Wattpad Kicks-Off the 2022 Watty Awards, including Major New Prizes
The 2022 Watty Awards will give out more prizes than ever before, with three publishing deals and 10 adaptation opportunities with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios
TORONTO - July 22, 2022 - The Watty Awards are back and bigger than ever! The annual global writing contest from Wattpad, the global entertainment company and leading webnovel platform, is now accepting submissions for the 2022 Watty Awards. The Watty Awards are one of the world’s largest and most diverse writing competitions, open to writers around the world in nine languages across 12 genres.
This year marks The Watty Awards’ 13th anniversary, and with over 500 prizes to be won, 2022 is the biggest edition yet. Among this year’s grand prizes will be life-changing entertainment and publishing opportunities with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. The Global Publishing division will select three winning stories for publishing deals with the Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group based on the following criteria:
The Wattpad Books YA Award will consider stories across all genres in the Young Adult category that represent an original point of view and strong underlying storytelling.
The W by Wattpad Books Award will consider stories in the New Adult and Romance categories that have a strong happily-ever-after for its main characters.
The Frayed Pages x Wattpad Books Award will consider book-length fictional stories that explore the wonderfully complex and joyously diverse relationships that make loving our best form of living. The recipient of this award will be selected by Anna Todd, Frayed Pages x Wattpad Books co-founder, producer, entrepreneur, and New York Times best-selling author of the After series which started on Wattpad.
2022 prizing will also include 10 TV and film adaptation opportunities with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’ Global Entertainment division. Ten compelling stories from all languages that highlight diverse and marginalized communities will be eligible for film, television, and animation deals.
Best Story Winners will be selected from each language, and receive a cash prize of $5,000 USD. Other prizes include consideration for the Wattpad Paid Stories program, story promotion on a variety of Wattpad platforms and social media channels, and consideration by Wattpad WEBTOON Studios for entertainment and publishing opportunities.
For more than a decade, The Watty Awards have celebrated Wattpad writers who share their stories with the world, launching the careers of some of the platform’s most exciting new voices. Carolyn Hill’s 2021 Watty Award winning story, Mask of Celibacy, is the latest example of how Watty winners are consistently some of the most creative and diverse voices in the industry. The coming-of-age asexual romance about two students discovering their identities will be published by Wattpad Books, bringing this unique, must-read tale to bookshelves everywhere.
Many Watty Award winners have become notable publishing and entertainment successes. Previous winners include Beth Reekles for The Kissing Booth; Vic James’ Gilded Cage; I’m a Gay Wizard by V.S. Santoni, now in development as a series from Wattpad WEBTOON Studios; Katerina E. Tonks’ Death is My BFF, in development with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and Sony Pictures Television; and many others. Ariana Godoy, Wattpad superstar author of the Netflix sensation A Traves de Mi Ventana, won a Watty Award in 2012 for her novel, My Wattpad Love.
“At Wattpad, we know that an incredible story can come from anyone,” said Jeanne Lam, President at Wattpad. “Our goal for the 2022 Watty Awards is to inspire creators around the world and help them achieve their writing dreams, whether it’s the motivation to finish a draft, land a book deal, or see their work transformed for TV and film. For over a decade, The Watty’s have been the source of some of Wattpad's most successful hits online, on bookshelves, and on screens, and we look forward to uncovering more incredible stories from this year's submissions.”
Writers can submit stories until 11:59pm EST on August 19, 2022. Winners will be announced on November 19, 2022.
For more information visit: www.wattpad.com/wattys.