Spsfc

Our SPSFC 5 Quarterfinalists and Semifinalists

For the last five months, the members of Ground Control to Major Tom have been reading novels to pick our semifinalists that will advance to the next round in the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC). We began in November with a 25-book scout pile to sample, chose six of those novels to read in full as quarterfinalists, and have now chosen two of the books to advance as semifinalists. Before revealing them, here are the four books that earned their place as our quarterfinalists, ... (read more)

2026/06/02

Judges Wanted for SPSFC 4

The spaceship has been moved to the launch pad and gantries shifted into place. Final preparations are underway for the fourth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), a contest where a large group of enthusiastic volunteer readers chooses the best work of self-published SF out of hundreds of entries. Because some of our judges are returning to their own writing and others are taking a break, we need some new recruits to help us pick the book that will join S.A. Tholin's Iron ... (read more)

2024/08/27

Review: Rebecca Crunden's A History of Madness

One of my favorite books as a judge in the first Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) was Rebecca Crunden's A Touch of Death, the first book in a post-apocalyptic series where the non-mutated humans who emerge from underground long after a nuclear conflagration end up in a totalitarian monarchy where freedom and history are outlawed. I reviewed A Touch of Death for File 770's SPSFC team last May and just read book two, A History of Madness, of my own free will. It's the first ... (read more)

2023/02/14