Wattpad are celebrating 10 years of The Watty Awards in 2019 and will be offering winners the chance to be fast-tracked into the Wattpad Paid Stories scheme.
Award categories
There are still 12 award categories but in 2019 The Wattys have opted for genre-based categories.
As the Wattys continues to grow, Wattpad want to position the awards as a significant milestone in a writer’s career that opens up a world of potential for them and their story. The categories are:
- Fanfiction
- Fantasy
- Historical Fiction
- Horror & Paranormal
- Literary Fiction
- Mystery & Thriller
- Non-Fiction
- New Adult
- Romance
- Science Fiction
- Young Adult
- Poetry
Length of stories
Submissions to the following award categories must contain 10,000 or more words: Fanfiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror & Paranormal, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Non-Fiction, New Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult. Submissions to Poetry must contain 1,000 or more words.
Closing date for entries
All eligible stories will be identified in the Story Details page of your story. To be eligible, the story you submit must have been posted to Wattpad between August 2, 2018 (the closing date of last year’s Wattys) and August 1, 2019 (the closing date of this year’s Wattys). The winners will be announced on September 30, 2019
The submission form
Wattpad have introduced a submission form for the first time this year because they want to better understand the stories that they will be evaluating. The company believe that through the submission form, they can better understand your story’s vision, discover your characters’ quirks, and learn the nuances of your plot. They also wanted to reinvigorate how to enter the Wattys entirely.
In the past, entry to The Wattys was done through tagging which worked on a technical level but didn’t provide the experience Wattpad wanted for writers entering. The tag #Wattys2019 will be automatically added to your story once your submission form is completed.
How to be a winner
Make sure your story fits the category you’ve entered it for and also that your story is quality. Spelling and grammar matter and The Wattys will take spelling, grammar, style, tone, structure and execution into consideration.
Wattpad says your main character propels your entire story and your ‘hook’ or idea is your golden ticket. A unique concept or a twist is definitely something that will be looked for.
Winners will be selected through a combination of data science and editorial judgement. Wattpad says data does not necessarily mean popularity, but rather how well each entry suits the award category for which it has been entered, as well as its quality. Despite writers being pooled based on data, the quality of the story is always the final defining factor.
The prizes
Five winners will be selected across 12 categories. There are also two new prizes:
Wattpad Books prize
This year, the Wattys have partnered with Wattpad Books to provide an additional opportunity to one lucky writer. One Wattys winner will also receive an offer to publish their story with Wattpad Books.
Wattpad Paid Stories prize
The Wattys have also partnered with Wattpad Paid Stories and all Watty Award winners will be considered for Wattpad Paid Stories and have the opportunity to be fast-tracked into this program. Wattpad Paid Stories makes it possible for writers to earn money for their work on Wattpad.
You can find out more about The Wattys Awards 2019 at the official Wattys Profile on the Wattpad website.