CALLIHOO Newsletter Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Julia West, Editor Vol. 8, No. 9 2 January 2001 Website: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue Altair Speculative Fiction Magazine Anotherealm Back Brain Recluse (gls) Back Brain Recluse Extremes 2, 3 and 4 Reality's Escape Strange Horizons (gls) Would That It Were (gls) Writer Online (gls) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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.) Writers of the Future, 1st quarter 2001 Deadline 31 January 2001 [$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)] =Anamnesis= Poetry Chapbook Award Competition Deadline March 2001 [Poetry, SF/F/H okay, submit 20-30 pages of poems, prize $1000, reprints okay, entry fee $15US, no E-mail subm, (GLs in Vol. 8, No. 2)] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET GUIDELINES =Back Brain Recluse= [Volumes to include novels, short fiction collections, anthologies, nonfiction, or media. Send proposal. Publish several titles per year.] Chris Reed, Editor & Publisher. PO Box 625 Sheffield S1 3GY, UK E-mail (No Subs; enquiries only): backbrainrecluse@bbr-online.com Writer's Resources: http://www.bbr-online.com/writers URL: www.bbr-online.com/backbrainrecluse GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS Please note that BBR is now closed to unsolicited short story submissions. BBR welcomes proposals from authors and editors for future volumes in the Back Brain Recluse sequence. These might include novels, short fiction (original or collected) by a single author, edited anthologies, non-fiction works, or new media projects. As we expect to publish no more than a couple of titles per year, please therefore include the following information when submitting your proposal to us: * A brief summary of the project -- a short description of the relevant features, with a short synopsis for novels, plus an outline of the key differences between this title and others already available and selling. * Selling features -- factual reasons why this title can be expected to be more successful than other similar titles, and any interesting extra information which can provide a feel for this title. Include anything which will make it special and differentiate it from others we might currently be considering, plus reviews of previously published work, endorsements by well-known writers, etc. * Your ideal back cover blurb. Please send your proposal to Chris Reed at the Editorial Address. [Ralan Conley's market list, http://www.ralan.com/, 10 Dec 2000] =Strange Horizons= [Weekly webzine. SF/F/DF/H/SpecFic to 5,000 wds. Pays 3 cents/word (fiction). Prefers E-mailed subm. No sim or mult subs or reprints.] Mary Anne Mohanraj, Editor-in-Chief E-mail (subs) see various departments: fiction@strangehorizons.com articles@strangehorizons.com poetry@strangehorizons.com reviews@strangehorizons.com gallery@strangehorizons.com E-mail (general info): editor@strangehorizons.com URL: www.strangehorizons.com Fiction Submission Guidelines information Fiction Editors: Susan Marie Groppi, Jed Hartman, Chris Heinemann What We Want and What We Don't Want We're looking for high-quality stories that explore both the possible and the impossible: stories about human and nonhuman experience, about reality and dreams, about the here-and-now and otherwhere-and-elsewhen. We want stories from imaginative and unconventional writers; we want voices from diverse perspectives and backgrounds. We want stories that have some literary depth but aren't boring; styles that are unusual yet readable; structures that balance inventiveness with traditional narrative. We like characters we can care about. We like settings and cultures that we don't see all the time in speculative fiction. We like fantasy (especially urban fantasy). Dark fantasy is fine, but we're not looking for outright gore-horror. We like magic realism, "slipstream," and even a dash of the surreal now and then, as long as it's readable. We also like science fiction, as long as it involves three-dimensional characters and interesting stories, not just science puzzles. If half your story explains a scientific or technological phenomenon, this is probably not the right venue for it. Any sex and violence in the story should be artistically justified; no excessive gore. Here are some of our favorite short-fiction writers: Joan Aiken, Greg Bear, Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, Ted Chiang, Samuel R. Delany, Greg Egan, Harlan Ellison, Nicola Griffith, Zenna Henderson, Nancy Kress, Raphael Aloysius Lafferty, Ursula K. LeGuin, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Cordwainer Smith, Theodore Sturgeon, James Tiptree, Jr., Connie Willis. Consider those names as