If you ever had the pleasure of meeting Robert or Virginia, an account of the circumstances and consequences of your encounter will receive special consideration. Scholarly articles dealing with philosophical issues raised in Heinlein's works, or, especially, even personal articles about those issues if your resolution of them due to the questions that Heinlein presented helped form the person that you became, critical appraisals covering major themes, evaluations of the scientific principals described in his works. Especially valuable would be articles from writers who were influenced by Heinlein, or from people in the aerospace industries, education fields, the military or any other profession, who were influenced in their career choices by reading Heinlein's works.

HOW WILL SUBMISSIONS BE JUDGED?

Each submission will be reviewed by a member of the Heinlein Society for appropriateness and decorum. Once submissions pass this first review, they will be posted on line in the Articles section of this presentation for public review and comment. Editorial comments will be passed along to the authors, who will be responsible for amending and resubmitting their articles in accordance with the feedback. Editing is optional, of course, but a positive response to feedback may affect the voting. While readers will be able to "vote" for their favorite articles in a "popularity survey," the final selections will be made by the membership of The Heinlein Society, who will make their selections from the top vote getters in each category. (Membership in the Heinlein Society is open to the public. Please Click here to Join The Society.)

HOW WILL THE FINAL SELECTIONS BE MADE?

[Changes] The deadline for submissions has been changed from April 1 to August 1 and the public review period will now end on May 1, 2007. From September 1 to October 1, the members of the Society will read and vote on all of the articles that have been nominated by the public for inclusion in the Centennial Reader. The voting period will end on October 1, to allow us the time required to edit, proof, and prepare the volume for publication.

HOW WILL THE CENTENNIAL READER BE PUBLISHED?

The Heinlein Centennial Reader will be published in three forms, as an e-book, as a 6x9 paperback and as a hard cover book in standard library binding. The Reader will be offered through the Society's website, and will be available from other sources.

WHO RECEIVES THE PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THE READER?

All royalties received from the sale of The Heinlein Centennial Reader will be paid to The Heinlein Society to support its charitable activities. For more information about the Heinlein Society's activities, please see our main page by clicking on HOME in the menu above or here. More information about the Society is found by clicking on Heinlein Society in the menu or clicking here. Each contributor will receive a complimentary copy of the library bound edition.

HOW DO I SUBMIT AN ARTICLE TO THECOMPETITION?

Articles MUST be submitted electronically in plain text or rich text  format only, and must be submitted as an attachment to an email. For more information on submitting an article please go to the article submission page

WHO HOLDS THE COPYRIGHT ON SUBMITTED ARTICLES?

The authors retain the copyright on all submitted materials. As part of the submission process, authors grant The Heinlein Society the royalty-free use of their copyrighted materials, allowing us to post the materials on our web site and include them in the Centennial Reader free of charge.

WHY SHOULD I DO THIS?

If you have to ask that question, then you probably shouldn't participate. If you are uncertain about whether or not to enter the competition, consider this: the entries will be read by established science fiction authors, agents, and publishers. The final selections will be read and re-read by Heinlein aficionados for years to come. Robert became a writer because of a short story writing competition, which peaked his interest in writing professionally. It's only fitting that we celebrate his Centennial by affording others the same opportunity.

Many years ago, Heinlein coined the phrase, "Pay It Forward," which, to him, meant repaying favors done for you when you are in a position to do favors for someone else. Those of us who are involved with the Society regard Heinlein as both a master story teller and as a teacher from whom we have learned much, whose teachings have helped to shape our view of the world. Those of us who feel this way believe that it is incumbent upon us to encourage future generations of readers to read Heinlein, and think about the questions he raises in his writings.