Theodore Sturgeon Award

The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story published in English in the preceding calendar year. The award is named in honor of Theodore Sturgeon, one of the leading authors of the Golden Age of Science Fiction from 1939 to 1950. The award was established in 1987 by his heirs—including his widow, Jayne Sturgeon—and James Gunn, at the time the Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. Nominations are submitted by reviewers, fans, publishers, and editors, and are collated into a list of finalists to be voted on by the jury. The maximum eligible length that a work may be is not formally defined by the center.

From the Wikipedia article “Theodore Sturgeon Award”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Check the official rules of the Theodore Sturgeon Award for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.