The Grand Masquerade of Writing Awards sets warp drive for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category! This night wouldn't be possible without the incredible dedication of our esteemed Sci-Fi/Fantasy judges.

🥀Ablazeisaleo

🥀IAmGayShipper

A round of applause for this panel of visionary minds! Your passion for the genre, your sharp eye for imaginative worlds, and your belief in the power of storytelling were instrumental in selecting the most captivating, thought-provoking, and universe-expanding novels.

You navigated a vast expanse of stories – from epic space operas to intricate tales of magic and mythical creatures, and mind-bending dystopian futures. Thanks to your expertise, readers are about to embark on journeys filled with groundbreaking technology, unforgettable characters, and worlds that push the boundaries of imagination.

To our esteemed Sci-Fi/Fantasy judges, a heartfelt thank you! Your commitment to excellence and your love for the genre have played a vital role in making The Grand Masquerade a true celebration of stories that take us to galaxies far, far away and realms beyond our wildest dreams.

Attention, space explorers and fantasy fanatics! The Grand Masquerade of Writing Awards is thrilled to announce the champions who have rocketed to the top of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category! Get ready for a night filled with groundbreaking technology, epic adventures, and fantastical worlds that will ignite your imagination!

A round of applause for our incredible runners-up who transported us to captivating dimensions!

Second Runner Up: We celebrate nickstruutinsky, whose mind-bending novel, THE DAUGHTER OF STONES, takes home the award! This story masterfully blends science fiction and fantasy, taking readers on a thrilling journey through a universe brimming with hidden secrets and groundbreaking technology.

JUDGE USERNAME: iamgayshipper

TOTAL : 86/100

➟Book cover [4/5] : The book cover is appealing to the eyes though there isn't much relevance to the content of the book in respect to the cover.

➟Title [4/5] : The title is relevant with the content of the book but I felt like the main character is Bal so he should have something to do with the title which isn't the case here.

➟Blurb relevance [9/10] : The blurb is relevant and also intriguing at best though in the beginning there is too much information dumped but it isn't a hassle to contain so it's alright.

➟ Plot and narrative structure [18/20] : I liked the plot a lot, it is unique and written in a way which includes but not limited to suspense, humour and action.

The engagement is great too, the story kept me hooked till the very end.

➟Characterization [13/15] : I liked the characters and they are very relatable too, especially the main character of the story Bal the way also and other character's dialogues are portrayed are also relatable.

➟Writing mechanics [14/15] : The grammar and vocabulary used is amazing, there are occasionally some grammatical error but apart from it it is perfect.

➟Content and originality [15/15] : The story fits the genre of fantasy perfectly and it delivers a lot of elements that are befitting of the fantasy genre such as talk about stones and potions.

➟Overall impression [9/10] : Overall I liked the story a lot, mainly because of its humorous approaches in between the story.

First Runner Up: Buckle up for a fantastical adventure with chuwithluv's spellbinding novel, 13 DESTINIES. This story delves into a world of magic, showcasing the power of good versus evil in a way that will leave you utterly enthralled.

JUDGE: Ablazeisaleo

Total: 87/100

➟Cover: 3/5 The cover would have been perfect if only the title were a bit more bright. I could hardly read what the title says and I cannot make out the author's name at all. Apart from that, it's perfect!

➟Title: 4/5 I must say I'm intrigued by the title alone. After reading the blurb the title makes a lot more sense and it just increased my curiosity level. Can't wait to read the story!

➟Blurb: 10/10 If I were to describe the blurb in one word then it would be: PERFECT! An intriguing quote, a thrilling intro, and an intense cliffhanger. What else do we need?

➟Plot and Narrative: 16/20 The plot is certainly a new and amusing one compared to the bts fanfics I have read in this platform. Them being trapped with the girls in an alien planet where there are three moons like holy moly what the hell?! I must admit that the narrative was cool but what hindered me from properly enjoying the narrative was the tedious word count of the chapters. Some were over 4000 words which tired me out a bit. Considering that this is an online platform, I have read that 1500-2000 words works best for a single chapter. Now the perks of having such a reduced word count is that you have some sort of medium chapters which would automatically urge readers to turn pages to know what's going to happen next and ofcourse in this way you get to upload more chapters, which I believe is a plus point. Apart from that, we got an interesting sci-fi book here folks!

