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 (if there are any -- none this month) 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 guidelines on one page, so after you click through you might have to scroll a bit.

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30 September 2012 -- Rocking Hard -- Less Than Three Press

Everybody loves a rockstar. The music, the look, the life—it’s loud and glamorous and wild. From the badboy who can’t stay out of trouble to fresh-faced newbies still getting used to the stage to the softrock boys who actually play nice. Then there are all the people behind the scenes who keep the rockers on stage: the agents, producers, techs, songwriters, etc. who help bring the music to life. And the fans, who turn the volume up, beg for the encores, and keep the music playing. Less Than Three Press is seeking stories about the bad boys and girls who make the music and make us want to turn it up and put it on repeat. Got a story for us?

==Stories should be at least 10,000 words. Anything less is too short to run as a serial, as we post them in 5,000 word sections. They should not exceed approx 50,000 words in length, as we do not like a single story to run for too long.
==Stories must be m/m or f/f romance (threesomes, etc. are acceptable, but all parties must be the same gender).
==Stories must have a happily ever after (HEA) or happy for now (HFN) end.
==All usual LT3 submission guidelines apply.
==This collection is centered around the theme of rockstars. All stories must have a strong tie to this theme. Any sub-genre is gladly accepted: sci-fi, mystery, contemporary, steampunk, etc.

Rocking Hard will run as one of LT3′s serial anthologies. Stories will run one by one on a biweekly basis, to be compiled into a single anthology at the end of the series. Current examples of serial anthologies are Bad Moon Rising and Something Happened on the Way to Heaven. They’re an extremely popular aspect of our serial stories, as readers like the shorter stories mixed in with some of our longer running works.

Payment will be $200 on acceptance of the story and 5% of gross subscription sales while your story is in the serial rotation. Authors will receive one copy each of the ebook formats LT3 produces and two copies of the paperback compilation.

Stories should be complete before submitting, and as edited as possible. They can be submitted in any format (doc, docx, rtf, odt, etc), preferably single spaced with a space between paragraphs, in an easy to read font (Times, Calibri, Arial) with no special formatting (no elaborate section separation, special fonts, etc). Additional formatting guidelines can be found here.

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30 September 2012 -- Dead North -- ed. Silvia Moreno-Garcia; Exile Editions

Silvia Moreno-Garcia will be editing Dead North, an anthology of zombie stories set in Canada, for Canadian publisher Exile Editions. The editor is interested in stories from 2,000 to 10,000 words. Stories must be set in Canada (Chinatown in Vancouver, the oil patches in Alberta, the vast territory of Nunavut, etc.) . The setting must be an important element, not just a throwaway reference you make on page one and forget on page three. Setting could be past, present or future. You do not need to be Canadian to submit, but Canadian writers are strongly encouraged to submit due to the nature of the anthology.

What is a zombie?

Romero-like or in the vein of Herbert West, created by magic or voodoo, fast or slow, smart or dumb, rotting or perfectly healthy, we are defining a zombie as a reanimated corpse.

What do we want to see?

Smart, quirky and unique takes on zombies. Silvia loves stories with strong heroes, non-linear plots and multicultural characters. Yes, we want to know if the Inuit would cope with the zombie apocalypse with no major issues or if Chinese-Canadians have a secret recipe to deal with zombie disasters.

Was the wendigo really a zombie? Was the Great Fire of 1886 started by zombie hunters? Would zombies freeze in the Manitoba winter? Would a hockey stick make a good defensive weapon against the undead? You tell us.

You do not need to be Canadian to submit, but Canadian writers are strongly encouraged to submit due to the nature of the anthology. Canadian writers, Aboriginal writers, culturally diverse writers, new generation writers, Francophone writers and female writers are strongly encouraged to submit. For a definition of any of these terms please see below.

