Lunar Awards Season 10 Explained

Welcoming our event's judges, schedule, and extras

Thank you for joining us for the Lunar Awards’ 10th season. Your enthusiasm has brought in a lot of new writers. Keep spreading the word! In this post, I introduce the judges, the event schedule, and the judging criteria. I can’t wait to hear what you think in the comments.

If you missed it, check out the changes coming to the Lunar Awards:

Lunar Awards 2025 is here!

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Meet your judges for Part 1 of Season 10

Fantasy - Daniel W. Davison

Daniel W. Davison is the writer of Lamp Post in the Marsh. Daniel was featured in Take Me There: A Speculative Anthology of Travel and is known for his poetry, short fiction, and ongoing serialized novels (e.g., The Werewolf of Mariahilf am Inn).

Horror - Shaina Read

Shaina Read is the writer of Kindling and co-host of Macabre Monday. Shaina is featured in Take Me There: A Speculative Anthology of Travel and has contributed works to popular events such as The Substack Zone (In Capable Hands) and Dark Tidings (Hungry Ground). She’s known for her dark, speculative fiction and thoughtful commentary on the most banned books.

Science Fiction - Simon K Jones

Simon K Jones is the writer of Write More with Simon K Jones. Simon is known for publishing an ongoing serialized crime thriller called Tales from the Triverse, which features a unique blend of science fiction and fantasy. He also posts helpful video guides and writing advice for serialized fiction and has published a YA optimistic, post-apocalyptic novel called No Adults Allowed.

Meet your judges for Part 2 of Season 10

Fantasy - The Brothers Krynn

Joe and Dan are the creators of the Bros Krynn’s Newsletter, writers of the fantasy novel The Crown of Blood, and manage The Iron Crown, which hosts Warrior Wednesday and Sword & Saturday weekly posts/events. The Brothers Krynn are known for their passion in all aspects of the fantasy genre.

Horror - Leigh Parrish

Leigh Parrish is the writer of Halcyon Horror. Leigh is known for, and specializes in, crafting spooky tales that mix historical fiction and psychological horror genres. Leigh had a story published by Ballads of the Distant Reaches and will be featured in the upcoming anthology, Take a Breath: A Collection of Claustrophobic Horror.

Science Fiction - John Coon

John Coon is the writer of Strange New Worlds and the founder of Samak Press. He’s published several sci-fi and horror books, including the popular series Alien People Chronicles. John also writes The Indie Life newsletter, which serves as a helpful resource for publishing and marketing, and co-manages Macabre Monday, a community for horror writers.

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How it operates

To make the awards as fair as possible, I’ll screen the entries linked in the official round post, confirm in a comment that you’ve been entered, and strip the accepted stories of identifying characteristics (except the title) before sending them to the judges. This will require me to copy and paste the stories into a separate document to share with the judge only. The document will be deleted after each judging period.

If the number of eligible entries exceeds 30, I will serve as the initial curator for that round and select 30 entries to alleviate the judge's burden (unless the judge chooses to review all submissions). With more than 30 stories, it becomes increasingly challenging to select a winner; therefore, the number of entries will be more consistent for each round. This isn’t a first-come, first-served situation.

The judges will be provided with a detailed rubric. This rubric extends beyond selecting a winning story based solely on how well it fits the genre. When required to curate the entries, my rubric will be the same as the judges'.

The Lunar Awards considers the following:

• Genre suitability

• Mastery of storytelling

• Originality

• Editorial control

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Part 1 has concluded. Here is the schedule for Part 2.

Round 4 - Fantasy - Hosted by The Brothers Krynn

• July 15 - Open call for submissions

• July 31 - Submissions closed

• August 1 - Judging begins

• August 20 - Judging concludes

• August 26 - Winner and runner-up announced

Round 5 - Horror - Hosted by Leigh Parrish

• September 15 - Open call for submissions

• September 31 - Submissions closed

• October 1 - Judging begins

• October 20 - Judging concludes

• October 26 - Winner and runner-up announced

Round 6 - Science Fiction - Hosted by John Coon

• November 15 - Open call for submissions

• November 31 - Submissions closed

• December 1 - Judging begins

• December 20 - Judging concludes

• December 26 - Winner and runner-up announced

Part 2 Concludes

• December 31 - Celebration of Season 10’s results, writers, and judges

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Will there be a theme for the Lunar Awards in 2025?

There will be no theme. At the end of the season, participating works will be collected and presented as “Lunar Award Winners 2025: The Best Emerging Speculative Fiction Writers.” This is a working title; therefore, it’s subject to change.

If you are an indie cover artist interested in designing the anthology’s official book cover and/or interior artwork, please contact me at storyletter@protonmail.com with a short intro and cover pitch. Please include a link to your art portfolio if you have one.

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Will the Prompt Quest return?

Yes. The Prompt Quest will return. More information coming soon!

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Keep an eye out for the next round!

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