CALLIHOO Newsletter ----------------------------------------------------------------- Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Vol. 7 No. 42 Editor: Julia West April 18, 2000 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Web page: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS The "short fiction markets paying 1 cent a word and more" tables have been updated. They're now available at the CALLIHOO website at http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/market.htm * * * The 1999 Annual HOMer Awards Final Ballot A. Best Novel of 1999. "Hour of Judgment" Susan R. Matthews, Avon "Civil Campaign" Lois McMaster Bujold, Baen "The Veiled Web" Catherine Asaro, Bantam Spectra "The Radiant Seas" Catherine Asaro, Tor "Precursor" CJ Cherryh, DAW "A Deepness in the Sky" Vernor Vinge, Orion/Millennium B. Best Novella of 1999. "Hunting the Snark" Mike Resnick, Asimov's, Dec 1999 "The Executioner's Guild" Andy Duncan, Asimov's, Aug 1999 "Son Observe the Time" Kage Baker, Asimov's, May 1999 "Living Trust" L. Timmel Duchamp, Asimov's, Feb 1999 "The Wedding Album" David Marusek, Asimov's, Jun 1999 "The Astronaut from Wyoming" Adam-Troy Castro and Jerry Oltion, Analog, July/Aug 1999 C. Best Novelette of 1999. "The Women of Whale Rock" Kristine Kathryn Rusch, F&SF, Mar 1999 "The Hestwood" Rob Chilson, F&SF, Apr 1999 "Stellar Harvest" Eleanor Arnason, Asimov's, Apr 1999 "Smart Alec" Kage Baker, Asimov's, Sep 1999 "How to Make Unicorn Pie" Esther Friesner, F&SF, Jan 1999 "Chanoyu" Esther Friesner, Asimov's, Mar 1999 D. Best Short Story of 1999. "Hothouse Flowers" Mike Resnick, Asimov's, Oct/Nov 1999 "Jennifer, Just Before Midnight" William Sanders, F&SF, Aug 1999 "Absinthe Eyes" Charlene L Brusso, MZB Magazine, Winter 1999 "Goliath" Neil Gaiman http://www.whatisthematrix.com/cmp/neil_g.html E. Best Dramatic Presentation of 1999. "The Matrix" Warner Bros "The Sixth Sense" Buena Vista "The Iron Giant" Warner Bros "Hush" Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Galaxy Quest" Dreamworks CALLIHOOts please note our E-CALLIHOOligan Catherine Asaro's name up there (twice!) in the Novel category! Congratulations, and best of luck, Catherine! DEADLINES Check out the CALLIHOO website, listed above, for more information on these contests, magazine issues, and anthologies. (Where it says "GLs in Vol. X No. Y," these are volume and issue of the CALLIHOO newsletter.) =Starlight 3= anthology, deadline "summer 2000". [SF/F, pays 7- 1/2 cents/wd., no upper word limit, (GLs in Vol. 6, No. 38)] =The Doom of Camelot= anthology from Green Knight Publishing, deadline 21 April 2000. [Arthurian stories, 3-7,000 wds, pays 3- 5 cents/wd., pays shortly after accept. No E-mail subm. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 29).] LDS Alien anthology, outline/idea due 3 March 2000, story deadline 22 April 2000. [Alien viewpoint, based on documented alien sighting, LDS worldview. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 36)] =The Asylum Volume 2: The Violent Ward=, deadline 30 April 2000. [Print anthology, H 2500-5000 wds, pays 1 cent/wd. as advance of royalties, on pub (Jun 2000). No reprints. Prefer E-mail subm. to victorheck@darktales.com. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 38)] =The Darker Side of Eternity, Volume II=, contest deadline 1 May 2000. [contest/print antho, H (SF/F elements okay) stories. Must be member of World Horror Convention. Short to 2500 wd, long to 10,000 wd stories. 1st prize (short) $100, (long) $300. Runners-up 3 cents/wd. Pays on pub. No reprints or E-mail subm. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 24)] The 6th =Chiaroscuro Short Story Contest--the Piggies, deadline 15 May 2000. [Contest, H/DF to 5000 words, no reprints or mult subm, only E-mail subm, First place pub in =Gothic.net= at 23 cents/wd., second place pub in =Chiaroscuro= at 7 cents/wd., third place pub in =Twilight Showcase= at 4 cents/wd. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 37)] =Brainbox: The Real Horror= electronic anthology, submissions accepted 1 February to 31 May 2000. [E-antho, H (and nonfic tale of what inspired it) 2500-10,000 wds, pays 2-4% quarterly royalties. E-mail subm only, no mult. subm. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 35)] =Red Work= anthology, deadline 15 June 2000. [Electronic antho, stories of professional killers 4500 - 10,000 wds, pays approx 3% royalty, no reprints or E-mail subm. (GLs Vol. 7 No. 39)] Warner Books' First Novel Contest, deadline June 30, 2000. [SF/F novels. Synopsis + first several chapters (up to 60 pages maximum). No entry fee. Prizes: Publication with advance and royalties.] =Writers of the Future=, 3rd quarter 2000, deadline 30 June 2000 [$1000 first, $750 2nd, $500 3rd place. =No entry fee=. L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, P.O. Box 1630-JBW, Los Angeles, CA 90078. (GLs in Vol. 6, No. 10)] =Cemetery Sonata= volume 2 deadline 1 July 2000. [Print antho, ghost stories 500-6000 words, pays 3 cents/wd. on pub., reprints okay. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 39)] Eighth Annual Garden State Horror Writers Short Story Contest, deadline 31 Jul 2000. [Annual contest, SF/F/H to 2500 wds, prizes--$50 1st, $25 2nd, $15 3rd, =$10 entry fee=, (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 42)] =Chillers= anthology, deadline 1 August 2000. [Electronic antho, H 1500-5000 wds, pays share of royalties, no reprints or sim subs, E-mail and mult subm okay. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 39)] =On Spec= Theme Issue ("World Beat") deadline 31 Aug 2000. [Canadian print mag, theme of non-North American-based (different cultures) SF/F/H to 5000 wds, pays $50-$180C on accept., no reprints, faxed, or E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 31)] =Byline= genre fiction contest, deadline September 5, 2000. [Short story that fits category: romance, sci-fi, confession, mystery, western, etc. No children's stories. 5,000 words max. =Entry fee $5.= Prizes: $50, $30, $15.] Nineteenth Annual Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Story Contest Sponsored by Science Fiction Writers of Earth, deadline 30 October 2000. [Annual contest, SF/F by unpubl authors, 2000 to 7500 wds. =Entry fee $5 for 1st ms. (gives memb to SFWoE), $2 for each other ms.= Prizes $200 1st, $100 2nd, $50 3rd. (GLs in Vol. 7, No. 33)] The Best of Soft Science Fiction Contest opens 1 Oct 2000, closes 15 Dec 2000. [Annual contest, soft SF, to 7000 wds, published or offered for pub during year, enter as many as want, =no entry fee=, prizes 1st $100, 2nd $50, 3rd $25. GLs in Vol. 7 No. 33] ANTHOLOGIES =The Oubliette= [Antho, H/DF to 2000 wds, pays 3 cents/wd., E-mail subm. okay] The Oubliette P.O. Box 633 Fairfield, PA 17320 Submissions to: oublietten@yahoo.com =The Oubliette= is an anthology of dark subject matter. This means we accept gothic/horror/surreal stories, poems, stage/ screenplays, and song lyrics. Please use appropriate grammar. We may publish a piece that has bad grammar, but it will be published as is. What are the limits on submissions? All literature must be under 2000 words. Please cut and paste your document into an e-mail! Or send with SASE to: The Oubliette P.O. Box 633 Fairfield, PA 17320 All submissions must have "SUBMISSION" in subject box. Hope to see you soon! Submit to oublietten@yahoo.com! We are now paying our writers 3 cents per word. All music and poetry is 10 dollars. Write for more information on payment. oublietten@yahoo.com For overseas writers, a currency equivilency [sic] payment will be made based on exchange rates at time of submission. [http://www.oubliette.net/submit.html] =Virtual Lobotomy= [Annual antho, H (no word limit), pays 1 cent/wd. on pub, E-mail subm. okay under 2,000 wds, no reprints, sim or mult subm.] Jon Hodges--Editor Virtual Lobotomy 1959 N. Peace Haven Rd., #317 Winston-Salem, NC 27106-4850 virtual_lobotomy@blindside.net blindside.net/VirtualLobotomy/ =Virtual Lobotomy= is an annual hardcover anthology currently looking for writers of the horror genre. Do you write psychological horror with an original plot and captivating characters? We're not talking about vampires, werewolves, strange bloodling creatures, or anything else fictitious. We want horror that can and does happen. We want stories about mankind, and the atrocities that occur when the human psyche runs off the normal tracks of thought and action. We want stories that not only frighten, but also disturb. We want fiction where the ending makes the reader gasp. If you have fiction dealing with the human psyche, welcome home. We will accept fiction of any length. From 10 words to 20,000 words (or more, if you have it). However, anything that is over 2,000 words must be submitted by postal mail. If I receive an e-mail submission of a manuscript more than 2,000 words through e-mail, I will return it unread and ask you to send it through postal mail. Nothing is taboo. Hear me? Nothing. I want your fiction that no other editor will look at. Of course, it must still have to deal with the human psyche in some way. Let me remind you, I do not want any fictitious characters. No vampires, half-human/ half-something else, no big, tall, hairy monsters with bad breath. We see these themes all too often and I'd rather not see submissions dealing with these: psychiatric patients, revenge, marital and child abuse, stories with humor, and stories depending their success on how bloody they can be. