Anthology Markets

I've been getting a lot of hits on these posts, so if you've just wandered in off the internet, hi and welcome. :) I do these posts every month, so if this post isn't dated in the same month you're in, click here to make sure you're seeing the most recent one.

Markets with specific deadlines are listed first, "Until Filled" markets are at the bottom. There are usually more details on the original site; always click through and read the full guidelines before submitting. Note that some publishers list multiple antho guildelines on one page, so after you click through you might have to scroll a bit.

Non-erotica/romance writers: The Mo*Con Anthology is looking for horror, Clockwork Phoenix is looking for non-traditional fantasy, and Panverse Two is looking for SF and fantasy.

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31 October 2009 -- 28 Days of Heart -- AllRomanceeBooks

Charity drive to benefit the American Heart Association. 28 stories will be chosen from submissions received between July 1 and October 31, 2009. Any author who has an eBook available on ARe, or whose publisher lists eBooks with us, is eligible to submit. Submissions must be 10,000 to 20,000 words. The preferred heat rating is 4 or 5 flames, though stories rated a hard 3 flames will also be considered. An explanation of the flame rating system can be found on our site. We are looking for a wide variety of themes and sub-genres, as long as the story is a romance. Questions should be emailed to cat.johnson@allromanceebooks.com. Final selection of participants will be made and announced in November 2009.

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1 November 2009 -- Mo*Con Anthology

First, all the stuff you really care about: Pays 5 cents per word up to 5,000 words. Deadline is November 1st. Reading period opens June 1st. Payment on acceptance.

If you’re unfamiliar with Mo*Con, you’ll be operating from an extreme disadvantage. It’s the annual horror convention, named after myself, that revolves around discussions of spirituality, writing, and social issues. Horror, too often, has been thought of as the non-thinking genre, home of the “monsters in the dark” with little to offer in terms of depth. Mo*Con defies that image of the genre. Its themes so far have covered spirituality, race, gender issues, art, and love.

So what am I looking for? Smart, literate stories that fit in with any of the themes of Mo*Con. Horror/dark fantasy stories with depth, that stretch the genre. Stories that make you think, that comment on the human condition and the social order. Stories that are rich in their language use. However, as much as I love social commentary, don’t forget to entertain me. You should also note that about half of the anthology has already been filled with solicited pieces.

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15 November 2009 -- Teammates -- STARbooks

There you are in the locker room after a hard practice, watching your teammates strip and head to the open shower room, and suddenly the practice isn’t the only thing that is hard. Or, during wrestling practice, you are paired up with the best built, most handsome guy on the team, whose singlet is stretched beyond its limits everywhere possible. You are the quarterback and the new center has the hottest butt you’ve ever seen, and now he is bent over in front of you with your hands against his crotch, ready to hike the ball. What do you do? What have you done? What do you regret not doing?

Any one of us who has participated in sports has been any of the above situations and many more like them. How do you control yourself when you are surrounded by hot, sweaty men, who are pumped and randy? Well, now you can put those fantasies – or real-life stories – into writing! TEAMMATES will be your opportunity to make jocks sweat, strain, pump, and practice what they do best with other men who share their athleticism and passions.

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15 November 2009 -- Clockwork Phoenix 3 -- Norilana Books

"My aim with the CLOCKWORK PHOENIX books is, somewhat selfishishly, to create books that satisfy my own tastes as a reader. And as a reader, I enjoy stories that experiment, that push the envelope, that dazzle with their daring, but I'm often personally frustrated when an experimental story ends without feeling complete, without leaving an emotional crater for me to remember it by. At the same time, I find myself increasingly bored with the traditional, conventionally-plotted and plainly-written Good Story Competently Told. For better or for worse, I envision the CLOCKWORK PHOENIX books as places where these two schools of story telling can mingle and achieve Happy Medium; where there is significance to both the tale that's told and the style of the telling."

