Announcing the Fairy Tales Contest!

Hello Episode Authors,

It’s time to start the next Writer’s Contest! This time the theme is… Fairy Tales!

Fairy Tales are a part of many cultures, and we want to see your takes on their stories!

The specific guidelines are:

  1. Your story must have “FT” in the title. Stories without “FT” in the title will be disqualified. While not required for entry it is strongly recommended that you format your title like this - “FT: The Golden Egg” This will help readers search for your story and identify it as a contest entry.

  2. You must completely fill out this Google form to enter. In the event that you send the wrong link or make a mistake on your entry form, please send your story title, email address and the correct link in a support ticket so we can update your entry.

  3. Your story can be in any genre, but should feature characters and/or plotting from a Fairy Tale of your choosing.

What Qualifies as a Fairy Tale? Any culture’s fictional folk tales will be classified as a fairy tale for this contest. Stories should be adaptations that use identifiable characters or plotlines, but can be molded into original works.

Authors must adapt stories and characters in the public domain, which are free for all to use due to their lack of copyright status. While most fairy tales’ concepts and characters are in the Public Domain, meaning you can write about them without it being plagiarism or infringing on someone’s copyright, the specific characterizations and unique plot elements of recent retellings (ex: Disney movies, Once Upon A Time, Grimm) are not allowed to be used, and will be considered plagiarism. For more about what’s in the public domain, and what isn’t, check this out!

We encourage you to put original spins onto these stories to make them your own!

Examples of possible plots:

  • A retelling of the Ant and the Grasshopper, about two very different roommates
  • Hansel and Gretel find themselves tempted by a celebrity’s ornate mansion
  • A baker’s masterwork turns out to be a living Gingerbread man
  1. You may write in either Cinematic (full-body, animated) or Spotlight (animated upper bodies) Styles or a combo of the two. You can use any art style you prefer.

  2. We would love to see diverse characters in your stories! For example, characters who are people of color, non-heteronormative, or are of varying religions and socioeconomic backgrounds, just to name a few! To read more about diversity and inclusion on Episode go here.

  3. The submission window is 8 weeks. Your story must be published no later than 11:59 pm Pacific Time on Thursday, January 14th, 2021. To find out what time that is in your time zone, go here!

  4. You may NOT use or re-title a previously published story. This must be a new and original work that has not previously been published to Episode or another platform. Sequels, prequels, spin-offs, etc. are not allowed.

  5. If you are an official Episode Director or Writer you may enter the contest, but only with original work outside the scope of your contract with us.

  6. Be sure that your story follows our content guidelines. Stories that do not follow or which violate our Content Guidelines may be disqualified and/or have their story banned from the app. If you are any doubts or questions about whether elements or themes of your story fit with our Content Guidelines please contact the Episode Review team here. We are happy to help you with ANY questions you might have!

  7. Winners are determined based on the highest levels of reader engagement, rubric score and fit to contest theme. Check out our Episode Explained articles on Creator’s Contests, the Grading Rubric and Reader Retention for more info on how they all work.

  8. There is no length requirement for this contest. You only need to have 3 completed chapters published by the entry deadline. Your story may be a complete short story or can be continued after the contest is over. Because you only need three complete chapters to enter you CAN publish new chapters after the deadline. However, you may not substantially alter or change your first 3 published chapters after the deadline (other than to make minor corrections).

  9. Fixing typos and errors are allowed after the deadline for contest entries. This includes things like character or speech bubble placement, spelling / grammatical errors or typos. You may not: add options to your CC, change or update your cover art, add additional scenes, choices, dialogue, backgrounds or overlays. When in doubt ask Support before you make any changes. Once the winner’s shelf has been made public you are free to make changes or updates to your story.

  10. Remember to allow at least 3 business days prior to the contest deadline for your backgrounds, overlays and story cards to be reviewed. This means you should plan on submitting them no later than Monday, January 11th, 2021. You may not add, change or modify story cards, backgrounds, or overlays after the entry deadline until the winner’s shelf is announced.

Winners from this contest will be showcased in a special Fairy Tale shelf in the Episode app and get a shoutout on our social media account! Winners will be announced 3-6 weeks after the submission deadlines pass as the stories need time to gain reads in the app and for our staff to review them.

Happy writing!

The Episode Team

112 Likes

Interesting! What exactly qualifies as a fairy tale? For example, would a myth or urban legend count?

40 Likes

I’m so curious about how this is going to turn out! Good luck to everyone entering!

5 Likes

Interesting but ima pass this

6 Likes

Such a cool theme, I am sooo excited to read those stories.

I wish I had time to enter, but I have exams, so good luck to everyone entering!

14 Likes

Ok, I can smell l how I can change my plot a little bit to fit the contest.

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i absolutely love fairy tales, but i already joined the ldr contest so i am going to pass, i think.

5 Likes

Hey @Melani3, you’d want to make it January 14th, 2021. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

23 Likes

To answer the “What Qualifies as a Fairy Tale” question: Any culture’s fictional folk tales will be classified as a fairy tale for this contest. Stories should be adaptations that use identifiable characters or plotlines, but can be molded into original works.

30 Likes

Actually I might enter

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Awesome! Can’t wait to see enteries. Will be entering with a Slavic fairytale, most likely.

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Thank you!

1 Like

Oh boy oh boy…

Fantasy, fairy tales. Ugh. MY favorite genre to write…

11 Likes

Do vampire stories qualify?

6 Likes

Such a fun theme! :yay:

If I enter I know exactly what (short) story I’ll do…

5 Likes

I think I will enter…good luck to everyone entering :white_heart:

6 Likes

I think I will also enter this one, uh. hm.

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@Melani3 Hai, just want to make sure, does mermaids, werewolves and vampires and time travelling to another realm can be qualified for this contest?

7 Likes

Hm, @Melani3 do they or they are not a part of it?

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Do you think Santa Claus’s story counts as a fairy tale? :thinking::thinking:

3 Likes