It's back: the famous SCI-FI-LONDON 48hr Flash Fiction Challenge is just three weeks away - UPDATED

Once again Urban Fantasist is pleased to be supporting the SCI-FI-LONDON 48hr Flash Fiction Challenge which starts at 11am on Saturday 8th April – which is just three weeks away now! And, once again UF's Charles Christian will be chairing the challenge jury. (Which sounds impressive but basically means counting up the votes!) 

The embedded link below tells you everything you could ever possibly want to know but here's a quick summary of the key points, including one very important change from last year: we now have a £500 prize for the winner AND the winning entry will be published on the New Scientist website! Watch for @scifilondon #SFL48hrFlash on Twitter

So, here's a quick recap of the rules...

* You can register to take part any time between now and the 8th BUT you can't start writing until after 11am because you have to login and receive three elements (title, piece of dialogue etc) you must incorporate in your story.

* You have just 48 hours in which to complete and submit your story (actually till 1pm on Monday 10th)

* Our definition of flash fiction is a MAXIMUM of 2000 words

* You can submit from anywhere in the world however your entry must be in English (and sorry but the prize-giving is in London and we have no travel budget for winners)

​* There is NO entry fee

* And, please note this challenge is part of a science fiction film festival, so we are looking at sci-fi and fantasy genre fiction

UPDATE in response to comments...

* The start time is 11am UK time - and the UK will be on summertime by the 8th

* Authors' rights - 
Q: Can I sell, publish or develop my  story after submitting to the challenge?
A: Yes.  It's yours and you own own it, so exploit away! However, please remember by taking part you grant us an in-perpetuity, world-wide, royalty free, non-exclusive licence to promote, publish, sample and sub-licence the work. We will never charge any money for the story or film, but we will offer it free to anyone who wants to show it. The intellectual property in the work is yours and we do not make any claim on this, so we won't take the world or characters you develop without permission.

The Challenge Jury comprises...

Pat Cadigan is an American science fiction author, whose work is most often identified with the cyberpunk movement.

Mike Carey is a British author known for comics like X-men, and 2000AD. He recently had his novel Girl With All The Gifts releasesd as a feature film.

Marcus Gipps is a commissioning editor at Gollancz, part of the Orion Publishing Group. He specialises in science fiction, fantasy and a bit of horror.

48 Hour Flash Fiction 2017 | SCI-FI-LONDON 48 Hour Challenge

NEW SCIENTIST in assocation with SCI-FI-LONDON and URBANFANTASIST.COM are setting you an exciting challenge during the festival: a 48 hour flash fiction competition on a sci-fi or fantasy theme.