signposts mapping out some of the literary landscape we'd like to cover. This is by no means a complete list, and of course your work should be in your own style, not the styles of any of these writers. Pay Rates and Lengths We prefer stories under 5000 words. We will consider longer submissions (up to novella length; no novels, please); however, longer works may be published in installments. We pay 3 cents/word. We buy first-printing world exclusive rights for two months. After that period, you are free to republish the story elsewhere. We hope (but do not require) that you'll allow us to post the story in our archives indefinitely after it's rotated off the main table of contents. You have the right to remove your story from the archives at any time. How to Submit Email stories to fiction@strangehorizons.com. Type "FICTION SUB: Your story title" in the subject line. Please don't leave out either the "FICTION SUB:" part or the story-title part. Stories should be in plain text (also known as ASCII) format in the body of your email message, not an attachment. Stories submitted as attachments will be returned unread. (One way to insert the story into the body of a message: use your word processor's Save As Text command to save the story, then copy the resulting text and paste it into an email message, then format as follows.) Formatting: Use two line breaks (double spacing) to indicate paragraph breaks. Place _underscores_ at the beginning and end of a word or phrase to indicate italics; use *asterisks* to indicate boldface. For any other special formatting, please include an explanatory note. Submissions which are not properly formatted may not be read. For information about cover letters and an example of how to format your submission, see our additional guidelines page. We strongly prefer email submissions. If that's not feasible, we may be able to accommodate alternatives; write and ask. Don't send us your story until you have thoroughly proofread it. Accepted submissions may be edited for clarity or to correct minor errors, but submissions which do not meet minimum standards for correct spelling and grammar will be rejected, except in cases of obvious artistic license. Spellcheckers can be useful, but in many cases they merely compound spelling errors; if you're uncertain about your spelling, ask a human to proofread your story. To help us keep our response time down, please wait until we accept or reject each story before sending us another story. Sorry, no simultaneous submissions or reprints. Material other than fiction should be submitted to the appropriate editor. Articles Submission Guidelines information Editors: Alex Harman, David Horwich, Catherine Pellegrino What We Want Our goal is to publish a regular rotation of non-fiction articles, including interviews with authors of speculative fiction, articles on aspects of science (such as astronomy, ballistics, artificial intelligence) or historical technologies (such as metalsmithing, leatherworking, camping and hunting) that would be of interest to readers and writers of speculative fiction, and criticism of books, movies, games and any other media relating to speculative fiction (see below on reviews versus critical articles). Interviews Although the staff will conduct some interviews, we encourage our readers to seek out authors and interview them themselves. If you know someone who writes speculative fiction, whether they're famous or just starting out, and you'd like to interview them, let us know; we'll advise you on interview techniques and guide you toward good questions and topics to bring up. Science and Technology Articles on science and technology should be directed to an audience of non-experts. What should someone who knows nothing about, say, astronomy, know about the orbits of planets and moons in order to understand the tides of a world with a workable double-moon system? What kinds of blacksmithing techniques are reasonable to assume on a world with 15th century Earth technology? Critical Articles Criticism and reviews are two commonly confused types of writing about literature and other media. A review is generally written about a current or recent work, and its primary purpose is to answer the reader's question, "do I want to read this book (see this movie, play this game)?" A critical article assumes that the reader has already read the book (seen the movie, played the game) in question, or is at least familiar with the author's work, and then moves on from there to discuss broader issues generated by those books, movies, or games. For example, an article might discuss the use of Judeo-Christian motifs in the movie "Tron", or trace the influence of the works of Robert Heinlein on the "Eight Worlds" system of John