CALLIHOO Newsletter ----------------------------------------------------------------- Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Vol. 7 No. 30 Editor: Julia West January 18, 2000 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Web page: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS Ken Rand's story "With Forked Tongue" was #3 in Alexandria Digital Literature's top ten sellers for December, and his story "The Nine Billion Names of Arthur C. Clarke" was #10 there for the entire year of 1999. Ken also sold "Where Angels Fear," to =Twilight Showcase=. Congrats, Ken! * * * We had another successful mini-retreat January 14-15. Thanks to Gerry for hosting it, and especially for the wonderful crepes! We had a great turnout, and everyone seemed to get a lot of writing done. Let's concentrate on our challenge stories now, and don't forget Dare to be Bad on February 16-21! 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.) =PRISM international= 15th Annual Short Fiction Contest 1999, deadline 31 Jan 2000. [Canadian contest, $2,000C 1st prize, 5 $200 runners-up (+pmt for pub), =$20 1st entry fee, $5 all others=, max. 25 pp. (GLs in Vol. 6 No. 44)] =The Age of Wonders= SFF.NET anthology, open 1 Jan-1 Mar 2000 or until full (the two earlier ones filled up FAST). [Near-future SF about interface between human and machine. Pays 8 cents/wd. (max. $400) on accept., no reprints, query for over 5000 wds, E- mail subm okay. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 25)] =Writers of the Future=, 2nd quarter 2000, deadline 31 March 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)] =Starlight 3= anthology, deadline "late spring 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).] =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. Submit to 2500 wd and/or 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)] MARKET GUIDELINES =Flesh and Blood= [Triannual print mag, H/DF/magic realism to 4,000 wds. Pays «-1 cent/wd. on accept. No sim subs, reprints sometimes, mult and E- mail subm okay.] Jack Fisher; Editor-in-chief c/o Flesh and Blood: Quiet Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror, 121 Joseph Street, Bayville, NJ 08721 E-mail submissions: ahhh@webtv.net http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/3459/ fnb.html =Flesh and Blood: Quiet Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror= is a print magazine. BACK ISSUES: Issue #1 is sold out; there are less than 20 copies of issues #2 & #3 left, and there is 1 copy of #4 left as of 10/30/99. #5 will be out around the middle of December. See ordering information below. SUBSCRIPTIONS/ORDERS: =Flesh and Blood: Quiet Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror= can be purchased at $4 per issue. A three-issue subscription is $11. Please make checks/money orders payable and send to: John Fisher, 121 Joseph Street, Bayville, NJ 08721. Checks or money orders made out to 'Flesh and Blood' will be returned. THE MAGAZINE: =Flesh and Blood: Quiet Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror= is a triannual digest-size magazine ranging from 44-52 pages in length, sporting thick, two-colored covers and packed with horror and dark fantasy fiction, interview(s), and occasional articles. HONORABLE MENTIONS: DF Lewis and LK Rogers have received honorable mention's in Ellen Datlow's =Year's Best Fantasy and Horror= annual anthology. Both authors' stories were published in =Flesh and Blood: Quiet Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror #3=. Congratulations! This is truly an honor on my part and on theirs. ACCEPTED GENRES: Horror, Magic Realism, Dark Fantasy, Light Fantasy FICTION: We will accept fiction up to 4,000 words. A smooth read with an original idea with a decent writing style are a must. We DO NOT want to see stories of the following: stories with insane characters, stories about obese people who eat others or who are evil, or stories with a setting not in the modern day. We also do not want to see garden-variety work, work about evil Gods and their followers or stories based solely on monsters. Also, we may be called Flesh and Blood, but we publish subtle, magic realism, bizarre, eccentric, avant-garde work or any mix thereof. A 'lighter' version of horror, dark fantasy, and fantasy is also acceptable, just as long as it's powerful and chilling. No gorey [sic], murder, or revenge stories. We now accept fantasy work, which means elves, fairies, and the like are all acceptable, but wizards, unicorns, sword & sorcery type fantasy is not. I'm also fascinated with witches, so stories with them in it aren't a problem just as long as it's uniquely done. =We mainly buy stories with some sort of supernatural component.