Hello Factioners! We have an exciting announcement! This year we are one of the judging teams in the 1st Annual Self-Published Science Fiction Contest!

If that sounds familiar then you are correct! Fantasy-Faction has been judging the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO) since its inception way back in 2015. Along the way we have discovered some amazing self-published books and authors and had the privilege to share them with you! Now we will get to do the same thing with self-published science fiction books with the SPSFC!

How it Works

Before the contest begins, self-published authors submit their stories, until 300 entries are received. Then those 300 books are divided between ten different SFF review blogs. This year, those blogs are:

• Tar Vol on
• Fantasy-Faction (us)
• At Boundary’s Edge
• Red Stars Reviews
• Book Invasion
• FanFiAddict
• Fantasy Book Critic
• File 770
• Meteor Reviews
• Space Lasagna

Each blog reads through their pile of thirty books and picks their three favorite to go onto the finals.

After all winners have been picked, each blog reads the other twenty-seven finalists, and rates them on a scale of 10. Whichever book scores the highest is the winner!

What Books Are We Reading?

Here is our list of 30 books for round one of this year’s contest. They are listed in alphabetical order by title. You can click on each book to see its Goodreads page.

• A Summer in Amber by C. Litka
• Ad Luna by Hûw Steer
• Altered by D. L. Gardner
• Broken Angel: The Lost Years of Gabriel Martiniere by Joyce Reynolds-Ward
• Captain Wu by Patrice Fitzgerald and Jack Lyster
• Chroma by Isla Molina
• Colony by Max Florschutz
• Devon’s Island by Si Clarke
• Echoes of Angels by Matt Larkin and J. S. Morin
• Galaxy Cruise: The Maiden Voyage by Marcus Alexander Hart
• Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet by Philip Harris
• Grey Engines by Gareth Lewis
• His Name was Wren by Rob Winters
• In Times of Peace by The Loneliest Lone Wolf
• Malfunction by J. E. Purrazzi
• Monster of the Dark by K. T. Belt
• Muses of Roma by Rob Steiner
• Political Nightmare by Rainbow Maccabre
• Quantum Space by Douglas Phillips
• Safe Passage by Rachel Ford
• Starlight Seized by China Dennington
• Starshine by G. S. Jennsen
• The Infinet by John Akers
• The Last Noah by David Cuff
• The Lighthouse in the Sky by B. Y. Yan
• The Player Blackout by Lucas Flint
• The Soldiers’ Perspective by Phillip Murrell
• Utopia PR by Adam Bender
• What Branches Grow by T. S. Beier
• Zero Car by Alex Knowles

Who Are Our Judges?

Our judges tastes rang across the board and we can’t wait to see what the authors have for us this year! Some of us have judged in the SPFBO in prior years (and even this year!) and some are new to judging. Let me introduce our team.

A. A. Freeman

A. A. Freeman is an author, crafter, and all-around geek that lives in the foothills of North Carolina and spends her days writing fantasy and science fiction with a hint of romance. When not writing she knits, cross stitches, plays video games and works on perfecting her dried rose petal shortbread cookie recipe. She’s probably not a robot. *Beep boop*

Most Excited to Read: Hopepunk

• Website: aughtpunk.com
• Twitter: @aughtpunk
• Facebook: A. A. Freeman
• Instagram: aughtpunk

Kartik Narayanan

Kartik loves books and has been reading since he can remember. He generally reads all kinds of books but some genres like SFF and non-fiction involving science and maths are more equal than others. When growing up, he was influenced by Gerald Durrell and James Herriot. So naturally he ended up working in the IT industry. Somewhere along the line, he discovered Isaac Asimov and Terry Pratchett and that’s when his obsession with SFF started. He lives in India with his wife and his two daughters, all of whom spend most of their spare time reading.

Most Excited to Read: Space Opera, Military Sci-Fi

• Twitter: @hajaarfunda
• Facebook: Kartik Narayanan
• Instagram: narayanankartik
• Goodreads: kartik narayanan
• YouTube: Kartik Narayanan

Kerry Smith

Kerry lives in Wellington, New Zealand. She has been an avid reader from a very early age and fell in love with fantasy when she discovered different worlds at the top of a magic tree. She enjoys most sub-genres of fantasy though she tends to avoid reading books that are reverse harem and overly sex filled. When she’s not reading, Kerry volunteers at a charity shop/drop in centre for the local LGBTQI community. She can be found on Goodreads, Storygraph and Readerly under the name Kerry Smith.

Most Excited to Read: Cyberpunk, Dystopia and Space Operas

• Goodreads: Kerry Smith
• The StoryGraph: demoniker

Lynn K.

Lynn is owner/editor of Grimmedian.com, a spec fiction review site. You’ll find her blog is predominately filled by self-published work. She is a voracious reader of SFF who’s always seeking gems in SFF and speculative fiction.

Most Excited to Read: Space Opera, Apocalyptic, and Science Fantasy

• Website: grimmedian.com
• Twitter: @Grimmedian
• Facebook: Lynn Kempner
• Goodreads: Lynn K : Grimmedian

Max Freeman

Max Freeman is a Hufflepuff that no longer likes J. K. Rowling. A movie geek that hates sad endings. Works as a caregiver to the disabled, and lives at the beach. He is usually playing tabletop games, reading fantasy/sci-fi, and working on his bizarre novels.

Most Excited to Read: Comedy Sci-fi

Twitter: @stillmellow

Virginia McClain

Virginia McClain is an author who recently stopped daylighting as a Spanish teacher in Arizona and switched to writing full time in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When she’s not writing she can often be found climbing to the top of large rocks, running on trails, backpacking, and generally engaging in any excuse to go play outside. She is also the Supreme Overlord of QuaranCon and very excited to be judging this contest!

Most Excited to Read: Space Opera, Hard Sci-Fi, and Science Fantasy (but most excited to read books in new subgenres I’ve never heard of before!)

• Website: virginiamcclain.blogspot.com
• Twitter: @gwendamned
• Facebook: Virginia McClain
• Instagram: virginiamcclainwritesfantasy
• Goodreads: Virginia McClain

Jennie Ivins (Me)

Jennie is the editor of Fantasy-Faction and even though she’s been here since the beginning, this is her first year judging for the SPFBO and now the SPSFC! She is also stay-at-home mom from New Jersey with three autistic boys, a fantasy writer, computer addict, and lover of geeky things.

Most Excited to Read: Cosmic Horror, Science Fantasy, Sci-Fi Adventure

• Twitter: @Autumn2May
• Facebook: Jennifer Ivins (Jennie)
• Instagram: jennie.ivins
• Pinterest: Jennie Ivins

– – –

So that’s us and the contest. We will be posting an article about once a month as we let go five books at a time. The first will be in September. Stay tuned to see what gems we find this year in the 1st Annual Self-Published Science Fiction Contest!

Good luck to everyone competing and may the best book win! Happy Reading!

If you’d like to follow along more closely, you can join the SPSFC Facebook group and follow the #SPSFC tag on Twitter and visit the SPSFC’s website!

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