➟Characterization: 12/15 I love how you have portrayed the dynamics between the girls and their respective personal strained relationships. Since you only have nine chapters up and the BTS members turns up on the sixth chapter, I haven't seen much of their character developments which for the time being remains exactly as their real life characters, which is a good thing as when we try to change or modify how someone speaks, especially when the person is known to everyone, it comes out as dramatic and unreal. Good job!

➟Writing Mechanics: 19/20 Your biggest strength would be the way you narrate the story. It was so descriptive, engaging, and hilarious. Nothing was over done and nothing was not upto the limit, everything was just perfect. The only shortcoming I felt when it came to the descriptive part would be how Azuha gets abused inside the hospital by Liam and yet it goes unnoticed by the hospital staff. We all know hospitals are super packed and considering the scenario where Natasha's dad is admitted who being a big shot himself, the hospital is absolutely crowded! That part really felt unreal to me as first I thought we were standing in a different location until Natasha turns up and from the ward. There were small loopholes as such and a tiny mix of grammatical errors but it could all be cleared up with proof reading and a good grammar checker.

➟ Content and Originality: 15/15 I could already say that the book is an original plot as I have never stumbled upon any such book especially considering that it's a BTS fanfiction. I'm really so curious to know which planet they are on and how they are going to save themselves. Good job author!

Overall Impression: 8/10 Though I did have some difficulty with the pacing due to the immense word count, I cannot help but admit the potential and creativity of the author. Writing such a complex plot isn't an easy task and I wish you all the best!

And now, the moment you've all been anticipating...

The Winner: Bathed in the glow of a nebula, we are honored to announce the undisputed champion of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre: inkofmoonchild! Their awe-inspiring novel, ORB OF NIGHT, is a testament to the boundless power of imagination. It's a story brimming with unforgettable characters, groundbreaking mysteries, and a climax that will leave you breathless. It is a genre-bending masterpiece that will transport you to a world unlike any other. It's a testament to the captivating power of sci-fi/fantasy fiction, where galaxies unfold, mythical creatures come alive, and the possibilities are endless.

 Judge: @Ablazeisaleo

Total: 92/100

➟ Cover: 2/5 I love the color scheme as it co-relates with the title and the wolf on the front as it gives out the werewolf vibes but it lacks the grandeur to step out to entice the readers. If this were in a bookstall, chances are it would get skipped out easily as the cover is a bit generic as a whole. I would suggest having an even more enthralling cover so as to attract readers and having the author's name put up as we all need to know the artist behind the masterpiece.

➟ Title: 5/5 The title is short and concise as it directly hints to the story without beating around the bush. We know that we have a thrilling werewolf story ahead of us. Good job!

➟ Blurb: 9/10 I LOVE THE BLURB! It has everything that could possibly enchant readers to read your book but the only shortcoming I felt was that the poem could have been avoided and rather modified as a paragraph. It just doesn't read well with the rest of the paragraphs. Secondly, some sentences are too wordy to let the flow in. I would suggest you to read out what you write aloud to avoid wordy sentences.

➟ Plot and Narrative: 20/20 Wow! The plot was clearly an unexpected one. I expected it to be the usual alpha-omega plot but bam here we have a banger! I'm very curious to know on why Alex is spiteful about the moon especially considering when he's known as the King of the Eclipse. Can we talk about those cryptic poems? Amazing! There's a lot of questions running through my mind on who the mysterious woman is and her connection to both Alex and Elara and I just can't wait to find out more.

➟ Characterization: 13/15 I had to cut a couple of marks here because descriptive scenarios were perfect however we get very little about the characterization of the characters. Through the chapters, I understood how protective Alex is about Elara and Elara's decision to keep her identity concealed which again intrigues me a lot, but I want to know more about them which hopefully will be brought out in the coming chapters.

