Off to Work

I'm unplugging today to get some work done. So that your stop here was not a waste of your mouse clickery, here are some details on an interesting open call from Dreaming Robot Press for their upcoming middle-school-age-reader SF antho:

"We’re looking for stories that: Have a main character a middle grade reader (ages 9-12) can identify with; Show a diverse set of real characters; Are well written, fun to read and encourage a love of reading science fiction; Tell of adventure, space, science. Give us rockets, robots and alien encounters, and we’re pretty happy. Steampunk, time travel, weird west and alternate history are all fine; Are between 3,000 and 6,000 words. We’re especially looking for stories: Where the main character is of a population that has traditionally been under-represented in science fiction, e.g. girls, people of color, differently abled people; Where the main character has agency, exercises it, and isn’t just along for the ride. We’re not interested in: Stories where the female characters primarily exist to be rescued or as a prize for the males; Stories where the primary plot or subplot is romantic in nature; Stories with graphic violence or any form of sexual activity; Stories about the first girl to do X, surprising everyone; Stories that depict any ethnicity or gender as universally bad or stupid." Payment: 6¢/word; query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: August 31st, 2014.