CALLIHOO Newsletter Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Julia West, Editor Vol. 9, No. 5 13 November 2001 Website: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE News Congratulations Deadlines Contests ByLine Magazine Contests (gls) Market Guidelines Absolute Magnitude (gls) Alternate Realities (gls) Challenging Destiny (gls) Deep Outside SFFH (gls) DNA Publications website (gls) Dragon Magazine (gls) Dreams of Decadence (gls) The Edge (gls) Fantastic Stories (gls) Futures Mysterious Anthology (gls) Gothic.net (gls) HMS Beagle (gls) Interzone (gls) Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet (gls) On Spec (gls) Parsec (gls) The Pedestal Magazine (gls) PRISM international (gls) Queen's Quarterly (gls) SciFiction (SciFi.com) (gls) Speculon (gls) The Third Alternative (gls) Weird Tales (gls) Would That It Were (gls) Zoetrope All-Story Extra (gls) Magazine Information Back Brain Recluse Dark Planet (hiatus) Medusa's Hairdo (dead) Millennium Webzine (closed) Mind's Eye Fiction (closed) Night Terrors Magazine (closed) TransVersions Winedark Sea (closed) ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS CONGRATULATIONS M. Shayne Bell's short story collection, =How We Play the Game in Salt Lake and Other Stories=, was a finalist for the Utah Book Award this year. Congratulations, Shayne! ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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.) Be Very Afraid Anthology Deadline 30 November 2001 [Print antho, YA real-life horror stories to 4,000 wds, pays 6 cents Canadian/wd. No E-mail subm. (GLs in Vol. 9, No. 4)] ByLine Short-short Story Contest Deadline 5 December 2001 [Short story of any type or subject, up to 2,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $60, $30, $20. (GLs in Vol. 9, No. 5)] The Best of Soft Science Fiction Contest Deadline 15 December 2001 [Annual contest. "Soft" SF to 7,000 wds, mult subm okay, story pub or offered for sale during year. No entry fee. Prizes 1st $100, 2nd $50, 3rd $25. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 4)] Space Flash Contest Deadline 21 December 2001 [SF/F/H/mystery (outer space setting) to 500 wds. Prizes 1st $25, 2nd $15 on pub. Deadline 21 Dec 2001. No entry fee. No reprints, sim or mult subm. E-mails subm only. Winner pub on website. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 4)] Writers of the Future, 1st quarter 2002 Deadline 31 December 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. 9 No. 1)] ByLine Children's Story or Picture Book Contest Deadline 25 January 2002 [Short story or picture book for kids from 2-12. Pre-school; 5 to 8; or 9 to 12. Entry fee $4. Prizes: $60, $35, $20. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 5)] ByLine Short Story Contest Deadline 5 February 2002 [General fiction up to 5,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $70, $40, $25. (Gls in Vol. 9 No. 5)] Beyond the Last Star Open 1 December 2001 to 1 March 2002 [Print anthology, SF/F/H, pays 5-10 cents/wd ($25 min, $300 max) on accept. No sim or mult subm, no reprints, E-mail subm okay but snailmail preferred. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 2).] ByLine Flash Fiction Contest Deadline 5 April 2002 Flash fiction under 1000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $60, $30, $20. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 5)] ByLine New-Talent Short Story Contest Deadline 4 May 2002 [Open to any writer who never has won a cash prize in any ByLine fiction category. Maximum 5,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $50, $35, $25, $15. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 5)] Imaginings Deadline 15 June 2002 [Print anthology, SF/F 8,000-15,000 wds, pays $950 per story + 10% royalties. No reprints or E-mail subm. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 4).] Low Port Deadline July 2002 [Open antho, SF/F 3,000 to 10,000 wds, pays 5-8 cents/wd. on accept, reading between Sept 2001 and July 2002. No electronic subm. Low Port, Lee and Miller, P.O. Box 179, Unity, Maine 04988-0179. (GLs in Vol. 9, No. 1)] ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONTESTS ByLine Magazine Contests [Various contests, see each for subject, length, entry fee, and prizes. No E-mail subm or reprints. Mult entries okay.] Contests ByLine Magazine PO Box 130596 Edmond, OK 73013 http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp All dates listed are postmark deadlines. Enter your own work only. Type your name, address, phone number and the contest category on the first page of the manuscript (no cover sheet). Prepare in standard manuscript format. Entries will not be returned, so there's no need for SASE. You may send multiple entries to any contest, but each entry requires an entry fee. Entries should be unpublished when entered. A list of winners in each category will be printed in the issue of ByLine dated three months after deadline. Winning manuscripts are not published so that authors retain all rights. Mail entries to: Contests, ByLine Magazine PO Box 130596 Edmond, OK 73013 SHORT-SHORT STORY--Deadline December 5, 2001. Short story of any type or subject, up to 2,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $60, $30, $20. CHILDREN'S STORY OR PICTURE BOOK--Deadline January 25, 2002. Short story or picture book for kids from 2-12. (Do not send art.) State targeted age group on ms.: Pre-school; 5 to 8; or 9 to 12. Entry fee $4. Prizes: $60, $35, $20. SHORT STORY--Deadline February 5, 2002. General fiction up to 5,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $70, $40, $25. FLASH FICTION--Deadline April 5, 2002. A quick fiction which feels complete in less than a thousand words. These stories often depend on atmosphere, technique, and a sense of immediacy. