A Notice: The submission period for this contest has ended. We will be judging the stories in the coming months. Expect winner and runner-up announcements around early spring, and make sure to check back later for our next contest’s guidelines! Good luck to all our writers, who should be expecting personal e-mails when we wrap up reading and judging, but please be patient because we’ve been pleasantly overwhelmed by all the submissions. So a big thank you to every one of you, and we hope you and yours have a happy and safe new year!

Wow, has it been a whole year already? The past year has simultaneously flown by and dragged on. We sincerely hope all of our readers have managed to stay safe and find a bit of peace and solace during these strange times. Last year we  received hundreds of submissions for the inaugural Gravity Award from all over the world. We were amazed by both the contest’s reception and the quality of the stories submitted. Those interested in reading last year’s short stories from our winner and finalists will find all five stories archived here, as well as a question and answer interview with our inaugural winner, Elana Gomel. Without further ado, we present to you the submission guidelines for the Second Annual Gravity Award:

1) There will be no submission fee; yes, it is free. The author of the winning story will be awarded $200. Participants who submitted last year are more than welcome to submit once again.   

2) We will be accepting previously unpublished science-fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories or long-form poems up to but not exceeding 17,000 words. This is a strict limit. Any story over the maximum by even a single word will be subject to immediate disqualification. We are very accepting of different views about what science-fiction, fantasy, and horror are. If you’re unsure, you can read the stories of our previous finalists to see what we enjoy.

3) Please limit submissions to one per person. All submissions should be anonymously submitted. Any characterizing marks, names, or forms of identification anywhere on the manuscript will warrant immediate disqualification.  Your submission should be presented in a reasonable typeface and size; we’re not picky, but please use discretion.

4) All submissions will be judged by the Center Field of Gravity staff and five finalists will be chosen from among them to be published on the website. After the winning story is chosen, the runners-up will each receive a $25 consolation prize.

5) Submissions are open as of this posting and will close on December 31st, 2020. Finalists will be announced in early Spring.

6) We request exclusive rights for internet publication for a period of six months, along with nonexclusive rights for internet publication thereafter for the five finalists. Print, television, movie, and audio rights will all be maintained by the author.

7) Submissions should be sent to <2021gravityaward@centerfieldofgravity.com>. We will gladly accept simultaneous submissions, but please alert us if the work is accepted elsewhere prior to the publishing of our results. 

As always, we appreciate your time and continued support. This website has been a source of great enjoyment for our team during uncertain times. We pledge to continue to expand the scope of Center Field of Gravity and The Gravity Award out into the cosmos and multiverse, but we need your help to grow. If you have derived some measure of entertainment from our work, we ask you to please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and to like and share our posts. We cannot wait to read all of the submissions, and please reach out with any questions. Stay safe. Live long and prosper.

-Center Field of Gravity