The Tomorrow Prize and Green Feather Award Virtual Celebrity Readings and Awards, held May 23, revealed the winner of a science fiction short story contest for Los Angeles County high school students. The Omega Sci-Fi Awards’ second ceremony of the weekend began with dramatic readings of the finalists’ stories, including the already-announced winner of the Green Feather Award for eco-themed sf stories.

THE TOMORROW PRIZE for original short science fiction by Los Angeles County high school students

FIRST PLACE

• “Star Sailor” by Gwendolyn Lopez (Pasadena High School)

SECOND PLACE

• “Returning Home” by Sofia Orduno (Mt. SAC Early College Academy)

THIRD PLACE

• “EP-1M Contamination” by Britney Cruz (Susan Miller Dorsey High School)

OTHER FINALISTS

• “Äerd” by Tessa Kennedy (John Marshall High School)
• “The Plague” by Flora White (Geffen Academy at UCLA)

Tomorrow Prize winner Gwendolyn Lopez is a sophomore at Pasadena High School. She is trilingual and speaks English, Spanish, and Mandarin. Outside of school, Gwendolyn enjoys reading, looking at cloud patterns in the sky, and writing fiction that has sci-fi or fantasy elements. Her short story, “Star Sailor,” was inspired by the 16th-century explorers in her history textbook and the mysteries of outer space.

Featured celebrity readers included: Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner, Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Rico E. Anderson (The Orville), Kirsten Vangsness (Criminal Minds), Duane Henry (Captain Marvel), and more.

Finalist judges for The Tomorrow Prize were: volcanologist, explorer, and author Jess Phoenix (Ms. Adventure), and author Charles Yu (How To Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe, Interior Chinatown), author Jennifer Brody (The 13th Continuum, 200), American Flight engineer Bobak Ferdowsi.

THE GREEN FEATHER AWARD for original short eco-themed science fiction by Los Angeles County high school students

WINNER

• “Corn” by Sienna Koizumi (Culver City High School)

HONORABLE MENTION

• “The Great Forgotten” by Jonah Guardino (High Tech LA)

The Tomorrow Prize and Green Feather Award Virtual Celebrity Readings & Awards is co-presented by L.A. Parent Magazine. The Green Feather Award is a special ecology-themed award co-presented by the Los Angeles Audubon Society.

The Omega Sci-Fi Awards is a nonprofit program founded in 2014 by Sci-Fest L.A. that aims to recognize and encourage emerging sci-fi writers, and Light Bringer Project, a Pasadena-based nonprofit arts and education organization. The awards ceremony is hosted in conjunction with LitFest Pasadena 2021.

[Based on a press release.]