The Self-Published Science Fiction Competition

A photo of the retro raygun awarded to the winner of the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition alongside a plague that notes the winner of SPSFC 4 as Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker. Next to the trophy is Welker's book, which has a cover of a hovering ovoid spacecraft above San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. The sky is orange and full of portent.

With the fifth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) taking book entries next month, we're looking for a few good volunteers to join us as judges:

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More than a few, actually. #SPSFC

And the SPSFC 4 Winner is After four rounds of reading over the past 10 months, the judges of the fourth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) have advanced books through the scout phase, team quarterfinals, se…

Congratulations to the top recognized and all who submitted works for consideration!

I’ll link my personal favorites below. There were several excellent books that I’d read previously which didn’t advance in other groups.

I enjoyed being a judge, thank you again!

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Big congratulations to @wickwelker.bsky.social, well done!

The cover of the novel Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker. In a sky lit an apocalyptic shade of orange, an ovoid ship hovers over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Here's more on the #SPSFC 4 winner Saint Elspeth by @wickwelker.bsky.social and the top 6 books.

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Carve out some quality time for yourself this evening and read a self-published novel.

And the SPSFC 4 Winner is After four rounds of reading over the past 10 months, the judges of the fourth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) have advanced books through the scout phase, team quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. What was once a to-be read pile of 175 books has become one winner and five runners-up claiming the top six places. Five teams participated in judging from start to finish:

And the SPSFC 4 Winner is

After four rounds of reading over the past 10 months, the judges of the fourth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) have advanced books through the scout phase, team quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. What was once a to-be read pile of 175 books has…

The cover of Whiskey and Warfare by E. M. Hamill. In space over a planet, four women including humans and one of catlike appearance stand in the foreground looking confident as a spacecraft takes off in the background.

Bluesky omitted the cover from our announcement, so here it is again for the first time.

The cover of the novel Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker. In a sky lit an apocalyptic shade of orange, an ovoid ship hovers over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

The winner of the fourth #SPSFC is Saint Elspeth by @wickwelker.bsky.social, a tightly crafted tale of a doctor who survived first contact and nuclear apocalypse.

"They just arrived, inadvertently triggered humanity to tear itself to pieces, landed, and vanished."

www.amazon.com/Saint-Elspet...

The cover of the science fiction novel On Impulse by Heather Texle. A woman in a leather jacket holds a large gun in a place with dropping wires and sky beyond. She has a blue computer readout over her head and a pensive expression.

With four places announced out of six, the fourth #SPSFC is faced with the dilemma of what to announce next.

By a margin of just 0.392, second place goes to "action packed" On Impulse by Heather Texle, led by migraine-afflicted ex-space cop Reliance Sinclair.

www.amazon.com/Impulse-Reli...

The cover of Yours Celestially by Al Hess. A well dressed figure in a purple sportscoat, black shirt and hat has a cloud-filled sky instead of a face. Windows dialogs read "Resurrection: Loading", "Metatron.jpg" and "Call your guardian angel?"

Third place in the fourth #SPSFC goes to the second chances resurrection romp Yours, Celestially by @al-distortion.bsky.social. Judge: "I needed this in my life right now at a time where I had more than a few negative thoughts in my head about being who I am."

www.amazon.com/Yours-Celest...

Fourth place in the fourth #SPSFC is claimed by the "rollicking space opera" Whiskey and Warfare by @emhamill.bsky.social. A found family of golden-years space mercs reunite to stop a genocide.

www.amazon.com/Whiskey-Warf...

The cover of Accidental Intelligence by Bryan Chaffin. A man looking out a tall building sees an enormous idealized feminine head with green eyes radiating light.

Fifth place in the fourth #SPSFC goes to the richly constructed noir cyberpunk thriller Accidental Intelligence by @geektells.bsky.social. A judge loved that the dark reign of AI began when a videogame "learned so well and so fast that it gained sentience."

www.amazon.com/Accidental-I...

The cover of the novel Bisection by Sheila Jenné. Over stars and a blue planet, two women of contrasting colors are connected by roots and structures reminiscent of a brain.

