Anthology Markets

If you've just wandered in off the internet, hi and welcome. :) I do these posts every month (except last month, but anyway), 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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[UPDATED 1/22] 15 March 2013 -- Love, Lust and Zombies -- ed. Mitzi Szereto, Cleis Press

A trade paperback to be published by Cleis Press, USA

Publication date: Autumn 2013

Let’s face it: zombies are hot, and baby, they’re getting hotter. Although not the most traditional of sex symbols, zombies are truly coming into their own, even landing on the silver screen in romantic roles, not to mention ambling and shambling across the pages of novels and television screens. Gone are those one-dimensional gut-munching characters from George Romero’s grim and gruesome flick Night of the Living Dead. Zombies now have a lot more to offer, and thank heavens we non-zombies are finally beginning to recognise this.

From the bestselling novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to the hit TV series The Walking Dead, zombies are infiltrating and enriching our daily lives. So isn’t it about time they had their more…err… romantic and sexy sides showcased? It’s my goal as editor of Love, Lust and Zombies to help make this happen. And here’s how you can help.

I want you to write some fun and steamy stories featuring sexy zombie characters and send them over for me to chew on (in a literary sense, that is). Can zombies be sexy? Why the hell not? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. So can you do it without grossing us out too much or being too gory? Sure you can. And you know you want to!

Submission deadline:

Feb 10, 2013

(I’ll be selecting stories on a rolling basis, therefore earlier submissions are strongly encouraged, though I’ll still consider stories that make it in by the deadline).

Word count:

3,000 to 6,500

What I’m looking for:

Well-developed story lines and well-crafted prose told in a unique voice and containing interesting characters and settings. Stories may be set in the past, present, or future. Stories from female and male writers are welcome, as are those written from the POV of characters of any gender and containing characters of any sexual orientation.

Note that sexually explicit content is acceptable as well as a more subtle approach; however, absolutely no stock sex scenes or formulaic writing/terminology. Please refer to my previous anthologies to get an idea of the variety and style of content I look for. No excessive gore or violence. No reprints.

Payment:

One-time payment in the range of USD $50-70 (payable on publication) and 2 copies of the anthology.

Submission requirements:

Stories should be formatted as follows: double-spaced Arial 12-point black font Word or RTF document. Indent the first line of each paragraph by half an inch. Do not add extra lines between paragraphs or any other irregular spacing. American spelling and punctuation only (i.e. quote marks, etc.). Include your legal name (and pseudonym if applicable), postal address, and a fifty-word maximum author bio written in the third person. Contract is for one-time, non-exclusive anthology rights with one year’s exclusivity from date of publication. (This may be waived if your story is selected for a “Best Of” collection). No simultaneous submissions please.

In the subject line of your email, please state: Love, Lust and Zombies

Send to: submissions @ mitziszereto.com

I look forward to reading your work!

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15 February 2013 -- Sword and Mythos -- Innsmouth Free Press

Sword and Mythos is an anthology paying professional rates (5 cents per word) looking for short fiction of up to 5,000 words which combines the pulp genres of Cthulhu Mythos and sword and sorcery.

WHAT WE WANT

Sword and Mythos. This includes any element of the Cthulhu Mythos (creatures such as shoggoths, characters like the King in Yellow, locations like Leng) combined with sword and sorcery (heroic fantasy). Stories can be told from the viewpoint of sorcerers or other non-traditional heroic characters, although fighters with brawn and brains will also be accepted.

We are looking for a variety of settings and characters (Yes, we are GLBT-friendly). Although much sword and sorcery has utilized a proto-European setting, we’d like to see stories that take place in settings inspired by Middle Eastern, African, Asian, Prehispanic, and other cultures. We will accept secondary world stories and stories set in historical settings with magical elements. For example, Robert E. Howard set his Mythos-inspired “Worms of the Earth” in real-life Great Britain.

We might also consider some sword and planet stories. But no copyrighted characters, please. We can’t afford the lawsuits.

There are many famous sword and sorcery male characters, but we’d also like to see women hacking tentacles. Or summoning Mythos creatures.

Overall, we want to be surprised and inspired to read beyond the first page.

