Lunar Awards 2025 is here!

A special transmission from the Lunar Awards

Happy New Year!

This is my first message as the new head of the Lunar Awards. My name is Winston, and I’ve been championing the indie community here on Substack since 2021. Brian Reindel recently presented me with his captain’s chair, and I’ve humbly taken the seat (and it’s still warm!). If this is news to you, check out what Brian had to say in his farewell post. And if you’d like to follow his work, subscribe to Future Thief.

It’s an honor to pick up where Brian left off. He’s built such a strong foundation and community that it’s challenging to imagine altering it. However, if changes are to occur, now is the best time to implement them as we transition into the new year and new management.

First, I would like to address a common misconception that the Lunar Awards only serves the Science Fiction community. I’ve spoken to several colleagues who shared this impression, which I understand might be confusing. The Lunar Awards highlights speculative fiction, focusing on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror genres, with any subgenres falling into those.

The mission is to recognize emerging talent, utilizing the Substack ecosystem to discover and promote speculative fiction writers. To do this, I would like to publish writers in a physical and digital book at the end of each calendar year (this will be experimental, but I have some experience with my small press). I’ve never been more proud of my work than when I hold a book with my story in it for the first time.

Here are the most significant changes in the coming award season for 2025, some of which Brian already planned. Also, I want you—the members, readers, and writers invested in the Lunar Awards—to have an ongoing voice in our direction. Your input will help me understand how best to improve your experience. So, please share your thoughts in the comment section.

For 2025, I’m presenting Season Ten as a year-long event. It’ll be split into two halves, further divided into six rounds at two-month intervals. Confused yet? Let me explain.

Writers will submit to specified categories/genres to win among their peer group. The genres rotate throughout the award season in the form of rounds, which will be announced alongside the dates. Since the genres will be judged separately, this will increase a writer’s chances of winning in their preferred genre. The rounds/genres will be Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.

Separating genres into rounds allows more winners per season (6, in fact), which further increases the opportunities for writers to be recognized and assists readers in discovering the types of stories they enjoy. Pre-selected judges will be assigned a genre and rubric and will nominate their best choice (including a runner-up). Judges will be prominently displayed in the marketing of each round—more on that to be announced.

Utilizing my small press, Storyletter XPress Publishing, I’ll offer the winning writers and the runner-up of each round the opportunity to sign our publishing contract. This way, they can be paid for their work and published in the Lunar Awards official anthology. Writers do not have to participate in the anthology, but if they pass up the opportunity, it could be presented to the next runner-up in that genre.

For an idea of what this will look like, here is a proposed schedule for 2025:

Lunar Awards 2025 — Season Ten

Part One

• Round One: Fantasy (January-February) - Hosted by Judge #1

• Round Two: Horror (March-April) - Hosted by Judge #2

• Round Three: Science Fiction (May-June) - Hosted by Judge #3

• Final: Celebration of the winners, runners-up, and judges

Part Two

• Round Four: Fantasy (July-August) - Hosted by Judge #4

• Round Five: Horror (September-October) - Hosted by Judge #5

• Round Six: Science Fiction (November-December) - Hosted by Judge #6

• Final: Celebration of the winners, runners-up, and judges

Capstone Event

• A 2025 ceremony celebrating the year and announcing the selected authors for the anthology

Why two months for a round? Judges will need ample time to review submissions, and I need extra time to prepare posts and communicate with those involved in that round. Since this is on a volunteer basis, the judges and I will simultaneously be tending to other writing obligations. After the first half concludes, we can reassess the schedule and go from there.

Recap of proposed changes coming in 2025:

• Annual season with two major events with transparent dates and categories

• Submissions can be published stories on Substack at any date

• Established word count limit and minimum for submissions

  • A 7500 word count limit

  • A 1000 word count minimum

• One submission per writer per round (up to three per event)

• If you win a round, you can’t win again for the season (unless a publishing contract is not signed for the winning story)

• Multiple winners specified by genre

• A reliable judge per genre

• Payment and publication opportunities for winners

• A physical book and ebook containing the winning stories

With these changes, I hope to propel the Lunar Awards into a recurring community event like no other. Indies supporting indies is the future of the industry, and we hope that emerging talent will thrive in the years to come. With our combined efforts, this model will enable greater collaboration, networking, and visibility for writers seeking to establish a platform on Substack and beyond.

Stay tuned for the event's official schedule and information regarding the first three rounds. Please be patient as the Lunar Awards About and FAQ pages are updated with the most recent event and rule changes. Thank you!

What do you think about how the Lunar Awards will function in 2025? Let me know in the comments, and share this everywhere.

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