FYI: I came across this contest today for a short story (2000-6000 words) contest sponsored by The National Space Society (NSS) and Hadley Rille Books. They are looking for science fiction stories that show the adventure of lunar settlement and accepting submissions for stories that deal with humanity’s return to, and colonization of the Moon. Visit www.nss.org or www.hadleyrillebooks.com for updates story guidelines and rules. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2008.

I love some of the ideas posed by the editors:

• How have we set about establishing a lunar base, and then a colony?
• What are living conditions like?
• What is the lunar wilderness like? What kind of exploring to settlers do?
• What are the buildings like and how do people get around the lunar surface?
• What kinds of transportation do they use to travel to and from the Moon?
• What kind of society lives there? What are the challenges to human social structures?
• Are lunar colonies self-sufficient or do they depend on Earth?
• What kind of industries exist and how do the colonists make use of lunar resources?
• Does the colony resemble Las Vegas or is it more like a science outpost?
• Will there be settlements on the far side — a radio telescope array, perhaps?
• Is the colony located near one of the poles where miners extract ice from the permanently shadowed areas?
• Why have we established a colony on the Moon?