Distant Worlds

Library of Science Fiction & Fantasy Press is pleased to announce Distant Worlds, an anthology of novella length Science Fiction.

The novella is often neglected in modern genre fiction. Too short to print as a novel and too long for most short story markets, a novella has room for a lot of richness and growth, for fully realized characters, settings, and societies, and for concepts and ideas that just won’t fit into a short story but may not be big enough or complex enough for a novel. The Novella has the potential to deliver incredible stories.

We believe very strongly in that potential and invite you to help us find it.

The details:

While definitions may vary depending on where you look, for the purpose of this anthology, a novella will have a length of somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 words.

Your submission must be in standard manuscript format and attached to your e-mail as an rtf file. For a good reference on what standard manuscript format entails, please see William Shunn’s web page<http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html>on the subject.

Payment for inclusion in this anthology will be $100, two contributor’s copies of the book, and the everlasting knowledge of being involved in something special.

Submissions are now open and will close on 15 Jan 2010. This is a fairly large window, but we recognize the size and scope of a novella can require a great deal more time than a short story. If you don’t have one ready to go, we’d like to give you a chance to write one from scratch.

Submissions and Queries should be sent to distanteditor@gmail.com with ‘Submission – Distant Worlds’ or ‘Query – Distant Worlds’ in the subject line, as applicable.

Caveats:

There are a lot of themes that have been overdone in SF. Strange Horizons provides a wonderfully detailed (yet certainly incomplete) list of overused themes and plots<http://strangehorizons.com/guidelines/fiction-common.shtml>. We’re not saying don’t do it, but if you’ve picked something from this list as your main focus, try to stand it on its head.

Because there is only room for 4 or 5 stories in Distant Worlds, submissions will be taken in two stages, building a shortlist of possible inclusions. Rejections will happen, but final decisions on acceptances won’t be made until ALL submissions have been read.

The speculative elements you choose, whatever they are, must be integral to the story. If you can write the same story without them, then it’s not a genre story. That said, we subscribe to the Damon Knight theory of Science Fiction: Science Fiction is what we point to when we say it. Every story will be read. If you believe in yours, please send it.

Blade Red Dark Pages – Volume 1

The first Blade Red Press anthology of dark speculative fiction is now open to submissions. The anthology will be available in print and ebook format through online retailers in early 2010 (assuming sufficient submissions are received). Only submissions received between September 17th 2009 and November 30th 2009 will be considered. Any submissions received outside this timeframe will be deleted unread.

We are accepting short speculative fiction up to 7,500 words. Submissions must have some element of a speculative nature (scifi, fantasy, horror, alternate universe, steampunk, etc.) that is integral to the plot. Stories must also have a dark and gritty edge. We’re not a Young Adult or Kids publisher – we’re looking for tales that disturb, dismay and unsettle, yarns that stay in the mind long after they’re read. We like our dark tales to be clever and interesting rather than blatant. Dark doesn’t mean tortureporn or slash and slay. We are interested in all aspects of speculative fiction, so surprise us with your imagination.

We are not interested in supernatural erotica or romance. Obviously strong language and blood and gore are bound to be involved to some degree, but make them a part of the story, not the reason for the story. We will not publish stories that are racist or hate fuelled diatribes. We don’t mind some sex that’s relevant to the story, but we’re not interested in pornography. Try to avoid the overused cliches like senseless revenge, cookie cutter serial killers and predictable monsters. And if you want to write a story with vampires it better be mind-blowingly original and fantastically well written. Seriously, isn’t everyone sick and tired of vampires right now?

Blade Red Press is not a straight horror publisher, so we’re looking for a variety of speculative fiction with a dark edge. Surprise us!

Electronic submissions only accepted. Submit stories attached to an email in .rtf format only. Any other file type or stories in the body of the email will be deleted unread. Please follow standard manuscript format – search the web if you don’t know what that means. HOWEVER, regardless of the format guidelines you read, ignore the bit about leaving two spaces after every full stop. This is the 21st century, not the wild west. Two spaces after a full stop is an old typesetting standard and just annoying in the digital age.

