Sub Ops Ten

Black Moon Books has an open call for their annual Mirror Shards antho: "Augmented reality holds the promise of great social change in both the near and far-flung futures. It’s also a wonderful medium for storytelling as information and graphics overlain eye-screens challenges the doors of perception and creates mixed-reality worlds to work and play. Black Moon Books is seeking stories between 3000 and 6000 words (soft edges) that utilize augmented reality as a way to explore the human condition. The stories can be set in any place, time, or genre, as long as the story cannot exist bereft of augmented reality. Feel free to explore the edges of the technology." Payment: "from $0.02/word to $0.05/word. A few slots will be offered to established professionals, but at least one pro paying slot will be given through the slush pile (Gold Prize). Minimum payment per word will be $0.02 for all accepted slush stories." Also: "One copy will be provided for each author in the anthology." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: July 8, 2011.

Blue Mountain Arts/SPS Studios is "Actively seeking freelancers; Pay: card=$300; poem in anthology=$50; GLs send on request via e-mail. Range of cards: Family, friends, occasions, inspiration, encouragement. Style of cards: Sentimental and conversational; a few lines to two and a half pages. No humor or one-liners, please. Postal and e-mail submissions welcome. Format for submission: Postal: typewritten, one poem per page, name on each page; e-mail: type work in the body of the e-mail, we won't accept attachments or website links. In either case, please include mailing address and phone number. Submit any number of poems at a time. E-mail address for questions, queries and submissions: editorial@sps.com. Snail mail address: Editorial Department, P.O. Box 1007, Boulder CO 80306 U.S.A. Ralan notes: "Now also reviewing poetry/prose for Christmas cards to friends/family & general seasonal greetings; deadline July 15, 2011."

Evolutions Publishing has an update regarding subs for their Darwin's Evolutions webzine: "Our original webzine free-content model has been abandoned. Instead, we are now focusing on the production of e-book single stories and anthologies and novels in e-book plus print or print-on-demand formats." They are offering minimal advances and shared royalties for SF and Fantasy adventure stories, length varies; see guidelines update for more details.

Garden State Horror Writers are holding their 17th Annual GSHW Short Story Contest. The $7.50 entry fee they require annoys me, but it's not as criminally outrageous as what RWA or some of the other writer orgs charge for their nonsense, so I reluctantly added it to this ten list. Length: up to 4K; contest theme is [*sigh*] "The End of the World as We Know it." Prizes: "First prize is $75, the Graversen Award, and publication in Space and Time Magazine. The second prize is $40, and third prize $20. Each eligible entry will be scored and critiqued by published authors and/or editors and the top five entries will be judged by award winning editor, Ellen Datlow, and Hildy Silverman, editor of Space and Time Magazine and Vice President of the GSHW." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see contest page for more details. Deadline: July 31, 2011.

A heads-up for the freelance copywriters out there: Harlequin Romance is currently looking to hire experienced copywriters; go here to read more.

Although technically not a sub op, I know a lot of unemployed editors are out there, so here's another interesting current job listing from Harlequin Romance, this time for an editor for their Superromance line.

Beginning with their August issue, Linger Fiction will be publishing flash fiction only: "We want stuff that’s unforgettable; stories that grab us from the first paragraph and won’t release us until the last word. Even then, the stories should stay with us. We want to think about it on the bus the next morning, and tell our friends about it. If your story requires graphic violence, sex or profanity, include it. If it is not necessary for your story, leave it out." Length: 150 to 1K words; Payment: $20.00 (via Paypal only.) No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Lyrical Press is seeking "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender stories that are lightyears outside the proverbial box. Dark and stormy nights full of deep and steamy romance. Sleek and edgy sci-fi with savvy, sexy characters. Suave swashbucklers who capture more than ships—they capture hearts. Lyrical Press is accepting all forms of LGBT, with a focus on romance and erotica. If you’ve got a story that’ll steam up the windows and steal the reader’s heart, we’d love to hear from you. Sensuality level: All – with a focus on romance/erotica. Length: 30,000 – 80,000 words. Key Characteristic: Central romance must be LGBT. Please follow Lyrical Press’ guidelines found here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions when submitting. Send submissions to carinbrumal@lyricalpress.com." (via AbsoluteWrite.com)

Machine of Death has an open call for their themed MOD 2 Anthology, and this is what they have to say about the them: "All stories in the book start with the idea of a machine that can use a blood test to tell you how you’re going to die — sometimes vaguely, but always accurately." Length: "Stories can be any length, but we recommend a length of 1,500 – 7,500 words"; Payment: $200.00 US upon acceptance. No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. [Note from PBW: Do be sure to read these guidelines thoroughly before you submit; among other things they are asking for film rights.] Deadline: July 15, 2011.

UK webzine SpineTinglers is looking for stories: "For us there are no specific formulae that a spine tingling story must conform to. It doesn't have to be macabre and morose; it can be light-hearted or even uplifting. Whether it is filled with ghosts or ghouls, possessions or poltergeists, or merely the suggestion of something supernatural, anything is acceptable. We want you to let your imagination run wild and come up with the story or stories that make our spine tingle." Preferred length: up to 5K; Payment: "Each month we publish on the website the best five stories submitted. The overall monthly winner, as well as receiving publication will also receive a £100 (stg) prize! Second place receives £50, with 3rd, 4th and 5th all receiving £25 each. The prizes quoted are in Sterling (British Pounds) but if you live outside of the UK you will be paid the equivalent amount in your local currency." Reprints okay, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Most of the above submission opportunities were found among the many terrific market listings over at Ralan.com.