The Self-Published Science Fiction Competition

@spsfc.bsky.social

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An annual contest to pick a winner from hundreds of self-published novels in SF. Currently reading and reviewing for our fifth contest. Web site: https://spsfc.space

Photo of sand descending in an egg timer published by openDemocracy.
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.
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 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 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 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 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?"
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.
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 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 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 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 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 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?"
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.
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.
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 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."
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?"
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The cover of Vermilion Flames by Adam Fernandez. Armored soldiers and figures in long cloaks carrying banners observe a fire sending smoke across buildings.
The cover of Da Vinci on the Lam by B. D. Booker. A grizzled man in futuristic Western attire wears blue goggles and carries a long handgun pointed upwards. He has an unperturbed expression.
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 Our Lady of the Artilects by Andrew Gillsmith. A female android kneels in prayer, holy light and electricity emanating from her head.
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 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?"
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."
The cover of Steamborn by Eric R. Asher. A young male and female approach a smoldering hole in a towering city wall that looks 100 feet tall. Tall buildings, spires and bridges are seen beyond it.
The cover of Far Flung by Utunu. A fennec adopting a battle posture projects a transparent form of another fennec as yellow lines of energy swirl around them.
The cover of Transference by Ian Patterson. A skull is shown from the side with components such as a city skyline, hand holding fruit above an open doorway, fire and an enigmatic eyeball.
The cover of Of Friction by S. J. Lee. On a stark black background yellow topographical lines are disturbed by a human hand.
The cover of All Hope of Becoming Human by Lonnie Busch. The title of the novel over abstract red texture from which emerges a monster with long savage teeth and an eye staring at the viewer.
The cover of Trouble Wore Red by Chris Lewis. A figure in silhouette of a dancer holds a pole on a stage lit by neon and surrounded by an audience in a bar.
The cover of The Long Home of the Soul by J. Carl Denton. A dark metropolis is seen under a strange green cloud with white and red speed lines from a time lapse of a highway.
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.
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 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 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 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 Ceres Station Calling by R.M. Bradley. A meteor-marked planet has a starburst of light in the foreground and a starry sky in the background.
The words IT'S FRIDAY DO YOU EVEN #WRITERSLIFT BRO? over a photo of a well-dressed bodybuilder in a form hugging shirt with an impeccable beard and mustache holding a book. Taken by Vladimirs Poplavskis and licensed from Dreamstime.
The cover of The Ghost Gun by Gareth Lewis. A bullet hole puncture in a wall is filled with geometrical lines of multiple colors suggestive of velocity.
The cover of The Artificial Structure Formerly Known as the Moon by I.K. Stokbaek. A blue moon is surrounded by an electrically charged atmosphere on a dark night.
The cover of A Spectre in the Stream by Simon Tull. Inside a menacing mouth with dripping fangs, two silhouetted figures look at a city skyline.
The cover of Mercy Rising by Bowen Greenwood. An armored human with fiery light erupting from a hand faces menacing figures with a tall building and other structures in the background.
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.
The cover of the novel Afterburn by D. Andrews. A red and orange galaxy that looks like fiery embers melds with an ominous eye.
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 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.
The cover of Michelle McBeth's novel The Sphere: A Journey in Time. A purple lattice structure in space resembling a horn is behind a metal sphere that could enter it.
The cover of the Dito Abbott novel Debunked. It depicts an adventure map inside a metal viewing portal with electic sparks, an airship and a curious one-eyed monster.
An elegantly dressed older man is overcome with emotion and trying not to cry.
The cover of Apocalyse Parenting Book 1: Time to Play by Erin Ampersand. A red-haired woman stands in front of a house with a white picket fence. She's holding makeshift weapons, a toy gun and a sippy cup.
The covers of the three novels in the Dark Legacies trilogy by Yuval Kordov. Fierce mechs are shown in front of foreboding orange landscapes.