Alternative Reality Submissions

There are new submissions open for two anthologies at Alternative Reality. The two anthologies are called Summer’s End (wanting fantasy stories) and Broken Bones & Ten Dollar Bills (looking for science fiction stories).

The deadline is the 30^th April and stories should be between 2000 and 5000 word. More details can be found here.

Science In My Fiction short story competition

Crossed Genres has announced a short story competition focusing on the science in science fiction. They want people to "write a science fiction or fantasy short story which is inspired by a scientific discovery or innovation made or announced within the past year". Further, "the science must be integral to the story". A links to the relevant article or study must also be provided.

A panel of six judges will pick the finalists. There is $400 worth of prizes to be won. The top three stories will be published on the Crossed Genres web site. The competition runs from 1 April 2010 to 30 June 2010. Results will be announced on 21 July 2010.

Stories of 2,500 to 10,000 words, submitted via the online entry form only - see here.

See here for full details.

Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest 2010

Baen Books and the National Space Society are sponsoring a short story contest in memory of Jim Baen.

They are looking for short stories "of no more than 8,000 words, that shows the near future (no more than about 50-60 years out) of manned space exploration". They want stories which feature "Moon bases, Mars colonies, orbital habitats, space elevators, asteroid mining, artificial intelligence, nano-technology, realistic spacecraft, heroics, sacrifice, adventure"...

First prize is publication on the Baen Books main website, paid at the pro rates. Plus a specially designed award, free entry into the 2010 International Space Development Conference, a year's membership in the National Space Society ($45 level) and a prize package containing various Baen Books, Jim Baen's Universe and National Space Society merchandise.

Second and third prizes are a year's membership in the National Space Society ($45 level), and a prize package containing various Baen Books, Jim Baen's Universe and National Space Society merchandise.

Deadline is 1 April 2010. Submissions should be sent as .rtf attachments to baen.nss.contest@gmail.com. Please put the word SUBMISSION in the subject line. Note that manuscripts should not include the author's name.

See here for full details.

James White Award 2009

The James White Award 2009 has been open since 11 July 2009, but there are only three months left until it closes on 28 February 2010.

"The James White Award is a short story competition open to non-professional writers and is decided by an international panel of judges made up of professional authors and editors."

First prize is £250 and publication in Interzone. Stories must be under 6,000 words, and writers must not be "professional authors" - i.e., have not made three short story sales to markets deemed as "professional" by the SFWA.

See here for the full rules.

No one would have believed...

Canadian "micropublisher" Northern Frights is looking for sf short stories for a new anthology, War of the Worlds: Front Lines.

"... we would like to see are stories influenced by HG Wells' The War of the Worlds and containing Aliens in some form against Humanity. They don't have to be the tripod riding, octopus-style Martians from the original novel. In fact, we would prefer seeing what your imagination can come up with. And while the title of the anthology is War of the Worlds: Front Lines, we realize that wars between man and alien could be fought on many fronts, and in many ways. Feel free to send stories that span time, space, and genres."

Stories should be no more than 8,000 words. Payment is one cent per word, up to $50.00 (plus one contributor copy). Deadline is 31st December 2009. Submissions should be sent as RTF attachments to nfpsubmissions@gmail.com.

See here for full details. Check the guidelines - the publisher is quite particular about manuscript format.

Panverse accepting submissions

Panverse, a new publisher of all-novella anthologies, is currently accepting submissions for Panverse Two, its second anthology, which is due to be published in late spring 2010.

They're looking for "pro-level" novellas of 15,000 to 40,000 words. Science fiction or fantasy - but not epic fantasy or sword & sorcery. Payment is $75 per novella. Submissions are open until they have enough good stories for the anthology.

Full guidelines are here. Note especially the sort of stuff they don't want.

EUSci Science Fiction Short Story Competition

The Edinburgh University Science Magazine is holding a science fiction short story competition on the topic of: What does the future hold for Edinburgh? The competition will be judged by Ken MacLeod.

Anyone can enter, they don't need "a personal connection to Edinburgh". Length is 1,300 to 1,500 words. Deadline in 5 p.m. 1st February 2010. The winning entry will be published in EUSci, and receive Blackwell's gift card to the value of £50.

See here for full details.

New Scientist Flash Fiction Competition

This week's New Scientist is a science fiction special, and so they are running a science fiction "(very) short story" competition.

