CALLIHOO Newsletter Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Julia West, Editor Vol. 11, No. 5 1 July 2003 Website: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE News Seven Secrets Deadlines Contest Garden State Horror Writers Short Story Contest (11th) (gls) Market Guidelines Amazing Stories (gls) Market Information 3F Publications Alexandria Digital Literature Black October Eggplant Productions (hiatus) Elysian Fiction EOTU (warning) Fortean Bureau Fresh Blood Anthology (dead) Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine Gila Queen's Guide to Markets Grimoire (warning) Ideomancer (temp closed) Jintsu (hiatus) Leng! (warning) Lingering Dementia (dead) microSHOCKS ROC Spellbound (hiatus) Strange Horizons The Third Alternative ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS SEVEN SECRETS Ken Rand is going to present "The Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Writers" on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 2 p.m. at the Kearns branch of the Salt Lake County Library. Free admission. There will be handouts. Come prepared to take lots of notes. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 5 July 2003 [Fiction on any topic, to 5,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $70, $35, $20. Winners not printed; no rights taken. No reprints or E-mail subs. Mult subs okay with separate entry fees. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] THE PHOBOS WRITING CONTEST Deadline 31 July 2003 [Contest, SF to 7500 wds. 12 $500 prizes + possible pub in antho. No entry fee. Entrants 18 years or older. Up to 3 entries per person. Include entry form with each. E-mail subs only. No reprints or collaborations. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 3)] OCEANS OF THE MIND FALL 2003 ISSUE: SCIENCE FICTION MYSTERIES Deadline 1 August 2003 [PDF magazine, SF to 8,000 wds. Pays from 5 cents/wd. Mysteries. Robbery, murder, piracy, locked room. No H/F/S&S. Prefers E-mail subs. Sim subs okay. RT E-mail 4-5 wks, snail 6- 8 wks. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 29)] MYTHOLOG STORIES FOR PEACE CONTEST Deadline 2 August 2003 [Contest, stories for peace with mythic theme. Prize $50 + pub. No reprints. All entries considered for pub in Mytholog (no pay). Mult subs okay (separate E-mails). E-mail subs only. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 4)] BYLINE 1ST CHAPTER OF A NOVEL CONTEST Deadline 5 August 2003 [Opening chapter of unpub novel. Mainstream or genre; adult or YA audience. Max 25 pages. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $70, $40, $25. Winners not printed; no rights taken. No reprints or E-mail subs. Mult subs okay with separate entry fees. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] ELEVENTH ANNUAL GARDEN STATE HORROR WRITERS SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 15 August 2003 [Annual contest, H/SF/F/Myst/Susp/Thriller/ Romance to 1500 wds. 1st prize $100, 2nd $50, 3rd $25. Entry fee $10. E-mail subs only. No reprints. Mult subs okay; entry fee for each. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 5)] TALES OF THE UNANTICIPATED Open 15 July to 15 August 2003 [Annual printzine, spec fic/F/H to 10,000 wds. Pays 1-1/2 to 2 cents/wd. No serials. No e-mail subs. Reprints and sim subs okay if say. Up to 3 mult subs. RT long. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 4)] NEW MOON MAR./APR. 2004 ISSUE: FEELIN' GROOVY (MUSIC & DANCE) Deadline 1 September 2003 [Bimonthly printzine, fiction for girls 8-14. Fiction about girls/women 900-1200 wds (prints 3 to 6 per year). Occasionally serializes longer fiction. Buys all rts. Sim subs and reprints okay if notify. Prefer E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] BYLINE GENRE FICTION CONTEST Deadline 5 September 2003 [Short story that fits category: romance, sci-fi, confession, mystery, western, etc. No children's stories. Max 5,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $50, $30, $15. Winners not printed; no rights taken. No reprints or E-mail subs. Mult subs okay with separate entry fees. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] THE MANY FACES OF VAN HELSING Deadline 15 September 2003 [Antho, H (mostly) about Van Helsing to 8,000 wds. Pays 8-10 cents/wd. + share of royalties. No mult or E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 3)] WRITERS OF THE FUTURE, 4TH QUARTER 2003 Deadline 30 September 2003 [$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. 10 No. 33)] THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THEMES IN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY Assignments between 1 July 2003 and 1 October 2003 [Encyclopedia entries on SF/F themes and classic works. 400 1,000-wd. themes, 200 1,000-word classic works. Pays $45 per entry. Query first. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 4)] BYLINE FLASH FICTION CONTEST Deadline 10 October 2003 [Short story or vignette under 1,000 words, which nevertheless feels complete. These often depend on atmosphere and technique more than plot. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $50, $30, $15. GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] POLYPHONY 4 Open 1 September 2003 to 15 October 2003 [Print antho, lit spec fic 4,000-10,000 wds. Pays 6 cents/wd. to $600 on accept. No E-mail subs (except overseas), reprints, or sim or mult subs. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 4)] NEW MOON MAY/JUN. 2004: 25 BEAUTIFUL GIRLS Deadline 1 November 2003 [Bimo. print, fiction for girls 8-14, abt. girls/ women 900-1200 wds (prints 3 to 6 per yr.). Occasionally serializes longer fiction. Buys all rts. Sim subs and reprints okay if notify. Prefer E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] OCEANS OF THE MIND WINTER 2003: AUSTRALIAN WRITERS Deadline 1 November 2003 [PDF magazine, SF to 8,000 wds. Pays from 5 cents/wd. No H/F/S&S. Prefers E-mail subs. Sim subs okay. RT E-mail 4-5 wks, snail 6-8 wks. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 29)] BYLINE NEW-TALENT SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 5 November 2003. Open to writers who have never won cash prize in a ByLine fiction contest. Maximum 5,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $50, $35, $25, $15. Winners not printed; no rights taken. No reprints or E-mail subs. Mult subs okay; separate entry fees. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] DAIKAIJU ANTHOLOGY Deadline 30 November 2004 [Antho, giant monster stories to 12,000 wds. Pays Aus$30/story. Enquire for E-mail subs. GLs in Vol. 10 No. 31)] BYLINE SHORT-SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 5 December 2003 [Short story of any type or subject, to 2,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $60, $30, $20. Winners not printed; no rights taken. No reprints or E-mail subs. Mult subs okay with separate entry fees. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] NEW MOON JUL./AUG. 2004 ISSUE: IT'S NOT EASY BEIN' GREEN (THE ENVIRONMENT) Deadline 1 January 2004 [Bimo. print, fiction for girls 8-14, abt. girls/ women 900-1200 wds (prints 3 to 6 per year). Occasionally serializes longer fiction. Buys all rts. Sim subs and reprints okay if notify. Prefer E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] OCEANS OF THE MIND SPRING 2004 ISSUE: COLONIES Deadline 1 February 2004 [PDF themed mag, SF to 8,000 wds. Pays from 5 cents/wd. Science Fiction stories about colonies. How they do or don't survive, the challenges and rewards. No H/F/S&S. Prefers E-mail subs. Sim subs okay. RT E-mail 4-5 wks, snail 6-8 wks. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 29)] NEW MOON SEPT./OCT. 2004 ISSUE: IF I HAD A HAMMER Deadline 1 March 2004 [Bimonthly printzine, fiction for girls 8-14. Fiction about girls/women 900-1200 wds (prints 3 to 6 per year). Occasionally serializes longer fiction. Buys all rts. Sim subs and reprints okay if notify. Prefer E-mail subs. NEW MOON NOV./DEC. 2004 ISSUE: WHAT A GIRL WANTS (READERS' CHOICE AWARDS) Deadline 1 May 2004 [Bimonthly printzine, fiction for girls 8-14. Fiction about girls/women 900-1200 wds (prints 3 to 6 per year). Occasionally serializes longer fiction. Buys all rts. Sim subs and reprints okay if notify. Prefer E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] OCEANS OF THE MIND SUMMER 2004: SPIRITUAL SCIENCE FICTION Deadline 1 May 2004 [PDF themed magazine, SF to 8,000 wds. Pays from 5 cents/wd. No H/F/S&S. Prefers E-mail subs. Sim subs okay. RT E-mail 4-5 wks, snail 6-8 wks. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 29)] ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONTEST ELEVENTH ANNUAL GARDEN STATE HORROR WRITERS SHORT STORY CONTEST [Annual contest, H/SF/F/Myst/Susp/Thriller/Romance to 1500 wds. 1st prize $100, 2nd $50, 3rd $25. Entry fee $10. E-mail subs only. No reprints. Mult subs okay; entry fee for each. Open 15 Jun to 15 Aug 2003.] Send payment to: GSHW Short Story Contest PMB 134 121 Hawkins Place Boonton NJ 07005 Submissions: GSHW@optonline.net www.gshw.net/contests.html Prizes: First Prize: $100 and The Graversen Award Second Prize: $50 Third Prize: $25 Each eligible entry will be critiqued by three published writers and/or editors! This year there is no theme! Let your imagination run wild, but please, no more than 1500 words. Entries can be in any genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Romance RULES: See www.gshw.net/contests.html for complete details and the latest updates. 1. Entry fee is $10 per story ($7 for GSHW members). Check or money order payable to GSHW (non-US authors, send only US Money Orders or checks drawn on a US bank). 2. E-mail submissions ONLY! 3. Word limit: Up to 1500 words (1500 words is the absolute maximum). 4. Entries must be unpublished and not accepted by any publisher at time of contest submission. 5. Submission Format: Story file must be sent as an attached RTF (Rich Text Format) -- no exceptions! Please check the formatting instructions at www.gshw.net/contests.html before sending your file. The subject of the email must be "GSHW Contest Submission" The body of your email must contain the following: Name Mailing address and phone number e-mail address Title of story and word count File name for the attached story The genre that you think the story belongs in This information must also be on the first page of your story. 