The Dell Magazine Award:
2008 Award Information
2008 DEADLINE
POSTMARKED BY TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2008
The Dell Award (previously the Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing) is an award given annually to the best short-story in the science-fiction and fantasy genres written by a full-time undergraduate college student.
The award was started by Asimov's Science Fiction magazine editor Sheila Williams and science-fiction writer and journalism professor Rick Wilber in 1992, when they met at the World Fantasy Conference in Pine Mountain, Georgia. As Sheila Williams said in a column in Asimov's a few years ago, "At the convention, we hatched the idea of an award that would honor the legacy of Isaac Asimov and encourage the works of younger writers. Isaac, who had begun publishing science fiction stories when he was eighteen, had died that spring. When he was a young man, there were numerous magazines vying for short fiction. During the ten years that we worked together, he often mentioned that he had founded Asimov's Science Fiction magazine so that talented writers who were just starting out would find the same kind of welcoming home for their stories that he had once found. Nowadays, there are far fewer fiction magazines, and Rick and I both felt that starting an award aimed at the works of younger writers would be a way to further Isaac's objective. The creation of this award, which came to be known by the extremely long name of The Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing was announced ten years ago at the 1993 Conference on the Fantastic in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The award is co-sponsored by two organizations that strongly believe in promoting the works of early career writers, the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts and our own magazine. It is also supported by the School of Mass Communications at the University of South Florida."
Since then the award has changed names to the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing and these days Sheila and Rick are the co-judges, but the spirit of the award and its significance remain exactly the same.
Want to submit a story or two or three or more? The guidelines are below on how you can do that. Also, please note this important addition to the guidelines. You can now submit your story by e-mail! Just send the story as an attachment in Word to RWilber@cas.usf.edu. You will still need to send the submission fee (see below) but you can do that separately. Just remember to reference the story or stories the submission fee is for when you send the fee to the address listed. Make sure your story conforms to the basic requirements listed below in terms of format and general content, and then send it to Dr. Wilber at the e-mail listed above. Good luck!
For the 2008 Award
The $500 award will go to the best unpublished and unsold science fiction or fantasy short story submitted by a full-time undergraduate college student. The winner will be invited to the IAFA annual Conference on the Fantastic in mid-March in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and the winning story will be considered for publication in either Asimov's science fiction magazine or in the on-line version of the magazine.
In general, the winner of the Asimov award will be the story that best meets the expectations of the judges. Those stories typically are "character oriented"; i.e., the characters, rather than the science, provide the main focus for the reader's interest. Serious, thoughtful, yet accessible fiction will have the best chance of success. The judges do enjoy humorous stories, but pun endings have little chance of success, and the judges are not interested in sword & sorcery, elves, trolls, or dragons. They are not interested in explicit sex or violence, either. Generally, bear in mind that all fiction is written to examine or illuminate some aspect of human existence, but that in science fiction the backdrop against which events occur is the size of the universe.
Deadline for entries for this year's contest is Tuesday, January 8, 2008. The submission must be postmarked by that date. The contest is open to all full-time undergraduates at accredited colleges and universities. The award is not limited to unpublished authors, but all submissions must be previously unpublished and unsold, and they should be from 1,000 to 10,000 words long. Writers may submit an unlimited number of stories, but each manuscript must include a cover sheet with the writer's name, address, phone number, and the name of the university the writer attends.
There is a $5 entry fee per story.
Your manuscript should be neatly typed, double-spaced
on one side of the sheet of paper, with adequate margins. Mail it flat
in a 9" X 12" envelope.
Make sure the cover sheet of the manuscript has on it your name,
address, phone number and the university you attend. Your name should
not be on the manuscript itself.
The judges reserve the right to double-check your
university status. For this year's contest, you must have been a
full-time undergraduate during the fall 2006; spring 2007; summer 2007;
or fall 2007 semesters (or quarters) of your university or college.
Story submissions should have been written during your
time as a student. However, if you attended college full-time during a
qualifying semester and then graduated, went to part-time status or quit
entirely for a time, you are still eligible.
E-mail
submissions are accepted. Your story submission should be in the same
format as described above, including a cover sheet. You should send the
e-mail submission as a Word or WordPerfect or rich-text file attachment
to:
RWilber@cas.usf.edu. You may
send the submission fee by separate mail to the address below.
