Romantasy short story challenge by Archetype
Calling all lovers of the romantic and fantastic…
WHY ENTER A WRITING CHALLENGE
Feedback on every submission
Cash prizes
Option to get published on ARCHE/TYPED digital magazine
Chance to grow in your creativity
Chance to win editing vouchers on a future project
We invite you to join us for the Archetype Romantasy Short Story Challenge, kicking off July 15, 2025! Each story will be within the Romantasy genre, but must incorporate two additional prompt elements that will be sent to participants at the kick-off of the challenge. Participants will have seven days to write and submit their story of no more than 2,500 words. Stories can be any length the writer chooses as long as it is under 2,500 words.
A prompt with an event and an object that must appear in the story will be emailed to all participants at the start of the contest.
Participants will have exactly seven days from the time the prompt is sent at 11:59pm eastern time on Tuesday, July 15, 2025 to write and submit their story via a link provided in the prompt email. Finished stories will be due at 11:59pm eastern time on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
See below for prizes and FAQ!
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE 18-YEARS OR OLDER TO ENTER.
How to write Romantasy & what to expect
The genre… 🥀
“Romantasy” focuses on a romantic story in a fantasy setting.
Fantasy settings are characterized by imaginary worlds that incorporate elements of magic, mythology, and the supernatural. Common themes in fantasy include heroism, myth, mythical creatures, sacrifice and good vs evil.
Romance stories typically focus on the relationship and romantic love between characters. Romance stories can be set in a wide variety of genres. Romance stories are often characterized by common themes and tropes like:
Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, second chances, opposites attract, and more.
Put these elements together and you get Romantasy, a specific subgenre of both fantasy and romance that tells a romantic story within a fantasy setting. Romantasy has taken the reading world by storm in recent years with hit novels like the Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros, and the Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas. While Romantasy can (and often does) include spice and smut scenes, it doesn’t have to to still be considered Romantasy.
While Romantasy is certainly having a moment, it’s a genre that has captured hearts throughout time. Whether you love Romantasy already or it’s new to you, we invite you to let your writerly imagination run wild in a genre where anything’s possible and it’s okay to let your heart flutter.
The challenge…
During the Archetype Romantasy Short Story Challenge, writers will have seven days to write and submit their Romantasy short story based on a prompt that will be emailed to all registered participants at the start of the competition. The prompt will include an event and an object that must appear in the story.
Word count: all stories submitted for consideration must be 2,500 words or less. Stories over the 2,500 word count limit will be disqualified.
Spice level: all participants and judges/readers for the Romantasy short story challenge are adults and therefore the story can be however spicy the writer would like. While spice is a common element in Romantasy, it is not required. If you prefer to “fade to black” on your romantic scenes, or keep it to a slow-burn, that is completely fine!
Judging: After the deadline, all submissions will be judged in two rounds by two anonymous panels of writers and editors chosen by Archetype as competition judges to select the winners. Feedback will be provided to every participant on their story after results are announced. Judges and their credentials will be announced on the website and social media shortly, so stay tuned!
Entry fee: all participants will pay a $15 non-refundable entry fee to participate in the Romantasy challenge at registration. If you do not complete your story by the deadline, or do not place among the winners of the competition, you will not be issued a refund. This fee helps us pay our judges for their time and expertise to provide high-quality feedback to every writer! One form/registration fee = one participant. Please submit separate forms for separate participants!
Deadline: working on a deadline is an important part of the challenge. We will not accept late submissions—anything sent in after the deadline will be disqualified.
**Before registering, please take a look at the Official Contest Rules here and the FAQ at the bottom of this page. By registering, you agree to the Terms & Conditions, Official Contest Rules, and Participation Agreement.
Please note, Archetype does not work with AI-generated content. We will not use AI to judge stories and we do not accept submissions generated by AI. If you submit an AI-generated story, it will be disqualified from consideration.
Prizes
🥀 FIRST PLACE
$1,000 cash.
