The Imagined Futures
Faber has launched The Imagined Futures, a new YA science fiction prize aimed at finding stories that 'offer hope and spark the imagination in this period of incredible global and environmental change'. It is looking for fiction that shines a spotlight on the power and value of the natural world and explores the potential outcomes for our collective future.
The prize closes on 9 September 2022. The entry criteria is a young adult novel or collection of short stories that can be (loosely) defined as science fiction, comprising the first 10,000 words and a full synopsis of the novel in 500 words, or a full manuscript and 500 word synopsis. Potential themes include:
- A radical reimagining of a world in which all life has equal importance
- Humankind playing second fiddle to Plantkind molecular explosion that completely reconfigures our world and us too
- Space habitation
- Waste not want not - truly, literally living alongside all our debris
- Technological innovation that eliminates all waste, erosion and inbuilt obsolescence
- Human/world compatibility reaches new levels of extraordinary . . .
- Extraterrestrial life is real, and so is their desire to 'improve' us
The first prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Faber and a £15,000 advance, while the second and third prizes also receive publishing contracts with advances of £8,000 and £5,000 respectively. Winners will also receive a tour of the Faber Archive to see first editions of Faber's science fiction. Agented and unagented writers resident in the UK are eligible.
Publisher Leah Thaxton said: "Some of the most imaginative, immersive fiction I have read has been science fiction, but there isn't enough of it! Particularly now when young adults need great escapism that offers hope and that sense of wonder often associated with this genre. So, that is what we're looking for in launching this prize. We want to leave an inspiring legacy of books that thrill and empower young adults and show them that their behaviour and thinking is enormously important. We want to encourage them to go on to invent and build the solutions that will transform our existence. This is a call for literary environmental action, to refuel hearts and minds!"