The time has come for something you've all been waiting for. Today we declare the winners of Rounds 1 and 2 of the Open Novella Contest!

These are the literary gladiators that have not only survived the first two rounds of the contest but also come out as our joint top favourites. So, without further ado...

@TheTempered with her novella,

"It is the mid-1600's and Britain is plagued with rumours of devilry and witchcraft. Laura Sheridan, a beekeeper in a small hamlet in Essex, is drawn to a stranger who offers to unlock the secrets of her magical lineage. To unravel her 'gift', and to avenge the deaths of her loved ones, Laura travels to London – a supernatural hive of murder, blood, and disease."

@TheEmmpress with her novella,

"Pushing thirty recently dumped and going nowhere, Jennie Jaimeson decides it's finally time to listen to all those inspirational Instagram hashtags and do something with her life.

A visit to Antarctica has always been on her bucket list, so Jennie quits her job and blows her savings to follow her dream.

Then, in the icy hostility of Earth's final frontier, things get dangerous..."

@AerethCSwinden with their novella,

'Glass shattered, the pavement shook, screams pierced the dust-filled air. And all I could think was, he found me.'

In the distant future after the world wars decimated the earth's population, life in one corner of the world has broken into three sectors. The remaining rich and powerful live in Urbanus, the sole sector with cities and infrastructure still intact. On the opposite side of the continent, Amaranthus is home to a remote grouping of peaceful settlements. And in between the two, Abditory; the most dangerous sector of all.

All out battles rage and Bexley Brooks is thrust out of her hiding place as an old ally, and an old enemy, come crashing back into her life.

With loved ones separated and old wounds ripped opened, can Bexley survive a nearly impossible journey through a war zone in order to protect everything she holds dear? Or will a legendary weapon be unleashed upon the world once more?"

@TaniHanes with her novella,

"Mitsui Iwasaki was born in 1916 in rural Japan, into hopeless, abject poverty; into a life with no choices or beauty for most people, especially a girl in a small village with a drunken father and an exhausted mother. She has too many siblings, not enough food, and no future that doesn't involve dirt, ignorance, and hopelessness. But Mitsui longs for education, culture, love, freedom, and most of all, a place to call her own. She yearns to be out from under the yoke of her stern, cruel father, who only sees her as a shameful burden, and away from her thoughtless mother, who only sees her as a means to a financial end.

Follow Mitsui as she blazes her own trail in early twentieth century Japan. She tries to find her way in an indifferent world, searching for independence and fulfilment, ultimately finding that she is strong in ways she never imagined."

@NatashaDuncanDrake with her novella,

"Mina Harker (née Murry) was changed by Dracula's attentions, and so were her descendants. Reggie comes from this line of vampire hunters, nature's definitive balance to the darkness. Her whole life has been building up to this one mission in Romania, to face the evil that started everything for her family. Unfortunately, there are others with their eyes on Dracula too, and Reggie has run right into them. She must make them allies or remove them from the game before she can face the ultimate foe."

@MiloMaia with his novella,

"Chronicled within, the life and deeds of Siggi the Sly Wolf, who for want of immortality near cleaved the world into two.

A decade past her prime, barren of womb and fame, Siggi halts in her evasion of the ever-enemy: time. Armed with wits, greed, and her wilting axe arm, she converges on the Anchor of the World, the mountain said to house the legendary treasure of the dwarves. A mythical artefact, part-weapon, part miracle.

Forged from the ore of a fallen star, the myths say. The key to every mystery the gods locked away from Man. To her, it is the quill she will use to write her name in history, even if she must ink it in her own blood."

These are the stories that won the hearts of our judges so far. But, it doesn't end here! Round 3 is still in full swing and we're hoping to see many more challengers come forward and fight with their quills for a place at the top of the Open Novella Contest.

The authors who have won Rounds 1 and 2 will also be interviewed through our Open Novella Contest Interviews book posted on , so keep an eye out for those in the next few weeks. You might gain some insight into their stories and what makes them special.

For even more great tips, Wattpad has put together this charming presentation available for all:

Have you progressed to Round 3 of the Open Novella Contest? Be sure to keep on writing and reach the last milestone before the deadline. Remember, reach 20,000 words by 31st of January 23:59 EST and re-submit your story through the submission