Category Archives: Contests

Graphically Speaking: The Art of Comic Storytelling Opens Submissions for a Juried Show

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Graphically Speaking: The Art of Comic Storytelling

Located in the historic Landmark Arts Building in Chelsea, Atlantic Gallery has announced it has opened submissions for the upcoming juried show, Graphically Speaking: The Art of Comic Storytelling.

Atlantic Gallery is celebrating the art tradition and future of comic storytelling by inviting comic and graphic artists to submit works for consideration for inclusion in the juried exhibition that runs from June 23 to July 11, 2026.

Participation is also open to students enrolled in and/or graduated from accredited comic art schools and programs (e.g., SVA, Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, and others).

Entrants are invited to submit covers, splash pages or sequentially paneled full pages (from single issues or original graphic novels). Submitted works must not infringe on existing copyrighted material or subjects unless the artist maintains the right to exhibit and sell their original artwork. Works potentially considered as pornographic and/or created with A.I. will not be considered.

The Curator, comics publishing executive, Steve Rotterdam, will engage and collaborate with a respected comics and graphic novel editor, Mike Marts, as Juror and will award one artist a prize of a one-night spotlight and hosted discussion at the Atlantic Gallery at a future date.

An opening reception and Award Announcement will be held on Thursday, June 25, 2026. The gallery is located in in Chelsea’s Landmark Arts Building, 548 W. 28th Street.

You can find the full details of the exhibition rules below:

Work Requirements:

Artists are invited to submit artwork that illuminates the breadth of the concept of the GRAPHICALLY SPEAKING. Work may not exceed 30” in any direction and must be ready to hang. Cost of submission is $35 for three works and $10.00 for each additional work up to a total of five images. All work submitted must be for sale.

Important Dates:

April 26, 2026, 11:59 PM: Deadline for submissions
April 27 – May 11: Juror reviews submitted works
May 12 – May 16: Artist notifications sent out
June 16 – June 20, 12 – 6 PM: Works to be hand-delivered or shipped to the gallery
June 23 – July 11, 2026: Graphically Speaking: The Art of Comic Storytelling Exhibition
June 25, 2026, 6 – 8 PM: Graphically Speaking opening reception
July 11, 5 – 6 PM, 2026 and July 14 – 18, 12 – 6 PM: Hand-delivered work to be picked up; all artwork to be shipped back this week.

All shipped work MUST include a pre-paid return shipping label and artist must schedule a pickup with respective carrier.

Juror/Curator:

Mike Marts is a seasoned insider with over 35 years of experience in the comic book and entertainment business, currently serving as Executive Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Mad Cave Studios. A veteran of both DC Comics and Marvel, he has edited some of the most critically acclaimed and highest-selling series of the last two decades, including the X-Men universe, Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool, and the Batman universe. Before joining Mad Cave, Mike founded and was Editor-in-Chief of AfterShock Comics.

Steve Rotterdam is an accomplished advertising and marketing professional with more than four decades of experience producing award-winning creative campaigns for iconic entertainment and pop culture brands including DC Comics, Disney Publishing, Warner Bros., Universal Studios, Marvel Comics, Paramount, Hasbro and more.

With deep connections to comics publishing and the community of artists, writers, retailers and advocates that defines the industry, he currently serves as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for AfterShock Comics, a leading independent publisher of creator-owned works.

For the past 15 years, Steve has also helmed Bonfire Agency, a marketing and communications consultancy that remains devoted to helping brands establish and deepen connections to consumers of comic culture. Prior to Bonfire, he served as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for DC Comics, one of the leading developers of comics-based print and digital content.

ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS:

Please be prepared to submit the following when applying: Name; Title of work; Year completed; Materials Used; Size in inches (H x W x D); Retail price.

Open to all US and international artists 18 years or older.

Hanging work, including any frame, may not exceed 30 inches in width and height. All hanging work must be wired or otherwise prepared and ready for hanging. Work that is not ready for installation will not be displayed.


ENTRY FEE:
The fee is $35 for 3 works, 
$10 for each additional work, up to 5 works total. Entry fees are non-refundable.

