CALLIHOO Newsletter Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Julia West, Editor Vol. 10, No. 22 29 October 2002 Website: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE Deadlines Market Guidelines Artemis Magazine (gls) City Slab (gls) Market Information As of Yet Untitled (temp closed) DNA Publications Low Port anthology New Genre The Night Has Teeth anthology On Spec Planet Relish (off hiatus) Realms of Fantasy Strange Horizons To Die For anthology TOTU Do the Math by Jena Snyder ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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.) BYLINE NEW-TALENT SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 4 November 2002 [Writer who's never won a cash prize in a ByLine fiction contest. Max 5,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $50, $35, $25, $15. GLs in Vol. 9 No. 25)] NESFA 2003 SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 15 November 2002 [Contest, SF/F to 7500 wds, unpublished (professionally) writers only, no entry fee. Prize: $50 merchandise. No rights taken. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 14)] FIRST ANNUAL FIREBRAND FICTION/SFREADER.COM STORY CONTEST Deadline 30 November 2002 [Contest, SF/F/H 1,000-6,000 wds. No sim subs. Mult subs okay, separately. E-mail subs okay. 1st place $50 and pub, 2nd place $25 and pub, HM $20 and pub. No entry fee. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 15)] THE NATIONAL FANTASY FAN FEDERATION SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 1 December 2002 [Contest, SF/F/H. 1st place $50, 2nd $30, 3rd $20. Reading fee $2.00. No E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 1)] TOUCH OF NOIR Deadline 1 December 2002 [Antho, pulp detective/crime stories 4000-7000 wds (F/H elements okay). Pmt. percentage of royalties. E-mail subs only. RT 1-2 wks. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 14)] BYLINE SHORT-SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 5 December 2002 [Short story, any type or subject, to 2,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $60, $30, $20. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 25)] THE MOONLIGHT & MAGNOLIA FICTION WRITING CONTEST: SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, HORROR Deadline 15 December 2002 [Annual competition for new writers, SF/F/H to 10,000 wds. No reprints. Prizes: 1st $250, 2nd $100, 3rd $50. Entry fee $7.50 per story ($2.50 2nd and thereafter to 3 entries). (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 17)] WRITERS OF THE FUTURE, 1ST QUARTER 2003 Deadline 31 December 2002 [$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. 9 No. 1)] CRUX: A JOURNAL OF SPECULATIVE FICTION 1ST ISSUE CONTEST Deadline 15 January 2003 [Contest SF/F/H to 3,000 wds. Elements for contest are: "that grape soda feeling"; "the eye of Jupitor"; and unicorns. For summer 2003 issue. E-mail subs only. Sim subs and reprints ok. 1st place $20+pub. No accept. on contest entries until after deadline. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 14)] OCEANS OF THE MIND SPRING 2003 ISSUE: WOMEN WRITERS Deadline 1 February 2003 [Quarterly e-mailzine in .pdf format. SF to 8,000 words. Pays 5 cents/word & up. Themed. Prefers E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 7 and Vol. 10 No. 3)] POLYPHONY 3 ANTHOLOGY Open 1 January 2003 to 15 February 2003 [Anthology, slipstream/magical realism 4,000 to 10,000 wds. Pays 6 cents/wd. on accept. No E-mail, sim or mult subs. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 20)] PATH OF THE JUST SUPERHERO FICTION ANTHOLOGY Deadline 1 March 2003 [Anthology, F in Silver Age Sentinels RPG milieu, 3,000 to 7,000 wds. Pays 3-5 cents/wd. on pub. No E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 20)] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET GUIDELINES ARTEMIS MAGAZINE [Print mag, hard near-term SF to 15,000 wds. Pays 3-5 cents/wd. on accept. No e-mail subs. Include short bio with ms.] Ian Randal Strock, Editor 1380 East 17 Street, Suite 201 Brooklyn, NY 11230-6011 USA http://www.lrcpubs.com/artemismagazine/ =Artemis Magazine=--the new magazine for the new millennium--is published quarterly by LRC Publications, Inc. We publish an even mix of science and fiction in a full-sized (8.5" x 11"), glossy, full-color format. The science covers the gamut of anything our readers will need to know to build, get to, or live in a Moon base. The fiction is near-term, near-Earth, hard science fiction. We publish fact and fiction by some of the biggest names, and art you're sure to love. Are you an aspiring (or professional) writer or artist? If so, then =Artemis Magazine= needs you. Nearly all of our content is unsolicited, and we're happy to work with new writers. Before sending in your manuscript or copy of your portfolio, please make sure to read our guidelines at this location. Also, please remember that we don't accept electronic submissions, and we won't return anything that arrives without sufficient return postage and envelope (if your manuscript or portfolio is disposable, say so, and include a stamped business-sized envelope for our reply). About the Magazine: =Artemis Magazine= publishes science for an educated audience interested in space