The Best New SF & Fantasy of the Year
L. Ron Hubbard; Kevin J. Anderson; S. M. Stirling; Lazarus Chernik; Kristine Kathryn Rusch; Samuel Parr; Spencer Sekulin; L. H. Davis; Devon Bohm; Arthur H. Manners; David Hankins; David K. Henrickson; J. R. Johnson; Elaine Midcoh; Marianne Xenos; Jason Palmatier; and T. J. Knight
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Time Travel, Space Opera, Adventure
Date Published: May 2023
In the world of speculative fiction…
Your favorite authors…
Have chosen the best new voices of the year
Check out these twelve captivating tales selected by Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, Nnedi Okorafor, Robert J. Sawyer, Kevin J. Anderson, Jody Lynn Nye and others.
Join a team of time travelers who set out to save London from a terrorist’s nuclear attack … when a blast from the past changes everything.
Meet a vampire, a dragon and a shape-shifting Chihuahua in Key West … this is one beach party that’s about to get wild!
Follow Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., who’s investigating the craziest case of his so-called life.…
Find out what happens when death and taxes come together in the form of one IRS agent, who faces the darkest audit of all.
From dark fantasy to space opera and time travel, you will love these sci-fi and fantasy stories because, as Locus magazine puts it, “Not only is the writing excellent...it is also extremely varied. Hot new talent.”
Get it now.
Read an Excerpt below...
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Excerpt
Introduction
B
Y J O D Y LY N N
N Y E
You hold in your hand the results of a year’s worth
of hard
work and impressive talent.
The following twelve stories each
represent the vision of a new
writer that stood out among the
thousands of entries submitted
to the Writers of the Future
Contest to be recognized as
the best of the best. Some of these
writers have sent in many
stories over the years; for some, this is
their first attempt. All of
them have excited my imagination, even
bringing me to exclaim out
loud in delight. (“Venus? Really?”)
This is my first year as the
Coordinating Judge of the Contest.
Only three other people have
held this position since the Contest
launched in 1985. David
Farland, K. D. Wentworth, and renowned
editor Algis Budrys, who with
L. Ron Hubbard shepherded the
Contest into being, have
helped to launch the careers of numerous
notable writers including
Patrick Rothfuss, Nina Kiriki Hoffman,
Eric Flint, Nnedi Okorafor,
and Dean Wesley Smith (now my
coeditor of this anthology).
I have large and eminent shoes to fill,
and I hope you will
appreciate my efforts.
So, how do you get to be a
winner and have your story
published in one of these
glamorous anthologies? You
have
four quarters of the year to
send in an original tale. We accept
speculative fiction: science
fiction, fantasy, and dark fantasy
(light horror). Keep in mind
that this is a professional market
with an audience that runs
from young adult on upward. Within
those parameters, let your
imagination run wild. The Contest
is judged blind. The quality
of your work is what is important.
What am I looking for?
First, I want a story. It has to have a
beginning, middle, and end
that involves your fantasy or sf
element. If your narrative
takes too long to get going or trails
off with no conclusion, I may
never even see it, as the first reader
(and former Writers’ Contest
winner) Kary English weeds out
manuscripts that don’t
fulfill the basic guidelines for the Contest.
I like a story that never
stops moving, that gives me a reason to
keep reading.
Second, send me something
new. If I’ve seen the plot often
and you have nothing new to
say about it, you’re not trying hard
enough. Speculative fiction
means exploring the universe and
finding a corner of it that
hasn’t been churned over by thousands
of other writers. Tickle my
imagination. Surprise me. I welcome
a new take on science fiction
or fantasy. Third, I want excellent
storytelling. Your style can
set a fairly ordinary plot apart from
others like it by intelligent
and evocative wordplay. Give me
great characters. Give me
consequences for failing to reach the
goal those characters are
striving toward. Small stories about one
moment in a character’s life
can be as interesting and meaningful
as big stories in which the
universe itself is at stake.
The eight Finalists every
quarter go on to a selection of our
eminent judges to vote for
first, second, and third place. The
rewards for becoming a winner
of the Contest are spectacular.
The twelve writer winners are
flown into Hollywood, California,
for a grand black-tie,
red-carpet gala, given beautiful trophies
and cash prizes. Each of
their stories is also handed off to the
winners of the Illustrators
of the Future Contest to create a unique
piece of art to accompany it
in the anthology. The anthologies
themselves often become
national bestsellers, a terrific entry
on your bibliography.
Afterward, the winners get to experience
their first book signing of
the anthology containing their work.
The winners also enjoy a
weeklong seminar taught by me and
fantasy writer/judge Tim
Powers, with guest speeches from the
other Contest judges. It’s
the biggest fuss anyone will ever make
in your career about a short
story.
It’s more than worth it to
enter, and I urge you to begin. I’m
starting my second year of
reading Contest entries. Make one
of them yours
Great excerpt! I love the sci-fi genre and I am looking forward to reading this collection of stories, thank you for posting about this book
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