Questions serious entrants will ask.

No. The awards recognize human-machine fiction: work where a human author directs, selects, revises, and accepts responsibility for the final piece.

No. There is no genre or subject restriction, and these are not awards for fiction about artificial intelligence. Crime, romance, historical, horror, literary, science fiction — anything eligible as fiction qualifies. What matters is that a human author directed an AI-assisted process, not what the story is about.

Yes. Entrants retain copyright and publication rights. Any future anthology or publication opportunity would be optional and governed by a separate agreement.

No. Year One is original fiction only. Fan fiction and unauthorized derivative works are not eligible.

No. Human readers and judges make literary, advancement, finalist, and award decisions. AI tools may support administration, process review, and packet preparation.

Because the awards exist to establish that human-directed AI-assisted fiction is a real practice, and that needs a record rather than an assertion. The dossier is evidence of human direction, not a measure of quality — which is why fiction impact carries 45% and a strong workflow will not rescue a weak story. The longer answer is in the colophon.

Authors under 18 may be eligible with parent or legal guardian consent, privacy safeguards, and separate handling for any public materials or prizes.

Fees support review labor, administration, anti-abuse handling, and prize funding. They also protect the awards from spam, bulk uploads, and bad-faith disruption.

Submitted manuscripts, prompts, drafts, repositories, and process materials are treated as confidential review materials. Public summaries or excerpts require approval.

Brainstorming, outlining, drafting, critique, revision, continuity checking, worldbuilding, translation assistance, custom tools, agents, retrieval systems, and repository workflows may all qualify when disclosed.