CALLIHOO Newsletter ----------------------------------------------------------------- Vol. 7 No. 18 Editor: Julia West October 19, 1999 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Web page: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS Don't forget the CALLIHOO Halloween Challenge: Write a scary story. We'll be reading our stories out loud next week, October 26th. 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.) =Fantasy, Folklore & Fairytales=, "Millennium The Real Story" closes November 20, 1999. [Monthly webzine, themed, F 1500-7500 wds, pays $10-$15 on accept, E-mail subm okay, website: http://fff.fantasytoday.com/ (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 16)] The Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story Writing, deadline 15 December 1999. [SF/F by undergrad. students in college or university, 1,000-10,000 wds, 1st place $500, =entry fee $5.00 per story=, no limit to number of entries per person. (GLs in Vol. 6 No. 44)] =PRISM international= 15th Annual Short Fiction Contest 1999, deadline 15 December 1999. [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)] =Pulp Eternity= Volume 9: I Am Cat. Deadline 15 Dec 1999 or when filled. [SF cat stories, to 10,000 wds, pays 3 cents/wd. on pub. http://www.pulpeternity.com. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 5)] =Starlight 3= anthology, deadline end of 1999. [SF/F, pays 7-1/2 cents/wd., no upper word limit. (GLs in Vol. 6, No. 38)] =Writers of the Future=, 1st quarter 2000, deadline 31 December 1999. [$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)] =Extremes: Fantasy and Horror from the Ends of the Earth=, deadline 1 Jan 2000 or when filled. [Limited edition CD anthology, F/H outside USA, pays 1/22 of profits, lwpub@aol.com, http://www.dm.net/~bahwolf/extremes.htm. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 10)] =Midnight Galleries= first issue deadline 1 Jan 2000. [Quarterly game-based antho series, shared-world, 5000-20K wds, pays 6 cents/wd., query first, E-mail subm okay to Kaytman@aol.com. (GLs in Vol. 7, No. 16)] MARKET GUIDELINES =Terra Incognita= [Quarterly print mag, earth-based SF to 15,000 wds, 1-2 cents/wd., no sim or electronic subm.] 52 Windermere Avenue #3, Lansdowne PA 19050-1812 E-mail incognit@netaxs.com (queries only) =Terra Incognita=--a full-sized, quarterly science-fiction magazine--publishes a broad range of science-fiction stories and poetry and non-fiction articles and includes an extensive section of reviews of written science fiction works. This grand sweep is united by a common theme: Earth, both today and in the future. What will our Earth be like in five years? five hundred? five billion? What sorts of technologies are likely to arise, and what might be their personal, social, and ecological impacts both positive and negative? Will we humans march nobly into the future, or do we face apocalypse at every turn? And how will our social systems evolve and change? =Terra Incognita= explores questions such as these. Fiction Here's the challenge: 1. Write a science-fiction short story it can be up to 15,000 words in length--and not a word longer. a. using beautiful prose your writing must be lucid, literate, graceful, nuanced, and not entirely devoid of poetry. b. with vivid characters, we don't care if all the humans are dead--but there must be characters! c. a real protagonist, the protagonist--who need not be the viewpoint character--must try to accomplish something d. a plot that resolves, do not end the story where it actually begins e. and an appropriate, fully realized setting-- that is, present or future Earth f. which addresses the magazine's theme. read the introduction, above 2. Make sure your story is appropriate is your story sword & sorcery, high fantasy, horror, alternative history, formula sf, space opera? is it not Earth-based? then it's not for us; here's some of the stuff we like: cybertechnology, apocalypse and post-apocalypse settings, sociological extrapolations and alternative social systems, gender and race issues, biotechnology, information technology, human evolution, alien visitors, ecological disasters or triumphs, oceanography and the settlement of the ocean, non-Western cultures in the future, the natural and applied sciences; just make it fit our theme. 3. Send it to us our address is: Terra Incognita, 52 Windermere Avenue #3, Lansdowne PA 19050-1812; we accept neither electronic nor simultaneous submissions a. using proper manuscript format there is an industry standard format; please be sure to use it when submitting. b. with a self-addressed, stamped envelope non-disposable manuscripts require a big enough envelope and adequate postage; disposable manuscripts [which we do recycle] require a #10 SASE for our response; please affix the postage to the return envelope; if you live outside the US, please enclose appropriate IRCs; submissions without return envelopes and adequate postage will be ignored. c. and a cover letter, if you wish. we like to hear about our writers, but don't bother with a cover letter if you don't have anything you want to tell us; and, above all, do not give a synopsis of your story in your cover letter. 