Season Eight First Chapter Category Winner Announcement!

A woman with “a desperate plan, an unnecessary man and a limited lifespan.”

Oct 03, 2024

Congratulations to

, our Lunar Award winner for the first chapter category! “First Time“, which is posted on his Substack called The Consilience Series, is the prologue for his novel “INGRESSION”. I can tell it will quickly grow an audience impatient for more (including me). Authors often toil over the decision to submit a prologue instead of a true first chapter, and I’m glad he went with his gut and the former.

The Consilience Series

First Time

8 months ago · 5 likes · 8 comments · Johnathan Reid

Johnathan will receive an eBook copy of ”Voices from the Deep”, a six-month paid comp to the Lunar Awards, and a permanent link on the Past Winner’s page. Thank you to all of the amazing writers who submitted first chapters.

First chapters hit differently than short stories, or at least they should. They need to strike a happy medium between revealing too much and not enough to propel the reader on to the next chapter. The best way to accomplish this is to clearly communicate what’s at stake. What does the protagonist, or people group or even world, stand to lose? It’s not easy to do in a single chapter and most novels require several to unpack a character’s motivation. Johnathan gives us the perfect glimpse in a prologue.

Prologues are a sore subject for some editors and publishers, but in speculative fiction they’re used liberally by authors. Part of the problem is how they’re exploited to perform exposition dumps or backstories that could instead be interweaved throughout a developing story. Readers are treated to unnecessary detail in many prologues, but in the case of “INGRESSION“, the prologue was crafted with subtle hints — enticing teasers about what’s at stake.

Whether it be a prologue or first chapter, a great way to begin long form fiction is to immediately put characters in a situation from which they must escape instead of building up to that moment. While not always appropriate depending on the story, the honorable mentions do this as well. In “A Slip of the Tongue”, we already know water is a scarce resource that must be protected. There’s no need (yet) to reveal why. In “Deaths of Kulgera”, the Inspector is already on the scene, the crime committed, and investigation required.

Every reader wants an answer to the question, why should I care about these characters, and this plot? It has to be readily apparent why anyone would want to surrender their time and imagination to the author. Accomplishing that feat is like a moment of magic. We’re not quite sure how the trick was performed, but we can all agree more of it would be welcome.

With “INGRESSION”, the magic comes in the form of a woman with a limited life span, living in a washed-out wasteland with a man who may yet prove useful. There are enough layers to build a cake, and it looks like Johnathan is starting to bake.

There are some wonderful first chapters among our participants. Serial speculative fiction newsletters are alive and strong, and there is plenty to read. Even if the winner and honorable mentions don’t find a home in your email, there is sure to be one from our participants that will. Thanks again to everyone who submitted!