The Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award.

Baen Books has announced the ten finalists for the 2017 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award, a contest held each year for of all levels of experience:

• Stewart C Baker
• S.B. Divya
• Susan Forest
• C Stuart Hardwick
• Bart Kemper
• Philip A. Kramer
• Harry Lang
• Stephen Lawson
• Angus McIntyre
• M. T. Reiten

The Grand Prize will be presented at the 2017 International Space Development Conference in St. Louis, MO the weekend of May 25-29.

“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, Baen Books founder,” said William Ledbetter, contest administrator. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the winner to meets scientists and space advocates from around the world.”

The complete press release follows the jump.

Top Ten Finalists Announced for Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award

Annual Contest Seeks Stories Set in a Positive Future of Space Exploration

Baen Books has announced the top ten finalists for the 2017 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award, a contest held each year for of all levels of experience. The Grand Prize will be presented at the 2017 International Space Development Conference in St. Louis, MO the weekend of May 25-29.

“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, Baen Books founder,” said William Ledbetter, contest administrator. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the winner to meets 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, France, Algeria, Switzerland, New Zealand, 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 ten writers, and an ultimate winner, who deliver just that.”

The top ten Jim Baen Memorial Award finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

Stewart C Baker

S.B. Divya

Susan Forest

C Stuart Hardwick

Bart Kemper

Philip A. Kramer

Harry Lang

Stephen Lawson

Angus McIntyre

M. T. Reiten