CALLIHOO Newsletter ----------------------------------------------------------------- Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Vol. 7 No. 39 Editor: Julia West March 28, 2000 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Web page: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS Six of the CALLIHOOligans made it to at least one day of Life, the Universe, and Everything (the BYU science fiction symposium) last week. I only attended on Saturday, but found the panels that day to be good ones. I personally enjoyed listening to screenwriter David Howard (co-writer of =Galaxy Quest=) talking about how the movie came about. I also attended a great panel on "So you're a professional? What do you do now?" I picked up some great ideas there on the writer's life. I also enjoyed the panel on "Growth in Characters." The references for the presentation I gave on writers' resources on the web will soon be available on the CALLIHOO website. They consist of some good links to writers' sites, reference sites, research sites, etc. Congratulations to the LTU&E staff for another wonderful symposium. 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)] =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] ***************************************************************** * "How do I know," the sometimes despairing writer asks, "which * * the right word is?" The reply must be: only you can know. * * The right word is, simply, the wanted one; the wanted word is * * the one most nearly true. * * --Elizabeth Bowen * ***************************************************************** ANTHOLOGIES =Cemetery Sonata Volume II= [Print antho, ghost stories 500-6000 words, pays 3 cents/wd. on pub., reprints okay. Deadline July 1, 2000] Editor: June Hubbard Chameleon Publishing 3430 Salem Dr. Rochester Hills, MI 48306 Jhubbard44@aol.com Now accepting manuscripts. "The requirements are essentially the same as for Volume I: no gratuitous violence or erotica. Seeking stories of the Poe/Lovecraftian sort of original ghostly happenings. Any time period acceptable but must be SCARY! Think haunted houses, restless spirits, lonely graveyards, etc. In other words -- just how peaceful is the hereafter? Strongly advise contributors to take a look at Volume I of =Cemetery Sonata= to get a feel for the type of stories needed." Length: 500-6000 words; pays 3 cents/word, on publication for one-time rights. Reprints okay. "New writers are particularly encouraged to submit." Deadline: July 1. Jhubbard44@aol.com [DarkEcho, 23 Mar 2000] =Chillers= [Electronic antho, H 1500-5000 wds, pays share of royalties, no reprints or sim subs, E-mail and mult subm okay. Deadline 1 Aug 2000.] Ivan S. Graves, editor Attn: Chillers 2252 S. 76th St. Milwaukee, WI 53219 frightnet@msn.com =Chillers= will be a horror anthology, released electronically by Hard Shell Word Factory, and edited by Ivan S. Graves, formerly of FrightNet Online Magazine. He also edited e-antho =Dark Whispers= (1998). Tentative release: spring 2001 Payment: based on a pro-rata share of a portion of total royalties earned by the book, paid on a quarterly basis following publication. Releasable formats of the work will include; PDF,HTML, and RTF, as well as various hand-held reader formats such as Rocket, Softbook, Glassbook, Librius, and may also include publication through Ion systems which will be introducing "talking" netbooks. May also be made available through print on demand technology. New writers welcomed and encouraged to submit. NEEDS: Horror. Accepted stories will be original (no reprints) and between 1,500-5,000 words in length. No erotica. No traditional monster stories (vampires, werewolves, witches etc.) unless treated in an extraordinarily different way than what's been done in the past. Must have underlying element of dread on page one. "Use your imagination, be inventive, and ask yourself what scares *you*." SUBMITTING Snail mail (see address above): Be sure to include a brief cover letter listing prominent publication credits, and telling the editor a little bit about yourself. Include a SASE. Simultaneous submissions will not be accepted. Authors requesting e-mail response please be sure to clearly indicate this in your cover letter, and provide an eddress where you may be reached. Email: in RTF format only, and should be addressed to frightnet@msn.com. You *must* include the words CHILLERS SUBMISSION in the subject line for your manuscript to be considered. Multiple submissions are fine, but should be sent individually, one file per via e-mail, or no more than three via snail mail. In the latter case be sure to include sufficient return postage, unless you've marked your manuscripts 'tossable.' DEADLINE All manuscripts must be received no later than August 1, 2000. All responses will be sent out by September 1, 2000. [DarkEcho, 23 Mar 2000] =Red Work= [Electronic antho, stories of professional killers 4500 - 10,000 wds, pays approx 3% royalty, no reprints or E-mail subm. Deadline 15 June 2000] Editor: Gerard Houarner Box 627 Bronx, NY 10461 eBook anthology of stories examining professional