Tag Archives: Tomorrow Prize

2018 Tomorrow Prize Finalists

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At LitFest Pasadena on May 20, 2018 at 5:30 p.m., celebrity guests will read the five Tomorrow Prize finalists’ stories, after which the first, second, and third place winners will be announced.

The Tomorrow Prize for short science fiction was created by Sci-Fest LA in 2014 “to identify and encourage the next generation of science fiction writing talent.”

TOMORROW PRIZE FINALISTS, 2018

  • Relinquished Cities by Sarah Krausz (Grover Cleveland High School)
  • The Demiurge by Bry LeBerthon (Westridge School)
  • Addiction by Kalila Papanikolas (Westridge School)
  • Microcosm by Chelsea See (Glen A. Wilson High School)
  • Midas by Audrey Wang (Westridge School)

TOMORROW PRIZE HONORABLE MENTIONS, 2018

  • Espera by Naomi Beach (Clark Magnet High School)
  • 2084 by Kate Crowell (Westridge School)
  • The Vault by Matthew David (Fairfax High School)
  • Desperate Measures by Jake DeRiseis (Culver City High School)
  • Trash-O-Synthesis by Charlotte Feit-Leichman & Nia Yick (Culver City High School)
  • Curing of an Illness by Carlos Gonzalez (High Tech LA)
  • The Silo by Alexander Hwang (High Tech LA)
  • Edos by Julia Li (Polytechnic High School)
  • War of the Clouds by Haley Pak (Westridge School)
  • Gray by Subin Yi (Fairfax High School)

At the same event, the inaugural Green Feather Award will be presented by Los Angeles Audubon. The award “recognizes an outstanding science fiction short story by a teen author that centers on overcoming today’s environmental challenges. The winning story will highlight the importance of ecology and biodiversity.” The winner also will be read aloud on stage by a celebrity guest.

GREEN FEATHER AWARD WINNER, 2018

  • Let Her Play by Aisling Murran (Polytechnic High School)

2018 Tomorrow Prize for LA Student SF Writers Now Taking Entries

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The 2018 Tomorrow Prize is accepting entries from students attending high school in Los Angeles County. The deadline to submit is February 26, 2018.

Contest entries must be original short science fiction stories, not fan fiction, of 1,500 words or less.

Sci-Fest L.A. and Light Bringer Project seek to nurture imagination, creativity and excellence in writing amongst Los Angeles high school students. Science fiction writing provides a unique opportunity for students to develop the ideas and narratives that will shape the future of humanity from how we address pressing scientific, social, philosophical, and environmental issues to inspiring us to develop new technologies and explore outer space. We are seeking narratives that are imaginative, original, thoughtful, well told, and well written.

Five finalists’ stories will be dramatically read on stage by sci-fi celebrities during LitFest Pasadena on Sunday, May 20, 2018, followed by an awards presentation.

The Grand Prize Winner will receive $250, with second and third place winners each receiving $150 and $100, respectively.

The Tomorrow Prize for short science fiction was created by Sci-Fest LA in 2014 “to identify and encourage the next generation of science fiction writing talent.”

Entrants may also choose to be considered for the “Green Feather Award” presented by Los Angeles Audobon.

[The “Green Feather”] award recognizes an outstanding science fiction short story by a teen author [or team of authors] that centers on overcoming today’s environmental challenges. Strong entries will highlight the importance of ecology and biodiversity in some way, and we would be especially excited to see the local ecology, geography, culture, and environmental concerns of Southern California emphasized. We also recognize that issues of social and environmental justice strongly overlap with those concerning wildlife conservation, sea level rise, water conservation, climate change, and energy. Keeping that in mind, a story about a single neighborhood or school overcoming an environmental challenge would be just as valid as a story that tackles a much broader scale.

The “Green Feather” winner will receive a $250 cash prize and a one year Los Angeles Audubon membership.

Stories are eligible for only one prize but stories submitted for The Green Feather Award will be considered for other prizes if they are not a Green Feather Award winner.

Rules and submission guidelines are on the The Lightbringer Project’s Tomorrow Prize/Roswell Award information page.

