Time Travel
Entries accepted Jan. 1 – May 15, 2025
Tampa Bay high school students are invited to submit original, unpublished short stories on the theme of “time travel.”
Time Travel (n): hypothetical transport through time into the past or the future.
Your story may be set in the past, present or future, in our historical timeline or in an alternate timeline.
Your traveler(s) may travel forward or backward in time. Your time travel may be accomplished by science (wormhole!), technology (time machine!), or magic (whatever!).
Entries will be judged by a panel of experts including:
- O. Henry Prize-winning author of the time-travel novella Time's Agent, Brenda Peynado
- Sidewise Award-winning author of the time-travel story “Something Real,” Rick Wilber
- Asimov’s Readers Award-winning author of the Rhymer time-travel trilogy, Gregory Frost
MEET THIS YEAR'S JUDGES
CONTEST RULES
- Contest is open to all students over the age of 13 in grades 9 to 12 in public, private and home schools in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties.
- Stories must be previously unpublished and unsold.
- There is no fee to enter.
- Entrants may submit an unlimited number of stories.
- Stories must be submitted in MS Word (doc or docx) or Portable Document Format (pdf) format.
- Stories should be between 1,000 and 5,000 words.
- Stories should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and numbered pages.
- The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript.
- All entries must be received by May 15, 2025, 11:59 PM EST. Entrants are strongly encouraged to submit in advance of the deadline in case of technical difficulties.
- View the complete official rules.
- View the contest flyer.
