New version of Cosmictales goes global

4 April, 2019 / Read time: 3 minutes

The 2019 call for Cosmictales has kicked off with the participation of leading Spanish writers. This new version will be held simultaneously in Chile and Spain and will award 18 winning tales from both countries.

April 30, 2019, is the deadline for lovers of astronomy and space to submit their entries to the sixth annual short story competition, “Cosmictales,” a joint initiative by the NGO Fundación Astromanía, ALMA and the Explora-Conicyt Program, designed to motivate literary creativity inspired by the Universe.

The call is open to all residents of Chile and Spain, and has categories for youth from 12 to 17 years, and adults 18 years and up. To participate, just go to the official competition site at www.astromania.cl/cosmocuentos, fill out the participation form and attach your cosmictale with a maximum of 120 words. Submissions must be original work by the author and be related to astronomy or related sciences.

Awards for winners include the following books: “Polvo de estrellas” (Stardust) by Chilean astronomer José Maza Sancho, “Mirador: Cielo y Tierra” (Mirador: Sky and Earth) by MIM and “Las chicas son de ciencias” (Girls are from science) by Irene Cívico and Sergio Parra (Spain), as well as educational material “Pinball y Ciencia” (Pinball and Science) and an Explore Scientific FirstLight N114mm Newtonian Reflector telescope.

The best short stories will be selected by a panel of judges including representatives from ALMA, the Mirador Interactive Museum (MIM), Universidad Andrés Bello and Universidad de Antofagasta and the Astronomical Observatory of Universidad de Valencia (Spain), as well as the Astronomical Association of Valencia (Spain), and Primer Fotón (Chile). Evaluators will also include leading science writers in Spain, Jordi José Pont and Manuel Moreno Lupiáñez from Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya, authors of the book “La ciencia de la ciencia ficción”, (The science behind science fiction), which will also be given to competition winners.

In this version, we expect a great turnout with a wide variety of stories from both the northern and southern hemisphere, reflecting the increasing interest in science in Chile and around the world.

As in previous years, winning cosmictales will be published in a small paperback book in Spanish with English translations, and will be handed out at the awards ceremony held in the MIM Universe Tunnel.

Additional Information

More information about Cosmocuentos here: www.astromania.cl/cosmocuentos.

ALMA is a partnership between ESO (on behalf of its European Member States), NSF (USA), and NINS (Japan); together with NRC (Canada), MOST and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO, and NAOJ.