By Dmitry Filipoff

Fiction Contest Week is finally here! For the next two weeks, CIMSEC will run the top stories submitted in response to our Short Story Fiction Contest, launched in partnership with the U.S. Naval Institute for the third consecutive year.

The top 3 winning stories will be jointly featured by the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings and CIMSEC. Additionally, the top 10 stories that advanced to the final round of judging will be featured in CIMSEC’s Fiction Contest Week.

These exciting and thoughtful stories explore the future of maritime security and war at sea. Nascent threats, tactics, and technologies are ingeniously envisioned and applied, with often unexpected scenarios and outcomes. Through these stories we can peer into future challenges and explore how the unthinkable may unfold.

These top 10 stories are listed below, and are not necessarily listed in the order they placed or will appear. Stay tuned to the very end to find out who won!

“Manned Unmanned Warfare,” by Ivan Villescas
“Bulldogs Away,” by Ralph G. Francisco
“Puddle Jumpers,” by Kevin P. Smith
“Splash Twelve,” by Tyler E. Totten
“Warfighting Second,” by Jacob Rothstein
“Valiance,” by Daniel Lee
“Thunder in the Lightless Sea,” by Jonathan French
“Exit Music,” by Ben Plotkin
“Kraken!” by Jon Paris
“Expeditionary Logistics,” by Jack Montgomery

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at Content@cimsec.org.

Featured Image: Art created with Midjourney AI.