== Canadian permanent residents, Canadian citizens, Canadians living abroad must indicate their status in their cover letter. International writers: nationality not required, but it is nice to know for my stats sheet.
== Please indicate if you consider yourself any of the following in the cover letter: Aboriginal writer, culturally diverse writer, Francophone writer, new generation writer.
== No multiple submissions (don’t send two/three stories at the same time). Stories must not have been submitted elsewhere for publication consideration: this means no simultaneous subs (exception: stories may be simultaneously submitted to a contest sponsored by Exile Editions and this anthology). Will try to respond quickly.
== 2,000 to 10,000 words.
== Yes to reprints. Indicate if it is a reprint and publishing history. Flat payment of $40 (CAD) for reprints.
== Send as .doc, .docx or .rtf with indented paragraphs, italics in italics and bold in bold (no underlining). Full contact info and word count on the first page. Please include a cover letter (name, story title and word count, contact info, notable credits, if any) in the body of the e-mail.
== Submissions in English only. Stories translated into English are fine.
== Please do not send poetry, plays, novels. Short stories only.

All acceptances or rejections will be sent before December 31 2012. Do not query before that. Payment is 2 cents (CAD) per word and two contributor copies. Release date for the anthology is Fall 2013.

Send all submissions to silmorenogarciaATgmail.com; no paper subs . Subject line: Submission: Dead North: Story Title Last Name.

Look for periodic submissions updates and tips at Silvia’s blog, silviamoreno-garcia.com.

[Click through for more info, including a list of zombie stories the editor likes, and a list of definitions for the types of writers who are particularly encouraged to submit.]

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30 September 2012 (or until filled) -- Once Upon an Apocalypse -- ed. Rachel Kenley and Scott T. Goudsward, Chaosium

Over the river and through the woods does not always lead to grandma’s house or happy endings – especially if grandma’s house is infested with zombies… or if grandma is really a Lovecraftian being in disguise. Once Upon an Apocalypse is a two volume post apocalyptic anthology laden with the undead and otherwordly mythos crossing into the realm of fairy tales, nursery rhymes and other timeless stories. Editors Rachel Kenley and Scott T. Goudsward and publisher Chaosium are currently open to submissions for these two books of mixed up retold fairy tales.

What are we looking for?

For both volumes we want stories with strong narrative lines, stronger characters and a clear blending of the theme and the fairy tales. For Volume One imagine Cinderella arriving at the ball and discovering it filled with zombies. Or how different the story would be if it were Snow White and the Seven Zombies. Give us new horrors with Alice in Zombieland, and a Prince who climbs Rapunzel’s hair to get away from and find a way to defeat – you guessed it – zombies. In Volume Two we want a strong dose of Lovecraft thrown in. What happens to the townspeople in The Boy who Cried Cthulhu? Pinocchio is going to have a much harder time getting out of the Old One than the whale; a wolf would have been preferable to Little Red Riding Hood and the Byahkee and the Little Mermaid has so much more to worry about then her legs and a missing voice when she faces a Deep One.

Once you choose a story to change it’s your call how far you will take it. Make the apocalypse clear and give some meaning as to why the dead are meandering through the streets and munching on the breathing or why the Elder God has paid the town a visit. Plague, prestilence, bio warfare, meteor shower, tail of a comet… be creative.

Because we don’t want duplicates of themes, you will be able to follow the progress of the anthologies on our blog (http://onceuponanapocalypse.com) or facebook page (www.facebook.com/OnceUponAnApocalypse) where we’ll keep a current list of themes/tales accepted. For example, if we get a Sleeping Beauty story and it’s awesome, that will be it for the book. Stories should be 2K – 4K in length (please query for stories under or over our limit. We will consider them if they are of exceptional merit). The only true way to have similar stories is A Snow White and the Seven Zombies in one and Snow White Star Vampire Slayer in the other.

What aren’t we looking for?

We all know these are dark fiction anthologies, but gore for the sake of gore is un-needed. This is not splatterpunk or extreme horror. Sex? If the story calls for it fine but keep it to an R rating (maybe even PG-13). We don’t to hear about insertions and spurting fluids, unless is blood from a bite wound or a gun shot. Try to keep the violence towards animals at a minimum. In some mythos, zombies chew on animals and that’s fine, but we don’t want redneck zombies killing all of Bo-Peep’s sheep for a pie. Finally, though we shouldn’t have to mention it (but we will given the theme) – go easy on the child-related violence, please. And no kids and sex – that’s just skeevy.

Readingperiod – now through July 31, 2012 – or until filled.

Pay rates – Pays $.03 per word, no royalties and 3 free books and additional copies at 50% off cover.

