The annual US-based Futurescapes short story competition for non-professional writers is this year based around the theme of ‘Blue Sky Cities’. The judging panel is ‘seeking stories set in a near-future city where significant strides have been made toward improving air quality, climate adaptation, or even net positive impacts on climate and air quality’.
The winning entry will be a compelling story no longer than 8,000 words which explores the competition theme with a nuanced approach to technology, science, politics and/or policy, all without forgetting about plot and character. The best entries will present the positives and negatives of a particular future, imagining a rich and full world but showing a single city, neighbourhood or life, and offering a roadmap for cities, states and nations to follow. No excessive or gratuitous violence, language, or sexual content.