Honeyfeed

After reading over 500 submissions filled with endearing heart-skips and psychological dread, the finalists of the MyAnimeList x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2026 - NOVELOUS Worlds have finally been selected!

From psychological horror stories that left you unsettled long after the final chapter to rom-coms packed with youthful chemistry, humor, and glee, this year's NOVELOUS contest showcased an incredible range of talent from aspiring authors around the world.

Now, only 10 finalists remain, and you can help decide who earns their permanent spot on the NOVELOUS app with a high chance of adaptation opportunities.

Your vote does more than crown a winner—it plays a role in spotlighting a new generation of light novel talent outside of Japan.

✨ The moment is here! The best 10 (in no particular order) are…

😱 Psychological Horror Finalists

Black Company - by: Prufrock

Puchi Pura Midori! - by: Hype

Rabbit Hole - by: Kohaku Rin

Mirror's Guise - by: Lilu Lulilla

Dead Dreaming - by: Sam Kelpie

💕 Rom-Com Finalists

Despite My Fear of Heights, the Space Princess Still Loves Me! - by: marble〇

I Don't Want to Be Fixed! I Am the Evil Duke!!!! - by: Moon

Hit Me Like A Meteor - by: Taylor J

You Amidst the Blossom Storm - by: Koutei

I Hate Dating Shows, So I Joined One to Ruin It! - by: AdventFalls

It's Time to Support Our Finalists With Your Vote! 

A huge thank you goes out to every writer who participated in this year's NOVELOUS Worlds contest. Creating and sharing a story takes discipline and intense dedication, and we're proud to have witnessed so many creative voices take that leap. We're always opening up opportunities for you to reach your dreams, so be sure to check Honeyfeed often!

As for NOVELOUS Worlds... Now it's time for our readers to take the stage. GO VOTE!

NOVELOUS official voting site: https://novelous.go.link/cyPPT Visit MAL’s finalist page at: https://myanimelist.net/featured/2416

A new Sakai Kousan story by Hivemind author Kitsune

Thank you so much for reading Sakai Kousan - Death to All Dragons on Honeyfeed!

We are excited to introduce Sakai Kousan – Frozen Memories, a new one-shot story written by Hivemind author Kitsune, a talented writer and the winner of the MAL x Honeyfeed Writing Contest ~Anime Foundation Meets WIT Studio~.

Following the events of Death to All Dragons, this next Sakai Kousan story will shift the spotlight from Stella to Yui. The story is set shortly after the Death to All Dragons arc, during the fragile early days of coexistence between humans and Aria.

This time, readers will follow Yui as the main character and learn more about her past, the memories she carries, and the pain that shaped the person she has become.

While Frozen Memories can be read on its own, it is also directly connected to the world and events introduced in Death to All Dragons. For the best reading experience, we encourage you to start with Death to All Dragons if you have the chance.

Sakai Kousan is a relay-style shared universe where different Hivemind authors write stories in the same world. We are excited to continue expanding this project together with our creators and the Honeyfeed community.

Every read, like, and comment genuinely helps support Sakai Kousan and shape where this project can go next.

Please look forward to Sakai Kousan – Frozen Memories, coming soon to Honeyfeed!

"What does it mean to be a Hero?"

KADOKAWA returns for the MyAnimeList x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2026, seeking extraordinary Fantasy tales that explore two types of heroes: 《Epic Heroine》 or 《Tragic Hero》.

Inspired by hits such as Secrets of the Silent Witch and Sentenced to Be a Hero, KADOKAWA is seeking a new heroic Fantasy story following a heroine whose overwhelming power is contrasted by endearing flaws, or a hero who makes a comeback from the depths of despair.

Now is your chance to put your storytelling skills to the test and write the Fantasy story only you can tell. Create a hero worthy of legend and take the first step toward what could become KADOKAWA's next published light novel!

Prompt: Fantasy

Sub-Prompt categories: Epic Heroine or Tragic Hero

Grand Prize: $5,000 USD 💰 (each category)

Runner-up Prize: $3,000 USD

Entry period: July 6 – September 27, 2026

Judge applications: July 6 - August 31, 2026

Read the promotional MyAnimeList page here.

It's finally time to reveal the winners of the Twilight Frontiers 2025 contest!

The novel The Pale Horseman by author "Gemini Daydream" captivated its audience with its impressive world-building for its Urban Fantasy story, weaving together a unique magic system, gripping characters, and a setting where the line between the ordinary and the otherworldly is never quite clear. Its ability to integrate magical artifacts into compelling action scenes made it a standout entry in the Urban Fantasy category.

At the same time, Miss Kagayaki: Won't the Ice Princess of K-Pop's Childhood Friend Deem Her Worthy?!, a novel by author "obliviousbushtit", showed us that Spotlight Romance goes deeper than what the paparazzi cameras can capture. Beneath the glamour of celebrity life lies a heartfelt story about a couple with real chemistry and genuine connections, making it easy to root for them. This novel explores the emotional cost of fame through a romance that feels both unhinged and sincere.

