Since 2008 the Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook fiction has established itself as a part of the online gamebook community and an important pathway for aspiring writers to develop their skills in interactive fiction and storytelling. At the time of its commencement there were few opportunities for new gamebook writers to introduce their works to a mass audience and for the following eight years the Windhammer Prize gave authors that opportunity.

Proudly sponsored by arborell.com the prize continued as a means to promote the gamebook genre, and to provide exposure within a competitive environment for aspiring gamebook authors. In particular the prize valued the participation of creative and original works of gamebook fiction. The challenge that was given to those who wished to participate required the development of a full gamebook experience whilst meeting stringent guidelines regarding length and original content. The competition was open to all gamebook writers and required no entry fee or other costs.

Apart from the opportunity for commercial publication and the provision of a number of cash prizes the competition also provided a wide readership for new works, and considerable feedback from readers regarding the design, logic flow and writing quality of entries submitted. Within this competitive environment an author could discover how readers viewed their work and allowed an opportunity for authors to compare their works critically with other entries. In relation to all these competition objectives the Windhammer Prize was overwhelmingly successful.

From 2016 however, it became apparent that the possibilities for commercial gamebook publication had evolved considerably. New media opportunities including gamebook application development and more accessible self-publishing options allowed authors to find much wider audiences for their work than had been previously available. A consequence of that evolution was smaller numbers of authors coming forward to participate in the competition.

In 2016 the Windhammer Prize closed. What you can find here are all the preceding years' competition guidelines, entry lists and winning submissions, and an archive of all entries participating over those eight years. Please download whatever you wish from the archive. It is a collection of extraordinary talent and a wonderful exposition of how gamebook fiction can relate to a wide range of different genres and subject matter. What follows on this page is the final set of competition guidelines for the 2016 year including an outline of the benefits to authors of participation. May Glory and Renown follow all who entered.



Why should an author enter the Windhammer Prize?

The Windhammer Prize is a competition for aspiring gamebook authors, sponsored by Arborell.com and conducted over the course of the year to allow those authors to showcase their talent to a growing community of readers who appreciate gamebook fiction. All prospective entrants are required to submit a gamebook entry that meets the very specific criteria listed below, and through a voting process readers decide by popular vote who wins the six awards given at the competition's conclusion. For authors the competition provides as its main prize offering an opportunity for commercial publication of their work if they prove successful. This is not however, the only advantage to participating in the Windhammer Prize.

The challenge that the Windhammer Prize provides to all those who compete is to produce a full gamebook experience, but one bounded by the restrictions provided by the competition guidelines. What has followed from authors meeting those restrictive guidelines has been the development of a wide range of unique and novel gamebook adventures, and in doing so have broadened the scope of the genre and shown how remarkably varied this form of interactive fiction can be. Over the past years of the competition it has been this aspect of the Prize that has been most successful, and one of the major reasons why it will continue into the future.

If you have an idea for a work of interactive fiction the Windhammer Prize gives you an audience that will appreciate the time and creative effort you have put into your work. It should be noted that over the course of the six week voting period more than 10,000 downloads are made of the competition entries and once those entries are entered into the competition archive around 20,000 further downloads are made per year.

The rewards that come from competing are not limited only to those provided by the prize pool or the breadth of readership the competition affords. It has been the experience of the competition that readers provide a large amount of feedback and comment on entries, and that feedback has proven invaluable to authors in the development of their own writing styles and approach to the genre itself. As has been mentioned previously the Windhammer Prize values innovation, and this has led to the creation of a diverse and creative collection of gamebooks that can be found in the competition gamebook archive. Glory and Renown do indeed follow all who enter. I hope you will consider becoming a part of this competition and making your own mark upon the world of interactive gamebook fiction.





Entry Requirements and Content Guidelines for the 2016 competition

All entries submitted this year must meet the following criteria.

• All entries must be in English.
• All entries must be original works incorporating unique characters and world settings. Please note that this criteria does not preclude authors from using real world historical settings or events. The only limitation to producing gamebook entries based on historical scenarios is that they do not intrude upon the intellectual property rights of other authors.
• All entries must be previously unpublished works.
• All entrants must state clearly on the first page of their entries that they are the authors of the work submitted.
• All entries must be provided in rich text format (rtf) and sent as an email attachment to entry@arborell.com.
• All character or status sheets provided with entries must be presented in a simple layout that does not include complex table formats.
• All entries must be spell-checked and thoroughly tested prior to submission.
• As this is a competition for short gamebook fiction it is required that the total length of the entry does not exceed 100 sections and a word count of 25,000 words.
• Illustrations will not be accepted as a part of an entry except in two specific circumstances. The first relates to maps that are integral to navigation within the gamebook, the second to graphics necessary as a part of puzzles or clues integral to the entry's narrative. Graphics provided for these purposes must be in either BMP or JPG format and be included as a part of the RTF entry forwarded. Graphics purely of an illustrative nature will not be accepted.
• The entry may either be a complete stand-alone story or a self-contained excerpt from a larger gamebook adventure of your own creation.
• The entry can be of any genre except erotica.
• As this is a gamebook competition the entry must possess at the least a rudimentary character generation system and/or inventory management process to be eligible for the Windhammer Prize.
• There is no entry fee.
• All rights remain with the author and the author can withdraw their entry at any time during the course of the competition.
• An entrant can submit one entry only.
• All participants must have a valid PayPal account at the time of submission. For reasons given below you must have a valid PayPal account if you wish to receive a cash prize. Account information is not required by the organisers of this competition unless you are one of the winning entrants. Only at the time of winning a prize will you be asked for your PayPal details.