= POETRY: Same as fiction. Send no more than 5 at a time and they must not exceed one (1) page each unless exceptionally good. ART & NONFICTION: We have columnists and artists for the time being. If you're interested in becoming a staff artist, send a portfolio of work for consideration. Be sure to include a cover letter explaining your background, credentials, etc. Payment for assigned work is $3-5 per piece and $20 for cover art. Along with the cash payment, you will receive 1-2 contributor's copies and an AD (supplied by the artist) of any size published in the issue with your art. PAYMENT: Payment for fiction is 1/2-1 cent/word (depending on quality) for unsolicited fiction/poetry, plus one contributor's copy of the issue in which the work will appear. Anything under 1000 words (or thereof) will be paid with by means of contributor's copies (2). Poetry will be bought at $5 per accepted poem, plus one contributor's copy. RESPONSE TIME: Response time varies. It's normally between 3-21 days, plus mail time (if submitted through snail mail). The shorter the work, the faster the response and the quicker it will get published. If you don't hear from us within 30 days, query. We normally send a letter of receipt if the submission is sent through email to let the author know we indeed have it. Also, we will reply via email if you mention so in your cover letter and, of course, if you list an email address. MEANS OF SUBMISSION: You may either send your work to us through snail mail (see address at the bottom of this page) or through email. (see email address below as well) Send submissions in the body of the email or as .txt formatted files. OTHER: Always include a SASE and a cover letter with previous publication credits along with an exact word count. We DO NOT accept simultaneous submissions, but will grudingly [sic] look at reprints just as long as it's never been printed in any more than one other publication (name the publication in your cover letter). We will also accept multiple submissions (no more than 3 stories and 5 poems at a time). If you have any other questions, email or write the editor. PUBLICATION WAIT: Until early 2000, publication wait is about 10-12 months. I'm sure, however, that the wait will be well worth it. TIPS: =Stories with some sort of supernatural element are what we mainly buy=. If you've ever read any of the following magazines, you'll know what we like: =Talebones=, =Lore=, =Transversions=, =Dark Regions=, =The Silver Web=, or =The Urbanite=. We also like the work of Ray Bradbury and Jeff VanderMeer. ADDRESSES: Snail mail your submissions to: Jack Fisher; Editor-in-chief c/o Flesh and Blood: Quiet Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror 121 Joseph Street Bayville, NJ 08721 Or Email your sub to ahhh@webtv.net This page last updated: 12/4/99 [http://www.angelfire.com/hi/zxcv/blood.html] =Hadrosaur Tales= [biannual print mag, spec fic, pays $6.00 per story, E-mail and sim subm okay. Issue #11 opens in June 2000.] Hadrosaur Productions c/o David Summers P.O. Box 8468 Las Cruces, NM 88006-8468 E-mail submissions: Billosaur@aol.com =Hadrosaur Tales= is a literary journal published approximately every six months by Hadrosaur Productions. We are looking for well written, thought provoking speculative fiction. Each author who's [sic] story appears in =Hadrosaur Tales= will receive two copies of the magazine. Additional copies may be purchased at a 20% discount. We now pay $6.00 per accepted story and $2.00 per accepted poem. I wish it could be more, but it is a start! Hadrosaurs, from which =Hadrosaur Tales= takes its name, are commonly called duck-billed dinosaurs. Many had tall head crests of hollow bone. Some of these dinosaurs looked remarkably like early depictions of unicorns. To us, at Hadrosaur Productions, this merging of creature of science and creature of fiction is the ideal symbol for a magazine and small press devoted to publishing the finest quality speculative fiction we could find. Tips for authors: Let your imagination soar to its greatest heights and write down the results. Above all, we are looking for thought-provoking ideas and good writing. Speculative fiction set in the past, present, and future are welcome. Our only restrictions are no graphic horror and no use of previously copyrighted characters (unless you own the copyright!) We are looking for short stories, poetry, and art. Manuscripts must be legible. Short stories should not be longer than the equivalent of 25 type-written pages. Please send only complete manuscripts. Electronic mail submissions are okay. We respond to submissions as fast as possible. Typical turnaround time is about a month. Simultaneous submissions are okay. While we do not have "submission periods" per se, the optimum time for submission in 2000 is as follows: Please do not submit material for =Hadrosaur