In a virtual ceremony that will take place May 22-23, The Omega Sci-Fi Awards will honor this year’s winners, finalists and honorable mentions — all emerging science-fiction writers who are telling fantastic new stories and exploring powerful themes and ideas.
Despite challenging pandemic conditions, nearly 500 submissions were received from dozens of countries, and students from 12 Los Angeles high schools submitted their stories. Celebrity guests will bring all finalists’ stories to life in live, dramatic virtual readings. Special prizes presented include the Women Hold Up Half the Sky Award for original feminist science fiction and the Green Feather Award for original eco-themed science fiction.
The Roswell Award and Women Hold Up Half the Sky Virtual Celebrity Readings & Awards for emerging science-fiction writers from across the U.S. and around the world will take place at 11 a.m. PDT on Saturday, May 22. The event is free. Register at linktr.ee/omegascifiawards.
The Tomorrow Prize and Green Feather Award Virtual Celebrity Readings & Awards for original science fiction by Los Angeles County high school students will take place at 5 p.m. PDT on Sunday, May 23. This event is free. Register at linktr.ee/omegascifiawards.
The Roswell Award for original short science fiction from writers worldwide finalists and honorable mentions include:
Finalists
● “The Rite to Vote” by Matthew Cushing (Connecticut)
● “Imagine Dandelions” by Andrea Goyan (California)
● “Autonomous” by Ben Hennesy (USA/Tanzania)
● “Run” by Tenzin Phillips (South Africa)
● “Biomimicry” by Ven Pillay (South Africa)
● “Realtiger” by Susan Wachowski (Illinois)
Honorable Mentions
● “When The Books Were on Paper” by Evgeniy Bondarev (Russia)
● “Logistics” by Christian Dark (United Kingdom)
● “Buddy and I” by Bryan Leong Jing Ern (Malaysia)
● “Opt-In” by Susan Harper (California)
● “Way Out” by Larry Herbst (California)
● “Starchild” by Mayor Prosper Ihechi (Nigeria)
● “Eclosion” by Alice Laciny (Austria)
● “Rate Me!” by Lexus Ndiwe (United Kingdom)
● “Mittens Aurelius: Meowditations” by Mark Thomas (Canada)
The Women Hold Up Half the Sky Award winner and honorable mentions for original short feminist themed science fiction include:
Winner
● “Never Turn Your Back on the Water” by Courtney Watson (Virginia)
Honorable Mentions
● “Yes” by Marie Cartier (California)
● “Unfrozen” by Libby Marshall (Illinois)
● “Fish Hunting Fish” by Archie Nicholson (Canada)
● “Virgintillion” by Anna O’Brien (Maryland)
● “The Shadows of the Baobabs Fall Long” by Bailey Sweatman (Texas)
The Tomorrow Prize for original short science fiction by Los Angeles County high school students finalists and honorable mentions include:
Finalists
● “EP-1M Contamination” by Britney Cruz (Susan Miller Dorsey High School)
● “Äerd” by Tessa Kennedy (John Marshall High School)
● “Star Sailor” by Gwendolyn Lopez (Pasadena High School)
● “Returning Home” by Sofia Orduno (Mt. SAC Early College Academy)
● “The Plague” by Flora White (Geffen Academy at UCLA)
Honorable Mentions
● “Cold Ashes” by Ethan Kim (Crescenta Valley High School)
● “The Gorm” by Jakob Wedel (Wedel Academy Independent Homeschool)
The Green Feather Award Winner and Honorable Mention for original short eco-themed science
fiction by Los Angeles County high school students include:
Winner
● “Corn” by Sienna Koizumi (Culver City High School)
Honorable Mention
● “The Great Forgotten” by Jonah Guardino (High Tech LA)
These events are hosted in partnership with actress and stunt person Patricia Tallman’s B5 Events. The Tomorrow Prize and Green Feather Award is co-presented by L.A. Parent Magazine. These include five all-female finalists for The Tomorrow Prize’s original short sci-fi competition, this year’s honorable mentions and the winner of the Green Feather Award, a special ecology-themed award co-presented by the Los Angeles Audubon Society.
The Roswell Award and Women Hold Up Half the Sky Virtual Celebrity Readings & Awards will honor the best emerging science fiction writers from across the United States and worldwide. The Women Hold Up Half the Sky Award, a special feminist-themed award, is co-presented by the feminist publication Artemis Journal and KPFK’s Feminist Magazine radio show. The first place winner will also be presented with a free online course from the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.
Featured celebrity guests for The Roswell Award Virtual Celebrity Readings & Awards on May 22 include: LaMonica Garrett, Ruth Connell, Nana Visitor, Phil Lamarr, Tiffany Lonsdale-Hands, Kari Wahlgren and David Blue.
Featured celebrity guests for The Tomorrow Prize Virtual Celebrity Readings & Awards on May 23 include: Joanna Cassidy, Rico E. Anderson, Kirsten Vangsness, Duane Henry and more.
Finalist judges for The Roswell Award include: Author Steven Barnes, paleontologist Alyssa Bell, author Wesley Chu , author and engineer S.B. Divya, author Rebecca Moesta, writer and director Philippe Mora and author Larry Niven. Finalist judges for The Tomorrow Prize include: volcanologist, explorer and author Jess Phoenix and author Charles Yu, author Jennifer Brody and engineer Bobak Ferdowsi.
This will be Omega Sci-Fi Awards’ sixth year hosting celebrity guests to read finalists’ stories. Gary Phillips, sci-fi and mystery writer and Omega Sci-Fi Awards board member says, “I was thrilled to read the entries for this year’s awards and am looking forward to hearing the finalists’ stories read aloud by this stellar line-up.”
The Omega Sci-Fi Awards is a nonprofit program founded in 2014 by Sci-Fest L.A. that aims to recognize and encourage emerging sci-fi writers and Light Bringer Project, a Pasadena-based nonprofit arts and education organization. The awards ceremony is hosted in conjunction with LitFest Pasadena 2021, a series of literary panel discussions that were held May 15-16 this year.
Event Details:
The Roswell Award Virtual Celebrity Readings & Awards
Featuring new, original short sci-fi by emerging writers from across the US and around the world.
Saturday, May 22
11:00 a.m. PDT to 1 p.m. PDT, Free
Register at: linktr.ee/omegascifiawards
The Tomorrow Prize Virtual Celebrity Readings & Awards
Featuring new, original short sci-fi by emerging teen writers from Los Angeles County high schools.
Sunday, May 23, 2021
5 p.m. PDT to 7 p.m. PDT, Free
Register at: linktr.ee/omegascifiawards
