CALLIHOO NEWSLETTER Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Julia West, Editor Vol. 8, No. 1 30 May 2000 Website: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS CALLIHOO ATTENDS CONDUIT Almost all the members of the CALLIHOO writers' group attended CONduit 10: Night of the Living CONduit on May 19-21. Many of us are on the convention committee; others attended for fun or were panelists. NEWSLETTER BEGINS VOLUME 8 With the beginning of the eighth year of the CALLIHOO writers' group and newsletter, I've decided to play with the format. Things may change as I get an idea of what I really want to do, but then it should settle down. So if this newsletter doesn't look like the one you're used to, that's why! (The change will be less obvious to those who get this in ASCII.) WHAT DOES "CALLIHOO" MEAN? We occasionally get this question, so I'll repeat the article on the meaning of the name. This is Dave Urbanek's explanation of what CALLIHOO means. "When we first started our writer's group there were a few things we wanted. We wanted to meet every week because we wanted faster turn around times for critiques. We wanted to have some good writers and readers. We wanted it to last for a good long time. One of our members, Charlene, said that her research into social behavior indicated that groups tend to last longer if there is some lore or secret that members know which is not general knowledge, such as a unique or symbolic name. So that's what we came up with. For those who want to know, CALLIHOO is an acronym: Creative Authors of Literary Legerdemain, (two words starting with I and H) and Obscure Oxidemitry. "The IH words were never really agreed upon. Charlene and I thought long and hard and came up with a few possibilities. I think originally the IH words were "Inspiring Heroism". After a while it was more fun to have an acronym with the parenthetic phrase (two words starting with I and H). Consider the IH words as interchangeable depending on the situation." 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)] =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)] The 42nd Annual Utah Original Writing Competition, open 15 May to 26 June 2000 [Annual contest, various categories of entries (long and short fiction and nonfiction), various 1st ($1000 or $300) and 2nd ($750 or $200) prizes, =no entry fee=, must be Utah resident. (GLs in Vol. 7, No. 43)] 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.] Waterford Reading Intervention, deadline 30 June 2000 [Computer reading intervention program, SF/F 100 to 4000 wds, $100 to $500, E-mail subm only, =work for hire=. Subm to Anna Shelley at: annas@waterford.org. (GLs in Vol. 7, No. 44)] 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)] Eighth Annual Garden State Horror Writers Short Story Contest, deadline 31 Jul 2000 [Annual contest, SF/F/H to 2500 wds, prizes--$50 1st, $25 2nd, $15 3rd, =$10 entry fee=, (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 42)] =The Children of Cthulhu= anthology, deadline 1 Aug 2000 [Print antho, Lovecraftian, 750-10,000 wds, pays 4 cents/wd. against royalties, E-mail subm okay. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 45)] =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)] The James White Award, a Science Fiction Short Story Competition, deadline 23 Aug 2000 [SF 2000-4000 wds, new writers, no reprints or E-mail entries, entry fee L3/$4 each, up to three entries allowed. Cash prize and publication in =Interzone=. (GLs in Vol. 7 No. 45)] =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] MARKET GUIDELINES =NEW WEB-ZINE= Edited by Mary Anne Mohanraj, the editor of =Clean Sheets=. ". . .Basically, it'll be a weekly speculative fiction magazine. That's the important thing. It'll cover fiction, art, poetry, reviews, articles . . . . It'll probably have a heavier emphasis on fiction, though. We're still drafting the final form of our official purpose. . . ." Why a new sf/f magazine? "1. The markets for sf/f short fiction are dwindling; two of the major magazines died this year. I personally think short fiction is an essential component of the field, and I would hate to see the markets for it disappear -- can you imagine if there had been no place for Asimov's "Nightfall", or Ellison's "Repent, Harlequin!" or Clarke's "Nine Billion Names of God?" Tragedy. So I want to do my bit to make sure that there are still some decent pro markets out there (in sf/f terms, pro is at least 3 cents/word, which is what we'll be paying). "2. The markets that are there tend to be a little inbred. Now, no offense to any of the editors; there are good and complex reasons for why they publish what they publish. But I'd really like to see a market that was more actively open to minorities, to women, to varied genders and orientations, to cultures other than Anglo-Celtic (much as I love the Celts), etc. I'd also like to publish some of the really good young writers who have such a hard