How to take part
- Create your NOA account (it's free).
- Tap + and choose New Book.
- Write your story and choose the Horror category.
- Publish it as a public, free-to-read book between October 12 and November 2, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. (Ecuador time, UTC−5).
That's it: horror stories published in those dates enter the contest automatically.
There are two separate contests with the same prizes: one for stories in English and one for stories in Spanish (rules in Spanish). Your story enters the contest of the language your app is set to when you publish it.
Requirements
- One story per person in each contest. If you publish several, the first one counts.
- Written in English, from 500 to 5,000 words. It can have one or more chapters.
- It must stay public and free to read until the winners are announced. If you hide it or put a price on it, it leaves the contest.
- It must be your own original work. Stories copied from other authors or written entirely with artificial intelligence are not accepted.
- It must follow the community rules. Horror is welcome; explicit sexual content, hate, or harassment of real people are not.
- If you are under 18, you need permission from a parent or guardian to take part.
- NOA's official account and team cannot take part.
How winners are chosen
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd place: chosen by the NOA jury. We look for stories that are truly scary, original and well written.
- Readers' choice: the story with the most likes when the contest closes. NOA may not count likes from fake accounts or accounts created only to vote.
- The same story cannot win two prizes: if the most liked story is also in the top three, the readers' choice prize goes to the next one.
- If there are not enough stories that meet these rules, a prize may not be awarded.
Results and prizes
- Winners will be announced on November 4, 2026 in the NOA app.
- The 50 participation tickets are given only once per person, even if you take part in both contests.
- NoaCoins and tickets are added to your in-app wallet within 72 hours.
- The 1st place story of each contest will be featured at the top of Books for one week. Winners also get a badge on their profile.
- NoaCoins cannot be exchanged for money, except under the general withdrawal terms of the NOA Creator Program.
Your story is still yours
You keep all the rights to your story. You only give us permission to show it in the app and to share its title, cover and a short excerpt when we announce the contest and its winners.
This contest is organized only by NOA. Google and Google Play do not sponsor, endorse or manage this contest in any way. If you have questions, write to us from the support section of the app.