Story World Award

We're excited to announce our Story World Award ~ for writers who are exceptional world builders and want to celebrate the deepest, most intricate, and most original aspects of the story world they have built.

Bring your story world to life! Upload your Story World Showcase so our judges can experience the unique world you've built.

You will need to enter a Story World Showcase.

Story World Showcase

Here are more details for your Story World Showcase.

This can be a Word doc or slide presentation.

Please upload your Story World Showcase online and add the link into your 2026 submission. If you don’t have this facility, we can upload it for you. Send us the pitch deck and the submission title and we can add it for you.

If you don't have a presentation ready, our editorial team can create one for you—choose either a Standard Showcase (5-7 pages) or Advanced Showcase (10-12 pages).

If you need help with creating your showcase, our team can design one for you. Here are some examples of our showcases.

You can order a Story World Showcase here - under Book Promotion Extras.

Wow! My Story World Showcase is spectacular, thank you! ~ Cindy Maynard

What to Include In Your Story World Showcase

Here are some guidelines for including story world visuals into your showcase. You can either submit a 7-8 page showcase or show your entire world building skills with a 8-12 page showcase. You don't need every page we have detailed below. This is just a guide. For example, in a Crime World Showcase you wouldn't need government rules that a fantasy or sci-fi world would show but you would show the crime world details.

You DON'T have to have all this in your showcase, this is ONLY A GUIDE for creating your own showcase, which can show our judges your world-building talent, but also can be used to promote your writing and story when it is published.

Page 1: Title & World Gateway

  • Book/script title and genre
  • Your world's unique concept in one compelling line
  • Opening mood image or visual that captures the essence of your world
  • Think of this as the reader's first step into your world - what do they see/feel immediately?

Page 2: World Overview

  • Setting (time, place, scope)
  • What makes this world distinctive
  • The atmosphere/tone
  • Visual reference (could be photo collage, illustration, or mood board)

Page 3: The People

  • Who inhabits this world (social groups, professions, communities)
  • Your main characters and why they belong here
  • Character relationships to the world
  • Visuals of characters in their environment

Page 4: Rules & Reality

  • What's different from our world? (Could be technology, social norms, laws, supernatural elements, historical period constraints, subculture rules)
  • What governs behavior? (Laws, codes, unspoken rules, consequences)
  • What's at stake? (What happens when rules are broken)
  • Limitations (What can't happen and why)

Page 5: Society & Daily Life

  • Social hierarchies or structures
  • How people live day-to-day
  • Built-in tensions and conflicts
  • What this world values and fears

Page 6: Key Locations

  • 3-4 crucial settings with visuals
  • Why each matters to the story
  • The atmosphere of each place
  • Where pivotal scenes unfold

Page 7: Sensory Signature & Story Integration

  • Sensory Mood Board: Distinctive sights, sounds, textures, even scents or tastes
  • Could be a collage of images showing color palette, textures, architectural styles
  • Brief explanation of how the world shapes your plot
  • Why this story could only happen in THIS world

Page 8: Timeline & Key Events

  • Significant moments that shaped this world
  • How the past influences the present story
  • Visual timeline or infographic
  • (Works for historical events, family history, crime case history, relationship timeline, business evolution)

Page 9: Power & Influence

  • Who holds power? (Government, corporations, families, organizations)
  • What drives the economy? (Money, favors, survival, reputation)
  • Belief systems (Religion, ideology, codes of conduct)
  • Opposition forces (Rebels, underdogs, hidden groups)
  • (Works for crime syndicates, corporate hierarchies, social class systems, political power)

Page 10: Communication & Culture

  • Unique terminology (Jargon, slang, period language)
  • How people communicate (Formal vs informal, what's taboo, body language)
  • Cultural touchstones (Sayings, traditions, rituals)
  • What's understood without words (Codes, signals, unspoken rules)
  • (Works for police procedures, historical etiquette, subculture slang, professional jargon)

Page 11: Lifestyle & Environment

  • What people consume (Food, drink, substances, entertainment)
  • Physical environment (Weather, geography, architecture, dangers)
  • Material culture (Fashion, objects, technology, art)
  • Sensory details (What you'd see, smell, hear, touch in this world)
  • (Works for restaurant culture, period details, crime scenes, romantic settings)

Page 12: Mysteries & Possibilities

  • What remains unknown (Unanswered questions, secrets)
  • Boundaries (Where the story world ends or extends)
  • Future potential (Where the world could expand)
  • Series possibilities (Seeds for continuation)