To encourage philosophical engagement with the public, the American Philosophical Association (APA) is funding a “Philosophy Through Fiction” short story competition. 

At the Blog of the APA, the competition organizers explain the competition’s rationale:

As philosophers, we frequently tell stories in the form of brief thought experiments. In the past and today, philosophers have also written longer, richer stories. Famous examples include Simone de Beauvoir, Iris Murdoch, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Fiction allows us to explore ideas that cannot be easily dealt with in the format of a journal article or monograph, and helps us to reach a broader audience, as the enduring popularity of philosophical novels shows. The aim of this competition is to encourage philosophers to use fiction to explore philosophical ideas, thereby broadening our scope and toolkit.

As for style and content, they write:

Short stories that are eligible for this competition must be some form of speculative fiction (this includes, but is not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternative history, or magical realism), and must explore one or more philosophical ideas. These can be implicit; there is no restriction on which philosophical ideas you explore.

The winner of the competition will be awarded $500 and have his or her story published in Sci Phi Journal.

More details, including eligibility and deadlines, here.

David Kracov, “Book of Life”