September Theme Prompt Winner
- Jim Dutton
- Nov 30
- 3 min read
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:
by
The Mouth Beneath the Mountain is a quiet Appalachian horror about the echoes we can’t escape, the histories that refuse to stay buried, and what waits beneath the threshold where silence becomes voice.
When librarian Jorie Greaves discovers an unmarked, impossible book that refuses to stay shelved, she expects a cataloging headache, not a summons from the past. Drawn back to the foothills of Afton Mountain and the abandoned tunnel she swore she’d left behind, Jorie uncovers more than childhood fears. Something buried is listening — something ancient, patient, and hungry for memory.
As the stone itself begins to whisper and forgotten voices press against the edges of her mind, Jorie must confront a mystery that rewrites itself every time she turns her back. The book wants a story. The mountain wants a witness.
And the tunnel remembers everything.
How We Choose the Winner
The editors at SFS re-read each of the submitted prompt stories and evaluate them based on three metrics: technical excellence, adherence to the theme, and originality. The technical score is a numerical formula that takes into account eight factors, including aspects such as the title, subtitle, opening, character development, and story arcs. The last two metrics are subjective judgments on our parts.
Sometimes we disagree. The contest is almost always close because we have great writers here. But then, sometimes the answer is clear. In any case, we rank all the theme stories the same way. Our own stories are disqualified from winning the first-place prize, but sometimes one of ours ranks high enough to be mentioned honorably here. Of course, we hope you read all the theme stories, and in fact, all our published stories each month. We do!
Honorable Mentions
The editors agree that three other theme stories deserve mention as excellent examples of sci-fi stories set in interesting locations on or near Earth:
Working at the KFH by Michael Barbato-Dun
Skyfall by J. Millard Simpson
Threat of Visitation by Mark F. Owens
If you'd like to read all of last month's prompt stories to appreciate and enjoy the variety of ways our writers chose to treat this common theme. Here's a full list:
Title | Author | Release Date |
Sophie Lennox | Sep 19, 2025 | |
Jonathan S | Oct 8, 2025 | |
Andrew Leonard | Oct 16, 2025 | |
Mark F. Owens | Oct 23, 2025 | |
Michael Barbato-Dunn | Oct 24, 2025 | |
Jim Dutton | Oct 27, 2025 | |
Randall Andrews | Nov 3, 2025 | |
Kyle Hildebrandt | Nov 4, 2025 | |
J. Millard Simpson | Nov 5, 2025 | |
Jeff Currier | Nov 12, 2025 |
Next Theme Prompt
The next theme prompt, Celestial Signals, was announced on November 17 and will end at midnight on December 21. Join the prompt this month by submitting your own science fiction story about mysterious objects in the sky.
To allow sufficient time to publish all the accepted theme stories before announcing the editors' choice, we ask you to please complete any necessary revisions within one week of receiving editorial comments.
If you are a subscriber to our site, you can click on that little rocket icon at the end of a story (up to five times) to express your appreciation to the author. Each month, we award a cash prize to the story that has the most rocket blasts.
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