➟ Writing Mechanics: 19/20 As mentioned before, beautiful descriptions! The writing is very simple yet professional that I cant help but turn pages to find out whats going to happen next. The only shortcoming I felt here is regarding grammar such as in some places the poem is not in italics and some short on full stops. A good grammar checker could rectify the above issue.

➟ Content and Originality: 15/15 I must say that I haven't stumbled upon any such plot especially in this genre. Great creativity out there!

➟ Overall Impression: 9/10 This book is definitely one of my favorites. You have a lot of potential and I cant wait to unfold who the mysterious lady is. Kudos!

To the aspiring storytellers whose fantastical narratives didn't take center stage tonight, remember – The Grand Masquerade's stage is still a launchpad for your imagination!

This year's Sci-Fi/Fantasy category was a dazzling nebula of stories, brimming with groundbreaking ideas and captivating worlds. Each entry showcased your remarkable ability to craft stories that transport readers to galaxies far, far away, or enthrall them with mythical creatures and fantastical adventures. The competition was fierce, and every story held its own unique spark, making the judges' decisions incredibly difficult.

Remember, the world of Sci-Fi/Fantasy craves fresh voices and stories that push the boundaries of imagination. Keep writing the tales that ignite your passion, and don't be discouraged. The next award-winning Sci-Fi/Fantasy adventure might just be yours!

Who knows, next year, your story might be the one taking center stage at the Grand Masquerade! Until then, keep the MOTIVATION burning bright and have a look at what out judges have to say about your works!

JUDGE USERNAME: iamgayshipper

AUTHOR USERNAME:

BOOK TITLE: Star wars - the master and novice.

TOTAL: 77.5

➟ Book cover [4/5] : The cover looks appealing and creative though the font colours and contrast can be made better to make it stand out on the cover.

➟ Title [3.5/5] : The title is alright. It does portray a potential outline of the plot to the readers about how there will be a master and novice though there are a lot of stories like that it is befitting of the story.

➟ Blurb relevance [8/10] : The blurb is short but enough to pull a reader in the story. There are no grammatical error or punctuation mistakes, no unnecessary information given out.

➟ Plot and narrative structure [14/20] : The plot is very intriguing and there are clear stakes and rising tension however it took me some time to feel engaged in the plot.

The story also jumped a lot of scenes but it increased the enjoyment of the story so it's not a bad thing.

➟ Characterization [13/15] : The characters are very well written, the way they act and deliver their speech is befitting of their characters in the plot. I especially liked the authentic language used by Vader who is a Sith lord, the dialogue delivery certainly fits to be that of a higher level lord.

➟ Writing mechanics [15/20] : The grammer and punctuation mistakes are in no way noticeable, though the clearness of the story was a bit debatable. As someone who has never seen star wars and not a fan of sci-fi it was rather hard to understand the first chapter and getting invested in it.

The vocabulary is rich and varied, and the writing style pulls the reader into the story.

➟ Content and originality [13/15] : The story perfectly follow the established conventions and tropes of its chosen genre, personally I have never read any other stories like this, in my opinion it is unique.

➟ Overall impression [7/10] : Overall I liked the story in whole, honestly I pushed myself to read this because it was my first time reading something like this moreover I would like to mention I enjoyed reading it after awhile.

Judge: @Ablazeisaleo

Author: @BBNovelist 

Title: This Life and The Next

Total: 77/100

➟ Cover: 2/5 I love the color theme used in the cover but the graphics just look like it's put out there without any content. The graphics and the font used in the cover doesn't go together and I would suggest having a quick fix with that. There are many graphic shops here in Wattpad that could help you sort out this issue.

➟ Title: 4/5 The title really intrigued me as it clearly hints to the fact that there are two eras involved in the story. Considering how the story revolves around a vampire, the title fits the story perfectly.

➟ Blurb: 5/10 To be honest, there are intriguing elements in the blurb but it's just that it's not put together in the right place. As the blurb starts, I thought the year 2014 is the period where Vlad is a mortal but the third sentence completely took me out on which period you're referring to. Overall, the blurb is short which is amazing, but I would suggest having it be less wordy to put in the intrigue factor.