development, flight, and travel and the best in near-term, near-Earth, hard science fiction. Formed as an adjunct to the Artemis Project (a commercial venture to build a lunar colony), =Artemis Magazine= and its parent company, LRC Publications, are independent entities. Science: Articles should generally be limited to 5,000 words. We're looking for articles related to the development of lunar and near-Earth industries, including the role of the Moon in further development of space travel. Remember that the readers, in general, want to know how to get to, build, and live in a lunar colony. Target your work toward a general audience of educated, but not necessarily technically sophisticated, people. Include charts, tables, or photos if necessary, and explain them in the text. Illustrations should be separate from the text, with captions on a separate page. Fiction: We're looking for near-term, near-Earth, hard science fiction. As a supporter of the Artemis Project, we're looking especially for stories that aim at lunar and space development, but a good story is a good story. We want well-plotted, character-oriented stories. Technical accuracy is an absolute requirement, but don't bog down the story with unnecessary technical detail: remember that in good "science fiction," both terms ought to receive equal emphasis. We'll consider any length up to 15,000 words. Shorter is better. Mechanics: This is standard: on the first page, put your name, address(es), and phone number in the upper left corner; put the word count in the upper right corner. Print your manuscript double-spaced on 8.5" x 11" paper (or the local equivalent) in a legible font with 1-inch margins all around. Do not put it in a binder or staple the pages together. You don't need a separate title page. On every page after the first, in the upper right-hand corner, put your name, the page number, and enough of the title that we can reassemble your manuscript after we drop it on the floor and get it mixed up with a bunch of other papers. Don't use your word processor's ability to do fancy fonts, italics, or typesetting. Simply underline text to be italicized. Include an "about the author" paragraph with your manuscript. Include a self-addressed envelope with your manuscript with sufficient postage to get it back to you. If you don't want your manuscript back, mark it DISPOSABLE and include a business-size self-addressed, stamped envelope for our reply (it's very difficult to fold a check into a postcard). From outside the US, include International Reply Coupons. We will not respond to any submissions without return postage. And no, we do NOT accept electronic submissions. Art: We need artists to illustrate articles and stories. Send disposable photocopies of examples of your work along with notes about prior publication and the type of art you prefer to do. Cartoons and stock submissions are welcome. Payment: We pay on acceptance, 3 to 5 cents a word, for science and fiction. About the Artemis Project: The Artemis Project is a commercial venture to establish a permanent lunar colony and to exploit the Moon's resources for profit. Our strategy for this project is to use its entertainment value as much as possible to pay for its initial development. The Project is sponsored by The Lunar Resources Company. For more information on the Project, check out the web site at http://www.asi.org. A final note: These guidelines describe what we want. If you can write something that fits this bill, we want you. However, we're also open-minded enough to be interested in a story that contradicts everything written here, and yet won't let us reject it. You want us to read your manuscript: save us both some time, and read the magazine first. --Ian Randal Strock, Editor [http://www.lrcpubs.com/artemismagazine/guidelines.html] CITY SLAB: URBAN TALES OF THE GROTESQUE [Quarterly print mag, urban H to 5,000 wds. Pays 1-5 cents/wd. No 1st person. E-mail subs okay. Reprints may be read. No sim subs. RT 1-6 wks.] City Slab Publications Dave Lindschmidt, Editor 1705 Summit Ave. Apt. # 105 Seattle, WA 98122 Email: Dave@CitySlab.com http://www.cityslab.com/ =City Slab ~ Urban Tales of the Grotesque= wants to publish and promote stories that are taut, multi-leveled and well thought out. There is a uniqueness to life lived in an urban setting. Show me the grit and the contrast of the homeless masses with the well-to-do. Tell me a story about humanity's quest for sex or success or peace or bread. Keep at all times in mind that =City Slab= is a horror magazine and as such will lean toward tales with a definite supernatural element. Horror can be done without it, however, I see far too many of these. Stay away from the first person point of view. Omniscient or third person points better lend themselves to the rich narrative style that will grab and hold our attention. We see far too many stories that are not remotely urban. If your tale starts out in a cornfield or a strip mall I can tell it probably isn't going to be urban. This doesn't mean that only stories with heavy scenery of buildings and alleys are considered urban here. Paul Bates does a wonderful job in issue #1 of telling a story set in one room that has a fantastic urban feel to