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but unless you have something extremely original, it's probably not going to find a home here. Many writers ask: How do you make a story scary? Is it the plot? Is it the characters? Is it the images portrayed through the prose? A horror story is this: All three in perfect harmony. Your plot must be terrifying, your characters must make me grimace and wonder how God (or was it Satan?) could create such a thing, and your prose must make me want to turn on more lights to reveal any shadows that may be lurking behind me. If you do not have all three in perfect harmony, you don't have an affective horror story. So, do you think you're up to par to write a horror story so horrid that it makes my stomach literally churn and leaves me ascending a trembling hand to turn on a tenth lamp? Good. Submit it by doing the following: We accept both postal and email submissions. Stories longer than 2,000 words must be sent by postal mail and will not be read if sent through e-mail. We do not accept reprints, nor do we accept simultaneous or multiple submissions. If submitting by postal mail . . . As is the golden rule, send your manuscript with an SASE and a cover letter. Your cover letter should include a short bio, a list of credits, and your definition of horror. Don't give me a textbook definition. Tell me, from your own heart, what you define as horror. Even if it has nothing to do with the premise for your story, or doesn't deal with the human psyche, that's fine. We're just interested. Regarding your SASE, we prefer that you send us a disposable copy of your manuscript and a business-sized envelope with postage for your reply. However, that's not a requirement. We will return entire manuscripts (if proper postage is given on the SASE) if you so desire and profess. On each page of your manuscript, just provide the generic. We don't have any special requirements. Just make sure there is some sort of identification on each page in case things get tangled here at the office. Your cover letter should include your name, postal address, email address (if you have one), word count, story title, and pseudonym if you use one. The story itself should be double-spaced and only on one side of the paper. Please check your spelling and grammar on your computer before you send it. We won't reject a story on the grounds of bad spelling and grammar, but it will easily distract us from the meat of the story. If submitting by email . . . Remember, if your manuscript is longer than 2,000 words, you must send it by postal mail. We prefer that submissions be pasted into the body of the email. If you do copy and paste your submission, please double space between paragraphs. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to read a manuscript that isn't double spaced between paragraphs in an email. If you're sending the story as an attachment (due to a lot of formatting in the story, etc.), we can handle .doc, .wps, and .rtf files. Please send a cover letter with your submission. As with the postal submissions, the cover letter should include your name, email address, postal address, story name, word count, a short bio, an offering of past credits (if any), and your definition of horror. Even if your definition has nothing to do with the premise of your story, or isn't based on the human psyche, we want to see it. I have an insatiable curiosity. It can't be put to rest. Not to mention the definition will appear alongside your story in the anthology. We always tailor comments to the story. You will never receive a form submission from us. We want your story to sell somewhere else. We want your craft to improve. What other way is a writer going to improve his craft unless someone tells him what he's doing wrong? Let me make one last thing clear. I don't buy names, I buy stories. You are never going to be reading =Virtual Lobotomy= and read a story by a popular name that makes you think, "Why did they buy this?". We are going to read popular names and brand spankin' new writers in the same light. A big name with the same idea as a new writer is not going to scare us any more than the new writer. We pay 1 cent/word and buy FNASR. We pay upon publication. =Virtual Lobotomy= will be released annually as a hardcover anthology. It will contain approximately 150 - 200 pages of psychological horror fiction. To submit by postal mail, send your submission to: Virtual Lobotomy, c/o Jon Hodges, 1959 N. Peace Haven Rd., #317, Winston-Salem, NC 27106-4850 To submit by email, send your submission to: virtual_lobotomy@blindside.net [blindside.net/VirtualLobotomy/guidelines.html] CONTEST =Eighth Annual Garden State Horror Writers Short Story Contest= [Annual contest, SF/F/H to 2500 wds, prizes--$50 1st, $25 2nd, $15 3rd, $10 entry fee, deadline 31 Jul 2000] ~ Prizes ~ First Prize: $50 and The Graverson Award Second Prize: $25 Third Prize: $15 Plus, each eligible entry will be critiqued by three published writers and/or editors! Judges include: Jack Ketchum, Greg Gifune, Jack Fisher, and others. This year the theme is: Addictions, Obsessions, and Compulsions Entries may be Horror ~ Science Fiction ~ Fantasy ~ Mystery ~ Suspense ~ Thriller ~ Romance ~ Fiction ~ any genre! RULES 1. Entry fee is $10.00 per story (GSHW members $7.00). Check or money order payable to GSHW (non-U.S. authors, see note below). 2. Word limit: Up to 2,500 words (2, 500 words being the absolute maximum). Standard manuscript format: double-spaced, on one side of each page only, and a title page - page number and title (not your name) in the upper right hand corner of each subsequent page. 3. Send three (3) copies of each story. (Manuscripts and copies will not be returned. They will be recycled after the contest.) 