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Strange New Worlds was an annual anthology publication of short stories written by fans and amateur writers. Published by Pocket Books between 1998 and 2007, the anthology's stories were chosen from a writing contest, and included a selection from each of the live-action television series: Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and (from 2002) Star Trek: Enterprise.

Books[]

Background information[]

  • The concept of the contest was developed by Pocket editor John Ordover, who had been trying to find ways for amateur writers to gain experience and bring in new voices to the Star Trek fold. (Voyages of Imagination, p. 471) Ordover worked with Paramount Licensing head Paula M. Block to overcome the legal issues which arose – Block having been keen to run something in the veins of the Star Trek: New Voyages books previously – and then approached established anthology editor Dean Wesley Smith to sift the contest entries. (Voyages of Imagination, pp. 471, 486)
  • Each year's contest (except the inaugural one) was announced in the back of the previous year's anthology. In time, the contest also featured on the website of Pocket's parent company, Simon & Schuster. [1]
  • Submissions were open only to residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec) over the age of 18 who were not professional writers. The stories – which had a word limit of 7,500 words – had to be original and not formally published elsewhere, and their main characters had to be established Star Trek characters (major or minor). Each published story would receive a word rate payment of 10 cents a word; Grand, Second and Third Prize winners received an advance in addition to the word rate payment.
  • In January 2007, it was announced that Pocket Books would be discontinuing the contest, with Strange New Worlds 10 being the last anthology.
  • On 8 October 2015, it was announced that, as part of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, the contest would once again be held for residents of the United States only, with a submission deadline of 16 January 2016, winners to be announced on 31 March 2016. [2]

Contest winners[]

External links[]

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