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $60, $30, $20. NEW-TALENT SHORT STORY--Deadline May 4, 2002. Open to any writer who never has won a cash prize in any ByLine fiction category. Maximum 5,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $50, $35, $25, $15. JUVENILE SHORT STORY--Deadline June 25, 2002. Fiction for ages 5 to 8; 9 to 12; or 13 to 16. State targeted age group on ms.; length should be appropriate for intended audience (3,000 words maximum). Entry fee $4. Prizes: $40, $30, $15. http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET GUIDELINES ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE [Printzine, SF 1,000 to 25,000 wds (pref 3,000-8,000 wds). Pays 2-6 cents/wd. on pub. No E-mail subm.] Warren Lapine, editor P.O. Box 2988 Radford VA 24143-2988 Queries only: absolutemagnitude@dnapublications.com http://www.dnapublications.com/absmag/index.htm No e-mail subs. Please mark clearly as being for =Absolute Magnitude=. =Absolute Magnitude= is a full-sized, quarterly science fiction magazine. We do not use fantasy, horror, satire, or funny science fiction; while we will not reject the following out of hand, they are almost impossible to sell to us: present tense, police procedural, time travel, clones, alternate history, or stories with religious overtones. We're looking for character-driven action/adventure based technical Science Fiction stories from 1,000-25,000 words; 3,000 to 8,000 words are best. We want tightly plotted stories with memorable characters. Characters should be the driving force behind the action of the story, and should not be thrown in as an afterthought. We need to see both plot development and character growth. Stories that are resolved without action on the protagonist's part do not work for us; characters should not be spectators in situations completely beyond their control or immune to their influence. The ideal =Absolute Magnitude= story will have the plot resolution and character growth tied together. That is, the plot resolution will happen as a result of character growth, or vise versa. Payment: 2 to 6 cents per word on publication for First English Language Serial Rights. All rights revert to the author upon publication. [http://www.dnapublications.com/info/guide.htm] ALTERNATE REALITIES [Webzine, SF/F/H/mystery to 10,000 wds. Pays $5.00 per story (serials $10), 2nd month after pub. E-mail subm and reprints okay. No sim subm. Alternate Realities Webzine Att: Joan McCarty Senior Editor 5026 N.E. 57th AV Portland, OR 97218 Long fiction and serials (to 10,000 wds): Joan M. McCarty, Fanwrite@aol.com Fantasy submissions: Robyn Wills, Lorkiff@hotmail.com Science Fiction submissions: Carole Muir, Crlmuir@aol.com Horror submissions: Geof Lucier, Horrorman1@aol.com Mystery/thriller submissions: Carole Muir, crlmuir@aol.com http://www.alternaterealitieszine.com/ Guidelines Please READ the guidelines. . .from this date (5/10/01) stories submitted that do not meet the guidelines will be rejected without being read! These are not only for us, but they are for you too! NEW CHANGES! Please note the new guidelines for paying market! These are VERY IMPORTANT! If your submission does not follow these guidelines it could be rejected without being read and we would hate that to happen! These guidelines are set up for everyone's convenience. We receive many, many manuscripts per month, and recently modified our guidelines to make it easier for us to read them and respond to you in a timely manner. If you are one of those type people who don't like to follow the rules, I am sorry to say if your submission does not follow the guidelines...it will not be read! If you are having a problem figuring out anything in the guidelines, feel free to e-mail the editors and ask a specific question, we are always glad to help and pride ourselves on a quick response time. Also, if you are accepted to appear in the 'zine, be aware that payments are sent at the beginning of the 2nd month your story appears, if you cannot live without the money, or have a special circumstance, write the senior editor and let her know. She will do her best to help in any way. Stories accepted, if you are new to all of this, are ONLY to appear in =Alternate Realities= during the contracted time frame. If we find them on ANY other site during that time, they will be pulled, and payment will be revoked. We do accept reprints if they meet the following conditions: 1) they do not currently appear ANYwhere on the www, even in archives and personal sites. 2) their last printing was 6 months ago for WWW reprints, and 3 months for print reprints. 3) they meet all of the guidelines. All monies paid to contributors are paid in U.S monies and in the form of International Money orders (this is for the convenience of our overseas contributors). There will always be a letter sent just prior to mailing of monies, mailing one back as a confirmation to payment is optional, but appreciated. If for any reason a payment is lost, stolen, or incorrect, please feel free to let us know, we do have tracking numbers on all payments. We do accept non-fiction articles on the craft of writing, conferences, and other things of interest to writers in the genres we represent. Payment would be negotiable, but would not exceed our other payment guidelines. All those interested should first query the Senior Editor before submitting. Finally, if you submit something and don't hear back from us in 2 weeks PLEASE feel free to e-mail us and ask about the status of your submission. PLEASE, make sure your submission is sent to the right editor for your piece, the editors name and e-mail address appears at the end of each set of Guidelines. Suggestions, comments, constructive criticism, and compliments are welcome. Thank you for your interest in =Alternate Realities Webzine=. Good Luck and Good Writing! Joan M. McCarty, Senior Editor Industry Standard Submissions 1) Name, Address, Phone OR email address in upper left hand corner, word count and genre 2) In Header on EVERY page, should appear, page number, and Last name/title (ie: For Lord of the Rings it would be Tolkien/Rings) 3) 1" margins all around 4) Double Spaced 5) 12 pnt courier, new times roman, or arial font. 6) Sent to proper editor, following specific guidelines, if any, and in proper specific formats (if any, ie: disk, file extensions, etc.) 7) HWA And SFWA members will be given special treatment upon mentioning their membership. This will be checked. The special treatment comes in the form of: Fast Track Submissions, Press Release and Book Reviews By following these, you insure your manuscript being