Update: The deadline for submission has been extended to February 10. Winners will be announced on Feb 28.
With a title like that, The Ubyssey Science section’s new sci-fi competition is headed either for unarguable success or back to the murky Philip-K-Dick-waters from whence it came.
We’re looking to highlight the writers on campus who dream of crazy futures — the dystopian, utopian or some strange cross of the two. Our criteria are twofold; science and tech innovations should feature prominently in the submissions we receive and each piece should be no longer than 1,500 words.
Take inspiration from Nature’s Future, which is a column publishing short-form sci-fi. Stories range from emotional musings on the implications of Big Data to astronomically apocalyptic extrapolations.
Have at it!
The rules are as follows:
You may submit one story no more than 1,500 words in length.
Illustrations are encouraged, but not necessary.
Submissions close on December 31 at midnight.
The winners will be announced on January 31.
There will be one grand prize winner and three second place winners. All winners will be awarded one ticket to a UBC Theatre production.
The grand prize winner will get to have their story published in The Ubyssey’s print issue alongside an illustration, while also being published online with the runners up.
You must be a UBC student to enter.
How to submit:
Submit your work as a PDF to science@ubyssey.ca with the subject heading “Sci-Fi Competition.” Do not include your name anywhere on the PDF (we’d like to judge the submissions blind, ie without bias).
You will be contacted via email if you have won.
Terms and conditions:
Ownership and publication rights
By submitting your work to The Ubyssey, you (the author) hereby agree to give The Ubyssey the right to publish the submitted work both online and in print.
Ownership of the work submitted remains with the author. Publication and reprint rights remain with The Ubyssey for the space of four months after its initial publication.
The Ubyssey asks that you notify us in writing before submission of your work to another publication and it is accepted by that publication within the four-month term. After the four-month time period following the first publication of the author’s work, all rights will return to the author.
Plagiarism
If at any point during the competition process — from submission to publication and onwards — The Ubyssey becomes aware of any misrepresentation by the submitting party in question, The Ubyssey maintains the right to rescind any and all benefits, prizes, publication or promotion given to said party.