Email subs to: ouaastories@ gmail.com

Format:

Stories should be an attachment to your cover letter email, NOT copied and pasted into the body of the email. The cover letter should include a single paragraph synopsis of the story and your publishing history. The submission should be in RTF or DOC format (no DOCX). Left aligned, 1/2” indentation for paragraphs, single spaced. Double space between scenes and use five stars (*****) for breaks in the story. Contact info should be on the first page of the story with word count.

Please do not query for your story until we’ve had it for at least 12 weeks. Publication is expected for the first half of 2013. No reprints and no simultaneous submissions. If we turn you down feel free to try again with a new story but give it a few days between submissions.

And please when submitting please be specific which book you are submitting to. We’re reading for both simultaneously. Subject line of the email should be Name, Story Name, Which book.

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1 October 2012 -- Atomic Age Cthulu -- ed. Glynn Owen Barass and Brian M. Sammons, Chaosium

A 1950’s Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythos anthology has been green lit by Chaosium to correspond with their release of the ATOMIC AGE CTHULHU book for their RPG. This will have a very short and hard deadline of October 1st. We do this because the plan is to have this book come out around the same time as the AAC RPG book. This will make for good cross promotion and hopefully make both books sell better. This means that you will have to do a story for us fast, which means perhaps bumping it up past some of your other writing duties. So if you’re down for that, and we hope you are, welcome to our nuclear family of crazed cultists.

So why bring Lovecraftian horror to the 1950’s? Because few other points in history seem so tailor-made for the paranoia and fear that is so important to the Cthulhu Mythos. While many places in the world were still recovering and rebuilding from the Second World War, this was a good time for America in many ways. The economy and industry was roaring, the nation was filled with pride over a hard won victory, the middle class exploded and it seemed like everyone could own their own home, car, or perhaps even one of those new amazing televisions. Very few other decades are remembered more fondly, and viewed through thicker rose-colored glasses, than the 1950’s is for Americans. It was a time of innocence where the music, movies, cars, and everything was just so much better than anything before or since. And yet, all that was largely a façade. Just below the shiny surface of “everything is great” was the festering fear that wrapped its clammy tentacles around everyone regardless of race, sex, or age.

Never before in history did the world face a global threat as it did in the shadow of the A-bombs, and later the even more devastating H-bombs. Educational films were made to show how to survive a nuclear blast, and at the movie theatres the classic monsters of the 30s and 40s were replaced by the horrors spawned from that atom. Children were instructed to crawl under their school desks if “The Bomb” was dropped, as if an inch of wood would make any difference, and many regular families either had new bomb shelters dug into their back yards, or converted existing basements or storm cellars for a more grim purpose.

Then there were the unseen dangers, the enemies that were everywhere, even in our midst. There were the usual cultural threats, exemplified in this decade by devilish rock n’ roll, morally corrupt books like Lolita, and Catcher in the Rye, disgusting nudie magazines like Playboy, and then there were the sinister comic books that were corrupting the minds of the youngest readers. But books and movies were one thing, the threat of a very real unknown army of people, striving to overthrow the entire government and strip away all personal freedom, was quite another. This cabal of evildoers were everywhere, could be anyone including your neighbours, friends, and maybe even your family members. Of course I’m talking about the dreaded Red Menace, the godless communists. Those dastardly Reds had to be stopped by any means necessary, lest the good people of America lose everything.

So you have everyone thinking that everything is A-OK, but in reality you’ve got a global threat that could change the world as we know it, one that can’t be fought against and if ever unleashed, just barely survived. There’s an insidious corruption growing, spreading, influencing the young and easily lead. Not to mention a cult of secretive people working in the shadows to their own nefarious ends. Yep, sounds like Lovecraft to us.

We want stories that blend the happy world of ‘Leave it to Beaver’ and ‘Father Knows Best’ with the cold dread of cosmic horror. Thankfully the 1950’s has much to offer an author to play with. The ever present threat of nuclear annihilation, the spreading red menace that can be anywhere and anyone, the McCarthy witch hunt to combat that menace, the division of Europe and the Iron Curtain, China becoming communist, the birth of the Cold War, a very hot war in Korea, the beginning of the space race, UFO hysteria, rock n’ roll, television, the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency (the ‘comic books are evil’ crowd), sci-fi movies, drive ins, the growth of the suburbs, an American nightmare that would be the influence for some of horror’s greatest books and movies for years to come (Ed Gein), greasers, beatniks, hotrods, vets home from the most devastating war in history, Nazis in South America, man mastering (or attempting to) new scientific marvels, and so much more. So go wild, explore, for you non-US authors out there, feel free to set stories in your home countries and show what it was like over there during this decade, and how life there becomes influenced and corrupted by Lovecraftian horrors. Just remember, every story must be set between 1950 and 1959. You can mention past events, like World War II, but the majority of your story must be set in the 1950s.