Tales= 11 until June. At this point, we have all the submissions we need. There will be some guideline/format changes with Tales 11 please check back in May. At that time, I should have tentative submission periods for the next issues. Upcoming: =Hadrosaur Tales= 10 will be a Special Issue celebrating our fifth year. The theme is Voyages of Discovery. That theme can be about voyages to the stars, voyages across oceans in a fantasy world, or it can be about voyages of self-discovery! If you'd like to get a very good feeling for what I was looking for, please read the poem "Voyages of Discovery" by Gary Every. Unfortunately this issue is full and I cannot accept any more stories. Sample copies are available for $6.00 at the address below. Our address is: Hadrosaur Productions c/o David Summers P.O. Box 8468 Las Cruces, NM 88006-8468 For e-mail submissions: Billosaur@aol.com. Please include the word, "Hadrosaur" in the subject line. Guidelines Updated January, 2000 [http://www.zianet.com/hadrosaur/gl.html] =Singularities= [Triannual webzine, SF/F/H 500 to 20,000 wds, pays 1/2 cents/wd.] Editor: Danny Adams. 129 Willowdale Drive, #21, Frederick, MD 21702. URL: http://www.wwco.com/~dda GL: http://www.wwco.com/scifi/ Email: editor@wwco.com =Singularities= is an online magazine of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. FREQ: 3 times a year. CIRC: Web hits varies; has been as high as 12,000. NEEDS: Well-written science fiction, fantasy, and horror of 500 to 20,000 wds; poetry to 100 lines. Needs more imaginative fantasy, hard SF, and alternate history or near future extrapolation. PAYS: Pays 1/2 cent/wd for first electronic rights for first five stories in each issue. After the first five, pays a flat rate. RT: 4 wks. For examples of the types of stories and poems published, please view the archives at http://www.wwco.com/scifi/eharchives2.html. TIPS: "The two things that impress me most are an imaginative plot (which can include a new twist on an old theme) and strong characterization." FROM THE EDITOR: Contrary to information on site, "the submission window will stay open indefinitely since the move has caused a good bit of confusion. For some reason a lot of the subs aren't being forwarded from the old address--at least not by the Post Office, but rather the family who still live there. The window will stay open, then, until the new address catches hold and we have plenty of purchases--and even then I'll give advance warning that it's going to close." [Inklings, 22 Dec 99] MARKET INFORMATION =Darkling Plain= A writer on sff.net says, "In response to a query, David Cox [editor of =Darkling Plain=] says final choices for the first issue should be made within two weeks. He's narrowed it down to 25 out of 300, but didn't say how many he needs." [sff.writing.response-times, 18 Jan 00] =Darkness Within= A writer on sff.net says, "Just got word that =Darkness Within= magazine has closed. Money is 'hard to come by' and the editor wants to write, read, and 'finish school.'" [sff.writing.response-times, 17 Jan 00] =Zoetrope= =Zoetrope: All-Story= moved as of Tuesday 12/7/99. The new address is: Zoetrope: All-Story, 1350 Avenue of the Americas -- 24th Floor, New York City, NY 10019. PHONE: 212-708-0400 FAX: 212-708-0475. [Inklings, 8 Dec 99] FUN WRITER SOFTWARE Basic Plotting If you're feeling blocked, or want a jumpstart on your next story, you might try this little freeware program. Basic Plotting lets you choose theme, surprise, desire, location, and good and bad traits for main characters from drop-down menus. Be aware that it's set up for mainstream writers, so some of the SF ideas aren't there, and the possibilities are few, but it's free! It is fun to play with. . . . You can download it at http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/ info.html?fcode=000S21 LangMaker Ever wanted to create a language for your short story, novel, or milieu? LangMaker is also freeware, and even includes lexicons of some world languages to work from. I haven't had a chance to play with it much, but this could really help if you're serious about making a decent language for your story. Download it at http://www.langmaker.com/langmake/ Worgan A neat shareware program for keeping track of your writing, and all the little stray details like character traits, details about the world, its culture, religion, and money. It also has features to keep track of where you've submitted stories, market lists that will match up to the length and type of your story, and how much you've made on the story. I haven't tried out all its many capabilities yet, but it seems like a very cool program. Its website is at http://knowledge.bizhosting.com/center.htm (you can download it from there). ==End of the CALLIHOO newsletter for 18 January 2000==