killers in the context of ordinary, daily living, with an emphasis on humor, irony and satire. Looking for stories that use the tension between a killer's work and his or her home life to generate conflict and its resolution. The horrific work of the professional assassin has been well documented in literature, film, news media. Events in a professional killer's life before and after his or her work can be even more disturbing than the act of violence, particularly if they mimic those of an ordinary person. Stories can take professional killers from various cultures in the past, present, future and place them in exotic environments. The home lifestyle should contain familiar pleasures and stresses, though with a twist generated from the kind of personality that would work as a killer, and the work itself. Length: 4500-10,000 words; average 5000-8500 words; pays approximately 3% royalty rate, adjustable by total number of stories to be published in the anthology for First North American Anthology Rights. After the eBook is released you may sell the story elsewhere. No reprints will be accepted. Period. Important Note: We can take no e-mail submissions. All submissions must be in hard copy. If you have an email address, please be certain to include it with your submission. Deadline: June 15, 2000. [DarkEcho, 23 March 2000] ***************************************************************** * "The materials for creative writing are not hard to find. * * They are right under your nose." * * --Roger A. Garrison * ***************************************************************** MARKET GUIDELINES =Zion's Fiction= [Electronic novels and stories, SF appealing to LDS reader, pays 50% royalties, prefers electronic submissions] Thom Duncan, Editor ZION'S FICTION 56 N. Timpanogos Blvd. Orem, Utah 84057 submissions: editor@zfiction.com http://www.zfiction.com/ How To Submit If you're interested in submitting manuscripts for our consideration, please read this section. We publish science fiction and fantasy that LDS fans of that literary genre might enjoy reading. We hope to cover the whole gamut of speculative fiction. Some of our e-novels and e-stories will have Mormon characters and themes, some will be more mainstream (if you can call science fiction and fantasy mainstream!). Our definition of science fiction is rather broad and includes all flavors, including fantasy. Our definition of LDS science fiction is also pretty inclusive. The LDS elements in an acceptable story or novel can be obvious or implied. A good fantasy story about magic where Mormonism or religion isn't even mentioned is just as valid a candidate for publication as a science fiction story about finding the Lost City of Zarahemla, provided they have the following elements: * strong plot elements * believable characters * well-written in grammatically correct English Our preference is stories or novels about Mormons reacting to the speculative ramifications of their own doctrine or history. But don't let that dissuade you from writing a more mainstream general-audience piece. If you think Mormons would like reading what you write, send it to us. There are only two kinds of stories guaranteed never to see publication by us: "faith-promoting" stories and stories that "tell" rather than "show." Who Reads LDS Science Fiction? We have three kinds of readers in mind when we consider a story for publication. You should also keep these "virtual" persons in mind if you want to write something that we'll publish. The Fiction Lover This person is well-educated and may or may not be LDS. If LDS, he may or may not be an active participant. Nevertheless, this reader is also fascinated by Mormon doctrine, history, or life-way. He likes reading good LDS fiction whether it is published in =Sunstone= or the =Ensign=. He also enjoys well-written mainstream speculative fiction. The Fiction Reader has likely read Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov, and Orson Scott Card. The LDS Fiction Reader She may not be an SF fan in the classic sense. She may even refer to SF as "Sci-Fi." She may have seen every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but will probably never have heard of H. G. Wells' film =Things to Come. She may have read the various Star Trek and Star Wars novelizations. She might have read some of Orson Scott Card, but only because she heard he was Mormon. If you ask the LDS Fiction Reader who Norman Spinrad is, you'll likely receive a shrug of the shoulders and a blank stare. The LDS Science Fiction Reader He is a Mormon who reads speculative fiction almost exclusively. He attends all the science fiction conventions he can. He has more narrow tastes than the Fiction Reader who may or may not be LDS or the LDS Fiction Reader who may or may not be an SF fan. He not only reads Orson Scott Card, but can tell you the names of his wife and children. If you have a story or a novel that you think these kinds of readers would like, please feel free to submit it to us. Non-Fiction Currently, we publish fiction only. Nevertheless, we would be happy to consider any