Venacular Books Accepting Submissions for Anthology

Vernacular Books is pleased to announce they are currently accepting submissions for their anthology The Way of the Laser: Future Crime Stories.

What they’re looking for:

Crime stories that take place in the future. Preferably these stories will go beyond simple murders or capers to reveal something about how technology and the powers that wield it have changed our world. 

• Is poisoning the nanobots responsible for programming the ads in your neural feed a crime? 
• Is organized crime society’s only hope or responsible for its downfall? 
• Consider what will constitute a crime and what unique problems it poses for your characters.
• Keep in mind what is criminal behavior one day may be legal the next and vice versa. 

They want to see people caught up in the pitfalls of society ruled by corporations, ideologies, and demagogues and what lengths people will go to when there simply is no other choice.

Wow them with your original idea and blow them away with your writing.

Length: 4,000-8,000 words

Payment: $.05/word advance + royalties.

Deadline: January 1, 2020/TBD

Send submissions to vernacularbookssubmissions at gmail dot com.
www.vernacaularbooks.com

Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

Thanks so much for being part of our success.

 

Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Beneath Ceaseless Skies publishes "literary adventure fantasy": stories with a secondary-world setting and some traditional or classic fantasy feel, but written with a literary flair.

Secondary-World Setting: We want stories set in what Tolkien called a "secondary world": some other world that is different from our own primary world in some way. It could be different in terms of zoology (non-human creatures), ecology (climate), or physical laws (the presence of magic). It could be set on Earth but an Earth different from our primary world in terms of time (the historical past) or history (alternate history). It could have a "pre-tech" level of technology, or steampunk technology, or magic as technology, or anything else that's not advanced or modern technology. However, the setting should contain some element that is in some way fantastical.

The inhabitants of this secondary world should have developed their own culture in response to the uniqueness of their world. The characters should fit this culture, and the qualities of the secondary world should have some bearing on the plot.

We are not interested in urban fantasy or other types of stories set in the "real world," even if they contain fantasy elements.

Plot: We strongly prefer stories that have some plot. It can be external, in the character's surroundings, or it can be internal to the character, or it can be both. We are not interested in stories that meander between external events or internal emotions with no causality and therefore do not have any trace of a conventional-type plot.

Characters: We prefer stories that focus on the characters. We strongly prefer characters who yearn for something, external or internal, and feel driven to attain it. Our favorite characters are "round characters": ones who grow and change over the course of a story instead of remaining the same.

Literary Elements: We love modern literary devices like tight points-of-view, non-linear narratives, unreliable narrators, and ambiguous endings, so long as they fit that particular story. Our favorite literary device is round characters, who grow or change over the course of the story.

Narrative Style: We prefer styles that are literary but readable. We love gorgeous, poetic prose, but in genre fiction it's vital that the style be clear enough so the reader can understand what's happening. Our favorite prose styles are lush but still clear.

We have a preference for limited points-of-view, either first-person or third-person, because we find it harder for a story to get deep inside a character's head from an omniscient point-of-view. We find present tense often pretentious and second-person point-of-view always annoying.

We know grammar rules, such as which types of clauses should have commas between them and which types should not. We respect the author's freedom to bend the rules as suits their story. However, be forewarned that repeated ignorance of grammatical principles for no apparent artistic reason will make a manuscript look unprofessional to us.

Originality: We prefer stories that are as original as possible, particularly in the setting. We are unlikely to enjoy stories featuring elements we have seen repeatedly, such as elves or barbarian swordsmen or a quest to save the world from an evil overlord, unless they present that element in a unique new way.

Extreme Content: We prefer that graphic sex and violence not escalate beyond the level of an R-rated movie. We also insist that sex and sadistic violence not be acted upon children.

Fairy Tales / Myths: We usually find that fairy tale-style or myth-style narratives don't provide a gritty or immediate enough perspective to make us feel the texture of the secondary world or the direness of the protagonist's struggle. Any fairy tale-type or myth-type story probably isn't right for us.

Science Fiction: We aren't interested in science fiction; it's just not what we prefer to read. Any story with advanced technology or esoteric scientific concepts isn't right for us.

Science Fantasy: We do think there's common ground between fantasy and so-called "science fantasy," as some readers consider Dune because it focuses on secondary-world setting and culture rather than on advanced technology. For a detailed explanation of what science fantasy elements we are and aren't interested in, read this thread on the BCS Forums.

Steampunk / Smoke & Sorcery / Weird West / Sixguns & Sorcery / Etc.: In addition to fantasy, we also enjoy stories set in other types of secondary world that likewise don't have modern technology, including steampunk, smoke & sorcery, weird West, sixguns & sorcery, etc. Feel free to send us anything that you think might fit.