Varley. One crucial difference between reviews and literary criticism is that, because reviews assume that the reader hasn't read the book, and criticism assumes that she has, criticism is free to give away the plot, spoiling any surprises or dramatic moments that may occur in the book. If what you're more interested in is writing reviews, please contact the Reviews editors. Pay Rates and Lengths Articles should be about 1000-5000 words. We are not currently paying for nonfiction. What we will do is credit you for the article, including a copyright notice and bio at the bottom where you can plug anything your heart desires. Do you have a website? A new book? Articles in other online magazines? We'll link it up, although we reserve the right to edit. We acquire non-exclusive electronic rights for two months. We ask (but do not require) that you give us ongoing non-exclusive electronic rights to post the article in our archives after it's rotated off the front page. You have the right to remove your article from the archives at any point. How to Submit Email submissions to articles@strangehorizons.com with the subject heading [SUB]. If for some reason you cannot email your submission, contact us for alternate arrangements. Articles should be in plain text (ASCII) format in the body of your email message, not an attachment. (One way to do this: use your word processor's Save As Text command to save the piece, then copy the resulting text and paste it into an email message.) Use two line breaks (double spacing) to indicate paragraph breaks. Place an _underscore_ at the beginning and end of a word or phrase to indicate italics; use *asterisks* to indicate boldface. For any other special formatting, please include an explanatory note. Submissions which are not properly formatted may not be read. We strongly prefer email submissions. If that's not feasible, we may be able to accommodate alternatives; write and ask. You're welcome to submit entire articles, or you can query us first. Depending on your article idea, you may want to check with us to make sure we haven't already accepted an article on the same subject from somebody else. If you don't have an immediate article idea, but you'd really like to write for us, let us know and be prepared to show us work you've done. We can always think of subjects, and we may have some authors who you could interview. We will also accept really good articles that have previously appeared elsewhere, but our first choice will always be original work. Editing We prefer not to edit heavily. If we like your ideas, but feel that your article needs significant editing for those ideas to come across, we'll send it back to you with lots of suggestions and recommendations. Otherwise, one of the articles editors will fix typos, correct grammar (unless used in dialogue) and adjust punctuation to our house style. We might change the odd sentence, but usually only after checking with you. Once the article has been converted to a web document, our proofreaders go over it again and find any mistakes the editors missed (or added). Material other than articles should be submitted to the appropriate editor. Poetry Submission Guidelines information Editors: Harold Bowes, M. R. James, Kathryn Rantala What We Want and What We Don't Want We're looking for high-quality, extraordinary SF, fantasy, horror, and "slipstream" poetry. We're looking for modern, exciting poems that explore both the possible and the impossible: stories about human and nonhuman experiences, about dreams and reality, about the past and the future, about the here-and-now and otherwhere-and-elsewhen. We want poems from imaginative and unconventional writers; we want voices from diverse perspectives and backgrounds. We will consider all forms, although poems that follow a standard rhyme scheme will be a hard sell. Many wonderful rhyming poems have been written, but the editors have seen too much doggerel verse, and this has admittedly soured us toward rhymes. We want poems that have some literary depth but aren't boring; poems that are unusual yet readable; poems that balance inventiveness with traditional structures. We like serious works, as well as poems with wit and humor that don't collapse into pure silliness. We like fantasy (especially urban fantasy and unusual settings), but please don't send us poems full of thees and thous unless you speak Middle English. Dark fantasy is fine, but we're not looking for outright horror. We like science fiction themes (especially those based in biology, linguistics, or social extrapolation), magic realism, and even a dash of the surreal now and then, as long as it's readable. Any sex and violence in a poem should be artistically justified; no excessive gore. Here are