The subject line of your email must read: “SUBMISSION: Story Title”

The body of the email must include:

Story Title
Author’s name (please indicate here if you want to use a pen name for publication)
Address
Contact email
Word count of your submission

Feel free to include a short cover letter, but don’t bore us. We’re going to have enough to read as it is. Don’t bother with a bio – if we like your story we don’t care whether you’re Stephen King, Dan Brown or Joe Schmo. We’ll ask for a bio if we offer to buy the story.

Payment is a flat rate of AUD$25 per story, payable upon publication, plus one contributors copy of the finished anthology. We pay via PayPal only. (We would love to pay more but Blade Red is a relatively new publisher and we are trying to establish ourselves in a diffcult marketplace. We will hopefully be in a position to pay more as time goes by.) We are buying Exclusive First Worldwide Print and Electronic rights for 6 months from the date of publication. Publication will be during 2010 (hopefully before June). Once that 6 month period is past all rights revert to the author.

No simultaneous submissions, so only send us your very best work. No reprints – all submissions must not have been published anywhere else. We aim to respond within 6 – 8 weeks. Query after 8 weeks if you haven’t heard back from us.

Send submissions to contact@blade-red.com

All submissions will be read by a team of slush readers who will receive stories stripped of all identifying details. This blind read will result in an editorial scoring process by which we will select the successful submissions. If you have any questions about the anthology, please email us.

Inner Fears Anthology

Announcing the first in the "Guest Editor Series" of Lame Goat Press books.

I'm looking for stories (1000-5000 words) about a character who has an inner fear. Whether it's your inner fear or a fear of one of your characters doesn't matter to me. The genre will obviously be horror, but I'll be flexible on what other elements it has (sci-fi, fantasy, etc.). I'd prefer third person stories where the fear really grips the reader. I'll accept some first person narratives if they're well written, but as I'll probably receive an abundance of those, they must be VERY well written to be accepted.

Also, I'm looking for ONE poem with which to open the anthology. I'll only accept one story per writer, but if you were to send in a poem and a story, then I might accept both.

Unless I absolutely fall in love with a story, I won't be accepting anything until after the deadline, which is December 20th, 2009.

Word count for this anthology is expected to be around 80,000 words. Please send in your stories in .rtf format. Please include a cover letter with your name, address, e-mail address, phone number, and publication history. Also, a short author's biography of around 100 words.

Look for this to go in print in 2010. I'll be able to give you a better idea when a few months down the line, but 2010, as a broad estimate, should be fairly accurate. Lame Goat Press is in its infancy, so, unfortunately, we cannot afford to compensate our writers at this time. This will be the third anthology that we produce, so we're hoping to be able to begin giving out contributor copies soon, but no promises. All I can promise you right now is that you'll have a writing credit if we accept your story.

Please send submissions to William Wolford at wgwolford@gmail.com with "Inner Fear submission" in the subject line. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me about them. Good luck!

If you have any interest in providing the cover art for this particular antho, contact me at cjacobsmeyer@msn.com.

Visit Lame Goat Press at LAMEGOATPRESS.PROBOARDS.COM.

Warrior Wisewoman 3

Warrior Wisewoman is an annual anthology series of science fiction featuring powerful and remarkable women, edited by Roby James.

The first volume was published by Norilana Books in June 2008, the second volume in June 2009.

The anthology was conceived as a sister volume to the classic Sword and Sorceress fantasy series originally edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley, with the main difference being that the story themes will involve science fiction instead of fantasy, and they will be intended for a more mature audience, allowing a mixture of serious contemporary issues and reasonable sexual content (but no erotica) in addition to action and adventure. The stories will have a stronger focus on the interface between scientific exploration and our sense of wonder.