Scenarios which might be fun:
== A Mayan warrior faces Cthulhu’s own daughter, Cthylla.
== A crafty thief steals more than she bargained for when she takes a statuette from a Tamil temple.
== A Kurdish mercenary is hired to rescue the son of a rich merchant from the clutches of a sorcerer in medieval Cairo.
== An acolyte of Dagon grows tired of his job and seeks new thrills.
== The sacrificial virgin procured for a certain ceremony proves to be adept at survival.
== A Maori warrior in the South Pacific fights thawed-out shoggoths from sunken R’lyeh.
== A Wampanoag builds a stone circle to unspeakable entities, in order to beat back European settlers.
== A Malian warrior teams up with a shaman in Timbuktu to fight a Black Pharoah from Egypt.
== In the late Parthian Empire, a pahlavan warrior and a Zoroastrian priestess investigate an alchemist who is raising the dead.
== Pearl divers hire samurai to fight an undersea race of carnivorous creatures.

PAYMENT

Sword and Mythos pays 5 cents per word. We are asking for First English Anthology Rights. Because we are a very small press, we don’t pay royalties. We do, however, offer to buy the stories on a non-exclusive basis.

Each contributor will receive two physical copies of the anthology and an e-book copy. More copies can be purchased at a discounted rate.

Story length is up to 5,000 words.

Reprints will be considered. Flat fee of $50 paid for reprints.

SUBMITTING

== E-mail us at innsmouthfp AT gmail.com. Subject line: Sword, [Title of your Story, Author's Name].
== Do not send more than one short story.
== Include a cover letter with the story word count, salient writing credits and any reprint information (if applicable). Yes, we do read cover letters, so include the information.
== Attach story as an RTF or Word document. Use standard manuscript format. Italics as italics, bold as bold. No fancy fonts.
== Stories can be sent in English, French, or Spanish.
== Submissions are accepted from January 15 to February 15, 2013. Do not send anything before or after that date. If you do, we will ignore it.
== Final story selection will take place in the spring of 2013. Check back for updates.

[Click through for more info.]

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1 March 2013 -- Handsome Devil -- ed. Steve Berman; Prime Books

Incubi. They seduce women (and some men) with their devilish ways. Infernal Casanovas and fiendish Romeos. This anthology will feature supernatural tales of lotharios that entice, arouse, and often destroy their prey. Tales do not have to be horror--dark fantasy is fine but please no paranormal romance (no vampires!). Seeking stories no less than 3,000 words in length, no more than 12,000. Payment for original fiction is at least 3 cents a word. Reprints at least 1 cent a word.

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1 April 2013 -- Darker Edge of Desire -- ed. Mitzi Szereto, Cleis Press

A trade paperback to be published by Cleis Press, USA

Publication date: Autumn 2013

Gothic literature has always possessed a dark attraction ripe with the promise of the forbidden and the sensual. This theme has been successfully explored in my anthology Red Velvet and Absinthe, but with a far gentler touch. In Darker Edge of Desire, I will take the sexualized Gothic and ratchet it up a few notches into the danger zone, opening the door into the darker side of lust and love that only the courageous dare to venture through.

I am looking for atmospheric and high quality stories with a distinct Gothic flavour that explore our more forbidden desires and contain plenty of added kink. In these tales love and lust know no boundaries, and all nature of being—from vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, ghosts, succubae and creatures we may not even have heard of—can be found. Think Red Velvet and Absinthe, but with some very sharp edges!

Submission deadline: April 1, 2013

(I’ll be selecting stories on a rolling basis, therefore earlier submissions are strongly encouraged, though I’ll still consider stories that make it in by the deadline).

Word count:

3,000 to 6,500

What I’m looking for:

Well-developed story lines and well-crafted prose told in a unique voice and containing interesting characters and settings. Stories may be set in the past, present, or future. Stories from female and male writers are welcome, as are those written from the POV of characters of any gender and containing characters of any sexual orientation.

Note that sexually explicit content is acceptable as well as a more subtle approach; however, absolutely no stock sex scenes or formulaic writing/terminology. Please refer to my previous anthologies to get an idea of the variety and style of content I look for. No excessive gore or violence. No reprints.

Payment:

One-time payment in the range of USD $50-70 (payable on publication) and 2 copies of the anthology.

Submission requirements:

Stories should be formatted as follows: double-spaced Arial 12-point black font Word or RTF document. Indent the first line of each paragraph by half an inch. Do not add extra lines between paragraphs or any other irregular spacing. American spelling and punctuation only (i.e. quote marks, etc.). Include your legal name (and pseudonym if applicable), postal address, and a fifty-word maximum author bio written in the third person. Contract is for one-time, non-exclusive anthology rights with one year’s exclusivity from date of publication. (This may be waived if your story is selected for a “Best Of” collection). No simultaneous submissions please.

In the subject line of your email, please state: Darker Edge of Desire

Send to: submissions @ mitziszereto.com

I look forward to reading your work!

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ETA: Comments closed because of a truly insane amount of spam. :/