Contests

The 2020 Illinois Science Fiction in Chicago (ISFiC) short fiction contest for unpublished writers of science fiction and fantasy is open to submissions through November 13, 2020. First prize includes $300, publication in the Windycon 47 program book and on the ISFiC website, and membership and accommodations for Windycon 47. Up to two honorable mentions will each receive an “American 1 oz. Silver Coin.”

The contest is open to applicants ...Read More

The Dream Foundry short story contest “for beginning professionals” is open to submissions from August 10 – October 11, 2020. The contest is open to writers who have published, in total, fewer than 4,000 words, earned less than $320, and have never been nominated for a major award.

Contest coordinators will select ten finalists, and judges will select first, second, and third-place winners from those finalists. First prize is $1,000, ...Read More

Baen Books has announced the ten finalists for the 2020 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award:

The Grand Prize winner ...Read More

Winners of the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) SF/F short story contest were announced at Boskone 57, held at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston MA, February 14-16, 2020. Prizes included certificates of achievement, books from NESFA Press, and free membership to a future Boskone convention.

The 2020 Poul Anderson Creative Writing Contest is open to Orinda CA high school students now through April 10, 2020. The contest is sponsored by the Friends of the Orinda Library, who will reward cash prizes in the categories of Science Fiction/Fantasy, Essay/Memoir/Biography, Poetry, and Short Story. For more information, see the contest website.

Continuum 16 is running a short story competition with the theme “Coming of age in other ...Read More

The Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College is open to submissions for its 2020 Literary Arts Awards now until December 31, 2019. Results will be announced in spring 2020, with $5,000 awarded to each winner in playwriting, established author, and debut author categories. The playwriting prompt is, “What does it mean to be a human in a computerized world?”

For more information, see the Neukom Institute website.

While ...Read More

Dream Foundry, a “non-profit dedicated to bolstering the careers of nascent professionals working with the speculative arts,” has announced the finalists for its inaugural writing contest which “was open to anyone with a completed short story who had not yet been professionally paid for their work”:

Winners of the 2019 Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) Amateur Writing Contest were announced on October 19, 2019 during Capclave, held at the Rockville Hilton in Rockville MD.

First Fandom Experience has announced the Cos­mos Prize, a contest inviting writers to create a new final chapter for the novel Cosmos, published seri­ally in Science Fiction Digest starting in June 1933. The novel was based on a plot by editor Raymond A. Palmer, who also coordinated the 16 writers who took part (including Edmond Hamilton, Otis Adel­bert Kline, and A. Merritt). The contest organizers think Cosmos “deserves a ...Read More

The National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F) is accepting submissions for the 2019 N3F Amateur Short Story Contest, open to writers who’ve sold fewer than two stories to professional SF venues or publishers. “Stories entered in the contest must be original, unpublished, not longer than 8,500 words in length—and must be related to the science fiction, fantasy, or similar genres in the opinion of the judge,” Jefferson Swycaffer. There are no ...Read More

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 57, to be held at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston MA, February 14-16, 2020. Prizes include certificates of achievement, books from NESFA Press, and free membership to a future Boskone convention.

Deadline for submissions is ...Read More

The 2019 Illinois Science Fiction in Chicago (ISFiC) short fiction contest for unpublished writers of science fiction and fantasy is open to submissions through September 1, 2019. First prize includes $300 and publication in the Windycon 2019 program book and on the ISFiC website.

For details and rules, see the ISFiC site.

While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We ...Read More

The 2019 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award contest is open until February 1, 2019. Co-sponsored by Baen Books and the National Space Society, the contest focuses on stories of near-future space exploration.

The grand prize includes publication on the Baen website at professional rates, an engraved award, an assortment of Baen books, free admission to the 2019 International Space Development Conference, a year’s membership in the National Space Society, ...Read More

Shortlisted stories for the inaugural FutureBook short fiction contest, in partnership with The Pigeonhole reading app, have been announced: