Parsec Ink

27th Annual Parsec Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Short Story Contest   --

Hello, and welcome to the PARSEC 2023 short story contest. The theme for this year is Preserve or Purge!

Publication status: Stories must be original, unpublished, and unsold to any other market.
Formatting: Manuscripts should be in double-spaced, and written in a legible font. Acceptable formats include .doc, .docx, and .rtf. Please also include an email address in the header-- Submittable messages sometimes get flagged as spam, and having an email address in the document itself can help the contest coordinator reach out if needed! 

Prizes and Eligibility: The contest is open to non-professional writers-- those who have not met eligibility requirements for SFWA or equivalent. Broad strokes, if you have earned more than $1000 through selling your writing, you are ineligible to participate! (GO YOU THOUGH! CONGRATULATIONS!)  Previous first-place winners and current contest coordinators are ineligible to enter.
Word Count: Stories should be less than 3500 words.
Requirements: The winning story will be the one that most effectively uses the contest theme(s) as a key element.  
First-place receives $200 and publication in the 2023 Confluence program book (Confluence).
Second-place receives $100
Third-place receives $50
Dates and Deadlines: The Contest opens January 1st, 2023 and will remain open until May 1st 2023. Stories will be forwarded to the judges by June 1st, 2023, with their decisions being received by June 21st 2023. Winners will be notified then, and announced at the Confluence Convention(July 27th-July 31st 2023)


Best Youth Story (Under 19 OR currently enrolled in high school, chosen by first readers) $50
Submission to the contest implies consent for publication, but all rights revert immediately to the author upon publication. Coordinators/Readers screen the entries and the Seven best submissions are then read by the judges. Decisions of the judges and coordinators are final.
Number: A maximum of 2 submissions is allowed. Submit each one separately.



Youth Story Prize— We have, over the last several years, seen a large growth in submissions from high school students (as well as some from middle school authors, and even a few grade schoolers!) To that end, we are offering an additional side prize of $50 for the best story submitted by someone aged 18 and under. This will be chosen by the first readers!
Youth Story Critique—We will also be offering, via a random drawing, 10 critiques by our first reading team of stories written by authors aged 18 and under. In order to qualify for the critique, your story MUST be in the standard manuscript format. Please indicate on the Submittable form if you are interested in receiving critique!
JUDGES!

Andrea Stewart-

Andrea Stewart is the daughter of immigrants, and was raised in a number  of places across the United States. Her parents always emphasized  science and education, so she spent her childhood immersed in Star Trek  and odd-smelling library books. When her (admittedly ambitious) dreams  of becoming a dragon slayer didn't pan out, she instead turned to  writing fiction. Her short stories can be found in such venues as  Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Daily Science Fiction, Galaxy’s Edge, and  others. Her debut epic fantasy novel, The Bone Shard Daughter, was a  finalist for the Locus Award for Best First Novel, the British Fantasy  Award for Best Novel, the Goodreads Choice Award for Fantasy and Debut  Novel, and the BookNest Award for Best Traditionally Published

Jim Horlock-

Jim is a writer from Wales, and can often be found in the company of taxidermy. A lover of all things dark and weird, Jim's been putting short stories out into the world since 2016, and is featured in over a dozen anthologies across the fantasy, satire, and horror genres. As well as writing, Jim loves Dungeons and Dragons, board games, and terrible horror movies. He accepts offerings of strong beer or smooth whiskey. He is an Affiliate Member of the HWA 

Lindz McLeod-

Lindz McLeod is a queer, working-class, Scottish writer who dabbles in the surreal. Her prose has been published by Catapult, Flash Fiction Online, Pseudopod, and many more. Her short story collection TURDUCKEN is forthcoming with Bear Creek Press in November '22, and her debut novel BEAST is forthcoming with Brigids Gate Press in March '23. She is a full member of the SFWA, a Rogue Mentor to six talented mentees, and is represented by Headwater Literary Management. In 2023 Lindz will begin a PhD in Creative Writing with Manchester Metropolitan University.