Anthology Markets

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: check out Tattered Souls, Panverse, and Horror Library.

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15 September 2010 -- Pine Switches -- Torquere Press

Three-story mini-anthology of short, sexy m/m stories on the theme, 3-7K words, 35%/25% of cover price from publisher's site/vendors, divided among the three authors. Please put "Toy Boxes (title)" in the subject line of all emails.

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15 September 2010 -- Cthulhurotica -- ed. Carrie Cuinn

[This one only pays a penny a word (although that might go up when they find a publisher, IF they find a publisher) so I'd usually skip over it, but I thought a few people here might get a kick out of the concept. :D ]

Fiction Submission Guidelines: Cthulhurotica is looking for short stories of Lovecraft-insprired erotica, between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Originals only, no reprints. Multiple submissions are ok, but we will only print the one we think suits us the best. Stories do not need to contain elements of horror, though it's definitely encouraged. Cthulhu does not need to specifically appear in the story, as long as it contains recognizable elements from Lovecraft - Shoggoths, Deep Ones, Nyarlathotep, cultists, mythos characters like William Dyer, Danforth, or Dr. Allen Halsey.

What that means:

H.P. Lovecraft wrote smart, surreal, supernatural horror stories in the early 20th century. We're looking for stories that are smart, surreal, supernatural and seductive (adding an element of horror is up to you). They can be set in any time, but need to feature some aspect of the Cthulhu mythos. Think old school pulp romances, but with a Shoggoth on the cover.

What we'd like to see:

* Minor characters from the Cthulhu mythos. The strange little man who sold a copy of that ancient tome must go home sometime (or not; bookshops can be sexy). The bespectacled young grad student might have a roommate, and a bottle of good wine. The man who sold the mountaineering equipment might know more than one use for a strong rope. The possibilities are endless.

* Love, romance, and first dates. Preferably with a Deep One.

* GLBT characters. We can have a schoolteacher slipping into her chalk room for a quick tryst with a tentacled monster; we can't have a story where the only surreal element is that two men end up in bed together (unless one of them was reanimated by Herbert West - that could be strange enough). Gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters aren't "weird" and a character shouldn't be considered unusual just because of their sexuality or gender.

* Cthulhu is generally considered to be male, particularly because his sacrifices are young, beautiful, and virginal young women. Give us a story where that isn't the case.

* Stories that are uniquely yours. Don't try to copy Lovecraft's writing style, or anyone else's. Instead, picture his writing style like a language that you're learning so you can have a conversation with him, and us. Maybe you speak it fluently, maybe you don't, but whatever you say needs to come from you.

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1 October 2010 -- Pain/Pleasure Anthology -- ed. Jane Litte, Berkley

I am looking for stories of 5,000 word length (you can go slightly over but you won’t be paid more) about the concept of the twin emotions of pain and pleasure. The submissions must be full (the story complete) and turned in to me litte. jane at gmail dot com by October 1 as an MS Word Attachment with the subject line: Pain/Pleasure Anthology Submission.

The submission can be, generally, anything with a strong erotic content. There is no limitation on genre. I definitely want a lot of variety such as m/m, femdom, diversity in characters. The work can have been published on your website but it cannot have been sold in publication.

I will be paying $500 for each contracted submission with .25% royalty in exchange for world digital, audio and print rights.

[The royalty is kind of ridiculous, but for a $500 up-front payment, they can send me all the three-dollar checks they want later on. :)]

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31 October 2010 -- Tattered Souls 2 -- Cutting Block Press

For TS2, we’ll be reading original, unpublished stories of between 6,000 and 25,000 words in length, though we’re willing to go beyond that length for works of special merit and if you’ve one of those you should submit it. No simultaneous submissions. No multiple submissions. Each work must be accompanied by a separate synopsis, describing the story in full. All submissions will be reviewed by at least one editor, but a Senior Editor will read every synopsis. Only submissions e-mailed to the address below will be considered. Failure to follow guidelines may result in a submission being rejected without being read.

Submissions deadline is October 31 2010, with publication scheduled during the 1st half of 2011. A provisional response to your submission should be expected from us within 90 days of receipt.

Buying 1st worldwide anthology rights for print, and electronic rights to publish TS2 on Kindle. We accept no reprints. Paying 1.5 cents per word, plus one contributor’s copy. For established authors, rates are negotiable. Final response time: six months or sooner.

Manuscript format: 12 point courier font, standard margins, left side of header: name, contact info, right side of header: word count, top of first page: title, author

Variances from traditional manuscript format: single space, NO INDENTS, ONE EXTRA space between paragraphs (Use the return/enter key for this space, use bold, italics and underline as they are to appear in story (No html tags, please).

Send your submission to tatteredsubs@yahoo.com.

[See web page for a special offer for authors who want a copy of the first Tattered Souls for research purposes.]

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UNTIL FILLED -- Panverse Three -- Ed. Dario Ciriello, Panverse Publishing

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

Looking for pro-level novellas of between 17,500 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.]

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UNTIL FILLED -- Horror Library, Vol. 5 -- Cutting Block Press

Cutting Block Press is pleased to announce an open submissions period for the 4th Volume of its Horror Anthology Series, +Horror Library+, to be published in trade paperback during 2009.

We're looking for the highest quality examples of all forms of Dark Fiction, running the gamut from traditional horror, supernatural, speculative, psychological thriller, dark satire, including every point between and especially beyond. No Fantasy or Sci-fi unless the horror elements are dominant. Read +Horror Library+ Volumes 1-3 to see what's already pleased us. Special consideration will be given those pieces that we find profoundly disturbing, though blood and violence on their own won't cut it. While we will consider tales of vampires, ghosts and zombies, we tend to roll our eyes at ordinary ones. They're just too plentiful. Your best bet is to surprise us with something that is different, while well conceived and tightly executed.

Guidelines: Stories will range between 1,000 and 6,000 words, though we'll look at longer works of exceptional merit. In that case, query before submission. Buying 1st worldwide anthology rights. No reprints. Paying 1.5 cents per word, plus one contributors copy. For established authors, rates may be negotiable. Response time: six months or sooner. Deadline: We will accept submissions until filled. All Queries to horrorlibrarysubs@yahoo.com.

Manuscript format: 12 point courier font, standard margins, left side of header: name, contact info, right side of header: word count, top of first page: title, author

Variances from traditional manuscript format: single space, NO INDENTS, ONE EXTRA space between paragraphs, use bold, italics and underline as they are to appear in story

Subject box: Short Story submission - title of story

Attach story in MS Word Document or RTF (only). Please paste your cover letter in the body of the e-mail. Send submissions to horrorlibrarysubs@yahoo.com.

[See the web page for a special offer on copies of Horror Library Vol. 1 for writers doing market research.]