PAYMENT:
Via CaFÉ™/Call for Entry

Atlantic Gallery will take a 40% commission on any work sold. The gallery will reimburse the submission fee to any artist whose work sells.

HOW TO APPLY
: All applications must be processed through CaFÉ™/Call for Entry, callforentry.org, an industry-wide digital submission platform. With CaFÉ™, you need to register only once, and then can apply/upload images for dozens of Calls all over the world.

Terms of Entry:

All works must be for sale.
Accepted work may be refused if it does not conform to the entered image. Absolutely NO substitutions of accepted works will be allowed. All accepted work must remain in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition. 

Submission to this juried exhibition constitutes an agreement on the part of the entrant to the conditions set forth in this prospectus. Atlantic Gallery reserves the right to final curatorial, educational, installation and marketing decisions. Entry fees are non-refundable. 
Great care will be taken with all work, but artists are responsible for insuring their own pieces if they wish. Atlantic Gallery will not be responsible for any loss or damage to work while on the premises or in transit to or from the gallery. The payment of the entry fee will serve as your acceptance of the terms and conditions stated in this prospectus. Acceptance of a work of art to this exhibition shall be understood to constitute an agreement on the part of the artist to the terms and conditions stated in this prospectus.

Winners Announced for the MyAnimeList x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2025, with Publication in Japan Confirmed

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Kadokawa Corporation, in partnership with qdopp Inc., and MyAnimeList Co., Ltd., co-hosted the MyAnimeList x Honeyfeed Writing Contest 2025 – THE ISEKAI presented by Kadokawa. The English-language isekai fantasy novel contest was held on Honeyfeed, a novel submission platform operated by qdopp, with the goal of discovering exceptional storytelling talent from around the world. The winning works were announced on the contest’s official webpage.

Out of a total of 1,240 entries, one Grand Prize winner and two Contest Winners Prize recipients were selected.

Kadokawa’s first English-language novel contest on Honeyfeed received 1,240 submissions, the highest number in the platform’s contest history. We are deeply honored by this response and delighted to see such strong interest from English-speaking creators in Japan’s light novel market. Following a rigorous selection process, one Grand Prize winner and two Contest Winners Prize recipients were selected. After initial voting by Honeyfeed users and volunteers, the final judging was conducted by Aneko Yusagi (author of The Rising of the Shield Hero) and editors from Kadokawa.

The Grand Prize winner, Isekai’d with My Dog, I’m Not the Hero?!, stood out for its catchy, approachable premise, making it easy to imagine on the shelves of Japanese bookstores. The novel delivers plenty of laugh-out-loud comedic moments, along with charming portrayals of Toast, the adorable dog. We were eager to read more about Toast’s exploits, his bond with the protagonist Mitsuta, and Mitsuta’s growth over the course of the story.

The author, Frettiko, will receive a cash award of USD 5,000. The winning work will also be assigned a Kadokawa editor and is scheduled for translation and publication in Japan, with a target release in 2027.

The first Contest Winners Prize recipient, HR in Another World: Building the Strongest Parties with My Appraisal Skill, made effective use of the appraisal skill trope that has become a staple of the isekai genre, while capturing the distinctive feel of Japanese web novels. At the same time, its expansive setting evoked the scope of a large-scale open-world game. The careful portrayal of each character, along with story developments involving figures whose allegiance
is unclear, added depth and originality to the narrative.

The author, Kaorin, will receive a cash award of USD 3,000. The work will also be assigned a Kadokawa editor and revised with the aim of translation and publication in Japan.

The second Contest Winners Prize recipient, Drinking Buddies: Hangover in Another World, is a lighthearted comedy that keeps the pages turning. Its one-of-a-kind tone, blending concepts like “beer magic” with a chunibyo-style demonic arm, creates a brand of absurd humor that is strangely compelling. The two protagonists, Marcus and Gus, drinking buddies from our world, are character types rarely seen in Japanese fiction and are likely to feel fresh and distinctive to Japanese readers.

The author, Literate_Manul, will receive a cash award of USD 3,000. The work will also be assigned a Kadokawa editor and revised with the aim of translation and publication in Japan.

