Winning entries will be featured in a story art book! Tales is hosting a short story contest where you can weave tales based on works by popular illustrators

To celebrate the launch of the story submission site Tales, we are holding a short story contest titled "Short Stories Starting from Illustrations," where you can create a short story based on a single illustration by a popular illustrator.

The theme for the stories we are looking for is "Creating."
Please choose one illustration you like and submit a story. After the Tales management team reads the submitted works, we will select the winning entries. We will produce a story art book featuring the selected works on Tales.

The contest will be held continuously in the future! For July, as the first round, three illustrators will participate.

Contest Details

▪️Contest Theme
Creating

▪️Submission Period (First Round)
From Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 12:00 to Thursday, July 31, 2025, at 23:59
Announcement of winners: Scheduled for October *Winners will be contacted after the judging is complete

▪️How to Submit

• Register as a member (log in) to the story submission site Tales

• Add the illustrator's name of your chosen illustration as a hashtag in the tag settings field (#KyubaMelo #MinoriChigusa #Nekotoufu)

• Select "Short Stories Starting from Illustrations" from the contest participation field and submit

▪️Work Requirements
Character count: 2,500 to 3,500 characters
The episode must be a single piece without chapters
Original short story (must be unpublished)
Written in Japanese
Multiple submissions allowed (however, only one prize per person)
Please check the notes listed below before applying

▪️Judging
Conducted by the Tales management team.

▪️Prizes and Benefits
Winning works will be featured in the story art book published by Tales.

Illustration List

*The second round of the contest is scheduled to be held from August onwards. New illustrations will also be released.

Notes

The copyright of submitted works belongs to the author; however, if a work is selected as a winner or chosen for publication, the organizer may use the rights within the scope necessary for editing and publishing (including editing, revision, and promotion) without further permission.

Illustrations are protected by copyright, and unauthorized use or reproduction outside of Tales is prohibited (we recommend linking to the article when sharing on social media, etc.).

■ About Submitted Works
・The copyright of submitted works belongs to the creator.
・Please ensure your submission complies with copyright laws. For details, please check “Copyright Guidelines to Support Creative Work”.
・Please refrain from submitting works that have won other contests or works similar to them.
・Only works posted to Tales during the submission period are eligible. (If you wish to submit a work previously posted to Tales, please post it again as a new entry.)
・By adding the hashtag and selecting the contest when posting within the period, you agree to have your work included in the story art book published by Tales and agree to all application requirements and notes.
・Only original works are accepted. Derivative works or works judged by the management staff to be derivative will be excluded from selection.
・There are no genre restrictions as long as the work is written in Japanese.
・You may submit multiple entries.

■ About Judging and Winning Works
・We cannot respond to inquiries regarding judging criteria or the selection process.
・Terms of ServiceIf any violation of the or application requirements is discovered, the award may be revoked even after the judging process is complete.
・Winners will be announced via the results announcement article and by email notification to the winners.
・Personal information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
・Winners will be required to sign a contract with Tales & Co. regarding the use of their winning work.