4. Wait six weeks or less. probably a lot less; generally, we read and respond to all submissions on the very day they are received; if you haven't heard from us within six weeks, either the manuscript got lost in the mail or you didn't include an SASE. [See note in Market Information below] 5. Look in your mailbox. if your story grabbed us and dragged us right through to the end, or dazzled us, or moved us deeply, or even merely impressed us, you just might find an acceptance; otherwise, you'll find your manuscript [if you asked for it back] and a letter explaining why we didn't buy it--we will always explain why rejected manuscripts don't work for us. Non-Fiction We do not accept unsolicited non-fiction articles. When you query us, please be sure to include a #10 SASE so we can get back to you. Alternatively, you can query us by electronic mail at incognit@netaxs.com and save yourself the postage. Book and story reviews Did you read an sf novel (which fits our theme) that changed your life? Or one that you wanted to throw across the room? Send us a query-letter telling us about the review you'd like to write, and we'll let you know if we think it's something we can use. We like both in-depth, critical essays and sharp, short reviews. We try to publish several diverging reviews of the same book together, so that our readers can find differing perspectives in one place. We're not interested in reviews of any media other than print. Science-fiction-related essays and articles If you have something to say about the genre, perhaps you'd like to share it with our readers. Tell us what you're thinking of writing about, and we'll tell you if we want to see it. Remember: the best way to avoid an instant "No" is to make sure that your idea relates to our theme. Right now, we'd really like to see skillfully written articles exploring the social-science (sociology, anthropology, politics, etc.) aspect of the genre. Science articles Intelligently written and well-researched science articles are most welcome--especially if they explore the potential impacts (positive or negative or, preferably, both) of new technologies or the possible nature of science and technology in the future. We are also very interested in articles which discuss the philosophy of science. Some areas of science which we find intriguing are: biology, neurobiology, and cognitive science; cybertechnology; computers and other information technologies; experimental physics. Please! Don't get too technical. We'd never ask you to sacrifice truth or complexity, but do try to make your articles accessible to readers of all levels of technical knowledge. If you have an idea which you think might fit this category, query us! Any other ideas? If you think of something we haven't mentioned (and we hope you do), why don't you query us to see if we're interested? Artwork We do need illustrators, so do send us samples of your work. Please--no originals; and if you want your samples returned, be sure to include an adequate SASE! We'll look over what you send and let you know what we think. We're most interested in skillfully executed line drawings, but we are more than happy to look at anything you would care to send. Do not, however, send us any art on disk. We have no objections to computer-generated art, but we want to see what it looks like on paper! Poetry =Terra Incognita= is a forum for Earth-based fiction, and all poetry must therefore be set on Earth. Abstract poetry is acceptable, but must be recognizably Earth based. We want speculative poetry with not only good, creative ideas, but also beautiful language. We like words that hold our attention as much as the subject does. All styles and lengths accepted. Payment & Rights We pay 1 to 2 cents per word for stories and articles, $5-$25 for book reviews, and a flat fee of $5 for poetry and cartoons. We have a flexible scale for artwork based on the size of the piece. In addition to the cash payment, all contributors receive two extra copies of the issue in which their contribution appears. We buy First North American Rights only for fiction and non-fiction articles. We buy First Reproduction Rights and Advertising and Promotion Rights for artwork. All rights revert to the author upon publication. A note: We are not doing this to make money. We are doing this because we want to create a place in which wonderful stories and interesting articles can be found. We have chosen to pay our writers as much as we can afford to without going broke and we will continue to upgrade our pay rates as money becomes available. Please contact us for the latest pay rates they may have gone up! [http://www.voicenet.com/~incognit/submissions/index.html] MARKET INFORMATION =Gothic.Net= An author on sff.net says that Gothic.net likes extreme and sardonic stories. He also mentioned that Gothic.net will be raising its payment to 4 cents a word and that they will be going into print. [sff.writing.response-times, 22 Sep 99] =Terra Incognita= A report from a writer online says that =Terra Incognita= apologized for a delay getting to his ms. with "we've been swamped." (The return time was about 4 months.) [sff.writing.response-times, 15 Sep 99] ==End of the CALLIHOO newsletter for 19 October 1999==