4. Title page should: include your name, address, and phone number. Again, your name should only appear on the title page, and not on any page of the story itself. tell us which genre you think the story belongs in (just give us an idea). 5. Entries must be unpublished and not accepted by any publisher at time of contest submission. 6.Please enclose a single # 10 SASE (or IRCs & SAE where applicable) for score sheets and critiques. Note: Disregarding any of the above guidelines will disqualify your entry. Contest opens April 1, 2000 and closes July 31, 2000. Entries, regardless of postmark, must be received by July 31, 2000. Winners announced at the GSHW 2000 October/Halloween meeting (10/12/00). Winners unable to attend will receive their prizes by mail. Decision of the judges is final. (Note: Non-U.S. entrants - SEND ONLY U.S. MONEY ORDERS OR CHECKS DRAWN ON A U.S. BANK. Failure to comply with this rule will result in the immediate disqualification of your entry - it will go unread and be disposed of.) Entries are assigned to the judges solely by the contest committee at random - no requests, no exceptions! Mail entries to: GSHW Short Story Contest 18 Circle Drive Rockaway, NJ 07866 [E-mail from Mary SanGiovanni, contest coordinator, mary.sangiovanni@renp.com] MARKET GUIDELINES =Brutarian Quarterly= [Print mag, DF/H/spec fic, pays 5-7 cents/wd., sim subs okay, no E-mail or mult subm. (will respond by E-mail).] Dominick J. Salemi, Publisher P.O. Box 25222 Arlington, VA 22202-9222 brutarian1@juno.com http://brutarian.com/ Thank you for your interest in submitting to =Brutarian Quarterly=. We no longer issue Guidelines via the mail; you can find them here or on many writers' aid Web sites. We can't tell you what or how to write but we can tell you what we hope to find in a submission. Our Statement of Purpose below is a good indication of what we're all about. Statement of Purpose "Brutarian" comes from Jean Dubuffet and his coined term "art brut" -- "raw art." Art made by the innocent, the naive, the hopelessly insane. Idiots, madmen, and geniuses compelled to unloose their visions on an unsuspecting and uncaring world. And we, in our humble little publication, intend to let our readers (if any) know about these visionaries, in all fields -- art, music, literature, etc. Plus throw in coverage of whatever strikes our fancy. Our goal is to entertain and to inform and to strive never to care WHAT YOU THINK! Or what our advertisers or subscribers think. Man is born free and everywhere in chains. We at =Brutarian= are chained to our caprice and therefore constitutionally incapable of becoming slaves to fashion. Read us. Don't read us. It's all one and the same. The Basics SASE. With any submission, remember to include a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) if you want a reply. We get more submissions than you can imagine and if we had to stamp and return every response, we'd go broke. Note that any submissions sent to us are considered disposable unless you specifically send a SASE with enough postage to return your work to you. E-mail. We do not accept e-mail submissions at this time, but we would like to know if your work is available via e-mail or some other electronic form (computer disk, etc.). If you would like a response to your submission to be sent to you in e-mail instead of enclosing a SASE, we can do that. Just let us know in your cover letter. Cover letter. Be sure to include one of these with every submission, letting us know what is enclosed and briefly what we can expect. Simultaneous submissions. We don't mind simultaneous submissions, but please be professional and let us know the submission is under consideration elsewhere. That way, we won't be too disappointed if we find we like a piece and want to buy it, then discover it has already sold. We'd also appreciate a letter letting us know if a submitted piece is no longer on the market due to contracting elsewhere. Multiple submissions. Please, only one submission at a time. Purchasing. We buy work for hire, such as reviews and feature pieces, and we retain ownership and all rights. For fiction, we purchase first North American Serial Rights which revert to the author upon publication. We retain Electronic Rights for the purposes of reproducing fiction solely for our archived publications on our Web site. All other rights remain with the author. Payments. Payments listed here are in American funds. Reviews We like reviews of books concerned with eldritch or unusual subject matter. Critiques of fiction or poetry should be by writers outside the New York Times - New York Review of Books cineacle. Payment. Five cents a word is our going rate. Critiques Critiques of rock or other outr‚ music should be no less than fifty words and no more than three hundred. Payment. Five cents a word for these submissions as well. Feature Pieces Feature