Star Trek Fan fiction has been around since the first Star Trek series began in the 60’s, and now aspiring authors have an opportunity to have their stories critiqued by one of the original writers for Star Trek, Dorothy ‘D.C.’ Fontana. The ‘Starfleet’ Star Trek fan club has announced their second creative writing contest will be judged by Fontana, details below.
press release
Star Trek Writer D.C. Fontana To Judge STARFLEET’s Creative Writing Contest; Star Trek Fan Club Sponsors Opportunity for Aspiring Authors
STARFLEET, the world’s oldest and largest continuously-active Star Trek fan organization, is honored to announce that the guest judge for the second annual STARFLEET Short Story Contest will be legendary writer Dorothy (“D.C.”) Fontana. To enter their work in the contest, authors must be members of STARFLEET, the International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. and submit their stories before 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on June 1, 2010. All stories must be 7,500 words or less and take place within the fictional science fiction universe of Star Trek. For complete contest guidelines, please visit http://fiction.sfi.org.
North Hampton, NH May 14, 2010 — STARFLEET, the world’s oldest and largest continuously-active Star Trek fan organization, is honored to announce that the guest judge for the second annual STARFLEET Short Story Contest will be legendary writer Dorothy (“D.C.”) Fontana. Fontana was the author of scripts for the original Star Trek series including fan favorites “Journey to Babel” and “The Enterprise Incident”, as well as episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and a collection of Star Trek novels, comic books, and even video games.
Dorothy Fontana has been a writer since the age of 21, and beyond her contributions to the Star Trek legacy, Fontana has written for such acclaimed television series as Babylon 5, Streets of San Francisco, Dallas, Bonanza, The Waltons, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Logan’s Run. Fontana’s experience and credits extend beyond writing to roles as an associate producer, story editor, novel and video game script author, and comic book contributor. Fontana’s experience also extends to development of such practical projects as an interactive medical education game, which aligns well with the orientation of the STARFLEET organization toward education and self-improvement. (STARFLEET offers a number of academic scholarships each year to active members enrolled in colleges and universities.)
STARFLEET’s annual Short Story Contest affords aspiring writers an opportunity to have their work critiqued by an industry icon who is also a longstanding advocate of fan-written fiction. Fontana says that many excellent writers have gained professional recognition emerging from the ranks of fandom. “Study humanity and dream…” is her advice to up-and-coming authors. Fontana brings to bear her experience as a close associate of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, as well as her self-admitted critical analysis for character development and tight story structure.
To enter their work in the contest, authors must be members of STARFLEET, the International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. and submit their stories before 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on June 1, 2010. All stories must be 7,500 words or less and take place within the fictional science fiction universe of Star Trek.
For complete contest guidelines, please visit http://fiction.sfi.org.
ABOUT STARFLEET
STARFLEET, The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. is an organization of over 4,200 Star Trek™ and science fiction enthusiasts that have united the world of fandom in their appreciation of Star Trek™, the greatest human adventure. Founded in 1974, STARFLEET has operated continuously for 35 years, making it the oldest Star Trek™ fan association of its size in the world. This unique organization has over 235 chapters globally, linking members from one corner of the Earth to the other both in person and through the Internet. STARFLEET is made up of people of all ages and from all walks of life who have come together to make new friends, share an interest in Star Trek™, science fiction and space, and to serve their local communities. For more information on STARFLEET, please visit www.sfi.org or call 1-888-SFI-TREK
Very cool… I’m still sad that they are not publishing the “Strange New Worlds” series anymore. I always wanted to enter that contest someday… and yes, I know, “someday” isn’t a day of the week.
I wish she would adapt her script for the Secret of Vulcan’s Fury game into a book. That seems like it would be a great read.
D.C. Fontana also wrote the novelization to the original ‘The Questor Tapes.’
Speaking of, any new news reports on the proposed remake?
Happen to have a trek story ready
#3, MC1 Douf:
I was greatly looking forward to the “Questor” revival myself. In fact, shortly after it was first announced, I wrote a letter to Herbert Wright, the writer-producer behind the project, to convey my support and excitement for the project. I never expected a reply; but to my great surprise and delight, Mr. Wright responded with a very gracious letter of appreciation. Nice man.
Unfortunately, Herb Wright passed away in 2005, and there’s been no news on the project since that time. I hate to think that the revival died with him…
Not to be a spoilsport, but couldn’t this open Fontana up to lawsuits down the line if one of the fan fiction writers later claims that the professional Fontana stole his or her idea?
