2024 Salam Award Winners

The winner, finalists, and honorable mentions for the 2024 Salam Award for Imaginative Fiction have been announced.

The winner is “A Shrine by the Sea” by Syed Zain Haroon. Finalists are “The Shopkeeper’s Remedy” by Manahil Bandukwala and “The 11th Wish” by Raazia Sajid. Honorable mentions are “On the Moonglow Road” by Ramsha Farooq Raja and “Hexes on Exes” by Zuha Siddiqui.

The Salam Award, “a short story award to ...Read More

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2024 TAFF Nominations Open

The 2024 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF), which “will send a European fan to the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle,” is open for nominations until December 20, 2024.

TAFF “was created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular [science fiction] fans familiar to those on both sides of the ocean across the Atlantic. Since that time TAFF has regularly brought North American fans to European conventions ...Read More

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Seattle Worldcon Story Contest

Seattle Worldcon 2025 has announced a short story writing contest with separate categories for adult and young adult writers.

The winners in each category will be recognized at the convention, receive free memberships to the convention, and have their stories published in an upcoming anthology by Grim Oak Press. Stories must draw inspiration from our Worldcon theme: Building Yesterday’s Future – For Everyone.

The theme “was selected to invoke nostalgia

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2024 SFPA Poetry Contest Winners

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association has announced the winners of its annual prize for poetry. Poems were judged in three categories, listed below.

Dwarf Category (10 or fewer lines):

  • WINNER: “Whirlpool” by Colleen Anderson
  • Second Place: “She Reveals Herself” by Tabor Skreslet
  • Third Place: “Perpetual Care” by Christopher Ripley Newell
  • Honorable Mentions: “Desert Skies Motor Hotel” by Mark C Childs, “Haiku 6” by Tom Rogers, “dragon child” by
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2024 NESFA Short Story Contest

The New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) SF/F short story contest is now open to entries.

“The purpose of this contest is to encourage amateur and semi-professional writers to reach the next level of proficiency…. If you have received more than $1000 for your fiction writing from any source on the date you submit your story and/or have published, in any paying publication, a novel or multiple shorter works adding ...Read More

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BSFS Contest Honors Miller

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society has announced that the annual BSFS Annual Poetry Contest has been renamed in honor of late SF author Steve Miller, who died in February 2024. The contest will henceforth be known as the Steve Miller BSFS Annual Poetry Contest.

The BSFS membership voted to rename the contest with the support of Miller’s widow and collaborator Sharon Lee.

The poetry contest was founded in 2008, and ...Read More

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Dream Foundry Competitions Open to Submissions

Submissions are now open for the Dream Foundry Emerging Writers Contest and Emerging Artists Contest.

The contest is run by The Dream Foundry. Finalists for the writing contest will be selected by contest coordinator Julia Rios, and winners will be selected by judges C.L. Polk and Valerie Valdes. Finalists for the art contest will be selected by coordinator Grace P. Fong, and winners will be selected by judges Jessica Cheng ...Read More

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2024/2025 Imagine 2200 Contest Open

Submissions are now open for the third Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors short story contest.

The contest is run by Fix, Grist‘s “solutions lab,” and will be judged by authors Omar El Akkad and Annalee Newitz. They seek entries between 2,500 and 5,000 words that “envision the future of climate progress.” This year’s theme asks writers to “envision a future where humanity overcomes the climate crisis and builds ...Read More

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AI-Generated Novel Wins Chinese Competition

The Jinan Times reports that the AI-generated novel Land of Memories by Shen Yang was a winner of the Jiangsu Youth Popular Science Science Fiction Competition, held by the Jiangsu Science Writers Association. The competition rules did not ban the use of artificial intelligence, and the novel was awarded second place.

The text of the novel was written entirely by AI, with some editing by Yang. Competition judges reported mixed ...Read More

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SLF Call for Illustration of the Year

The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) has announced an open call for “original artwork combining fantasy and science fiction themes to be featured as its 2024 Illustration of the Year.”

The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2023, later than previously announced. The winner, to be announced in January 2024, will receive $750, and the winning artwork will be featured on the SLF website and social media.

For more information, including ...Read More

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NATO Defense College Call for Submission

The NATO Defense College (NDC) has invited authors from across Europe to “produce a short-written piece on the future of NATO” for inclusion in the forthcoming NATO 2099: A Graphic Novel.

In 2024, NATO will celebrate its 75th anniversary. It is expected that this milestone will lead to an avalanche of analysis on the last decades, and the possible futures for the Alliance. As NATO’s premier educational institution,

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2023 Dream Foundry Contest Winners

Dream Foundry, a “non-profit dedicated to bolstering the careers of nascent professionals working with the speculative arts,” has announced winners for its 2023 contests.

