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2013 Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest

I was just notified (March 14, 2013) that my 7700 word short story "Intent to Occupy"  placed second in The 2013 Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest administered by William Ledbetter. Mr. Ledbetter just posted the results on his Facebook page, so I assume the results are now official:

The winners of the 2013 Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest are:
  • GRAND PRIZE "The Lamplighter Legacy" by Patrick O'Sullivan
  • 2nd Place "Intent to Occupy" by Ronald D. Ferguson
  • 3rd Place "Improvising at Branson Six" by Sean Monaghan

 The annual contest is sponsored by Baen Books and the National Space Society in memory of the founder of Baen Books, Jim Baen. The judges consisted of Baen Books editors Hank Davis, Jim Minz, Tony Daniel and best selling Baen author David Drake. I'm very honored to have such illustrious judges select my story.

My first reaction to the email from Bill Ledbetter telling me that I won second place was "Well, I guess they only got two entries." My second reaction was to go to the website and check out previous winners. Not bad company:

2012 Grand Prize: R.P.L. Johnson
Second Prize: Martin L. Shoemaker
Third Prize: James Wymore


2011 Grand Prize: Nancy Fulda
Second Prize: Brad Torgersen
Third Prize: Michael Simon


2010 Grand Prize: Patrick Lundrigan
Second Prize: David D. Levine
Third Prize:: Stewart D. Gibbon


2009 Grand Prize: Michael Barretta
Second Prize: Patrick Lundrigan
Third Prize: Graham Stores


2008 Grand Prize: David Walton
Second Prize: Darwin Garrison
Third Prize: Charlie Allery


2007 Grand Prize: Mike Wood
Second Prize: Robert Billing
Third Prize: Michael A. McPherson

What do I get for placing second?

According to the website, the award for second place (or as Bill Ledbetter renamed it in his email, first runner up) is the same as the award for third place and consists of a one year membership in the National Space Society and a prize package of various Baen Books and National Space Society merchandise.

The winners will be honored at the 2013 Space Development Conference in San Diego, CA, May 23-27, 2013.

The Grand Prize winner also receives a similar prize package plus an engraved award, free entry into the 2013 International Space Development Conference, and the winning story will be considered for publication on Baen Books main web site with payment at normal pro rates (See website for more details).

Mr. Ledbetter also indicated that last year's second and third place winners were also offered free admittance to the 2012 Conference and a meal seat at the awards banquet (but not travel or hotel expenses). His letter suggested that same benefit might be offered this year again, and he asked that I notify him ASAP if I planned to attend. . Although tempting, that's at least a week of travel and could easily run to substantial dollars. I'll have to discuss that with my wife: expanding to two weeks with a side trip to Disney and visiting California friends might ameliorate the expenses, but we've already spent six weeks in California over the last year.

Anyway, the notification that I placed in a contest I respect was a great way to start a Thursday, and a big boost to my morale.

Now, back to working on Rogue Knight. I'm written the first thirty-thousand words, and it's time to start weaving some of the plot pieces together and heighten the conflict. Unlike my previous novels this is not a young adult novel with a PG to PG-13 rating. This one sometimes bounces into the R rating range. However, because of the contest, I'm tempted to set the novel aside for a while and crank out a few short stories.















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