manuscript that would be particularly suited to electronic media and to an LDS audience. One example of such a non-fiction book might be a photo-album with commentary of early Church history sites, which we could make available on CD-ROM. Another possibility could be a CD-ROM of early Mormon recipes that could be searched and downloaded to the reader's computer. If you have an idea for a non-fiction book that you would like us to consider, please don't hesitate to submit it to us. Non-fiction will be published under the eLDS imprint. Payments and Royalties E-Novels For our e-novels, we cannot currently pay any advances against royalties. However because our publication costs are considerably lower than conventional paper publishers, we offer a generous royalty on copies sold of 50 percent of the cover price. Manuscript Format If possible, submissions should be in electronic form (on disk, or file by electronic mail). Disks can be either MS-DOS or Windows format. We cannot return disks. We prefer stories written in any version of Microsoft Word, using the Manuscript template, although we will also accept files in any of the major word processor formats, double-spaced or not. We also accept ASCII files. If sending ASCII files, please double space between paragraphs. Where to Send Your Manuscript Send your manuscripts electronically to this address: editor@zfiction.com To submit via snail-mail, use this address: ZION'S FICTION 56 N. Timpanogos Blvd. Orem, Utah 84057 We look forward to reading your submissions! [http://www.zfiction.com/How_To_Submit.htm] MARKET INFORMATION =Deadbolt= A writer on sff.net received a message from Jim Lay, editor of =Deadbolt=, saying that =Deadbolt= #8 will be its last. Mr. Lay says that with his new job, there's too much travel and his own writing is at stake, plus some other things he says he'd rather not mention. [sff.writing.response-times, 24 Mar 2000] =Pirate Writings= Ed McFadden, editor of =Pirate Writings=, says in an editorial on DNA Publications' web page, "=Pirate Writings= is Dead; Long Live =Fantastic=. As any long-time supporter of PW knows, I have thought about changing the name of the magazine many times. Ultimately, I decided that the name would stay until such time as it held the magazine back--that time came a year and half ago when ownership passed from Pirate Writings Publishing to DNA Publications. The name change is the culmination of discussions that took place between Warren Lapine and myself long before Warren became publisher of PW. We feel that the new name will provide more opportunities for the magazine to grow and become even more successful then it already is. In short, the new name is much more marketable in the mainstream than =Pirate Writings=. "Along with the name change come a few other major changes in the magazine. =Fantastic= will publish cutting-edge Science Fiction and Fantasy--sadly, Mystery has been dropped from our repertoire, as have some of the other genre-bending tales. However, =Fantastic= will continue in =Pirate Writings=' tradition of publishing stories that don't seem to fit anywhere else--stories that are unique. These changes also make the magazine more marketable. "Why this name? First, I love the name. It's the perfect name for a magazine edited by Ed McFadden. Second, I am very exited about becoming part of the great =Fantastic= tradition. For those of you who don't know, =Fantastic= was a top Science Fiction/Fantasy magazine in the '60s and early '70s. Publishing luminaries such as Roger Zelazny, =Fantastic= quickly became one [of] the top magazines in the field. I look forward to continuing the fine tradition of =Fantastic Stories= as we enter the new millennium." [http://www.sfsite.com/dnaweb/editorial.htm] =Terra Incognita= A writer on sff.net got a note indicating that he should expect the proofs for a story he'd sold to =Terra Incognita= soon. The story was submitted and accepted some 3 years ago. It looks like TI is reading and publishing again. [sff.writing.response-times, 27 Mar 2000] =The Writer's Network= The May 2000 issue of the =Writer's Network= will be the final issue. According to editor Lisa Jean Bothell, "The nature of information availability has changed for writers; now the savvy writer can locate five-six Web sites with free market information, and can get several free online newsletters, all of which lessens the need to purchase paper market publications. As a result the =Writer's Network= will cease publication with Vol. 7 Issue 2 in May 2000, and all remaining subscribers will receive the balance of their subscription fee in return when the last issue is mailed out in early May." Bast Media will still occasionally post market information on the Web site (http://www.jps.net/meszziah/bastmedia/) and may irregularly send out similar e-mail information to the free e-mail subscriber list, but the bimonthly print version and regular bimonthly e-mail issues will cease. For questions, or to be added to the occasional email list, please contact bastmedia@aol.com. [DarkEcho, 23 Mar 2000] ==End of CALLIHOO newsletter for 28 March 2000==