Humor and Satire: We don't mind humorous stories, but we have a very dry sense of humor. We love wry satire, but we rarely enjoy slapstick or puns. We aren't planning to publish much humor, but if you have a dry satire that hits us just right . . .

Length and Policies

We prefer stories under 10,000 words. We will consider stories over that length, but the longer a story is, the better it must be to hold our attention.

We are not interested in reprints (stories that have previously appeared anywhere in print or online, including on a personal website or blog).

We do not accept multiple submissions (more than one story submitted at a time). Please wait until you have received a reply to your submission before sending another.

We DO accept simultaneous submissions (stories that are currently under submission to another market), but ONLY if you state in your cover letter that your submission is simultaneous, and ONLY if you notify us IMMEDIATELY when another market accepts your story. We accept simultaneous submissions as a favor to writers because we know that response times can be long, but if people abuse this policy, we will rescind it.

Acceptances, Payment, and Rights

All accepted manuscripts will be line-edited for grammar, punctuation, and clarity. The author will have the opportunity to review and discuss all of these edits. However, we do insist on a high proficiency of grammar and clarity in our magazine. Payment will be made after receipt of the final, line-edited manuscript.

For standard acceptances, we pay 5 cents US per word, which is professional rate as defined by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). For this payment, we purchase the following rights:

First World Serial Rights
First World Electronic Rights
An Option to buy Non-Exclusive World Anthology Rights
An Exclusive Period to buy Limited-Time Exclusive Audio Rights

This means that our payment buys the rights to publish your story on the Beneath Ceaseless Skies website, as well as the option, at our choice, to pay you again at the reprint rate specified in the original contract (usually 2 cents per word) to reprint your story in any future anthology of stories from Beneath Ceaseless Skies and distribute that anthology anywhere in the world. It also gives us a time period during which we have the exclusive option, at our choice, to buy limited-time audio rights to your story, at the rate specified in the original contract (usually 1 cent per word), and podcast your story from the Beneath Ceaseless Skies website.

You can't publish that story as a first-run or "new" story anywhere else in the world, and you can't have it appear anywhere else, in print or online or as audio, before or for ninety days after we publish it. But after that you can have it reprinted online and/or in a reprint magazine and/or in any reprint anthology, like one of the many Year's Best collections.

You also can't sell the audio rights to anyone else for ninety days after we publish the story. And if during those ninety days we buy the audio rights from you, you can't have the story appear in audio form anywhere else before or for ninety days after we podcast it. But after that you can resell the audio rights, including to one of the many fiction podcast websites.

We also hope that you will let us keep the story in our online archives after ninety days.

How to Submit

Format: Format your manuscript in Standard Manuscript Format. If you don't know what that is, look it up. If you deviate from this in more than a few ways, your story will look unprofessional to us before we've read the first word.

Include your name, address, and email on the first page, and a running header with your last name, the title, and page number at the top of every subsequent page.

Cover Letters: We do prefer a short cover letter with every submission. Type it into the body of your email. Mention the title of your story in case the attachment gets lost. List the best one or two fiction sales you have and/or mention any writing workshops you have attended. TELL US if this is a simultaneous submission. DO NOT give a synopsis or summary of your story; we'll learn what it's about when we read it.

Attach your manuscript to an email as either a *.DOC MS Word document file or a *.RTF rich-text-format file. If you can't get either of these to work, you may paste the text of your manuscript into the body of your email. DO NOT send a *.DOCX file (the default format that Word 2007 uses); we can't open those files.

Send your email to submissions[AT]beneath-ceaseless-skies.com (replacing [AT] with @). Use the subject line Submission: (the title of your story).

IMPORTANT: your subject line MUST include the word "Submission" or our spam filter will delete your email.

Our Process and Response Times

You should receive our email auto-reply within 24 hours after sending your submission.

If you don't, check your spam filter to be sure it didn't get caught there. Then make sure your subject line starts with Submission so our filter won't delete your email and send your story again. If you still don't receive the auto-reply 24 hours after that, query using the email form on our Contact page. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Response Times: Our response times are currently averaging 3-5 weeks, occasionally as long as 6-7 weeks. To keep writers informed on our reading progress, we will post periodic Slush Updates in the Submissions Status section of our online forums. If we announce that we've replied to all submissions emailed before a certain date, but you sent yours before that date (and received our auto-reply confirming that it arrived), feel free to query us using the email form on our Contact page.

Please do not query if we haven't announced that we've replied to all submissions up to the date you sent yours. Any time that we spend answering extra queries is time we can't spend reading submissions or posting Slush Updates.

All rejections and acceptances will be notified by email.

