Aurora Contest Finalists

Round two has come to a close for the Aurora Contest, and we’re excited to congratulate the authors whose work has advanced to the final round, where they will be judged by professional freelance editors, multi-published authors, and Christian publishing house editors. Our judges have enjoyed reading this round of great work!

Best of luck to the following authors and their submissions.

The winners of each category will be announced on December 13th, 2024 via livestream. Keep an eye out for details on where and when to watch the excitement!

Fantasy Category

Fantasy stories for any age audience

  • Patterns of Darkness- Sierra Simopoulos
  • Rifter- Philip Wilder
  • Smoke and Mirrors- Jeff Maxim

Science Fiction Category

Sci-fi written for any age audience

  • Curse-eaters- Emma Heinz
  • Whispers of Eden Book 1: Behind the Veil- Samantha Ortiz
  • Winter- Philip Wilder

Horror/Paranormal/Supernatural Category

Otherworldly/creepy stories for any age audience

  • Disgraced by Blood- Taylor Pence
  • Forged by Faith- Jason McCoy
  • The Hunter and The Fox- Erin Artfitch

Adult Category

Any speculative genre, written for adult audiences

  • Price of Peace- C.W. Maurer
  • Rise of the Dissonance- Liz Verity
  • Serpents and Doves- Ben Bryan

Young Adult Category

Any speculative genre written for ages 13-17

  • Curse-eaters- Emma Heinz
  • The Wall of Eyes- Heather Griffin
  • Whispers of Eden Book 1: Behind the Veil- Samantha Ortiz

Middle Grade Category

Any speculative genre, written for ages 8-12

  • Flux- Alicia Peterson
  • Smoke and Mirrors- Jeff Maxim
  • The Homad’s Journey- Braeden Gregg