After 306 days and 175 novels, the fourth #SPSFC has chosen its winner along with five finalists as runners-up.

Sixth place goes to the "awesome high-concept" Bisection by @jennelikejennay.bsky.social. You can share one brain and still not understand someone.

www.amazon.com/Bisection-Sh...

The logo of the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), a circle with a retro raygun over blue sky and stars firing energy radiating in a pattern that is red and white.

The 6 novels that made the finals of #SPSFC 4 are Accidental Intelligence by Bryan Chaffin, Bisection by Sheila Jenné, On Impulse by Heather Texle, Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker, Whiskey and Warfare by E. M. Hamill and Yours Celestially by Al Hess. #readem

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The cover of the novel Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker. In a sky lit an apocalyptic shade of orange, an ovoid ship hovers over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker has been picked as an #SPSFC 4 finalist:

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Judge: "I'm really glad I read this book. ... I like Elspeth Darrow. I rooted for her."

The cover of the science fiction novel On Impulse by Heather Texle. A woman in a leather jacket holds a large gun in a place with dropping wires and sky beyond. She has a blue computer readout over her head and a pensive expression.

On Impulse by Heather Texle has been selected as an #SPSFC 4 finalist.

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Judge: "Well-paced and written in a way that makes it easy to slip into the story."

The cover of Accidental Intelligence by Bryan Chaffin. A man looking out a tall building sees an enormous idealized feminine head with green eyes radiating light.

Accidental Intelligence by @geektells.bsky.social‬ has been chosen as an #SPSFC 4 finalist.

spsfc.space/2025/06/05/s...

Judge: "My favorite opening half of anything I've read in this competition this year."

The cover of Whiskey and Warfare by E. M. Hamill. In space over a planet, four women including humans and one of catlike appearance stand in the foreground looking confident as a spacecraft takes off in the background.

Whiskey and Warfare by E. M. Hamill has been picked as an #SPSFC 4 finalist.

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Judge: "Equal parts heart-warming and heart-breaking, full of real human depth, and a thoughtful exploration of aging."

The cover of Yours Celestially by Al Hess. A well dressed figure in a purple sportscoat, black shirt and hat has a cloud-filled sky instead of a face. Windows dialogs read "Resurrection: Loading", "Metatron.jpg" and "Call your guardian angel?"

Yours Celestially by @al-distortion.bsky.social‬ has been selected as an #SPSFC 4 finalist.

spsfc.space/2025/06/05/s...

Judge: "I needed this in my life right now at a time where I had more than a few negative thoughts in my head about being who I am sometimes."

The cover of the novel Bisection by Jenné. Over stars and a blue planet, two women of contrasting colors are connected by roots and structures reminiscent of a brain.

Bisection by Sheila Jenné has been chosen as an #SPSFC 4 finalist.

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Judge: "I just finished Bisection and OMG I absolutely loved it."

SPSFC 4 Finalists Announced Two hundred and forty four days ago, the volunteer judges of the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition began reading 175 novels. These six have advanced through the scout round, the quarterfinals and the semifinals to emerge as our six SPSFC 4 finalists (announced in random order): Bisection by Sheila Jenné Yours Celestially by Al Hess Whiskey and Warfare by E. M. Hamill…

SPSFC 4 Finalists Announced

Two hundred and forty four days ago, the volunteer judges of the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition began reading 175 novels. These six have advanced through the scout round, the quarterfinals and the semifinals to emerge as our six SPSFC 4 finalists (announced…

The logo of the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition: A circle with a raygun in front of a blue sky with stars radiating red and white energy.

After 8 months of reading, the judges of the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition have chosen the six finalists for SPSFC 4. We'll be announcing these books tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. Eastern. Make some coffee. Take the dog out. Hold all calls. Stretch your Kindle thumb.

The marathon of SPSFC semifinalist social media announcements is over after more than 25 hours. Let's get into good books. We yield the floor.

