From Vicki Werkley, Todd, Chuck S, Nina, and Effie:

Twenty-five years ago, five determined individuals—Sharon Joy (TX), Pam Mandeville (TX), Debbie Markley (CA), Vicki Koenig (MN) and Chris Menefee (DC)—found each other, and it was 25 years ago today that these Five Founding Parents (FFP) started the group Spotlight Starman, a grass-roots effort to return STARMAN to TV with new episodes. On this day, May 22, 1987, the FFP were all on the same phone call to talk about campaign strategies as well as ways to find other like minds who valued the show. That we’re all here today is ample testament that they succeeded spectacularly. Chris Menefee recalled, "In the months and years that followed, long distance telephone, newsletter printing and first class postage costs all took 'beaucoup moo'—my phone bills alone were often several hundred dollars a month—but somehow through the generosity and trust of many STARMAN fans, we managed to keep the communications going in those pre-Internet (and pre-unlimited calling plan) days.

“That was one of those events you never forget where you were at the time,” she continued. “I remember rocking gently in the cabin of my houseboat with a STARMAN tape playing on my VCR and holding the phone as if it were a lifeline. In 1987, ordinary people didn't have Internet or social networking or cell phones to connect with each other, we had The Mail and The Telephone, and a group phone call was cutting-edge. It seems unlikely that the five of us should have connected at all, much less meshed as we did and organized. >From my point of view it seemed sheer luck deriving from the facts that nobody else wanted us, and we were all of a like mind. Some of us had tried in vain to persuade Viewers for Quality Television to show some respect for STARMAN; the studio had a list of names of fans drawn from pesky letters they didn't want to have to answer; and through a haphazard coincidence of referrals, we connected with each other and had the names and contact information of other fans. It was obvious we'd have to go ahead with an organization of our own, since nobody else would listen, and when we got together in that phone call, it was as if we were already a well-oiled machine; we quickly agreed on a plan. We figured we'd make an all-out effort, because the whole thing would be over soon, one way or the other - either STARMAN came back, or it didn't. Of course it did come back, but not in the way we expected in the beginning: it was in the subculture of fans that's still creating new 'episodes' in real life. Blue light forever!”

ANNOUNCING
“The Star Return II Challenge"
A 25^th Anniversary STARMAN Short Story Writing Contest

To commemorate this historic event and continue our celebration of renewed interest from the official Sony DVDs and the STARMAN Fan Fiction Archive, we’re really excited to announce a 25^th Anniversary short story writing contest (around 2000 words or fewer), “The Star Return II Challenge,” with winners being announced at STARMAN FAMILY-CON 2012 in October, where we’ll culminate this silver jubilee of all things STARMAN.

We want the entire fandom involved, and everyone to have fun, so winners will be determined by reader evaluation of a story against set criteria, with the grand winner receiving the soon-to-be-coveted, engraved “STARMAN Silver Pen Award,” and the top three entries getting certificates signed by a mystery StarStaffer. Surely these keepsakes will be cherished and handed down through the generations! But hyperbole aside, we wanted to provide some memento the winners will be proud to have as formal recognition of their talent.

Those of you who have read the older stories in The Star Return Series are aware that the concept originated with Effie Burton and Joyce Fossek in 1994. Their idea—revisiting the many supporting characters helped by Starman in every episode to see how Paul's visit changed the lives of the people he had encountered—became the basis of an ongoing challenge. The stories must focus primarily on the guest characters, though, of course, Paul and Scott could get to see the results just as we do. Effie also notes that the stories are not supposed to be conflict oriented—no captures or car chases. But they may help resolve a new or old problem for the people Starman and Scott visited. Each story is to be solely about one episode’s characters, without characters from multiple episodes mingling.

The contest begins now for story submissions and ends on September 19, the 26^th anniversary of the first episode of STARMAN ever shown. Reader scorecards are due no later than September 26. The challenge itself will continue past the contest, since future inspiration for stories around this theme may occur years from now. It is open to anyone who has the passion and energy and joy to write STARMAN fanfic, so you don’t have to be a “professional” or super experienced writer, nor a member of SSI, to enter. All new stories in the contest will be posted into The Star Return II Challenge Series on the fan fiction archive, which will be different from the current Star Return Series. We’ll merge them together after the contest. At the end of each story will be a scorecard to cut, paste and send back to HowNovel@starmanet.com by September 26, 2012. This is also the address to which you send your entries, hopefully with enough time prior to September 19 for most people to read and evaluate them! If you miss the deadline, your story will still be included in the series, only after the contest.