Going forward, Kadokawa plans to continue hosting web novel contests in Japan and abroad to discover talented writers from around the world who share a passion for Japanese entertainment content.

Contest Winners Prize

“Isekai’d with my dog, I’m not the hero?!”

by Frettiko

An average guy named Mitsuta is reincarnated into another world along with his pet dog, Toast.

However, the goddess becomes utterly smitten with the adorable Toast and grants all of the hero’s bonuses to him instead. For a level 99 “Hero” Pomeranian, defeating monsters is a walk in the park. Meanwhile, his owner Mitsuta remains stuck at level 1… Constantly dragged along by the free-spirited Toast, Mitsuta gathers a group of quirky companions and runs an odd-jobs business, gradually carving out a place for himself in this new world. At this rate, they might even end up defeating the Demon King someday? A fluffy, feel-good comedy about a fun-filled isekai life with a beloved pet.

Isekai’d with my dog, I'm not the hero

Contest Winners Prize

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

by Kaorin

Hiroyuki, an HR manager, is summoned to another world by a goddess. He has no combat ability whatsoever, but armed with the Divine Appraisal skill, which reveals hidden potential, he recruits allies and assembles the ultimate party. As Hiroyuki builds his team, however, the shadow of an assassin targeting him draws near… In a world far harsher than expected, can this hero’s party stand up to the Demon Lord’s army? A grand adventure begins as Hiroyuki uses his appraisal skills to save the world.

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

Contest Winners Prize

“Drinking Buddies: Hangover in Another World”

by Literate_Manul

Marcus and Gus are transported to another world while hungover. Desperate to impress an elf princess, they end up boasting that they will “defeat one of the Demon Lord’s generals.” By sheer chance, Marcus awakens to beer magic and starts blasting beer while shouting “Hop Missile!”, while Gus’s right arm, whose power he cannot consciously control, suddenly awakens… With zero ability and zero planning, but unmatched bravado, these two men launch into a wildly unpredictable isekai buddy comedy!

Drinking Buddies: Hangover in Another World

Summit Comics announces the Winners of its Artist Talent Search

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Summit Comics Talent Search 2025

Four more creatives are being added to the Summit Comics umbrella as a result of the publisher’s first-ever talent search. Just weeks after the company unveiled two winners of the writer’s portion of the contest, two artists and two colorists have also been crowned from a field of over 50 submissions.

Andres Esparza and Jay Zi have been named as the victors for the artist’s portion, each submitting their vision for Grymstone, a short written by fellow talent search winner Scott Alan Gregory. Zi will be finishing the Grymstone story while Esparza will work with Summit Editor-in-Chief Devin Arscott on a new Noir short for Summit: Pinnacle #1, which heads to Kickstarter in January.

For the colorists portion, Daniele Caramanico and Diego Souza were selected as the winners for the category.

Esparza, Zi, Caramanico, and Souza join Gregory and Jimmy Gaspero as the first class to join Summit through its annual talent search. That search will continue with Part Three, focusing on letterers looking for their next gig. More information on how to participate on that will be available in the coming days.

Summit Comics Announces its First Talent Search Winners. Artist Talent Search Opens.

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Summit characters

Right in time for the holidays, Summit Comics has crowned the winners for the first part of its first-ever talent search. Writers Scott Alan Gregory and Jimmy Gaspero won their respective categories, coming up with origin stories to introduce characters designed by Summit partner Peter Collins.

As a part of the contest, each writer was to type a brief origin synopsis for their character of choice and then introduce them with a two-page comic script. In total, 145 writers took part in the search, with six Summit partners serving as the committee reading through each entry and voting for their favorites.

The first-ever Summit Talent Search continues with Part Two, focusing on artists looking for their next gig. There are two separate pathways for Part Two–one for pencilers/inkers and another for colorists. Summit is now accepting submissions from artists through December 24th, with the winners being announced on New Year’s Eve.