read! Publishers have guidelines for reasons! Thanks you very much! REVISED COPYRIGHT CHANGES! =Alternate Realities= is now part of the paying market. We are starting out very small, as we do not want to fold like so many of our predecessors. Please understand, we write these guidelines to be followed, NOT ignored, nor negotiated! Should you choose NOT to follow these guidelines, then be prepared to be rejected without having your story read (I am sorry, but this is the way it needs to be). We pay $5.00 (U.S) per story (regular story pages) and $10.00 (U.S) per serial. Unfortunately, we will still not be able to pay Artists --this is a voluntary basis--(however we have now been taking steps to stop any copying infringements from our site via a function disabling code). As of issue number #23, July/August 2001, we will be starting to pay poetry submissions 1.00 per poem (no more than 5.00 per issue). Since we are paying, minimal changes have been made to our policies. One: We will accept NO simultaneous submissions. This means that your story may not appear ANYWHERE on the web, 6 months prior or during its run with us. This includes personal sites. This further means that we will not 'compete' for your work, if you have submitted it to another magazine and are awaiting to hear from them, while you have submitted to us, please be honest. We do not want to be sitting at press day going; "Aw shucks we can't print that one, the author just pulled it for so-in-so!" This IS an industry standard, so if you are new, get used to it, if you are established, you already know this rule. Two: Will have the rights for the period of 2 months (60 days) until they are archived. Then the rights revert back to the author and can be re-sold. It is important for the author to write us if the story is sold to another source so that we can pull it from our archives. Three: What number 2 means is that the story may not appear ANY where else on the web during the time it is appearing in =Alternate Realities=. Four: When submitting, we will need the following information for payment to be made: Full name and both e-mail and snail mail address. Outside the USA need to make sure they give all the info needed to have the payment arrive to you, we will not be responsible for lost payments due to lack of proper mailing info. Our Snail mail address is below, should you need it for any reason. We DO accept snail mail submissions too! Please make sure to include everything mentioned in the guidelines. Alternate Realities Webzine Att: Joan McCarty Senior Editor 5026 N.E. 57th AV Portland, OR 97218 Five: All payments will be made in U.S. currency (An International Money Order) and will be paid one month from the date of appearance (the first week of the 2nd month the story appears). Six: We would like to know when you have received your payment. As soon as your payment has been received please contact Senior Editor: Joan M. McCarty via e-mail at Fanwrite@aol.com [Our] payment monies come from advertising dollars and the editors' own pockets, and though we wish we could pay more, or even everyone (artists are on a voluntary basis). So understand, when we say we are in this for the love of the genres, we really do mean it! Serials All serials and long fiction should be directed to Joan M. McCarty, with the following included: 1) The story, serial, novella must ALL be sent, no partial manuscripts will be accepted or even read. I cannot make a judgment based on a partial story. 2) The Genre the story falls in should be somewhere near the top of the manuscript as well as a word count. 3) A Biography, biography picture (optional), and all payment and mailing info needs to be handed in with the manuscript. This way if it is accepted I do not have to track down the author to get it. 4) And this is a MUST. In the letter to me, you MUST put in the words SUBMISSION in the SUBJECT Line. I get literally hundreds of letters a week, so if not properly labeled you can get lost in the sheer volume. All long fiction, novellas, and serials regardless of genre need to come to: Fanwrite@aol.com Long fiction is OVER 5,000 words, closer in the 10,000 word range! Please also denote BREAKS if this is to be a serial, if I have to e-mail you back for them, then it will slow it all down. Fantasy Fiction As a general rule, I prefer works which are three dimensional, characters who actually have character, settings using most of the senses (not just visual), plots well founded, and above all something which will capture my imagination. Bring forth an emotional response in me--either a smile or sadness--allow me to feel something for those within the story, and above all, move me in some fashion. Thrill, surprise, delight, amaze me--make me laugh, cry, or rejoice with those within the tales you send. If you use a science base, be accurate with it (Remember, I have an engineering background). A new twist on an old idea--like the familiar pet who crawls into my lap only to turn savagely different--are more than welcome so long as the they are fresh, creative, and well told. Turn-ons: Magic which works within its own frame of rules. Flawed characters where those flaws drive the story--either by overcoming the flaw or triumph because of such defects (a weakness turned into a strength). Descriptions which I can sink my mind into and actually see along with emotions I can feel. Make me feel for those within the story. If science is used, make it real. I do accept Isaac Asimov's [tenet], "any advanced science is indistinguishable from magic." Consistent use of dialect is always a plus. Technology mixed with the arcane arts is also good--if done well. Turn-offs: Fantasy which appears to have been played out as a game then written with little regard for actual content. While gaming can be a valid way to decide if something works, the deluge of "We're on a Quest to save the world" theme has been hashed into the ground unmercifully. Stories based upon copyrighted material not owned by the author will NOT be published. (Example: a story based upon Anne McCaffrey's works, directly based upon Tolkien's works, or TSR-based games or publications. These constitute plagiarism, and will NOT be tolerated. In