We want to encourage a lot of entries, particularly from new writers eager to demonstrate their passion for storytelling. Many of you have recently viewed the episodes on the official Sony DVDs, so some of the characters are fresh in your mind. That makes it a great time right now to think of what might have changed for these people and share that story with us over the next few months. For full contest details, read on.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“The Star Return II Challenge"
A 25^th Anniversary STARMAN Short Story Writing Contest

STORY GUIDELINES:

All stories should be set no more than three years after Paul's return to help Scott. They want to go back to see how Paul's visit has changed the lives of the people he encountered. This must be the major theme of all the stories. But maybe a person's life hasn't changed. This would still make an interesting story. The idea is to see how these people were living reasonably soon after they met the Starman and shown the way to a better life.

The stories must not be conflict oriented—no captures or chases of Paul and Scott, but they could help resolve a new problem for the people they are visiting.

It would be especially nice if the story reminisced a little about the first visit, but not in too much detail. These would be more to explain things which weren't seen on the screen, rather than rehashing what we already know.

Each story must be based upon an individual episode. There shouldn't be people from two episodes intermingled.

Length: Around 2000 words or fewer. There will be some leeway, but not much!

Be sure to submit a summary of your story with your submission.

CRITERIA: On a 1-5 scale (5 being the highest), to what extent does the story exhibit: (each 10 % of total score)

"Canonicity" - To what extent: does the story pay homage to the series, through dialogue, allusions, motifs, or realism within the bounds of the canon? Does sphere use advance the story rather than serve as some instant “magic” solution to a tight situation?

1 2 3 4 5

Plotting - To what extent: is this an innovative or compelling story that holds your interest? Does it keep the pace well? Are the events of the plot believably strung together? An original take on a central STARMAN theme? If humor is employed, does it fit the context?

1 2 3 4 5

Character Development - To what extent: are the characters fleshed out, i.e., does the reader understand why their motivations and actions make sense within the context of their original encounter with Starman? Within this specific story? Does the dialogue seem believable, i.e., could you imagine Paul and Scott or the particular character in a series episode saying them?

1 2 3 4 5

Writing quality - To what extent: is the structure logical and easy to follow? Are there any continuity problems or huge unexplained gaps? Do the sentence skills—grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, general proofreading—exhibit excellence? Is there wide use of vocabulary? Does the language flow? Does the writing avoid “headhopping”—frequent bouncing back and forth between points of view, and is it clear when switching points of view?

1 2 3 4 5

In Starman’s Spirit - To what extent: does the story exemplify or advance STARMAN values such as promoting kindness, respect between generations or the sexes, and positive human relationships?

1 2 3 4 5

Overall Impression (20%)

5 – One of the best stories in the contest

4 – Really enjoyed reading it

3 – Good story

2 – Some element turned me off

1 – Poorly written or totally disliked story

SCORING:

Average score of all readers submitting evaluations on scorecard:

5 Individual Criteria: (5 rating = 10 points, 4 = 8 points, 3 = 6 Points, 2 = 4 points, 1 = 2 points) TOTAL 50 points maximum

Overall Impression: (5 rating = 20 points, 4 = 16 points, 3 = 12 points, 2 = 8 points, 1 = 0 points) TOTAL 20 points maximum

Judges Panel: Average of judges ratings using same scorecard. TOTAL 20 points maximum

Judges panel: a team of experienced writers and editors of STARMAN fan fiction, including a college-level teacher of English Composition and Literature: Chuck, Todd, Nina, and possibly one more, a published writer.

Kudos and Comments: 1 point for each kudos or comment received on the Archive, maximum of 5 each. TOTAL 10 points maximum

ELIGIBILITY:

· Open to anyone who has the passion and energy and joy to write STARMAN fanfic. Judges of course are ineligible for the contest, as are prior Star Return stories. Judges, as well as any writer, may submit their own stories for the ongoing challenge outside of the contest. Please make it clear if you're submitting a story for the challenge, but you don't want it to be judged for this contest.

· No rating higher than “T” (Teen), which is equivalent to the movie rating of PG-13, will be accepted, meaning stories must be suitable for teen audiences. Basically, if it can’t be shown on network TV, we can’t accept it either. This includes inappropriate adult themes, torture, graphic violence, explicit sex, or profanity unless pixilated out, and is also the standard for all stories posted under the official SSI “How Novel” banner. This is STARMAN, after all, which we profess to be a family-friendly show with strong family values. You must specify a rating of either “G” for “General Audiences” or “T” for “Suitable for Teens” in your submission.

DEADLINES:

September 19, 2012 for story submissions. September 26 for reader evaluations. However, we encourage all writers to submit stories as soon as possible to assure the maximum number of readers for your story and give them time to submit their scorecards.

PRIZES:

The grand prizewinner will receive an engraved “STARMAN Silver Pen Award,” and the top three entries will receive certificates signed by a mystery StarStaffer, connected with the STARMAN TV show.

SUBMIT STORIES AND SCORECARDS TO: HowNovel@starmanet.com