And chosen by the jury from both prompts, Intercity Excursions, the novel by author "ennodaye", came out on top in our special Judge/Jury category! Blending a strange society of supernatural ability users and the mystery of their power system with sharp action scenes. The novel impressed our judges with its ambitious storytelling, empowering female lead, and its ability to balance shounen-style action, gruesome descriptions, and tactical combat throughout most of its chapters.

We Know You Missed Them, So the Monthly Challenges Are Back!

Starting in June, we’re raising the stakes with the “NOVELOUS x Honeyfeed Monthly One Shot Challenge.”

Each month’s winner(s) will receive:

• A 100 USD prize • A featured spot on the NOVELOUS app for up to one year • Editorial feedback from Pearlyn M., this year’s event host

And if your story truly stands out, it could even be published in the Japanese market!

To participate, you must be over 18 years old, and you may only submit one original story (all genres except NSFW are welcome) per month—before you ask, yes, the same author can win multiple times!

The winners will be selected by our lovely Pearlyn M. (Hivemind author and winner of the MAL x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2021) alongside a panel of Honeyfeed staff members, and they will be announced two months after each prompt. This also means there will be no public voting. Likes, comments, or user interaction in general will not influence the results.

Learn more about the rules here: https://www.honeyfeed.fm/contests/novelous_x_honeyfeed_monthly_one_shot_challenge.

The submission period for the MyAnimeList x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2026 - NOVELOUS Worlds officially closes today at 23:59 EDT.

Thank you to all the authors who shared their talent with us, writing hilarious romantic comedies and mind-melting psychological horrors. At Honeyfeed, we're always grateful for the incredible effort put in by our writing community for every contest. Thanks to all of you, publishers are noticing how incredibly passionate aspiring writers outside of Japan can be, and we're getting more and more opportunities to help you turn your passion into a career.

To everyone who made it to the finish line—congratulations, and may the best 10 shine on the next stage!

At long last, after going through hundreds of submissions, the 10 finalists of the MyAnimeList × Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2025 – Twilight Frontiers presented by Frontier Works have finally been selected!

We discovered an incredible range of fantasy worlds, unforgettable romances, and wildly creative premises worthy of attention.

And now the best 10 novels remain.

These talented creators will advance to compete for prize money and the opportunity to be published by Frontier Works…

And you, yes you, will help decide who rises above the rest.

✨ And the finalists are…(in no particular order) ✨

🌆 Urban Fantasy Finalists

Mama Bear, Papa Wolf - author: AdventFalls

mad dog magic - author: Armorien

The Pale Horseman - author: Gemini Daydream

Intercity Excursions - author: ennodaye

My Fate-Assigned Annoying Faerie Companion Won't Stop Trying to Make Me a Heroine! - author: draviaaris

💫 Spotlight Romance Finalists

Masquerade - author: Shayaan Khusro

When RYO Met Neko-chan - author: Jen_F

We Stay Until the Light Changes - author: serein

Miss Kagayaki: Won't the Ice Princess of K-Pop's Childhood Friend Deem Her Worthy?! - author: obliviousbushtit

Seashells and Other Broken Things - author: lolitroy

🎉 Create a buzz for our 10 finalists! 🎉

Regardless of the final results, a huge thank you to all the writers who took the time to participate in this contest. Growth only happens when you step outside your comfort zone, so challenge your limits on the next Honeyfeed contest!

And now, dear readers, your duty begins. Head to the MAL website or mobile app and decide for yourself who is worthy of your vote.

Read the MAL featured article here.

Voting platform: MyAnimeList

Following the enhanced Search function, now we’re introducing a feature that will hopefully help you discover new stories and authors.

From now on, you’ll be able to click on the new “Surprise Me” button, placed in the “Novels” section, and be presented with random novels that meet the criteria (fairly new novels, from active authors, and with a certain amount of chapters and words). Don’t like what you got? Click the button again for a re-roll!

At this stage, we’ll be testing how our users interact with it and how happy they are with the results, so feel free to drop your thoughts in our Discord server.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the MyAnimeList x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2025 - THE ISEKAI presented by KADOKAWA!

Last year, this monumental contest transported us across countless Isekai worlds, from classic hero’s journeys to unexpected twists on the genre. Time and again, our talented community has amazed us with its creativity, and now they captured the attention of KADOKAWA itself.

Taking the grand prize of $5,000 USD along with a guaranteed publication by KADOKAWA, we proudly congratulate Frettiko for their novel "Isekai'd with my dog, I'm not the hero?!". Congratulations on this incredible achievement!

Joining them as winning titles are two more fantastic Isekai novels:

Kaorin with “HR in Another World: Building the Strongest Parties with My Appraisal Skill”

Literate_Manul with “Drinking Buddies: Hangover in Another World” Both works will also be assigned a KADOKAWA editor and revised with the aim of translation and publication in Japan.

Congratulations to both authors for giving us binge-worthy worlds that feel fun to read.

After last year’s success, NOVELOUS is back to partner with MyAnimeList and Honeyfeed for a new writing contest, now with a completely different approach.

