The Hub magazine competion extended

The Hub magazine announced its short story competition, Bootstrap SF, back in September last year. The original closing date was 14 May 2009. This has now been extended to 14 June 2009.

Bootstrap SF
The British are an unusual combination of heroism and fatalism, humour and malice. Their Science Fiction is unique, blending pragmatism with sarcasm and death with laughter. For the British, Science Fiction is something subtler than the standard utopias and dystopias, something more concerned with exploring the future with a healthy cynicism.

The genre faces stagnation. Fans who discovered SF in the Sixties and Seventies are now actively resisting the very progress that they embraced when they were younger, cutting out new audiences by relentlessly defending stories which have little relevance to newer, younger readers. SF has built a wall around itself, and for it to survive we must break it down.

The competition is only open to UK-resident writers who have not previously made a professional sale (i.e., 5p or more per word).

First prize is £100, and publication in The Hub #100 (August 2009). Twelve runners-up will also be published in The Hub. No further fee will be paid for either. The winner and runners-up will also be published in a paperback anthology.

Stories must be between 5,000 and 10,000 words, and should be sent as attached RTF files to Boostrap.sf(at)hubfiction.com. See here for details on the required layout of manuscripts, and for information on the judges.

Call for submissions for themed issue of The Future Fire magazine

The Future Fire magazine is looking for submissions for a Feminist Science Fiction themed issue to be published towards the end of this year or beginning of the next. They are looking for "science fiction (or speculative) stories that address issues of gender, sexual identity and sexuality; stories that take the "radical idea that women are human beings" and do something about it; stories that can engage, empower, educate, and inspire men and women alike. And of course stories that challenge our expectations, that avoid cliché, that are beautiful and useful, that are social, political, and speculative cyberfiction."

Indicate in your cover letter that the story is a submission for the Feminist Science Fiction special issue. Stories submitted to the general pile may be considered for the feminist-themed issue, and stories submitted to the theme may be considered for the intervening issues. All submissions should be sent as attachments to fiction(at)futurefire(dot)net. Use the email subject line: TFF submission: Surname, 'Title'.

Payment $20 per story. Stories over 10,000 words are unlikely to be purchased. "Please use a common, easy-to-read font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier, and use no other formatting than italics." Full guidelines are here.

BBC National Short Story Award 2009

The BBC National Short Story Award competition is now in its fourth year. It's not genre, but neither does it exclude genre stories. The competition is only open to writers who "previously have had works of prose fiction, drama or poetry published by a UK publisher (excluding self-publishing) or established printed magazine in the UK or broadcast by a UK national radio station".

Word limit is 8,000 words. Deadline is 5 p.m., 15 June 2009.

First prize is £15,000. Runner-up gets £3,000, and three other shortlisted stories wil lreceive £500 each.

See here or here for more details, entry form and terms and conditions (note: both are Word documents).

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.

Two Anthology Calls for Submission

Ahmed A Khan is looking for submissions to two sf anthologies, one of which is aimed at ten to twelve year olds.

Cheer Up, Universe: "For this anthology, I am seeking ORIGINAL speculative fiction stories (both SF and Fantasy) that make us feel good." Payment: one cent per word up to $15. Deadline: 30 June 2009.

Fun Times in Andromeda: "I am looking for speculative stories aimed at pre-teens. Target readers: precocious kids between the ages of 10-12. The anthology will be fully illustrated." Deadline: 30 June 2009.

See here for details on both anthologies.

Ahmed A Khan has previously co-edited A Mosque Among the Stars.

alt.fiction 2009 cancelled

Alt.fiction, the science fiction, fantasy and horror writing convention based in Derby has apparently succumbed to the credit crunch. It should return in 2010.

Call for Submissions - Destination: Future anthology

Hadley Rille Books are looking for submissions for a new anthology, Destination: Future, to be edited by ZS Adani and Eric T Reynolds and published in 2010.

They want "science fiction stories, particularly Hard SF, Space Opera, Alien Worlds, Alien Encounter Beyond Earth, Exploration and Quest stories". Length 3,000 to 6,000 words. Payment 3 cents per word.

Submission period: 1 March 2009 to 30 June 2009.

Electronic submissions - attached. doc or .rtf - only to submissions.future[at]gmail[dot]com. Put DESTINATION FUTURE in the subject line.

More details here.