It should come as no surprise to hear that Gene Roddenbury’s Star Trek franchise is one of the most endearing and enduring pieces of quality space opera in the world.
There was even a time, many years ago, when anybody was allowed to write a Star Trek novel and submit it to Simon and Shuster for review!
Sadly, those days are long gone and Paramount would prefer to work only with authors and writing staffs of their choosing in developing Star Trek novels, comics, episodes and films.
So where does that leave the rest of us aspiring Trek writers? We’re glad you asked.
The Galactic Treks line is your time to shine. We’re seeking novels, shorts and series that center on space exploration, optimism, a protagonist or a crew as members of something bigger (a fleet perhaps), and an emphasis on thinking one’s way to final resolve over simply blowing everything up.
I wrote an actual Star Trek story, can I submit it?
Yes, BUT before you do so, you must remove any and all specific properties, references, characters, locations etc. that belong to Paramount Pictures. We do not hold the Star Trek license – this is why we ask only for pieces that have the Trek feel to them. Submissions that ignore this, the golden rule, will be automatically rejected.
Please change these names, locations, organizations to creations of your own before submitting. We are only interested in completely original material.
My Story most closely resembles Discovery (or Voyager, or Next Generation etc.), would that still work?
Yes, we are interested in pieces that have that Trek quality story telling about them but not suggesting that you should be emulating any specific franchise. Whether The Original Series is your soft spot, you are most inspired by animated Prodigy and everything in between, or even something that takes elements from multiple pieces and mixes and matches them, we don’t discriminate. Good story telling is our main objective.
Are there examples of other media that have done this before?
Absolutely. We suggest checking out franchises like The Orville, Galaxy Quest, even the forgotten 90s young adult space opera series Space Cases if you’d like to see successful incarnations of this process in action.
Are there formatting requirements?
We would like to keep all of the tales in the Galactic Treks line consistent so that means third person, past tense for all submissions. Length is left to your discretion.
Other than that, please read our general Submission Guidelines.
Can I just rewrite one of my favorite episodes of Trek with my own characters and locations?
You could but we’re not interested in such things. We’re looking for strong writing, originality and cleverness of plot here.
I write Star Trek fan-fiction – can I submit that?
Assuming you follow the golden rule as stated above (no use of copyrighted/ trademarked material within your manuscript), we will take a look. Just be sure to mention whether or not it has already been published and where.
Do I need to be mindful of continuity?
Only if you’re planning on turning your entry into a series – in which case whatever characters/ rules and universe you create should remain consistent throughout. We aren’t planning on opening tales we publish for other authors to contribute to/ nor are we looking to mix and match entries. You retain the rights to your piece as will be outlined in your contract if we are interested in publishing your submission.
Remember Paramount Pictures, which owns all copyright to Star Trek in its various incarnations is not endorsed by nor affiliated with Starry Eyed Press. We are not interested in receiving nor will we publish anything that contains copyrighted material.
Starry Eyed Press 