pieces have no length limitations. The personalities profiled should be somewhat offbeat -- but brilliant or controversial, however. The subject matter of all other full length stories or studies should concern the strange, the hysterical or the kitschy. We're talking fringe culture here, mate. Not the mainstream. Payment. We pay from one hundred to three hundred dollars for these cover stories even if it's little more than a transcribed interview in which the subject did all the talking. Fiction We publish short stories and poetry. The subject matter of the fiction or the poetry matters not a whit to us. We are looking for beautifully written material. Or crudely penned submissions that overwhelm us with their primitive sensibilities. We tend to prefer dark fantasy and horror, but any speculative fiction which keeps us turning the pages, has a few felicitous turn of phrases, and has an interesting theme or subtext intertwined within the narrative will do nicely. Impress us! Amaze us! Astound us! Offend us! Any of these reactions are what we like to see. Payment. We generally pay 5-7 cents a word, but will go as high as 10 cents a word if we're really impressed. We want exceptional fiction and we have no qualms about paying for it. Most professional magazines rarely top 5-7 and most small press magazines offer a penny a word or less, or nothing at all. We've seen some excellent fiction in magazines that pay authors only in copies, and we wonder why folks would submit there when we're willing to pay professional rates. Don't be shy! Send it to us! Artwork We are interested in buying artwork. The only basic requirements we have for artwork submissions is that it be arresting for the eye and amusing to the mind. Take that, interpret it as you will, and go with it. Like we said about fiction, we want beautifully drawn material, or crudely sketched pieces that overwhelm us with their primitive sensibilities. Payment. Payment is as follows: One hundred dollars ($100.00) for cover art Fifty dollars ($50.00) for an 8-1/2 by 11 black and white piece or for a full-page comic Twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for anything smaller Try Reading Us A lot of editors recommend you obtain a copy of their magazine so you can see just what they publish, and this can't be more true of us. You can get a sample issue by sending six dollars to us. For this and submissions, send to this address: Brutarian Quarterly, P.O. Box 25222, Arlington, VA 22202-9222 [http://brutarian.com/submissions.htm] =Gothic.Net= [Webzine, H/DF to 4000 wds, Pays 4 cents/wd. (1 cent/wd. for reprints) on pub, E-mail subm. and reprints okay. Publisher/Editor in Chief: Darren P. Mckeeman Fiction Editor: Seth Lindberg Non-Fiction: Mehitobel Wilson Gothic.Net Webzine c/o Editor 431 Holloway San Francisco, CA 94112 submit@gothic.net http://www.gothic.net/ How to Run Away and Join the Freak Show Our Writer's Guidelines and Pay Rates Fiction: =Gothic.net= is a market for horror and dark fantasy fiction that strives to be intelligent, macabre, interesting, and truly weird. We publish stories to entertain our readership, and the readership we target is smart, hip, urbane, acerbic, and any other adjective like that. And maybe they spend money on the internet. We buy fiction primarily to please that target audience: we want to build such a reputation that like the stories or no, they'll come back next month just to see what weirdness we might pull out. In that line, we will flatly reject stories which have a science fiction or high fantasy feel, make use of traditional monsters and bogey-men (that includes serial killers. Yawn.), or simply follow plotlines we read and were bored with in magazines and anthologies from a decade ago. One of the factors we look at when we buy stories is web-readability: if the prose is catchy and easily read, it'll probably go over on a website better than a slower, more intricate piece. Look through the stories we have on the site: if you think one of yours has the =Gothic.net= feel, or is simply beyond all that, send it to us. We buy stories up to 5000 words usually. We like a short cover letter with title, name, snail address, phone, email. Either MSWord or ASCII (text) and please, no .wpd files. Email submissions (submit@gothic.net) will be handled *much faster* than snail mail submissions. Payment: 4 cents per word for original material; 1 cent per word for previously published material; preference is for original material. Payment on publication. Nonfiction General Overview: Professionalism, courtesy, and well-written copy are your starting points. Choose interesting, entertaining topics and subjects; be concise, but inject personality without obliterating the subject. In other words, make it feel as if a person (you) has written the piece, without making the piece be more about you than about the subject. You can go in a million more directions that you might expect: =Gothic.net='s name does not mean that you should do a comparative survey of quick-dry black