the case of TSR, if you are using the same real- world, historical legends they did (such as Celtic, or Norse), go ahead and submit. We do have ways of confirming potential violations vs real world mythos.) Science which has no basis in fact (advanced technology or magic) is, of course, ALWAYS acceptable. Magic with no apparent cost to the caster (except minor stuff, which can be explained away as little or no drain to the caster--trivial light spells, for example, are fine). Magic used for the sake of use--the single, overpowering spell suddenly used to end the conflict which has no cost, logic, or reason other than to save the life of the main character. Settings so poorly defined I can't tell where the character is located. Stories which are too predictable, tired, overused, or born dead. Any of the above will net you an electronic pink slip. Submission format: The preferred is WordPerfect (Corel 9 or older) but I will take E-mail submissions as long as the formatting has been reworked by the author. ASCII text files, so long as they can be opened and readable by Wordpad or WordPerfect are equally good. I currently also have Works 4.5 as well. One note to Office 97 users: if you use WIN98, I can't open the file, or get it to format correctly. Save the file in Word 6.0 format and send it that way. My time constraints are now such where it is not possible to rework each submission to get it to a readable form, sorry. Please no hard returns on every line, and do not use special characters such as 'smart quotes'! In the case of attached files, industry standards are required: 1" margins all around, Courier or Times 12 pitch (if True Type font is used it must be 12 pt.), standard headers and cover page, as well as double spaced--use the line spacing controls of the word processor, and not the return key. ASCII Text files, however, should be single spaced and NOT in ASCII generic word processor format. RTF is ALWAYS preferred over ASCII files! Due to a recent bad experience with .MME or MIME files, these are no longer acceptable. I just don't have anything which reads them without perverting them beyond all hope. MAC users should check the formatting first because I have gotten some rather odd distortions in files coming from some MAC users--the best bet is to first send your story through our Senior Editor so she can convert them, but please LABEL it as a MAC submission!(generally associated with the same problems with the .mme and MIME files). RFT files are fine. (In fact, all special file extensions should always go through the Senior Editor and I cannot stress this enough...LABEL them! If you do not let her know what is going on, then she cannot do what she needs to and you may very well be passed over!) All submissions will be held until the 15th of the month prior to publication. At that time one of four decisions will be rendered: 1.) Rejection due to format problems. 2.) Rejected due to poor writing with short critique attached. 3.) Good story, but rejected due to lack of space. I have only a limited number of slots to fill, and by waiting until near publication time, this gives all submissions an equal chance. I will not accept and hold a story. I feel this is not fair to the author and unduly increases my chances of losing or misfiling a story. 4.) Accepted for publication. E-mail (either with the story or attached file) MUST contain a short Biography, mailing address, name, pen name (if used), and SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. If these are not present, I can't accept the story, and it will be returned unread. Social security numbers will be kept for tax purposes, and 1099 forms will be issued at the end of the year. The subject line must read: "Fantasy Submission: (Title of the story). If the story is in E-mail format, the title and a byline MUST be above the text of the story. If the story is an attached file, then the saved format (word processor and version number) must be included regardless of file extension. Address fantasy submissions to: Lorkiff@hotmail.com Science Fiction As a Star Trek aficionado, I prefer Science Fiction in that vein (Space Opera) although I will accept Hard Science Fiction and Science Fantasy. With a Bachelor of Science degree under my belt, I expect believable future technology; do not use terminology which hasn't been researched as a possibility for the next millennium. I want stories which are plot and character driven. I do not want slice-of-life space battles where the characters do little more than zap one another. I limit the word count to 5000 words. Each submission should include the following: Author's name (or pen name), Word Count, Category (SF, Space Opera, etc.), a brief Bio of the author, date written. Submit manuscripts embedded in the e-mail only. Address submissions to: Crlmuir@aol.com Horror Fiction When it comes to horror, I'm a hard taskmaster, having read most of the masters of the past one and a half centuries. Please spare me slight variations on what has come before. I've been seeing way too many boring vampire treatments of the Ann Rice or the "Blade" films and the psychological horror "nutty guy on the loose" treatments are getting pretty lame as well. To be perfectly frank, these types of stories bore the hell outta me. I liked the movie "Seven" too, but give me a break, will ya? To be brief, I simply want stories that scare me. Give me monsters from Hell! Give me vengeful ghosts! Give me snarling werewolves or unstoppable mummies! Give me gut-wrenching aliens! Give me creepy old men (or women) who do terrible things to people that have the bad luck to cross their paths! Give me any combination of the above! My only caution to you is that I'm not particularly fond of children in jeopardy stories nor am I into gore for gore's sake but if it is vital to the tale you have to tell, then tell it by all means! Let out all the stops! I want the stories that you'd be ashamed to tell your mother because she might lock you away in the attic and let you live on rats for your remaining days. Are we getting the picture here, people? One final note: I'm not your 3rd grade English teacher. I will accept a couple typos and such but with the