some of our favorite poets, in no particular order: Naomi Shihab Nye, Miroslav Holub, Walt Whitman, J.R.R. Tolkein, Allan Ginsberg, T.S. Eliot, e.e. cummings, Emily Dickinson, Shakespeare, Ovid, W. B. Yeats, Bhartrihari, C.S. Lewis, Tennyson, etc. This is by no means a complete list, and of course your work should be in your own style, not the styles of any of these writers. Pay Rates and Lengths We prefer poems under 100 lines. We will consider longer submissions; however, they will be a hard sell. We will accept reprints, but no simultaneous submissions, please. Pay rates for new poetry will vary from $10 to $20 per poem. We buy first-printing world exclusive rights for two months. After that period, you are free to republish the poem elsewhere. We hope (but do not require) that you'll allow us to post the poem in our archives indefinitely after it's rotated off the front page. You have the right to remove your poem from the archives at any point. How to submit Email stories to poetry@strangehorizons.com. Type "POETRY SUB: Your poem title" in the subject line. Stories should be in plain text (ASCII) format in the body of your email message, not an attachment. (One way to do this: use your word processor's Save As Text command to save the story, then copy the resulting text and paste it into an email message.) Use two line breaks (double spacing) to indicate paragraph breaks. Place an _underscore_ at the beginning and end of a word or phrase to indicate italics; use *asterisks* to indicate boldface. Please do not put submissions or poetry titles in ALL CAPS. For any other special formatting, please include an explanatory note. Submissions which are not properly formatted may not be read. We strongly prefer email submissions. If that's not feasible, we may be able to accommodate alternatives; write and ask. Don't send us your poem until you have thoroughly proofread it. Accepted submissions may be edited for clarity or to correct minor errors, but submissions which do not meet minimum standards for correct spelling and grammar will be rejected, except in cases of obvious artistic license. Material other than poetry should be submitted to the appropriate editor. Reviews Submission Guidelines information Editors: Christopher Cobb, R. Michael Harman, Sherman Lewis What We Want Our goal is to publish reviews of works of speculative art and entertainment, especially books, films, and games. A review should introduce its readers to whatever it is reviewing to give the readers some idea of whether or not to read, watch, or play it themselves. Therefore, it should not give away key elements of the plot. (In other words, no spoilers!) If you want to write in depth about works with which your readers are presumably familiar, you should consider submitting a critical article. See the article submission guidelines for more information. We want =Strange Horizons= reviews to help our readers find good things that they might not otherwise have known about. We will, of course, print reviews of best-sellers and blockbuster movies, but we're especially interested in reviews of worthy books, films, and games that might not otherwise get the exposure they deserve. In any case, reviews should be of books that have recently been released or reprinted, of films that are showing in theatres or have recently been released to video, or of games that are newly on the market. What is speculative art and entertainment? We know it when we see it. If you've got an idea for a review of something that doesn't clearly fit traditional speculative genres like science fiction, fantasy, horror, utopian fiction, etc., run the idea by us. We like to push boundaries. Payment We don't currently pay for reviews, but there are some side benefits. You're free to shamelessly plug anything you want in your short bio at the bottom of your review. Also, if we like your writing, we may start asking you for reviews, which means you get free review copies from us! We require exclusive electronic rights for two months. After that period, you are free to republish the review elsewhere. We hope (but do not require) that you'll allow us to post the review in our archives indefinitely after it's rotated off the front page. You have the right to remove your review from the archives at any time. How To Submit E-mail reviews to us at reviews@strangehorizons.com. Type "REVIEWS SUB: your review title" in the subject line. Reviews should be in plain text (ASCII) format in the body of your email message, not an attachment. (One way to do this: use your word processor's Save As Text command to save the story, then copy the resulting text and paste it into an email message.) Use two line breaks (double spacing) to indicate paragraph breaks. Place an _underscore_ at the beginning and end of a word or phrase to indicate italics; use *asterisks* to indicate boldface. For any other special formatting, please include an explanatory note. Submissions which are not properly formatted may not be accepted. Reviews also should be free of spelling and grammar errors. They should be 750-2000 words in length. We strongly prefer email submissions. If that's not feasible, we may be able to accommodate alternatives; write and ask. We do not accept authors' reviews of their own works. However, we are happy to receive review copies; we have an eager group of staffers ready and willing to sample your work. Response Time Instantaneous to one week, usually. If we don't respond in a reasonable amount of time, try again; your email may have been lost. Material other than reviews should be submitted to the appropriate editor. Art Gallery Submission Guidelines information Wolf Read, Art Director What We Want and What We Don't Want We love art that is stylistically distinct while maintaining the essence of speculative fiction. Abstract expressionism, impressionistic, photorealistic, just about any approach, are all considered, provided that the speculative fiction theme is at the core. One theme we are looking for is material that captures the dramatic nature of speculative literature -- think about it: alternate realities where magic can yield power similar to potential technological achievements a million years in the future, where a single person can change the outcome of an entire world, or where nature in all her majesty outwits human ingenuity yet again. All these ideas bespeak drama, and we'd love to see art that reflects it in some fashion. This does not preclude other themes, such as humor or whimsy or eye-catching beauty and charm. Also, art pieces that tell a story are a good bet. What we're NOT looking for is media tie-in art, such as Star Wars, or the X-files, etc. Just about anything else that is speculative fiction related will be seriously considered. Naturally all artwork must be in electronic format to be displayed on the site. The original work represented may be in any medium. The editors will have final approval on each piece to be exhibited. Art may be exhibited under a pseudonym. Illustrations Each month, an artist will be selected to illustrate one story on-site. This may be the same artist that has been chosen for a gallery display, or it may be a completely different person. Pay is $75/illustration, and we purchase ongoing non-exclusive electronic rights for the current issue and our archive. We request that you wait three months before reprinting the work elsewhere, but leave that decision to your discretion. This illustration will be linked to the main gallery if the artist was also selected for the gallery. How to Submit Send three pieces representing the body of work you would like to exhibit to gallery@strangehorizons.com. They must be sent as an attachment via email, and each one should be sent separately. Do NOT send all three attachments with a single email message. The subject line should be: ART SUB: Your name #1 etc. Submissions should be in either *.gif or *.jpg format, whichever is more appropriate for your work. If you do not know how to save your work in these formats or don't know which one to use, please e-mail us for instructions. NOTE: Along with your submission, please indicate if you're interested in doing on-demand illustration, the gallery, or both. Submissions are archived for possible future commissions, so it is important that we know who's interested in creating images for stories. If no notice is given, it will be assumed that the artist is just interested in having work displayed in the gallery. Don't send samples by snail mail. We strongly prefer e-mail submissions, as detailed above. If you cannot submit that way, then e-mail us and we may be able to work around the problem. Response Time Response time will vary. We will try to get a response to you within a month of receiving your submission. We would recommend that if you haven't heard from us after two months, send us an e-mail inquiry, in case the art has gone missing and has not been received by us. Material other than art should be submitted to the appropriate editor. Note: We pay professional rates for fiction by SFWA standards. However, because a magazine must publish for a full year before it qualifies as a professional market by SFWA standards, a sale to =Strange Horizons= does not yet qualify as a professional sale. [Ralan Conley's market list, http://www.ralan.com/, 4 Dec 2000] =Would That it Were= [Quarterly webzine. Historical SF, ghost to 3000 words. Pays 3-5 cents/word to $150 on pub. RT: within 1 week. E-mail subs only. Rarely uses