FIRST PRIZE £500

To celebrate 50 years of the BSFA’s promotion of British science fiction, we are pleased to announce our 50th Anniversary Short Story Competition.

The competition is open to any writer resident in the UK or Ireland.  The maximum length of stories is 8,000 words. The stories must be science fiction, but we’re willing to take a broad definition of what that means. All entries must be accompanied by a £10 entry fee.

The winner will receive a cash prize of £500, the shortlisted runners up will receive £50, and the winning and shortlisted entries will be published in a special issue of FOCUS the BSFA’s magazine for writers. The closing date for entries is midnight on Friday 5 September 2008 – the winner will be announced at the BSFA 50th Anniversary Birthday Party, 26 November 2008.

Judges Justina Robson, Stephen Baxter & Alastair Reynolds.

Download the entry form from here

Pay entry fee via PayPal here

RULES

1. This competition is open to anyone resident in the United Kingdom or Ireland, except the members of the judging panel and the committee of the British Science Fiction Association.
2. This is a science fiction short story competition. All stories should be science fiction, but we are willing to accept a broad definition of genre’s boundaries.
3. All stories must be original works of fiction, they must not have previously been published anywhere, in any format, they must be written in English and must not exceed 8,000 words.
4. Manuscripts must be accompanied by a copy of the entry form and payment of the £10 entry fee.
5. The winning and shortlisted stories will be published in an issue of the BSFA magazine Focus. By entering the competition you agree to the BSFA publishing your story. 
6. The shortlisted stories must NOT be published elsewhere until after their publication in Focus. All rights revert to the authors upon publication.
7. Authors may enter as many times as they wish, but all stories must be accompanied by a separate entry form and the £10 entry fee.
8. The entry fee may be paid by cheque (sterling only, payable to BSFA) which must accompany the manuscript, or by PayPal (use button below – please make sure you include your name and the name of your story when you make your payment). Payments by PayPal should be made at the time of postage so that they can be confirmed when the story arrives.
9. Entries by post or email. If using the post please do not use recorded delivery or any other service that will require you manuscript to be signed for.
10. Mail your story flat in a suitable envelope.
11. Confirmation of receipt of your manuscript will be sent by email. If you do not have an email address, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard.
12. If you have not received confirmation within three weeks of submission, please contact the administrator at the addresses below.
13. All stories should be typed, double-spaced, use a sensible font (12 point, Times, Courier) on A4 or legal paper with a 1 inch margin.
14. Stories will be judged anonymously. Your name should only appear on the entry form, do not put your name on the story pages.
15. Each page should contain the name of the story in the top right hand corner of the page and the page number centred at the bottom.
16. If sending a manuscript staple your story. Attach the entry form with a paper clip.
17. Manuscripts cannot be returned. Please keep a copy.
18. A panel of BSFA committee members will select a shortlist of stories that will be presented to the judging panel after the closing date of the competition.
19. Shortlisted authors will be informed of their success in October 2008. A list of the shortlisted authors and their stories will be published here.#
20. The award will be presented at British Science Fiction Association 50th Birthday Party on November 26, 2008  – shortlisted authors will be welcome to attend but the cost of travel is their own responsibility.
21. The competition administer reserves the right to disqualify stories that do not meet the criteria set out above. The entrance fee of disqualified stories will not be returned. At the discretion of the administrator, authors of disqualified stories may be given the opportunity to resubmit their original story or a new story without additional costs.
22. The winning and shortlisted authors are responsible for any tax liability resulting from their success in the competition.
23. The decision of the judges is final.
24. Submissions should arrive before noon on Friday September 5, 2008.
25. Send manuscripts to:
    BSFA Short Story Competition
    48 Spooners Drive, Park Street, St Albans, Herts, AL2 2HL
    email: shortstorycompetition@bsfa.co.uk
    (please put BSFA Short Story Competition: [your story name] in the subject field)