IMPORTANT: There is
a special class-project category. Any instructor may submit an unlimited
number of stories from any one class for a flat rate of $15. The
manuscripts must meet the general requirements of the award and should
be put into one envelope along with a brief cover letter from the
instructor listing the college or university and the name of the class.
This offer is for any college class and not limited to creative-writing
classes.
Manuscripts cannot be returned, but if you include a
self-addressed stamped envelope, we will send you an announcement of the
winner and runners-up.
The winner will be determined by the editors of
Asimov's magazine and the award administrator. The check should be
written to Dell Magazines Award/Wilber, and submissions should be sent
to:
Dell Magazines Award
CIS 3095
School of Mass Communications
University of South Florida
4202 E. Fowler
Tampa, Fla. 33620
This year for the first time you can submit your story or stories by e-mail at RWilber@cas.usf.edu. Send the story as an attachment in Word or Rich Text. Do not put your name on the story but make sure your name and contact information is in the body of the e-mail that you send to Dr. Wilber.
You will still need to send the $5 submission fee per story, which you can do separately to the address above. Make sure and mention the e-mail submission in your letter containing the submission fee.
If you have any questions, call Award Administrator Dr. Rick Wilber at (813) 974-6792. You may also reach Dr. Wilber at this e-mail address: Rwilber@cas.usf.edu
Stories by previous Asimov Award winners are available at the Asimov's Science Fiction homepage at: http://www.asimovs.com
The Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing
2007
Winner
Natty Bokenkamp
First
Runner-up
Rahul Kanakia
Second
Runner-up
Natty Bokenkamp
Third
Runner-up
Rahul Kanakia
Honorable
Mentions
Stephen Leech
Stanford University
“The Uncanny Valley”
Stanford University
“Money Is The Best Damn Thing There Is”
Stanford University
“Cargo”
Stanford University
“The Silent Horde”
University of South Florida
“The Whale-Zeppelin Canard”
Eliza Blair
Swarthmore College
“Tangle”
Seth Dickinson
University of Chicago
“Claymore Three-Zulu”
2006
Winner
Meghan Sinoff
University of Florida
"Shift"
First Runner up
Eliza Blair
Swarthmore College
"Silver Eyes"
Second Runner-up
Catherine Krahe
Illinois Wesleyan University
"Running After the Twilight Sirens"
Honorable Mention
Eliza Blair
Swarthmore College
"Beast"
2005
Winner
Anthony Ha
Stanford University
"Around the World"
First Runner up
Eliza Blair
Swarthmore College
"Friends in Need"
Second Runner-up
Alice Kim
Stanford University
"Are You Getting All of This?"
Third Runner-up
Michail Velichansky
University of Maryland College Park
"Evelyn"
Honorable Mention
Catherine Krahe
Illinois Wesleyan University
"Undine"
Amelia Beamer
Michigan State University
"The First Stone"
Madeleine B. Sheldon-Dante
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Astep."
2004
Winner
Anthony Ha
Stanford University
"Orbiting"
First Runner up
Barbara Wright
University of Houston
"Community"
Second Runner-up
Amelia Beamer
Michigan State University
"Assisted Living"
Honorable Mention
Austin Head-Jones
Brown University
"The Dark"
Michael Emmons
Northwestern University
"The Autumn Gardens"
Mathew Kirby
Utah State University
"The Relic Monger's Tale"
Michail Velichansky
University of Maryland College Park
�Games on the Children's Ward"
2003
Winner
Bryn Neuenschwander
Harvard University
"Calling Into Silence"
First Runner-up
Matthew Kirby
Utah State University
"A Book of Revelation"
Second Runner-up
Thomas Seay
The Georgia Institute of Technology
"Alone Again"
Honorable Mention
Bryn Neuenschwander
Harvard University
"The Legend of Anahata"
Karina Sumner-Smith
York University
"She is Elizabeth Lynn Rhodea"
Thomas Seay
The Georgia Institute of Technology
"Weathered Mountains"
2002
Winner
Lena DeTar
Macalaster College
"Making Waves"
