UC San Diego Library & Darkstar Library Present:

Short Tales from the Mothership 2026

Calling all verbomancers, pagerunners, and creative hive minds! The Mothership has completed its journey around the universe, bringing along new stories and friends in its fabled return! 

This live micro-fiction showcase is inspired by George Hay, acclaimed sci-fi author and editor, and a prompt he proposed to writers in the 70s: Write a story that could fit on the back of a postcard. We invite the brightest and bravest of you to take up this mythic challenge, culminating in a night of spoken prose and otherworldly entertainment. Works inspired by speculative fiction, high concept storytelling, or even the iconic Geisel Library itself are all welcome for submission.

SUBMIT A WRITTEN STORY

• Write a story in 250 words or less within the genre(s) of sci-fi/fantasy/horror. Please complete the submission form by Monday, April 20, with your work attached. 20 works will be selected to be read aloud at the event. All submissions have the option to be featured on our digital platform as well.

REGISTER TO ATTEND THE EVENT

• Register to attend the Monday, May 4 Short Tales From the Mothership event in the Seuss Room at Geisel Library, where 20 micro-fiction entries will be read live. Registration is recommended. Walk-ins will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Short Tales from the Mothership is free and open to the public. This event is a live celebration of speculative fiction craft and our local community of creatives. Your attendance supports local libraries, artists and students. 

UC San Diego Library and Darkstar Library are entities on the UC San Diego campus. We reserve the right to contact authors regarding the content of their work and omit submissions if deemed necessary. Submissions must be original work created without the use of generative-AI tools.