All About Eve

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS


Eve - the first woman - some call her Pandora. Both the Christian and ancient Greek myths make her the reason man was plagued with the ills of the world. Whether in convincing Adam to taste of the fruit of the forbidden tree of knowledge or in giving in to her curiosity and opening a forbidden box that contained all of the plagues.

Well, it’s time she had a chance to tell her story.

WolfSinger Publications is looking for stories about the first woman created by the gods. Be imaginative and draw on more than just the traditional Christian and Greek stories. Let her tell her side of the story - whether she was manipulated and tricked into her actions or whether she acted willfully and in full knowledge of what her actions might bring. Or maybe - just maybe she acted out of spite for some wrong done to her.

Tell us her side of things - make the reader look at the old myths and stories in a new light and also at the differences in the genders in a new way.

BTW: Don’t forget about Lilith either - in some stories she was Adam’s first wife, before Eve.


Stories should be 3000-5000 words long.
Payment will be $5.00 plus equal share of 50 percent of royalties

Please send your submission to editor@wolfsingerpubs.com as an .rtf attachment.
Put “Eve Submission: ‘Title - Last Name’” in the subject line.

Deadline is 31 August 2009 (planned for a November/December release)

Preferred genre is Fantasy, but most will be considered if the story works. Please no erotica.

Destination Future

Description: Science Fiction anthology to be edited by Z.S. Adani and Eric T. Reynolds

Publisher: Hadley Rillie Books

Submission Guidelines:

We are looking for Science Fiction stories, particularly Hard SF, Space Operas, Alien Worlds, Alien Encounter, Exploration, and Quest Stories. (We prefer not to receive alternative and historical fiction, fantasy, steampunk, or horror for this anthology, but other than that it's pretty open.

Length: 3000 – 6000 words

Electronic Submissions Only. Send as an attachment to an email message. Microsoft Word .doc file is preferred, or .rtf is okay (please contact us if you need to make arrangements for another format). Please virus scan your document before sending.

Email Your Story To: submissions.future [at] gmail [dot] com

Important: Place Destination Future in the subject line

For more information visit their website: http://www.hadleyrillebooks.com/DestinationFutureSubs.html

Butcher Knives & Body Counts

Butcher Knives & Body Counts: Essays on the Formula, Frights, and Fun of the Slasher Film

From meat cleavers and machetes to summer camp carnage and sorority house massacres, from final girls and scream queens to demented deviants and dead teenagers, slasher films turned body counts into box office gold. It’s the oft-maligned - but surprisingly durable - sub-genre of horror films that uses a Freudian rulebook and bases the survival rates of its characters on vice and virtue. From the low-budget aesthetics of the 70’s and 80’s to the self-referential gloss of the 90’s and beyond, Butcher Knives & Body Counts will explore the archetype of the slasher film and trace its evolution from formula to franchise. From the inventive kills and the gory intestine spills right down to the last tagline and toe tag, Butcher Knives & Body Counts will celebrate the enduring formula, frights, and fun of slasher movies.

The project will be less a “guide” - what most would immediately associate with encapsulated reviews - and more a comprehensive collection of critical essays on the slasher film genre. In addition to opportunities for analyses of individual films, DSP is also looking for essays on various aspects of the slasher film genre. We anticipate those essays dealing with individual films to be in the 1,000- to 1,500-word range, with a slightly larger word range and some added flexibility for essays pertaining to the more general aspects of the genre.

As we did with our Unspeakable Horror anthology, Dark Scribe Press has established a dedicated blog for the project where submission guidelines, tips, and announcements will be posted. We have also posted at left of the blog a list of films already covered and a “wish list” of films we’re looking to have covered. We also offer some suggested topics that will give potential contributors an idea of what we’re open to in relation to the broader essays.

Butcher Knives & Body Counts: Essays on the Formula, Frights, and Fun of the Slasher Film will be a comprehensive non-fiction collection of essays on the slasher genre and its films, due for publication by Dark Scribe Press in the first quarter of 2010.

We’ve taken great care to compose submission guidelines that are detailed and as all-encompassing as possible. Please take the time to read through the following guidelines in their entirety before contacting us with questions.

We have two primary needs for this project:

I. Essays on Individual Films: 1,000 to 1,500 words on individual slasher films. Please note the lists at left which provide a directory of films already covered and those we’re especially interested in. This second list is not all-inclusive of our interests and we are open to essays on slasher films not on our list.

There are three distinct elements that we are looking for in the essays covering individual films:

* A strong angle or approach to the film. This angle should be clearly communicated within a catchy, creative subtitle;
* Passion for the film and the writer’s ability to articulate the film’s enduring appeal and how it contributed to the genre;
* A balanced integration of film theory/commentary and tribute/personal anecdote. We want to read essays in which the writer connects with a chosen film in a personal way.