availability of spell checkers and the like there is really no excuse for poorly presented manuscripts and they WILL be rejected without comment. I am more than happy to make suggestions and help an author along who I feel shows a certain degree of talent but I will not handhold you. My rejections may be hard but they are fair and meant to help you improve as a writer, not to stroke your ego. This is not a business for the weak hearted or easily offended, so if you're looking for pampering then save your time and mine and let your drinking buddies tell you how great an author you are and submit elsewhere. Submit ALL horror to: Horrorman1@aol.com Now you know why they call me Horrorman. Mystery and Thrillers This is a new genre just accepted by =Alternate Realities= and I am willing to read almost any story that falls within the above titles. I want to wonder Who-Done-It or suffer along with the victims in a Thriller or hold my breath as I turn the pages waiting for the outcome of a Suspense story. Please be aware I have shelves stacked with these types of books so be original and try not to go over 5000 words. Each submission should include the following: Author's Name (or pen name), Word count, Category (Mystery, Thriller, Suspense), a brief Bio of the author, date written. Submit manuscripts embedded in the e-mail only. Address submissions to crlmuir@aol.com Poetry Guidelines This will read more like a list of don'ts. Anything not listed here is usable. Bad grammar, poems which read more like prose where there is little form (and often no real substance). Poetry which is listed as a certain form and isn't. Examples: Haiku or Tanka which are neither three lines nor five, sonnets with five lines, etc. Mad ramblings of the insane and dark poetry are NOT acceptable. If based upon a reality, it should fit that reality. I'll take items from the UFO crowd, but it had best be well founded. If you use Area 51, you had best be able to answer the following question: Where did the term Area 51 come from? (Trust me, I DO know the correct answer for this one, and am well acquainted with several aircraft developed at Dreamland and Groom Lake, including the SR-71 (Engineering background, remember?).) ALL POETRY SHOULD FIT INTO GENRES ACCEPTED BY THE WEBZINE - HORROR, FANTASY, SCI FI, ETC. Forms: I am a bit of a traditionalist, but then again, e.e. cummings is part of that tradition as well. Although I tend to write an awful lot of rhyming poetry, it is NOT a requirement to have a rhyming scheme--Blank and Free Verse are just fine. General: Poetry must conform to the genres accepted (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Suspense/Thriller). As with the Fantasy guidelines, it has to move me to feel something - even if that is childish (with poetry, that is OK). Amaze me, fill me with wonder and joy, or make me cry--it matters little which I feel as long as it brings some emotional response. Submission format: The preferred is WordPerfect (Corel 9 or older) but I will take E-mail submissions as long as the formatting has been reworked by the author. ASCII text files, so long as they are able to be opened and readable by Word Pad or WordPerfect are equally good. I currently also have Works 4.5 as well. One note to Office 97 and Works users: if you use WIN98, I can't open the file, or get it to format correctly. Save the file in Word 6.0 format and send it that way. My time constraints are now such where it is not possible to rework each submission to get it to a readable form, sorry. In the case of attached files, industry standards are required: 1" margins all around, Courier or Times 12 pitch (if True Type font is used it must be 12 pt.), standard headers and cover page, as well as double spaced - use the line spacing controls of the word processor, and not the return key. ASCII Text files, however, should be single spaced and NOT in ASCII generic word processor format. Due to a recent bad experience with .MME or MIME files, these are no longer acceptable. I just don't have anything which reads them without perverting them beyond all hope. MAC users should check the formatting first because I have gotten some rather odd distortions in files coming from some MAC users (generally associated with the same problems with the .mme and MIME files). RFT files are fine. E-mail (either with the poem or attached file) MUST contain a short Biography, mailing address, name, and pen name (if used). If these are not present, I can't accept the story, and it will be returned unread. The subject line must read: "Poetry Submission: (Title of the first poem (if multiple) poem). If the poem is in E-mail format, the title and a byline MUST be above the text of the story. If the poem is an attached file, then the saved format (word processor and version number) must be included regardless of file extension. Address poetry submissions to: Lorkiff@hotmail.com Artwork Each issue we feature genre artwork by new and established artists. Please limit your submissions to 6 works per month. The artwork must depict Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Mysteries or any of the sub-genres. Please send the individual file attachments in GIF or JPEG format or in a ZIP file. No multiple file attachments please (MIME); aol scrambles them. Include the title of the piece, artist's name (or art name), medium used, a brief bio and label the genre it represents, the artist URL's you want included and/or purchasing info, artist photographs, like authors are optional, but we all like them. Send All artwork to: Fanwrite@aol.com Genre Reviews We accept reviews for Books, Movies, conferences, games, and genre websites. All reviews must have to do with the following genres and their sub-genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror. Please include the following information in your reviews: Reviewer's name (or pen name), Category (movie, book etc), Title of the reviewed piece, a brief bio, and date it was reviewed. Send all Movie Reviews to: Horrorman1@aol.com ALREADY WRITTEN REVIEW: Book reviews are always accepted. If you are submitting a book review, please include: Your Name, Book Title, ISBN, Genre, Author Name, Publisher Name, pages, limit your review to no more than 3 paragraphs. AUTHORS WISHING TO REQUEST A BOOK REVIEW: If you are an author submitting a book for review, please be aware that at this date 5/10/01, we have 10 books in the queue before you. You will need to provide us a copy of the book, your name, publishers name, genre, purchasing info and any URLS relevant to the book. ALL inquiries need to be sent to Fanwrite@aol.com, the Senior Editor, Joan McCarty PRIOR to shipping the book, this way we can give you an idea to which issue your review will appear. You also need to provide us a viable e-mail address. E-books are always accepted, and are preferred in PFD format, but will also be accepted on disk or HTML. General Information The editors are as follows: Joan M. McCarty aka Fanwrite@aol.com --Editor in Chief. Takes submissions for advertisers, Press Releases, Writer to Writer Announcements, links, Serials, Artwork, and poetry. Carole Muir, Crlmuir@aol.com Science Fiction and Thrillers Editor--Takes submissions for Science Fiction Short Stories, Thrillers, Mysteries and Suspense short stories and serials, Science fiction Serials, advertising submissions. All submissions MUST be in the body of an e-mail, with NO HTML formatting. Geof Lucier a.k.a Horrorman1@aol.com--Horror and review editor Takes submissions for Horror pages, and review pages.Is able to answer questions concerning Guidelines and general information. Robyn Wills a.k.a Lorkiff@hotmail.com--Fantasy Editor and Poetry Editor. Takes submissions for Fantasy Short Stories and Poetry. We ask that you limit your submissions to one Short Story per genre per month and 3 poems and 6 artworks. All submissions should go to the editor listed. If your manuscript crosses genres, don't worry about it. The submission will be shuffled to the appropriate editor. In like manner, all queries should be addressed to the proper editor as well. Thank you for your interest in =Alternate Realities Webzine=! We look forward to hearing from you! Any questions about these guidelines should be directed to the Senior Editor, Joan McCarty. [http://www.alternaterealitieszine.com/Guide.htm] CHALLENGING DESTINY [Canadian quarterly printzine, SF/F 2,000-10,000 wds, pays 1 cent Canadian/wd. No E-mail subm.] Dave Switzer, Editor Challenging Destiny 47 Bridgeport Rd E Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2J 2J4 Queries (no submissions): csp@golden.net http://home.golden.net/~csp/previews/index.htm We're a quarterly magazine that publishes new science fiction and fantasy short stories. What's our definition of science fiction and fantasy? It's as broad as yours is, so if you think it's sf or f then we guarantee we won't reject it because it doesn't fit our definition. We're not looking for straight horror stories at this time. Note: We will not be reading stories during August and September this year. Please refrain from sending stories during this time. What kind of stories do we want? Good ones, of course. We're interested in stories where violence is rejected as a means for solving problems. We're also interested in stories with philosophical, political, or religious themes. We're not interested in stories where the good guys kill the bad guys and then live happily ever after. =Challenging Destiny= is a Canadian magazine, but we publish authors from all over the world (well, Canada, the US, the UK, and Japan so far). We encourage first-time authors to send us their stories. We buy first North American serial rights, and currently pay authors 1 cent (Canadian) per word plus 2 copies of the magazine upon publication. Normally stories we accept are between 2000 and 10,000 words, although we will consider shorter or longer works. As for the format, any readable format is fine. Send us your stories by mail. We do not accept email submissions of stories. We're not considering poetry at this time. Our email address is csp@golden.net, and our mailing address for all correspondence is Dave Switzer, Editor, Challenging Destiny, 47 Bridgeport Rd E, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2J 2J4 We usually respond in 1-4 weeks, depending on how busy we are. Note to non-Canadian writers: If you're sending a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE), do not send a stamp from your country. They are useless outside your country. Send an International Reply Coupon (IRC) instead. One IRC is good for postage for a business-size envelope. If you want your story returned, you'll have to include several IRCs. When you're getting an IRC from your post office, make sure the person stamps it on the left-hand side. Last modified: September 17, 2001 http://home.golden.net/~csp/guidemag.htm DEEP OUTSIDE SFFH [Webzine, SF/H 1500-4000 wds. Pays 3 cents/wd on accept. No sim or E-mail subm or reprints.] Clocktower Fiction 6549 Mission Gorge Road Box 260 San Diego, California 92120 E-mail (queries only): outside@clocktowerfiction.com http://www.clocktowerfiction.com/Outside/ Who We Are: =Outside= is a paying professional magazine of SF and dark imaginative fiction, aimed at people who love to read well-plotted, character-driven genre fiction. We are interested in fiction that transcends the limitations and ventures outside the stereotypes of genre fiction. What We Publish: short (1500-4000 words) Science Fiction, Horror, and darkly imaginative fiction. We seek well-written, professionally executed fiction, with attention to basics-- grammar, punctuation, usage. We do not accept Sword & Sorcery, pornography, or excessive violence and gore beyond the legitimate needs of a story. Also no derivative works (e.g., emulating TV shows and movies - no Star Trek stories, for example). Our goals: We strive to be both writer-friendly and reader- friendly. We eagerly look forward to receiving top quality, professional material from you. Requirements: All stories must be typed double-spaced, on only one side of each sheet with sheets loose -- no fasteners of any kind. The author's full name and address should appear in the upper left-hand corner of page one; an approximate word count should appear in the upper right-hand corner. Each page should be numbered and include the title and author's last name. We will accept letter quality 24-pin dot-matrix computer print--please separate the pages. If you choose to submit photocopies, they must be clear and readable. No simultaneous submissions, please. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage weigh heavily as we consider the story. You must master these essentials to be a professional writer. We expect that a professional writer owns, and regularly uses, a dictionary and at least one or two usage books (e.g. Strunk & White, Fowler). To be a successful writer, you should be a voracious but discriminating reader. Many books are available about the craft of writing -- read them all for free through your public library. Join a writers' group. Write constantly to improve your craft--it's a tough discipline, as difficult and time consuming as learning to play symphony-quality violin or piano. Visit SharpWriter.Com for a comprehensive writer's resource. Finally, despite all these somewhat dire words, we wish you a passionate and successful love affair with writing. We pay three cents per word upon acceptance of your manuscript for First Serial Rights for one year. Acceptance constitutes final editorial approval of content. We strive to pay as promptly as possible, but please allot a reasonable amount of time (6-8 weeks after acceptance) for your check to arrive. Manuscripts must be sent by postal mail only. E-mail submissions will be deleted without being read. Please include an appropriately sized, self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). (Contributors residing outside the United States should use international reply coupons.) Even if you do not want your manuscript returned, we require a letter-size SASE for our response; manuscripts without an SASE will not be returned. If you have an e-mail address, please furnish it on your hardcopy. Our e-mail address is outside@clocktowerfiction.com. We usually respond within six weeks after receiving a submission. Depending on many variables, however, it can sometimes take longer. Please give us ample time before you begin writing to inquire about a submission's status. Please do not send us the only copy of your manuscript (accidents happen and mail gets lost). No simultaneous or previously published work. Authors whose material is published in =Outside: Speculative & Dark Fiction= (OSDF) shall understand that OSDF has linkage and similar alliances with certain web enterprises, e.g. Alta Vista's Wild Wild Web, and that the author's work may at times be featured at or linked from such websites. We at OSDF consider this to be a fair use in that it is authorized by us, benefits us and our authors in terms of gaining exposure on the Web, and does not involve a reselling of rights to their intellectual property. Authors who do not agree with this position should, regrettably, not submit their work to OSDF for publication. Authors who do accept our terms do in fact agree that such linking and featuring are fair use among the rights purchased by OSDF. All submissions should be sent to the attention of: Clocktower Fiction, 6549 Mission Gorge Road, Box 260, San Diego, CA 92120 [http://www.clocktowerfiction.com/Outside/Main/guidelines.shtml] DNA PUBLICATIONS WEBSITE [Website, SF/F/H. Pays 3-5 cents/wd on accept. No E-mail subm.] Warren Lapine, editor PO Box 2988 Radford VA 24143-2988 E-mail (queries only): info@dnapublications.com http://www.dnapublications.com/ No e-mail subs. Please mark clearly as being for the website. Stories that meet the guidelines for any of our magazines [=Absolute Magnitude=, =Dreams of Decadence=, =Fantastic Stories=, and =Weird Tales=] will be considered for the website. Pays 3-5 cents/word on acceptance for electronic rights. Do pay attention to the notes on plot and character in the =Absolute Magnitude= guidelines. (We want tightly plotted stories with memorable characters. Characters should be the driving force behind the action of the story, and should not be thrown in as an afterthought. We need to see both plot development and character growth. Stories that are resolved without action on the protagonist's part do not work for us; characters should not be spectators in situations completely beyond their control or immune to their influence.) [http://www.dnapublications.com/info/guide.htm] DRAGON MAGAZINE [Monthly gaming printzine, S&S to 6,000 wds. Pays 5 cents/wd and up on accept. Must send disclosure form with subm. No E-mail subm.] Fiction Editor Dragon Magazine 1801 Lind Avenue S.W. Renton, WA 98055 http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dragon Fiction Guidelines We want exciting sword-and-sorcery fiction with interesting characters, action, and an engaging plot. Clever heroes and cunning villains are better choices than stupid heroes and insane villains. If want to present an antihero, think again; we're picky about them. We're not interested in stories based on your D&D campaign, since they usually appeal only to those who participated in the game session. We publish short stories only, no poems or plays. A query is not necessary for fiction; send the complete manuscript with cover letter only. Fiction should not exceed 6,000 words. Payment rates start at 5 cents per word, made upon acceptance for first worldwide publication rights in the English language. (Exception: We buy all rights for fiction based on Wizards of the Coast properties, such as the Greyhawk setting.) Notice of acceptance or rejection is usually made within 60 days. All submissions must include an SASE and a Disclosure Form. In no instance can =Dragon Magazine= assume responsibility for manuscripts not specifically solicited. Address all fiction submissions to: Fiction Editor, Dragon Magazine, 1801 Lind Avenue S.W., Renton, WA 98055. [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dragon/submissions] DREAMS OF DECADENCE, VAMPIRE POETRY AND FICTION [Printzine, vampire stories (DF) 1,000 to 15,000 wds. Pays 1-5 cents/wd on pub. No pay for reprints. Sim subm okay. No E-mail subm.] Angela Kessler, editor P.O. Box 2988 Radford, VA 24143-2988 E-mail (queries only): dreamsofdecadence@dnapublications.com http://www.dnapublications.com/dreams/index.htm No e-mail subs. Please mark clearly as being for =Dreams of