Since its early days, science fiction has played a unique role in human civilization. It removes the limits of what "is" and shows us a boundless vista of what "might be." Its fearless heroes, spectacular technologies and wondrous futures have inspired many people to make science, technology and space flight a real part of their lives and in doing so, have often transformed these fictions into reality. The National Space Society and Baen Books applaud the role that science fiction plays in advancing real science and have teamed up to sponsor this short fiction contest in memory of Jim Baen.
GRAND PRIZE
"Dear Ammi" by Aimee Ogden
SECOND PLACE
"To Lose the Stars" by Jennifer Brozek
THIRD PLACE
"Cylinders" by Ronald D. Ferguson
- Write 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.
- No entry fee. But please only submit one story...your best one!
- No reprints.
- All entries must be original works in English. Plagiarism, poetry, song lyrics, or stories that utilize characters or settings from another person’s works will not be considered.
- E-mail submissions only. Send entries as .RTF attachments to: baen.nss.contest@gmail.com
- Please put the word SUBMISSION in the subject line when sending a contest entry and QUESTION in the subject line for questions to the contest administrator.
- Please include the following in the body of your email: The title of the work, the author's name, address and telephone number, and an approximate word-count. The manuscript should be a RTF attachment, in standard manuscript format and should be titled and numbered on every page, but the author's name MUST BE DELETED to facilitate fair judging.
- Employees of Baen Books, NSS and previous Grand Prize Winners are not eligible. Previous Second and Third place winners are eligible.
- Contest opens for submissions on October 1, 2016 at 12:01am EDT. (Entries sent before that date will be deleted unread.)
- Deadline - 12:01am, U.S. Pacific Time, February 1, 2017.
- The ten finalists will be announced no later than March 8, 2017.
Moon bases, Mars colonies, orbital habitats, space elevators, asteroid mining, artificial intelligence, nano-technology, realistic spacecraft, heroics, sacrifice, adventure.
Stories that show technology or space travel as evil or bad, galactic empires, paranormal elements, UFO abductions, zombie stories, thinly veiled copies of previous winners, non-standalone novel excerpts, screenplays.
Judging will be by Baen Books editors Hank Davis, Jim Minz, Tony Daniel, David Afsharirad, and best selling Baen author David Drake.
- The GRAND PRIZE winner will be published as the featured story on the Baen Books main website and paid at the normal paying rates for professional story submittals. The author will also receive an engraved award, free entry into the 2017 International Space Development Conference, a year's membership in the National Space Society and a prize package containing various Baen Books and National Space Society merchandise.
- SECOND and THIRD place winners will receive free entry into the 2017 International Space Development Conference, a year's membership in the National Space Society and a prize package containing various Baen Books and National Space Society merchandise.
- The three winners will be announced and notified no later than March 22, 2017. The winners will be honored at the 2017 International Space Development Conference in St. Louis, MO, May 2017. (We would prefer the winner attend the conference, but it is not required.)
( * Note: Publication details will be worked out between winner and Baen Books. In the unlikely event that none of the stories qualify for professional publication, a cash prize, of an amount equal to the amount it would have earned had it been published, may be substituted in lieu of publication.)
"A Metal Box Floating Between the Stars"
by Jamie Lackey
"Boomerang Zone"
by Angus McIntyre
"Wind Shear"
by Robert Dawson
"Intent to Occupy"
by Ronald D. Ferguson
"Improvising at Branson Six"
by Sean Monaghan
"Scramble"
by Martin L. Shoemaker
"One Cog"
by James Wymore
"Gemini XVII"
by Brad Torgersen
"Natural Selection"
by Michael Simon
"Citizen-Astronaut"
by David D. Levine
"High Ground"
by Sean Monaghan
"Cathedral"
by Michael Barretta
"Burst Mode"
by Patrick Lundrigan
"All The Way"
by Graham Storrs
"Self Defense"
by Charlie Allery
"A Better Sense of Direction"
by Mike Wood
"Anniversary"
by Robert Billing