nail polish, nor does it mean that you must concentrate on bands whose names you can't pronounce. Attitude and perspective go a long way: if you're cool, you can write about pickup trucks and fertilizer and have a cool article. Read BizArre Magazine to see an example of this. Anything goes: from B-movies to Broadway, from zombies to the recent wave of approvals to clone extinct animals, from monsterbilly music to experimental ambient to Goth Jungle (I've heard it. It exists.) Always include your real name, address, and phone number with any submission, both in the text of the email and in the attachment. Specify the name you wish printed with your piece in the event of acceptance. The subject line should read "Query: Article" or "Query: Interview" or "Review: CD" or "Submission: Article" (if you've already queried and I've asked you to send it). Include a cover letter in the text of the email. I prefer Rich Text files, though I'll very grudgingly accept .doc, .wps, or .txt , or files copied into the body of the email. Do not send .html files, nor image files unless specifically discussed and requested. Articles: Please query for feature articles: email me with the topic, the expected delivery date, and a bit about yourself, showing me what you can do to make the topic interesting and entertaining. If you have a completed article, query first anyway: chances are we'll want to see it, but please ask me before mailing it. Personal essays/columns/opinion pieces: We do not accept unsolicited columns. Reviews: Reviews are work-for-hire: once accepted, they become the property of =Gothic.net=. We don't accept reprinted reviews, nor can you resell or reprint them if we buy them. Always include the artist/band name, the title of the work, and the label/company responsible for it. Currently the best way to go about placing music reviews with me is to write one and send it. Send reviews of newly-released material only, and the reviewer may not be affiliated with the band, label, or band's representative. Positive reviews take priority in print, though I'm not averse to lukewarm or negative reviews. No demos or homemade, unrepresented material. Multimedia reviews should concern newly-released items that would appeal to our audience, i.e. horror fans and goths. Movie reviews should be article format, no longer than 1,000 words; I'd prefer around 750. We'd like a mixture of opinion about the film (the "review" bit) and some background about the production, impact on the industry, et cetera, if possible. As a rule, new or upcoming theatrical releases are preferred, whether they are major-studio or small arthouse pictures. New or upcoming direct-to-video releases are fine as well. Again, remember your audience: horror, weird, goth/punk/freak friendly (or unfriendly- -warn us, but be fair!), dark romantic, etc. I am not accepting book reviews at this time--please don't send any. We also don't review websites, magazines, restaurants, services, conventions, or concerts. Interviews: We want interviews with bands, musicians, artists, authors, directors, actors, and interesting folks. Please query before interviewing anyone specifically for us: DO NOT approach a band and say you are doing an interview for =Gothic.net= without our approval. If you want to interview someone freelance and then show it to us, that's fine, but don't make any promises to the band that we'll publish it. If you have a completed interview, feel free to send it, but examine your writing style first: I'm not fond of interviewers who use interviews as a platform to disseminate their own opinions. There's a fine line between offering opinions to open a discussion with the interviewee, and overshadowing your subject entirely. Watch your ego and don't let it override your guest. Payment: Articles, Interviews, and movie reviews: 3 cents per word for original material; 1 cent per word for previously published material; preference is for original material. As always, query first if you have a question. Payment on publication. Reviews: $10 per review. Payment upon publication and receipt of invoice. Include name, snail address, phone, address, brief cover in MSWord or ASCII (text) to submit@gothic.net. Snail mail submissions should be standard ms. format. Include SASE for response or indicate if email response is acceptable. We prefer disposable mss. to Gothic.Net Webzine, c/o Editor, 431 Holloway, San Francisco, CA 94112 [http://www.gothic.net/] =Peeping Tom= [British print mag, H/DF/SF/F 100-3500 wds, pays œ2.50 per 1,000 wds., E-mail subm okay from non-UK writers, sim subs okay, reprints (non-UK pub) okay, mult subm okay.] David Bell, editor Yew Tree House, 15 Nottingham Road, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, LE65 1DJ, England Stuart@peepingtom.freeserve.co.uk Twice winner of the British Fantasy Award, =Peeping Tom= primarily publishes horror and dark fantasy, although fantasy, humour and science fiction will be considered. I am looking for stories with strong characters where the story line evolves naturally out of the characters and the situations they find themselves in. The truth is that I don't really know what sort of story I want until I read it. If your story has believable characters and is a good, entertaining read, I want to read it. If your story falls loosely into the horror/dark fantasy/science fiction or fantasy categories, please feel free to send it along. I am also keen to receive humorous submissions (I don't get anywhere near enough) so long as the humour evolves naturally out of the characters and the situations they find themselves in. Guidelines: 1. Stories should be typed, double spaced on one side of A4 white paper, and must be accompanied by an SSAE of adequate size if you want a reply. 