As in previous years additional time had been given in this year's competition for both the submission and voting phases to account for the number of competing entries, and the time required to properly evaluate them by readers. As requested by a number of entrants the date for providing competition rules and guidelines had been maintained as the 1st of March to also provide a longer development period for entries.

*Please note that if entries for this year's competition exceed fourteen the close of voting and winner announcement dates will be extended a further 2 weeks to the 14th and 21st of November respectively.



Voting

The Windhammer prize is awarded to the entrant who receives the greatest number of reader votes. This prize relies on votes provided by readers who have read enough of the entries to make a considered choice as to the relative merits of the gamebooks submitted. It is expected by the sponsor of this competition that votes will be provided on this basis. For 2016 the voting system applies as follows:

• A valid vote must be forwarded by email to vote@arborell.com. A valid vote must nominate the three gamebooks most favoured by the voter from the competition entrants. A vote with less than three nominations cannot be accepted. A vote forwarded with more than three nominations will only have the first three accounted for in the voting tabulation.
• Only one voter email is allowed per reader. All votes will be checked for duplication of email addresses.
• Feedback to the authors may be forwarded to the competition sponsors at feedback@arborell.com. All feedback given will be provided to authors at the end of competition as a part of the email notification of results.

• Commercial publication of their winning entry as part of a 2016 Windhammer Prize gamebook anthology. This anthology will be published in PDF and Kindle formats and made available in both soft cover and hard cover printed editions.
• a cash prize of $300 AUD (Australian Dollars) to be paid within 48 hours into a PayPal account of the winner's choosing. As this is an international competition it has been decided that PayPal is the best mechanism for distributing the prize. If you do not have access to a valid PayPal account the cash prize cannot be paid.
• A First Prize certificate memorialising their success in the competition.
• Featured hosting of their story on arborell.com and inclusion of their entry in the competition gamebook archive. This is optional and is at the discretion of the winning entrant.

Prizes - Merit Awards

Two entries are chosen for Merit awards. These entrants receive:

• Commercial publication of their winning entry as part of a 2016 Windhammer Prize gamebook anthology. This anthology will be published in PDF and Kindle formats and made available in both soft cover and hard cover printed editions.
• a cash prize of $50 AUD (Australian Dollars) to be paid within 48 hours into a PayPal account of the Merit Award winner's choosing.
• a Merit Award certificate memorialising their success in the competition,
• Featured hosting of their entries on arborell.com and inclusion of their entry in the competition gamebook archive. As with the hosting of the winning entry this is optional and is at the discretion of the entrant.
  
  

Prizes - Commendation Awards

From 2013 three additional awards are given as part of a third tier of Commendation Awards. These awards are given to the next three authors listed in the voting results. These entrants receive:

• a Commendation Certificate memorialising their success in the competition,
• Featured hosting of their entries on arborell.com and inclusion of their entry in the competition gamebook archive. As with the hosting of the winning entry this is optional and is at the discretion of the entrant.
  
  

A Note to all Prospective Entrants for 2016

It is the intention of the Windhammer Prize to promote the gamebook genre, and in doing so deliver to readers new and original adventures that express the innovation and creativity that can be found in authors of interactive gamebook fiction today. In pursuit of this objective the Windhammer Prize values most those gamebook entries that expand the boundaries of the genre. If you believe you have an idea for a work of interactive fiction that is both original and innovative then this competition is definitely for you.

To underline this objective of promoting creative and original works of interactive fiction the Windhammer Prize cannot accept entries that use characters or settings identifiable as belonging to already established commercial gamebook series. The focus for this prize is the original and the unique, and because of this the entry criteria have been revised accordingly. One exception is the use of game systems or rule sets that may be similar to existing gamebook series. On this point the competition guidelines allow the use of combat rules, inventory management systems or general gamebook structures that may have similarities with already established gamebook series. It is the intention of the Windhammer Prize to generate unique gamebook experiences and therefore fan-fiction based entries can no longer be accepted.