Future Stories
A Short Story Competition
2025 Edition
Calling All Visionaries and Sci-Fi Storytellers!
Are you ready to shape the future through the power of words? The Dubai Future Forum is back with its second Sci-Fi Writing Competition! Whether you’re an experienced author or an aspiring storyteller, this is your chance to explore uncharted realms, reimagine technology, and craft thrilling narratives that push the boundaries of imagination.
Open to local and international participants, this is your moment to bring your futuristic visions to life.
Here’s what you need to know
Open for Submissions
March 2025
Submission Deadline
1 September 2025
Winners Announcement
October 2025
Checklist
- Language: English
- Font: Times New Roman
- Font size: 12
- Spacing: Double-spaced
- Margins: 1-inch
- Word count: up to 2,500 words
- Document format: PDF
- Your Name: Ensure your name is not included anywhere in the PDF ( Only as the file name )
Tips for Participation
- Age: 18 and above.
- Theme Integration: Participants must link their story to one of the themes of the Forum.
- Originality: Ensure your story offers a fresh and unique take on the theme, avoiding common sci-fi tropes and clichés.
- AI and Plagiarism: Submissions must be entirely original, with no AI-generated or plagiarized content. Those who submit such work will be disqualified.
- Prize Eligibility: If selected as a winner, the contestant must be available to travel to Dubai the week of 16 November to attend the Dubai Future Forum.
- Setting Description: Provide vivid descriptions of the futuristic setting. Feel free to be as creative as you want.
- Conflict Development: Introduce a compelling conflict that drives the narrative forward, stemming from the consequences of advanced technology or human actions.
- Plot Twist: Include a surprising plot twist that adds depth to your story and engages the reader's interest.
- Resolution: Provide a satisfying resolution that either resolves the conflict or leaves room for contemplation and further exploration of the story's themes.
- Proofreading: Ensure your story is free of grammatical errors, typos, and inconsistencies.
Meet our Judges
Hessa Abdulla
Hessa Abdulla is an Emirati writer who writes short stories in the field of fantasy, crime, and horror, in addition to poetry and prose poems in three languages: Arabic, English and Urdu. Her recent short story collection entitled “The View from the Mirror” explores a modern twist on the classic Emirati folklore characters. Her stories have been featured in different publications including the online magazine "Sikka", the anthology of "We are all Sidra, We all Love the Sea" from the Union of UAE Writers, and the anthology of "Alsaboora: The Blackboard" from Ghaf Publishing House.
Suyi David
Suyi Davies Okungbowa is an award-winning author of fantasy, science fiction and general speculative work. He has published various novels, the latest of which are Warrior of the Wind and Son of the Storm—both of The Nameless Republic epic fantasy trilogy—and the novella Lost Ark Dreaming. His debut novel, David Mogo, Godhunter, won the 2020 Nommo Award for Best Novel. His shorter works have appeared in various periodicals and anthologies and have been nominated for various awards. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona, and lives in Ontario, where he is a professor of creative writing at the University of Ottawa.
Glyn Morgan
Glyn Morgan is Head of Collections and Principal Curator at Science Museum, London, and curated the "Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination" exhibition. As a scholar of science fiction he is a former editor of Vector: The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association and contributor to numerous other publications and journals.
Prizes
In Association with:
First Prize Winner
- Trip to Dubai to attend the Dubai Future Forum
- Certificate of Achievement
- Six Weeks Fiction Book Writing Course + Three-month Writing Mentorship
- Story featured on the official website and shared at the Forum
Second and Third Prize Winners
- Trip to Dubai to attend the Dubai Future Forum
- Certificate of Achievement
- Six Weeks Fiction Book Writing Course + Mentorship Session
- Story featured on the official website and shared at the Forum
Top 10
- Digital Certificate of Achievement
- 50% discount on the Fiction Book Writing Course
- Story featured on the official website and shared at the Forum
All Participants
- 50% discount on the Fiction Book Writing Course