The first full-length Summit Comics story—Summit: Pinacle #1—is set for launch on Kickstarter in January. As we prepare to put the final touches on the book for the masses, we’ve unlocked our prelaunch so that readers can follow and be the first to know latest news and updates, plus access exclusive rewards! Follow the prelaunch page here.

If you’d like a sneak “peak” at Pinnacle #1, the Summit Comics Sneak Peek 2025 is available now for purchase exclusively at: readsumm.it/store.

Summit’s launch roster of creatives includes Travis Gibb (Upheaval, Cthulhu Invades), CJ Hudson (Granite, Interstellar Dust), Devin Arscott (Noir, Magni the Mighty), Adam Barnhardt (SH*TSHOW, Moonspawn), Marcus Jimenez (Techoknights, Knight From Hell), Eric Palicki (Guardians of Infinity, Black’s Myth), Brayden Viloria (Haven), J. Michael Miller (Kid Cretaceous, The Healer’s Blade), Nate Schachter (The CloakRoom), Cam Kerkau (Gilgamesh), Daniel Kalban (American Dreams, Knightwrath), Brian Wolf (Upheaval), Benjamin Morse (We Are Scarlet Twilight), and letterer extraordinaire Jerome Gagnon.

Kadokawa Launches Global Manga Competition Kadokawa World Manga Contest to Support Aspiring Manga Creators Worldwide

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Kadokawa World Manga Contest

Kadokawa Corporation has announced that it will launch a new global manga competition, the Kadokawa World Manga Contest, open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Entries will be accepted from Friday, November 28, 2025 to Tuesday, March 31, 2026, with award winners scheduled to be announced around May 2026.

Kadokawa embraces the guiding principle of “Global Media Mix with Technology,” focusing on discovering talent worldwide and delivering the intellectual properties it creates to a global audience through various technological means, such as digital platforms and online content distribution. As part of this approach, in 2024 the company held its first-ever “Wordless World Manga Contest,” where creators were challenged to convey stories purely through visuals, enabling their works to communicate across languages. The contest drew 1,126 submissions from 104 countries and regions, far exceeding expectations.

Based on this response, Kadokawa is scaling up the contest as the Kadokawa World Manga Contest, now open to works that include dialogue. The contest website will be available in five languages – Japanese, English, Spanish, French, and Traditional Chinese – enabling even broader participation from creators around the world.

Through this contest, Kadokawa aims to serve as a bridge between global talent and the Japanese manga industry, providing a new starting point for international creative collaboration.

Two Submission Categories with Prizes and Publication Support

The Kadokawa World Manga Contest is accepting submissions in two categories: the “Manga With Dialogue” Category, which allows dialogue, and the “Wordless Manga” Category, in which stories are told without dialogue. The newly established “Manga With Dialogue” Category accepts works in five languages – Japanese, English, Spanish, French, and Traditional Chinese. In the “Wordless Manga” Category, creators can submit works without dialogue so that anyone can participate regardless of language. The contest is open to individuals, teams, or organizations worldwide and welcomes submissions from creators of any age or experience level.

Submissions will be evaluated by editors selected from Kadokawa’s editorial departments and the Kadokawa  World Manga Contest secretariat, ensuring a comprehensive “all-KADOKAWA” judging process.

Prizes for winners include:

  • Gold Prize: 10,000 USD
  • Silver Prize: 5,000 USD
  • Bronze Prize: 3,000 USD

In addition to cash awards, Kadokawa’s comic editorial team will provide hands-on support to help winners prepare their works for commercial publication in Japanese magazines and online platforms. Support includes remote meetings and email consultations with editors to help creators develop their works toward potential serialization. Other benefits for winners include invitations to the contest awards ceremony, editorial department tours, and publication on Kadokawa’s manga portal site Kadocomi. This contest aims to provide aspiring manga creators worldwide with guidance and support toward developing their works for potential publication with a Japanese publisher.

This year, the contest also introduces Honorable Mentions (300 USD), recognizing outstanding entries that did not receive a main prize. Honorable Mentions winners will receive cash only.

