Welcome to The Pitch, a monthly discussion thread of the best speculative fiction on Substack, introduced by the authors themselves!

Whether you’re a reader searching for new worlds or a writer ready to promote your latest piece, this thread is for you! Here’s how it works:

📝 Are you a writer?

Head to the comments and add:

1. A link to the speculative fiction that will keep your readers up at night (short story, serial chapter, anthology excerpt, essay, etc.).

2. A 1–2 sentence pitch to hook new readers.

Bonus: Share the inspiration behind the story, a moodboard, the first line, favorite reader tropes. Be creative!

🔖Are you a reader?

Head to the comments:

1. Browse the comments to discover fresh speculative fiction directly from the authors.

2. Like the ones that catch your eye.

3. Leave a comment on a story you enjoyed—it makes a writer’s day and starts great conversations.

Already have a favorite ghost story to fit the theme of this spooky month (on or off Substack)? Leave a comment to drop a rec of your own!

🖖Support the Community

Want to help these stories reach more readers?

1. Restack. Restack this thread. Restack the stories you are reading. Let fellow Substackers know what you enjoy.

2. Share it to Reddit, Discord, X, Instagram, Facebook, share it with your mom, uncle, best friend, grandpa, neighbor who weirdly does yardwork at midnight—anywhere speculative fiction lives, let them hear from you.
   

   Share

Your word of mouth holds so much power. The more you share, the more readers will read, the more connections we build. Let’s keep the signal strong.

The Lunar Awards is a yearlong event broken into nine rounds focusing on three genres (Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction). At the end of the year, we’ll publish the winning stories in a physical book.

My name is Zachary Roush, author of Realms. and I’m your ambassador for the Fantasy rounds of the Lunar Awards.

Your participation and stories make this event possible. Thanks for stopping by to give the Lunar Awards a chance. We wish you the best of luck! And please comment or DM us with any questions.

Let’s Escape to Fantastic Worlds

The more I read and write, the more I learn that a story can take almost any shape or form. In this way, all fiction is fantastical. But when we talk about fantasy as a genre, we often think of medieval worlds with magic and dragons, etc. But I’m wondering if we can get weirder, find deeper resonance in these like-earth universes.

What fantasies are we inventing? What truths are they telling? Or are we looking just to escape? We will always return to the real world, so we must bring something back with us.

It’s up to you, writers, to open up the world behind the world and liberate us!

Welcome your Judge:

I can’t recall the first fantasy novel I ever read, but I remember the first one that stuck with me.

I was in sixth grade, and I’d just started middle school in a new school district. Our English teacher took us to the school library on the first day of class to show us how to check out books, which seemed insane to me because I didn’t understand how you could turn eleven without having been to a library. I bounced and fidgeted and probably interrupted her at least twice before she turned us loose. It only took a minute or two to find a slim little paperback with a dragon on the cover.

Looking back, it’s hard to overstate how much A Wizard of Earthsea altered my brain. It settled into me like railroad tracks, established lines of thought were there were none, laid the groundwork for heavier freight. It taught me to find what wisdom I could in the eyes of animals, in the great slow gestures of trees. It’s a hugely influential book, but I probably would’ve never picked it up if it didn’t have the word “wizard” in the title.

This, to me, is fantasy at its best. Yes, it should be entertaining. Yes, it should lure you in with a few (freshly reimagined) tropes. But beneath the familiar aesthetic, there should be something that sticks with you long after you finish.

Entertain me, teach me something, entertain me, teach me something...

Season 11 | Round X Details

Please read the FAQ, which contains complete rules and word limits. If you have questions, ask in the comments.

“Fantasy” includes any of its subgenres: High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Mythic Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, Steampunk Fantasy, Fairytale Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy, Science Fantasy, Magical Realism, Grimdark Fantasy, among others. Your story will be considered as long as it is tangentially part of Fantasy.

Round 4 Schedule

• July 21: Submissions Open

• July 31: Submissions close, judging begins

• August 22: Winner and runner-up announced

Prizes

• The winner will receive a permanent link on the Past Winners page and a high-resolution badge to display on their Substack.

• The winner and runner-up will be offered a publication contract to be featured in the Lunar Awards next anthology.

• Featured authors in the anthology will receive a copy of the book after publication.

For entry:

Submit your story to the Google form:

Submit Here

Or copy/paste this link: https://forms.gle/Rm7MY758AzmA4EVZA

Submission details are as follows:

How do the awards work?

1. A writer subscribes to the Lunar Awards and is notified via a post when a new round starts.

2. The writer reads the rules, selects a story that fits the genre or theme, removes any attributable information (e.g., author name, website, Substack links), and submits the story via the round’s form.

3. A round lasts roughly 37 days (10 days for submissions and 27 days for judging). When it ends, subscribers receive a post identifying the winner and the runner-up.

What are the general award entry rules?

• It must be written in English.

• It must be a .docx or .pdf file format.

• It must be speculative (Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror).

• Only one submission per writer per round is allowed.

• A submission will only be considered once. Do not resubmit the same short story over multiple rounds, even if it has been edited.

• A comment on the round’s post does not have to accompany your form submission during the submission period. But you may add one if you desire.

• The previous round winner of any genre is not eligible to participate in the following rounds for that season.

What are the Short Story category award entry rules?

• It must be between 1000–10,000 words. Word count limitations are necessary to maintain fairness.

• It must be a short story. Micro fiction, flash fiction, novellas, novelettes, novels, or serials will not be accepted.

• Choose-your-own-adventure or interactive fiction will not be eligible.

• You must own the rights to your story.

• It can be published on Substack on any date. It doesn’t have to be published during the submission timeframe for the round.

• It must be standalone (no serials or parts), but it can be a part of an anthology or a shared universe.

• It must match the current round’s genre.

What is a Short Story?

A great short story makes a promise at the start and makes good on that promise by the end. Don’t leave the reader hanging. You can use an even balance of character, plot, and setting, or you can lean heavily into any of those. Avoid familiar tropes, but don’t be afraid to explore common themes from a fresh perspective. It should be polished to the best of your ability. Editorial control over the entire piece is essential – you know what to leave and what to cut. However, it will not be rejected for a few spelling mistakes.

Images are not allowed.

What is Speculative Fiction?

Speculative is the broad range of genres encompassing Science Fiction and Fantasy, including hard science fiction, fables, sword and sorcery, creature features, space opera, time travel, low fantasy, magic realism, etc. There are too many sub-genres to name them all. Dark speculative is allowed, which may cross over into Horror.

The subject matter is left to the author’s imagination.

Do I have to subscribe to the Lunar Awards to be considered?

Yes. The winner will be announced here before an author is contacted directly. This will also be the central location to announce future seasons, essays, reviews, and interviews.

Is there a reading or award entry fee?

Never!

Are AI submissions allowed?

Absolutely not. If you have to ask how much or how little AI can be used to write the story, you should not submit it for consideration.

What are the judging criteria?

In short, the Lunar Awards look at:

• Genre suitability

• Mastery of storytelling

• Originality

• Editorial control

Discrimination Policy:

The Lunar Awards doesn’t discriminate or give preferential treatment. Decisions are made purely on the merits outlined in the judging criteria. Personal bios of any kind should not be included in the comments or submissions. Anyone who wants to know more about you can visit your Substack. Credentials are not necessary. The number of publication subscribers, comments, and likes on a short story doesn’t matter. The goal is to find and award the absolute best speculative fiction on Substack.

Why only a 10-day round for each genre?

This is very important. It limits the number of entries, and having only one genre per round allows writers to compete against their peers.

Is there an actual award?

The winning submission will be permanently linked on the Past Winners page. The submission and author will also be featured in a spotlight post. First place will receive a custom, high-resolution image badge for the award season category, which can be displayed proudly on Substack or used in merchandising at their discretion.

Winning and runner-up writers will be offered a publishing contract to be included in the official Lunar Awards annual anthology.

Submit your story to the Google form:

Submit Here

Or copy/paste this link: https://forms.gle/Rm7MY758AzmA4EVZA

The Gathering is an opportunity to share the story you wrote for The Spark #12.

Give us a brief teaser (one sentence) and then add the link in this discussion thread. Be sure to stop by throughout the day and engage with your fellow adventurers. The Lunar Awards is a place to discover and to be discovered. We want to connect you with the community. If you’ve already posted your story in the original prompt discussion thread, that’s okay! You can post it in both places, so it gets optimal readership.

