The list of all finalists:
- “The Birdsong Fossil” by DK Mok, Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures, (April 2021) World Weaver Press ed. by Christoph Rupprecht, Deborah Cleland, Norie Tamura, Rajat Chaudhuri, and Sarena Ulibarri
- “Dress of Ash” by Y. M. Pang, Seasons Between Us: Tales of Identities and Memories, ed. by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law, Laksa Media Groups Inc. (2021)
- “Eight Mile and the City” by Steven Harper, When Worlds Collide, ed. by S. C. Butler & Joshua Palmatier, Zombies Need Brains, LLC (July 2021)
- “Fisherman’s Soup” by Kristina Ten, Mermaids Monthly, (May 26, 2021) ed. by Julia Rios, Meg Frank, and Ashley Deng
- “From the Ashes Flew the Ladybug” by Alexandra Seidel, The Deadlands, Issue 7 (November 2021) ed. by E. Catherine Tobler
- “Laughter Among the Trees” by Suzan Palumbo, The Dark Magazine, Issue 69 (February 2021) ed by Sean Wallace
- “Space Pirate Queen of the Ten Billion Utopias” by Elly Bangs, Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 138 (November 2021) ed. by John Joseph Adams
- “Standing Orders” by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Derelicts, ed. by David B. Coe and Joshua Palmatier, Zombies Need Brains, LLC (July 2021)
- “A Stranger Goes Ashore” by Adam R. Shannon, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 328 (April 22, 2021) ed. by Scott H. Andrews
- “A Universe All to Himself” by Ryan Priest, Metaphorosis, (April 2021) ed. by B. Morris Allen