The 2023 Watty Awards

PRIZING

Shortlist

A shortlist will be announced on or around October 16th, 2023. All shortlisted stories will receive:
- A Shortlist profile banner to show off your accomplishment to your followers
- Promotion on the Wattys profile on Wattpad, and featuring opportunities across Wattpad
- A Shortlist badge for your story 

Winners

The odds of winning prizes are dependent on the total number of entries.

From the shortlist, approximately 10 total Winners (the "Winners") will be chosen in each of the eight international languages, Filipino, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish. In English, there will be approximately 20 total Winners; 10 for Complete Stories and 10 for Ongoing Stories. There will be an approximate total of 100 Winners across all languages. Of the Winners, up to 2 in English (1 complete and 1 ongoing) and up to 1 in Filipino, French, German, Indonesian, and Spanish may be from an entry participating in Wattpad's Paid Stories program. Wattpad reserves the right to select fewer than 100 Winners, if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified entries.

Winners will receive the following:
- A Winners' social media kit to share your accomplishment with the world
- Promotion on the Wattys profile on Wattpad
- Featuring opportunities across Wattpad
- A Wattys badge for your winning story
- Priority consideration by Wattpad WEBTOON Studios for your story to be shown to entertainment and publishing partners

Special Prizes

From all Winners, 4 additional special prizes per language will be handed out:
- Best Characters (for a story with characters that resonated with our judges and made us root for them every step along the way)
- Most Engaging World (for a story with rich world-building that makes the reader feel like they can truly immerse themselves into the setting)
- Biggest Twist (for a story that shocks us with a twist we didn't see coming)
- Catchiest Hook (for a story that builds off an idea that is fresh, imaginative, and exciting)

The Winners of these awards will receive extra acknowledgement of their prize on the Wattys website at wattys.wattpad.com.

Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group Prize

From all English language Winners, 1 will be considered for a publishing deal with Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group ("WWBG"). The Winner needs to be writing as themselves and must be comfortable with their name being published and be willing to engage in book promotion in order to be eligible. WWBG is looking for a wide range of authentic stories from unique voices that range across age and experience in any genre. Only complete, non-sequel stories are eligible for this prize.
- Wattpad reserves the right not to award WWBG Consideration if Winner submissions do not meet a minimum criteria or if WWS cannot come to commercial terms, at WWS's sole discretion, on a WWBG publishing deal.
- The approximate value of the prize will depend on the perceived market value of the entry chosen for WWBG consideration but will be equivalent to other books published by WWS, and no less than $1000 USD.

Wattpad Webtoon Studios Prizes

Wattpad WEBTOON Studios will consider 1 Winner per language - for a total of 9 Winners - for entertainment adaptation offers ("WWS Entertainment Prize"). WWS is looking for authentic stories across diverse and marginalized communities to adapt for film, television, and animation. Winners will need to be writing original work as themselves and be comfortable with their names being public. Only complete, non-sequel stories are eligible for this prize this year.

- The WWS Entertainment Prize will consider a Wattpad-originating story with strong underlying storytelling, compelling characters, and a unique hook that is suitable for film and/or television adaptation. We're seeking fiction entries across all genres.

Wattpad and WWS reserve the right to not award WWS Consideration if Winner submissions do not meet minimum criteria or WWS cannot come to commercial terms, at WWS's sole discretion, on a WWS deal. The approximate value of the prize will depend on the perceived market value of the entry chosen for WWS consideration but will be equivalent to other titles optioned by Wattpad WEBTOON Studios in their respective countries.

Fans' Choice Award [English only]

The Fans' Choice Award is an exciting opportunity for readers to be involved in this year's Wattys! From the Shortlist, judges will nominate up to 3 stories for readers to vote on to win the award. Fans will be able to vote directly on wattys.wattpad.com. Only English language, Wattys-winning stories are eligible. There will be more details on this to follow. 

Grand Prize

There will be 1 Grand Prize Winner in each international language and 2 Grand Prize Winners in English; 1 in Complete, and 1 in Ongoing, chosen out of the pool of 100 Winners. The Grand Prize Winners represent the best stories submitted to The 2023 Wattys and will have achieved distinction in at least three of the four special prize categories. The Grand Prize Winners will also receive a cash prize of $5,000 USD.