Lunar Awards Season 10 Explained

Welcoming our event's judges, schedule, and extras

Greetings,

Thank you for joining us as we prepare to launch the Lunar Award’s 10th season. The first round is only a week away, and I’m ecstatic with the response to the announcement thus far. Your enthusiasm has brought in a lot of new writers. Keep spreading the word!

In this post, I introduce the judges for Part One. I also reveal the event schedule down to the day, cover how the judging will operate, and explain the new twist for the Prompt Quest. 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 One 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 was 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.

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How it will operate

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 only the judge. The document will be deleted after each judging period.

If the number of eligible entries exceeds 30, I will step in as the initial curator for that round and select 30 entries to lessen the judge's burden. Having more than 30 stories makes it increasingly challenging to select a winner, so the number of entries will be more consistent for each round. This isn’t a first-come, first-served situation. I’ll display the stories that advanced to the judge in the winning announcement post.

The judges will be provided with a detailed rubric. This rubric goes beyond choosing a winning story based solely on how well it suits 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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Check out the schedule for Part One

Round One - Fantasy - Hosted by Daniel W. Davison

• January 15 - Open call for submissions

• January 31 - Submissions closed

• February 1 - Judging begins

• February 20 - Judging concludes

• February 26 - Winner and runner-up announced

Round Two - Horror - Hosted by Shaina Read

• March 15 - Open call for submissions

• March 31 - Submissions closed

• April 1 - Judging begins

• April 20 - Judging concludes

• April 26 - Winner and runner-up announced

Round Three - Science Fiction - Hosted by Simon K Jones

• May 15 - Open call for submissions

• May 31 - Submissions closed

• June 1 - Judging begins

• June 20 - Judging concludes

• June 26 - Winner and runner-up announced

Part One Concludes

• June 30 - Celebration of Part One’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 after the start of each round to assist with story generation. There will be two simultaneous prompts per quest. The judge will provide a prompt they wish to read, along with one I’ll create. Writers won’t know which prompt is which. There will be no weighted benefit to the prompt quest other than completing an original story that fits the genre and potentially submitting a story the judge might enjoy.

I personally really like this concept. If you think it’s too controversial, let me know in the comments.

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Keep an eye out for Round One starting on January 15th!

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