Prizes and eligibility: The contest is open to non-professional writers (those who have not met eligibility requirements for SFWA or equivalent). Previous multiple winners and current contest coordinators are also ineligible. The best story which relates to and features the contest theme will be published in the Confluence 2008 program book, and the author awarded the first prize of $200. At the discretion of the judges a second and third prize in the amounts of $100 and $50 may be awarded, with possible publication in a PARSEC INK publication. Submission to the contest implies consent for publication, but all rights revert immediately to the authors upon publication. The coordinators will screen the entries, and the best submissions will go on to our panel of three Judges. Decisions of the judges and coordinators in all these matters are final. There is NO entry fee.

Judges: Wen Spencer, winner of the 2003 Campbell award for best new SF author, author of the Ukiah Oregon series, Tinker (won the Sapphire award), Wolf Who Rules, and A Brother's Price (Tiptree Honorable Mention); Mary Turzillo, Nebula winner for novelette Mars is No Place for Children, author of An Old-fashioned Martian Girl, and many, many published poems, who taught English for years at Kent State; and Joshua Palmatier, author of The Skewed Throne, The Cracked Throne, and, coming in January, The Vacant Throne.

Format: Stories must be Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror in genre. Stories must be original, unpublished, unsold and no more than 3500 words in length. Submit in standard contest format (title and page number on each page, but author name only appears on separate cover page; otherwise as in any professional submission). Email submissions accepted only upon request (see below). Include SASE for notification only, as manuscripts will not be returned. Incorrect format will make the entry ineligible. Stories must Relate To The Theme.

Theme:

We think this theme is broad and challenging enough to give everyone scope for new and interesting stories. Please remember, though, that Confluence attracts many families, and the story will be printed in the program book. A certain restraint and subtlety is called for. Too much explicit gore will definitely count against you.

Deadline: Entries must be postmarked by April 15, 2008. The results are generally in by the end of May and all entrants notified by June 15th.

Address: Send entries to:

For questions or clarifications only you may email to

Last time’s winners (for the theme of "Fewmets at the End of time") were:

• First Place: "Unique Worlds" by Margaret McGaffey Fisk
• Second Place: "Vengeance" by Jamie Lackey
• Third Place: "The Preserve" by Benjamin Biggs

Direct questions concerning PARSEC to . Direct questions concerning Confluence to . http://trfn.clpgh.org/parsec/annex/contest.html -- Revised: 21 June 2007 Copyright © 2005 Kevin A. Geiselman

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