Subscribe now

Many of you stretched your creative muscles with this prompt, and amid the busyness of life, you managed to get words written. We gather to share today, but the discussion thread will remain open should you decide to try your hand at the prompts in the future. Come back and add a link to your story. Even if the fire grows cold, we still maintain our burning desire to read good speculative fiction.

Welcome Promptlings to The Spark! It’s time to be weird, fantastical, daring, and deploy your creativity. Imagine monstrous beasts, conniving ghosts, and characters with mysterious motives who may also control weapons of wonder. All of this wondrous speculation originates from your imagination. The task is yours. This is The Spark!

The Rules

The rules are simple. You will be presented with a prompt. It could be a required first line, a task that will challenge your craft, elements required in your story, or a genre specific prompt. You will have two weeks to write a short story under the rules of the prompt. We’ll host a Gathering to celebrate what’s been accomplished and highlight your stories at the end of two weeks. You can share them on this thread, as well as The Pitch at the end of the month. This is an opportunity to find writers you admire, befriend, and learn from.

When sharing your creation, give us the title of your piece, genre in the form an emoji (see below), a brief teaser, and a link to your work. While most of the work will be posted on Substack, you are welcome to share work that fits the prompt that has been shared elsewhere (Wattpad, Simily, Amazon, etc.), but we do ask that the piece be available to readers for free. The Spark is an opportunity to grow in your craft and share your work with other speculative fiction writers.

Genre Emoji Index

👽- Science Fiction

🔮- Fantasy

💀- Horror

🔥- Dystopian

🍫- Magical Realism (Like Water for Chocolate, get it??)

👀- Weird Fiction

(The Gathering discussion thread will take place on Sunday, July 19th, starting at 3am PST, and will run all day.)

The Prompt

“Imagination is the single most useful tool mankind possesses...” — Ursula K. Le Guin

Spice Rack

Hairbrush

Thermos

You have three objects. These objects need to be key elements in your story this month. Your story should not be able to work without these objects. Take some time. How are you going to incorporate these objects. Is your first answer the “right answer”? Did you need to go through several iterations of “answers” before finding the right combination?

Good Luck Promptlings!

If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to comment or send me (Reina Cruz) a DM.

Leave a comment

Welcome to The Pitch, a monthly discussion thread of the best speculative fiction on Substack, introduced by the authors themselves!

Whether you’re a reader searching for new worlds or a writer ready to promote your latest piece, this thread is for you! Here’s how it works:

📝 Are you a writer?

Head to the comments and add:

1. A link to the speculative fiction that will keep your readers up at night (short story, serial chapter, anthology excerpt, essay, etc.).

2. A 1–2 sentence pitch to hook new readers.

Bonus: Share the inspiration behind the story, a moodboard, the first line, favorite reader tropes. Be creative!

🔖Are you a reader?

Head to the comments:

1. Browse the comments to discover fresh speculative fiction directly from the authors.

2. Like the ones that catch your eye.

3. Leave a comment on a story you enjoyed—it makes a writer’s day and starts great conversations.

Already have a favorite ghost story to fit the theme of this spooky month (on or off Substack)? Leave a comment to drop a rec of your own!

🖖Support the Community

Want to help these stories reach more readers?

1. Restack. Restack this thread. Restack the stories you are reading. Let fellow Substackers know what you enjoy.

2. Share it to Reddit, Discord, X, Instagram, Facebook, share it with your mom, uncle, best friend, grandpa, neighbor who weirdly does yardwork at midnight—anywhere speculative fiction lives, let them hear from you.
   

   Share

Your word of mouth holds so much power. The more you share, the more readers will read, the more connections we build. Let’s keep the signal strong.

I’m your Lunar Awards science fiction ambassador, , and I have the pleasure of announcing our winning science fiction writers for Season 11, Round 3! Our judge was of Gibberish. We’re thankful that he took the time to read all of your stories, giving careful consideration to each one. And now, a word from Scoot:

🥇 WINNER: SOLITARY BY IRIS SHAW

When I was reading these stories, I was hoping to find the hidden gems of Substack fiction–stories with depth, stories that felt lived in, stories that surprised me. The science fiction genre is both wide and deep, and I know there is no better place to look for these things than Substack.

“Solitary” by Iris Shaw delivered for me. It was an unconventional story from the start, and yet grounded and real feeling. We are put into the shoes of the protagonist and in almost 2,000 words made to experience the yawning gap of 20 years’ isolation, and then some. The story builds slowly, a puzzle expertly delivered piece by piece, answering some questions and refusing to answer yet others. I found myself seeing, feeling, hearing, and tasting this story, this setting. It was crisp, it was structured, and best of all: the ending caught me by surprise. This was a standout performance by Iris and a real pleasure to read.

Long Oddities

Solitary

Read more

a year ago · 7 likes · 2 comments · Iris Shaw

🥈 RUNNER UP: JUST NOT MY TASTE BY OWEN BADENOCH

This story by Owen Badenoch was one of the first I read for this competition, and he set the bar extremely high, proving that Substack is host to an incredible caliber of writer. “Just Not My Taste” took me back to my youth reading Ray Bradbury stories or watching the Twilight Zone. The premise is simple, and introduced with such nonchalance that I found myself doing a literary double take. We follow our protagonist as he slowly comes to doubt his manufactured and up-cycled world. The horrifying reality is so subtle I almost didn’t realize it when it happened. This competition was incredibly close, and Owen is clearly a science fiction writer to watch.

Owen T Badenoch : Gravity of Darkness, and other writings

Just Not My Taste

Greetings! A bit of an experiment with this story. It was likely seeded by reading so many stories by Ray Bradbury and Roald Dahl, but was in fact sparked while reading Substack’s own indie-author Ian Patterson’s novel, Transference (Book 1 of the Narrator Cycle…

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2 months ago · 11 likes · 10 comments · Owen T Badenoch

🥉 HONORABLE MENTIONS: SHINE A LITTLE LIGHT BY JB EZAR, THE NOSE BY JOE OFFUT

These honorable mentions fought the good fight and narrowly missed top placement themselves. Each of them is an example of taking the science fiction genre in new and creative directions. They had ideas that surprised me, stories that made me think. And there are few things I enjoy than being given a new twist on something I thought I already knew and understood. These stories are worth your time to read, and these authors are worth keeping your eye on.

Fitter of Pieces

Shine a Little Light

When I barge in to take you, a length of rope coiled around my arm and a plasma knife in my pocket, you look up from the vegetable beds with such trust, my heart breaks. You feel safe in your backyard. Six years have passed since anyone in the colony last reminded you of your purpose. No one calls you Charger anymore. You’re Argy now, or simply…

Read more

2 months ago · J.B. Ezar

WJ Offutt

The Nose

I entered this story in Lunar Awards S11 Round 3 contest. Wish me luck…

Read more

2 months ago · 2 likes · WJ Offutt

Closing Remarks

Judging this season of the Lunar Awards has been a real honor. Science fiction on Substack is as wide and deep as the genre itself. Anyone can find their next favorite author with a little digging. What you all shared with the Lunar Awards this round, and what I had the privilege to read, was incredible and could easily stand shoulder to shoulder with the greats.

You did not make it easy on me, and regrettably choices had to be made. But it is clear to me that science fiction on Substack is not just alive but thriving, and capable of incredible things. Keep writing, keep imagining, and let’s see what you can do next time the Lunar Awards sci-fi season comes around.

Thank you to all the writers who submitted!

Below are all the science writers who submitted to this season and round of the Lunar Awards. Let’s show all these authors some love!

The FRICTION SECTION: microFRICTION (free) and macroFRICTION

Story #189: Sufficiently Advanced vs Sufficiently Advised

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic…

Read more

8 months ago · 2 likes · Gerard DiLeo

Made From What's Not Real

Whistle Stop

From THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, September 15, 2032…

Read more

2 months ago · 76 likes · 6 comments · David Perlmutter

Nicholas Samuel Stember’s Substack

Paradox

A short sci-fi tale of the perils of precognition and temporal loops…

Read more

2 months ago · 8 likes · Nicholas Samuel Stember

The Why & the Why Not

The Juicer.

