Rules

1. You can submit to any number of categories, but you can only submit one entry per category.
2. All submitted works must be public (not private) and published (not draft) on World Anvil. You may not set entries as private or draft while they are being judged or voted on.
3. Work that has been nominated (or has won) non-major categories in past Worldbuilding Awards/Best of World Anvil competitions (from 2020 onwards) may not be submitted.
4. Work that has won a major category in past Worldbuilding Awards/Best of World Anvil competitions (from 2020 onwards) may not be submitted.
5. Entries to the Awards may only be submitted to one category.
6. You may not edit your entries while they are being judged: entries that aren't nominated can be edited after March 21st. Nominations may not be edited until the end of the judging phase on April 5th.
• For full world submissions, this rule applies to the world homepage, meta, and primer/introduction article (if any), as well as the world CSS theme.
7. All art used must be clearly labelled with the artist's name, e.g. beneath the image, in the author's notes, footer, global footer, or similar. You must have explicit permission from the original artist to use their work. If you are the artist, you must credit yourself.
8. World Anvil retains the right to arbitrate and/or change the rules where necessary to uphold the spirit and integrity of this event and the community. We will communicate changes as necessary.
9. As always, World Anvil claims no ownership over your original work.

Categories

Article Categories (click to expand)   Non-article categories (click to expand)   Major Categories (click to expand)

Voting and judging process

Winners for major categories will be chosen by a panel of external judges. For all other categories, winners will be selected by community vote based on shortlists of the best articles judged by the World Anvil Team. This is the full schedule of the event:

Submission phase: February 7th-March 1st
Use this time to submit your entries using a form that will be shared when the event begins. Only submit the form once; duplicate answers will be removed.

Nominee adjudication: March 2nd-March 21st
During this time, the World Anvil Team will review all submissions and choose five nominees for each category. From this moment onward, no submissions may be edited or they may be disqualified.

Nominee reveal: March 21st
Nominees will be publicly revealed. All submissions who have not been nominated may now be edited

Winner adjudication: March 21st-April 5th
A panel of external judges will choose the winners for the major categories. The winners of all other categories will be chosen by community vote.

Awards Ceremony: April 18th
The winners of the Awards will be announced in the Awards Ceremony on April 18th.

Prizes

The following digital prizes will be awarded:

• Participation badge: awarded to all submitters.
• Nominee rosette: for shortlisted works.
• Winner rosette: for the winner of each category.

Additionally, winners will also get:

• A physical trophy
• A spot in the Worldbuilding Awards showcase page
• Priority when choosing World Anvil content to feature in blog posts, videos, and more.

Please note that some of these prizes require significant time to prepare, so delivery might take some time!

Can I submit NSFW content?

How do I submit an entry?

Where can I check if I've won or been nominated in previous years?

How are my creator rights affected by these Awards?

Why can't past winners (or nominees) submit the same entries again?

What's different from last year?

• Nominees will be chosen by the World Anvil Team rather than by public vote.
• Winners of major categories will be chosen by external judges (winners of all other categories will be selected by community vote).
• After hearing your feedback, we have retired all cash prizes from the event.