➟ Plot and Narrative: 17/20 I would say that the plot is pretty interesting as we see how Vlad is trying to cope with the present era and enjoying how the world has changed yet he remembers who he is and how desperately he wants to be a mortal. His encounter with Mina in the marketplace was very intriguing to read considering how he recognizes her while she doesn't. This one might be a unique plot amongst all the Dracula stories out there.

➟ Characterization: 14/15 I loved how you gave importance to Vlad's characterization from the beginning of the chapter. You described really well how he really wants to get out of that vampire coat but he cant and that he has to deal with it. The writing was very lucid that I could practically feel how Vlad thinks about the present era which is quite different from his own such as when he remarks about the dressing attire. Overall, good job!

➟ Writing Mechanics: 14/20 Being honest, as mentioned before, I did like how you vividly described Vlad's opinion about the present era from his past but I felt like it could have been shown through his actions rather than describing it as when you describe it, it loses the flow of reading. Secondly, since the chapters skip through Vlad's and Mina's pov, you don't have to write the same scenario for both pov's to show what they both are thinking because as readers we already know what happened from one's pov. To make it more easy, you can start with a thought or dialogue by the characters from a previous scene so that it doesn't look like we are reading the same chapter twice.

➟ Content and Originality: 13/15 Though the troupe is common, there is something unique to your writing which I really appreciate. I haven't read much vampire stories where the plot revolves around two eras so this is a unique one for me.

Overall Impression: 8/10 I don't usually read vampire stories but this one got me hooked. With the changes mentioned above, I'm sure this book is going to perfect. Good job author!

Judge: @Ablazeisaleo

Author: @JankyFluffy

Title: Uglier

Total: 60/100

➟ Cover: 1/5  Though I do love the cute character you have on the cover, I would probably prefer a more realistic cover especially considering that the blurb hints at a realistic setting. There are many talented shops in Wattpad which could help rectify this issue.

➟ Title: 2/5 The title is short and it does talk about the story but it lacks the intriguing factor. A title need not be short all the time or have the serious hold on it. It could be funny, thrilling, and pretty much anything which could make it stand out. 

➟ Blurb: 5/10 I would have loved to see more in the blurb such as who Zeda and Quincy are, why she's there in this story, her role, etc without ofcourse not giving out too much info. The blurb at present looks very simple and thus it has high stakes to get looked over. 

➟ Plot and Narrative: 11/20 The plot is certainly something unique and creative. Something that I loved is the word count because it was short and easier to flip between chapters which made the pacing smoother. You have a great narrative quality as I wasn't left thinking on what a certain segment of the story meant. But what caught me off the cliff was the repetitive usage of bold fonts which left me confused as I thought we were skipping POV's and moving onto someone's memory. A quick read through while editing could help rectify the issue.

➟ Characterization: 10/15 I love Zeda out of all the characters as basically we get exposed to a time period where beauty is the law and the uglier ones are considered useless and practically non-existent but there we have our main lead with a idgaf attitude which I loved in her. In my opinion, I couldn't relate with Quincy at all as there was a lot of describing who he is with less dialogues that I wasn't able to grasp much of him at all.

➟ Writing Mechanics: 12/20 Your biggest strength is narration and I give it to you! The way you describe scenes, character emotions, and everything seemed to flow with ease without having any blocks in between. Something that did not work with me is when the narration takes over the role of the characters that at some point I felt like reading the author's pov rather than reading what the story is trying to tell me. The rule which I usually follow is show vs tell where you allow your characters to speak for themselves through dialogues and portray their emotions rather than the author typing it for them. You could correct this out while proof reading.

➟ Content and Originality: 13/15 The book honestly was really unique in my opinion as the storyline was not something I quite expected to see. Great job!

➟ Overall Impression: 6/10 The book has a lot of potential and I could already see it. If the errors mentioned above are corrected, I'm sure that this book could appeal to an even more wider range of audience. Good job author!

JUDGE USERNAME: iamgayshipper

AUTHOR USERNAME: joeyW2W

BOOK TITLE: bond breakers

TOTAL : 77/100

➟ Book cover [3/5] : The book cover is very simple yet appealing, it would've been better if it had reflected the genre and plot of the story in some way but it didn't.

