Writing Alerts

[James]

So I've decided I'm going to try and make an effort to keep the writing side of the forum buzzing, which means making it more visible. I'm going to do little "Alerts" every now and then. Some of them will be forum based, like here where I brought to everyone's attention about some writing stuff on AWR:
awritersrecluse.proboards.com/post/399133/thread

These Alerts will be just based on what I've seen talked about and posted on both AWR and the Inklings Skype Chat. If you have something you need drawn attention to and I've missed it, PM me or give me a shout on Skype.

But I'm also going to bring to people's attention when I find a call for submissions or a competition that people might be interested in. I know not everyone is interested in publishing, but a) for the people who are, it might be useful and b) I feel like just having this sort of stuff posted gives the forum a greater utility as a writing resource.

I made this a different, locked thread so that the Alerts don't get lost in the chatter of the Random Banter or Writing Thread board. However, if you want to discuss something in this thread (which would be great), the Writing Discussion Thread is probably the best place for it.

[James]

ALERT 1

Sept 27, 2016 21:16:02 GMT -5 James said:

Hey everyone. There are a few writing related things which would be great if people have the time to help out.

In order of importance:

- Inkdrinker is putting in an application for a writing programme and they want to see some writing of his. He's asked for some help picking out the best thing to send to them. He's put 4 or 5 short stories up for consideration here and really needs a response before the end of the month:
awritersrecluse.proboards.com/post/399071/thread
(Deadline's up)

- Sam is attempting to have his really cool academic paper/terrorism attack story published at Mad Scientist Journal (who were also the place to first publish me). The thing is, MSJ only accepts stories which are first person. His story is written as an academic paper. So he's hoping people might throw him some ideas about how to make the change. The deadline is the end of the month, so he really needs to get some feedback a.s.a.p. I only put this below Ink's because I think Sam and I may have figured out the best way to convert it to first person, but if you have ideas, let him know. The story is here:
awritersrecluse.proboards.com/thread/4932/final-blush-republic
(Deadline's up)

- I have finished my first short story since the end of April. It's been quite a gap and I'd love to hear people's opinions on it. Pete has read it and recommends it if that serves as an enticement. Nowhere near as urgent as the above two, but if people think the story is good, I'll probably ship it around to places. Felt good to be writing again. You can find the story here:
awritersrecluse.proboards.com/thread/4956/glassblowers-peace

Cheers!

[James]

ALERT 2

I just read about three interesting anthologies that have been funded on Kickstarter. They're seeking submissions. The payrate is professional and they've got published authors lined up for each anthology, so this is a "only bring your best" type alert really. The stories can be up to 7,500 words long, the deadline is the 31st December, and the three anthologies are:

SUBMERGED is to feature science fiction or fantasy stories that are set underwater at some point. It does not have to be set completely underwater, but at some point the events of the story must lead in a natural way to an underwater adventure. There should be a significant reason for why the action must take place underwater; this should NOT be a story where it easily be rewritten on land and maintain its cohesion. We are attempting to fill half of the anthology with science fiction stories, and half with fantasy stories. Stories featuring more interesting settings underwater and twists on the typical underwater themes will receive more attention than those that use standard underwater tropes. In other words, we don’t want to see 100 stories dealing with Atlantis. If we do, it’s likely that only one, at most, would be selected for the anthology. So be creative, choose something different, and use it in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.

ALL HAIL OUR ROBOT CONQUERORS! is to feature stories where the robots of the story somehow harken back to the 50s/60s style of robots. The story can be set in the far future, but at some point there should be a significant nod toward the robots from that era—either a significantly advanced robot that is simply housed in a 50s/60s style shell, or a robot exactly like those from the 50s/60s but used in an interesting and believable way in the story. Stories featuring more interesting takes on the 50s/60s style robots, and twists on how they are integrated into the story, will receive more attention than those with more generalized robots. So be creative and use your robot in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.

THE DEATH OF ALL THINGS is to feature stories where Death is a character in the story. The version of Death used should be unique, so consider all different types of versions of Death seen throughout history and in different cultures. Stories featuring more interesting takes on Death, and twists on how Death is integrated into the story, will receive more attention than those with more standard depictions of Death. So be creative and use Death in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.

- jpsorrow.livejournal.com/488157.html

[James]

ALERT 3

So, I promise all these alerts won't relate to me. But there's a big short story competition coming up in New Zealand and I want to get a piece in. Over in the Underground Workshop board, I've posted the story I'm thinking of sending in and I'd love to hear if people have any feedback or suggestions:
awritersrecluse.proboards.com/thread/4972/competition-piece

I need to submit it by Thursday, US time, so if you have the time to review it over today and tomorrow, I'll be eternally grateful. It's only 2,000 words long (or five pages), so it's not a long read! Cheers!
(Deadline's up)

[James]

ALERT 4

As some of you may know, Tor.com has set up their own imprint for publishing e-book novellas. Most of the time the imprint is closed to unsolicited submissions. However, from October 12 to January 12, they're opening themselves up to submissions. Tor.com is big on diversity and we're nearly all white guys, but I'm thinking Adam and Pete, in particular, may have something that fit their call for submission:

We will be open for three months, beginning on October 12th around 9:00 AM EDT (UTC-4:00) and ending on January 12th around 9:00 AM EST (UTC-5:00). We may extend this period depending on how many submissions we receive over the course of the open period.

