February 02, 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s time for us to do away with the uncertainty in the outcome of Quantum Shorts 2017. The shortlisting panel members read thousands and thousands of words across hundreds of stories to choose the shortlists from our 2017 call for entries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are thrilled to announce ten finalists in the competition\u2019s open category and eight in the youth category, coming from writers around the world. Each story takes inspiration from quantum physics, is no more than 1000 words long, and includes the phrase \u201cThere are only two possibilities: yes or no\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of these writers have already won prizes \u2013 with more awards to be decided by our distinguished judges. Now it\u2019s time for you to help someone get even more reward for their writing. You can vote in the People\u2019s Choice prize from now until 23:59 GMT on Thursday 15 February. The story that gets the most support will win a People\u2019s Choice prize of $500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be warned: you may find it a difficult decision. \u201cThis year’s quantum shorts were so amazing that, as I see it, there are only two possibilities: Either a lot of quantum physicists have turned writers, or many writers have picked up some serious quantum mechanics backgrounds. Both possibilities are really exciting,\u201d says Spiros Michalakis, a quantum physicist and outreach manager at the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter at Caltech, which is a scientific partner of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judging panel was full of praise for the entries. Singaporean writer Tania De Rozario described the stories as \u201cengaging and diverse\u201d, while Tobi Day-Hamilton at the Institute for Quantum Computing commended the \u201cwonderful mix of story approaches and styles and themes\u201d. Julia Cramer at QuTech observed that some were \u201cvery beautifully written\u201d, and physicist Matt Edgar at QuantIC said there were \u201csome exceptional pieces which could easily form the basis of an entire book\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n