2. Include your name, address and the word length of your story on the first page of your story, and include your pen name (if using one). 3. Do not send your submission by recorded delivery. If you require confirmation of receipt, enclose another SSAE. 4. If you reside in the U.K. then short stories should be submitted in the traditional (snail mail) way as 1 3 above. 5. We would also prefer for contributors living outside the U.K. to submit stories in the traditional way, but will accept email submissions (one at a time only please to Stuart@peepingtom.freeserve.co.uk) from non U.K. residents. Please paste onto the main message -- do not attach files. 6. Although your submission will be handled carefully, we cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage. 7. Length should be between 100 and 3,500 words. Longer stories of exceptional quality will be considered. 8. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please have the courtesy to inform us that your manuscript is being submitted elsewhere. 9. We buy First British Serial Rights and pay approximately œ2.50 per 1,000 words on publication. Copyright reverts to the author after one time use. 10. We will consider reprints providing the story has not been previously published in the U.K. Please include the story's full publishing history in your cover letter. 11. All submissions are considered and selected for publication on their own merits. We do not object to multiple submissions, but please limit yourself to two or three stories at a time. 12. =Peeping Tom= uses a panel of Assistant Editors. If your story is unsuitable for publication it will be returned promptly by an Assistant Editor usually within six weeks however if your story is recommended to the Editor then the selection process could take up to three months. Please be patient. 13. When writing to =Peeping Tom=, the simple Golden Rule is: always enclose an SSAE if you want a reply. 14. I regret that the =Peeping Tom= editorial team is unable to provide feedback on individual stories; however, we do offer subscribers free membership of Midnight Oil -- a writer's postal forum which allows you to receive constructive feedback from other aspiring writers. The best way to discover the sort of stories I'm looking for is to read a copy of =Peeping Tom=. David Bell, Editor Illustrator Contributors Guidelines: =Peeping Tom= does not use unsolicited artwork, however, interested artists are invited to send examples of their work for consideration to: Stuart Hughes, publisher, 4 Pottery Close, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 0HU, England Payment for artists is a complimentary copy of the magazine their work appears in. [http://www.dragonsoup.com/PeepTom/guidelines.html] MARKET INFORMATION =alphaDRIVE webzine= The =alphaDRIVE= website is gone; I assume this means the magazine is dead. =Altair= Robert N Stephenson, editor of Australian magazine =Altair=, says, "Due to a change in tax laws in Australia and the 10% price hike on all printing, transaction and story purchases =Altair= must sadly reduce its author payments (as well as some other things in =Altair=). "=Altair= now only pays 1 cent a word. I know I will lose many good writers with this news. It is sad but necessary for =Altair= to survive. "Thank you all for supporting =Altair= and may our new version of Altair be equally as impressive as our last." [ sff.writing.response-times, 18 Apr 00] Robert Stephenson also said on the =Speculations= Rumor Mill, "=Altair= rate has dropped from 3 cents to 1 cent a word, there will be little or no internal art and gone [are] the flash colour covers. We will be considering e-subs in the very near future." [www.speculations.com/rumormill/topic201.htm, 14 Apr 2000] =Blue Food= Quarterly literary arts journal =Blue Food= buys: Fiction: erotica, fantasy, humorous, experimental, satire. Length up to 2,000 words max. Payment 4 cents per word + 2 copies. =Blue Food= buys first publication rights. No manuscripts or art will be returned, nor queries answered unless accompanied by an SASE with adequate postage. No responsibility is assumed for their loss or injury and no simultaneous submissions or previously published work will be knowingly accepted. Accepted stories need to be on disc, or submitted via e-mail. Coming