Is that…roast chicken? Yes. Roast chicken. But why the fuck is it so dark? Where’s the light…

Read more

a year ago · 22 likes · 33 comments · Nick Winney

from our ashes

To Rise

The blitz drone seemed to be staring at him from the shadows. Polj whispered an offering to the martyrs as he flicked a corroded switch on the control widget he gripped…

Read more

3 months ago · 5 likes · 5 comments · terence

Realms

Long Haulers

Realms is an original sci-fi and fantasy publication and podcast. ALL subscribers get audio in addition to the text! Subscribe to get the next story in your inbox as soon as it’s out…

Listen now

2 months ago · Zachary Roush

Words with the future

Twins

I walk down the steps to the front door. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen... I open the door and go out and it is hot. The world is hot and getting hotter. I have my super dark shades on to cope. Because tonight is the night. It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. I always remember it that way because that is how it feels all the time…

Read more

2 years ago · 1 like · Peter J Jones

Fitter of Pieces

Shine a Little Light

When I barge in to take you, a length of rope coiled around my arm and a plasma knife in my pocket, you look up from the vegetable beds with such trust, my heart breaks. You feel safe in your backyard. Six years have passed since anyone in the colony last reminded you of your purpose. No one calls you Charger anymore. You’re Argy now, or simply…

Read more

2 months ago · J.B. Ezar

Tales of Calamity and Triumph

The Secret to Everlasting Happiness

“You are sure about this, right Doctor…

Read more

3 years ago · 15 likes · 12 comments · D.S. Brandt, Author Goblin

Gregory Blair - Scribbling Entertainment

Celestial Bodies

Chief Officer Kane freezes, mid-sentence. Odd look in his eyes. Mouth stuck open…

Read more

6 months ago · 18 likes · 9 comments · Gregory Blair

Write More with Simon K Jones

Short story: A Hierarchy of Vengeance

Hi everyone. This is the first fiction I’ve written since completing Tales from the Triverse’s serial run. It’s the first fiction I’ve written in almost five years that has nothing to do with Tales from the Triverse…

Read more

3 months ago · 46 likes · 52 comments · Simon K Jones

https://inkingoutloud.substack.com/p/the-positronic-soul

In A Different Place

Fermi's Last Theorem

It’s Lunar Awards Sci-Fi Round time, so I am entering. Of course I am. It would be odd if I didn’t. I’m not providing a link there, by the way, because they’d get a notification and the judging is supposed to be blind. When the result come out, I’ll do an edit and provide a link, though…

Read more

2 months ago · 9 likes · 8 comments · Evelyn K. Brunswick

Declan’s Substack

Daughter of Xephal

The first human child born in the Alpha Centauri, Clara Weaver, had experienced a cruel and unusual life to this point. Her parents had been scientists that were part of one of the earliest adventures by humanity into the Alpha Centauri. Led by none other than her great aunt, they had arrived at the small planet of Xephal. A fringe planet in the Alpha C…

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8 months ago · Declan Cosson

Michael’s Musings

A Small Problem

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2 months ago · 4 likes · Michael S. Atkinson

LEAVES

Surrender

They’ve all gone now, and Hamish is alone. His footsteps echo on the plank flooring as he goes to the window that faces the river. He watches for any movement, any hint of life out there. He sees nothing but brown water bubbling across stones, the thin forest of pines, the broad expanse of the moorland in the…

Read more

2 months ago · Sharron Bassano

adiffspaceco

The crow dies, but the swarm survives

A blurb…

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2 months ago · 5 likes · 2 comments · V.A.N

Wendy Cockcroft's Writings

The Mayflower Gambit

Written for The Lunar Awards Season 11 Round 3…

Read more

2 months ago · 8 likes · 6 comments · Wendy Cockcroft

J.Barry Between Worlds

An Astronomer's Farewell (Stationed on Mars)

Built on the Martian surface, the crewed RedScope Observatory is not bound by Earth’s dense atmosphere and artificial light. When the Sun sets on Mars, the telescope witnesses cosmic spectacles hidden from Earth. It traces the movements of asteroids in the nearby belt, watches over its neighbor, the gas giant Jupiter and its growing family of moons, and…

Read more

2 months ago · 3 likes · J.Barry / Between Worlds

ReidItWrite

'Girl Thursday Man Friday' – a short, but perfectly formed, salutary story

Hi there…

Read more

2 months ago · 7 likes · 13 comments

Tales From The Sprawl

I Think, Therefore We Are

You hate it…

Read more

2 months ago · 1 like · Paddy Turner

The Gathering is an opportunity to share the story you wrote for The Spark #11.

Give us a brief teaser (one sentence) and then add the link in this discussion thread. Be sure to stop by throughout the day and engage with your fellow adventurers. The Lunar Awards is a place to discover and to be discovered. We want to connect you with the community. If you’ve already posted your story in the original prompt discussion thread, that’s okay! You can post it in both places, so it gets optimal readership.

Subscribe now

I had a, now obvious, delusional goal of getting my own story written of a time that I did not write. I wasn’t able to get the writing done. Not only was I in my third trimester, my son decided to come a month early! Myself and our new baby boy are healthy and back home now, and our new family life has begun😊 I’ve only managed to share this news because my husband has shoved me out the door for some coffee and me time to keep away postpartum stir crazy weepiness.

While my own word drought is playing out in real time, many of you stretched your creative muscles with this prompt, and amid the busyness of life, you managed to get words written. We gather to share today, but the discussion thread will remain open should you decide to try your hand at the prompts in the future. Come back and add a link to your story. Even if the fire grows cold, we still maintain our burning desire to read good speculative fiction.

Meg Oolders was the first winner of the Lunar Awards back in April 2023 for her short story, “Sweet Sixteen”. She describes herself as an author, humorist, and podcaster. Not only has she won a Lunar Award, Meg has also been recognized by Writer’s Digest and Wattpad for her work. Her debut novel, See Dot Smile, is coming out February 9th. Meg Oolders also hosts other authors on her podcast, Talk Fiction. It was such a pleasure to pick Meg’s brain about her writing process, how she approaches genre and theme in her work, and all the wonderful additions she brings to the writing community as a whole.

Subscribe now

We are so grateful that Meg returned to the Lunar Awards community to share her story and insights. I hope you find inspiration in her interview.

Reina Cruz (RC): “Sweet Sixteen” was the story that brought you into the Lunar Awards orbit. Can you tell us how you found the community and what made you want to submit that particular story?

Meg Oolders (MO): “Sweet Sixteen” has such a delightful origin story that has everything to do with finding my writing community on Substack. Shortly after I started publishing my newsletter, I discovered Fictionistas, a collaborative Substack for fiction writers founded by Jackie Dana and Geoffrey Golden. One of its earliest members was Brian Reindel, the founding father of The Lunar Awards. I quickly became embroiled in a fiction writing challenge with nine other writers (including Brian), which introduced me to the event’s organizer. J.E. Petersen. After the challenge, J.E. reached out to me about another collaboration. We brainstormed a bit and decided to do a story exchange, where we’d each write a piece of short fiction, hand it off to the other for them to rewrite it as they saw fit. “Sweet Sixteen” was the story I rewrote from J.E.’s original story. And it was Brian Reindel himself, having just launched the Lunar Awards, who nudged me to submit it to the first round. :-) “Sweet Sixteen” is also the story that later won honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest competition. It’s reached a lot of people and I’m quite proud of it.

RC: That is quite a journey that led to “Sweet Sixteen.” There are so many great communities to find on Substack, really exemplifying the writing community. You have a debut novel coming out this year. Congratulations! With a debut novel on the way, two major writing awards under your belt (Watty and Writer’s Digest), and a podcast, what does this season of your creative life feel like compared to earlier chapters?

MO: I love that you used the word “season”, because getting used to seasonal changes in my creative life has been essential for me, particularly in the last year with my novel finally getting picked up by a publisher. My current season is very much about showing up in new spaces, positioning my book for better visibility, growing my audience, and finding marketing strategies that I can stomach, because I really don’t care for the business side of being a writer. I miss hiding away in my basement writing books and look forward to wrapping up final edits on See Dot Smile (my Watty award-winning debut) so that I can reinvigorate my creative writing practice to make space for something new. Even if it’s just writing a chapter or two a week in the margins. As for the podcast, I’m determined to keep that alive. At this point, I’m only managing an episode a month, but the experience of talking with other authors about their writing life is so valuable to me. I’ve learned so much from my Talk Fiction guests over the past two years. And I know listeners value the unique perspectives of fellow creatives making their way in the world as much as I do.

