Forgive the lengthy guidelines but I hope by being as specific as possible I'll save both my time and yours. If a story does not fit the submission guidelines it will be rejected without a second glance.
What I'm looking for The obvious points: I'm looking for Fantasy and Science Fiction Stories. I am quite broad with definitions, but a fantasy story must have an element of fantasy, and a science fiction story must contain an element of science/technology and speculation about science. I like merged-genre stories, but be warned that I don't want the anthology dominated by 'slipstream' stories.
Story length is ideally between 2000 and 6000 words. However, I will consider stories outside of this range.
The unique points: Music must be integral to the story: for example, the story might be about music, or the life of musicians, or the effect of a musical instrument, or perhaps a piece of music -- or anything else that I haven't thought of!
This next requirement is equally important. I'm not only looking for great characters, great plot, great entertainment and great prose, but I'm also looking for stories that are intellectually exciting. This is something Science Fiction and Fantasy is best equipped to deliver, so I am going to be explicit about wanting this in the anthology.
What I'm NOT looking for:
A story where the author has changed the lead character from a schoolteacher to a musician, or where the magical object has been changed from a cursed handbag to a cursed violin. Music MUST be integral to the story. If the musical element can obviously be exchanged for something or someone else -- brilliant though the story may be -- it won't fit my anthology.
I'm also NOT looking for:
Gore-fests
Sword and Sorcery
Fan fiction
Mozart fighting zombies
Submission Format: Electronic submissions only. In RTF format. Email to mark.musicanthology'@'gmail.com
If you have an off-the-wall idea you would like to check out with me in advance, please do so. I can be contacted at mark.musicanthology'@'gmail.com Background info for submitters: What's 'Strange Fiction'? I'm using it as a convenient term to lump together Fantasy and Science Fiction. 'Speculative Fiction' would also do, but it has acquired snobby associations. I'm happy to celebrate The Geek.
Background info for submitters: The Anthology
The book will be published to good standard in paperback, PDF and ePub. Sales will mainly be online as the cost of selling through the big retailers is exorbitant. I will send review copies to sites and associations that are likely to cover it. I will also invest in publicity activities when the anthology is near completion -- but the scope of this will depend on what is practical when I get to that point. The anthology will contain about 10 stories.
I'll give updates here on submission and book progress -- so if you are a story submitter follow this site for news.
For the purpose of this collection, focus on elves in the vein of those in LOTR, more skillful and long-lived than magical (though a few light "powers" are welcome; thisis fantasy, after all). Bring us a story of elves in a kingdom of their own but contained within the world of man. Will the two worlds interact? That depends on you, the author. Will we see a war between good and bad elves? Maybe. Will your elves have a language of their own? What drama can you bring into their lives? Will they fall in love? Will you choose a timeline distinct from ours?
Send us your best stories involving elves, human-looking, human-acting beings, but will certain "advantages". Tell us what those advantages are, show us how they live and function within the world of man. What we don't want to see are modern-day settings, unless the elf-kingdom is far removed from all things modern.
Port Yonder Press will print an anthology with six winning submissions. Additional submissions may be selected for publication as eBooks for sale on our website. Authors will be paid small royalties on the sales of their books (details explained in a contract), for both print and ebook, IF and WHEN royalties per author reaches $50. Until then, we will hold onto the funds until this goal is reached, up to five years. After that time, we will absorb funds to cover expenses.
Submission guidelines:
Well-developed plots and believable characters are essential. Settings and locations should be fictional.
We welcome the use of murder and mayhem in your story, but no overly graphic violence, foul language or sexuality. Magic must be light and not involve the occult.Disregarding these guidelines will automatically disqualify your submission.This is fantasy, pure and simple. Use your imagination and give us something novel and gripping.
Target age group: teens and adults.
You may submit up to three separate submissions (each in a separate email with cover letter and marketing strategy).
No reissues or reprints. All stories must be original.
Word count should fall between 5,000 and 15,000 words.
Submissions are due no later than October 1, 2010, or until 30 (thirty) manuscripts have been received, whichever comes first. Decisions regarding the submissions will be announced by December 1st, 2010 or sooner. Tentative publication date TBA.
Format your document this way:
File saved in Word 97-2003 or 2007 format (.doc) or (.rtf)
8 ½ x 11 sheet
Times New Roman 12pt font/black ink
1-inch margin on all sides/ 1.5 line spacing
Align text left, do not justify (aligning text both left and right)
Header containing title, author name, e-mail address, and page number
Capital letters at the beginning of sentences and proper nouns
Show new paragraphs by indenting first line of new paragraph. Do not add blank line between paragraphs.
