What's going on?

Over the past two years, we have had a Science Fiction Contest and a Science Fiction Contest II. But if they were so good, why isn't there a Science Fiction Contest III?

Well, they were so good, as it turns out! Which is why there will be a Science Fiction Contest III, which is currently happening! (Or has already happened, if you are reading this post after 2024 May 12.)

To be clear, from the moment you personally read this post, until 2024 May 12, the Science Fiction Contest III is officially open for submissions!

What is Science Fiction?

That is a very good question! The official description of the "Sci-Fi" tag on www.fimfiction.net reads as follows:

Stories taking place in a futuristic setting or with advanced technology. Dealing with topics such as alien life, space travel, time travel, parallel universes, etc. Stories of this genre generally explore what a world could be like when such things are possible within the realm of science.

In addition to this, we accept a broader definition of "science fiction" to include ramifications of scientific ideas and technological innovations on the world, or stories that explore a hard magic system grounded in the scientific method, or stories set in an AU with laser swords and magic bugs that live in your cells and give you psychic powers, but no list can really be exhaustive of such a broad term. (The results of the Science Fiction Contest I and the Science Fiction Contest II may helpful in seeing at least some of the breadth of what we are looking for.)

What prizes are there?

Besides recognition in the results post, there will be cash amounts for the top winners, sent by PayPal. If you are unable or unwilling to receive money by PayPal, alternative arrangements in the past have included redirecting winnings to other people, or a donation to a mutually agreed-upon charity.

The initial prize pool is $400, with a guaranteed minimum to the following podium places:

• First Place: $150
• Second Place: $100
• Third Place: $65

Depending on turnout and judge discussions, prize amounts may be increased and additional prizes may be added to encourage a diversity of winning stories, such as:

• Best New Author (Joined 2021 or later)
• Best Happy Story
• Best Short Story (Under 5kw)
• Best Concept
• Best Execution

Who's judging this thing?

Here we are!

• Bicyclette
• GaPJaxie
• Cold in Gardez
• Aquaman

Keep in mind that judges are not allowed to preread, edit, brainstorm, or be commissioned for any entries with the author before the contest results are released! In addition, judges are asked to withhold commenting on entries until after the release of contest results.

What are the rules?

1. As I, Bicyclette, must interact with all entrants, please keep in mind my DNI policy.
2. All entries must have Science Fiction as a genre tag.
3. Stories must be E or T rated, though any tag is allowed except "Fetish".
4. AUs, crossovers, and OCs are all allowed. But judges are not guaranteed to know anything outside of core G4 and G5 canon material, so please keep this in mind!
5. Stories must be published and complete between 2024 Mar 24 8PM ET and 2024 May 12 8PM ET to qualify. This is a hard deadline that will not be extended. If you are publishing close to the deadline, you are advised to PM Bicyclette some way to access the full text of your completed entry before the deadline just in case it is stuck in the queue. Any entries published after the deadline whose authors have not done this will not be accepted, with no exceptions.
6. Authors may submit multiple entries, though only one may win a prize. We officially encourage quality over quantity.
7. The soft word cap is 25kw. If you want an exception for your story, please PM Bicyclette and get approval ahead of time, or else it will be disqualified. In the past two editions, prize winners have been as short as 1.2kw, so don't think that you have to write a long story to be a contender!
8. Pre-readers and editors are freely allowed. Co-authored works are allowed, but in order to be credited to both authors they must have the sentence "Co-authored with Bicyclette." at the very start of the long description (with the name and FIMFic account link of the co-author instead of Bicyclette, of course).
9. Submissions will be collected in the Science Fiction Contest III (2024) - Entries folder. Feel free to join the group and place it in yourself!
10. If you have any questions about the contest not covered in this post, please feel free to PM me, Bicyclette.

Is there anything else I need to know?

That there are other contests/events going on that you may want to write stories for! Feel free to submit entries to this contest to them as well, if it makes sense and they allow it. Here is a list as of the time of this writing:

• Rockstar_Raccoon's OPERATION: CRACKFIC-STORM - 2024, occurring 2024 Mar 30 - Apr 01.
• The Sunset Shimmer x Villains Shippers’ Group’s Sunset X Villain “Crystal Prep!” Competition, ending 2024 Apr 04.
• The Quills and Sofas Speedwriting group's Wonderbolts Site Contest, ending 2024 Apr 30.
• The Original Pairings group's upcoming May Pairings Contest, to occur 2024 May 01-31.

Would you count 'Cyberpunk' as Science fiction? I tagged it as such, but I'd like to know before writing something for this if you would count it.
Besides that, good luck to the other contestants!

I'm gonna write the greatest fanfiction this site has ever seen (music by Elton Jon [don't tell Elton Jon])

7950791
yes, i would! good luck writing!
7950835
it would be very cool if the greatest fanfiction this site had ever seen were written for this contest

7950773
is ther ea theem?

Looking forward to entering, I've been sitting on a couple ideas, and I'm eager to see how they do.

I'm actually excited to see this. Will definitely try to participate in this.

Been looking forward to this!

• Aquaman

Also, Aquaman's link currently leads to Cold in Gardez's profile.

Damn, stacked judging panel!! I'm hoping I'll be able to contribute something this time around, however small :)

Two time prize winner, I'm going for a third! Ideas pending.

Aw nice, I was going to ask about if it'd be alright for a single entry to work for multiple contests, and it looks like yes. :)

I do have another question however, and didn't see anything in the rules regarding it:

One concept I have would involve fleshing out a story I wrote somewhat recently (for the Q&S Expanding Universes shebang last year) but haven't publish. Is it alright to submit a story that is ostensibly a sequel? Just the usual must-stand-on-it's-own thing?

7950997
no theem! just as long as it's a science fiction story

7951000
best of luck with the ideas!

7951017
yay!

7951071
or maybe Aquaman was Cold in Gardez all along??? (fixed, thanks!)

7951115
not as stacked as it was when you were on it, mush! and i do hope that you can, too!

7951137
best of luck! that would be an impressive streak for sure!

7951197
as long as it stands on its own, feel free to write a sequel to whatever you wish!

Managed to make some progress on my story while on vacation. Really excited.

I'm looking forward to entering this year.

Am excited to try something once more!