Much like the Fanfiction Contest, we were thoroughly surprised by both the quantity and quality of submissions this year. At risk of sounding like a college rejection letter, the decision process was, indeed, very difficult—but ultimately, the thing that distinguished this piece above all others was that not only did it accurately and affectionately depict its source material, it invited deeper thought about it. The balanced composition is both visually appealing and meaningful to the source material, and the use of symbolism—the ouroboros, the golden birds, the living and dead snakes, and the various infinity symbols subtly woven into the work—universally impressed judges. It’s clear that the artist put a lot of love into this piece (and its source material).
Second place
Fracture Point by Abigail L. ‘28 (Fandom: Arcane)
This piece was immediately singled out during judging as a standout, and everyone agreed near-instantly that this work deserved an award. The composition of the piece is dynamic and fluid, cleverly incorporating the details of the characters’ designs. The painting style replicates the iconic look of the original show, but is still distinctive as the artist’s own style—we especially loved the rendering of the metal shoulder plate and glove, and the blue fire. The artist successfully and subtly captured the complex emotions of the two characters in their facial expressions, their body language, and even the direction of their gaze.
Third place
Untitled by Rumi (Fandom: Batman)
This was the first piece we saw upon opening up our submissions, and it left a lasting impression. The artist’s mastery of form, lighting and color is apparent—we especially loved the sharp, Leyendecker-esque rendering of the masked Batman portrait, and the detailed, evocative lighting of the top-left portrait. One anonymous judge praised the piece’s “excellent knowledge of anatomy.” The deep, moody color palette accurately reflects the tone of the source material. The artist’s deep love for Batman is apparent. We could not, in good conscience, not give this piece an award.
Honorable mentions
In addition to our top three pieces, we also wanted to shout-out several honorable mentions that impressed our judges:
“One for sorrow two for joy” by bread herring (Fandom: Passing)
“Yuqi” by Cabbage (Fandom: G-idle)
“I am forever your most devoted believer” by zaoshanghao (Fandom: Heaven Official’s Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu)
We had such amazing submissions this year, it wouldn’t be fair to withhold all of them from you… Please enjoy them below:
Can you believe this is the FOURTH ANNUAL contest?!?! In that time we have gotten some amazing submissions, and this year was no exception. We loved reading all the contest entries. Judging them, however, was very difficult! After intense deliberations, we arrived at our winners and three honorable mentions. Check them out below.
Judges comments, “Creative, passionate, and stylistically resounding”
Author’s description of the original work:“Gattaca is a sci-fi film about a future society driven by eugenics where children are conceived through genetic selection to ensure they possess the best hereditary traits of their parents. The film centers on Vincent Freeman, a man who was conceived outside the eugenics program and struggles to overcome genetic discrimination to realize his dream of going into space. Vincent assumes the identity of Jerome Eugene Morrow, an artificially-conceived man with near-perfect genetics, in order to make his way up the ranks.”
Authors description of their fanfiction:“What if perfection was determined by musical ability instead of genetics? A look into an alternate modern universe where young Jerome Morrow is a prodigious violinist, this fanfiction details how he grapples with the weight of familial expectations, relentless self-discipline, and his burning desire to be recognized for his own artistry beyond labels of perfection or legacy.”
”Harry James Potter” (cropped) by Reilly Brown on Wikimedia Commons
Judges comments, “Brought back childhood memories of the first time one of us read Harry Potter”
Author’s description of the original work:“Boy learns that he is part of a magical world and that he needs to defeat big bad evil overlord. Boy proceeds to do just that, and everybody loves him basically.”
Authors description of the their fanfiction:“UHHH so said boy grew older and got mad at the world so he did what any reasonable person would do and goes to a painting of his dead, very senile mentor and asks for advice. Neat little time travel deus ex machina occurs, so he gets sent back to a few decades prior and meets with younger, slightly less evil big bad overlord. I only wrote the first four chapters out of 22 but I have the plot for the entire story written out. I did not include it because my outline notes are slightly rambling.”
Judges comments, “The beginning of what will surely be a most intriguing story!“
Author’s description of the original work:“Roblox Piggy is the story of an alternate world of Peppa pig where a zombie virus is affecting everyone— specifically, this story-based game exploded and became the #1 played game on Roblox (12 billion+ visits), but no one has ever written anything about it: surrounding the mysteries, and lore.”
Author’s description of their fanfiction: “My fanfiction transforms Chapter 1, “The House,” from the game into a detailed, immersive written narrative. Its the POV of a police officer investigating the Piggy residence, where he encounters Penny (aka Peppa), who has turned into a zombie. I reimagine a player’s experience, capturing the tension, puzzles, and escape mechanics of the game. I try to word-ize the atmosphere and bring it to life, which can help us players connect more deeply to the game (and reminisce about all the fun we had trying to figure our the lore!). Definitely going to continue till Chapter 12 and the next 12 Chapters in Book 2 and convert all of those into actual chapters and books!”
Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mention for Outstanding Achievement in Absurdity
Fandom: “How Corruption Destroys Armies – Theft, Graft, and Russian failure in Ukraine” – Video by Youtuber and former defense analyst Perun on Youtube
Harker US Book Blog 