New Baen Fantasy Adventure Award

Baen Books, in association with gaming convention Gen Con, has launched the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. The award will go to the adventure fantasy short story selected as the winner of its new annual contest.

The contest opens for submissions on May 1, 2014 and all entries must be received June 30, 2014.  Each entry is limited to a short story of no more than 8,000 words, and there is one entry per author. The story may be epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, or contemporary fantasy.

“We’re looking for the best piece of original short fiction that captures the spirit and tradition of such great storytellers as Larry Correia, Robert E. Howard, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Moon, Andre Norton, J.R.R. Tolkien, David Weber and Marion Zimmer Bradley,” said Baen senior editor Jim Minz.“We want fantasy adventures with heroes a reader wants to root for. We’re looking for warriors, either modern or medieval, who solve problems with their wits as well as their swords.”

Judging will be by the Baen editorial staff, with final entries also being judged by Larry Correia.

The Grand Prize winner will be published as the featured story on the Baen Books main website and paid at industry-standard rates for professional story submittals. The author will also receive an engraved award and a prize package containing various Baen Books.

Second and Third Place winners will receive a prize package of Baen Books.

According to information on the award website, publication details will be worked out between winner and Baen Books. “In the unlikely event that none of the stories qualify for professional publication, a cash prize, of an amount equal to the amount it would have earned had it been published, may be substituted in lieu of publication.”

The website cautions —

What we don’t want to see
Political drama with no action, angst-ridden teens pining over vampire lovers, religious allegory, novel segments, your gaming adventure transcript, anything set in any universe not your own, “it was all a dream” endings, or screenplays.

The winners will be honored as part of the 2014 Gen Con’s Writer’s Symposium. Gen Con takes place August 14-17. Baen’s new award, therefore, will be presented the same weekend as the Hugos.

The full press release follows the jump.

2014 BAEN FANTASY ADVENTURE AWARD ANNOUNCED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:      CONTACT:  1-800-ITS-BAEN

2014 BAEN FANTASY ADVENTURE AWARD ANNOUNCED

New Contest for Best Fantasy Adventure Story

Debuts in 2014 at Premier Gaming Convention Gen Con

 

April 30, 2014, Riverdale, New YorkBaen Books, in association with the popular gaming convention Gen Con, has launched a new annual fantasy genre contest that will present the winning entrant with the inaugural Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. The contest will be centered on adventure fantasy short stories, whether epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, or contemporary fantasy.

“We are very pleased to be presenting this award in association with Gen Con and its Writer’s Symposium,” said Baen senior editor Jim Minz. “Gen Con is the original, longest-running, best-attended gaming convention in the world, and it is the perfect place to seek out and showcase great fantasy talent.”

The contest opens for submissions on May 1, 2014 and all entries must be received June 30, 2014.  Each entry is limited to a short story of no more than 8,000 words, and there is one entry per author. 

“We’re looking for the best piece of original short fiction that captures the spirit and tradition of such great storytellers as Larry Correia, Robert E. Howard, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Moon, Andre Norton, J.R.R. Tolkien, David Weber and Marion Zimmer Bradley,” said Minz. “We want fantasy adventures with heroes a reader wants to root for. We’re looking for warriors, either modern or medieval, who solve problems with their wits as well as their swords.”

“We’re delighted to be working with the leading independent SF publisher in the US,” added Marc Tassin, Director of the Writer’s Symposium at Gen Con. “Baen Books is synonymous with strong, action-oriented adventures featuring the kind of heroes that hook SF readers from the moment they take the stage. It’s an honor to us that they chose to take part in our program’s 20th Anniversary. Along with welcoming Guest of Honor Jim Butcher, and Special Guests Larry Correia & Scott Westerfeld, we anticipate 2014 to be the biggest Writer’s Symposium’s we’ve ever had.”

Baen Books is known for its New York Times bestselling science fiction and fantasy, including David Weber’s Honor Harrington series, Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire alternate histories, Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter International urban fantasies, and Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga. Baen’s paper titles are distributed by Simon & Schuster.

One thought on “New Baen Fantasy Adventure Award

  1. I’ve got this great story about a racist elf at a monastery that Larry will love.

Comments are closed.