Welcome to the first installment of “How Things Are Going,” an occasional series in which we share what is happening behind the scenes at the Prompty Awards. We want entrants, prospective entrants, and everyone curious about AI-assisted fiction to know how the competition is developing, what we are learning along the way, and what comes next.
The short version is that things are going very well.
Submissions Are Arriving, and They Are Fascinating
When we opened the submission period for the 2026 Prompty Awards, we were not entirely sure what to expect. This is a new kind of literary competition, built specifically for fiction created with the help of artificial intelligence, and there was no established playbook to tell us how writers would respond.
We are pleased to report that the response has been encouraging. We have already received many entries, and the books coming in are genuinely interesting. They span a wide range of genres, from literary fiction and science fiction to mysteries, romance, speculative fiction, and historical fiction.
What strikes us most is the variety. Some entrants appear to be seasoned writers experimenting with AI as a new creative partner. Others seem to be first-time authors who carried a story around for years and finally found a way to bring it to life. The approaches differ as much as the authors do. Some writers have used AI to brainstorm and outline, others to explore voice and dialogue, and still others to revise and refine their drafts. Each of these approaches tells us something about how fiction is evolving.
Reading these early submissions has reinforced the idea at the heart of the Prompty Awards. AI is the medium, but story is the goal. The entries that stand out are the ones in which a writer’s imagination is clearly in charge.
Building a Panel of Judges
Judge selection is now underway. Our judging panel will include authors and publishing industry professionals, and we are currently in conversation with several experienced independent authors who are considering joining us.
Independent authors bring a valuable perspective to this role. Many have spent years managing every aspect of their own books, from drafting and editing to cover design and marketing, and they tend to be early adopters of new tools. They understand both the craft of storytelling and the practical realities of getting a book into readers’ hands. That combination should serve entrants well, since our judges will weigh originality, storytelling, characters, craft, imagination, and the meaningful use of AI.
We plan to introduce our judges in a future post once the panel is confirmed.
Welcoming Our First Sponsor: Chaptershift
We are delighted to announce that Chaptershift has signed on as the first sponsor of the Prompty Awards. Chaptershift offers AI-guided novel writing software designed to help authors develop and complete their fiction, which makes it a natural fit for a competition devoted to AI-assisted storytelling.
As part of its sponsorship, Chaptershift is providing a 12-month subscription to its software for our winners. We are grateful to ChapterShift for believing in this project at such an early stage, and we look forward to working with the team throughout the competition.
Sponsors play an important role in helping a new awards program grow, and we hope ChapterShift will be the first of several. Organizations interested in supporting the Prompty Awards can learn more on our Sponsors page.
What Comes Next
The Early Bird deadline is November 1, 2026, which is now just three weeks away. Entries submitted by that date carry a $25 application fee. After that, the fee rises to $40, and the final deadline for all submissions is December 31, 2026. Winners will be announced on April 1, 2027.
The Grand Prize winner will receive $1,000 in cash and the option of a publishing deal with Apateon Press, which does not charge fees to authors. In each of our six categories, the Gold winner will receive $500 and the Silver winner will receive $100.
If you have a finished work of AI-assisted fiction, we hope you will consider entering. You can submit your book at promptyawards.com/enter.
We will be back with another update soon. Until then, thank you to everyone who has entered, asked questions, or simply cheered us on. It is an exciting time to be telling stories.
x
Welcome to the first installment of “How Things Are Going,” an occasional series in which we share what is happening behind the scenes at the Prompty Awards. We want entrants, prospective entrants, and everyone curious about AI-assisted fiction to know how the competition is developing, what we are learning along the way, and what comes next.
The short version is that things are going very well.
Submissions Are Arriving, and They Are Fascinating
When we opened the submission period for the 2026 Prompty Awards, we were not entirely sure what to expect. This is a new kind of literary competition, built specifically for fiction created with the help of artificial intelligence, and there was no established playbook to tell us how writers would respond.
We are pleased to report that the response has been encouraging. We have already received many entries, and the books coming in are genuinely interesting. They span a wide range of genres, from literary fiction and science fiction to mysteries, romance, speculative fiction, and historical fiction.
What strikes us most is the variety. Some entrants appear to be seasoned writers experimenting with AI as a new creative partner. Others seem to be first-time authors who carried a story around for years and finally found a way to bring it to life. The approaches differ as much as the authors do. Some writers have used AI to brainstorm and outline, others to explore voice and dialogue, and still others to revise and refine their drafts. Each of these approaches tells us something about how fiction is evolving.
Reading these early submissions has reinforced the idea at the heart of the Prompty Awards. AI is the medium, but story is the goal. The entries that stand out are the ones in which a writer’s imagination is clearly in charge.
Building a Panel of Judges
Judge selection is now underway. Our judging panel will include authors and publishing industry professionals, and we are currently in conversation with several experienced independent authors who are considering joining us.
Independent authors bring a valuable perspective to this role. Many have spent years managing every aspect of their own books, from drafting and editing to cover design and marketing, and they tend to be early adopters of new tools. They understand both the craft of storytelling and the practical realities of getting a book into readers’ hands. That combination should serve entrants well, since our judges will weigh originality, storytelling, characters, craft, imagination, and the meaningful use of AI.
We plan to introduce our judges in a future post once the panel is confirmed.
Welcoming Our First Sponsor: Chaptershift
We are delighted to announce that Chaptershift has signed on as the first sponsor of the Prompty Awards. Chaptershift offers AI-guided novel writing software designed to help authors develop and complete their fiction, which makes it a natural fit for a competition devoted to AI-assisted storytelling.
As part of its sponsorship, Chaptershift is providing a 12-month subscription to its software for our winners. We are grateful to ChapterShift for believing in this project at such an early stage, and we look forward to working with the team throughout the competition.
Sponsors play an important role in helping a new awards program grow, and we hope ChapterShift will be the first of several. Organizations interested in supporting the Prompty Awards can learn more on our Sponsors page.
What Comes Next
The Early Bird deadline is November 1, 2026, which is now just three weeks away. Entries submitted by that date carry a $25 application fee. After that, the fee rises to $40, and the final deadline for all submissions is December 31, 2026. Winners will be announced on April 1, 2027.
The Grand Prize winner will receive $1,000 in cash and the option of a publishing deal with Apateon Press, which does not charge fees to authors. In each of our six categories, the Gold winner will receive $500 and the Silver winner will receive $100.
If you have a finished work of AI-assisted fiction, we hope you will consider entering. You can submit your book at promptyawards.com/enter.
We will be back with another update soon. Until then, thank you to everyone who has entered, asked questions, or simply cheered us on. It is an exciting time to be telling stories.