping me think about how to write a sexbot with a personality.
And thanks to Writing Battle for the rest of it!
Swashbuckler -- An Eternity of Blues by author Freya
Time Travel -- Leatherwood Cottage by author Roman Petrenko
Underdog Story -- Where the Grass Grows Wild by author Mel C.
Congratulations everyone!
Fantasy High School -- The Academy of Shelved Novels by author Elle Davis
Hidden Dungeon -- The Last Death of Danica by author Aggie Novak
Space Farce -- Spaceship: Looking for Crew by author Vasa
Runner ups (Genre Runner-up (x9) each won $578 USD):
Biopunk -- Where Trees Once Dreamt of Walking by author Michael Kaukeano
Cozy Mystery -- My Father, the Grease Monkey by author Ryan Hanaway
Cryptid Fiction -- The Banshee by author Josh Loomis
Hidden Dungeon - The Hard To Reach Places by author Sultan Ahmed
Space Farce -- Get to George by author Jane Stecyk
Swashbuckler -- Salt Pork & Honour by author William Draycott
Time Travel -- The Time Agent by author Wendy Holtz
Underdog Story -- If Ya Teach a Man to Fish by author Jeff Christensen
Winners (Genre Winner (x9) each won $2,312 USD):
Biopunk -- When Mermaids Become Monsters by author Julia Jane Wilkins
Cozy Mystery -- To Care by author D.H. Minton
Cryptid Fiction -- Imugi by author D. Kang
Fantasy High School -- Meridian by author John Selden
🎉Tempest Owl 2026 Final Results!🎉
Of the 2748 registered writers, 2131 entered a short story to face off in Battle.
(1/X) Keep reading to find out the winners...
Total No Redraw and submitted story: 685
Total No Redraw and did not submit story: 214
Total Burned through all Draws and submitted story: 309
Total Burned though all Draws and did not submit story: 75
Also -- meet Ollie! Our new Battle Director, Lindsay's puppy!
Paranormal Romance
Initially received this Genre but then nope'd out: 83
Stayed with Genre and submitted a story: 139
Landed on this after a redraw and submitted a story: 53
Held this Genre card at the end and did not submit story: 59
Number of houses: 5
Total Stories: 192
Crossworld Fantasy
Initially received this Genre but then nope'd out: 53
Stayed with Genre and submitted a story: 174
Landed on this after a redraw and submitted a story: 50
Held this Genre card at the end and did not submit story: 55
Number of houses: 6
Total Stories: 224
Cursed Artifact
Initially received this Genre but then nope'd out: 62
Stayed with Genre and submitted a story: 237
Landed on this after a redraw and submitted a story: 57
Held this Genre card at the end and did not submit story: 71
Number of houses: 8
Total Stories: 294
Conspiracy Theory
Initially received this Genre but then nope'd out: 67
Stayed with Genre and submitted a story: 112
Landed on this after a redraw and submitted a story: 46
Held this Genre card at the end and did not submit story: 39
Number of houses: 4
Total Stories: 158
Origin Story
Initially received this Genre but then nope'd out: 56
Stayed with Genre and submitted a story: 98
Landed on this after a redraw and submitted a story: 54
Held this Genre card at the end and did not submit story: 45
Number of houses: 4
Total Stories: 152
Second Chances
Initially received this Genre but then nope'd out: 63
Stayed with Genre and submitted a story: 168
Landed on this after a redraw and submitted a story: 53
Held this Genre card at the end and did not submit story: 53
Number of houses: 6
Total Stories: 221
Workplace Comedy
Initially received this Genre but then nope'd out: 71
Stayed with Genre and submitted a story: 105
Landed on this after a redraw and submitted a story: 46
Held this Genre card at the end and did not submit story: 45
Number of houses: 4
Total Stories: 151
Dying Earth
Initially received this Genre but then nope'd out: 39
Stayed with Genre and submitted a story: 141
Landed on this after a redraw and submitted a story: 63
Held this Genre card at the end and did not submit story: 37
Number of houses: 6
Total Stories: 204
Ancient Astronauts
Initially received this Genre but then nope'd out: 98
Stayed with Genre and submitted a story: 120
Landed on this after a redraw and submitted a story: 41
Held this Genre card at the end and did not submit story: 62
Number of houses: 5
Total Stories: 161
🧵...
This week you swap out your writing quill (keyboard) for a judge’s gavel.
We will be emailing you before every Duel, but please go to the Rules page to see the dates. Starting Tuesday, you have some undoubtedly tough decisions to make!
-The Writing Battle Team
Art by Vincenzo Ingenito
We'd also like to share some stats:
The final number of writers for the Tempest Raven Battle is 2230!
The final number of redraws used (total cards redrawn) was 5391!
If you need a Beta Reader, head on over to the Tavern
writingbattle.com/tavern?battl...
The prompts are now locked and can no longer be redrawn. The deadline to submit your story is Sunday, Feb 8th, at 10pm ET. Look out for an email in your inbox with further instructions. Submission is done on the Battle page of the site: www.writingbattle.com/battle