It’s time for the Yuri Garden Writing Competition (2022)~! It’s just not summer without it, right?

To those who are brand new, the Yuri Garden hosts an annual writing competition that runs from June the 1^st to July the 31^st.

The entries are short stories ranging from 1500 to 3000 words, and the competition is kept completely anonymous until after the voting, to ensure the victor wins by skill and not simply reputation.

Once the entry period closes, the Yuri Gardeners will vote for their favourites in August, until the winner is found.

If you’re interested in taking part, please ensure you read all the rules thoroughly before beginning your entry~!

They’re split into 3 sections for ease of reading: Submission Rules, Anonymity Rules, and Content Rules.

New submissions will be posted together on Saturdays (BST).

Prizes:

First, second and third place will have their chapter titles changed to reflect their achievement and will be moved to the beginning of the “novel” in order. They will also be mentioned in the “novel” description.

The top three winners will also be immortalised on the Yuri Garden’s opening post, with links to as many of their author profiles as they wish, and links to any other yuri they write, whether now or in the future. (Just let me know when you post a new one.)

In addition, as is the tradition, winners will receive a prize of nuffies (NUF’s forum money – NOT real money). Unfortunately, NUF rules forbid me from offering prizes with real monetary value.

This year’s nuffie prizes are:

First place: $4000 $5720

Second place: $3000 $4719

Third place: $1000 $2719

(Prize money increased thanks to a donation from @AsianessPride )

Submission Rules

1. Your story should be an original piece of fiction that has no relation to any works existing (i.e. is not fanfiction, is not a spin off or Alternative Universe version of a story that you have published elsewhere, and does not include references to existing works). Your short story cannot have been published anywhere else previously and cannot be published anywhere but the SH YuriGardenAllotment account until after the competition results have been announced.
2. The minimum word count is 1500 words, and the maximum is 3000. I will be strict about this – 1499 is unacceptable, and so is 3001. Your title will not be included in the word count.
3. Your story must be sent in a Private Message to me (Moonpearl) either on Scribble Hub or on NUF before 23:59 on the 31st of July 2022, BST (GMT +1), when submissions will close.
4. Multiple entries are permitted, but each submitted story must have absolutely no relation to each other.
5. You can withdraw from the competition at any time by letting me know.
6. You can publish your story on your own account(s) after the voting results are announced.
7. I reserve the right to disqualify or deny entry to people who are abusive towards me or who I believe are entering in bad faith.

Anonymity Rules:

1. The anonymity rules are serious. Any attempts to cheat in this competition will result in immediate disqualification, announcement of the fact, and potentially a ban from all future Yuri Garden events.
2. Your entry must remain top secret even before you submit it. You cannot discuss your ideas with anyone (in private or otherwise), share drafts, nor drop hints about your story. The only exception to this is in private messages with Moonpearl and no other person.
3. After your first submission is accepted, you'll be provided with a personal delay period, which is different for every participant. You are not allowed to tell anyone that you've entered until your delay period has ended.
4. You cannot tell anyone what your delay period is, even after it ends.
5. You cannot tell anyone how many stories you have entered.
6. You cannot tell or hint to people when your story will or has been released in the competition.
7. For any other attempt or tactic to destroy the anonymity of your entry, please see Anonymity Rule #1.

Content Rules:

1. Your story must be yuri. (In other words, there must be a significant romantic or sexual relationship between at least two women in your story, and one of those women must be the protagonist regardless of who the narrator is. This relationship should be the focus of your story in some way. Casual passing flirtation and/or a character who just happens to be a lesbian will not count. Ambiguous relationships (i.e. yuribait) will not be considered a fulfilment of this requirement.
2. No lolicon. This includes but is not limited to:

• Relationships between characters who are 18 or over and characters who are under 18
• Sexual content with characters below the age of 18. This includes but is not limited to sex involving those characters, sexual contact involving those characters (e.g. hickeys, fondling/groping), and the sexualisation of those characters (e.g. using erotic description)
• Characters intended to look or feel like children and/or much younger than they really are, regardless of what age you try to claim them to be

3. Relationships between characters who are below the age of eighteen can only have a two-year age gap at most. The rule about a character being much younger in all but name still applies here.

4. No incest or futanari.

5. Gender bender will only be permitted if the change is “male to female” and the character(s) undergoing the transformation identified as a woman/women prior to the change.

6. No depictions of rape, bestiality, necrophilia, or other illegal sex acts. Mentions of them should also be kept to a minimum (none at all, if possible) and only in a negative light.

7. No stories where characters are “turned straight”, end up with someone who’s not a woman, or leave a woman for someone who’s not a woman. (Your characters can have had relationships with non-women in the past or leave one for a woman.)

8. NSFW is allowed.

There are no loopholes in the rules. I reserve the right to refuse any story that tries to find a way to circumvent them. Repeated offenders will be judged as entering in bad faith.

If you have any questions about the competition and its rules, please message me. Questions about elements you plan to include in any entries should be sent in a personal message only~!