A competition for AI storytellers

Submit a Body of Work that tells a story from start to finish. Be reviewed by expert judges, and compete for a $1,000 grant and a feature in Prompt Magazine.

Edition 1 is now closed. Browse the winning entries below.

The Forge of Broken Things.2

This story weaves a rich tapestry that connects the epic, historical resilience of ancestors directly, into a modern story of survival and extraordinary love.

Capturing the blacksmith roots, the grief of Acadians, and the mending of self and foster children, this story highlights the concept of an unbroken line of patriots and survivors.

The protagonist, (celebrating 50 years of marriage) reflects on her life of fostering over 200 children, adopting 3, and giving birth to 5. It explores her slow recovery from severe childhood trauma (parents divorced by age 4, a father with schizophrenia, a mother developmentally delayed to age 13, and enduring childhood physical and sexual abuse from alcohol addiction and mental illness). It details the hardships she and her husband overcame, including losing babies, and celebrates their clean, enduring romance.

Incorporating a cohesive parallel narrative arc, the story interweaves the historical trials of her ancestors (the Acadian expulsion, the Irish potato famine) with her own personal trials (childhood trauma, fostering 200 children), showing that the "patriot DNA" of survival was passed down to her, and through her children.

The Paternal Grandmother's side: Direct descent from the legendary Acadian leader Joseph 'Beausoleil' Broussard, embodying the patriot spirit and the tragedy/triumph of the Acadian expulsion.

Beausoleil led the armed resistance against the British during the 18th-century Acadian Deportation and subsequently guided displaced exiles to safety in Louisiana. His heroic status rests on several major historical contributions:

Armed Resistance: Before and during the 1755 British expulsion Beausoleil led guerrilla militias to defend Acadian communities, homes, and churches against British forces.
Symbol of Hope: He earned his nickname, "Beautiful Sun" (or light of the resistance), from his fellow Acadians because he provided hope and protection during a period of severe persecution and ethnic cleansing.
Resettlement in Louisiana: After enduring imprisonment and exile, Beausoleil successfully led a group of nearly 200 Acadian refugees out of Halifax to the Gulf Coast in 1765.

He is credited with establishing the first major settlement of Acadians in southern Louisiana, in Loreauville, in the Broussard area of Lafayette, LA. He was buried on October 20, 1765, at the age of 62-63, laying the foundation for modern Cajun culture.

The Maternal Grandfather's side: A deeply rooted line where the protagonist is related to him 17 different ways, filled with early American patriots. He was born in Loreauville, and died in the same parish.

The Maternal Great-Grandparents (The Peppers, the ONLY non-Acadian line on this protagonist’s direct genealogy): Newlyweds fleeing Ireland immediately after the Potato Famine, arriving in New Orleans to build a life from scratch in nearby Jeanerette, as blacksmiths. This writer’s mother recalls hearing the uniquely “sing-song” Irish accent and tones of her great-grandparents.

Rene LeBlane, the Notary Public mentioned in official records of the events occurring during that time, is also a progenitor. According to the records, he “was seized, confined, and brought away among the rest of the people, and his family, consisting of twenty children, and about one hundred and fifty grandchildren, were scattered in different colonies, so that he was put on shore at New York, with only his wife and two youngest children, in an infirm state of health, from whence he joined three more of his children at Philadelphia, where he died without any more notice being taken of him than any of us, notwithstanding his many years' labor and deep sufferings for Your Majesty's service.”

The themes of ancestral survival, blacksmithing / refining fire, and patriotism mirror the protagonist's fight to survive her childhood and become a sanctuary for over 200 forgotten, abused, and medically fragile children.

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PRO

Shirley Ulbrich

@SMU

0Creations

View Artist Portfolio

Edition 1 Theme

The Architecture of Feeling

Pick a feeling - (wonder, longing, awe, the quiet kind of joy, it's up to you!) - and build a Body of Work that tells a story about it. Tell one story from start to finish, as a collection of images and/or videos, or as a single edited video. Think short film or mini exhibition, not a single image, clip, or mood board.

We want to feel it, not just see it.

Full competition details

Key Dates

Entries open

Jun 15, 2026

Entries close, judging begins

Jul 12, 2026

Winners announced

Jul 20, 2026

Competition complete.

Awards & Prizes

🏆
Best Overall$1,000 USD grant + 30,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine
📖
Best Storytelling15,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine + verified Select portfolio
✨
Most Creative15,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine + verified Select portfolio
❤️
Community Favourite15,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine + verified Select portfolio
🎖️
Highly Commended (×10)2,400 fast credits each + print copy of Prompt Magazine + Highly Commended badge

Full prize list

Judging Panel

Angus Russell

Founder, NightCafe

Sarah Impey

AI Community Manager, Runware

Marco Pittarello

Founder, Prompt Magazine

Gully Ahmed

NightCafe community member

About the panel · How it's judged

FAQ

Discuss NightCafe Select

PRO

Shirley Ulbrich

@SMU

0Creations

View Artist Portfolio

Key Dates

Entries open

Jun 15, 2026

Entries close, judging begins

Jul 12, 2026

Winners announced

Jul 20, 2026

Competition complete.

Judging Panel

Angus Russell

Founder, NightCafe

Sarah Impey

AI Community Manager, Runware

Marco Pittarello

Founder, Prompt Magazine

Gully Ahmed

NightCafe community member

About the panel · How it's judged

Discuss NightCafe Select

PRO

Shirley Ulbrich

@SMU

0Creations

View Artist Portfolio

Edition 1 Theme

The Architecture of Feeling

We want to feel it, not just see it.

Full competition details

Key Dates

Entries open

Jun 15, 2026

Entries close, judging begins

Jul 12, 2026

Winners announced

Jul 20, 2026

Competition complete.

Awards & Prizes

🏆
Best Overall$1,000 USD grant + 30,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine
📖
Best Storytelling15,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine + verified Select portfolio
✨
Most Creative15,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine + verified Select portfolio
❤️
Community Favourite15,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine + verified Select portfolio
🎖️
Highly Commended (×10)2,400 fast credits each + print copy of Prompt Magazine + Highly Commended badge

Full prize list

Judging Panel

Angus Russell

Founder, NightCafe

Sarah Impey

AI Community Manager, Runware

Marco Pittarello

Founder, Prompt Magazine

Gully Ahmed

NightCafe community member

About the panel · How it's judged

FAQ

Discuss NightCafe Select

Edition 1 Theme

The Architecture of Feeling

We want to feel it, not just see it.

Full competition details

Awards & Prizes

🏆
Best Overall$1,000 USD grant + 30,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine
📖
Best Storytelling15,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine + verified Select portfolio
✨
Most Creative15,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine + verified Select portfolio
❤️
Community Favourite15,000 fast credits + feature in Prompt Magazine + verified Select portfolio
🎖️
Highly Commended (×10)2,400 fast credits each + print copy of Prompt Magazine + Highly Commended badge

Full prize list