Brad Zeiger was named the winner of this year’s Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award Contest for his story “The Insomniac.” The contest has been held annually since 2007 by Baen Books, in partnership with the National Space Society, to discover original stories celebrating optimistic, near-future space exploration.

Zeiger, an Oregon resident, will be honored at the 2023 International Space Development Conference, in Frisco, Texas, May 25-28, 2023. In addition to the award, his winning story will be published at Baen.com, paid professional rates, and Zeiger will receive membership in the National Space Society.

FIRST PLACE

• “The Insomniac” by Brad Zeiger

SECOND PLACE

• “High Risk” by Avery Parks

THIRD PLACE

• “Cronus” by J. M. Eno

“Winning the contest is an honor and opportunity for the winner, not only to be published, but to attend the ISDC, and meet scientists and space advocates from around the world,” said William Ledbetter, contest administrator.

In addition to Zeiger’s winning story, Baen Books and National Space Society honored two runners-up for the award. Avery Parks of Texas was awarded second place for her story “High Risk;” and in third place was “Cronus” by J.M. Eno of New York.

Judges for the award were author and space scientist Les Johnson, and the editorial staff of Baen Books, and entries were judged anonymously.

According to Baen publisher Toni Weisskopf, all of this year’s finalists turned in some incredible stories. “The judges were quite impressed by the breadth and depth of the submissions. Stories like those by the top ten finalists exemplify the very best of what we want from the contest, and from this kind of science fiction.”

[Based on a press release.]