Until the end of this open period, Tor.com will only be considering novellas of between 20,000 and 40,000 words that fit the epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, high fantasy, or quest fantasy genres, whether set on Earth or on an original fantasy world. However, we will only be considering novellas that inhabit worlds that are not modeled on European cultures. We are seeking worlds that take their influences from Africa, Asia, the indigenous Americas, or any diasporic culture from one of those sources. To qualify, novellas should center the experiences of characters from non-European-inspired cultures.

Both Lee Harris and Carl Engle-Laird actively request submissions from writers from underrepresented populations. This includes, but is not limited to, writers of any race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, class and physical or mental ability. We believe that good science fiction and fantasy reflects the incredible diversity and potential of the human species, and hope our catalog will reflect that.

www.tor.com/2016/10/06/tor-com-publishing-opening-to-fantasy-novellas-on-october-12th/

(Maybe Mauwale should do something, eh, Adam? Eh? Eh?)

[ASGetty ((Zovo))]

Oh... I'll have to keep this in mind.
Was thinking about working on "Mauwale" after this competition and I think I've resigned myself to a more novella-sized narrative.

[ASGetty ((Zovo))]

Sept 29, 2016 15:12:11 GMT -5 James said:

ALERT 2

I just read about three interesting anthologies that have been funded on Kickstarter. They're seeking submissions. The payrate is professional and they've got published authors lined up for each anthology, so this is a "only bring your best" type alert really. The stories can be up to 7,500 words long, the deadline is the 31st December, and the three anthologies are:

SUBMERGED is to feature science fiction or fantasy stories that are set underwater at some point. It does not have to be set completely underwater, but at some point the events of the story must lead in a natural way to an underwater adventure. There should be a significant reason for why the action must take place underwater; this should NOT be a story where it easily be rewritten on land and maintain its cohesion. We are attempting to fill half of the anthology with science fiction stories, and half with fantasy stories. Stories featuring more interesting settings underwater and twists on the typical underwater themes will receive more attention than those that use standard underwater tropes. In other words, we don’t want to see 100 stories dealing with Atlantis. If we do, it’s likely that only one, at most, would be selected for the anthology. So be creative, choose something different, and use it in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.

ALL HAIL OUR ROBOT CONQUERORS! is to feature stories where the robots of the story somehow harken back to the 50s/60s style of robots. The story can be set in the far future, but at some point there should be a significant nod toward the robots from that era—either a significantly advanced robot that is simply housed in a 50s/60s style shell, or a robot exactly like those from the 50s/60s but used in an interesting and believable way in the story. Stories featuring more interesting takes on the 50s/60s style robots, and twists on how they are integrated into the story, will receive more attention than those with more generalized robots. So be creative and use your robot in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.

THE DEATH OF ALL THINGS is to feature stories where Death is a character in the story. The version of Death used should be unique, so consider all different types of versions of Death seen throughout history and in different cultures. Stories featuring more interesting takes on Death, and twists on how Death is integrated into the story, will receive more attention than those with more standard depictions of Death. So be creative and use Death in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.

- jpsorrow.livejournal.com/488157.html

These are also posted on Duotrope.
I sent Sally off to the last one yesterday. It's a stretch, but I had it ready to go, so why not?

[James]

ALERT 5

So, this one is incredibly short notice, but I also suspect a few of you have finished sci-fi stories sitting around.

The James White Award is as followed:
- for non-professional authors (unless some of you are hiding secret successes, we are all non-professional authors);
- 1,000-6,000 words short story;
- must be science fiction;
- free to enter;
- the deadline is midnight 20 January (GMT!); and
- the prize is publication in Interzone (Britain's big genre magazine) and £200

The full rules are here:
www.jameswhiteaward.com/rules

Like I said, it's short notice. But if any of you have a sci-fi short story sitting around, maybe submit it.

[James]

ALERT #6

Another alert, another call for submissions. Annoyingly this one closes too soon for me, I think, but maybe some of you will be interested:

blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/2017-short-story-submissions

Their formal call for submissions is:

Formal Call for Submissions (2017)

We are looking for new and recent short stories. We do not require exclusivity. You hold copyright, licensing us just for this publication. We don’t mind if your story has been previously published online or in print (we do need to know publication and date). Simultaneous submissions are fine, but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology.

Word length is most likely to be successful at 2000-4000.

Submit by email to [e-mail]

There are four anthologies you can submit to:

Lost Worlds will be packed with dark valleys, high mountain passes, dinosaurs, dark creations and hidden tribes.

For Supernatural Horror. Your work will join the chilling classic stories of M.R. James, Edgar Alen Poe and more.

Time Travel. From H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Edward Page Mitchell tales of travelling back and forth in time have brought us ancient and future civilisations, terrifying visions and cautionary tales. Now we’re looking for some brand new stories too.

Heroic Fantasy. Somewhere between epic historical fantasy, sword and sorcery and Tolkien-esque fantasy exists a thick vein of storytelling that would make Robert E. Howard and H.G. Wells proud. We’re looking for savage swordplay, and high magic, daring deeds and gaudy battles.

A few other factors to be made aware of:

Deadline: 28 February 2017
Payment: 6 cents a word
You can submit more than once.

And:

The anthologies will be published worldwide, available online and to bookstores worldwide, in print and ebook formats.