Considerations before Submitting:

* We are not looking for encapsulated reviews. Elements of plot synopsis should be well-integrated into the essay and inconspicuous to the reader;
* We are open to single essays that take on two films, if the films have a direct relation such as sequels or remakes.

II. Essays on the Slasher Genre: 1,000 to 2,000 (query first for longer) words on the slasher genre or elements of the genre. We are looking for engaging essays that explore the formula and psychology of the slasher film, the history and evolution of the slasher, individual elements of the slasher, the influence of the slasher film in popular culture, the sociological exploration of the slasher from alternate perspectives (i.e. race, religion, sexual orientation), sub-genres of the slasher (subhuman slashers, hospital/medical slashers, summer camp slashers, etc.), comparative analyses that examine originals versus remakes (see above) or take on particular characters (villains, victims, or heroes/heroines), and trends in the slasher genre (i.e. remakes).

There are two distinct elements that we are looking for in the essays covering individual films:

* Ingenuity of topic and approach to subject matter is going to impress us. Think sub-genres and narrow (versus obscure) focuses;
* We want thought-provoking essays that take a more learned, well-read style than scholarly textbook approach to the subject matter. Think well-articulated pop culture versus academic recitation, cerebral but accessible.

General Tips:

* Passion will be key for any writer interested in becoming part of this project. We love slasher films - so you won’t be able to fake your enthusiasm(!).

Payment: $0.05 (five cents) per word for original essays upon contract for FNAR. $0.02 (two cents) per word for reprints. For the purposes of payment consideration, works having previously appeared as part of blogs and other electronic or web-based publications will be considered reprints.

Submission Specifics:

Reading Period:

* Exclusive Call Period: In our efforts to support and encourage support of the professional writing organizations working on behalf of dark genre literature, members (at any level) of the following writing organizations will have a two-month exclusive submissions period beginning November 1st through December 31st: Horror Writers Association (HWA), International Thriller Writers (ITW), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Writers of these professional organizations should note their affiliation and status in their cover letters. Writers from other professional writing associations not listed above should query first.
* Open Call for Submissions: We welcome submissions from all writers beginning January 1st, 2009.
* The submission period ends April 30th, 2009.

Notification of Writers:

* Email confirmations will be sent upon submission. If you do not receive a confirmation that your submission has been received after two weeks, first check your Spam folder and then drop us a line. We’ve also taken the time to create this project-specific blog in an effort to communicate with writers. Please bookmark the page and check back for updates on where we stand with submissions.
* Expect to hear back on your submission(s) between 60 and 90 days from the date of confirmation. Essays will be either accepted or rejected outright, or we may ask to hold an essay until the end of our reading period. We realize that 6-8 months is a long period to ask to hold onto a particular essay, but because of the nature of this project we anticipate several submissions per film. At DSP, we realize that a writer’s time is money. If you receive an email from us asking to hold onto your submission until the end of the process and don’t want to tie up your work that long, simply let us know and we’ll take the piece out of consideration and release it back to you with our best wishes.

Formatting Submissions:

* Send as Word attachments only - do not send submissions in the body of an email or as any other type of attachment
* Use Courier, 12-point font
* Single space body of essay
* 5-space indent at beginning of new paragraphs
* No manual page or section breaks
* No extra spacing between paragraphs - the 5-space indent will tell us where a new paragraph begins
* Use 1-inch margins - this includes top, bottom, left and right
* Film titles within essays are to be italicized - do not use all caps or bold
* Working title of essay center on first page - do not use italics or all caps, no quotations
* For film essays, title should include film title and subtitle that communicates the angle of the essay separated by a colon.

Examples:
Curtains: Paging Agatha Christie
A Nightmare on Elm Street: No Sympathy for This Devil

* No headers or footers
* No page numbers
* At the top of the first page in the left-hand corner, single-spaced, please include the following information:

Name
Street Address
City
State
Zip Code
Email Address
Word
Count (body of submission, excluding title)

Multiple / Simultaneous Submissions:

* We will accept multiple submissions. Limit of (3) submissions per author. Send up to three at one time, but kindly wait until you hear back on one or more of your submissions before sending another.
* No simultaneous submissions.

Sending Submissions:

* Include a short cover letter in the body of your email with the film or topic your submission covers, 2-3 sentences describing the essay’s unique perspective, and a brief bio. For those submitting between November 1st and December 31st, please note your professional writing organization affiliation.
* Our plans for this project include interspersing first-person blurbs and anecdotes about the various films covered in between the essays. Kindly note any connections or contacts you may have with anyone involved with a specific film. While helpful to us, this is in no way a prerequisite to submission.
* Send submissions via email only to DSPsubmissions(at)AOL(dot)com.