RC: I think it’s so cool how your different pieces, “Sweet Sixteen” and See Dot Smile have gone through different “seasons” in a sense, with the awards all leading to your partnership with a publisher. What kind of marketing have you found enjoyable as you go through your first official book launch?

MO: I wish I could say I found some aspect of marketing “enjoyable.” :-) I am having a bit more fun on social media lately, Instagram specifically, though that enjoyment waxes and wanes. I think where I continue to struggle with the marketing piece is that I’m eternally searching for a way to promote my book that rests somewhere between what the entire marketing universe insists will work, and what I am actually comfortable with and really like doing. If you spend enough time on social media, you learn pretty quickly what types of marketing you DON’T like and therefore don’t want to create yourself. And when you do find something you like that another author is doing, the desire to make your version of that stand out and not just be a carbon copy becomes the next challenge. I am learning a lot as I go, I’ll say that much. And have encountered a lot of inspiring author accounts online, people I think are “doing it right.” Looking ahead, I’m most eager to market my book through podcast guest spots and other types of collaborations, both in person and online. I think those opportunities are extra valuable because in addition to having the floor to hype your book, you’re also forging a connection with another creator. And I don’t think you can ever have enough of those.

RC: Have you had the opportunity to share your book on a podcast yet? I’d love to share the episodes, now or in the future.

MO: I’ve been a frequent guest on Claudine Wolk’s podcast, Get Your Book Seen and Sold. She’s been a champion of my book from the beginning. Here’s a link to our most recent chat, wherein I talk a bit about my experience getting See Dot Smile picked up by Empress Editions!

Get Your Book Seen and Sold

How Meg Oolders Took Her Instagram to the Next Level with Reels

If Instagram has ever made you feel like you’re shouting into the void, you’re not alone…

Listen now

4 months ago · 6 likes · 4 comments · Claudine Wolk

RC: Speaking of podcasts, we’ve briefly discussed how you host your own. What has hosting Talk Fiction taught you about writing, community, and/or yourself that you didn’t expect?

MO: Talk Fiction has been such a source of pride and enjoyment for me because it plays to so many of my strengths, both as a writer and a personality. I do quite a bit of work on the front end, before I even sit down with a guest, to write them a stunning introduction highlighting their accomplishments. I don’t share this with them ahead of time, so I get to enjoy their reaction to hearing how amazing they are in real time. I was surprised to discover that I really enjoy the editing piece, though I probably shouldn’t be surprised. This definitely aligns with my perfectionist streak when it comes to presentation. I have my background in theater, music, culinary arts, and floral design to thank for that. I learn a lot about writing and creative entrepreneurship from hosting because I deliberately invite creators to join me who are doing something I’m not or something I’d like to get better at. So, it’s less a show about promoting books (though that’s a nice bonus) and more about learning how other artists practice craft, mindset, marketing and promotion, or any of the other hats we wear as “writers.” Lastly, I didn’t expect the podcast to last this long! I’ve been at it almost two and a half years already. Delivering episodes monthly, plus taking a couple of months off in the summer, has helped keep me from burning out. And it keeps me excited about finding guests who might bring something new to the table in future episodes.

RC: Shifting back to your two pieces, “Sweet Sixteen” is a sci-fi coming-of-age story, while See Dot Smile is a YA romance. Do those feel like two different genres to you, or two sides of the same one?

MO: Ooh. Fabulous question. I would say that both stories fit snugly into the coming-of-age category--teenage protagonists navigating adolescence-- with wildly different external circumstances. I think all young adult fiction relies heavily on interiority, what the characters are feeling while they navigate changes, challenges, and threats within their own bodies and worlds. This is why you’ll find a lot of YA stories written in first person point of view. It allows the reader to get under the character’s skin and experience what’s happening to them in real time. Both stories carry romance markers, too, because whether or not love is the goal, curiosity, desire, and heartbreak are ever-present (thank you, hormones) in the lives of those becoming adult humans. Another parallel would be the attention paid to family, both biological and found. Because young adults are still, in many ways, children who are reliant on and subject to the decisions made by the grownups in their lives. So ... considerably more similarities there than I even realized. Thanks so much for that question!

RC: The connections you made between your pieces are beautiful, the way you’ve broken down two supposedly different genres into how they overlap. It has me wondering about writing across different genres. That tends to be something writers are discouraged from doing. While your work crosses genres, the themes and heart behind your words align. Does that translate to your audience, or do you find that you have a YA romance audience, sci-fi audience, etc?

MO: Love this question. I’ve often worried about whether or not the audience I’ve built on Substack, writing short fiction and poetry, much of it very experimental, is likely to follow me on my YA novel writing journey. The fact that I’m able to draw threads between all of my fiction writing means I can probably (ideally, maybe) convince other people to embrace those commonalities, too. Some may require more convincing than others, of course. If I’m able to publish more YA books in the future, I think it’s possible I’ll have more sway with YA audiences. For now, I’m still a multitude with a very wonky body of work.

RC: Humor seems to be central to your voice. I see that in your podcast as well as on your website. How do you think about humor as a craft tool, especially in emotionally heavy stories?

MO: Yes, humor finds its way into almost everything I do. And yes, I am that person who makes jokes at funerals to lighten the mood. And I have to believe that is why I almost instinctively inject humor into my fictional stories. To keep my characters safe from emotional annihilation. For me, I worry it’s not so much a tool as it is a crutch! Humor is a natural tension diffuser, so it’s always tempting to use it when a scene gets really heavy, HOWEVER, tension is what builds anticipation and keeps readers engaged, so I often have to temper my funny girl instincts with what I’ve learned makes good fiction. That said, one thing I think all of my stories offer is some element of hope, even in dark times, and humor is often the vehicle I use to deliver that message.

RC: A big part of the Lunar Awards is building a community where writers feel seen, supported, and inspired to keep going. What has kept you going through the harder, quieter moments of your writing life?

MO: To be honest, I haven’t had a quiet moment in my writing life for a long time. The closest thing would be spending the last two weeks editing my novel. It required me to tune out almost everything else. And it felt AMAZING. If by quieter moments you mean stretches of time where not much happens with your writing, I’m starting to appreciate (and yearn for) those seasons more and more. Writing (thinking, dreaming, planning, problem solving, decision making, facing rejection) is an exhausting endeavor. Breaks are so necessary, in my opinion, for filling the creative well. Before I wrote all my novels, I was reading a ton of books and taking a lot of writing classes. I needed that input in order to create all that output. One thing that has kept me going, in recent months, is the realization that this whole journey is just one long game of chutes and ladders. The trips down are always a blow to your progress, but the climbs up build resilience. Every time I crawl out of the low of a rejection, a bout of self doubt, or a hard-learned business lesson, I remember all the times I’ve been down before. And that I was able to get back up every time. Also, I think the ups are cumulative. Every win comes with a badge, real or symbolic, that you can wear proudly moving forward. Some of them ... like a Lunar Award win ... might create a surprise opportunity down the line ... like this delightful interview!

RC: What’s one thing you want the Lunar Awards community, speculative writers at all different stages of writing and publishing, to know either about writing or you?

MO: My advice to fellow creatives: To the best of your ability, try not to compare your work, your journey, or your credentials to anyone else’s. No matter how much you may want to follow in another writer’s footsteps, there are WAY too many variables at play for that to ever happen. On the plus side, YOUR work and YOUR journey can never be replicated either. Own your story. And remember, you have the power to change it any time you want! Easier said than done, I know. But that’s the stuff I’d tell myself if I was asked this question, which I was ... so there you go.

Leave a comment

So many thanks to Meg for taking the time to answer my questions for the Lunar Awards community. You can stay up to date on Meg’s debut novel and her other writing endeavors at her website and through her substack:

Stock Fiction

A mercurial space for human-generated fiction and honesty from award-winning author, and critically-acclaimed mother of two, Meg Oolders.

By Meg Oolders

Welcome Promptlings to The Spark! It’s time to be weird, fantastical, daring, and deploy your creativity. Imagine monstrous beasts, conniving ghosts, and characters with mysterious motives who may also control weapons of wonder. All of this wondrous speculation originates from your imagination. The task is yours. This is The Spark!

