Pocket Books has announced the winners of their "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 9" short story contest. "Strange New Worlds" is an anthology series allowing non-professional writers to submit short stories based on any of the Trek shows (following certain rules and guidelines) for possible publication. The ninth edition of the series, to be published in August 2006, will contain 23 works selected from among several thousand entries.

The three top prize winners will receive a cash bonus on top of their publishing contract which provides for per-word payment plus a share of royalties. In addition, the winning authors will be invited to be special guests at the Shore Leave science fiction convention in Baltimore, Maryland, in July.

The Grand Prize winner is R.S. Belcher for a story called "Orphans." Second Prize has been awarded to Susan S. McCrackin for a Voyager story called "Choices." Third Prize goes to a Star Trek: Enterprise piece called "Mestral" by Ben Guilfoy. Belcher's story falls under the category of "Speculations," which transcends any particular show or otherwise breaks categorical precedents.

The complete list of "Strange New Worlds 9" winners is as follows:

The Original Series:
John Coffren — "Gone Native"
David DeLee — "A Bad Day for Koloth"
Steven Costa — "Book of Fulfillment"
Jeremy Yoder — "The Smallest Choices"

The Next Generation:
Paul C. Tseng — "Staying the Course"
Jim Johnson — "Home Soil"
Scott Pearson — "Terra Tonight"
Jeff D. Jacques — "Solace in Bloom"

Deep Space Nine:
Emily P. Bloch — "Shadowed Allies"
Gerri Leen — "Living on the Edge of Existence"
Mike McDevitt — "The Last Tree on Ferenginar: A Ferengi Fable From the Future"
Ryan M. Williams — "The Tribbles' Pagh"

Voyager:
Susan S. McCrackin — "Choices" (2nd Prize)
Russ Crossley — "Unconventional Cures"
Catherine E. Pike — "Maturation"

Enterprise:
Allison Cain — "Rounding a Corner Already Turned"
A. Rhea King — "Mother Nature's Little Reminders"
Ben Guilfoy — "Mestral" (3rd Prize)

Speculations:
Randy Tatano — "Remembering the Future"
Kenneth E. Carper — "Rocket Man"
Kevin Lauderdale — "The Rules of War"
Marc Carlson — "The Immortality Blues"
R.S. Belcher — "Orphans" (Grand Prize)

The judges of the competition, who have been deliberating for the last six months, are Dean Wesley Smith, Elisa J. Kassin and Paula M. Block, the three editors of the anthology. For more about this and other Star Trek publications, visit www.simonsays.com/startrek. Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.