We're in the home stretch, y'all (I'm eating some boiled peanuts while I type this)! We're almost finished judging (we're just working through some long novels right now).

As of now, the tentative date of announcing the Winners is July 13th or 14th, right on schedule, so we ask for a little more patience.

I have a two-week furlough from work starting on June 9th, so I will try to finish most, if not all, of my Novel Shortlisters from Planet Unification. However, I'm also taking a minor break because the ONC this year—and Wattpad in general—has been stressing me out lately. Regardless, that doesn't mean we're delaying the Winners unless something comes up with Venator and his exams. Now thinking about it, three months since announcing the Shortlisters isn't bad; that's faster than I thought it would be, so well done, Venator and I, and those excellent writers who were Shortlisted!

Hopefully, this is my last monthly update; it's only a matter of time, y'all! Thank you so much for bearing with me through this process (I guess studying The Ambys and the Open Novella Contest has helped me with this).

Speaking of the ONC, I want to shout out a very good friend of mine who not only wrote one of my favorite entries this year but also encouraged me to finish the ONC with a darn Scooby-Doo fanfic with a dark twist—LOL! I swear, what was I thinking when I saw "No one believes you, but you are the only one who can solve this mystery—for all of them" as one of the prompts?

Thank you, FHLevin, for helping me through this stressful ONC, being with me during the entire journey, and even giving me a chance with Unification!

With that said, here's FHLevin and their entry that deserved to be on that Shortlist with me—Fractured Horizon! I wish I didn't have to go through the rest of the contest without you, but know that you, along with the other excellent writers here and in the ONC, deserve a Shortlist!

And remember, other writers, that "Writing is a process, and that's why it's just as powerful as a star gone supernova."

Now get ready for the announcement of the Unification Winners coming soon!

- Viktoria Fyodorova

Special Shout Out: Fractured Horizons by FHLevin