Issues Deadlines: 15 July for Winter (Oct/Nov/Dec); 15 October for Spring (Jan/Feb/Mar); 15 January for Summer (Apr/May/June); 15 April for Fall (July/Aug/Sept) Contact David Salcido 1529 W. Lynwood St. Phoenix, AZ 85007 salcido@extremezone.com [www.speculations.com/rumormill/topic201.htm, 16 Apr 00] =Cemetery Sonata= The anthology =Cemetery Sonata= will soon have a website at www.CemeterySonata.web.com. E-mail submissions to Jhubbard44@aol.com. =Downstate Story= Print literary magazine =Downstate Story= has a new URL for its website: http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfgeh/dss/index.html =Dragon= The URL for =Dragon= magazine has changed: http://www.wizards.com/Dragon/Welcome.asp =The Dragon's Scroll= Webzine =The Dragon's Scroll= has a new URL: http://www.dragonscroll.com/thescroll/index.html The webzine is currently overstocked and not accepting submissions. =Infinite Edge Webzine= The website (and the domain!) for =Infinite Edge= are gone; I assume this means the webzine is dead. =The Oubliette= This note appeared on =The Oubliette='s website: "=The Oubliette= is to be an annual anthology. In the beginning, =The Oubliette= was to be a magazine, then a zine, it was almost an e-zine. Unfortunately, nothing happened. with a total of 20 submissions in 3 years, the editors did not have much to work with. Our first intentions, were to pay our writers. This is the most difficult thing for a beginning magazine to do. So, we went unmonetary. This did nothing for our submission rate. Seems all writers wish to be paid. So, in the event to save =The Oubliette=, it has become a mere anthology (for now). . . .The entire purpose for this =The Oubliette=, is expose underexposed writers." [http://www.oubliette.net/] =Papyrus Webzine= The following note is from the =Papyrus= website: "=Papyrus= has been a lot of fun over the past half a year. But I'm going to have to move on, hopefully leaving =Papyrus= in new hands. "I started =Papyrus= in February with the idea of spearheading an online short story magazine. I funded it myself, and decided I'd give it six months. If I had some sort of money coming through six months down the line, I'd continue with =Papyrus=. "Well, it's August [1999?], and I haven't made a dime. "Now please understand what this means: I'm paying roughly $500 a month out of my own pocket to keep =Papyrus= going, on top of what I had to pay to start it (domain name, web hosting, etc.). I really can't keep =Papyrus= going this way. "But here's the good news: A good friend of mine is lining up some sponsorship, and he will be taking over the site as soon as he can (e.g. in a couple of months). I trust his fiction judgment as I trust my own. "But for now, the site is going into deep freeze. If you sign up for our e-mail announcement list, an announcement will go out to that list once =Papyrus= comes back online. And, of course, you can check back to this site periodically. "Thank you all for reading; this whole experience has been a blast. I hope this site is half as rewarding for the next guy as it was for me." -- Brent P. Newhall, Editor of =Papyrus= [http://www.papyrus-fiction.com/freeze.html] =The Ragged Edge= Disability magazine =The Ragged Edge= (which accepts some science fiction if it has to do with disabilities) has a new URL: http://www.ragged-edge-mag.com/ =Sapphire Webzine= The following notice appeared on =Sapphire='s website: "=Sapphire Magazine= has suspended publication until further notice. If you would like to be notified when publication resumes, send any e-mail to notify@sapphiremag.com. Your e-mail address will be stored offline and will not be divulged to other sources." [The change was made to the page in September 1999.] [http://www.sapphiremag.com/] =Virtual Lobotomy= The URL for =Virtual Lobotomy= is http://www.blindside.net/VirtualLobotomy/. It is no longer a webzine, but will be an annual hardcover anthology. ***************************************************************** * Mercifully, the mere act of writing was, and always has * * been, a physical pleasure to me. This made it easier to * * throw away anything that did not turn out well: and to * * practice, as it were scales. . . . [The Anglo-Indian tales] * * were originally much longer than when they appeared, but the * * shortening of them, first to my own fancy after rapturous * * re-readings, and next to the space available, taught me that * * a tale from which pieces have been raked out is like a fire * * that has been poked. One does not know that the operation * * has been performed, but everyone feels the affect. . . . In * * an auspicious hour, read your final draft and consider * * faithfully, every paragraph, sentence and word, blacking out * * where requisite. . . . At the end of that time, re-read and * * you shall find that it will bear a second shortening. * * Finally, read it aloud alone and at leisure. * * --Rudyard Kipling * ***************************************************************** ==End of the CALLIHOO newsletter for 18 April 2000==