New World Manga Editorial Section Established to Enhance Support for Winners

In the previous Wordless World Manga Contest, a total of eight works were selected as winners: one Gold Prize, two Silver Prizes, and four Bronze Prizes in the Original Manga Award, and one Bronze Prize in the Themed Manga Award. All winners are continuing to develop their works with Kadokawa’s editorial team, aiming for one-shots, serialization in Japan, and international publication.

To further support overseas creators, Kadokawa has established a new Overseas Manga Editorial Section this year. This department is dedicated to nurturing contest winners and providing specialized assistance for global development and distribution of their works, ensuring ongoing support for their creative activities.

Noboru Segawa : Head of the World Manga Editorial Section

In the previous Wordless World Manga Contest, they received more than three times the number of submissions they had anticipated. Kadokawa was amazed by the sheer number of talented manga creators from around the world.

With the new Kadokawa World Manga Contest we aim to meet even more unique creators and discover outstanding works, hosting the contest on a larger scale. At the same time, we have strengthened our operational structure by establishing the World Manga Editorial Section to provide ongoing editorial support to winners through their potential debut in Japan.

Looking ahead, we hope not only to help creators debut in Japan but also to expand opportunities for their works to be read around the world, by strengthening collaboration with our overseas group offices.

We truly look forward to meeting manga lovers and creators from across the globe and sharing in the joy of creative storytelling.

KADOKAWA WORLD MANGA CONTEST – Submission Overview

Submission Period: November 28, 2025 (Friday) – March 31, 2026 (Tuesday)

Categories: “Manga With Dialogue” Category: Works using dialogue and speech bubbles. Submissions may be in Japanese, English, Spanish, French, or Traditional Chinese.

“Wordless Manga” Category: Works that tell a story without dialogue or text. Submissions are accepted regardless of language.

Eligibility: Open to professional and amateur creators of any nationality or age, including individuals, teams, and organizations (some conditions may apply).

⁎Note: Minors must obtain consent from a parent or guardian.

– Prizes:

  • Gold Prize: 10,000 USD
  • Silver Prize: 5,000 USD
  • Bronze Prize: 3,000 USD

*Honorable Mentions: 300 USD (for submissions not selected for a main prize but deemed noteworthy)

How to Apply: Submit via the contest’s official website submission form.
Results Announcement: Scheduled for May 2026

Mad Cave Studios Announces the 2025 Talent Search Winners!

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The wait is over! Mad Cave Studios has announced the winners of the 2025 Mad Cave Studios Talent Search, now in its eighth year of spotlighting bold, emerging voices in comics. Each year, the program invites aspiring writers, artists, colorists, and letterers from around the world to showcase their craft for a chance to collaborate professionally with Mad Cave’s editorial team—a testament to the publisher’s commitment to discovering and nurturing new talent.

First announced in June 2025, this year’s Talent Search welcomed creators to develop stories within one of four eligible Mad Cave universes, including Exit City, Dark Pyramid, Endless Night, and Sanction. And after an incredible showing of talent from around the world, the publisher is thrilled to introduce eight emerging creators chosen to join its ranks, continuing the publisher’s mission to champion fresh, diverse voices in comics. 

1st Place: Writer Jennifer Liao, a filmmaker and TV director (FROM, Two Sentence Horror Stories, Murdoch Mysteries); Artist Algus Calcagno, a Buenos Aires–based illustrator and educator with over twenty years of experience in sequential art; Colorist Pedro Estouco, a Brazilian comic book creator who discovered the world of comic book coloring in October 2023 and began working professionally full-time in April 2024; and Letterer Marina Leon, a graphic designer and comic letterer based in Argentina.

2nd Place: Writer Devon L. White, a Baltimore-based dystopian-noir writer whose work explores bureaucratic systems and marginalized voices; Artist Gabriele Falzone, an Italian illustrator and graduate of Scuola del Fumetto in Milan whose credits include Distorted (Scout Comics); Colorist Edson Jimenez, a visual storyteller from Cuernavaca, Mexico, focused on creating vibrant, atmospheric worlds; and Letterer Chase Snyder, a New Jersey–based letterer and frequent collaborator on independent comics and anthologies.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announces a short fiction contest: Write Before Midnight

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Over the decades, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has published the smartest minds in the fields it covers, including Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Mikhail Gorbachev, Arthur C. Clarke, Bertrand Russell, Freeman Dyson, George Shultz, Jerry Brown, Fiona Hill, Yoshua Bengio, and Jennifer Doudna, among many others.