➟ Title [4/5] : The title is not unique but it does reflect the plotline of the story very well, it depicts how bonds will be broken and such.

➟ Blurb relevance [8/10] : the blurb is very well written with no grammatical error but it seems like it is too lengthy and too much information is given in it which can be quite dumping on the reader's mind at once.

➟ Plot and narrative structure [18/20] : The plot is really very intriguing with twists and turns and how there was no stereotypes about women, I liked the love interest of the protagonist too; the idea of not making him a cold blooded man was appreciable, and the narrative structure makes it seem suspenseful and mysterious, the engagement was adequate too.

➟ Characterization [13/15] : The characters all have very distinct personality and are very unique yet they don't have any magnetic pull that will make reader's connect with them. The dialogues of the characters on the other hand are very interesting and fun.

➟ Writing mechanics [13/20] : The clarity of the story at the beginning was a bit lacking because it started with the father's story and it was confusing because in the Blurb it was about Merran, however it soon got better. There were some grammatical mistakes that I came across like writing 'in' when it should be 'it' and no space between semi colon and the next sentence, and using the wrong punctuation mark.

➟ Content and originality [12/15] : The content of the story are befitting of being that of the fantasy's genre in every aspect with its unique elements, how there was spells and curse. Though there are many stories that I have come across with the same plotline, but not too much similar to this one.

➟ Overall impression [6/10] : I liked the prologue the best. It seemed that the story became something whole different, it jumped 20 years without Letting us know anything and the first thing it says is about Merran who the reader's aren't aware of, which was very confusing and the first paragraph was very long without any break which made it difficult to gain interest.

Judge: @Ablazeisaleo

Author: @Optimacq

Title: Lord of the Zodiacs

Total: 48/100

➟ Cover: 2/5 Being honest, the cover looks a bit bland in my opinion. I understand that not all of us are great when it comes to making covers and thus I would suggest you to check out the cover shops in Wattpad to rectify this issue.

➟ Title: 2/5 I dont understand the co-relation between the title and the blurb as a whole. When I stumbled upon the title, I thought the story revolves around someone who has powers over the zodiac signs but we have a Loki themed story instead.

➟ Blurb: 3/10 I, as a reader, would obviously prefer to see more of what the story is about to actually turn pages to know what it contains. The blurb as of now is a bit generic and plain. I would suggest you to add in a bit more of who Odin is, why he was overthrown, and what's Loki's plans without ofcourse giving out too much information.

➟ Plot and Narrative: 9/20 I feel like the story has a lot of potential if only it was worded right. We open up to an intense action scene between the humans and the demons but what caught me off guard were the numerous pictures after each paragraph and the addition of new characters without any background info on who they are. Secondly, always remember the rule of show vs tell. Show the readers whats happening rather than telling them. You could add in dialogues and paragraphs where each character is introduced so that we know why the characters are there and what's their respective roles.

➟ Characterization: 9/15 As mentioned above, due to character dump on each paragraphs I had a tough time processing on who is speaking and what they are, if they're a human or a demon. Rushing through characters might lead the readers clueless on whats happening. Take your time and find your pace to give each character their own screen time so that readers could blend in along with your characters.

➟ Writing Mechanics: 8/20 In the first chapter we start off with an action packed dialogue which I presume is spoken by the same person however I noticed that you used different quotation marks for each dialogue. I would suggest to pack the same dialogue spoken by the same speaker in one sentence if and unless it is separated by a paragraph. There were grammatical errors which could easily be rectified with a grammar checker.

➟ Content and Originality: 10/15 As mentioned earlier, the book has a lot of potential if only everything is described or atleast the readers are exposed to some backstory on whats going on. Good luck author!

➟ Overall Impression: 5/10 Due to the character confusions and grammatical errors the story did catch me offguard, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Afterall, every gem needs to be polished to let out it's natural shine!

Certificates & Badges: These will be delivered digitally in a separate chapter plus via pinterest or email. Other prizes such as special ticket to interview shop, plot shop etc. will be awarded eventually.Until then, STAY TUNED!