SCI-FI-LONDON and UrbanFantasist.com are setting you an exciting challenge during the festival: a 24 hour flash fiction competition on a sci-fi or fantasy theme.

Each year we run a 48hr film challenge, where we give the teams a TITLE, line of DIALOGUE and a few other things to base their film on. We want you to write some literature with the same details.

How it will work

Entry is free and open to anyone who writes or would like to dip a toe in the literary water.

The story must be no more than 1000 words (excluding title and author’s name and contact details).

Entrants can take part by either collecting their random TITLE etc from the foyer of the Royal Society on Wed 1st May 2013 or by SMS/Email.

If you turn up in person, you will be presented with 'lucky dip bags' to pick three slips. On the first slip will be the TITLE to be used, on the second slip, a piece of DIALOGUE that must be incorporated somewhere into the story and on the third slip will be an optional SCIENCE THEME (selected for us by readers of NewScientist) for the story. Easy! Half your work is done!

If you take part by SMS/Email, we will randomly select on your behalf and send the details to you. You can collect your slips from 5:30pm on WEDNESDAY 1st MAY.

You then have 24 hours to write your story. The deadline for submission is THURSDAY 2nd MAY at 8:00pm via a PDF sent as an email attachment to charles@charles-christian.com

Judging

The Flash Fiction submissions will then be judged by a panel comprising Author of much suspense and gore, Sam Stone, Tom Hunter, Administrator of the Arthur C Clarke Award, SCI-FI-LONDON's literary editor Robert Grant, and Charles Christian, SF&F writer and founder of UrbanFantasist.com - the webzine for SF&F fans.

The winner

The winner will be announced on the SCI-FI-LONDON closing day, Monday 6th May, and will receive a sumptuous SCI-FI-LONDON goodie bag. The winning story will also be published on the SCI-FI-LONDON and UrbanFantastist.com websites (and be tweeted and promoted by both sites through all the usual social media).

This is your chance to join in the fun, be published and win a prize! Have a look at UrbanFantasist.com for recently published examples of flash fiction in their regular TFi Flash Fiction section.

Online Registration has closed - If you would still like to participate, please do so in person at the Royalsociety