Editor Roby James says:

"I am looking for stories that shed light on the truth of what it means to be female, that illuminate the wisdom and the strength of a woman, but not in clich� 'goddess' stories. I love action and adventure, grand space opera, thrilling discovery, and intelligent protagonists. Make the story thoughtful, wise, and surprising, not merely the same old metal spaceship hull filled with cardboard military uniforms with female names 'barking' orders and firing at aliens. In addition, the stories in the anthology should appeal to genuine emotions, suspense, fear, sorrow, delight, wonder. The science can be part of the background and the characters foremost, or the science can be central to the story, as long as the characters are realistic and appealing. It is strongly recommended you read the previous volumes to get an idea of what kind of material we're looking for.

"This is science fiction, but I also welcome stories of spiritual exploration, looking at the bond between the scientific and the divine. I want to see how a woman survives tragedy and disaster, overcomes impossible odds, achieves her true potential, or goes on to thrive in a marvelous universe of so many possibilities, using what is inside her, as well as what she finds in the laboratory, the alien planet, or space itself.

"The stories should contain the question of 'what if' on some level. And they should have a woman answer it."

Read the editorial Introduction to Volume One.

---

Guidelines for Volume #3 of the Anthology:

RIGHTS PURCHASED: First English Language Rights and non-exclusive electronic rights. The anthology will be published by Norilana Books in a trade paperback edition in June 2010, to be followed by an electronic edition to be produced later.

PAYMENT: $0.02 a word on acceptance, and a pro rata share of royalties, plus a contributor copy.

WORD LENGTH: Up to 10,000 words, with longer stories having to be exceptional.

READING PERIOD begins on September 1, 2009. Please do not submit your stories before then.

DEADLINE: January 15, 2010.

HOW TO SUBMIT: Submissions are electronic only. Please submit your story as a Word (.doc or .rtf) attachment to your e-mail. The subject line of your e-mail should say "Submission: Story Title, last name of author." Also, include a brief cover letter. It should have your full name, address, e-mail address, title of story, number of words, and brief biographical information in case we don't know you, with most recent publishing credits, if applicable. We are open to new writers and seasoned veterans alike.

EDITORIAL ADDRESS:

We look forward to reading your most inspired work.

Contest: Missouri Review

The Missouri Review is now offering $15,000 in prize money for the 19th annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editor's Prize Contest -- $5,000 per genre in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Past winners' work has been reprinted in the Best American series. Each entry is $20. All entrants receive a one-year subscription to The Missouri Review either in print or in the new environmentally friendly digital format, which includes bonus audio content. The deadline is October 1st, and you can enter online or by mail. For details, check out our webpage: http://missourirevi ew.com/contest

The Beast Within 2: The Beast Unleashed

You know them from the office. See them at movie theaters, at restaurants and shopping malls. But when the sun goes down and the moon gets high in the sky, watch out, because the pizza delivery boy may be bringing something besides a large cheese and pepperoni. You might get the door closed, but grab your wolfs' bane and silver trinkets.


This anthology is the follow up to Graveside Tales' 2008 anthology The Beast Within. 2010 will see The Beast Unleashed.


We're looking for stories that bring a new "twist" to the lycanthrope tale. The traditional lycanthrope stories are fine, but how many Romanian cursed, moor-bitten were-wolves can there be? Give us something original, Lycanthrope Steampunk, Lycanthrope Cyberpunk, Lycanthrope Gaslight. And remember there are more things that prowl by the light of the full moon. Don't let wolves be the only outlet, not saying we won't read them, but the more original the story the more likely it is to get more attention. Were-koalas, Were-ostriches, Were-seamonkies, nothing is out of bounds; just keep the ideas original and creative. Most importantly make sure The Beast is Unleashed.


What about new and unexplored realms of the beast. A world where they roam the land, day and night except during the cycle of the full moon when they're vulnerable? Or an underwater realm where lycanthropes are only sea-beasts, the things legends are made of. Or alternate realities where lycanthropes are the predominate race Get your paws off you damn dirty wolf.
Make it new, make it unique give it a new vantage point of the beast. Wolves may be traditional, think outside those boundaries.


