🏆 Outwrite the Machine 2025: Meet the Winners Who Proved That Human Imagination Still Reigns Supreme
This year’s Storywise #OutwriteTheMachine Writing Prize was more than a competition — it was a bold experiment in the future of creativity. We invited authors from around the world to take on a new kind of challenge: to prove that, even in the age of artificial intelligence, the human imagination can still outshine the algorithm.
The results were extraordinary. Hundreds of entries poured in — stories that blended raw emotion, deep insight, and creative courage. And today, we’re thrilled to introduce the three remarkable voices who rose above them all.
🥇 1st Place: Tyler James Morgan — The Hollywood Gentleman
“A fast-paced dive into an obsessive, twisted mind that had us begging for more.”
Prize: Publishing contract with Collective Ink + $500 cash prize
About Tyler: From the hills of Wales, Tyler James Morgan has crafted what he calls his best work yet. The Hollywood Gentleman draws inspiration from the haunting 2001 murder of Ashley Ellerin, the ex-girlfriend of Ashton Kutcher — a real-life story that captured the dark underbelly of Hollywood glamour.
Tyler’s fascination with AI and creativity shines through his process. He sees AI not as competition but as collaboration — a brainstorming and storyboarding partner that helps refine, not replace, the writer’s imagination. A long-time user of the Storywise platform, he discovered the competition while exploring new tools to push his writing even further.
“I think AI can challenge us to be better storytellers,” Tyler says. “It helps me organize my chaos — but the heart of the story still has to come from me.”
🥈 2nd Place: Livy Douglas — Daughter of Deep Waters
“Tense, yet steady pacing balanced by heavy emotional and philosophical undertones.”
Prize: 30-minute session with Regina Brooks, CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency + $300 cash prize
About Livy: With Daughter of Deep Waters, Livy Douglas set out to create a YA dystopian tale inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale — but with a sharper focus on the weight of faith and the constraints of dogma. The result is a story that feels both intimate and universal, both terrifying and hopeful.
Livy is fascinated by AI’s ability to support writers in the publishing process. “AI can’t write your story,” she says, “but it can help you share it better — from query letters to synopses to finding the perfect comp titles.”
She plans to continue writing, refining her craft, and using AI tools strategically to navigate the ever-evolving literary landscape.
🥉 3rd Place: Jayne Lytel — Run from Sunday
“Natural, visceral and impactful, with well-developed character relationships that nicely advanced the plot.”
Prize: $200 cash prize + complimentary editorial critique from the Storywise editorial team
About Jayne: A champion rower and internet veteran from Washington DC, Jayne Lytel turned her family’s environmental anxieties into an urgent, character-driven novel about survival and redemption. Run from Sunday is both a warning and a call to action — and it’s only the beginning. Jayne is already planning a sequel, possibly even a trilogy.
A believer in the power of AI as a creative ally, Jayne uses it to research and brainstorm topics she might never have otherwise explored. Her innovative marketing, which fully harnesses cutting edge AI tools, is frankly, jaw-dropping!
🌟 A Celebration of Human Imagination
To every author who entered — thank you. You’ve proven that creativity thrives not in spite of technology, but because of how we choose to use it.
This year’s competition marked a milestone: our first step in exploring how AI and authors can coexist creatively. The winning manuscripts show that the spark of human emotion — the empathy, the nuance, the soul — still belongs uniquely to us.
Stay tuned as we share deeper insights and data from the competition: how AI rated human vs. AI-assisted manuscripts, and what that means for the future of storytelling.
Because at Storywise, we believe that the future of writing isn’t either/or — it’s and.
👉 Read more about Storywise and join our community of authors.