it. If you're serious about landing a story at =City Slab= you'll buy a copy and read it to see just what we're printing. By doing so, you'll not only increase your chances of landing a story through knowledge of the market, but help support the presses and be entertained in the bargain. I'm amazed at the number of writers who've bombarded me with story after story, but neither bothered to read the Web site's sample nor order a copy of issue #1. Stories must be no more than 5000 words in length. I would rather not see reprint submissions, but may, if the story warrants it, consider the piece at the lower end of the pay scale. MSS must be sent either via email--in the body of the mail--or via snail mail with a SASE. I realize some formatting is lost sending a story pasted, however, take the time to make sure the font size is at least 12 point and the lines are double spaced. Do not send simultaneous submissions. Stories sent as attachments will be deleted. Email: Dave@CitySlab.com. Feature Fiction: will be solicited and the payment negotiated. Payment: for regular fiction will be between 1 and 5 cents per word. Artists: Send in samples of work. Query for assignments. Cover art will be solicited and prices negotiated. Interior illos pay at flat rate. I would like to see photographic art, images of architecture, gargoyles etc. Must be copyrighted by submitter. Query with images that are horrific in nature. Non-fiction: We've accepted a couple of interviews for CS, but would also like to consider other types of journalistic works, stories that would be of interest to horror readers. Response times: These will vary depending on where I am in the publishing cycle. They will usually be between one and six weeks. We'll do our best not to leave you hanging. [http://www.cityslab.com/guidelines.html] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET INFORMATION AS OF YET UNTITLED Chris, of =As of Yet Untitled= magazine, said, "As we have filled our first issue, =As of Yet Untitled= is closing to submissions until the 7th of December. If you'd like any information from us, feel free to send a mail to thefabulousshow@yahoo.com" [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 25 Oct 02] DNA PUBLICATIONS Apparently rumors about the fiscal health of DNA Publications have showed up in several places. Here's a response from publisher Warren Lapine on the subject: "This isn't even close to being accurate. =Weird Tales= has always outsold all of our other fiction magazines and I have *never* said otherwise, nor do I use any creative accounting. And for what it's worth, both =Weird Tales= and =Dreams of Decadence= sell about twice as many copies as =Cemetery Dance=. We used to be with the same printer and I can assure you that both of our horror magazines sell more than =Cemetery Dance=='s entire print run." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&m=3506&sho w_all_topics=0, 10 Oct 02] LOW PORT ANTHOLOGY Steve Miller, one of the editors of the =Low Port anthology=, says, ". . .[here's what might be the] actual and real ToC. Might be a *very* slight order change, might be a story title will change *just a bit*... but most likely what you see before you is the skeleton of the beast." =Low Port= Table of Contents: Introduction by the Editors 1. Voyeur, Eric Witchey 2. Digger Don't Take No Requests, John D. Teehan 3. The Gate Between Hope and Glory, Holly Phillips 4. Riis Run, eluki bes shahar 5. Bidding the Walrus, Lawrence Schoen 6. The Gift, Laura J. Underwood 7. The Dock to Heaven, L.E. Modesitt, Jr. 8. Find a Pin, Ru Emerson 9. Sailing to the Temple, Alan Smale 10. The Pilgrim Trade, Mark W. Tiedemann 11. More to Glory, Patrice Sarath 12. Gonna Boogie with Granny Time, Sharon Lee 13. Angel's Kitchen, Chris Szego 14. Lair of the Lesbian Love Goddess, Edward McKeown 15. Contraband, Nathan Archer 16. Spinacre's War, Lee Martindale 17. Bottom of the Food Chain, Jody Lynn Nye 18. Zappa for Bardog, Joe Murphy 19. The Times She Went Away, Paul E. Martens 20. Scream Angel, Douglas Smith About the Authors "As close as we know the schedule, =Low Port= will appear in time for WorldCon in Toronto; we've talked over the cover ideas with the artist and art director but have yet to see a final." [sff.people.steve-miller, 19 Oct 2002] NEW GENRE A writer on the =Speculations= Rumor Mill said, "I corresponded with Adam Golaski [editor of =New Genre=] about three weeks ago. While he was cagey about response times, he did say the new issue should have come out on 15 October and that, '...in spite of delays, etc., =New Genre= is healthy as ever.'" [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&show_all_t opics=0, 29 Oct 02] THE NIGHT HAS TEETH ANTHOLOGY A writer on the Rumor Mill said, "One more note on =The Night Has Teeth=. Dark Vesper updated their breaking news page today and said that all outstanding subs to the antho should receive a reply by October 31." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&m=3466&sho w_all_topics=0, 4 Oct 02] ON SPEC Jena Snyder, production editor for =On Spec= magazine, said, "Here's the lineup for Fall 2002, our 50th issue:" fiction "Imprint" by John Park "'Sthetics" by Marc Brutschy "Beauty to the Beholder" by Susan Urbanek Linville "Kid Brother" by Kate Riedel "Soul Taster" by Ken Rand "The Gathering" by Michael Dewey "Suit Man" by David Yeh "Chocolate Kings" by Karen Traviss "A Gift for Michael Mooney" by Jancis M. Andrews art About our cover artist: James Beveridge nonfiction Editorial: "Why pride and determination keep us from wearing tinfoil hats" by Derryl Murphy On Film & SF: "Personal FX" by Steve Mohn [sff.publishing.onspec, 25 Oct 02] PLANET RELISH =Planet Relish= E-zine is not dead yet! PLANET RELISH E-ZINE RETURNING FROM HIATUS After a one-year hiatus, our monthly speculative humor magazine, =Planet Relish= E-zine, will make its grand return on January 1, 2003, with Issue #23. Submissions are now open for the January issue and all subsequent issues. Please refer to the updated guidelines at: http://www.planetrelish.com/submission.html ANNOUNCING THE NEW EDITORIAL STAFF OF PLANET RELISH E-ZINE Mark Rapacioli, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief After spending the past year as a virtual sex slave on the Island of Lost Toys, our founder has finally returned to the electronic publishing realm. Mark will continue to act as the publisher and webmaster, but will leave the story selection duties to the rest of the editorial staff. Steve Hallberg, Science Fiction Editor Steve Hallberg makes his editorial debut as the Science Fiction Editor. Steve was born in a previous century, which makes him a time-traveller of sorts. He hangs out in Canada, a suburb of the United States. Jennifer St. Clair, Fantasy/Horror Editor Also making her editorial debut is Jennifer St. Clair, our new Fantasy/Horror Editor. At various times in her life, Jennifer wanted to be an artist, archaeologist, vampire hunter, herpetologist, book dealer, singer, or poet. However, after almost forty novels, she has discovered the secret to writing success, and intends to retire to an island in the Caribbean--as soon as she remembers where she left her notes. Alan Bruce, Associate Editor Returning for more punishment is Alan Bruce, our Associate Editor. Alan likes coffee. Admiral "Jim" Feghoot, Punmaster Another of our founding members, the Admiral has also returned. When asked about the magazine's hiatus, he recently said, "For the record, we never broke up, we just took a fourteen year vacation." Fortunately, his time travel abilities made it possible for him to rejoin us here in the present. RETURN TO PLANET RELISH, THE BEST OF PLANET RELISH E-ZINE A special retrospective issue, =Return to Planet Relish=, will mark the rebirth of "The Web's First Speculative Humor Magazine"! These are stories chosen by the readers, as well as a couple of the publisher's favorite stories that deserve a second look. Selections include fiction by Naomi Kritzer, Steve Lazarowitz and Lazette Gifford. This special issue will be available on the web site, www.planetrelish.com, in November 2002. [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 24 Oct 02] REALMS OF FANTASY Carina Gonzalez, editorial assistant at =Realms of Fantasy=, says one of the fields on her database of received stories disappeared. She can still tell whether or not she received a story, just not what she did with it. When asked about Shawna McCarthy [=Realms of Fantasy= editor]'s backlog, she said, "Honestly? I think it's just due to vacations and the summer. I think she did a lot of traveling lately and so things stacked up. It's starting to settle though. I just sent about 25 letters out today. Yes, I know that's depressing because that means they were rejections, but at least it's progress, right?" In answer to the question 'How long should I wait before querying?' she said, "To be safest? Probably a couple of months. There is not a problem getting the story TO ME. The problem is, unfortunately, if your story is good enough to pass on to Ms. McCarthy. I never know what her situation is up to the moment and so once it leaves my hands with a pat on the back, there's no telling how long you might have to wait for a response, especially if SHE rejects it. She does not keep any records at all regarding submissions I give to her. "I'm sorry...I'm afraid I've been nothing but a bearer of bad news lately. I'm trying to go through this new batch as quickly as I can while still giving each story the attention it deserves." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&m=3546&sho w_all_topics=0, 17 Oct 02] Ms. Gonzalez then said, "In the hopes of speeding up response times for =Realms=, I've signed on another person to help me sift through slush. All stories that are to be passed on to Ms. McCarthy are still going to pass through me first. So in a way, stories that are passed on will now have double the approval. "This will obviously speed up our replies to authors, however, there is a downside to this as well. This means that I WILL NOT be seeing every single story anymore. It was wonderfully convenient to know first-hand every story that came in, but with our current volume, it's just no longer feasibly a one-human job. "Rest assured though that every single story WILL still be entered into my database, complete with the author's first and last name, the title of the story, the postmark date of the incoming envelope (if legible), the date it was read, and then what consideration I, or Loretta, gave to it. "In addition, my e-mail address alone will remain for correspondence. (cgonzalez__@hotmail.com--TWO UNDERSCORES) I don't know how long Loretta will remain on board, and so don't want her receiving random e-mails from authors years after she's left. "I hope this move helps everybody..." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&m=3546&sho w_all_topics=0, 23 Oct 02] STRANGE HORIZONS Jed Hartman, one of the fiction editors for =Strange Horizons=, said, "Regarding email being lost in the mail: We in the =Strange Horizons= fiction dept. have received about a dozen notes in the past year from people who didn't receive rejection letters we sent them and from people who had sent us stories that never reached us. I suspect there are at least that many more people for whom the same thing has happened but they haven't contacted us about it, assuming instead that we just didn't bother to reply to their submission. So entirely based on our anecdotal evidence and arbitrary extrapolation from same, I'm guessing that something like 1 in 200 of the messages that we send and receive are disappearing. That's a distressingly high number, especially since I'm used to thinking of email as incredibly reliable. "I imagine that some of the problem is due to human error at one end or the other, and/or to misremembering things and lack of record-keeping. But it happens often enough, with enough different authors, that I suspect there's something technically weird going on as well, somewhere in the depths of the network. (And it's always a transient failure; when we respond to the query, the author almost always drops us a note to let us know that they received our response.) "All we can do about it is try to spread the word as far as possible that authors should *always* query us (politely) if (a) they don't receive an autoresponder message within 72 hours of submission, or (b) they don't receive a response from an editor within 60 days of submission." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&m=3506&sho w_all_topics=0, 12 Oct 02] TO DIE FOR ANTHOLOGY Carol Burrell, editor of the =To Die For= anthology, said, "Due to ill health of the editor (that would be me), publication has been slightly delayed. We're currently working on contacting all the authors and bringing them up to date, and the book is back in production. We'll be sure to keep everyone informed." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&m=3506&sho w_all_topics=0, 11 Oct 02] TOTU A writer on the Rumor Mill said, "I spoke with Eric Heideman, =TOTU='s editor, last night, and he asked that I pass this along. He has read and rejected approximately two thirds of the submissions. He's down to about 70 stories, and he plans to respond to everyone in some way or another by Halloween. However he may not have final selections made until the end of the year, so the response could be of the "this piece is close, please be patient," variety. If you have not heard by Halloween or shortly thereafter, by all means query." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 23 Oct 02] ----------------------------------------------------------------- DO THE MATH by Jena Snyder [reprinted by permission from sff.publishing.onspec and www.nakedbootleg.blogspot.com A while back, I followed a link on a writing site and found myself in the middle of a group discussing writing. Lots of interesting topics, good questions, but when I'm on slo-dem (Telus manages to run internet out here in the boonies at the blazing speed of 28.8), I can't afford to spend too much time online. I decided to subscribe to the group and read the posts later, when I was at home and on DSL. I signed up using my non-forwarding canada.com address to keep all the posts together. A month later, I did the obligatory every-30-days login to my canada.com addresses ... and discovered I had over 670 unread messages. All posts from the writing group that I'd forgotten about. Think of it: if every message was 100 words long (this post is 130 words at this point), then the group had posted 87,100 words, the equivalent of one short novel or seventeen 5000-word short stories, or twenty-nine 3000-word stories, all in a month. What I want to know: how many words of fiction did they write in the same time period? As of today, my new year's resolution is Fiction First. I'm going to check my email in the morning as usual, reply to business- related or time-sensitive messages; work on my day-job till noon; then write in the afternoon and evening until I hit the bare minimum of 500 words, aiming for an average of 1000, and hoping for at least 2000. Let's face it: writing about writing isn't writing. At least not when your aim is to write something you can sell. Sometimes it's useful, sometimes it's the only social activity writers engage in, sometimes it's the only thing that keeps us sane when the muse isn't cooperating. But if our aim is to publish, writing about writing isn't moving the plot forward, is it? I have a body to discover now: not too fresh, skin slipping, the bloom of putrefaction rising like flies... Yeah. Feels good. Jump in -- the water's fine. ==End of the CALLIHOO Newsletter for 29 October 2002==