What we're not looking for, gore-porn, necrophilia, cruelty to animals or children, unless the stories demand it. And no hard-core porn please. Trapezes are fun in the circus, but not needed in a sex ritual between lycanthropes.



Stories should be in the 2,000 to 5,000 word range. Query for longer or shorter works. We're not looking for novellas or for flash fiction. Stories by electronic submission only. Files should be attached, not pasted into the body of the emails, in RTF or DOC format. Put your contact info
in the email and on the first page of the story. Please also include bio and publishing history in the initial submission. Response time will be 2-3 weeks. New and original stories only, no reprints please. No simultaneous submissions please. If your story is chosen we'd buy FNAR in print and possibly e-book format. Reading period is from September 1st to December 31st or until filled. Publication is set for third quarter 2010.

Payment is $.01 per word and upon publication plus one copy of the anthology. Additional copies can be purchased from Graveside Tales at a discounted rate.

Email submissions to: anthology@gravesidetales.com. Put TBW2 along with submissions title and word count in the subject line.

Want to get a good idea what we're looking for pick up a copy of 2008's The Beast Within available at Graveside Books, Amazon, and other fine retailers.

AMAZING ALTERNITY STORIES

AMAZING ALTERNITY STORIES is a new anthology from Pulpwork Press. It purports to be an average issue of the flagship title from pulp magazine publisher Alternity Publishing, and features a rotating series of what Publisher George H.W. Bush proudly calls 'The Greatest Action Heroes On Earth'...

....wait a minute....Publisher WHO?

The trick is that Alternity Publishing is a magazine publisher from an alternate reality where many of our real life personages exist only as fictitious characters in the most lurid of popular fiction. In this reality, for example, Nikola Tesla could be a 'science spy' who uses advanced technology to save the world, Albert Einstein could be a Flash Gordon-like swashbuckler, and George Washington could be a maritime adventurer.

(Note that the above are just examples; I'm not looking specifically for these concepts)

What we are looking for is stories in the pulp tradition with an adventure component of 5-12K in length with a central character based on a real-life personage. We want a wide variety of pulp genres represented; if this book is successful we'll release future volumes that focus on specific genres. Fun should be the most important element in these tales--the oddity of seeing a real-life person in a different setting should be secondary to the excitement of reading a fast paced adventure tale.

Original concepts will net you extra points--we've seen H.G. Wells as a time traveler or H.P. Lovecraft as a psychic detective several times already, but Wells as a mercenary with a heart of gold or Lovecraft as the courageous major of The French Foreign Legion, however..... Keep in mind that while you should give us enough to make the real life person recognizable as that person, you don't have to hew 100% close to their bio; to expand upon one of the earlier example, it's sufficient that you mention that Major Lovecraft joined the Legion to forget his lost love Sarah and that he's from Providence; we don't need chapter and verse.

The important thing is to give us verve, give us style, give us true blood-and-thunder...in short, a real pulp fiction reading experience. Have fun writing the tale; if you're having fun, the reader will have fun. Keep in mind that, given that these are supposed to be 'genuine' pulp stories, you should refrain from profanity.

Pulpwork Press will be purchasing First North American Serial Rights for each story chosen. Payment will be one copy of the final book and an equal share in the profits. The actual size of the percentage will be dictated by the number of stories that ultimately end up in the book.

Because of the unique nature of the anthology, we will require authors to submit a story outline of two to three pages. This is to assure that we won't end up with two stories about different versions of the same real-life figure, and also to assure that we have as wide a variety of genres represented. Once we choose a good line-up, we'll give the authors picked the go-ahead to write up their tales.

Please send outlines to nywisdom@hotmail.com. Deadline for outlines is August 31st, 2009. Deadline for completed stories will be announced to chosen writers shortly after the deadline proper.

Good luck, and if you have any questions, contact me at the above e-mail!

Thomas Deja
Editor, AMAZING ALTERNITY STORIES