Questions:

* Questions? Hopefully, we’ve covered all bases with these guidelines. If not and there is a pressing need for information, you may contact us at darkscribepress(at)AOL(dot)com. Due to time constraints, it may not be possible to answer questions individually. We will, however, compile questions and answer them here on the blog. Bookmark and check back often.
* Please do not email us asking if a particular film has been covered. Once we have made a final decision regarding an essay dealing with a particular film, the title will be added to our “Films Already Covered” list at left. Until then, all films are fair game. Again, check the blog often. If we receive a dozen essays dealing with The Burning, we may note that on the blog to discourage additional submissions on that film.
* Please note that queries about specific films are not required prior to submission. Films are not being “assigned” to particular writers (unless by invitation) and all films are up for grabs. There is no “first come, first served” aspect to the process. Writers are simply invited and encouraged to write about whichever film(s) or topic(s) interest them and to submit their best work. There will be an editorial selection process, meaning (for example) that if four essays are submitted on the film Motel Hell, we will choose the one that best fits our criteria and needs and will pass on the other three. As with most open calls for submissions, this is a competitive process versus calling dibs.

Appalachian Holiday Hauntings

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Title: Appalachian Holiday Hauntings

Editors: Michael Knost and Mark Justice

Publisher: Woodland Press

Publication date: November 1, 2009

Word count: 1000 to 3000 words

Pay: three-cents per word plus contributor copy (one-cent per word on reprints)

Submit to: xmasanthology@yahoo.com

Format: Attached RTF or Word Document file. (do not copy and paste into email body)

No simultaneous or multiple submissions

No explicit language or sexual content (this project will be in regional school systems)

Deadline: September 1, 2009 (do not inquire on status of submission until after this date)

We are looking for traditional Christmas ghost stories set in the Appalachian region. Think Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with an Appalachian backdrop. However, given this example, we want to make sure you understand that stories may be set in any time frame, including the present.

We are not interested in tales that disrespect or alter the religious aspects of the holiday.

PSYCHO BOY/PSYCHO GIRL

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR:
PSYCHO BOY/PSYCHO GIRL

Ah…romance. We all want it. We all want to find that special someone. Someone to share our hopes and dreams with, someone to confide in and just sit next to on a cold, rainy day. But finding that special someone usually means dating, which for lack of a better definition means a roller coaster ride into the minds of the insane. You may meet some nice people who just don’t fit with your qualifications, sure, we get that, but it seems more often than not you end up sitting across a restaurant table listening to Joe Blow’s reason for eating human flesh and Jane Blow’s explanation for setting her ex’s house on fire.

And those are the good dates. Oh yes, it can get much much worse.

We here at Rapier Press want to hear about the WORST DATE YOU’VE EVER HAD and we want you to spare no detail. We are looking for stories in the 1500-4000 word range (query for longer/shorter tales). These stories will be included in our first ever anthology: Psycho Boy/Psycho Girl: True Tales of the Worst Dates Imaginable.

Reading Period: February 1st to March 31st or until filled.

What we want: True stories of dates gone bad. Everything from the time you and your date ended up in jail to the time you found yourselves tied to a motel bed in Nicaragua. The crazier the story, the more chance it has of being accepted. We’re really looking for funny, exciting, and benignly nightmarish stuff. We are striving for an equal number of stories from both sexes.

What we don’t want: We don’t want full names. This is not about getting revenge on the girl or guy who broke your heart or stole your money. Any stories that come in with people’s full names will be immediately rejected. Stick to first names or some other kind of description (Mr. BuckTooth, Mrs. Crazy Eyes, etc). We also don’t want GRAPHIC sex. Stories of sex are fine, and you are welcome to include sex (this book is for adults after all) but try not to be gross about it. Look at it this way, we’d happily print a story like Cameron Diaz’s hair gel moment in Something About Mary—that’s funny—but a 5000 word story about deformed genitalia will likely be rejected. Also, this book is meant to be fun, so nothing depressing or involving people getting seriously hurt.

DO NOT MAKE UP YOUR STORIES. We are hoping to build some nice writer/publisher relationships here. Impress us once and we’re likely to offer invites to future books. If we find out you lied about your tale, you will never work with us again and your story will be cut from future runs of the book.

Payment: Authors will receive a flat payment of $15 via paypal and a contributor copy of the book. Yes, we realize that is a horrendously low payment and we should be flogged repeatedly for the insult, and rabid monkeys and venomous tarantulas should be set loose in our bedrooms, but this is our first book and we are paying for it ourselves. We will increase our rates for future books as sales go up. You’re welcome to sub elsewhere if you don’t agree with the rate. Or you can toilet paper our houses if you can find them.

