Beyond the Box

Our featured post today is the story 'Don’t Take It Off' by 14-year-old Samika Sangwar, written as part of BTB’s Fear to Fiction Horror Writing Cohort Program.

Blending psychological horror, body horror, and mascot horror, Samika’s story explores identity, anxiety, performance pressure, and the terrifying feeling of losing yourself inside a role you can no longer escape. A hauntingly imaginative piece with strong atmosphere, symbolism, and emotional horror, we are excited to feature it on BTB.

Do check it out.

Don’t Take It Off | Beyond the Box 12+ years, BTB, Fictional Story, Prose Don’t Take It Off May 19, 2026 Beyond The Box Leave a comment Illustration by Samika Sangwar Polly’s room lit up in the shades of the morning sun. Rays slanted through her translucent curtains and fell across the posters taped to her walls, most of them fea...

New Featured Post on the BTB Website

Project Hail Mary - a thoughtful recommendation note by Avirat Mahajan is now featured on the Beyond The Box website

Blending science fiction, suspense, emotion and curiosity, the piece explores what makes the book so engaging beyond just its plot - from problem-solving and realistic science to the unforgettable friendship between Ryland and Rocky.

We love how this young writer focused not only on what the story is about, but also on the reading experience itself.

Read the full piece on the website.

Project Hail Mary – Book Recommendation | Beyond the Box 12+ years, Article, Book Review, BTB Project Hail Mary – Book Recommendation May 15, 2026 Beyond The Box Leave a comment I would recommend Project Hail Mary to readers who enjoy science fiction, mystery and space adventures. The story follows Ryland Grace, a science teacher who wakes up alone on a...

BTB Pick of the Week

This week’s featured piece is 'Drawn Wrong' by Anika Bajaj (12 years old). This piece is an eerie and psychologically unsettling micro fiction about a girl whose drawings slowly begin reshaping reality around her.

The piece was written during our Micro Fiction Lab conducted as part of BTB's exclusive Ink & Intellect Summer Program. What stood out the most in the writing was the atmosphere Anika created through subtle details, restraint and growing unease rather than loud horror.

Do check it out.

Drawn Wrong | Beyond the Box 12+ years, BTB, Fictional Story Drawn Wrong May 14, 2026 Beyond The Box Leave a comment She didn’t understand why it happened, only that it never stopped. The doctors called it a “break from shared reality”. They gave it a name — one she stopped repeating after the third appointment because ...

The 150th featured BTB Booster is a thrilling, witty and humourous piece penned by 13-year-old Vihaan Khandelwal from Hyderabad during the class on writing experiments while learning the concept of escalation in story writing. Congratulations to Vihaan!

'BTB Boosters' is our initiative to feature really short yet impactful written pieces.

We all need a booster dose from time to time to keep the writer within us alive and motivated. This ongoing initiative is open to adults as well as kids. You can submit any form/style/category of writing. Word/line limit is 100 words for prose and 16 lines for poetry. You can send your submissions via DM to us or you can send an email at [email protected]

If your piece is selected, you will be informed by our team.

BTB BYTES – SEASON 1 WINNERS
February – April 2026
Theme: Time

When we began BTB Bytes earlier this year, we wanted to create something larger than a monthly writing challenge.

We wanted a space where writers could return consistently, work within creative constraints, sharpen their craft over time, and grow through cumulative effort, not just one standout piece.

Over the last three months, writers across age categories explored time through memory, grief, fantasy, humour, history, dystopia, silence, relationships, war, loss, longing, and transformation.

Every month, entries were rigorously evaluated on:
• Prompt Adherence
• Originality & Literary Merit
• Craft & Structure
• Emotional/Thematic Depth
• Precision within Micro-fiction Constraints
• Consistency Across the Season

And now, after combining the cumulative jury scores from February, March, and April 2026, we are proud to announce the official winners of BTB Bytes – Season 1.

As mentioned earlier, one selected write-up (out of the 3 submitted this season) from each Season Winner will now be featured in the upcoming BTB Bytes Kindle E-book releasing at the end of this year.