Now for the technical stuff.

Submissions close: Midnight 1st October 2012

Word Limit: 3000 – 7000 words FIRM.

Pay Rate: 3 cents per word, 3 complementary contributor copies, and the option to purchase more at a 50% discount.

Format: Standard Manuscript Format, an example of proper formatting can be found here: http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html

In the subject line include the name of the anthology, your full name and story title.

We do not accept reprints, multiple or simultaneous submissions.

Submit in either .RTF or .DOC format (no docx) to Brian M. Sammons bmanrun@hotmail.com and Glynn Owen Barrass batglynn@hotmail.com

Response: after deadline, do not query before.

Any submission not adhering to these guidelines will be unread.

So in closing, welcome, please get started as soon as possible (remember that deadline) and thanks so much for submitting something to us. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

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31 October 2012 -- Queering Edgar Allan Poe -- ed. Steve Berman; Lethe Press

The canon of Edgar Allan Poe, one of the foremost writers of dark and atmospheric fiction and poetry, offers readers haunted shores teeming with various erudite men brooding in the waning light over their feelings for unobtainable women. Yet, whether the tales or verses are grotesque or sinister, Poe's narrators are Outsiders, dealing with emotions that so many queer individuals feel: isolation and abandonment as well as loneliness and lost love. Editor Steve Berman wants to breach the chasm and offer an anthology that replaces the heteronormative aspects of Poe's work and life with a different range of identities.

Regardless whether you make Roderick seduce the unnamed narrator visiting Usher, or have a woman fall under Ligeia's sway, the story should be dark as well as fantastical. Stories that involve Poe the author are also acceptable.

Think both Gothic and gay. Obviously, dependent on the time period, the term homosexual might not be apt. Sexual identity is partly labeling, partly sexual experience, and partly attraction. But do not think of this as a romance or erotica anthology; first and foremost, these are stories that should be at home in Weird Tales as much as Strange Horizons.

Fiction or prose, the rate of pay is 5 cents a word for original material. Reprints must query and the pay will be significantly less. Any length for poetry but fiction should be at least 1,500 words and no more than 12,000. Payment is upon release in the spring of 2013 from Lethe Press, a publisher around for over a decade--and who has released the last two winners of the Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBT Fantasy/Horror/Science Fiction.

Please send all submissions to sberman8 at yahoo dot com as RTF files.

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30 November 2012 -- Urban Green Man -- Hades Publications

We are now accepting short story submissions for the Urban Green Man anthology until November 30, 2012 at midnight. Please be sure to read these guidelines carefully and consider exploring our History of the Green Man page before sending us your work.

For this anthology we seek fantastic stories involving the mythology of the Green Man in any form (which includes the Green Woman). While the mythology is predominantly European, the setting is not limited to that region. Also, stories MUST be fantastical, ripe with the magic of the archetype. We want urban fantasy or contemporary fantasy; no science fiction or steampunk please. And while Jack in the Green, the horned god, and many other myths in conjunction with the Green Man are acceptable, the closer you are to using pure Green Man mythology the better.
Word count limit is 5,000 words, with shorter stories preferred; poems will also be considered. We are looking for new stories at this time, and would prefer only one submission per author.

All stories must be in English using standard submission format, and submitted to submissions@urbangreenman.com as a .rtf attachment. Please put SUBMISSION/NAME/TITLE in the subject line of your email, and include a short bio in the body of the email. We cannot be held responsible for submissions lost in transit.
The pay rate for stories is 3.5 cents/word, and $20 for each poem.
Hades Publications buys exclusive world rights for paper and electronic publishing for a period of one year after the date of publication. Contributors retain the right to market their individual entries outside the anthology after this period. Exceptions will be considered for 'best of' anthologies.