2022/2023 SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY CHALLENGE
PRIZE: £1,000
SCIENCE FICTION CHALLENGE 2022
Prize: £1,000
Early Entry: £2.50 for one story
General Entry: £5 for one story
Late Entry: £9 for one story
Words: 5,000 (max)
Deadline: 23:59 (UK time) 6th Mar, 2023
Winner Announced: 15th May, 2023
THE CHALLENGE:
All writers retain full ownership of their stories, including the winner. We only publish the winning story on our website. We welcome international entries!
It's time for another Globe Soup writing challenge!
For this short story challenge, all participants will be randomly assigned a science fiction trope. As soon as you receive your assignment you'll have until the closing time to write and submit a short story of no more than 5,000 words.
All we ask is that your story has your assigned science fiction trope woven into the plot somehow. How much prominence you give to the assigned trope is up to you, but it must be a significant part of the plot.
Science fiction can be written in any style or tone. It can be horrifying, humourous, romantic, fantastical, whimsical, or just literary.
Want to mix genres? That's fine too!
The science fiction tropes chosen for this year’s challenge are:
1. Cryosleep
2. Space Piracy
3. Terraforming
4. Clones
5. Time Travel
If you choose to participate in the challenge, you'll be randomly assigned one of these science fiction tropes.
How to Enter:
Please read the official rules of the contest here.
Buy a ticket. There are 5 tickets available: A, B, C, D, and E. We have mixed up the science fiction tropes to ensure that your assignment will be random! Meaning that the numbers and letters do NOT correspond. After you make the purchase you’ll be able to download your ticket. This download will contain your assigned trope and the submission instructions. If you want to submit more than one story with that assigned science fiction trope, simply buy another ticket of the same letter. If you want to submit more than one story, but with a different science fiction trope, simply buy another ticket of a different letter. You can buy as many tickets and submit as you many stories as you want.
Make sure you download your ticket right away. The link expires in 24 hours. If your link has expired, please contact us and we’ll send you your ticket directly.
Join the Community:
All participants can join our Members-Only Facebook Group. Here you can meet other writers taking part in the challenge, ask questions, and get advice. The Globe Soup team are also on hand to offer any support and guidance you may need. At the end of the challenge you can even get extensive feedback on your story or stories. The community aspect of these challenges is often the best part!
Plus, we run free monthly mini writing contests in the group, exclusively for members, with additional cash prizes up for grabs. Once you're a member, you're a member for as long as you want. This means that you'll have access to a network of like minded writers and free entry to our mini contests for life.
Feedback From Previous Challenges:
"This was tremendous motivation to continue writing and I will always be grateful for the encouragement that Globe Soup has provided me. Globe Soup has also managed to create a wonderful community of writers who motivate and inspire each other. I'm very thankful to be a part of this community." — Nimisha, Mumbai, India
"This competition helped me reignite my passion for writing, so much so that it has started some new writing projects for me.” — Rachel, United Kingdom
“Really enjoyed that it gave me a steady and clear writing goal!” —Fódhla, Ireland
“I wouldn’t have been confident enough to start my MA in Creative Writing if it hadn’t been for Globe Soup. Such a great group to be a part of." — Fhionna, Clyde Valley, Scotland.
“I won’t ever forget that first win, it was an amazing feeling!! (I was in floods of tears, my husband didn’t get why!) You set me on my writing journey and so so much has grown from that first seed of belief, thank YOU!!! — Katrina, Llanfairpwll, U.K.