Sub Ops Ten

Ten Things About Submission Opportunities

Eibon Vale Press has an open call for their Caledonia Dreaming antho: "Glaikit, mockit, droukit, drouthy, couthy, scunner, thrawn – the Scots language is rich with words too gallus not to glory in, dialect terms that deserve better than to be boxed away as precious oddities. For us, those words aren't quaint parochialisms of a past preserved in amber; they're wild wee beauties, straight razors slashing keen to the quick of meaning. We want stories that wield them as weapons for today, for tomorrow. We want you to pick up one of these words and flick it open to gleam in the light of the 21st century. Play with it, work with it, give us a story that riffs on it with relish – the sound, the sense. Run wild with it, ye ramstouger rannigants, and send us the result." According to Ralan.com, payment is £15-£20; length is 1k-12k, no reprints, and electronic submissions only. Submission deadline is 31 May 2013.

White Cat Publications is looking for good quality fantasy stories for their bi-annual Conjurings: "We are interested primarily in good quality writing in the fantasy genre. We will consider stories of any variant of this genre. We do not accept poetry at this time. We desire First English Language serial print, audio and digital rights so that we might present your work in all formats within the magazine." Length and Payment: "Short Stories and flash fiction: We accept stories up to around 5,000 words in length, three cents per word up to 5,000 words. Reprints are paid out at one cent per word." Electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Winter deadline: December 20th, 2013.

Eggplant Productions wants to see some spec fic novella submissions: "All types of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction and horror) are welcome and reprints will be considered; however, you should query first with story and publication information before submitting a reprint. Short story collections, full length novels (40,000 words or more), poetry collections or non-speculative fiction novellas will not be considered for open submissions." Length: 20-40K; Payment: "$250 (USD) advance + 25% royalty of list price." Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

The Fiction Desk is holding a ghost story competition: "Most of the stories we publish at The Fiction Desk are more or less realistic, but we try to stray outside that from time to time: some genre fiction should be part of any balanced reading diet. One genre that we'd like to feature more of in our pages is the ghost story. The competition is open now, to all English-speaking writers at the age of 16 or over. There's a first prize of £500, and a second prize of £100; both winners will also be published in an upcoming Fiction Desk anthology." Also: "Entries should be between 2,000 and 5,000 words in length. The entry fee is £6 for one story or £9 for two stories submitted together, and the closing date is 31 May 2013." [PBW notes: I'm not happy about the entry fee requirement but it's not outrageous, and the prizes are decent, so I thought it was worth listing.]

Goldfish Grimm is accepting short fiction submissions: "Short stories are like sushi. Sometimes, they make delicious appetizers. Other times, they’re a full course on their own. For all discerning tastes, Goldfish Grimm aims to please. Everything is on the table, so serve up your best. From hard sf and space opera stories to fairy tales and medieval yarns, we’ll consider it all. Don’t be afraid to take risks and show us something new. Cursing, sex, and violence will not offend us. Just make sure it has a point, okay?" What they want: "Goldfish Grimm’s Spicy Fiction Sushi wants fantasy and science fiction stories ranging from 100-7500-words. Each month we’ll be accepting two stories: one 1,000-words or less, one 1,001-words or more. Stories that fall around the 1,500-word mark will be published as flash or as the longer story based on the editor’s judgment and the overall theme of the issue. Preferred length for longer stories is somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 words." Payment: "$10 for flash fiction; $25 for longer works." See guidelines for more details.

The Lakefly Literary Conference is holding three different no-fee fiction contests for authors who reside in, attend school in Wisconsin, or register for the Lakefly Literary Conference May 10-11, 2013. Rather than list all the details I'll let you few who actually meet that criteria go to the submissions page and have a look.

Montag Press is accepting novel submissions: "Of primary interest are the following genres and sub-genres: Speculative fiction •Science fiction •Horror fiction •Subversive fiction •Utopian and Dystopian fiction •Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic fiction •Experimental fiction •Urban Fantasy •Dark Fantasy •Existential Horror •Paranoid fiction •Ex0-Fiction •Xeno-Fiction •Altered States [PBW notes there is a lot more they're willing to look at, too; go to this page for the full list.] Length: 40K+; Payment: "$100 advance; 30% net." The web site says no reprints but Ralan notes okay "if self published" [PBW suggests you query.] Electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Stone Skin Press has an open call for an upcoming Gothic-themed anthology: "The Gothic is the most enduring literary tradition in history but in recent years friendly ghosts and vegetarian vampires threaten its foundations. This will be a collection of short stories which revisit the core archetypes of the Gothic, the rambling, secret-filled building, the stranger seeking answers, the black-hearted tyrant, and reminds us not to embrace but to fear the darkness. The focus of this anthology will be on fear and atmosphere, rather than graphic horror or full out action, and will draw on the themes of the Gothic so if you’re not entirely familiar with them, the wikipedia entry is a good place to start." Length: 3-6K; Payment: to be negotiated. No repints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: April 30th, 2013.

Sword and Laser has an open call for their first anthology: "Sword and Laser’s first anthology is intended to be a celebration of scifi and fantasy fiction. What are we looking for in a story? Diversity. Not helpful? OK. Here are some better guidelines. Interesting characters. They can be evil or nice or mean or stupid, but they should be worth spending time reading about. Original settings, point-of-view, and voice. Not necessarily within your story, although that’s important too. But we want lots of different kinds of stories in the anthology. Hard for you to manage when you’re not reading all the other stories, but suffice to say if you’ve seen a story like yours before, it’s less likely to get chosen. Unique experience. We’re not going to ask you to ‘write what you know’ and also expect stories about aliens and dragons... form most of you... but situations and reactions drawn from your unique experiences that expose us to something new, will definitely be a plus. Stuff happening. Believe it or not, some people write stories where nothing happens. Please don’t be one of those people. Have a central, compelling idea or conflict. We want exciting ideas and character growth. At least a little. Love, laughs, fights, philosophy, insight are all also welcome. It needs to be in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. We define this pretty loosely of course. Not every story has to have spaceships or castles. We hope they don’t! But the farther you stray from the center of the sword or laser styles, the less likely we’ll want the story. That said, you’re not restricted in how you tell your tale. All styles, all settings, and all tones are welcome. Write the very best story you can, and do your best to surprise us with a new take on the genre!" Length: "We recommend a length of 1,500 – 7,500 words. We may choose to print shorter or longer stories in some cases, but this should be your target word count." Payment: "We pay $200 (US) upon acceptance." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: May 15th, 2013.

Third Flatiron Publishing has an open call for an upcoming themed antho: "We are now seeking stories for the Summer 2013 anthology, which will have a "Playing with Fire" theme." [PBW notes: there's very little info on this op, but I found the following description on another page at the site: "Fires and backfires from inventions (Greek fire?), culture clashes, climate change, comets and meteors, Hephaestus, and so forth." Also, the editor detailed the sort of stories she'd like to see in a blog interview here.] Length: up to 3K; Payment: "Please note that we've raised our pay rate to 3 cents/word." Appears they don't want reprints and I'll assume they want electronic submissions only. Deadline: March 31, 2013.