First Runner-up
Thomas M. Seay
The Georgia Institute of Technology
"Self-Defense"
Second Runner-up
Lena DeTar
Macalaster College
"The Dying of the Light"
Honorable Mentions
Gary Porter
St. Mary�s University
"Judge and Jury"
Karina Sumner-Smith
York University
"Loving the Bomb"
Amy Beth Forbes
Michigan State University
"Fire Water"
2001
Winner
Mark Jacobsen
US Air Force Academy
"Conquering Europa
First Runner-up
Lena DeTar
Macalester College
"Perfect Authentic Cadence"
Second Runner-up
Elan Ruskin
University of Pennsylvania
"Small Mercies"
Honorable Mention
Lena DeTar
"Obon Night"
Sarah Jane Elliott
Victoria University at the University of Toronto
"To Soothe the Savage Beast"
2000
Winner
Beth Adele Long
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
"Repeating Patterns"
First Runner-up
Mark Jacobsen
US Air Force Academy
"Farther Out and Farther Down"
Second Runner-up
Lena DeTar
Macalester College
"Fire and Ice"
Honorable Mention
Elan Ruskin
University of Pennsylvania
"The Dreamer�s Guild"
Lena DeTar
"Clearing Up"
1999
Winner
Marissa Lingen
Gustavus Adolphus College
"In the Gardens and the Graves"
First Runner-up
Marri Champie
Boise State University
"The Mascarene Event"
Second Runner-up
Marri Champie
"The White Seal"
Honorable Mention
Aaron Fries
University of Colorado
"Through Your Metal Eyes"
Trent M. Walters
College of the Ozarks
"Driven Like the Snow"
1998
Winner
Emily Thornbury
Harvard University
"The Wormholes"
First Runner-up
Michael Channing Gupton
University of North Carolina at Asheville
"Dryad"
Second Runner-up
Marri Champie
Boise State University
"Old Bones"
Third Runner-up
Adam Perin
University of Cincinnati
"Silent Exemplar"
Honorable Mention
William Stacey Cochran
East Carolina University
"Within the Parallax"
A. Kaay Miller
University of Texas at El Paso
"Like Mad Cassandra"
1997
Winner
David Kirtley
Colby College
"Lest We Forget"
First Runner-up
Jerry W. Hughes, Jr
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Paschen's Story"
Second Runner-up
Melissa Garber
Rutgers University
"The Hidden One"
Third Runner-up
David Kirtley
"I Think Therefore...?"
1996
Winner
Dylan Otto Krider
University of Arizona
"He Believed in Probability"
First Runner-up
Sara Taylor
Hollins College
"Dancing Distance"
Second Runner-up
Monica Eiland
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"Metropolis 2000"
Third Runner-up
William McMahon
Columbia College, Chicago
"Rough Beast"
Honorable Mention
Raakesh Persaud
University of Toronto
"Upgrades and Breakdowns"
Michael Suskind
University of Pennsylvania
"Marsley: Jesus Christ of the Donors"
Chris Gattanella
University of Georgia
"Rupture"
Maurice G. Broaddus
Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis
"Kali's Danse Macabre"
Kevin Landry
Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
"Who By His Own Hand"
1995
Winner
Shannon Fowler
University of California-San Diego
"The Cinderella Project"
First Runner-up
Monica Eiland
University of North Carolina
"Hansel's Statement to the Police"
Second Runner-up
Raakesh Persaud
University of Toronto
"Come Walk a Mile in My Shoes"
Honorable Mention
Chris Hepler
Johns Hopkins University
"This Thing of Darkness"
Chris Gattanella
University of Georgia
"Treaty Games"
Holly Day
University of Tampa
"Jesus Chris, Lord of Hosts, Meets L.A. County"
1994
Winner
Eric Choi
University of Toronto
"Dedication"
First Runner-up
Felicity Savage
Columbia University
"Roses in the Blood"
Finalists
Micole Sudberg
Yale University
"Calliope"
Monica Eiland
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"Saving Grace"
Honorable Mention
Marsheila Rockwell
Montana State University
"Auf Widershins"
Chris Gattanella
University of Georgia
"Knaragua's Rage"
Timalyne Lindquist-Frazier
Marlboro College
"Burning in the Montage"
Cory Doctorow
University of Waterloo
"The Adventures of Ma 'n Pa Frigidaire"
Kerry Jamieson
University of Tampa
"Unicorns in America"
Baird Searles Award
"Best Writer 21 Years Old or Younger"
Eric Choi