Book Format and Accessibility: The book will be printed in POD format. This means it WILL be available through online retailers such as Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Borders.com, etc. We will do our best to get it in stores but brick and mortar stores often will not buy POD books until a certain sales figure has been reached online. It can be done and we hope to get there eventually, but chances are that won’t happen with this first book.

Submission guidelines: Email your manuscript as a WORD DOC or RTF attachment to rapierpress_AT_hotmail_DOT_com. Please use a 12-point readable font -- SINGLE SPACED. Yes, we repeat, single spaced. If we want to make liner notes later we will adjust the line spacing ourselves. Why single spaced? Because this email is attached to our Crackberrys, allowing us to read submissions whenever and wherever, and it’s way easier to read the stories if they’re single spaced. One more time: SINGLE SPACED.

Include your name and email on the cover page. Place the title of the story, page number, and your name in the header of each page. Please only submit one story at a time. No simultaneous submissions.

Return time: We will get back to you as quickly as we can.

Thought Crime Experiments

This is, as the name implies, an experiment. I want to put together an online anthology of high-quality speculative fiction. I've budgeted USD1000 to buy five short stories for USD200 each. I've written and critiqued speculative fiction for years, but this is the first time I've put up money for it.

What's the difference between giving a story a positive review and actually buying it? I want to see how difficult it is to find five stories I like enough to buy. Once I've chosen five, I'll publish them here, under a Creative Commons license.

Since this project just started and there is no additional information about it, I assume you're interested in the...

Submission Guidelines

Send your story to thoughtcrime.experiments@gmail.com. Include the story as an attachment. I prefer plain text, but any document format is fine. If you want to, you can mention your publication credits, your name, etc., but all I need to start with is the story and your email address. If I buy the story, I'll need to get in contact with you anyway.

In general, I'd prefer you send me a story you've already written and pounded the pavement for and acquired a couple rejection slips for.

Legalities: I'm buying the first electronic rights, and the right to publish your story under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Sharealike license (here's my reasoning). I want the stories I buy to first show up on this website, but once they're published I want them to circulate.

There are a number of reasons why writers don't usually solicit other writers' writing, but the big one for me is legal liability. I don't want you to sue me if you send me a story that includes a poisoned croissant, and ten years later I write a story that includes an exploding cupcake. On the other hand, it would be stupid to make you promise never to sue for any reason just so I'll look at your story. So instead of making you sign some indemnification clause with your submission, I ask that you submit your story in the same professional spirit that prevails in a writing group or workshop.

I've never done anything like this before, but nor am I some fly-by-night shyster. I've written two nonfiction books for O'Reilly and I've run this website for over ten years. I'm bound to run into problems doing this, but I want to work with you in good faith to create something incredible.

The usual boilerplate: send only one story at a time, don't send a story that's currently being considered by someone else, don't send a story that's already been bought or published.

Deadline: Let's say March 31st, 2009. If I get five must-buy stories before then, I'll cut it short so as not to string anyone along. If I haven't bought five stories by then, I'll extend the deadline or run whatever stories I have bought. If I promise to buy your story and then cancel the project or otherwise can't follow through, I'll pay you a kill fee of $75.

Length: My overriding concern is "is this worth two hundred bucks?" I'm not going to buy a flash piece for $200, and you wouldn't be happy getting $200 for your novella. So let's say between three and ten thousand words.

Genre: I like science fiction at lot, especially science fiction set within fifty years of the present. It's not as likely I'd pay $200 for a fantasy story, but if you've got a fantasy story set between 1959 and 2059, send it in. I'm not going to pay $200 for a horror story, unless it's a really original parody or something.

More specifically, I like stories that engage with the pop culture of the past, present, or future. I like stories that use the alien to illuminate the everyday, or vice versa. I like hard SF that requires a degree to understand, provided it's the computer science degree I actually have. I like farcical ridiculous gonzo pastiche. I also like space aliens.

If you don't have anything that you think I'll like, send me something anyway. The worst that can happen is I'll say no

BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR, Vol. 2

Submission Guidelines

I am editing the new anthology series Best Horror of the Year (Night Shade Books) and am currently reading for the second volume, which will include all material published in 2009.