time breaking into the established markets who have their steady stable of trusted writers. So part of it is an attempt to widen the market. "3. Because it'll be lots of fun. "Not tons of fun at this stage, of course; we're at the crazy figure everything out stage (which is exciting, but often frustrating too). The magazine is starting to take shape, though. It's got a fair bit of its staff, though we're still looking for a few good people. Interested? We currently still need: * Managing Editor (handles Web stuff including posting material and general Webmaster-type tasks; keeps us on schedule; tech job) * Associate Editor (backup/understudy to Mary Anne; fun job) * PR/Advertising Person * Articles Editor (1 more) * Art Editor * Copy Editor/Proofreader (1 more) * Reviews Editor (1 more) * Poetry Editor (1 more) * Newsletter Editor (1) * "Development" people (1-2) (looks for funding sources) "If you're interested in any of these (and love sf/f), please send me mail soon and let me know. Do note if you have any experience at the tasks, though that's not necessarily required. "Despite that long list, most of the staff is actually in place. Some of those people are back-ups; others are wishlist. (It would be really nice to have development staff, for example...) We also have the minimum donated funding for this year (as of this weekend!), so we're going to go for it. But we're certainly going to be looking for more donations. Interested? "We're going to apply for tax-exempt status; if we get it, then any donations will be tax-deductible. We can't count on that yet, and it'll be months before we know; probably after launch, in fact. I'll feel a lot more comfortable once we have a few more thousand in the bank; it'll let us spend a little more on advertising (which will undoubtedly help with getting our hits up quickly, which is fairly critical to our success). It'll also let us purchase longer stories, and many very good stories are on the longish side. "If you are interested, we can offer you a little glory. Contributors of $250 - $1000 get the title of Founder on our Sponsors page. Contributors of $10 - $250 get the title of Supporter. All contributions are much appreciated. . . . If you do want to contribute, do it because you love science fiction and fantasy, and because you want to help the genre flourish. Again, send me a note if you're interested." [She mentioned later in the month that most of the positions were now filled.] Mary Anne's E-mail address is maryanne@mamohanraj.com, if you'd like to contact her about the magazine. [http://www.mamohanraj.com/Diary/May00/5.16.00.html] MARKET NEWS =Science Fiction Chronicle= Warren Lapine, publisher of DNA Publications, says, "Just a brief note. DNA Publications has purchased =Science Fiction Chronicle=. Andrew Porter will remain on as News Editor." "=Science Fiction Chronicle= will be far more than just competition [for =Locus=]. =Chronicle= already has a larger circulation than =Locus= and I've already sent out 5,000 mailers to writers in my data base to increase the subscription numbers. "Next week, I'll mail an additional 10,000 pieces to the subscribers of my fiction magazines. I expect to double the subscription numbers by the end of the year. I'm also planning to add some controlled circulation, that will mean that =Chronicle= will probably move twice as many copies as =Locus= by July. I'm not moving slowly with this magazine. SFC is on much firmer ground than most people think and I plan to forge ahead immediately." ". . .I'm adding about twenty pages to =Chronicle= and am looking for suggestions on what everyone would like to see in the magazine. "As for the controlled circulation, I'll be giving free subscriptions to everyone who buys science fiction books for retail stores and I'll also be giving a free subscription to the book acquisitions librarians of the top 4,000 libraries. The science fiction field has too great a reliance on retail and library sales to allow the buyers to remain essentially ignorant of the field. I plan to run trade articles on how to sell science fiction in the hopes of educating these people who really can make or break our field from the outside. It's time that we stop crying about the future and step up and do something about it. In my seven years in the field it has become clear to me that if I want that done I'll have to be the one to do it. So by buying =Chronicle= I've stepped up to the plate. Now let's hope I'm a home run hitter." [sff.publishing.dnapublications 18, 23, and 24 May 2000] LEE'S (USELESS) SUPER-HERO GENERATOR Writing heroic fiction? Want guaranteed Super-Hero names for your characters (both heroes and villains, actually)? Try Lee's (Useless) Super-Hero Generator. If you just so happen to have fun while you're looking for those Special Names, that's great! http://home.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/comics/herogen/ ==End of CALLIHOO newsletter for 30 May 2000==