Writing Contest

  • 1st Place: Albert Nkereuwem
  • 2nd Place: Fatima Abdullahi
  • 3rd Place: Jessica Andrewartha

Art Contest

  • 1st Place, Monu Bose Prize for Art: ReYtzin
  • 2nd Place: Ahmed Asi
  • 3rd Place: Brave Burattino

Finalists for writing were chosen by Julia Rios and finalists for art by Dante

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2023 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award Finalists

Finalists for the tenth annual Baen Fantasy Adventure Award have been announced:

  • “The Hitchhiker on Souls’ Road”, Ashley Agbay
  • “A Dragon’s True Purpose”, Ceci Black
  • “The Runner”, Sidney Blaylock, Jr.
  • “A Tale of Three Dragons”, Carrie Callahan
  • “Winter Offerings”, Garick Cooke
  • “Compact”, Arlen Feldman
  • “The Knight, The Witch, and The Farmboy”, C.H. Hung
  • “The Dreaded Song of Klau”, Jason Lairamore
  • “Silver Spears and Sea-Songs”, Wendy Nikel
  • “Fall From Grace”, Melissa
...Read More Read more

Imagine 2200 Contest Open

Submissions are now open for the third Imagine 2200 short story contest. The theme is “Climate fiction for future ancestors.”

The contest is run by Fix, Grist‘s “solutions lab,” and will be judged by authors Paolo Bacigalupi, Nalo Hopkinson, and Sam J. Miller. They seek entries between 3,000 and 5,000 words “that envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress.”

First prize is $3,000, second prize $2,000, and third ...Read More

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Bond Elected 2023 TAFF Delegate

Sandra Bond was elected the delegate for the 2023 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) “for the 2023 TAFF trip from Europe to North America, with itineraries to be announced but presumed to include Pemmi-Con, the 2023 NASFiC in Winnipeg.”

TAFF “was created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular [science fiction] fans familiar to those on both sides of the ocean across the Atlantic. Since ...Read More

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2023 Tolkien Society Awards

Winners of the Tolkien Society Awards 2023 were announced on April 1, 2023. The awards “recognize excellence in the fields of Tolkien scholarship and fandom, highlight­ing our long-standing charitable objective to ‘seek to educate the public in, and promote research into, the life and works of'” J.R.R. Tolkien. The society’s trustees choose the shortlist, with winners chosen by the membership.

Best Book

  • WINNER: The Fall of Númenor, Brian Sibley,
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2023 Jack L. Chalker Young Writers’ Contest

The Jack L. Chalker Young Writers’ Contest is open to original science fiction and fantasy submissions by Maryland students “no younger than 14 and no older than 18 years of age.” First, second, and third prizes are $150, $100, and $50, respectively, and the deadline for submissions is March 31, 2023.

The contest is run by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) and “Judges shall be drawn from the membership

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2022-2023 NESFA Contest Winners

Winners of the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) SF/F short story contest were announced at Boskone 60, held February 17-19 2023. Prizes included certificates of achievement, books from NESFA Press, and free membership to a future Boskone convention.

  • WINNER: “Excuse Me, This is My Apocalypse”, Amy Johnson
  • Runner-up: “The Gambler”, Dianne Lee
  • Finalist: “Mara’s Moon”, Chloe Oriotis
  • Finalist: “To Look Upon the Face of God”, Gideon P. Smith
  • Finalist:
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2023 Jim Baen Memorial Award Finalists

Baen Books has announced the ten finalists for the 2023 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award:

  • Zack Be
  • J.M. Eno
  • Meghan Feldman
  • William Paul Jones
  • K.D. Julicher
  • Marshall J. Moore
  • Avery Parks
  • Hûw Steer
  • Rudy Vener
  • Brad Zeiger

The Grand Prize winner will be featured on the Baen website. The author will be given a trophy and paid professional rates.

Grand Prize, second, and third place winners each receive free ...Read More

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Inaugural Imagined Futures Winners

UK publisher Faber announced the winners of the inaugural Imagined Futures Prize for young adult science fiction. Kenechi Udogu won first place with Augmented, Kathryn Clark took second for Things I Learned While I Was Dead, and Sally Gales won third for iNSiDE.

The contest was open to a “young adult (for 12–18 year olds) novel or collection of short stories that can be (loosely) defined as science ...Read More

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2023 The Story Prize Finalists

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma (Farrar, Straus, Giroux) and Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty (Tin House) are among the three finalists for The Story Prize, “honoring the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction.” Director Larry Dark and founder Julie Lindsey select finalists, and “three independent judges” select the winner. Both runners-up receive $5,000 and the winner receives $20,000 and an engraved silver bowl. The winner ...Read More

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Illustration of the Year Award

There are a few days left to enter artwork into Speculative Literature Foundation’s (SLF) Illustration of the Year Award event. “This is the SLF’s first open call for Illustration of the Year, and the sixth consecutive year that it has featured an illustration.” Michelle Feng was the 2022 winner. The artist with the winning piece will receive $750 and the work “will also be used as a visual element of ...Read More

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2022 Dream Foundry Contest Winners

Dream Foundry, a “non-profit dedicated to bolstering the careers of nascent professionals working with the speculative arts,” has announced winners for its 2022 contests.