I am looking for stories from all branches of horror: from the traditional-supernatural to the borderline, including high-tech sf horror, supernatural stories, psychological horror, dark thrillers, or anything else that might qualify. If in doubt, send it. This is a reprint anthology so I am only reading material published in or about to be published in 2009. Submission deadline for stories is December 15th 2009. Anything sent after this deadline will reach me too late. If a magazine, anthology, or collection you’re in or you edit is coming out by December 31st, you can send me galleys or manuscripts so that I can judge the stories in time. No email submissions. I strongly suggest that authors check with their publishers that they are sending review copies to me as I don’t have time or energy to nag publishers to get me material. I request it once (maybe twice) and that’s it.

There will be a summation of "the year in horror" in the front of the volume. This will include novels, nonfiction, art books, and "odds and ends"-- material that doesn't fit elsewhere but that I feel might interest the horror reader. But I must be aware of this material in order to mention it. The deadline for this section is January 15th, 2010.

Ellen Datlow
Best Horror of the Year Volume Two
PMB 391
511 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011-8436

****I do not want to receive manuscripts from authors of stories from venues that it’s likely I already receive (like Interzone, The Third Alternative, Cemetery Dance, Subterranean, Postscripts, Weird Tales, F&SF, etc) or from anthologies and collections, unless I don't have or can’t get that anthology or collection. Please contact your publisher and ask him/her to send me the magazine or book.

Please do not send a SASE. If I choose a story you will be informed. If you want to confirm that I‘ve received something, enclose a self-addressed-stamped postcard and I will let you know the date it arrived. For stories that appear on the web, please send me (or have the publisher send me) print-outs of your story.

Thanks,
Ellen Datlow, Editor
www.datlow.com

Writing Calamities

We're looking for wacky, unbelievable, and/or humorous stories! What's the wildest writer-related experience you've ever had? Crack us up! Awe us! Please sum up your submission with a one-sentence lesson or quote.

Submission Guidelines

All stories must be true and about you or someone you know. Reprints are acceptable but please tell us when and where your story was printed.

Submissions must be between 750 - 1,500 words. Any submissions that do not meet the word count requirement will be deleted immediately.

Please include the following with your submission:

• your full name (or pen name - please specify)
• address
• email address
• phone number
• story title
• word count
• your bio
• the book title you are submitting to

Send your submissions to: writersguide@writergazette.com. Please make the subject line match the book title that you are submitting to. All submissions must be pasted into the body of your email - absolutely no attachments. Emails with attachments will be immediately deleted.

Please note: it may take up to a year for us to respond to your submission. Thank you for your patience with us as we review submissions.

There is no deadline to submit for these books at this time as we are considering future volumes for each themed book.

Payment Upon Publishing: At this time we can pay CDN$15 per submission with your full bio and a free copy of the ebook. We are paying via PayPal and by cheque (CDN funds). It is our intent to increase the payment amount in the future when possible. If you do not agree to these payment terms, please do not submit.

Rights: We require one time rights and editing rights (if needed). You retain all copyrights. Upon acceptance of your submission, we will send you publication contract and a copy of your formatted story. This form must be signed and returned in order for your submission to be published in our series. Upon acceptance of your submission, you hereby grant Topzone Publishing/Krista Barrett the right to publish and reproduce your submission in book form or any other media form that may result from publication worldwide.

Disclaimer: We have the right to refuse any and all submissions that we believe will not fit with the theme of our books.

About Us: Krista Barrett, owner of Writer Gazette, Writers Manual and EbooksCafe, is the running force behind this new book series. Books will be available in electronic and printed formats.

The Mission for this book series:

• To provide encouragement and inspiration to writers worldwide.
• To provide a new market for writers worldwide

Zoland Poetry Anthology

Submission Guidelines
Please submit no more than 10 pages of previously unpublished poetry per reading period.

Work may be submitted online: submission@zolandpoetry.com
or via mail to: Zoland Poetry / 384 Huron Ave / Cambridge, MA 02138

All submissions must include: Name, Address, Phone, & Email

• Fax submissions are not accepted.
• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, if noted in the cover letter.
• Submissions will not be returned, though receipt of material will be confirmed,
  if a self-addressed, stamped postcard is provided.
• All poets will be contacted by May 1, if their work has been accepted.

Submissions will be accepted for the fourth Zoland Poetry annual beginning in early summer 2008 through March 15, 2009. We are no longer reading for the third annual, which will be out March 2009.

Payment Schedule
Payment for poetry submissions is $25/page with a maximum of $200. Zoland purchases First World Rights, non-exclusive one-time anthology rights, and the right to publish a selection of the work on the website. Copyright remains with the author. All authors and translators will receive two copies of the book, along with payment, which is made just after publication of the annual volume. Authors are responsible for proofing their respective pages from galleys.

Translations will be considered only if a letter, signed by the author or his/her agent granting rights to the translated work, accompanies the submission. Translators should also include brief biographical information about the author and hard copy of the original language text. Upon acceptance of the translation, electronic copy of the original language text will be requested for the website.

