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Contest

“Ink” Honorable Mentions

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Congratulations to our “Ink” honorable mentions! These are fantastic stories that may not have placed in the top three, but nevertheless were in the top 40 based on our judges’ scores. These authors should be extremely proud of this accomplishment, especially given that we received 384 stories this year, a new record for the contest. While they were not chosen for the top three spots, these stories may still be announced as one of the Judge’s Choices or the Director’s Choice. Stay tuned! Ink releases on August 10th. Laura Antoniou – A Most Rewarding Quest Tam Ames – The Autograph … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Ink Anthology Stories

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Ink 2021

We’re thrilled to have completed the judging and story selection rounds for the Queer Sci Fi 2021 Flash Fiction Contest and Anthology. This was the most stiff cometition yet, with 384 stories covering the gamut of spec fic and the LGBTQ+ community. Before we get to the stories we’re including in the antho, a few stats: Stories by Genre Each year, the theme helps steer the kind of stories we receive in this case, “Ink”, chosen by Ryane, seemed to skew more toward fantasy than anything else (some stories crossed multiple genres, so the numbers below won’t add up to … Read more

What Do You Mean There’s No Q in Catchphrase? #4

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QSF Button

We’re getting ready to order some more QSF swag, so it’s time to create new catch phrases for our buttons. The first year, we did the Impossibly Tiny Buttons. The second year, we did “The Universe: Queerer Than You Can Imagine”, and “Queer Spec Fic: Always Forward, Never Straight.” The third year it was “Queer Sci Fi: Where Normal is Relative” and “Inclusive. Intersectional. Incredible. Queer Sci Fi.” And last year, we had “Queers! In Space! (and some dragons too)” and “Write the rainbow.” This year, we’re doing our fifth generation, again with the QSF logo, but we need some … Read more

What Do You Mean There’s No Q in Catchphrase? #3

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QSF Button

We’re getting ready to order some more QSF swag. The first year, we did the Impossibly Tiny Buttons. The second year, we did “The Universe: Queerer Than You Can Imagine”, and “Queer Spec Fic: Always Forward, Never Straight.” Last year it was “Queer Sci Fi: Where Normal is Relative” and :Inclusive. Intersectional. Incredible. Queer Sci Fi.” This year, we’re gonna do buttons again with the QSF logo, but we need some new catch phrases. So here’s where we need your help. We want to come up with a couple cute catchphrases, something that will make people wanna pick these up … Read more

Impact – Second Place Winner

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Impact Second Place

Hey all… The big moment has finally arrived. Impact will release in just three days, and we’re counting down the winners! Second place this year goes to dave ring, for the story “Clickbait:” “THIS STORY TOOK RISKS—IN format, presentation and subject matter. Our judges found it both unique and hard-hitting, with excellent charac‐ terization. The challenge in a flash story is to construct both a complete world and a complete story inside the tight confines of a few words and our judges felt this story accomplished both all while offering a clever narrative and a dual use of theme.” Congrats, … Read more

Impact – Third Place Winner

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Impact 3rd Place

Hey all… The big moment has finally arrived. Impact will release in just three days, and we’re counting down the winners! Third place this year goes to Amir Lane, for the story “Indestructible:” “OUR JUDGES WERE STRUCK by the imagery in this story, and the utiliza‐tion of that imagery to convey a powerful message. While the use of theme was a literal collision, the type and meaning of impact in this case was unique, and the dark superhero protagonist was one that spoke clearly to the judges. They wanted more of this story.” Congrats, Amir – well deserved! Preorder now: … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Second Three Judge’s Picks for “Impact”

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Judge's Pick

It’s time to announce the second three of our Judge’s Picks (well, technically the two Judges’ pics and one Director’s pick) – stories that did not win the contest, but that at least one of our judges (or I) absolutely loved. For our picks, feel free to use the badge above. :) Misfortune by A.M. Leibowitz Judge: Angel Martinez “Given a theme that lends itself to disaster, the stories that opted for a humorous, lighthearted take on Impact stood out for me. This one gives us a complete world where household mishaps are likely to be magical and real trolls … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: The First Three Judge’s Picks for “Impact”

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Judge's Pick

It’s time to announce the first three of our Judge’s Picks – stories that did not win the contest, but that at least one of our judges absolutely loved. Stranded at the Mouth of the Time-Tunnel, Gilchrist Loses a Lucky Penny by Carey Ford Compton Judge: S R Jones “I loved this one because it was clever- not just with the use of the time tunnel, but also the introduction of the character’s pronouns and their feelings about them. It was also a story that did not rely on romance to show queerness, which made it stand out, and one … Read more

Impact is Coming!

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Impact - Pixabay

Hey all, It’s time to announce the stories chosen for the Impact flash fiction anthology. There was stiff competition this year – 182 stories submitted, 110 chosen – we wanted to thank everyone who submitted, regardless of whether or not you’re in the anthology. I also wanted to thank the judges – Angel Martinez, SR Jones, Siri Paulsen, Ben Brock and Carole Cummings – for an amazing job winnowing down the stories to choose three winners. In the next week or so, we’ll announce the honorable mentions, then a little while after that, the Judges’ Picks. The winners themselves will … Read more

“Impact” Contest Launches Today

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Impact - Pixabay

FOR WRITERS The fifth flash fiction contest launches today, and runs for the whole month of March. The theme is “Impact.” Take that however you will – an asteroid impacting the earth; the environmental impact of climate change; two paranormal entities crashing into one another in combat; the impact an action by an individual can have as it ripples through society. Heck, even an impacted wisdom tooth can work, as long as you sell it. It’s up to you. Full details here: https://www.queerscifi.com/flash-contest-rules/ So, in the spirit of the theme, I’d like our authors to talk about other authors who … Read more