6. Send payment and the same information included in the body of your e-mail as detailed above. Include your name or story title on the memo portion of the check or money order. 7. Score sheets and critiques will be returned at the end of the contest by e-mail - be sure to give a valid e-mail address! 8. You may enter as many times as you like, but must pay the entry fee for each submission. Note: Disregarding any of the above guidelines WILL disqualify your entry. Contest opens June 15, 2003 and closes August 15, 2003. Payment, regardless of postmark, must be received before August 15, 2003. Winners will be announced at the GSHW 2003 October/Halloween meeting. Winners unable to attend the meeting will receive their prizes by mail. Decision of the judges is final. Entries are assigned to the judges solely by the contest committee at random -- no requests, no exceptions. E-mail entries to: GSHW@optonline.net Send payment to: GSHW Short Story Contest, PMB 134, 121 Hawkins Place, Boonton NJ 07005. Your submission will not be processed until we receive your entry fee! GSHW Short Story Contest Submissions Format Tips Submissions should be sent as e-mail attachments. For example, in Outlook you would either click the paperclip icon at the top of the message, or select "attach file" from the insert menu. Other e-mail programs should be similar. The header information at the start of the story (see below) should be included in body of the email. It should also be included with the payment. Your story should be in RTF. RTF, also known as "Rich Text Format" is compatible with most word processing software. For example, to save a Word document, you would do File -> Save As, and select RTF from the "Save as Type" bar at the bottom. Most other word processing programs have similar options. Your RTF file should be formatted with: 12 pt Courier font No header No footer Left Justified margins Italics as either the italic font or underline Do not put your name after the title. Your story should look like this: Ivanna Whin 123 Lucky Street Las Vegas NV 77777 (123) 456 7891 imawriter@isp.com File: mystory.rtf "Grave Robbers from Paradise" 1499 words Grave Robbers from Paradise This is where the story starts. Igor was a lonely grave robber ever since Dr. Frankenstein left. He tried to meet new people, but the villagers just didn't have the same interests. "I know what I can do," Igor said to himself. He had no one else to talk to. His footsteps echoed down the empty halls of Castle Frankenstein. And so on . . . For more information on the Garden State Horror Writers, or on upcoming meetings, feel free to contact us via Email: Mary SanGiovanni, GSHW President. Or by telephone at: 973.625.9512 [http://www.gshw.net/contests.html] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET GUIDELINES AMAZING STORIES [Soon-to-be-reincarnated print, SF/F/H 1,000-10,000 wds. Pays 6- 8 cents/wd.] =Amazing Stories= is a full-sized quarterly magazine. Each issue includes top-quality short fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and occasionally horror) by freelance writers. The fiction ranges in length from 1,000 words up to 10,000 words. Authors who want to submit material should send in full manuscripts; we prefer not to receive queries. =Amazing Stories=, the world's first science fiction magazine, is open to submissions of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories--but we have a strong preference for science fiction. Within all of those genres, we want the best stories we can get. Isn't that true of any magazine? Well, yes. No editor is willingly going to settle for less than the finest material. But in =Amazing Stories=, we want to be aggressive about breaking new ground. We want to push the envelope a little farther with every issue we publish. We want stories that not only stand at the frontier of speculative fiction, but expand that frontier. PAY: 6-8 cents per word Guidelines: http//www.wizards.com/Amazing/writers_fiction.asp [NOT a going concern yet] A writer on sff.net notes, "Wizards [of the Coast] hasn't been in the magazine business directly for some time--DRAGON and its associated gaming magazines are still being published under much the same staff, but via a new company (Paizo Publishing) under license from Wizards. "Paizo has now apparently picked up a license to add AMAZING to this stable, but as of last night [27 Jun 03] neither the Wizards nor Paizo Web sites had any information on what was going on. No word at all as to who might be editing the magazine under the new arrangement. I note, though, that the guideline statement opens the magazine to fantasy and horror, which was not a part of the mix under the most recent Mohan incarnation." ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET INFORMATION 3F PUBLICATIONS Elizabeth Peake, one of the owners of 3F Publications, resigned due to health reasons. Because of this several of their anthologies have been dropped, including =Fresh Blood= and =Lingering Dementia=. =microSHOCKS= is still a going concern. [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&show_all_t opics=0, 25-27 Jun 03] ALEXANDRIA DIGITAL LITERATURE The Alexandria Digital Literature site was recently unavailable (except for the opening page) for several weeks. After some time, Dave Howell finally explained, "On June 8th, some kind of digital fish bone got caught in our poor neglected database server's, er, somewhere. We're still not sure exactly what. Most regrettably, both Ted and I have been swamped, and simply haven't been watching www.alexlit.com that carefully. (More on swamps in a minute.) "The site's more or less normal as of two days ago; a bunch of you logged on on the 28th and 29th. On the other hand, as of five minutes ago, that fish bone had reappeared. We'll restart the db server this evening, and I'll be rewriting some of the code tomorrow to dodge or dislodge whatever-it-is. "The most up-to-date and reliable [E-mail address] is just "dave" at SeattleBook.com, although @alexlit.com is also operational (but geez it gets hundreds of spam messages per day, sigh). "Our corporate phone line currently lands here at my place, but unrelated computer misbehaviour some months ago took the voice mail system off line, and since 98% of all calls to the number are solicitors, I've learned never to answer it in person. Maybe one day we'll actually have staff. That would be very nice. "Swamps: Ted was occupied by the annual Bookseller's convention (BEA, formerly ABA), at which our services as found at www.RosettaMachine.com were enthusiastically received. It isn't *quite* as much "fun" as AlexLit.com, but it has a much stronger potential (at least in the short term) as a business proposition, so that's mostly what we're doing these days. We definitely expect, once Seattle Book Company has secured long-term funding, to come back and enhance some of our other assets. That will certainly include re-writing all the web logic from the ground up for www.alexlit.com. [Although I still think Tango is one of the best-est middleware systems I've ever laid eyes on (vis a vis Cold Fusion, Microsoft's ASP, Java, Perl, PHP, ad nauseum), it is rather dramatically obsolete. Sigh.] "My swamps are of a somewhat more personal nature. Aside from the 1,001 business things (currently including working on a patent application and getting ready to run royalty statements), there's the . . . buying a house thing . . . and the proposing marriage thing. . . ." When asked what had happened to Tale.com, which had become a subsidiary of Alexlit, Dave Howell said, "The tale.com server had a catastrophic event that resulted in the loss of a significant amount of the database underlying it last December. "Rights to the domain "tale.com" are still quite definitely held by Seattle Book Company. (I got an inquiry last month from somebody who wondered if they could buy it.) ". . .it is still our intention to restore access to those stories through alexlit.com, as permitted by the authors involved." [sff.publishing.alexlit, 30 June 03] BLACK OCTOBER A writer on the =Speculations= Rumor Mill reported an 18-month rejection from =Black October=, apologizing for the delay and promising their response times are improving. [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=201&m=16423&sh ow_all_topics=0, 29 June 03] EGGPLANT PRODUCTIONS A writer on the Rumor Mill said, "I don't think Eggplant Productions is quite OK. [Publisher] Raechel has had to turn her attention away from her writing and publishing activities, and she has not said when she will return." Another writer added, "Yes, sadly, =Spellbound= is going on hiatus, and Jintsu won't be buying any new material for the time being, at least. She'll still be selling what she's already purchased, I believe, and the Library will still keep going." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&show_all_t opics=0, 21 Jun 03] ELYSIAN FICTION Monissa Whiteley uploaded issue 4 of =Elysian Fiction= on May 30th, so it is still a going concern. [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 30 May 03] EOTU A writer on the Rumor Mill said of =EOTU=, "The editor had written me an email about a month before it came out and told me that one of my stories had a "maybe" and was under consideration, and I never heard from the guy again. I was surprised to see the June issue up one day and my story not in it, and a rejection wasn't waiting in my mailbox. "I emailed the editor and told him it wasn't very nice to leave a story in his black hole of slush when it could be submitted elsewhere. The guy never bothered to answer my email, so I have EOTU in my "never submit to again" list." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&show_all_t opics=0, 20 Jun 03] FORTEAN BUREAU Jeremy Tolbert, editor of =Fortean Bureau=, said, "=The Fortean Bureau= (http://www.forteanbureau. com/) would be interested in seeing hypertext fiction. Just post it to a website where we can see it (and don't make it public on your main website or anything)and send us the URL." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=1249&show_all_ topics=0, 16 Jun 03] FRESH BLOOD ANTHOLOGY A writer on the Rumor Mill said, "The =Fresh Blood Anthology= died this morning taking my story with it. The publisher canceled the project." (See 3F Publications above) [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=201&m=16383&sh ow_all_topics=0, 25 June 03] FUTURES MYSTERIOUS ANTHOLOGY MAGAZINE Daniel E. Blackston said, "I've been named the "Senior Speculative Fiction Editor" for =Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine=. This means the speculative fiction section of this nationally distributed and award winning print pub will soon be wide open to submissions -- from new writers and pros alike. Full guidelines for fiction are available at the FMAM website, http://www.fmam.biz/ "It's essential that all unsolicited submissions go through FMAM's publisher *before* they come to me; however, here are some specs for what I'm going to be looking for. "I want stories that effectively blend speculative elements, whether science fiction, fantasy, or horror with the traditional elements of mystery stories. I'm also very interested in seeing stories that combine cutting edge sub-genres such as: steam-punk, slipstream, magical realism, urban fantasy, etc. with the pace and plotting of suspense stories. The speculative element of the fiction may be any permutation the writer can imagine, but this element must be *essential* to the story, meaning without that element, the story would collapse. "FMAM is a fine magazine with a diverse content and a wide audience. Though the pub is technically semi-pro because of its pay rate, there's nothing semipro about its contents, staff, or mission. We are actively seeking new writers and welcome submissions from anyone regardless of their publishing history. [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 25 June 03] THE GILA QUEEN'S GUIDE TO MARKETS =The Gila Queen's Guide to Markets= is now an electronic market newsletter, and its new URL is http://GilaQueen.us - the old ".com" domain got snapped up by an Italian porn vendor. GRIMOIRE A writer on the Rumor Mill said, "I tried to withdraw a =Grimoire= sub last night and the e-mail bounced." Another replied, "I've had no response from either =Grimoire= or =Leng!= (Same editorial team). "Am beginning to suspect nonstarting w/regard to these projects, but it's a good enough place to keep a story for a while until another market opens up..." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=201&m=16383&sh ow_all_topics=0, 26 June 03] IDEOMANCER Chelsea Polk said, "=Ideo= is closing to submissions for the month of July, so we can take a break. all these stories are keeping us busy! We will reopen August 1." [sff.publishing.ideomancer, 23 Jun 03] Amber, one of =Ideomancer='s editors, said, "I am pleased to announce (hahaha) that we are giving our staff the month of July off. We will be closed as of July 1, reopening August 1st. ". . .many of us are going to Torcon, so responses during the later weeks of August will be, erm, sporadic and probably non-existent. "It should be noted that Jennifer de G, our slipstream editor, is no longer on the =Ideo= team (we still love her, she just turned into the busiest not-a-goth in the planet), Marsha is at Clarion, and one of our part-time staff members, Pam, is also on leave. "So, if we seem a little slower, it's because we're a tad under-staffed. Mostly because we're used to having all the staff in the universe." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=1249&show_all_ topics=0, 23 Jun 03] ROC A writer on sff.net said, "Despite market guide instructions for submission of queries, a form letter states that "It is our policy to consider only solicited material, which is best achieved through a literary agent.". The letter goes on to state that personal contact with or referral to the editor might cause an exemption to the agent rule." [sff.writing.response-times, 30 Jun 03] STRANGE HORIZONS Jed Hartman, one of the fiction editors for =Strange Horizons=, said, "We at =Strange Horizons= have been seeing a surprising number of submissions lately in which the author puts their email address in the cover letter, but that address bounces. In all but one case, the address in the From line of the email turned out to work fine. (In that one case, we have no way to reach the author at all.) "So this is just a reminder: if you put your email address into a cover letter (and we ask that you do for =SH= subs, and almost everyone's been good about that), please make certain that the address you're putting in the cover letter will actually reach you." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 29 June 03] THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE A writer on the Rumor Mill said, "I get more respect from the British address [for =The Third Alternative=]. Also, they want to be known as TTA Press USA at the American address." [www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=201&m=16423&show_all_ topics=0, 28 June 03] ==End of the CALLIHOO Newsletter for 1 July 2003==