Announcing the Season 10, Round 6 Lunar Award Winner for Science Fiction

Celebrating the best Science Fiction from Round 6

Dec 26, 2025

Winston’s Introduction

Our final round of 2025 has concluded. I can’t believe it’s been a whole year already. We hope you had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season. Whether you’re a reader or a participant, your contributions have made this round and all of Season 10 a massive success!

Our judge for Round 6 was John Coon, the owner of Samak Press, writer of Strange New Worlds, and author of the bestselling Alien People Chronicles trilogy. John is a co-owner/manager of a horror community called Macabre Monday and is known for supporting indie writers by providing resources and knowledge through his newsletter, The Indie Life. Samak Press published two anthologies in 2025, Ripples in Space and Feral Lands.

John read 21 science fiction stories and selected one winner, one runner-up, and one honorable mention. Congratulations to his picks and kudos to everyone who submitted their work. ~ WM

Write-up by John Coon

When you read stories submitted for consideration to the Lunar Awards, your odds of finding some new gems that take typical science fiction tropes and characters in exciting new directions are always favorable. This batch of sci-fi stories collectively answered the bell when I asked for tales that dared to travel beyond the ordinary. I found stories that stuck with me after the final sentence, original and suspenseful tales that offered new perspectives on familiar sci-fi themes.

Deciding the winner was not a simple task. The competition between the top stories was fierce and close. With that being said, here are my selections for this round of the Lunar Awards.

Round 6 Lunar Award Winner

Advanced Color Theory by Alex Scott

Such a clever first contact story. Four college students in an astronomy club stumble upon coded messages from an alien race attempting to communicate through colors and symbols, forming complex ciphers. I was drawn into the story immediately, and it held my undivided attention until the end. Avery was a dynamic and sympathetic protagonist. Her optimism and curiosity were infectious, and I loved her intelligent approach to deciphering the alien messages.

The entire narrative struck a nice balance between mystery, suspense, and humor. A clever and well-written story. It could have made the final cut in my Ripples in Space anthology.

Runner-up

Distant Bodies by Keith Long

I always enjoy sci-fi tales that aren’t what they seem to be on the surface. This was one of those stories. Jack is a fascinating character, and the slow-build mystery around Bella and all the bird stickers is well-executed. The final twist ending caught me by surprise, but it made perfect sense when I read through the story again.

Clever story. Well-written with superb pacing. One of my favorite entries among this batch of stories.

Honorable Mention

You Cannot Spell Paradise Without Lies by Zachary Roush

Surreal and haunting tale. I quickly became wrapped up in the central mystery of the titular paradise. The narrator’s plight is both bleak and poignant. There is a lingering feeling of dread throughout that “paradise” in this dystopian society is misleading at best and a nightmare unfolding at worst.

Some familiar dystopian tropes are at play in the narrative, but the author does a good job of making them feel fresh and compelling anyway.

Winston’s Closing Remarks

The sixth and final round of Season 10 has concluded. I have a lot to say, but I’ll save most of it for the final post of the year, celebrating the season’s writers and judges. For now, I want to express how thankful I am for John’s time and effort in judging and selecting our winners for this round. It was a busy time for both of us, and I wouldn’t have been able to help present this award without him. If you’d like to check out his work and subscribe, check out his Substack below:

Stay tuned for our final post of the year, which will include some very special announcements. If you won, I’ll reach out soon with your prizes. Please share this amazing list of talented writers and entertaining stories to celebrate the incredible science fiction on Substack.

The Lunar Awards will resume with Season 11 in 2026.