The cover of Proliferation by Erik A. Otto: A man made up of stars and constellations looks at an object with cities in the background. The cover of the science fiction novel On Impulse by Heather Texle: A woman in a leather jacket holds a large gun in a place with dropping wires and sky beyond. She has a blue computer readout over her head and a pensive expression.

The Space Girls have named their SPSFC 4 semifinalists: Proliferation by @erikotto.bsky.social and On Impulse by Heather Texle.

tinyurl.com/proliferation2

tinyurl.com/onimpulse

www.lecari.co.uk

The cover of The Murder Algorithm by Wilson Kincaid: A man in a hoodie in a darkened apartment with a large computer screen looks out on the foreboding red-tinted skies of downtown Los Angeles at night. The cover of EAT by Jesse Brown: A gray snake with yellow eyes and dripping fangs dives through the bloody text "EAT" and "Welcome back to the food chain."

A team submerged in time's relentless tide picked these SPSFC 4 semifinalists: The Murder Algorithm by Wilson Kincaid and EAT by Jesse Brown.

tinyurl.com/murderalgori...

tinyurl.com/eatjessebrown

The cover of the novel Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker: In a sky lit an apocalyptic shade of orange, an ovoid ship hovers over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The cover of the novel Yours Celestially by Al Hess: A man in a stylish purple suit, black shirt and black hat has clouds and a backdrop of stars where his face should be. A GUI dialog in front of him asks, "Call your guardian angel?"

Ground Control to Major Tom has advanced their SPSFC 4 semifinalists: Saint Elspeth by @wickwelker.bsky.social and Yours Celestially by @al-distortion.bsky.social.

sciencefiction.news/item/167/sps...

The cover of Accidental Intelligence by Bryan Chaffin: A man looking out a tall building sees an enormous idealized feminine head with green eyes radiating light. The cover of the novel Bisection by Sheila Jenné: Over stars and a blue planet, two women of contrasting colors are connected by roots and structures reminiscent of a brain.

Team Red Stars has revealed their SPSFC 4 semifinalists: Accidental Intelligence by @geektells.bsky.social and Bisection by @jennelikejennay.bsky.social.

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The cover of A Swift and Sudden Exit by Nico Vincenty: A woman in black clothes and boots in a swirling portal reaches out to touch the extended hand of another woman with long hair and an old-fashioned dress. The cover of the novel Time of the Cat by Tansy Rayner Roberts: A tabby cat with a white neck and paws is strutting through a viking village in a viking helm with nothing to suggest this is in any way odd.

Team Tar Vol On has chosen their SPSFC 4 semifinalists: Time of the Cat by @tansyrr.bsky.social and A Swift and Sudden Exit by @nicovincenty.bsky.social.

www.tarvolon.com/2025/03/26/s...

www.tarvolon.com/2025/03/17/s...

The cover of Whiskey and Warfare by E. M. Hamill: In space over a planet, four women including humans and one of catlike appearance stand in the foreground looking confident as a spacecraft takes off in the background. The cover of Wakers of the Cryocrypt by Nathan Kuzack: A sophisticated hand of an AI touches an ancient cave etching a human made of their own hand.

Peripheral Prospectors has announced their SPSFC 4 semifinalists: Whiskey and Warfare by E. M. Hamill and Wakers of the Cryocrypt by Nathan Kuzack.

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The cover of Enigma by Ryan Southwick. A woman in long white pants and a purple vest with a long metal bracer covering a forearm places a hand on a placid snow-white oversized tiger in front of a trippy landscape of red trees, glowing pink lights and fungal plants that resemble parachutes.

There's one last SPSFC 4 quarterfinalist to share: Ground Control to Major Tom chose Enigma by Ryan Southwick.

sciencefiction.news/item/166

Humans fled Earth and reinvented themselves. After 10K years fold travel brings colonies together. Dire events unfold. FAMILY REUNIONS AMIRITE?

A photo of a bodybuilder doing one-arm push ups while reading a book and playing chess on the book. Text over the photo reads "If Chad can do book-chess-push ups you can #writerslift bro." Taken by Kostya6969 and licensed from Dreamstime.

If Chad can do book-chess-push ups you can #writerslift bro.