The “MAL x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2026 - NOVELOUS Worlds” is looking for a thrilling experience, offering two prompts for authors from worlds apart:

Prompt 1: Rom-Com

Get ready to combine romance and comedy in a unique way, giving your story a fresh spin on a tried-and-true genre. Whether it’s wholesome or full of banter, we’re eager to discover rom-com novels that stand out, captivate, and leave a lasting impression on readers.

Prompt 2: Psychological Horror

If romance isn’t your style, then take a deep dive into the human psyche and craft a truly unsettling experience. Madness, monsters, paranoia—anything is valid as long as you leave your readers on the edge of their seats! Win $3,000 USD and get featured on NOVELOUS’ app!

Good luck to all participants, and thank you very much for all your amazing entries!

A shared universe written by Hivemind authors

Thank you so much for reading Sakai Kousan – Death to All Dragons on Honeyfeed! This project is something very special to us at Hivemind, and we are really happy to see people following Stella and Yui.

Sakai Kousan is a relay-style project where different Hivemind authors take turns writing stories in the same world. Hivemind brings together talented writers whose work we believe in deeply, especially authors discovered through the Honeyfeed contest and creators whose series are loved by the community. We are very proud of this group of storytellers, and some of them are now teaming up on this series.

For the very first turn in this shared universe, Armonia took the lead. Her creativity and passion built the core of Sakai Kousan and brought its characters to life with so much energy and heart. None of this would exist without the world and tone she created, and we are incredibly grateful for the way she opened the series.

Now that the first major story has reached a natural stopping point, we are excited to hand things over to another Hivemind author, Kitsune. A very talented writer and the winner of the MAL x Honeyfeed Writing Contest ~Anime Foundation Meets WIT Studio~. Kitsune will be carrying the Sakai Kousan universe forward from here.

Reminder: The Twilight Frontiers submission entry period closes on January 20, 2026, at 23:59 EST.

To qualify for the judging process, all submitted novels must meet the following requirements:

A minimum of 25,000 words

A novel cover image uploaded

The publishing status set to “Finished”

The public voting period for the “MyAnimeList x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2025 – THE ISEKAI presented by KADOKAWA” officially ends today, December 15.

Thank you to everyone who voted and is helping us select the winners of this intense Isekai contest. If you have not voted, go do so now! YOU HAVE ONLY A FEW HOURS to help a fellow Honeyfeed author reach their dreams of being adapted by one of the biggest companies in the industry!

Remember, all votes are done through the MAL mobile app!

✨ What happens next?

Winners will be revealed on February 9, 2026.

Following the public vote, KADOKAWA will conduct an internal review of the top-voted entries to determine the Grand Prize winner.

Aneko Yusagi, author of The Rising of the Shield Hero, will be personally participating in the jury process and deciding which finalists receive personalized feedback, as well as the focus of that feedback.

This next phase is an exciting step forward for our finalists, and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make this contest such a success.

The Honeyfeed team has been hard at work implementing new features to the website and app, and now we’re ready to bring you an improved search function!

We’re introducing the first of multiple upgrades to how users search, filter, and sort novels on the website, which will help find novels that cater exactly to your needs. With this update, you'll be able to select multiple genres to filter your search, as well as filter from ongoing or completed novels.

The search bar will be present in the "Novels" tab and will show the top 10 most popular Genres in alphabetical order. If the most popular genres are not what you’re looking for, you can tap More to open a modal box displaying all genres.

Please note that only Genres and Writing Status will be available in the first release, but we’ll continue to work on it and listen to your feedback for upcoming updates. 

At the moment, the advanced search filter has been released for desktop; the mobile app version will be launched soon.

These past few days have been full of anxiety, but the 10 finalists of the "MyAnimeList x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2025 - THE ISEKAI presented by KADOKAWA" are finally here!

After checking hundreds upon hundreds of stories, we have selected the 10 entries that will compete for the prize money and a chance at publication by KADOKAWA, and you decide who comes out on top!

And the finalists are (in no particular order):

I Died As a JPop Idol and Now I'm a Revolutionary Songstress by Endymion | Prufrock

Isekai'd with my dog, I'm not the hero?! by Frettiko

Lock & Key: Resonance by Katsuhito

HR in Another World: Building the Strongest Parties with my Appraisal Skill by Kaorin

Drinking Buddies: Hangover In Another World by Literate_Manul

Tyur'ma by Caelinth

The Empath's Curse by Observing Introvert

Warmth for a World OR Grandma Isekai?! Save a Doomed World with Kindness and Cookies! by Level 0 Maid

>FORBIDDIC< I Got Reincarnated Into A World Where I Was Forbidden From Learning About Magic But I Will Persist by Edenstudent

Control My Life! by Taylor J

Huge congratulations to the 10 finalists, and regardless of the results, thank you all very much for taking the time to enter this contest. We broke a record for the number of participants despite the challenge of a higher word count!

We’re sure you’ve read some of these, if not all, so now’s your chance to make your voice heard! And if you missed any of the finalists or would like a refresher, you can head to our website to check who deserves your vote! Read the MAL featured article at: https://myanimelist.net/featured/2410/

Voting platform: https://myanimelist.net/featured/2410 Public  voting period: Nov  17 to Dec  15, 2025