The Next Big Story: Pratilipi English Story Awards

A prize can reward one story. A readership can build a writing career.

Pratilipi is inviting writers to be part of its English-language writing competition an opportunity to publish, reach readers at scale, and build a long-term career in serialized fiction.

This is more than a prize contest. It is a chance to bring your story to one of India’s largest digital storytelling platforms, build a loyal readership, earn from your writing, and become part of a growing creator ecosystem.

Whether you are an experienced author, an aspiring novelist, a fan-fiction writer, a screenwriter, or a first-time storyteller, your voice is welcome. Here’s everything you have a chance to gain from writing on Pratilipi. 

New to Pratilipi? Download the app using the link and join the event today: Click here to download 

 

Reach Millions of Readers

Pratilipi has a massive and highly engaged reader base across languages.

Through the platform’s reach, recommendations, and marketing ecosystem, promising stories can gain significant visibility and be discovered by readers at scale.

Your story will not simply be submitted for evaluation. It will have the opportunity to be published, followed, shared, and loved by a growing audience, and you get to build your own loyal reader base.

Readers Power Your Growth

At Pratilipi, readers play an important role in shaping the journey of a story.

As you publish, you can build an audience, understand what readers connect with, and develop your writing through real engagement.

For writers, this means more than recognition from a judging panel. It means the chance to create a reader base that can stay with you long after the competition ends.

Build a Long-Term Earning Opportunity

Pratilipi is a monetized reading platform where readers pay to access stories.

This gives writers the opportunity to earn from their work as they grow their readership and continue publishing.

The competition can be the beginning of a larger journey one built around storytelling, audience growth, and long-term monetization.

Take Your Story Across Languages

Localization is a major part of the Pratilipi ecosystem.

Stories that perform well may be considered for translation and localization into other languages, giving them the opportunity to reach readers across different regions and languages.

A successful English story could potentially find new audiences in multiple Indian languages and grow far beyond its original readership.

Localization opportunities are based on story performance and are not guaranteed.

Explore Opportunities Beyond Written Fiction

Pratilipi is also part of a wider intellectual-property ecosystem that includes formats such as audio, FM, and comics.

Stories that receive strong reader recognition may be considered for adaptation into other formats.

Adaptation is not guaranteed or mandatory, but the ecosystem creates the possibility for exceptional stories to travel beyond the written word and connect with audiences in new ways.

Gain Powerful Marketing Visibility

Good stories deserve to be discovered.

Promising entries may receive visibility through Pratilipi’s marketing campaigns, platform recommendations, promotional placements, and other discovery channels.

This can give writers access to an audience and promotional scale that may be difficult to achieve independently.

 

Winning Stories (Based on story's reader engagement and performance)

 

The top three winners will receive:

First Prize: ₹50,000 + Winner Certificate via email + your winning series will be featured for 24 hours on our official instagram page.

Second Prize: ₹20,000 + Winner Certificate via email + your winning series will be featured for 24 hours on our official instagram page.

Third Prize: ₹10,000 + Winner Certificate via email + your winning series will be featured for 24 hours on our official instagram page.

Rewards for All Participants: 

→ Exclusive Participation Certificate via email to all participants

→ All series will be automatically shared on our Facebook page where your story will be visible to thousands of new readers.

→ All series will be automatically shared on our Pratilipi Homepage banner which will provide you exclusive visibility and a potential increase in readership. 

→ If you are writing a premium series, you will earn monthly income from it for a Lifetime

The prizes recognize outstanding storytelling, but the larger opportunity lies in building readership, visibility, earning potential, and a lasting writing career.

All Genres Are Welcome. There is no genre limitation.

You may write:

• Fantasy

• Drama

• Mystery

• Thriller

• Horror

• Science fiction

• Young adult fiction

• Crime

• Historical fiction

• Adventure

• Humour

• Paranormal fiction

• Literary fiction

• Romance

• Genre-blending or experimental fiction

Whether your story is emotional, imaginative, suspenseful, adventurous, dramatic, romantic, or completely unconventional, we want it to reach its reader base. 

New and experienced writers are equally welcome.

Minimum Story Requirements

Every qualifying story must have:

• A minimum of 50 chapters (no upper limit)

• A minimum of 1,000 words per chapter (no upper limit)

Writers are encouraged to create immersive serialized stories that keep readers returning chapter after chapter.

New to Pratilipi? Download the app using the link and join the event today: Click here to download 

What Makes a Strong Serialized Story?

We are looking for stories with:

• An engaging opening

• Memorable characters

• Strong emotional or narrative stakes

• Consistent plot progression

• Compelling chapter endings

• A world readers want to return to

The goal is not simply to write a long story. It is to create a reading experience that keeps readers invested.

More Than a Competition

This competition is designed to discover promising storytellers and give them the opportunity to publish, reach readers, earn, and grow within the Pratilipi ecosystem.

Your story could find its first hundred readers. It could reach thousands. It could travel across languages, formats, and geographies and it could become the beginning of your writing career.

Publish the story only you can tell. Build a world readers will not want to leave. And become part of the next chapter of Pratilipi. Pratilipi is revolutionizing the art of storytelling, come, join the revolution! 

Timeline:

→ Competition Start Date: July 15, 2026

→ Competition Last Date: November 24, 2026 

→ Result Date: Evening 5 P.M. - January 7, 2027 Our team will send you an email and message with the result link. 

→ Note: Your series must start on or after July 15, 2026. Any Series started before July 15, 2026 will be automatically disqualified. 

Rules & Guidelines

1.Open for all authors: Whether you are a new author just starting or an experienced author you can participate in this event. 

2. Serialized format: Writing stories in serialized format is mandatory. (check how to publish a series in pratilipi)

3. Series parts: A minimum of 50 parts must be written, with no upper limit. Pratilipi’s readers love long series!

4. Word Limit: Minimum 1000 words per part, No upper limit. (How to check word count while publishing)

5. Submission: Choose the category 'The Next Big Story' when publishing the story. (How to add a category? Click here)

6. Disqualification: Incomplete series and series that do not meet the competition rules or publishing deadlines will be disqualified. 

=> Important note: If you have already published your story on another platform, you can still bring it to Pratilipi, as long as you are not bound by an exclusive contract with that platform or publisher. Previously published stories on Pratilipi do not qualify for this event. 

→ Note: Your series must start on or after July 15, 2026. Any Series started before July 15, 2026 will be automatically disqualified. 

 

New to Pratilipi? Download the app using the link and join the event today: Click here to download 

 

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For any questions related to this competition, you can write to us at [email protected]

Do not forget to share this event page link with the writers you know in your language. Your one share can transform someone’s writing career. 

The Next Big Story can be yours! 

Best Wishes
Team Pratilipi