To every participant who submitted across the season — thank you for building this journey with us. Your words, risks, discipline, and imagination are what made BTB Bytes truly meaningful.

A few important updates going forward:

- BTB Bytes Season 2 will begin in June 2026.
- All writers, including previous participants and winners, are eligible to participate again.
- However, to ensure wider publishing opportunities for our writing community, if a Season 1 winner also becomes a Season 2 winner, an additional winner may be declared alongside them for the e-book selection process.

We hope this allows both consistency and inclusivity to coexist fairly within the initiative.

This is only the beginning.

Small stories. Longer journeys.

BTB BYTES – APRIL 2026 RESULTS

Season 1 | Theme: Time | Prompt: “It was that fateful night when the clock struck…” by Featured Author of April 2026 Monika Bhatkhande

As BTB Bytes Season 1 reaches its final chapter, April brought with it some of the most emotionally layered, psychologically nuanced, and technically ambitious entries of the season so far.

From grief, war, motherhood, and memory to horror, humour, dystopia, and silence, our writers interpreted time not merely as a clock, but as loss, transformation, waiting, revelation, collapse, and survival.

What continues to make BTB Bytes special is not just talent, but consistency. Writers returning month after month, learning to work within constraints, experimenting with voice and form, and building cumulative literary strength across the season.

This month, the jury placed strong emphasis on:
• Prompt adherence
• Literary precision within micro-fiction constraints
• Emotional and thematic depth
• Originality of interpretation
• Craft, structure, and narrative control
• Meaningful integration of the theme Time

After extensive evaluation and scoring, here's announcing the Top 10 Writers for April 2026.

A huge appreciation to every single participant who wrote, experimented, and showed up this month. As always:

✔ Every valid submission received jury scores.
✔ Scores from February, March, and April have now been cumulatively recorded.
✔ Season Winners will be announced soon based on overall consistency and cumulative performance across all rounds of Season 1.

And this is only the beginning.

The selected and shortlisted entries from Season 1 will now move towards the next stage of the BTB Bytes Kindle e-book project releasing at the end of this year.

Thank you for making this initiative richer every month.

Small stories. Longer journeys.

Yesterday, conVERSE – Season 6 turned into an evening full of powerful words, heartfelt performances, creativity, courage, music, dance, reflection, laughter, and unforgettable young voices.

Our 16 finalists performed LIVE with immense passion and individuality, each bringing a completely unique perspective and style to the stage. From playful storytelling and imaginative poetry to deeply reflective and socially aware pieces, the evening beautifully showcased the depth and diversity of young expression.

We are deeply grateful to our esteemed jury members, Devika Das and Vandana Bhasin, for their thoughtful insights, encouragement, and careful evaluation of the performances.

And now, we are delighted to announce the results of conVERSE – Season 6. The winner in the teens' category is Shranya Goel.

Shranya will receive a special book prize and a Certificate of Recognition from Beyond the Box.

A heartfelt congratulations to every finalist who took the virtual stage yesterday. Your words, honesty, imagination, and courage made the evening truly memorable. 💛

Yesterday, conVERSE – Season 6 turned into an evening full of powerful words, heartfelt performances, creativity, courage, music, dance, reflection, laughter, and unforgettable young voices.

Our 16 finalists performed LIVE with immense passion and individuality, each bringing a completely unique perspective and style to the stage. From playful storytelling and imaginative poetry to deeply reflective and socially aware pieces, the evening beautifully showcased the depth and diversity of young expression.

We are deeply grateful to our esteemed jury members, Devika Das and Vandana Bhasin, for their thoughtful insights, encouragement, and careful evaluation of the performances.

And now, we are delighted to announce the results of conVERSE – Season 6. The runner-up in the teens' category is Paulomi Babre.

Paulomi will receive a special book prize from Beyond the Box and a Certificate of Recognition.

A heartfelt congratulations to every finalist who took the virtual stage yesterday. Your words, honesty, imagination, and courage made the evening truly memorable. 💛