The Rules

The rules are simple. You will be presented with a prompt. It could be a required first line, a task that will challenge your craft, elements required in your story, or a genre specific prompt. You will have two weeks to write a short story under the rules of the prompt. We’ll host a Gathering to celebrate what’s been accomplished and highlight your stories at the end of two weeks. You can share them on this thread, as well as The Pitch at the end of the month. This is an opportunity to find writers you admire, befriend, and learn from.

When sharing your creation, give us the title of your piece, genre in the form an emoji (see below), a brief teaser, and a link to your work. While most of the work will be posted on Substack, you are welcome to share work that fits the prompt that has been shared elsewhere (Wattpad, Simily, Amazon, etc.), but we do ask that the piece be available to readers for free. The Spark is an opportunity to grow in your craft and share your work with other speculative fiction writers.

Genre Emoji Index

👽- Science Fiction

🔮- Fantasy

💀- Horror

🔥- Dystopian

🍫- Magical Realism (Like Water for Chocolate, get it??)

👀- Weird Fiction

(The Gathering discussion thread will take place on Sunday, June 21st, starting at 3am PST, and will run all day.)

The Prompt

For those who don’t know (which is the majority of the community), I am expecting our second child this month. It has been a season of transitions. Not only through the pregnancy itself and preparing our toddler for a new sibling, but also a transition in my own career (going from a full time teacher and part time writer to a full time mom and part time writer).

All of this change and preparation included accepting and planning for a period of time where I won’t be writing. I have hit pause on my writing groups, scheduled emails ahead of time, and pushed back due dates on my projects.

Taking a break from writing is not a decision I take lightly. I like to say that writing supports my mental health and that’s why I need to make consistent time to get it done. And writing really does support me in that way, but the perfectionism in me also expects a certain level of productivity and taking a break disrupts that plan.

All of this preparation has gotten me thinking about other times I’ve stopped writing: several years while I was in college, the pregnancy and birth of my first child. There are so many reasons writers step away from their work, but it’s often an experience not talked about. Stephen King’s 2,000 words a day sounds so much more impressive even if returning to writing after a long period of time is just as monumental of a task.

recently wrote about her experience when she stopped writing on her substack Ellen Wrote a Book. She spoke beautifully about the challenges that come along with taking a break and then returning to writing. I encourage you to check it out.

Ellen Wrote A Book

I Stopped Writing For A Year After My First Novel Flopped. Here’s How I Came Back.

Welcome To Ellen Wrote A Book: Where We Talk Writing And Self-Publishing…

Read more

2 months ago · 2 likes · Ellen Frances

Not writing is not a failure. It is a common part of the process, whether the choice is intentional or not. Most of us have experienced a dry spell or a shift in priorities. So, for this month’s Spark, I wanted to open the floor to our community to share your own experiences. Whether you stopped writing decades ago or have find yourself no longer getting words on the page now, what led to the words stopping? What was the journey back to the page like? By sharing our own experiences, we can get to know our community better and maybe pick up a tip or two for our own writing process.

This month, we’re trying something new for The Spark, a nonfiction prompt. No invented worlds, no fictional characters. Just you, your experience, and the truth of it. How you interpret and respond to the prompt is up to you.

You are tasked with writing about your own experience as a writer, whether that be in the form of a personal essay, a poem, a fictionalized version of your response, short form video, a comic strip. Write as much or as little as feels true. There is no wrong way to answer this. This is not a craft exercise. It’s an opportunity to share and get to know your Lunar Awards community a little bit more. I appreciate all of you who take on this challenge and share a bit more about yourself with the community.

Good Luck Promptlings!

If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to comment or send me (Reina Cruz) a DM.

Leave a comment

Welcome to The Pitch, a monthly discussion thread of the best speculative fiction on Substack, introduced by the authors themselves!

Whether you’re a reader searching for new worlds or a writer ready to promote your latest piece, this thread is for you! Here’s how it works:

📝 Are you a writer?

Head to the comments and add:

1. A link to the speculative fiction that will keep your readers up at night (short story, serial chapter, anthology excerpt, essay, etc.).

2. A 1–2 sentence pitch to hook new readers.

Bonus: Share the inspiration behind the story, a moodboard, the first line, favorite reader tropes. Be creative!

🔖Are you a reader?

Head to the comments:

1. Browse the comments to discover fresh speculative fiction directly from the authors.

2. Like the ones that catch your eye.

3. Leave a comment on a story you enjoyed—it makes a writer’s day and starts great conversations.

Already have a favorite ghost story to fit the theme of this spooky month (on or off Substack)? Leave a comment to drop a rec of your own!

🖖Support the Community

Want to help these stories reach more readers?

1. Restack. Restack this thread. Restack the stories you are reading. Let fellow Substackers know what you enjoy.

2. Share it to Reddit, Discord, X, Instagram, Facebook, share it with your mom, uncle, best friend, grandpa, neighbor who weirdly does yardwork at midnight—anywhere speculative fiction lives, let them hear from you.
   

   Share

Your word of mouth holds so much power. The more you share, the more readers will read, the more connections we build. Let’s keep the signal strong.

Welcome to Round 3 of the Lunar Awards: Science Fiction

The Lunar Awards is a yearlong event broken into six rounds focusing on three genres (Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction). In the following year, we’ll publish the winning stories in a physical book.

My name is , science fiction author and founding father of the Lunar Awards, and I’m your Science Fiction Ambassador for the Lunar Awards.

Please read this post in its entirety before submitting a story. Any entries that do not follow the guidelines will not be accepted.

Your participation and stories make this event possible. Thanks for giving the Lunar Awards a chance. We wish you the best of luck! And please comment or DM us with any questions.

Your Judge: !

Author L. R. Scott, better known around these parts as Scoot, is a faithful member of the Substack Science Fiction community. Scoot’s work can be read primarily on Gibberish, where he publishes Sandbox Earth, a universe of short stories and flash fiction chronicling humanity’s first contact with aliens. Scoot runs Flash Fiction Friday (FFF), providing a growing community of authors with excellent prompts to kickstart their writing. You can also find him on the Tell Me a Mystery podcast, expounding on writing serials with Ann Kimbrough and Eric Falden.

Tell Me a Mystery

The Substack Serialize Test

Listen now

5 months ago · 73 likes · 30 comments · Tell Me a Mystery, Scoot, and Eric Falden

And now a word from our judge:

Hi Everyone, Scoot here and I am looking forward to reading your submissions. I am a lifelong fan of Science Fiction and I enjoy nothing more than finding hidden gems from writers I may not have otherwise encountered. The Lunar Awards is a great opportunity to showcase your Sci-Fi talents for Substack.

My Sci-Fi education began with what I call the ABCH’s of Science Fiction: Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, and Heinlein. I am especially fond of stories that highlight the human, the out-of-sight-out-of-mind, and stories that have weight and depth that feels lived-in and real. But Sci-Fi, like the sciences of our real life, is a BIG category, and there’s room for space opera alongside biology; interstellar intrigue alongside materials science. Beyond the tropes and treasures of Sci-Fi, I want to see your best storytelling. And if there’s one thing the Lunar Awards can be relied upon it’s to sift through your submissions to find the one that stands out from the crowd for its storytelling heart and its Sci-Fi imagination.

I can’t wait to see what you conjure up. Good luck everyone!

A warm welcome to Scoot, and we wish him happy reading of all of your Science Fiction short stories!

Season 11 | Round 3 Details

Please read the FAQ for complete season rules and word limits. If you have questions, ask in the comments.

Science Fiction includes any of its subgenres: Hard, Cyberpunk, Space Opera, Steampunk, Dystopian, First Contact, Climate Fiction, etc. Your story will be considered as long as it features Science Fiction elements that are necessary to the progression of the story.

Round 3 Schedule

• May 20 - Open call for submissions

• May 30 - Submissions closed | Judging begins

• June 26 - Winner and runner-up announced

Prizes

• The winner will receive a permanent link on the Past Winners page.

• The winner and runner-up will be offered a publication contract to be featured in the Lunar Awards next anthology.

• Featured authors in the anthology will receive a copy of the book after publication.