UPDATE FOR THE THIRD VOLUME: "For the second book, I received a glut of sorcery stories, of which I only really used one, and a dearth of stories with the rococo sf elements I enjoy seeing. I hope that trend will reverse somewhat this year. Also, please see what I have to say below regarding multiple and simultaneous submissions."

RIGHTS PURCHASED: First English Language Rights and non-exclusive electronic rights. The anthology will be published by Norilana Books in a trade paperback edition in July 2010, to be followed by an electronic edition to be produced later.

PAYMENT: $0.02 a word on acceptance as an advance against royalties, then a pro rata share of royalties after earnout, plus a contributor copy.

WORD LENGTH: Stories should be no longer than 10,000 words, preferably shorter. This is a firm limit for unsolicited stories.

READING PERIOD begins Oct. 1, 2009; ends Nov. 15, 2009. Any unsolicited stories sent before Oct. 1 will be deleted unread.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Submissions are electronic only. Please submit your story via e-mail, as an RTF file attachment. Your e-mail subject line should say "Submission: Story Title". Include a brief cover letter in the body of your email. It should have your name, address, e-mail address, title of story, number of words, and brief biographical information in case we don't know you, with most recent publishing credits, if applicable. We are open to new writers and seasoned veterans alike. We do not accept reprints.

WILL MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS BE ALLOWED? Yes.

WILL SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS BE ALLOWED? The editor says, "Yes, but please notify me when you've done that. When a writer suddenly withdraws a story that I haven't even gotten a chance to look at yet, or worse, that I just read and liked, but can't make a final decision about yet, it tends to make me cranky. (Don't worry, I do acknowledge and accept that there are some circumstances that justify such actions.) However, no one is going to get a formal acceptance from me until after the reading period ends. If you can't wait that long to find out what I think, then please don't waste my time or Inbox space."

EDITORIAL ADDRESS: clockworkphoenix@gmail.com

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15 November 2009 -- Shot Through the Heart Taste Test -- Torquere Press

Valentine Stories.

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15 November 2009 -- Silence Toybox -- Torquere Press

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30 November 2009 -- Love and Fables -- Queered Fiction


A collection of tales featuring fable (legend/myth) elements in a uniquely queer way; stories about mythical , lengendary or supernatural beings or events combined with Romance...and a HEA (Happily Ever After). Your submission should be a 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 Love and Fables Anthology submission in the subject line. Please embed your short story within the body of the email and provide a brief author bio. Payment will be a 40% royalty split of eBook sales between contributors and a 20% royalty split of print sales.

Submissions open: 1st September 2009 to 30th November 2009
Reading period begins: 25th November 2009

As a queer publisher, QueeredFiction would like to have an emphasis on the queer community as a whole, rather than by segments. So ideally the perfect submission would have 'queer characters' in the forefront and in the background ... just mainly prominent!

What we're looking for is to create a HEA collection of tales featuring fable (legend/myth) elements in a uniquely queer way; our fables here are stories about mythical, lengendary or supernatural beings or events for example the grail, Tristram and Isolde, Blodeuwedd, Midas, a seal wife(/lover) even the Emperor's new clothes...et cetera. I'm not looking for a re-telling of any of these fables/legends, but more an original tale simulating or borrowing from these.

Queries can be directed via the QueeredFiction Blog The contract is available upon request for your inspection.

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1 December 2009 -- I Do Two -- MLR Press

The anthology, titled I DO, TWO, is a sequel to the January 2009 charity anthology I DO! All authors donate their stories to benefit the Lambda Legal Fund. The collection covers a range of times, places and people, and illustrates the universality of love and commitment.

To date, I DO! has raised over $1500 for the cause of equal rights in marriage. I DO TWO will be a similar, companion volume, published by MLR Press. (Contracts will be in line with their standard contract.)