2017 Tomorrow Prize Winners

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Sci-Fest LA and The Light Bringer Project presented the winners of The Tomorrow Prize on May 21 at LitFest Pasadena. The contest for short science fiction stories was created by in 2014 “to identify and encourage the next generation of science fiction writing talent” and is open to students in LA County.

FIRST PLACE
Joseph Springer
“The Most Satisfying Sound”

Joseph is a Junior at Granada Hills High School.

SECOND PLACE
Leslie Le
“The Dead Light”

Leslie is a Sophomore at Grover Cleveland High School.

THIRD PLACE
Samuel Fischbach
“Aether.Reality”

Samuel is a Junior at Granada Hills High School.

[Thanks to Rosalind Helfand for the story.]

2017 Tomorrow Prize Finalists

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On Sunday, May 21 at 2 p.m., Sci-Fest LA will partner with LitFest Pasadena for dramatic readings of the Finalists’ stories for The Tomorrow Prize for short science fiction by L.A. County teens. The readings will happen in the Sculpture Plaza across from the Pasadena Playhouse – free admission, seating limited. Six finalists’ stories will be read by sci-fi celebrities, followed by an awards presentation.

The Tomorrow Prize for short science fiction was created by Sci-Fest LA in 2014 “to identify and encourage the next generation of science fiction writing talent.”

The 2017 finalists are:

  • Samuel Fischbach, “Another Reality”
  • Leslie Le, “The Dead Light”
  • Richard Magdaluyo, “EARTH II”
  • Jonathan Herbst, “A Helping Hand”
  • Joseph Springer, “The Most Satisfying Sound”
  • Ekaterina Zhosan, “The Multiverse Theory”

Honorable Mentions: Cira Davis, Zachariah Nash, Angelica Pico, Allison Pleitez, Vianni Valle, and Paula Wang.

Tomorrow Prize for LA Student SF Writers Taking Entries

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Tomorrow Prize logo

The 2017 Tomorrow Prize is accepting entries from students attending high school (9th-12th grade) in Los Angeles County. The deadline to submit is Friday, March 17.

Contest entries must be original short science fiction stories, not fan fiction, of 1,500 words or less.

Sci-Fest L.A. and Light Bringer Project seek to nurture imagination, creativity and excellence in writing amongst Los Angeles high school students. Science fiction writing provides a unique opportunity for students to develop the ideas and narratives that will shape the future of humanity from how we address pressing scientific, social, philosophical, and environmental issues to inspiring us to develop new technologies and explore outer space. We are seeking narratives that are imaginative, original, thoughtful, well told, and well written.

Five finalists’ stories will be dramatically read on stage by sci-fi celebrities during LitFest Pasadena on Sunday, May 21, followed by an awards presentation.

The Grand Prize Winner will receive $250, with second and third place winners each receiving $100.

The Tomorrow Prize for short science fiction was created by Sci-Fest LA in 2014 “to identify and encourage the next generation of science fiction writing talent.”

Rules and submission guidelines are on the Tomorrow Prize’s Facebook event page.

2016 Tomorrow Prize Winner

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The winner of Sci-Fest LA’s Tomorrow Prize for the best sci-fi story written by a Los Angeles high school student was won by Matilda Berke for “Rock Star.” She won a $1,000 scholarship from US Bank.

The award was presented at a ceremony on May 14 during which celebrities read all the finalists aloud to an audience.

Tomorrow Prize

The other finalists were:

  • “Requiem” by Sam Dulys (Grover Cleveland High School Magnet Program)
  •  “The Missing Memory” by Hazel Carias (Fairfax Senior High School)
  • “Details” by Sam Clark (Polytechnic School)
  • “To Steal a Star” by Joseph Springer (Granada Hills Charter High School)

https://twitter.com/QuitcherBitchyn/status/732307442609061890

The contest judges were Gary Phillips (co-editor of the bestselling anthology Black Pulp), Jennifer Bosworth, (author of YA novels Struck and The Killing Jar), Joshua Dysart (multiple Eisner Award nominee, Glyph award-winning, New York Times Bestselling comic book writer and graphic novelist), Julia Mary Gibson (author of Copper Magic), Rosalind Helfand (a writer and organizer in LA’s literary community), Lissa Price (author of the Starters series), and Geoffrey Wood Patterson II (comic store owner).