For entry

Submit your story here:

Submit

Or copy/paste this link: https://forms.gle/J8Ao7Hzjodb9q7iQ6

How do the awards work?

1. A writer subscribes to the Lunar Awards and is notified via a post when a new round starts.

2. The writer reads the rules, selects a story that fits the genre or theme, removes any attributable information (e.g., author name, website, Substack links), and submits the story via the round’s form.

3. A round lasts roughly 37 days (10 days for submissions and 27 days for judging). When it ends, subscribers receive a post identifying the winner and the runner-up.

What are the general award entry rules?

• It must be written in English.

• It must be a .docx or .pdf file format.

• It must be Science Fiction.

• Only one submission per writer is allowed.

• A submission will only be considered once. Do not resubmit the same short story over multiple rounds, even if it has been edited.

• A comment on the round’s post does not have to accompany your form submission during the submission period. But you may add one if you desire.

• The previous round winner of any genre is not eligible to participate in the following rounds for that season.

What are the Short Story category award entry rules?

• It must be between 1000–10,000 words. Word count limitations are necessary to maintain fairness.

• It must be a short story. Micro fiction, flash fiction, novellas, novelettes, novels, or serials will not be accepted.

• Choose-your-own-adventure or interactive fiction will not be eligible.

• You must own the rights to your story.

• It can be published on Substack on any date. It doesn’t have to be published during the submission timeframe for the round.

• It must be standalone (no serials or parts), but it can be a part of an anthology or a shared universe.

• It must match the current round’s genre.

What is a Short Story?

A great short story makes a promise at the start and makes good on that promise by the end. Don’t leave the reader hanging. You can use an even balance of character, plot, and setting, or you can lean heavily into any of those. Avoid familiar tropes, but don’t be afraid to explore common themes from a fresh perspective. It should be polished to the best of your ability. Editorial control over the entire piece is essential – you know what to leave and what to cut. However, it will not be rejected for a few spelling mistakes.

Images are not allowed.

Do I have to subscribe to the Lunar Awards to be considered?

Yes. The winner will be announced here before an author is contacted directly. This will also be the central location to announce future seasons, essays, reviews, and interviews.

Is there a reading or award entry fee?

Never!

Are AI submissions allowed?

Absolutely not. If you have to ask how much or how little AI can be used to write the story, you should not submit it for consideration.

What are the judging criteria?

In short, the Lunar Awards look at:

• Genre suitability

• Mastery of storytelling

• Originality

• Editorial control

Discrimination Policy:

The Lunar Awards doesn’t discriminate or give preferential treatment. Decisions are made purely on the merits outlined in the judging criteria. Personal bios of any kind should not be included in the comments or submissions. Anyone who wants to know more about you can visit your Substack. Credentials are not necessary. The number of publication subscribers, comments, and likes on a short story doesn’t matter. The goal is to find and award the absolute best speculative fiction on Substack.

Why only a 10-day round for each genre?

It limits the number of entries, and having only one genre per round allows writers to compete against their peers.

Is there an actual award?

The winning submission will be permanently linked on the Past Winners page. The submission and author will also be featured in a spotlight post.

Winning and runner-up writers will be offered a publishing contract to be included in the official Lunar Awards annual anthology.

Submit your story here:

Submit

Or copy/paste this link: https://forms.gle/J8Ao7Hzjodb9q7iQ6

The Gathering is an opportunity to share the story you wrote for The Spark #10. Thank you all for your patience. We are one day late!

Give us a brief teaser (one sentence) and then add the link in this discussion thread. Be sure to stop by throughout the day and engage with your fellow adventurers. The Lunar Awards is a place to discover and to be discovered. We want to connect you with the community. If you’ve already posted your story in the original prompt discussion thread, that’s okay! You can post it in both places, so it gets optimal readership.

Subscribe now

Many of you stretched your creative muscles with this prompt, and amid the busyness of life, you managed to get words written. We gather to share today, but the discussion thread will remain open should you decide to try your hand at the prompts in the future. Come back and add a link to your story. Even if the fire grows cold, we still maintain our burning desire to read good speculative fiction.

Welcome Promptlings to The Spark! It’s time to be weird, fantastical, daring, and deploy your creativity. Imagine monstrous beasts, conniving ghosts, and characters with mysterious motives who may also control weapons of wonder. All of this wondrous speculation originates from your imagination. The task is yours. This is The Spark!

The Rules

The rules are simple. You will be presented with a prompt. It could be a required first line, a task that will challenge your craft, elements required in your story, or a genre specific prompt. You will have two weeks to write a short story under the rules of the prompt. We’ll host a Gathering to celebrate what’s been accomplished and highlight your stories at the end of two weeks. You can share them on this thread, as well as The Pitch at the end of the month. This is an opportunity to find writers you admire, befriend, and learn from.

When sharing your creation, give us the title of your piece, genre in the form an emoji (see below), a brief teaser, and a link to your work. While most of the work will be posted on Substack, you are welcome to share work that fits the prompt that has been shared elsewhere (Wattpad, Simily, Amazon, etc.), but we do ask that the piece be available to readers for free. The Spark is an opportunity to grow in your craft and share your work with other speculative fiction writers.

Genre Emoji Index

👽- Science Fiction

🔮- Fantasy

💀- Horror

🔥- Dystopian

🍫- Magical Realism (Like Water for Chocolate, get it??)

👀- Weird Fiction

(The Gathering discussion thread will take place on Sunday, May 17th, starting at 3am PST, and will run all day.)

The Prompt

This month’s prompt is brought to you by Horror Tree Magazine. I have been subscribed to Horror Tree’s newsletter for years. I enjoy their weekly email where they not only share open calls for submissions to magazines and anthologies, but also share a collection of nonfiction writing related articles and a few recently published short stories. It’s a quick digest with a horror lens.

In case you didn’t pick up on it, today’s prompt is going to be horror themed. Let’s bring some darkness back now that the sun is shining and the weather is warming!

I found this call for an anthology through Horror Tree. I like submitting to anthologies. If you are selected, you have the opportunity to meet other authors, work with editors, and get your work in a physical book. Getting short stories in magazines is GREAT, don’t get me wrong. But an anthology is more evergreen, like short story collections or novels that are published.

This anthology is hosted by Cat Eye Press and is taking you into a bank vault:

“Don’t Go for the Vault is a horror anthology exploring the terrifying possibilities hidden behind bank vault doors. The editors are looking for creative stories where a bank robbery leads to something far more sinister than stolen cash. Stories may take place in any era and from any perspective, as long as the narrative involves a bank robbery, the opening of a vault door, and horror elements connected to what lies inside or around it.”

You can take this prompt and write. Discover what’s in the vault.

If you want to know more about submitting to the anthology, check out the details here.

Happy writing!

Good Luck Promptlings!

If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to comment or send me (Reina Cruz) a DM.

Leave a comment

I’m your Lunar Awards horror ambassador, (writer of and admin over at ), and I have the pleasure of announcing our winning horror writers for Season 11! Our judge this season was the ultra talented of .

Thank you to everyone who submitted. Writing is hard, and it means a lot that so many of you took the time to craft something and share it. Keep writing, keep pushing, because the work shows.

Drum roll please….

Here are your winners!

Lunar Awards Winner: The Shadow That Follows by

For me, The Shadow That Follows delivered on the promise of the horror genre. It has an immersive setting and a fully developed main character that the reader comes to care about over the course of just a few pages. That element of empathy ratchets up the tension along with our heart rates. There’s also an intriguing touchstone in the form of an illuminated manuscript that adds complexity and depth to the story. But best of all is the story’s monster that’s all the more menacing because it remains mysterious and unknowable right up until the final image that still gives me chills just thinking about it.

Read "The Shadow That Follows"

Runner-Up: Anniversary by

Anniversary is another story that sticks with you long after you’ve finished the last word. On the surface it’s quite different from The Shadow That Follows, but here also we have a carefully crafted portrait of a compelling character within a world that feels visceral and immediate. With that kind of storytelling, the struggle against the all-to-real monster and the final gut-wrenching twist carry a real impact that’s both devastating and earned.

Read "Anniversary"

Honorable Mentions: Coverage by and The Brothers of Boise by

I’d like to call attention to the following honorable mentions, which are also great examples of the power of horror to move beyond the terror and poke at the dark underbelly of human experience, revealing as much with darkness as others do with light.

