Seven books have reached the finals of the inaugural Self-Published Science Fiction Competition, created by Hugh Howey and Duncan Swan. Of the 300 titles originally entered in the contest, one of these will emerge the winner: 

• Monster of the Dark by K T Belt
• In the Orbit of Sirens by T.A. Bruno
• Steel Guardian by Cameron Coral
• Captain Wu, Starship Nameless #1 by Patrice Fitzgerald and Jack Lyster
• Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair
• A Star Named Vega by Benjamin A. Roberts
• Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin

In the last phase of judging ten teams of book bloggers – including Team File 770 – will score the finalists, two of which they’ve read already, and five more they’re being assigned for the first time. The deadline to complete judging is July 9. The contest winner will be announced July 15.

The SPSFC is modeled after Mark Lawrence’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. In Phase One, the ten teams read the first 20% of each of their 30 books and recommended the 10 that their team would read in full. Once each team read and scored their 10 books, the three titles from each team with the highest scores were declared semifinalists. In Phase Two, each team was assigned to read and score six of the semifinalists advanced by other teams. Then the team ratings of the semifinalists were consolidated. The seven books with the highest scores are now in the finals.

Hugh Howey, sponsor of the first annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), displayed the trophy that will be sent to the inaugural winner. He added there will be slightly different trophies every year, but they’ll all be in the same vein.