Write a retro-futuristic sci-fi story. Retro-futuristic science fiction looks backward to imagine tomorrow. Its charm lies in the tension between optimism and anxiety: visions of the future filtered through the design languages, social hopes, and technological limits of their own eras. These stories are not forecasts so much as cultural time capsules, preserving what a generation wanted the future to be, or feared it might become. Early retro-futurism often radiated faith in

Editors' Choice: "The Mouth Beneath the Mountain" by Sophie Lennox   is the editor's pick as the best theme story for September/October. Congratulations Sophie! Last month's theme prompt, Terrestrial Settings,  ended on October 15th, with the final accepted entry published on November 12th. We had ten theme submissions set in locations on or near dear old Earth. Here's a summary of the winning story: The Mouth Beneath the Mountain by Sophie Lennox The Mouth Beneath the Mounta

Write a sci-fi story about a mysterious object in the sky. Throughout human history, people have looked to the skies for signs, interpreting unusual celestial phenomena as messages from the gods, warnings of disaster, or hints of major change. Ancient civilizations recorded appearances of comets, bright “guest stars,” and eclipses, each seen as a portent. In China, for example, comets were often viewed as harbingers of political upheaval or natural disasters. Roman and Greek

Editors' Choice: "Tommy" by Michael Barbato-Dunn is the editor's pick as the best theme story for July/August. Congratulations Michael!...

Prompt: Write a sci-fi story set in some unique or interesting place on or near Earth.

Editors' Choice: "A Heaven for Holograms" by Stefan Grieve is the editor's pick as the winning theme story for May/June. Congratulations...

Write a sci-fi flash story about aliens living surreptitiously among humans. Everything I'm about to tell you is completely true. There...

Editors' Choice: "The TQL Gambit" by David Barlow is the editor's pick as the winning theme story for March/April. Congratulations...

Write a sci-fi story about the mind. Of course, you'll use your mind to write the story (I hope). But that's not what I mean. That...

Your story must begin at the end of your plotline.

Editors' Choice: " Human's Best Friend " by Alex McNall is the editor's pick as the winning theme story for November/December. ...

Write a sports- or gaming-related sci-fi story. Let the competition begin! Well, it's already begun in a number of venues. In the US, the...

Write a sci-fi story set in a fictional utopian society. I admit I have lost track of what a majority of Americans envision as our ideal...

"Lifetime Subscription" by Guy Lingham is the editor's pick as the winning theme story for July/August.

Write a science fiction story in which the villain or antagonist is an artificial intelligence. This Halloween, there's a lot of scary...

"Cyborg Isle" by Maren N. Law is the editor's pick as the winning theme story for May/June.

Write a science fiction story that explores the nature and consequences of (im)mortality. The current US president is 81 years old, and...

Editors' Choice The Wittiest Man in France by Philip Apps is the editor's pick as the winning theme story for April/May. Congratulations...

Theme: Write a science fiction story that uses gothic settings and tropes. Gothic science fiction is the oldest kind. Mary Shelley's...

Editors' Choice Caring for Barbara by B. M. Gilb is the editor's pick as the winning theme story for March/April. This is a new author...