Read "Coverage"

Read "The Brothers of Boise"

Closing Remarks

I’m always astounded by the breadth and depth of creativity across fiction on Substack, but I truly feel that the horror community here shines. Writers in this genre are consistently pushing boundaries, breaking through the ordinary and rearranging it into a dark kaleidoscope of words that finds meaning in the macabre.

Not surprisingly, the submissions for this round of the Lunar Awards offered up a veritable phantasmagoria of horror, bringing classic monsters to life, reimagining familiar tropes, and mining the darkest corners of the imagination for new ways to chill the reader.

It was a difficult task to judge these stories and the choice ultimately came down to the power of storytelling. Which ones did I come back to the next day and read again? Which ones felt rich and layered? Which ones made me hold my breath and race along to the end to see what happened next? In short, which of the entries grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let go?

~Garen Glazier

Thank you to all the writers who submitted!

Below are all the horror writers who submitted to this season of Lunar Awards. Let’s show all these authors some love!

NICK AFTER NORMAL

WAKE. LOOK. DREAD.

This halloween I give you a short story about what I think is our society’s greatest monster…

Read more

9 months ago · 41 likes · 27 comments · Nick Buchheit

Nicholas Samuel Stember’s Substack

Residual Effects

One late afternoon, many years ago. I was at work when a storm came in. The afternoon skies went completely dark and rain started to hit the big windows of the three story building I was in, hard. As I stared at the window vibrating from the wind and rain, this eco horror story began to form in my mind. I hope you enjoy it…

Read more

4 months ago · 3 likes · Nicholas Samuel Stember

Michael’s Musings

War Games

Read more

4 months ago · 3 likes · Michael S. Atkinson

Gregory Blair - Scribbling Entertainment

The Shrieking Giant

Searing pain…

Read more

8 months ago · 15 likes · 2 comments · Gregory Blair

Declan’s Substack

The Statue

Firdaus Kazim looked out over the dig that was taking place under the molten hot sun. His silver hair was neatly cropped, his sleeves were rolled up, showing his bronze skin. For years, he had searched the lands of Southern Iraq for this lost temple of Babylon. Finally, after all this time, the digging and the dedication to God had paid off. For now the…

Read more

5 months ago · 1 like · Declan Cosson

Beneath The Pines

Ours To Keep

Read more

4 months ago · 14 likes · 4 comments · Brennen Costa

niottu by James Leth

The Mystery of Henry Orson

I had neither seen nor heard from Henry Orson for seven years, but prior to that we had been best of friends—classmates and even, for a time, roommates at Miskatonic University. Upon graduation from that august academy, my head full of arcane and esoteric knowledge, my heart dancing to the tune of infinite possibilities, I traveled far and wide. I sough…

Read more

4 months ago · 1 like · James Leth

The Why & the Why Not

The Beyond

Introduction…

Read more

4 months ago · 6 likes · 9 comments · Nick Winney

Grey Matters

Chair - A Haunting

Dearest Penguin People…

Read more

a year ago · 21 likes · 13 comments · K.Lynn Grey

Made From What's Not Real

Demon In His Soul

It was a sweltering summer night in 1959 when it happened. The place was Hoppy’s Hut, one of dozens of small entertainment venues designed for African American clientele in what was politely known as the “Chitlin’ Circuit”. The attention of the patrons was entirely focused on the bizarre, wiry personage who was now gracing the stage with his presenc…

Read more

3 years ago · 50 likes · 6 comments · David Perlmutter

The Wandering Bard

Onion Soup and the Girl From Briar House

The sun was setting slowly into the distant, tree-lined horizon. Crickets and frogs began to sing, bringing the bog alive with an ancient song. At the edge of the swamp sat a dilapidated house with boarded up windows and peeling paint. Its front porch looked like it would sluff off at any moment and join the frogs…

Read more

6 months ago · 6 likes · 2 comments · Gracie

Welcome to The Pitch, a monthly discussion thread of the best speculative fiction on Substack, introduced by the authors themselves!

Whether you’re a reader searching for new worlds or a writer ready to promote your latest piece, this thread is for you! Here’s how it works:

📝 Are you a writer?

Head to the comments and add:

1. A link to the speculative fiction that will keep your readers up at night (short story, serial chapter, anthology excerpt, essay, etc.).

2. A 1–2 sentence pitch to hook new readers.

Bonus: Share the inspiration behind the story, a moodboard, the first line, favorite reader tropes. Be creative!

🔖Are you a reader?

Head to the comments:

1. Browse the comments to discover fresh speculative fiction directly from the authors.

2. Like the ones that catch your eye.

3. Leave a comment on a story you enjoyed—it makes a writer’s day and starts great conversations.

Already have a favorite ghost story to fit the theme of this spooky month (on or off Substack)? Leave a comment to drop a rec of your own!

🖖Support the Community

Want to help these stories reach more readers?

1. Restack. Restack this thread. Restack the stories you are reading. Let fellow Substackers know what you enjoy.

2. Share it to Reddit, Discord, X, Instagram, Facebook, share it with your mom, uncle, best friend, grandpa, neighbor who weirdly does yardwork at midnight—anywhere speculative fiction lives, let them hear from you.
   

   Share

Your word of mouth holds so much power. The more you share, the more readers will read, the more connections we build. Let’s keep the signal strong.

The Gathering is an opportunity to share the story you wrote for The Spark #9. Thank you all for your patience. We are one day late!

Give us a brief teaser (one sentence) and then add the link in this discussion thread. Be sure to stop by throughout the day and engage with your fellow adventurers. The Lunar Awards is a place to discover and to be discovered. We want to connect you with the community. If you’ve already posted your story in the original prompt discussion thread, that’s okay! You can post it in both places, so it gets optimal readership.

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Many of you stretched your creative muscles with this prompt, and amid the busyness of life, you managed to get words written. We gather to share today, but the discussion thread will remain open should you decide to try your hand at the prompts in the future. Come back and add a link to your story. Even if the fire grows cold, we still maintain our burning desire to read good speculative fiction.

Romantasy: Breaking into Publishing’s Bestselling Genre

The Lunar Awards invites you to participate in this Reedsy Conference on writing Romantasy. Our members can use code REEDSYROMANTASY for $10 off their ticket. If you’re interested, check out the conference overview and event schedule below:

11 am - 11:45 am EDT / Breaking Into the Romantasy Market with Jennifer L. Armentrout, Cara Clare & Alyssa Day

To kick off the day, we’re joined by three NYT bestselling authors who will talk to editor Rebecca Heyman of Entangled Publishing about writing and publishing novels that have captured readers’ hearts. From their writing routines and favourite tropes to the latest trends, they will share insightful advice from their prolific careers. There will also be an opportunity for you to ask your own questions during a live Q&A.

12 pm - 12:45 pm EDT / Crafting Your Hero and Heroine

Your novel’s characters are key to keeping readers rooted in your story and invested in the outcome from page one. In this session, romance and fantasy editor Sara Oestreich will show you how to craft your central couple, from developing individual backstories and motivations to plotting their journey towards happily ever after — or not, this is romantasy after all! You’ll also learn how to draw on well-known tropes and infuse your story with conflict to keep tension high and the plot moving.

1:15 pm - 2 pm EDT / From Scratch: Worldbuilding Without Info Dumping

Romantasy readers want to be transported to another world. But how do you create a new realm without overloading the reader or taking the focus away from the story? In this session, editor and author V. Ruiz will discuss how to infuse culture, history, and rules into the world without slowing the pacing or relying on the dreaded “infodump.” Whether your world is similar to ours or spans multiple realms, dimensions, or planets, you’ll learn to identify the best opportunities for worldbuilding within your manuscript.

2:15 pm - 3 pm EDT / Writing Spice: A Recipe for Success

Spice isn’t just about titillating taste buds — good spice serves a purpose in your story, and lingers with the reader long after their last bite. In this session, editor Molli Jackson Ehlert will show you how to purposefully weave sex into your story in ways that strengthen both plot and character. You’ll learn how to season your books with the right amount of spice and cook up sex scenes that sell.

Sign Up Here!

Use code REEDSYROMANTASY for $10 off your ticket!