Writing Contest

  • 1st Place: Audrey Obuobisa-Darko
  • 2nd Place: Takim Williams
  • 3rd Place: Davida Kilgore

Finalists

  • Angela Acosta
  • Sarah Ang
  • Laura Chilibeck
  • Nico Montoya
  • Georgie Morvis
  • Ry Rosenhirsch
  • Katlina Sommerberg

Art Contest

  • 1st Place: Eryk Souza
  • 2nd Place: Daniela Ivanova
  • 3rd Place: Elemei

Finalists

  • Albokhari Mohamed Tahir
...Read More Read more

2023 TAFF Candidates

Sandra Bond and Mikolaj Kowalewski are the two candidates for the 2023 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) “for the 2023 TAFF trip from Europe to North America, with itineraries to be announced but presumed to include Pemmi-Con, the 2023 NASFIC in Winnipeg.”

TAFF “was created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular [science fiction] fans familiar to those on both sides of the ocean across ...Read More

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NESFA Short Story Contest Results

Results of the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Story Contest were announced at Boskone 59, held online February 18-20, 2022.

The organizers say, “Note that based on the number and quality of contest entries, some years have no winners or no honorable mentions.” This year’s honorees were all honorable mentions:

  • “First Blood”, Alex Evans
  • “What Feels Good”, Shira Hereld
  • “Floaters”, Olga Werby
  • “The Last
...Read More Read more

Imagine 2200 Submissions Open

Submissions are now open for the Imagine 2200 short story contest. The theme is “Climate fiction for future ancestors.”

The contest is run by Fix, Grist‘s “solutions lab,” and will be judged by authors Grace L. Dillon, Arkady Martine, and Sheree Renée Thomas. They are seeking entries between 3,000 and 5,000 words “that envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress.”

First prize is $3,000, second prize $2,000, and ...Read More

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2021 Dream Foundry Contest Winners

Dream Foundry, a “non-profit dedicated to bolstering the careers of nascent professionals working with the speculative arts,” has announced the winners of its 2021 writing contest.

Writing Contest

  • FIRST PLACE: “Cooking: A Science”, Shinjini Dey
  • SECOND PLACE: “Amadi on the Concrete”, Jarred Thompson
  • THIRD PLACE: “Clear As Water, Red As Ruin”, Sigrid Marianne Gayangos

Other finalists were

  • Brienne D. Hayes
  • Amy Johnson
  • Kellye McBride
  • Kay Orchison
  • Robin Sebolino
  • Cat T.
...Read More Read more

2021 Robert N Stephenson AHWA Short Story & Flash Fiction Winners

Australasian Horror Writers Association has announced the winners of the Robert N Stephenson AHWA Short Story & Flash Fiction Competition. The competition is “Australia’s leading unpublished horror fiction competition and our winning entries are always imaginative, engaging, well-written, and bloody scary.”

The winner of the Short Story contest is “Test of Death” by Michael Botur, with Jeff Clulow’s “The Crossing” as Honorable Mention. The winner of the Flash Fiction contest ...Read More

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2021 Otherwise Fellowship Applications Open

The Otherwise Award (formerly the Tiptree Award) is currently accepting applications for the Otherwise Fellowships, providing $500 grants for “writers, artists, scholars, media makers, remix artists, performers, musicians, or something else entirely. If you are doing work that is changing the way we think about gender through speculative narrative – maybe in a form we would recognize as the science fiction or fantasy genre, maybe in some other way – ...Read More

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2021 Mike Resnick Memorial Award Winner

The winner of the inaugural Mike Resnick Memorial Award for Short Fiction has been announced:

  • WINNER: “The Measure of a Mother’s Love”, Z.T. Bright
  • 2nd Place: “Hive at the Dead Star”, Lucas Carroll-Garrett
  • 3rd Place: “Echoes of Gelise”, Christopher Henckel

Other finalists were:

  • “Feel”, Torion Oey
  • “Times, Needles, and Gravity”, Shirley Song

The annual award — sponsored by Galaxy’s Edge, Arc Manor, and Dragon Con — is given to the ...Read More

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2021 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award Winner

The winner for the eighth annual Baen Fantasy Adventure Award has been announced:

  • WINNER: “Echoes of Meridian”, M. Elizabeth Ticknor
  • 2nd place: “Absinthe & the Alchemist”, Stephanie Kraner
  • 3rd place: “The Codes of Binding”, C. Jonah Abbott
  • “Shadows of the Children”, Jacob Barlow
  • “The First”, Dale Cozort
  • “Soulshifters”, Charles Dib
  • “The Teardrop Harvest”, J.D. Lars
  • “Reverse the Clock”, Ari Officer
  • “Blood and Ashes”, Grant Riddell
  • “War Painting”, Elise Stephens

The ...Read More

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2021 NESFA Short Story Contest

The New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) SF/F short story contest is now open to entries from amateur and semi-professional writers. Winners will be selected by a panel of judges and announced at Boskone 59, to be held at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston MA, February 18-20, 2022. Prizes include certificates of achievement, books from NESFA Press, and free membership to a future Boskone convention.

Deadline for submissions is ...Read More

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