Once again, I am proud to present to you twelve brand-new stories that will delight you, expose you to new ideas, drag you through harrowing trials, make you think, cry, and laugh. The variety of stories, from time travel to dystopia to the memory of a child’s imagination, is like a library between two covers. You have a treat waiting for you.
Every year that I have been involved in the Writers of the Future Contest, I have been impressed by the talent of up-and-coming writers. They have a vision, they explore it through the eyes of well-drawn characters in a world made vivid by their words, and they bring the plot to a conclusion that satisfies the reader’s desire for adventure. It’s hard to choose the finalists because there are always more than the eight per quarter that I am allowed to select from the myriad we receive, and just as hard to pick the three winners from that group. These are the best of the best.
Another important facet is their perseverance. In some cases, the success of these twelve writers is the result of years of submitting to the Contest. When one story didn’t make the cut, they tried a fresh idea. In this year, each of them succeeded. I enjoyed each of these stories, and I am proud to have been a part of bringing the world’s attention to these new writers.
I know there are many hopeful writers who want to join the ranks of Contest winners, and I encourage you to keep trying. One thing that I have noticed over the last couple of years is that some writers keep sending me the same stories over and over again. Once in a very great while, a story will move up in rank, achieving notice as an honorable mention, to silver honorable mention, to semi-finalist, or even finalist. If a story that you send me has received the same ranking for three or more quarters, it is unlikely ever to be considered for a higher prize. I beseech you to put that story aside, sell it elsewhere, and send me something else. The Writers of the Future Contest wants to help you achieve a writing career, and a career is not made on a single story. It’s like trying keys in a lock. If one key doesn’t work, try others until one of them opens the door.
What am I looking for? I want a story with a beginning, middle, and end. I want your protagonist to grow in some fashion, whether or not s/he succeeds at the goal. Speculative fiction is about extrapolating on things that already exist. Show me new ideas. Don’t retread ground that has been trampled by thousands of others. Let me hear your voice. Tickle my imagination. Introduce me to new people, new cultures. I want excellent storytelling with great characters and imaginative world-building. You can enter once a quarter, with no entrance fee, with a story that can range in length from flash fiction (yes! we accept flash fiction) up to seventeen thousand words, in any subgenre of science fiction or fantasy, even light horror. Please read the guidelines carefully, and send me your stories!
The rewards for becoming a winner of the Contest are worthwhile. The twelve writer winners are flown into Hollywood, California, from wherever they are in the world, for a grand black-tie, red-carpet gala, given beautiful trophies and checks for winning. Winners from each quarter receive US$500 for third place, US$750 for second place, and US$1,000 for first. Each of their stories has also been handed off to the winners of the Illustrators of the Future Contest to create a unique and original piece of art to accompany it in the anthology. Thousands of longtime professional writers have never had a published story of theirs illustrated in full color, so this is a great honor and a pleasure. The anthologies themselves often become national bestsellers, a terrific thing to have on your bibliography.
The next year’s Contest is already under way. Join us, and let us see your vision.