Call for Student Authors : Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing Contest

Apr 15

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Organization: Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education

Description: Tampa Bay area high school students are invited to submit original, unpublished short stories for the Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education’s annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing Contest! This contest seeks to nurture and recognize the creativity and talent of young writers in the Tampa Bay area. It was established in 2014 to encourage aspiring authors to explore the genres of science fiction and fantasy and to experiment with the short story format. The deadline to submit is May 15.

The theme for this year’s contest is “time travel” which is defined as the hypothetical transport through time into the past or the future. Submitted stories may be set in the past, present, or future, in our historical timeline or in an alternate timeline. Time travel may be accomplished by science (wormhole!), technology (time machine!), or magic (whatever!). Traveler(s) may travel forward or backward in time.

Find full details at https://clients.tampabay.com/2025/writing-contest/home/contest-details.html

Details:

All entries must be received by May 15, 2025, 11:59 PM EST.
Entrants are strongly encouraged to submit in advance of the deadline in case of technical difficulties.
Contest is open to all students over the age of 13 in grades 9 to 12 in public, private, and home schools in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties.
Stories must be previously unpublished and unsold.
There is no fee to enter.
Entrants may submit an unlimited number of stories.
Stories must be submitted in MS Word (doc or docx) or Portable Document Format (pdf) format.
Stories should be between 1,000 and 5,000 words.
Stories should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and numbered pages.
The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript.
View the complete official rules.
View the contest flyer.