Show scene breaks with * * * centered in the appropriate line.
In your email, please:
Use the subject line “SeaBeast Anthology Submission: Elves – title of work”
Include a very brief cover letter that includes your name/pseudonym, mailing address, phone number, and web address. Your submission must also include a marketing strategy for at least one year of promotions. If you're not sure what "Marketing Strategy" is all about, check out our "Getting Published" page here. Look under "Your Platform is essential".
Open call for submissions for *Queer Light* to be published by QueeredFiction where genre is queered. Deadline is *31st January 2010*
Angels, fallen angels, nephilim (half human and half angel), and demons; devas of light and darkness. An urban contemporary fantasy anthology featuring queer angels of all shades and hues. As with our first anthology in the *Queer Legends Series*, *Queer Wolf<http://www.queeredfiction.com/queerwolf.htm> *, we'll be looking for tales *set in an unnamed and location non-specific city*, but this time involving queer angels, the good and the bad.
Your submission should be an *URBAN FANTASY* short story between 3,000 and 20,000 words. We are seeking fiction with positive images of queer characters. We’re not looking for clichés. We do not want reprints. We are seeking first world rights for this anthology which will be published as an eBook and in Print format. Your submission should be via email to editor@queeredfiction.com with Queer Light Anthology submission in the subject line. Complete guideline details available at: http://www.queeredfiction.com/queerlight.htm
HURRAY GOD! stories are true, real life experiences of ordinary people sharing answers to prayer. They are heartwarming, inspirational, encouraging and unforgettable. The believer’s faith will be bolstered, and the nonbeliever’s interest piqued.
Stories transcend every culture and cross barriers of age, race, and gender. They are universal and timeless. Stories weave their way into the hardest of hearts. Jesus knew the power of story.
Submission Requirements:
Story length 480 – 1500 words.
Use our online Submission Form only.
Write in first-person (preferred) or third person point of view.
Use a narrative simple, dramatic, and anecdotal style.
The story must be original, and one you hold rights to.
English only.
We do not publish fiction, profiles, sermons, letters, confessionals, expository essays, diatribes, academic papers, testimonials, or eulogies.
You may submit multiple stories, but only one story per submission form.
Your first and last name, address, e-mail address, and phone number must be included with each Submission Form.
Stories whose content contains inappropriate or degrading language will not be accepted.
Use 12-point, Times New Roman font.
At the top of your manuscript, please list the word count.
We do not respond to queries or provide editorial feedback.
Include a short paragraph about yourself at the end of the story.
Writers whose stories are selected for HURRAY GOD! will be notified by e-mail.
Submission deadline is December 1, 2009.
Elements of Powerful Storytelling:
Use description and dialogue to draw the reader into the story.
Paint word pictures. Help the reader experience the joy, sadness, danger, and see the characters, and hear their dialogue.
Write from your heart; make your story live on in the heart of the reader.
Hook the reader at the beginning by writing a strong lead that grabs their attention and keeps him reading right up to the end.
Capitalize deity nouns and pronouns.
Use one space after a period or other punctuation at the end of a sentence before beginning the next sentence.
Identify the scripture passage and the Bible version used.
Read and reread your manuscript before submission. Use the Spell-Check function, but don’t rely on it alone.
Read your story out loud and eliminate words that don’t move the story forward.
Write your story so that it flows smoothly.
Read the stories posted online to get a feel for our need.
Use strong verbs. Eliminate as many “ing” and “was” words as possible.
Stories must have a clear, strong “take away” value and point to the workings of our Almighty God.
Include a short paragraph about yourself at the end of the story.
After the book is published, writers whose stories are accepted will receive a copy of the book in which it is published and a check for $50.
Library of Science Fiction & Fantasy Press is pleased to announceDistant 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>onthe 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 todistanteditor@gmail.comwith ‘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 inDistant 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 untilALLsubmissions 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.
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.
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.
Donna Sundblad is a retired editor turned freelance writer who now dedicates her time to reviewing books, crafting her own novels, and sharing her thoughts through blogging. She is the author of the Dragon's Oath series, an epic fantasy journey filled with magic and adventure.
The series begins with Drake Ascendant (Book 1) and Shadowalkers (Book 2). The much-anticipated Sages of Tachnir (Book 3) is about to release, and fans can look forward to Rise of the Variel (Book 4), which is currently in progress.
Visit her website to explore her selection of available fantasy novels and to learn more about her work.
Website: www.donnasundblad.com