reprints.] Don Muchow, Editor 509 Elm St., Suite 603 Dallas, TX 75202 Phone: 425/963-8365 E-mail (subs & info): editor@wouldthatitwere.com URL: www.wouldthatitwere.com =Would That it Were= is a quarterly webzine that wants historical SF and ghost stories. Pays 5 cents/word (max $50) for up to 499 words, 3-5 cents/word (max $150) for up to 3k words (firm!); buys First Electronic Rights. Pays on publication. Encourages new writers to submit. "... specializes in period Science Fiction and related topics set roughly between 1830 and 1930 A.D. I don't want any more 'ghost of the Cherokee brave'-type stories -- we're not a Western 'zine! If you are unfamiliar with this subgenre of SF, read just about anything by H. G. Wells or Jules Verne. "The zine does not accept anything ... pornographic, obscene, defamatory or otherwise in poor taste. Submissions with pervasive grammatical, spelling and common usage errors are unacceptable. We are looking for the story that captures the sense of naive wonder and hubris, the mood, culture and language that disappeared over a century ago. It is our goal to make the experience of reading, writing for and working with our staff a rewarding one. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail any of us." E-mail subs only, attached as MSWord, RTF, or HTML in 12 pt. Courier or Courier New, 1" margins, free of extraneous formatting & typefaces. Include short bio & digital head or action shot (b&w or sepia). Rarely uses reprints (query first). Hardcopy not accepted. RT: within 1 week. [Ralan Conley's market list, http://www.ralan.com/, 12 Dec 2000] =Writer Online= [Monthly webzine. All genres (no hard SF) 50-1200 wds. Pays 5-10 cents/word (reprints: $20) on accept. E-mail subm okay. Nancy Kress, Publisher Writer Online Novation 190 Mt. Vernon Ave. Rochester, NY 14620 E-mail (subs only): submission@novalearn.com E-mail (queries only): support@novalearn.com URL: www.novalearn.com/wol GLs: www.novalearn.com/wol/guidelink0600.htm =Writer Online= is a monthly webzine looking for fiction in all genres and mainstream. Pays 5-10 cents/word for First Serial & Indefinite Archival Rights ($20 for reprints), 50-1200 words (also sometimes uses short excerpts from novels in progress). Pays on acceptance (on contract signing). Flash Fiction (50-200 words) OK. Circ: 35,000. Also offers freeware programs: Storyline Interactive, Instant Poetry, & Writer's Database. "... looking for quality fiction, in all genres ... of all kinds (though, please, no porn, hard science fiction or romance)" E-mail subs OK, embedded only. RT: 1 week. Query for reprints with where & when. [Ralan Conley's market list, http://www.ralan.com/ 1 Aug 2000] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET INFORMATION =Altair Speculative Fiction Magazine= Editor Robert N. Stephenson says that Australian print magazine =Altair Speculative Fiction Magazine= is closed to submissions; on a 14 month hiatus. It will return in issue #8 as a US publication. [Ralan Conley's market list, http://www.ralan.com/, 9 Jul 2000] =Anotherealm= Editor Jean Goldstrom says that webzine =Anotherealm= is going quarterly on 1 January 2001. It's currently closed to submissions, with the next reading period 1-31 October 2001 [Ralan Conley's market list, http://www.ralan.com/, 21 Nov 2000] =Back Brain Recluse= Editor Chris Reed says that =Back Brain Recluse= is no longer accepting unsolicited short story submissions. The line has now become one for novels or collections. See new guidelines. [Chris Reed, 10 December 2000] =Extremes 2, 3, & 4= Editor Brian A. Hopkins says, "Lone Wolf Publications is now closed to submissions to all volumes of =Extremes. Extremes 2: Fantasy & Horror from the Ends of the Earth= will be out in January 2001. =Extremes 3: Terror on the High Seas= will be out sometime in the spring or summer 2001. =Extremes 4: Darkest Africa= will be out sometime later in the year or early in 2002. Lone Wolf Publications will open for =Extremes 5= next spring or summer, but it will likely be under a different editor (i.e., I'm due for a break)." [Inklings, 6 Dec 2000] =Reality's Escape= Celia L. Badon, Editor, is said to be bought up for just about everything in =Reality's Escape= and 7-Realms Publishing. You probably want to query before submitting anything. =Reality's Escape= - quarterly print; F, SF, DF, H. Pays 3 cents/word for FNASR Rights, up to 10k words, pays on acceptance. 7-Realms Publishing Corp., Celia L. Badon, Editor; PO Box 1629, Pearl River, LA 70452; 504/645-7075 E-mail (No subs, info only): realms@fastband.com, or info@7realmspublishing.com URL: 7realmspublishing.com/realitysescape.htm [Ralan Conley's market list, http://www.ralan.com/, 16 Nov 2000] ==End of the CALLIHOO Newsletter for 2 January 2001==