We’re looking for stories between 1,000 words and 10,000 words long. M/M, F/F, Bi and transgender stories are welcome. There is no strict theme, but we have certain things we do not want to see, for example stories which undermine the purpose of the anthology -- that is, no stories which are about how gay people do not want to get married or do not deserve to get married. We do not want anything that reinforces negative stereotypes -- no snuff fiction, scat, golden showers, necrophilia or underage sex. Because of the potential copyright issues, we cannot accept fanfiction, either.

If you possess the copyright for your story and it isn’t currently under exclusive contract to anyone else, we are happy to consider stories which have been published before. Please make a note in the covering e-mail.

As long as your story follows these guidelines and comes within the word-count, please send it to Lee.Rowan@yahoo.com. Your story does not need to have an explicit marriage-related plot or even a happy ending! Any story that celebrates the theme of love as valid, no matter the genders of the players, is welcome.

This is for a charity anthology, so you will not get paid. All profits will go straight to the Lamdba Legal fund. Through education, litigation and public policy work, Lambda Legal works to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people, and persons with HIV. Since their founding in 1973, Lambda Legal has become an active and vital part of the GLBT civil rights movement instrumental in the fight for same-sex marriage rights both nationally and, most notably, in the fight to strike down California’s Proposition 8.

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UNTIL FILLED -- MM and Menage Steampunk Antho -- Phaze

Call: M/M and Menage Steampunk Anthology, Title TBA
Edited by: Leigh Ellwood
Projected release date: late 2010
Format: eBook (with possible print release)
Publisher: Phaze Books
Payment: $50 for one-time electronic and print rights, plus copies

Hey, all you steampunk enthusiasts, grab your goggles and get to writing! Phaze Books is planning an M/M (and bi-M menage) steampunk collection for eBook publication in 2010. If you have a yen for 19th century history with a touch of good humor and technological innovation (and a whole lot of manlove!), we hope you’ll send us your hottest steampunk erotic romance of 10K - 20K words. If you’re not sure about the genre, check out this Wikipedia entry for steampunk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk) to get an idea of the style of stories we’re looking for. Think H.G. Wells or Wild Wild West, then turn up the steam factor with an incredible M/M or MMF/MMM match-up!

This call is open indefinitely until the spots are filled. Contributors will offer one-time electronic and print rights to their works and receive a one-time payment of $50 and contributors copies (eBook and/or print, if the book goes to print).

To submit to this anthology, please follow the Phaze Books structural guidelines at http://www.phaze.com/submissions.html and attach your RTF submission to Leigh Ellwood, c/o Phaze Books at submissions @ phaze (dot) com. Please use STEAMPUNK ANTHOLOGY is your subject header.

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UNTIL FILLED -- Panverse Two -- Panverse Publishing

Editor - Dario Ciriello

PANVERSE TWO is the second of a series of all-original novella print collections, with publication scheduled for Late Spring 2010.

Interested? Please read the following guidelines carefully. We look forward to reading your work.

The anthology will be open to submissions until we have enough good stories.

Looking for pro-level novellas of between 15,000 and 40,000 words. Stories should be Science Fiction (except Military) or Fantasy (except Heroic/High/Superhero/S&S). We'll also look at Magic Realism, Alternate History, and Slipstream (whatever that is). The story should be original and unpublished in any medium (this includes web publication).

Depth of characterization will count for a lot – however clever the idea, if we don't care for the protagonist, we'll bounce it. We like stories that instill wonder. Subject matter is pretty wide open. If we care, can't put the story down, and find no big holes in the plot or worldbuilding, you've got a good shot.

What we don't want:

Military SF, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Horror, RPG, superhero, or shared-universe stuff, etc. Vampires and Cthulhu-mythos stories are strongly discouraged unless you've done something absolutely original with either theme. No gratuitous or wildly excessive sex or violence: what this means is that sex or violence which serves the plot is okay, within limits; the same goes for language. Think R-rated rather than XXX-rated.

NOTE: there are some unusual bits in their formatting and cover letter requirements. Nothing ridiculous, but definitely click the link and read the full guidelines before submitting.