Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award 2020 Finalists Selected
Annual Contest Honors Stories Set in a Positive Future of Space Exploration
RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, March 10, 2020—The finalists for the 2020 Jim Baen Memorial Award competition have been announced. The Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Contest has been held annually since 2007 and is focused on stories of space exploration and discovery, with an optimistic spin on those activities for the human race. These are the ten finalists, along with their stories, in alphabetical order.
D.A. D’Amico, “The Boy Who Cried Fish”
Austin Eberle, “Stars of Their Own”
Meghan Feldman, “Dancing on Spun Sugar”
C. Stuart Hardwick, “Sample Return”
William Paul Jones, “Wander On”
K. D. Julicher, “Primum Non Nocere”
Kate MacEachern, “Spinners”
Wendy Nikel, “Bounty #1486”
M. T. Reiten, “Bagala Devi Objective”
Tiffany Smith, “The Caretaker”
Judges for the award were celebrity author judge David Drake, and the editors of Baen Books. Stories were judged anonymously. The Jim Baen Memorial Award will be presented May 29, 2020 in a ceremony at the annual International Space Development Conference held this year in Dallas, Texas. The winner receives a distinctive award and professional publication of the story in June 2020 at the Baen.com web site.
“The National Space Society and Baen Books applaud the role that science fiction plays in advancing real science and have teamed up to sponsor this short fiction contest in memory of Jim Baen, the founder of Baen Books,” said William Ledbetter, contest administrator. “It's a wonderful opportunity for the winner to meet scientists and space advocates from around the world.”
The contest occurs annually and looks for stories that demonstrate the positive aspects of space exploration and discovery. Over the years, the contest has developed an international character. In addition to the United States, entrants have hailed from Sweden, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Algeria, Spain, and Morocco.
“Moon bases, Mars colonies, orbital habitats, space elevators, asteroid mining, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, realistic spacecraft, heroics, sacrifice, adventure—that's what we're looking for," said Ledbetter. “And once again we believe we've found writers, and an ultimate winner, who deliver just that.”
For more information, email info@baen.com, or call 1-800-488-2236
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