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I sometimes feel disappointed by cliffhanger endings, especially in a modern series that is still ongoing and, unfortunately, unfinished. There’s nothing inherently wrong with abrupt endings, but my preference is to read a conclusion that ties up most of the dangling plot threads; otherwise, the “ending” can come across as an arbitrary stopping point, as if the author didn’t know how to end it.

On the flip side, I recently enjoyed a five-book series that seamlessly blended the books into one epic story. If done right, readers will keep coming back, knowing that the author is taking them on a well-thought-out journey. And that’s kind of what it comes down to: a reader’s trust in the story and the one telling it.

To me, for a series to have decent fundamentals, the author must carefully consider what to keep, what to leave out, and when to do both. But I’m not a well-established author, nor am I qualified to advise on writing a series (I struggle with finishing short stories). That’s why I’ve teamed up with Reedsy Learning (affiliate link)* to bring you the experts at a discount!

Reedsy Learning has provided us with a 50% discount code (WINSTON50) to attend the course “The Bigger Picture: Writing with a Series in Mind” by Lisa Edwards (The Hunger Games, His Dark Materials) on April 13th. If you’re interested in learning more about crafting a series, consider joining us in this upcoming Reedsy Masterclass.

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*A portion of the funds raised by attending this class and future events is returned to the Lunar Awards to improve our prizes and cover operating costs, which keeps the awards free for all indies to participate.

Lisa Edwards brings thirty years of experience across both children’s and adult books. As Publishing Director of Scholastic UK, her team published bestsellers including The Hunger Games and His Dark Materials. She has been a freelance writer, editor, agent, and publisher for the last seven years.

In this hour-long Masterclass, we’ll learn:

• Why the possibility of multiple books appeals to publishers.

• Ways to strengthen your concept by thinking beyond a single book.

• How to tailor your idea for different age groups and market needs.

• Tools for planning narrative arcs within individual books and across a trilogy, series, or collection.

I’m going to be there. I hope you will be, too. Don’t forget to use code WINSTON50 during checkout to get 50% off your ticket price. Thanks for being a part of the Lunar Awards!

Sign Up Here!

Welcome Promptlings to The Spark! It’s time to be weird, fantastical, daring, and deploy your creativity. Imagine monstrous beasts, conniving ghosts, and characters with mysterious motives who may also control weapons of wonder. All of this wondrous speculation originates from your imagination. The task is yours. This is The Spark!

The Rules

The rules are simple. You will be presented with a prompt. It could be a required first line, a task that will challenge your craft, elements required in your story, or a genre specific prompt. You will have two weeks to write a short story under the rules of the prompt. We’ll host a Gathering to celebrate what’s been accomplished and highlight your stories at the end of two weeks. You can share them on this thread, as well as The Pitch at the end of the month. This is an opportunity to find writers you admire, befriend, and learn from.

When sharing your creation, give us the title of your piece, genre in the form an emoji (see below), a brief teaser, and a link to your work. While most of the work will be posted on Substack, you are welcome to share work that fits the prompt that has been shared elsewhere (Wattpad, Simily, Amazon, etc.), but we do ask that the piece be available to readers for free. The Spark is an opportunity to grow in your craft and share your work with other speculative fiction writers.

Genre Emoji Index

👽- Science Fiction

🔮- Fantasy

💀- Horror

🔥- Dystopian

🍫- Magical Realism (Like Water for Chocolate, get it??)

👀- Weird Fiction

(The Gathering discussion thread will take place on Sunday, April 19th, starting at 3am PST, and will run all day.)

The Prompt

I’d like to come back the original Prompt Quest and bring us back to genre. Most (if not all) of us here are speculative writers. In some ways, I see speculative fiction as a catch all for the strange and supernatural. Science fiction, horror, fantasy. Epic Sci Fi, High Fantasy, Body Horror, Paranormal Thriller, Dystopian, Romantasy… We all could keep going, I’m sure.

Today’s prompt is brought to you by DailyPrompt.com. This website provides genre specific prompts with a quick click of your preferred genre.

I selected sci fi this month. It could be that I am finally watching Fallout (two years after friends and family raved about it and suggested I watch it) or that I’ve been researching alien tropes for a story idea that is just starting to percolate, or all of the above. I personally don’t tend to write science fiction, but it is a fun genre to play with! I liked this month’s prompt because it offers a bridge for fantasy and sci fi writers. Are you up for the challenge?

Happy writing!

Good Luck Promptlings!

If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to comment or send me (Reina Cruz) a DM.

Leave a comment

Welcome to The Pitch, a monthly discussion thread of the best speculative fiction on Substack, introduced by the authors themselves!

Whether you’re a reader searching for new worlds or a writer ready to promote your latest piece, this thread is for you! Here’s how it works:

📝 Are you a writer?

Head to the comments and add:

1. A link to the speculative fiction that will keep your readers up at night (short story, serial chapter, anthology excerpt, essay, etc.).

2. A 1–2 sentence pitch to hook new readers.

Bonus: Share the inspiration behind the story, a moodboard, the first line, favorite reader tropes. Be creative!

🔖Are you a reader?

Head to the comments:

1. Browse the comments to discover fresh speculative fiction directly from the authors.

2. Like the ones that catch your eye.

3. Leave a comment on a story you enjoyed—it makes a writer’s day and starts great conversations.

Already have a favorite ghost story to fit the theme of this spooky month (on or off Substack)? Leave a comment to drop a rec of your own!

🖖Support the Community

Want to help these stories reach more readers?

1. Restack. Restack this thread. Restack the stories you are reading. Let fellow Substackers know what you enjoy.

2. Share it to Reddit, Discord, X, Instagram, Facebook, share it with your mom, uncle, best friend, grandpa, neighbor who weirdly does yardwork at midnight—anywhere speculative fiction lives, let them hear from you.
   

   Share

Your word of mouth holds so much power. The more you share, the more readers will read, the more connections we build. Let’s keep the signal strong.

After the success of Season 10 and the opening of my bookstore, I realized that the awards needed more external input to grow beyond my abilities. I sought out passionate ambassadors who celebrate indie genre fiction to join the Lunar Awards’ mission to elevate and reward emerging talent. That wonderful team of Genre Ambassadors is (Fantasy), (Science Fiction), and (Horror).

Now, we are in a new year (Season 11) of celebrating the best speculative, indie fiction on Substack, and Round 1 has already concluded. With Round 2 in full swing, I wanted to share some big news about how we plan to continue supporting our growing literary community.

To keep the Lunar Awards free and to improve our prizes, we’ve partnered with one of the biggest advocates for indies out there: Reedsy Learning!

Reedsy Learning is the go-to hub for educational resources tailored to writers. From premium writing courses and weekly masterclasses to conferences with industry leaders, they help writers at every stage develop their craft, understand the publishing process, and achieve their goals.

How will this partnership work, and how will it benefit you?

To start, we will periodically share exclusive discounts on the Monday Masterclasses. Tickets for these classes can be purchased à la carte (roughly $15–$19) or with an all-access annual pass called the Learning Membership ($249). An annual membership also comes with 6 conferences and 12 workshops.

A portion of every purchase made on Reedsy Learning using our affiliate link will support the Lunar Awards. We’ll use any funds generated by this partnership to improve the quality of our prizes, cover costs, and further legitimize the awards.

If that wasn’t enough, Reedsy Marketplace and Reedsy Discovery will also be contributing significant prizes to the winner of our upcoming summer contest set to replace the “First Chapter Award.” Details of that contest will be announced in a separate post soon.

To celebrate the launch of this partnership, Reedsy Learning has provided us with a 25% discount code (WINSTON25) to attend the course, “Creating Fantasy Systems for Your Book and Series” with Lev Grossman (The Magicians, The Bright Sword) on March 30th from 6–7 pm EDT.

In this hour-long Masterclass, we’ll learn:

• How to design magic systems that inform character psychology.

• When to explain the rules of your world (and when to let mystery do the work).

• How to build systems that evolve across a series without collapsing under their own logic.

• Common pitfalls in fantasy worldbuilding and how to avoid overengineering your magic.

This will be followed by a live Q&A where you can ask the bestselling author any questions you have about creating worlds that feel alive rather than ornamental, writing a fantasy series, and getting published.

I’m going to be there. I hope you will be, too. Don’t forget to use code WINSTON25 during checkout to get 25% off your ticket price. Thanks for making the Lunar Awards special!

SIGN UP HERE!