1.1. The Future History International Science Fiction Award (the “Award”) is a public competition organized as part of the educational, cultural, and public engagement activities of the ATOM Foundation to Promote the Development of Research, Education, and Communication Initiatives (the ATOM Foundation). The Award is intended to foster a positive perception of nuclear energy and related technologies, their unique role and significance in the modern world and in the future, and to promote science and advanced technologies among the general public.
1.2. These Regulations define the nature of the competition, the submission procedures and deadlines, the criteria and process for evaluating entries, the prize structure and prize fund, and the procedures and timetable for announcing the Award results.
 
1.3. The Award Organizer is the ATOM Foundation to Promote the Development of Research, Education, and Communication Initiatives, Taxpayer Identification Number (INN): 9705164678, Tax Registration Reason Code (KPP): 771701001, registered address: 119 Mira Avenue, Building 19A, Ostankinsky Municipal District, Moscow 129223, Russian Federation (the “Organizer”).
 
1.4. The Award is held under the auspices of the State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM.
 
1.5. Information about the Award’s partners is published on the official Award website at https://fhistory.ru (the “Website”).
 
1.6. The Organizer may engage third parties to perform certain organizational functions related to the Award.
 
1.7. The Award is governed by the applicable laws of the Russian Federation and these Regulations. The Award is a non-commercial educational and cultural initiative and does not constitute a promotional advertising campaign within the meaning of Article 9 of Federal Law No. 38-FZ of March 13, 2006, “On Advertising,” nor a lottery within the meaning of Federal Law No. 138-FZ of November 11, 2003, “On Lotteries,” or any other game of chance.

The principal objectives of the Award, which determine its areas of activity, operational mechanisms, and procedures, are as follows:

• To encourage the development of science fiction as a means of creatively interpreting the present and imagining the future;
• To recognize and support talented authors working in science fiction and related genres;
• To promote contemporary scientific and technological achievements among readers;
• To foster international cooperation among writers and cultural figures whose work explores the future of humanity.

The Award includes three main science fiction categories:

• Best Short Story;
• Best Short Story for Children and Young Adults;
• Best Foreign-Language Short Story.

The Organizer may establish additional special categories at its discretion.

4.1. The Award Jury shall be appointed by the Organizer and shall consist of experts, including science fiction writers, screenwriters, scientists, and other distinguished figures in the fields of culture and science. The composition of the Jury shall be approved by the Organizer and published on the Website or otherwise communicated to participants in a manner determined by the Organizer.

4.2. The Jury shall consist of five experts.

5.1. Nomination is the process by which literary works are submitted for consideration for the Award.
 
5.2. Works submitted in the Best Story and Best Story for Children and Young Adults categories shall be nominated directly by their authors through the submission form available on the Website. The submission must include the author's contact information (and literary pseudonym, if applicable), citizenship, place of residence, and age. The submission must be accompanied by an original work meeting the requirements set forth in Section 6 of these Regulations.
 
5.3.Works submitted in the Best Foreign-Language Story category shall be nominated by international cultural organizations that are partners of the Award.

Works may be submitted for consideration for the Award provided that they meet the following criteria:

• Compliance with the competition requirements, including the theme of the work and any other conditions published on the Website;
• A text length of between 20,000 and 50,000 characters (for the Best Story, Best Story for Children and Young Adults, and Best Foreign-Language Story categories);
• From the date of submission until the official announcement of the Award results, the work must not be published in full or in part in either print or electronic form. For the purposes of these Regulations, publication means making the text of the work available to an indefinite number of persons by any means, including publication on the Internet.
• Submitted works must not contain supplementary materials, including illustrations, photographs, graphics, or similar elements.

The following works are not eligible for participation in the Competition:

• Works that violate generally accepted ethical standards or contain profane language;
• Works that violate applicable laws, including intellectual property laws;
• Works created by individuals involved in the administration of the Award on behalf of the Organizer, as well as by their relatives.

The selection and evaluation of entries in the Best Story and Best Story for Children and Young Adults categories shall be conducted as follows:

• No later than ten days after the submission deadline, the Organizer shall publish on the Website the final nomination lists, indicating all works submitted and admitted to the Competition in accordance with Section 6 of these Regulations.
• Works submitted for consideration for the Award do not receive reader reports are not no editorial feedback is provided.  
• Each work included in the longlist shall be read and evaluated independently by two readers. The evaluation criteria shall be literary merit, originality of the science-fiction concept, and compliance with the competition requirements.
• If the scores assigned by the two readers differ significantly (by more than 50% of the maximum possible score), the work shall be referred for a third reading. The highest scores shall be taken into account in the final calculation.
• If both readers determine that a work submitted to the children's category is not appropriate for its intended audience, the work shall be excluded from consideration in that category. The author shall be offered the opportunity to transfer the work to the adult category. If the author has already submitted a work to that category, the author shall be required to choose which of the two works will participate in the Competition.
• Based on the readers' evaluations, a longlist shall be compiled for each category, consisting of the works that received the highest scores.
• The works included in the longlists shall be submitted to an Expert Committee composed of science fiction writers, members of the science fiction community, critics and scholars of science fiction, and finalists and winners of previous seasons of the Award.
• The composition of the Expert Committee shall be approved by the Organizer and published on the Award Website.
• The Expert Committee shall compile a shortlist for each category based on a vote of its members.
• Following the work of the Expert Committee, comments by Committee members regarding the longlists and the works included therein shall be published on the Award Website and the Award's social media channels.
• The works included in the shortlists by the Expert Committee shall be submitted to the Jury for evaluation.
• The Jury shall determine the third-place, second-place, and first-place winners in each category through voting and collective deliberation.

Authors of the best works in each category will receive monetary prizes:
 

• First place   – 1,000,000 rubles;
• Second place   – 500,000 rubles;
• Third place   – 300,000 rubles.

The total prize fund for the three main categories is 5,400,000 rubles.

Prize payments shall be made to the winners within 90 days following the Award ceremony and the official announcement of the Award results.

If a cash prize is awarded for a work created by two or more co-authors, the co-authors shall independently determine the distribution of the prize and notify the Organizer of their decision.

The principal stages and deadlines of the Award are as follows:

• Announcement of the opening of the Award season   – no later than May 20, 2026;
• Opening of submissions (competition entries)   – May 20, 2026;
• Submission deadline   – September 1, 2026, at 23:59 Moscow time;
• Publication of the nomination lists   – no later than September 10, 2026, at 23:59 Moscow time;
• Announcement of the longlists for all categories   – October 2026;
• Announcement of the shortlists for all categories   – November 2026.
• The winners in all Award categories shall be announced at a formal award ceremony no later than December 31, 2026

10.1. The collection of participants' personal data, as well as other information that does not constitute personal data, shall be carried out through the Website during registration and/or authorization by means of forms available on the Website, or by other available methods (including through third-party services), as well as when participants modify previously provided information or voluntarily supplement their personal data using the functionality provided by the Website.

10.2. Participants undertake to provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information about themselves when participating in the Award and to keep such information current. If such information is incomplete, inaccurate, misleading, or if the Organizer has reasonable grounds to believe this to be the case, the Organizer shall have the right to suspend or deny the participant's participation in the Award.
The Organizer shall not be liable for the submission of inaccurate information or for any adverse consequences arising therefrom.

10.3. The Organizer processes personal data for the following purposes:

10.3.1. Organizing and conducting educational events and competitions, including the delivery of prizes and promotional merchandise.

10.3.2. Processing claims, complaints, and inquiries submitted by Award participants and third parties, as well as maintaining accounting and tax records (with respect to Award participants who receive prizes or promotional merchandise).

10.4. Personal data may be processed by the Organizer as well as by third parties engaged by the Organizer for processing activities or to whom personal data is transferred for the purposes specified above in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. Such third parties may include, in particular:

• providers of Website operation and hosting services;
• providers of services related to the organization and conduct of educational events and competitions, including the delivery of prizes and promotional merchandise;
• providers of messaging and communication services for Website users;
• state and municipal authorities.

10.5. For the purposes specified in Section 10.3 of these Regulations, the Organizer shall be entitled to enter personal data into information systems and to store and process such data by any means not prohibited by law for the duration of the Award, any related legal relationships, and any period required by applicable legislation of the Russian Federation.
Upon achievement of the purposes of processing, or where such purposes are no longer necessary, the personal data being processed shall be destroyed unless otherwise required by law or separately agreed by the parties.

10.6. More detailed information regarding the processing of personal data, the measures implemented to protect personal data, and the exercise of data subjects' rights is set out in the Personal Data Processing Policy available on the Website.

11.1. The exclusive rights to a submitted work shall remain with the author (rightsholder), unless otherwise provided for in a separate agreement between the author and the Organizer.

11.2. By submitting a work to the Competition, the participant grants the Organizer, on a royalty-free basis, the right to use the work to the extent necessary for the administration of the Award, including the right to reproduce the work in electronic form, store it, provide it to readers, experts, and Jury members, and to use excerpts from the work, its title, synopsis, and information about the author in informational, promotional, and presentation materials relating to the Award, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

11.3. Any use of a work beyond the purposes of conducting the Award, including publication, making the complete text publicly available, translation, adaptation for screen, or any other adaptation or derivative use, shall be subject to a separate agreement with the rightsholder, unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law or by these Regulations.

11.4. The participant represents and warrants that the submission of the work and its use within the framework of the Award do not infringe the rights of any third party. In the event of claims brought by third parties, the participant shall undertake to resolve such claims independently and at their own expense if the infringement results from circumstances attributable to the participant.