Contact
General queries: info@zolandpoetry.com

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To support the author of this blog, consider buying her books.

Pumping Your Muse (Creative writing book)

Windwalker (Fantasy)

Beyond the Fifth Gate (Fantasy)

For more about the author of this blog check out Theinkslinger.net.

Shine Anthology

Submission Guidelines

SHINE is an anthology of optimistic near-future SF, edited by Jetse de Vries, published by Solaris Books, and is planned for an early 2010 release.

Keywords:

Convincing and optimistic: Imagine that we are the biggest skeptics on the planet, then show us how things can change for the better, and persuade us.

Near-future: from now until 50 years later.

SF: we’re not going to define it. Write what you think is SF, and convince us with the story.

The Gritty:

Length: up to 10k words (not hard, but anything longer than 10k should be mind-blowingly superb).

Payment: 5 cents a word, on publication (and probably a pro rata share of the anthologist’s earnings: I’m working on that)

Genres: science fiction only. I greatly prefer original stories, but I will — like Baen’s Universe — look at stories that have been published in markets that are not professional by SFWA standards, or markets with a relatively small reach. I also consider Interzone, Black Static, Postscripts, Futurismic, Apex Digest and Flurb to be either professional markets or markets with a wide reach (or both), so don’t want to see stories published by them, either.

Rights: First World English Rights, non-exclusive world anthology rights, non-exclusive audio anthology rights, and further subsidiary rights specified in my boilerplate [author-anthologist contract], which I’ll put up after I return from World Fantasy. NOTE: obviously, for eventual reprints the first world rights will become anthology rights, first if possible.

Reading Period: May and June 2009 (DO NOT SUBMIT BEFORE MAY 2009)

Response Time: Most rejections will be sent out quickly, while I will hold over stories that I like until July 31, when a final decision is made. No multiple submissions, please: only one story per author, and only submit a second one if I expressly ask for it. Simultaneous submissions: at your own discretion, but keep in mind that I will not fight over a story, that is, if it’s with another publisher I will drop it like a ton of bricks.

Submissions Instructions: send your story, preferably single-spaced and in rich text format (RTF) to [email to be added later]. Put Submission: “Title of your story” in the email’s subject line.

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Donna Sundblad resides in Georgia. Her published works include: Pumping Your Muse, a creative writing book, and two YA fantasy novels: Windwalker and Beyond the Fifth Gate and her stories also appear in a variety of anthologies. Visit her website www.theinkslinger.net for more information and if you want to buy her books in ebook form they are available at Fictionwise.

PMS—Poison, Murder, Satisfaction!!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES - Are you writing what we want to read?

Are you ready to show off your red-hot talent? Are you ready to see your manuscripts for sale in both Print and Electronic Book formats? Here's that to send to the L&L Dreamspell Submission desk!

Romance - Make us wish we were part of the story, with interesting, intelligent characters. All varieties accepted. (Please make sure Historical romances are factually correct.)

Mystery - From Mainstream to Cozies to Hardboiled, we want to appeal to a wide audience of mystery lovers. Chapter 1 should really grab the reader's attention!

Suspense - From Mystery to Romance to Thrillers and Horror. Make us really feel what the characters experience.

Paranormal - FICTION - Ghosts, Vampires, the Occult - all within fascinating, original stories including elements of Suspense, Mystery and/or any type of Romance. NON-FICTION - Interesting, thought-provoking manuscripts with theories and/or true life experiences.

Metaphysical--NON-FICTION--Anything and everything within the "New Age" genre. Interesting, thought-provoking manuscripts with theories and/or true life experiences. Readers should be fascinated with your ideas/theories on ESP/Intuition, Synchronicity, Divination, Dreams, Healing, Meditation, Angels, Yoga, Crystals, and speculation about Reality and Quantum Physics.

Not Sure?--If you didn't see a category above that matches, but think your manuscript/story would fit in at L&L Dreamspell please write to the Publishing Desk and ask - Click HERE (QUESTIONS ONLY - NO SUBMISSIONS TO THIS EMAIL)

What to submit...

E-MAILED SUBMISSIONS ONLY! Please do not send submissions to our P.O. Box - Thanks!

Short Stories - Send us the completed story. The length should be between 3000 and 9000 words, more or less. NOTE - Please tell us the story is for PMS—Poison, Murder, Satisfaction!! in your submission e-mail! If you have any questions about submitting a short story please write to the Publishing desk before you send it (NO previously published stories) - Click HERE (QUESTIONS ONLY - NO SUBMISSIONS TO THIS EMAIL)

Important! Prepare your submission before you send it! - Click HERE for instructions