But beyond its fact-based focus on science and security, the Bulletin has always had an affinity for and connection to the arts, high and low, from the artistic minimalism of the Doomsday Clock to the high satire of Dr. Strangelove and pop culture verve of The Who and Dr. Who. Now, to start the Bulletin’s 80th year of publication, they are launching a short fiction contest called “Write Before Midnight,” which will be judged by acclaimed American science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson.

Submitted stories can be about any of the existential threats the Bulletin covers: nuclear weapons, climate change, biological and chemical weapons, artificial intelligence, killer robots, doomsday drone submarines, bioengineered zombies, the gray goo of nanotechnology gone wild, and so, so much more. The stories can be dystopian or utopian; pre-, post-, or non-apocalyptic. They can be optimistic as Sesame Street or dark as Edgar Allan Poe’s basement. Entries can be of any genre: high literature and potboiler noir will vie on a level playing field; scifi, fantasy, spy, detective, horror, and even romance tales will be not just allowed, but celebrated. The tales can be comic, tragic, ironic, satiric, or any kind of -ic at all, and they can be of any length—up to 7,000 words. (And not a single word more.) The stories can be prose or graphic form, aka comic books, after all, the “Doomsday Clock” was an important part of Watchmen.

The stories do, however, need to have some conceivable connection to the Bulletin’s interest in (avoiding) the Apocalypse. The connection doesn’t necessarily have to be central to the story; a porkpie hat that Oppenheimer abandoned in a greasy diner might do the trick. But the existential-threat angle must be clear.

To have a chance at winning, the stories have to be very, very good. There’s real money for the winners: $3,000 for first place, with $500 each to four runners-up. All five of the winning stories will be featured in the January 2026 issue of the Bulletin’s bimonthly magazine.

So, whether they’re porkpies or derbies or hipster fedoras, put on your writing hats and get to work. You have until September 30 to send in your stories. What time on September 30, you ask? It couldn’t possibly be midnight, could it?

Meet the judge, Kim Stanley Robinson, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards and author the bestselling Mars trilogy:

Kim Stanley Robinson will judge entries to “Write Before Midnight.” He is an American science fiction writer. His most recent books are The Ministry for the Future and The High Sierra: a Love Story. He went to Antarctica in 1995 and 2016, courtesy of the US National Science Foundation. He was a featured speaker at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP-26), and at the UN’s Summit of the Future in 2024. His work has been translated into 29 languages. The Atlantic has called Robinson’s work “the gold standard of realistic, and highly literary, science-fiction writing.” The New Yorker has written that he is “generally acknowledged as one of the greatest living science-fiction writers.” In 2016 asteroid 72432 was named “Kimrobinson.”

How to submit your writing:

Ready to outrun the apocalypse with your prose? Here’s how to toss your (writing) hat into the ring:

  • Send your story as an attachment (PDF or Word document preferred) to writebeforemidnight@thebulletin.org
  • Include your name, email address, and the title of your story in the body of your email
  • Deadline: September 30, 2025 — and yes, they’ll be watching the clock
  • Maximum word count: 7,000 words. Not 7,001. They mean it.

There’s no fee to enter, and no genre off-limits—as long as your story clearly connects to the Bulletin’s bread and butter: the business of not ending the world.

Tapas Entertainment and Kickstarter Partner for Short Comic Contest

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Tapas Kickstarter Comic Contest

Tapas Entertainment is partnering with Kickstarter to invite creators and storytellers from around the globe to participate in a new short comic contest under the theme “Daydreaming.” Entries must be submitted to Tapas’ Community Platform between June 3 and August 17, 2025.