A voucher for free manuscript development (including developmental editing, copyediting/proofreading, and marketing coaching) with Archetype.
Publication on ARCHE/TYPED, the Archetype digital magazine.
🥀 SECOND PLACE
$300 cash.
A voucher for free manuscript development (including developmental editing, copyediting/proofreading, and marketing coaching) with Archetype.
Publication on ARCHE/TYPED, the Archetype digital magazine.
🥀 THIRD PLACE
$100 cash.
A voucher for free manuscript development (including developmental editing, copyediting/proofreading, and marketing coaching) with Archetype.
Publication on ARCHE/TYPED, the Archetype digital magazine.
This writing challenge requires an exercise of skill, only, and is NOT a game of chance in any respect whatsoever.
Register now to join the fun
Get more info…
How it works and FAQ
How it works:
Register for the Archetype Romantasy short story challenge by entering your email and paying the registration fee at the link above. Your information will be collected, and you will be emailed the prompt at the start of the challenge. The challenge begins at 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
All participants will be emailed the same prompt, and you must include the prompt elements in your story for it to be judged. If you neglect to incorporate the prompt elements or are not writing primarily in the Romantasy genre, your story will be disqualified.
Once the prompts are sent, participants will have seven days to complete and submit their stories. Late submissions will be disqualified. Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
Stories will be judged anonymously by a panel of judges and graded on a rubric. Feedback from the judges will be provided for every submission (even if you do not place among the top three) to help make this contest a valuable writing exercise for everyone who enters.
Submitting your story:
You will be provided a link to submit your story in the prompt email at the start of the challenge. You must submit your story through the link. We recommend submitting your story at least an hour ahead of the deadline to make sure everything is uploaded properly and account for potential technical difficulties.
After judging is complete, we will announce the top three winning stories. After the winners are announced, we will send feedback via email to all participants. You don’t need to win to receive valuable feedback from a panel of experts!
Registration fee: the $15.00 registration fee is non-refundable and will not be refunded if you do not enter a submission, submit your story after the deadline, or do not place among the winners. This fee allows us to pay our judges for their valuable time and expertise!
By registering and paying the $15.00 registration fee, you agree to the terms & conditions, official contest rules, and participation agreement.
The top three winning stories will be awarded prize money from Archetype Editing LLC in the form of a PayPal payment or check (winner’s choice).
All participants will retain full creative and intellectual rights to their stories and may publish their stories elsewhere after the challenge winners are announced, if they so choose. We just ask that you name-check the Archetype challenge for mention of the original prompt!
FAQ:
Does my story have to be in English?
Yes! Stories in the Archetype Short Story challenge must be written in primarily in English.
Will I receive feedback on my story?
Yes, all submissions will receive feedback from our judging panel.
Can I use fanfic material?
No, all entries in the contest must be original works. Fanfic will not be accepted.
Can I use a story I’ve already written?
No, all stories must be written for this contest and centered on the prompt you will be given at the start of the contest.
Will I keep the rights to my story?
Yes! Writers maintain 100% rights to their stories, though we ask that you refrain from posting your story on other platforms until the winners are announced at the end of the challenge. After that, you are welcome to post or submit your story anywhere you like (though we ask that you name-check Archetype if possible!)
How do you feel about spice?
You can make your Romantasy short story as spicy as you’d like! All Archetype participants and judges are adults and open to whatever spice level the writer chooses. That said, Romantasy doesn’t have to include spice. All spice levels are welcome!
Do I need to already be a “writer” to join this contest?
No! All skill and experience levels are welcome! Are you an old pro? Someone just starting out? We want to hear from everyone and give you a chance to flex your creativity. We built a rubric designed to judge fairly between all skill levels, with points awarded for things like originality, storytelling, and prose–so whatever your writing/storytelling strength may be, your story will be recognized for those qualities.
Upcoming contests:
Have fun getting feedback and working on a writing challenge? We have more contests for you this year including:
Spooky Season Short Stories (fall, details TBA)
Fantasy Writing Contest (winter, details TBA)