Now that we’ve bid 2010 goodbye, it’s time to take a fond look back. We had an excellent year for fiction and many of our stories have been picked up for best-of-the-year volumes. So the editors have had their say, but we’d like to give our readers the chance to tell us what their favorite stories are, too. You’re the reason we can keep publishing amazing stories, so you should get a say. Thus, our first annual Lightspeed Magazine Story Poll!

Just like our sister-publication, Fantasy Magazine, however, we’re rewarding the winning authors, and not only will the story with the most votes get the author bragging rights—it will also win them a prize.

But wait, there’s more! We’re also offering a prize to readers. If you leave a comment on any of the 16 original stories published in 2010 at Lightspeed Magazine you will be entered in a drawing for a prize of your own. In order for your entry to qualify, there are some rules:

1. The comment must be substantive — not just ‘This story was awesome’. Tell us why you liked or didn’t like the story, make your case that it’s one of the best stories of 2010 (if you feel that way), or anything else you’re moved to say.

2. You are allowed to comment on as many stories as you like, but only one comment per story is counted. (Example: if you comment 1 time on 5 stories, we throw your name in the hat 5 times, if you comment 5 times on 1 story, we throw your name in the hat only once.) Maximum number of entries is 10.

3. Your comment must be timestamped on or after February 1st and on or before February 28th.

The winner is picked randomly, so the more you comment, the better your chances. The prize? A $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com.

Here are links to all of the eligible, original fiction we published in 2010:

• I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno, Vylar Kaftan
• The Cassandra Project, Jack McDevitt
• Cats in Victory, David Barr Kirtley
• Amaryllis, Carrie Vaughn
• No Time Like the Present, Carol Emshwiller
• The Zeppelin Conductors’ Society Annual Gentlemen’s Ball, Genevieve Valentine
• How to Become a Mars Overlord, Catherynne M. Valente
• Arvies, Adam-Troy Castro
• Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain, Yoon Ha Lee
• Amid the Words of War, Cat Rambo
• Hindsight, Sarah Langan
• The Taste of Starlight, John R. Fultz
• Standard Loneliness Package, Charles Yu
• Hwang’s Billion Brilliant Daughters, Alice Sola Kim
• In-Fall, Ted Kosmatka
• Jenny’s Sick, David Tallerman

Click here to take the Lightspeed Poll!