Winners will gain more than recognition. Selected by a panel of comics experts from Tapas and Kickstarter, the Top 5 creators will receive cash prizes, with $3,000 USD awarded to the first-place winner. In addition, the Top 10 entries will be featured in a limited-edition print collection, showcased in a Tapas-led Kickstarter campaign launching in October 2025. If successfully funded, finalists will share in the campaign’s profits—with no added costs or responsibilities on their part.

Winners will be announced publicly early October 2025. For more information on the event and winner announcements, please visit Tapas Entertainment’s Contest Page.

Mad Cave Studios Opens the Submissions for its 2025 Talent Search

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Submissions are officially open for Mad Cave Studios’ 8th Annual Talent Search! Built to spotlight bold, original voices who haven’t yet broken into the industry, the Mad Cave Studios Talent Search continues to serve as a direct path to publication for aspiring comic creators around the globe.

Mad Cave Studios is seeking two creators in each of the following categories: writers, illustrators, colorists, and letterers. All submissions must take place within one of four eligible Mad Cave universes—Exit City, Dark Pyramid, Endless Night, or Sanction—though selected creators may be placed on projects that differ in style or continuity. Submissions open and close on August 29, 2025, at 11:59 PM EST, with winners announced in October 2025. The Talent Search is open worldwide to those 18 or older. Each creator may submit only one entry, though those skilled in multiple disciplines may apply to more than one category.

Submission Requirements:

  • Writers must submit five pages of comic script (PDF or Word) set in one of the four eligible worlds.
  • Artists must submit the three sequential art pages (JPG or PDF) based on one of those same worlds.
  • Colorists must color the three provided inked pages from the resource kit and submit them as JPG or PDF files.
  • Letterers must use the three provided colored pages, plus script, and submit lettered pages in JPG or PDF format.

Only complete entries submitted through the official form will be reviewed by Mad Cave’s editorial team.

Create boldly and pitch with confidence! Full guidelines, sample materials, and the official entry form are available at madcavestudios.com/talent-search.

Mad Cave 2025 Talent Search

Tapas Entertainment Announces the Winners of the “Tapas Action Fantasy Tourney” Writing Contest

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The Useless S-Class Hunter

Tapas Entertainment has announced the winners of its highly anticipated “Tapas Action Fantasy Tourney,” a global writing competition designed to showcase exceptional talent in the Action Fantasy genre. This contest, which drew hundreds of submissions from around the world, celebrates the creativity and storytelling prowess of both aspiring and established authors. Through a combination of Reader’s Choice Voting and careful evaluation by a panel of industry professionals, these winners have been awarded exclusive publishing contracts and marketing opportunities to bring their captivating stories to life on a global stage.

The first-place winner, The Useless S-Class Hunter by AKG, captivated judges and readers alike with its dynamic characters and imaginative world-building. Second place went to The Infernal Scribe by PCK, followed by Piyumi of Palaedia by lotus fire in third place. Additional top honors were awarded to Umbris: Covenant of Corruption by BijouParadise in fourth place and The Necromancer’s Knight by caffeinatsun in fifth place. Honorable mentions included Mirror, Mirror on the Wall by GiveMeThatBread, Waba Hama: The Plague by nezkovsou, The Villain’s Sidekick by Yourpersonalprince, Irelina and the Blood Cursed Sword by Kim Diok, and Of Lowlifes, Lutes & Liars by Skiddigy, highlighting a diverse range of voices and narratives within the action fantasy genre.

Winners of the Tapas Action Fantasy Tourney have been awarded exclusive three-year publishing contracts with Tapas Entertainment, complete with minimum guarantees of up to $15,000, a 50/50 revenue share, and custom cover art created by professional designers. Additionally, winners will receive comprehensive editorial and production support, extensive marketing campaigns, and in-app promotions to maximize their exposure to Tapas’ vast audience. These stories will also be considered for other creative opportunities, further cementing Tapas’ commitment to nurturing extraordinary talent.

The winning stories will debut with premium relaunches in the coming months, paired with extensive publicity campaigns and in-app marketing to ensure maximum visibility. Readers can look forward to diving into these thrilling worlds of action and fantasy, each brought to life by Tapas’ signature editorial and creative expertise.

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