TAG COMICS

Story Prize Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. This is a contest of skill: winners are chosen on the merits of their stories, not by chance. Void where prohibited.

Contest: The Tag Comics Story Prize 2026Entries: November 1, 2026 to January 10, 2027Last updated: October 29, 2026

01Sponsor

The contest is run by TAG Comics LLC ("TAG Comics"). Questions: storyprize@tagcomics.com.

02Who can enter

  • You must be at least 18 years old when you enter.
  • The contest is open worldwide, except where prohibited by law and in countries subject to U.S. sanctions.
  • Employees and contractors of TAG Comics, the judges, and their immediate families and households cannot enter.

03Entry period

Entries open at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on November 1, 2026 and close at 11:59 p.m. ET on January 10, 2027. Late entries are not accepted. TAG Comics' clock is the official clock.

04How to enter

  1. Go to www.tagcomics.com/pages/story-prize.
  2. Fill in the entry form: legal name, pen name (optional), email, country, story title, word count, and the full story text.
  3. Confirm that you are 18 or older, that the story is your original work, and that you accept these Official Rules.

Limit: one entry per person. Extra entries, or entries made through multiple accounts or email addresses, may all be disqualified. Entries cannot be edited after they are submitted.

05Story requirements

  • Challenge: The story must respond to the challenge "You're It": someone who is chosen, marked, or handed something they can't pass back. Any genre.
  • Length: 1,000 to 2,500 words, not counting the title.
  • Original work: Written entirely by you. It must not infringe anyone's copyright, trademark, privacy, or other rights. Fan fiction based on characters you don't own is not eligible.
  • Unpublished: Not previously published in print or online (including on blogs, Wattpad, AO3, or social media), and not under license to anyone else.
  • No AI-generated text: The story must not be written, in whole or in part, by generative AI. Spell-check and grammar tools are fine.
  • Language: English.
  • Content: Suitable for readers aged 13 and up. No explicit sexual content, and nothing hateful, defamatory, or unlawful. TAG Comics may reject entries that break this rule.

06Judging

A panel of TAG Comics editors and artists will judge every eligible entry on these criteria:

Criterion Weight
Originality and use of the challenge 30%
Storytelling and craft 30%
Character and voice 20%
Visual potential: how well the story would work as a comic 20%

The panel will name up to 10 finalists by January 31, 2027 and choose the Grand Prize winner and two runners-up from them. The panel's decisions are final.

Readers' Choice: From February 1 to 10, 2027, the public may vote for one finalist at www.tagcomics.com/pages/story-prize. One vote per person per day. Votes made by bots, purchased votes, or other fraud will be voided, and TAG Comics may disqualify an entrant who benefits from them. The finalist with the most valid votes, other than the Grand Prize winner and the two runners-up, wins Readers' Choice. A person may win only one prize.

07Prizes

The contest awards $1,500 in cash prizes in total, shared by the Grand Prize winner and the two runners-up.

Prize What the winner gets
Grand Prize (1) $1,000 cash; the story adapted into a 16–20 page TAG Comics comic; 10% of net revenue from the comic; 5 print copies; writer credit
Runner-up (2) $250 cash each; the story published in the TAG Comics anthology and on the TAG Comics website
Readers' Choice (1) $100 TAG Comics store credit; a one-page illustration of a scene from the story

The total approximate retail value of the cash and store credit is $1,600. The value of the comic adaptation, revenue share, print copies, illustration, and anthology publication depends on future sales and cannot be estimated in advance.

The comic adaptation requires the Grand Prize winner to sign the Winner Agreement, and anthology publication requires each runner-up to sign the Runner-up Agreement. Prizes cannot be transferred. Cash prizes are paid in U.S. dollars by PayPal or bank transfer, at the winner's choice, within 30 days of signing. Store credit is issued as a TAG Comics gift card. TAG Comics may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if a prize becomes unavailable.

Entrant discount: Every eligible entrant gets a 15% discount code for the TAG Comics store, emailed within 3 days of entering and valid until March 31, 2027, one use per customer.

08Winner notification

Finalists and winners will be notified by email. Winners must reply within 7 days and sign any required documents, including the Winner Agreement or Runner-up Agreement, within 14 days. Otherwise, the prize may be forfeited and awarded to another finalist. Winners will be announced publicly on February 15, 2027.

09Your rights in your story

You keep ownership of your story. Entering does not transfer your copyright.

By entering, you give TAG Comics a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to read and judge your entry. If you are named a finalist, this license also lets TAG Comics display your name, title, and full story on the contest and voting pages, and quote short excerpts in contest promotion, until December 31, 2027.

TAG Comics will not publish, adapt, or otherwise use any other entry. Any publication or adaptation of a winning story happens only under a separate signed agreement, which includes payment and credit.

We may contact any entrant about paid writing work. You are free to say no.

10Taxes

Winners are responsible for any taxes on their prizes. TAG Comics may require a W-9 (U.S. residents) or W-8BEN (non-U.S. residents) before paying a prize and will issue tax forms as required by law.

11Publicity

Winners and finalists agree that TAG Comics may use their name or pen name, country, story title, and a photo they provide to announce and promote the contest results, without further payment, unless prohibited by law.

12Privacy

We use your information only to run the contest, contact you about it, and deliver prizes, as described in our Privacy Policy. You will be added to the TAG Comics newsletter only if you tick the opt-in box on the entry form.

13General conditions

  • TAG Comics may disqualify anyone who breaks these rules or tampers with the contest.
  • TAG Comics may cancel, change, or suspend the contest if fraud, technical failure, or anything else outside its control affects its fairness. If that happens, TAG Comics may judge the eligible entries received up to that point.
  • TAG Comics is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, or misdirected entries, or for technical failures.
  • To the extent the law allows, entrants release TAG Comics, its staff, and judges from liability arising from the contest or a prize.

14Governing law

These rules are governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Hartford County, Connecticut.

15Winners list

For the names of the winners, email storyprize@tagcomics.com after February 15, 2027.

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