Congratulations to the Top Manuscripts!
The sheer number of manuscripts we received this year necessitated a third round of judging before we could arrive at this final list of books that will vie for the winning spot in each category of this year’s Aurora Contest. The following books duked it out in a strong field of contenders, so an extra special congratulations to all of our Aurora Contest finalists for 2025.
Our final round judges will work on these last scores and comments until the beginning of January, and then we’ll announce the winners at a mid January date (TBA.)
Please join me in celebrating the accomplishment of these rising stars of speculative fiction!
Fantasy
Reclamation – Hadley Cole
Set Among Kings – Kristen Bazen
The Hand and the Phoenix – Rachel Dib
Thorn Cursed – Melissa Myers
Transcendent – Katrina Austin
Science Fiction
Eden – Megan Minnick
Infinities – Eric Clutter
SUBLUNAR – Shannon Skaer
Horror/Paranormal/Supernatural
Khatan’s Rose – Annette Marie Griffin
Should Dragons Fail – Chloe Wilcox
Treeple – Elise Haroldson
Cross-Genre
Fogg – Madison Brown
Race Rexter in the Dinosaur Dimension – Broose Johnson
The Corridor Game – Emily Martin
Adult
Becoming Chaos – Colleen Ochab
Fogg – Madison Brown
The Mountain’s Veil – Kelly Jasmer
Young Adult
Selkie Song – Hannah Prewett
Set Among Kings – Kristen Bazen
The Gift of Seeing – M. K. Minnick –
Fabrication – Annika Crum
The Butterfly Gate – Amanda Helvey
Middle Grade
Lizzie Love: Shadow and Song – Danielle Vogt
The Secret War of Inglenook Manor (Or: Polite Children Don’t Fight Goblins) – Amy E. Bryant
Sebastian Funny & the Brave Mountain – Chris Warszawski
