AE Micro, our microfiction contest, is fast becoming a tradition at AE. Beginning with the original “very small book of very small stories about very small things,” each year we propose a single word and solicit stories on that theme no longer than 200 words. We’re looking for stories that take but an instant to absorb but that never quite leave you.
This year’s theme is “space.” You can take this in whatever direction you want, whether it’s outer space or any area in three dimensions, whether it’s filled with stuff or defined by the lack of it.
We will select five entries for publication in the microzine: three Canadian stories and two international. We will pay our standard rate of $.06 CAD per word for each of the five selected stories, with a minimum of $10 for any one story. The author of each selected story will also receive five print copies of AE Micro.
Entries must be no more than 200 words, including the title. They must be recognizably science fiction and inspired by the theme. (Using the word itself in the story is not required.) One entry per person. All entries must be previously unpublished in print or online.
Submit entries to: micro@aescifi.ca. The subject line should contain your byline and nationality (“CDN” if you are a Canadian citizen or resident, “INT” if otherwise). The body of the email should contain the title and text of your story and nothing else. Entries that do not conform to the above guidelines will be disqualified.
Deadline: Monday, March 26, at 23:59 Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
We will announce the winners shortly after the deadline and publish the microzine in April.
By entering, you agree to the following terms should your story be chosen for publication: You agree to license your story under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives license. You grant first print and digital serial rights to the story to AE, these rights to expire twelve months after submission of the entry if unused. You also grant AE license to edit your story as necessary for publication, as well as to create and share an audio recording of your story online. AE claims no rights on stories not selected for publication.
If you’re looking for some excellent microfiction examples to see what can be done with the form, check out the previous editions of AE Micro:
But don’t take too long, because you only have three weeks to send us a story that will blow us away.