First Place: "Salutary Reminders for the Comatose"
This entry is a winner. The writer maintains urgency using the present tense and tight construction. The dialogue keeps the pace lively and mysterious without confusion. That is a finely wrought balance. I was also impressed by the writer's sparing use of repetition to create a déjà vu effect. Each time I read and reread this piece I connect with the narrator and also find the girl, who sits on a wall, feet dangling, "compelling." The ending was neatly timed and carried a satisfying punch. Well done.

Second Place: "Fireworks, Several Ducks, and a Miniature Dragon"
Kudos to a writer who can manage humor! This entry works dry humor into the young narrator's world-weary voice. While the situation of a beleaguered babysitter is not new, random ducks and miniature dragon add a lot of fun to the mix. Most importantly the writing gains its immediacy from the rapid fire action and crisp dialogue. There is a good imagination at work in this brief, but cinematic scene. A joy to read.

Third Place: "With the Destruction of the Fourth Dimension"
This entry attracted me because I was drawn to the notion that "Resurrection technology" and "Invisibility technology" debut on specific dates. The writer wisely plants this idea early and then capitalizes on it as a device to clinch the close. Good detail and description. My favorite part of the work is the bit of dialogue at the end after the main character's wrist is grabbed. Here the story becomes most immediate. Keep writing!

"Awaking," Hannah Marie Sattler, Minnetonka, MN
Although passive, there is a moody, incantatory quality to this narrator's voice that fits the dream state and fairytales. I particularly liked the lines: … we crafted a kingdom founded on harmony. Then we knocked it over and tried again. And again. While there is a lot of detail, I'd like to see the plot offer more than the princess's reflections just before she is awakened.

"Seemingly," Isabella Penola, Cooperstown, NY
There are good details in this piece and the narrator's voice is effective in its sense of inevitable doom. There are difficulties with tense because of the nature of the story's structure and I would have liked a little more indication of who the narrator is and how she/he knows that things are not as they seem.

First Place: "'A New Life Awaits!'"
From the first line, the tension in this scene develops as a small family prepares to disembark into their new life. The writer uses convincing dialogue that reveals some complex emotions for the father as familiar frustrations play out against an unfamiliar landscape which includes cryopod cushions and a yellow-blue sea glimpsed through a portal. The three-year-old son's joint servos and mutation possibilities were intriguing. Best of all was the father's wistfulness evoked at the end. A well-crafted piece of writing.

Second Place: "Epilogue to a Story Never Written"
This writer's imagination offers compelling glimpses of a larger story. Brief allusions to different character's resolutions build a tone that satisfies until the last two passages. While the writer's references to a stack of haiku and the frog narrator fail to live up to the other fresh and engaging previous segments, I really enjoyed this piece of writing. In particular I was entranced by Jenny (the robot), Liz and her silk garments, and Sanjeet. I hope that this writer actually does write this story, because I'm in.

Third Place: "Thanks for the Memories"
I salute this writer who maintains humor and a dialogue that crackles with authenticity. Here is an all too familiar conversation but with a delightful spin. My favorite moment was when the MASS noticed the construction of a "Privacy Wall." This piece moves along crisply and clicks with just the right punch at the ending. It is a great romp to read. Well done!

"The Details," Miriam Hall, Madison, WI
My favorite line was I may be one tusk down, but I'm still pretty meaty." Terrific! Perhaps the format of a true dialogue would better serve than a monologue which poses the questions and then answers them.

"The Elyse Phylarius Lecture on Practical Diplomacy," Alistair Young, Wichita, KS
A fine and funny monologue with a consistent and convincing tone. At times detail overwhelms the speaker's intention.

"Everyday Superheros," Daniel Gullett, Gloucester, MA
Nicely done on the close! Good skill with dialogue even though the lines and plot moved too much as expected. I liked the device of He said/ She said; it worked to keep the ping-pong effect of this conversation.

"In the Details (1)," Robert Ebbe, Waunakee, WI
The set-up is clever and the dialogue rings well. The whole could be tighter with some carefully pruned adjectives and the gimmick used to close doesn't measure up to the skill in the rest of this piece. Smart title!

2011 Final Judge: Marion Boyer
Marion Boyer is a professor emeritus of Communication courses at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Her poetry book The Clock of the Long Now (Mayapple Press, 2009) has been nominated for the Pushcart Award and the Lenore Marshall Award. Green, Boyer's 2003 poetry collection, was published by Finishing Line Press. Boyer's poem "She Seemed So Quiet" won first place in the 2008 international poetry competition sponsored by the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies.

"Can't Stop, Won't": One strength of this story is the conflict between two characters, even though one is not present. Another strength is That the characters are actively involved in the story, rather than being passive victims, as was too often the case among the stories submitted. Rax is a thinking being, not a mere representative of some group (as was sometimes the case among other submissions). The language of the story is vivid, and the jargon presented was clear (as the language gimmicks of some other stories were not). I hate to just praise this story because it doesn’t fall victim to the faults of other submissions, because it has its own pleasures—the character of Rax, whose optimisim is strong, even after defeat. And the details are good, too. I like Vodka Gumlets.

2010 Final Judge: John Rezmerski
Mankato, Minnesota SF poet and Rhysling-Award-winner John Calvin Rezmerski's new chapbook Keeping Caedmon's Faith is available from Red Dragonfly Press, which will also publish a full-length collection of his ghazals next year. He has published six books of poems and has edited six anthologies. Six of his scripts have been produced in various media. Despite the sixes, he is not a beast. His poems, stories, essays, and articles have appeared in a wide range of magazines and anthologies. He was an early member of the editorial team at Tales of the Unanticipated. Before his retirement, he taught at Gustavus Adolphus College (including a course in science fiction) for 35 years, and served as the college's writer-in-residence. He has performed his work (poetry, drama, and storytelling) for hundreds of academic and community audiences, conducted workshops, judged contests, and organized arts events throughout the midwest. Recipient of numerous awards (including a National Foundation for the Arts fellowship), he has also been a small press publisher, political speechwriter, public relations consultant to non-profit organizations, professional cook, and frequent panelist at science-fiction conventions (including WisCon), where he also appears as one of the delightful Lady Poetesses from Hell, channeling Grace Lordstoke.

"100 seconds from the Century of Martian Wars" has to be first place. An exciting, terrifying rush of words, deftly combining hard science and poetic imagery. I don't know whether "magnetorheological" is a word. If not, it should be!

2009 Final Judge: Joe Haldeman
A noted SF poet, Mr. Haldeman's science fiction and poetry are widely published, and he has won the Hugo (several times), Nebula (several times), Ditmar, Galaxy, Rhysling (several times), Italian "Futuro Remoto," World Fantasy, John W. Campbell, and James Tiptree Awards. His most recent book is The Accidental Time Machine. home.earthlink.net/~haldeman/

2008 Final Judge: Bruce Boston
Mr. Boston's science fiction and poetry are widely published, and he has won the Pushcart Prize, the Asimov's Readers' Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the Rhysling Award, and the first Grand Master Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. He is the author of more than forty books and chapbooks; most recently, the novel The Guardener's Tale. hometown.aol.com/bruboston