Never heard of “Starfleet.” Unfortunately, one must pay to join their “fanclub” in order to be judged. Anyone here a member?
OMIGOSH!!!
FINALLY! A FANFICTION CONTEST!!!!!!!!!
I am all over this. My dreeeeam is to eventually write for Pocket Books Star Trek, maybe in some eras/timelines/whatever you like that have never been done. I was crushed to find that, by the time I’d gotten really into ‘Trek, they’d cancelled the “Strange New Worlds” series. I wanted to write in.
Hurrah! D.C. Fontana!!!
Time to go read the rules. :D
How much does membership cost?
I can’t find it on their website.
Never mind. I found it.
It’s $15 for an individual.
#10 :: Drat!
Time to go convince my parents that entering into this would sufficiently boost my writing abilities, give me the experience of an actual contest/whatever one would like to call this, get critique from a legit writer, and push the fact that joining would make me eligible for scholarships. And what parent doesn’t like to hear that last part?
(I’m broke. That’s right — I don’t even have fiteen dollars.)
#11 Sorry to hear that.
Well, there’s always bank robbery.
#12 :: Ah, it’s no biggie. I actually read a few of the entries. Some of them are pretty decent, but some others made me cringe. Grammatical errors and typos galore! Either that, or my APLAC teacher has turned me into a grammar and diction snob…
No joke. I read the newspaper and my Seventeen magazine and find myself subconciously critiquing the diction. It’s bad.
Interesting storylines, though. Glad to see not everyone’s as bad as some of the stuff I read on Fanfiction.net! (Where I regularly post.)
#13
Oh, that’s not quite as bad as critiquing movie subtitles and advertising slogans. Being a grammar Nazi can have its downside. ;)
#14 :: Haha. And I don’t run around screaming, “‘TO BOLDLY GO’ IS INCORRECT GRAMMAR!!!” I haven’t hit that milestone yet.
Hey, I just had an idea.
Why doesn’t Trekmovie hold its own fanfiction writing contest? They did one a couple years ago; why not start another one? I think that would be great fun.
#15
I second that emotion.
Anthony, get on it!
#15,16
Because if he did, there would be a chance that a lawsuit could happen as a result of a contest that could result in Anthony being subpoenaed as a witness or even a defendant. Max (#6) brings up a good point: if someone submits a story, and a part of that story gets used by Dorothy Fontana or anyone associated with STARFLEET or Pocket Books without the writer’s consent, it could be big trouble. Its almost certain that all participants would have to sign a waiver giving up all rights to whatever story they come up with, but we see all the time there are loopholes in legal documents. Plus, I have to think that STARFLEET and the International Star Trek Fan Club are at least partially controlled by CBS/Paramount. And since TrekMovie.Com is a fully independent site, there are probably various legal reasons as well as practical ones barring Anthony from holding such a contest.
Remember that ST:TNG did basically the same thing. They were the first TV series to accept scripts from fans. I submitted several.
Also, STARFLEET, the International Star Trek Fan Association has been around since 1975. I am head of a local chapter.
I’m also a member of Starfleet. Been in since ’82, and my current chapter, the USS Avenger (http://www.ussavenger.org), just celebrated its 25th Anniversary this weekend.
I was a first-round judge for last year’s Short Story Contest, and it was a great pleasure to read some really excellent stories as part of that contest.
15:
Christine:
Because then BND and I would enter the contest with our cutting edge prose styles, but no one would be quite ready for our advanced themes.
http://www.ufstarfleet.org
#20 :: Ha. Ha. Ha.
Oh — oh wait, I thought that was a joke. ;P
(I kid, I kid. We love you and BND, AJ. All I can do is write fancy sentences. You guys on Chat actually make people laugh — more than I can claim to do!)
The press release goes out on May 14, but the due date for submissions is JUNE 1???? What the @$&% kind of lead time do you call that????
Get ready to wade through a bunch of rushed dreck, D.C.!
#5: S.B.., au contraire mon ami!
You obviously missed the posting on this very site in January when Rod Roddenberry, Gene’s son, announced:
“Roddenberry Productions has entered into a deal with Ron Howard’s Imagine Television to develop Gene Roddenberry’s 1970s pilot “The Questor Tapes” into a new TV series.”
See these links:
https://trekmovie.com/2010/01/21/gene-roddenberrys-the-questor-tapes-being-developed-as-new-tv-series/
http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/01/24/remake-of-gene-roddenberrys-the-questor-tapes-in-the-works/
#23 – Actually, it’s been announced to Starfleet’s members for a few months. They’ve already had some time to craft their stories.
When are the winners going to be announced?