Stories must be set one hundred years from now, and no more than 350 words in length. Closing date is 15 October 2009. Winning entries will be published in the magazine.

See here for full details.

Pantechnicon #9 Out Now

... containing stories by two members of the group: 'This Place Sucks' by Steven Poore and 'The Amber Room' by Ian Sales.

At present, the stories are on the web site. A PDF copy of the issue should be made available soon.

Chimeraworld 6 Open for Submissions

The editor is looking for...

"I want stories depicting THE WORLD AFTER THE COMING REVOLUTION, as mankind returns to a life stripped of Capitalism and Mass Media Propaganda. Is this a worse or a better world, without the Google-fuelled glare of the bankers dictating every move you make? I want insane stories about a travelling life, a journey through real freedom. I want uncensored stories about chaos, uncertainty and anarchy. I want enlightening stories about how the world deals with no money, no banks and no business loans."

Word count 2,000 – 4,000 words, strict. Rich Text Format only. Font: Times Roman, 12 point, single space. Add postal address, email and word count to first page. Add 50–100 word bio after THE END.

Payment is £10.00UK (approx $20.00US).

Electronic submissions only to m.i.k.e.@m.i.k.e.philbin.com (remove the dots in m.i.k.e.).

Chimeraworld #6 (new world disorder) will be published by Chimericana Books, late 2009 in American format 6" by 9" trade paperback.

Concept Sci-Fi Short Story Competition

Concept Sci-Fi magazine has launched its first annual short story competition. Prize is £100, plus assorted "goodies" from sf author and competition judge Sean Williams. Entry fee is £3.50, and all short-listed entries will be published in a special edition of the magazine. Deadline is 15th June 2009. All entries must "conform to the following theme":

Frank Zappa once said that everything in the universe is part of one great big note. He wasn't far wrong. There's music in the earth's core, in the sun's atmosphere, even in the roiling fire of the Big Bang. There's music in our interior lives too, in the stories we tell. "Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable", according to Leonard Bernstein, which makes it a perfect tool in the writing of space opera--my true but not my only love.

Way back in the late 1980s, I had to choose between two lives: one writing words and another writing notes. In an alternate universe, there's a version of me beavering away at a new symphony, or the score to a Hollywood movie. Here, the closest I get is putting Gary Numan lyrics in the mouths of my characters, and dreaming.

Dream for me. Tell me the note that ripples through spacetime in the wake of an ftl cruiser. Convey to me the songs that alien cephalopods whistle in their jovian soup. Give me the music of the spheres as you hear it. When the echoes fade, we'll all be richer for it.

See here for more details.

Genomics Short Story Competition

Genomics Network has launched a short story competition. The subject is, unsurprisingly, genetics:

Information about the genetic makeup of people, animals and plants impacts on every aspect of our lives. But do we understand this impact? And what should we make of it?

How is our understanding of who we are affected by the knowledge that we share so much of our genetic makeup with fruit flies, mice and even pumpkins?

Max length 3,000 words. First prize is £500. Closing date is 31st March 2009.

Winning entries to be posted on the Genomics Forum web site.

See here for more information.

Jupiter issue 23 now out

The publication of anything written by members of the group will be announced on this blog - whether published online, in print, or wherever else. Which means I now get to blow my own trumpet:

Jupiter issue 23, containing the science fiction story 'Thicker Than Water' by Ian Sales, is now available. The story is set on Tethys, a moon of Saturn, and was inspired by Euripides' play Iphigeneia in Tauris.

Get Jupiter from here.

Thoughtcrimes Anthology Call for Submissions

Writer Leonard Richardson is putting together an anthology of five stories, Thoughtcrimes. Deadline is February 28th 2009, unless he fills the anthology before then. Payment is $200. The anthology will be published on his web site under a Creative Commons licence.

Full details here.

Another Competition

The US National Space Society and Baen Books have teamed up to create a science fiction short story competition in memory of Jim Baen. They want "a short story of no more than 8,000 words, that shows the near future (no more than about 50-60 years out) of manned space exploration." There is no entry fee. Deadline is 1st April 2009.

Details here.

New Anthology - Call for Submissions

From the PS Publishing news blog:

Allen Ashley is in the process of putting together a new anthology for PS Publishing. Entitled Catastrophia, it will be "a collection of stories loosely themed around the theme of catastrophes, disasters and post-apocalyptic fiction."

More information here.