As we close the first chapter of Round One in the Open Novella Contest 2025, the Page Masters are excited to share the numbers and statistics for all who seek knowledge of this year's journey so far.

This year, 909 brave storytellers set forth on their ONC journey. After the Page Masters carefully screened for the 2,000-word requirement, adherence to content guidelines, proper creation date (on or after February 1st, 2025 and before the 28th of Feb), and duplicate entries, 817 worthy tales remained to continue the quest.

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Round 1 Genre Statistics

For another year in a row, Fantasy was the genre with the most submissions at 221 entries. And with 7 entries, Humor was the genre with the least submissions.

As for the detailed numbers and percentages, here they are in descending order:

Fantasy = 221 entries | 27,1%

Romance = 174 entries | 21,3%

Mystery / Thriller = 68 entries | 8,3%

Science Fiction = 56 entries | 6,9%

Paranormal = 55 entries | 6,7%

Horror = 38 entries | 4,7%

Fanfiction = 33 entries | 4,0%

Teen Fiction = 33 entries | 4,0%

General Fiction = 31 entries | 3,8%

ChickLit = 20 entries | 2,4%

Action = 19 entries | 2,3%

Adventure = 18 entries | 2,2%

Vampire = 17 entries | 2,1%

Historical Fiction = 16 entries | 2,0%

Werewolf = 11 entries | 1,3%

Humor = 7 entries | 0,9%

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Round 1 Prompt Statistics

The top three most popular prompts were:

Prompt 2 with 51 entries [To be in love with a demon was the last thing on your wishlist.]

Prompt 110 with 25 entries [20 days of freedom.]

Prompt 31 with 24 entries [Next time, ask yourself if your integrity can withstand the truth.]

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These prompts were used only once!

Prompt 48 → A fake paternity test threatens to tear apart the family you've built, as an imposter seeks to claim your rightful place as heir.

Prompt 64 → A robot engineer stumbles upon a file for a mysterious android. As he digs deeper into the research, he discovers the files lead to a much larger secret.

Prompt 74 → A paranormal event at an abandoned old age home leaves you questioning everything you thought you knew about the afterlife.

Prompt 78 → Cars across the city begin to malfunction, signaling the start of a deadly catastrophe. Who will step in to stop the chaos?

Prompt 89 → It only takes one bite to become a vampire. One unstable gene to become a werewolf. But I've never heard of anyone who carries the gene getting bitten. What does that make me?

Prompt 94 → All the songs in your playlist begin playing in reverse. But hidden within the sounds, there's a message — a warning — that you must decode before it's too late.

Prompt 97 → You board a cruise for a party, but when you wake up the next day, you're the only person left on the ship. Everyone else has vanished, and no one knows where they've gone.

Prompt 104 → While on vacation, you receive a cryptic message from an unknown sender, throwing your carefully planned itinerary into chaos.

Prompt 115 → All the CCTV cameras in your town have mysteriously vanished. No clues, no witnesses, just the sudden disappearance of every single camera.

Prompt 124 → »You're wonderin' why half his clothes went missin'.« - Taste, Song by Sabrina Carpenter

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And these prompts were not used at all!

Prompt 6 → They say faeries are drawn to circles, but what if there's a hidden world where faeries are bound to squares?

Prompt 23 → Two young LGBTQIAP writers discover a hidden library and begin leaving each other messages in the margins of a forbidden book. As their bond grows stronger, they face a dangerous question: Will they risk everything for a love the world refuses to accept?

Prompt 58 → You remember loving a woman in the 1930s, and now you have the chance to bring her back into your present life. Will you?

Prompt 76 → As the boss of your multinational company, you're blindsided when it goes bankrupt. There's a mystery behind the collapse, and it's up to you to uncover it.

Prompt 83 → A legendary manuscript, containing the secrets of eternal knowledge, has disappeared from the hidden library. A young detective, also a scribe-in-training, must decipher cryptic clues within ancient texts before time runs out and the truth is lost forever.

Prompt 100 → The Hidden Library is in turmoil — books are mingling genres and wreaking havoc. Romance plots drift into sci-fi worlds, horror tales haunt fairytales, and cookbooks craft suspenseful mysteries. To restore order, you must weave these chaotic stories into one seamless masterpiece. Can you create harmony, or will the chaos consume you?

Prompt 108 → A high school senior discovers an underground book exchange, where students defy the government's reading ban. As they navigate this secret community, they struggle with graduation, self-discovery, and finding their voice beyond the textbooks.

Prompt 117 → Two divorce lawyers, once married to each other, now find themselves in court battling over their friend's divorce case. Will their old bickering and unresolved feelings bring them back together — or tear them apart?

Prompt 122 → »You and I. Riding Harleys in Hawaii-i. I'm on the back, I'm holding tight.« - Harleys In Hawaii, Song by Katy Perry

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Fun Facts

→ We had 4 entries for prompt 4!

→ Two prompts received their checksum as entries! Prompt 63 received 9 entries, while prompt 106 received 7 entries. 

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Round 3 Genre Statistics

For Round 3, 347 brave tales endured the final trial and crossed the finish line. Each of them completed their full novella and sealed their place as an ONC Legend. As for the detailed numbers and percentages on genres, here they are in descending order:

Fantasy = 97 entries | 28,0%

Romance = 78 entries | 22,5%

Science Fiction = 23 entries | 6,6%

Paranormal = 22 entries | 6,3%

Mystery / Thriller = 21 entries | 6,1%

Horror = 21 entries | 6,1%

Fanfiction = 15 entries | 4,3%

Teen Fiction = 14 entries | 4,0%

Action = 11 entries | 3,2%

Vampire = 11 entries | 3,2%

General Fiction = 11 entries | 3,2%

Adventure = 6 entries | 1,7%

ChickLit = 6 entries | 1,7%

Historical Fiction = 5 entries | 1,4%

Werewolf = 4 entries | 1,2%

Humor = 2 entries | 0,6%

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In round 3, we have 347 stories, but there are only 298 writers. Wow! This means that 31 daring writers finish two or more novellas in 12 weeks.

> 2 writers completed 6 stories (each)

> 3 writers completed 4 stories (each)

> 4 writers completed 3 stories (each)

> 22 writers completed 2 stories (each)