Decadence=. Vampire poetry up to 2 pages and vampire fiction 1k-15k words. Pays 1-5 cents/word on publication for FNASR for original fiction. In general, reprints will be considered on a for-copy basis and only if last published at least two years ago. Looking for atmospheric, well-written stories. The emphasis is on dark fantasy rather than horror. Vampires may be either protagonists or villains, but in either case characters should be well-developed. We want to see original ideas and story concepts, not rehashes. I like stories that take the traditional concept of the vampire into new territory, or offer a new perspective. I like elegantly-crafted, poetic prose with a Gothic feel, but remember: stories do need well-developed characters and plot no matter how lovely the writing style may be. I do NOT want to see any more stories about posers or wanna-bes; Dracula (historical or Stoker's); vampire monks/priests; or Jesus Christ, Santa Claus, or the Easter Bunny as vampires. The following are NOT STORIES; please do not send them to me: Someone becomes a vampire; Vampire feeds; Vampire gets laid; Vampire gets staked. If that is all that happens in your story, this is NOT the market for it. It is okay for any of those things to happen in a story, but none of those is a sufficient plot. "Vampire feeds" is equivalent to "Someone eats a hamburger": It happens all the time, but it doesn't make much of a story. Looking for all forms of poetry, up to 2 pages in length; however, the less horrific and the more explicitly vampiric a poem is, the more likely it is to be accepted. I do not buy horror poetry. Poetry payment: $3.00 per short poem, $5.00 per longer poem, $20.00 for featured poet. Simultaneous subs ok if so noted. Sample $5. [http://www.dnapublications.com/info/guide.htm] THE EDGE, THE SHARPEST MAGAZINE IN THE WORLD [British printzine, borderline SF/F/H from 2,000 wds. Pay negotiable, to 65 pounds/1,000 wds., on pub. No E-mail, sim, or mult subm. No reprints.] Graham Evans, editor The Edge 65 Guinness Buildings Fulham Palace Road London, W6 8BD, UK E-mail (queries only): houghtong@globalnet.co.uk http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~houghtong/edge1.htm Guidelines for Potential Contributors Please read carefully and look at the magazine before contacting us. =The Edge= is interested in fiction, features and reviews by writers from anywhere in the world. Please address to Graham Evans at the address above. We reply to all submissions that arrive with appropriate return postage or an email address within 3 weeks of receipt (usually within one week). We do not read submissions sent by email. Please note that =The Edge= accepts no responsibility for unsolicited submissions, and does not suffer fools gladly. Fiction =The Edge= publishes unusual, interesting short stories of more than 2000 words (not whole novels or sequels to work published elsewhere). Many have urban themes, and/or could be described (by others) as modern and borderline gothic horror/fantasy/sf, 'slipstream' fiction, crime fiction or erotica; please don't send clich‚d stories. Experimental work is welcome. There is always room for new names. A lot of our fiction has subsequently been collected into book form. =The Edge= is, obviously, read by many professional writers and editors. Please send one story at a time, and don't e-mail fiction to us. Non-fiction Features, including interviews, are usually commissioned. These are from 2-20,000 words. Please write with a sample of your work, published or unpublished, with appropriate return postage (see below) unless you are enclosing your email address. We have never published an unsolicited review. Those interested in book or film reviewing should look at a copy of the magazine and send examples of their work (published or unpublished). Artwork Illustrators, cover artists and cartoonists are not required. Comic strip submissions will be considered, either serious or humorous, but look at the magazine (not just the site) first. We look at either complete strips or stories, or sample pages. All artwork sent must be disposable. Payment Payments are negotiable (up to œ65 per 1000 words). Payment is made on publication, and we will send you proofs before printing. =The Edge= buys First Publication Rights (in any media, anywhere in the world) only. This means that anything accepted for publication must not have appeared anywhere, including on websites, before we publish it; and that after we publish it, it's yours again. We've never said anywhere that =The Edge= will publish reprints and sometimes don't bother to reply to previously published submissions. So please don't send them. Requirements Please type double-spaced, number the pages of typescripts, and include your name and address and the approximate word-length. Paperclip or staple your work. Oddly (it seems) we mean all this, including the last bit. No poetry, simultaneous submissions or submissions by email or on disk. Please don't squash your work into a tiny envelope. If you send a big ms and a small sae we'll assume the ms is disposable. Please don't send your work via any service requiring a signature on receipt. We get tons of things that way already, and that's enough. We're unable to comment on work submitted, enter into correspondence about it, and rarely reply personally. This is to save time. Unless you're someone whose work we're already interested in, we're very unlikely to visit your website to look at your work. Appropriate return postage UK: enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope (an SAE) for the return of your work, ensuring that the stamps are of sufficient value. Alternatively, send a disposable copy of your work plus an SAE for a letter of acceptance/rejection. If you're outside the UK, always send disposable work. If you're in Ireland or Europe 1 IRC (an International Reply Coupon) will be sufficient for an airmail reply. If you're outside Europe or Ireland enclose 2 IRCs or $2 cash (US). This covers an airmail letter of reply. One IRC usually isn't enough, unfortunately. We know some US post offices will say it should cover an airmail response. It actually covers feather-light envelopes and paper or a hand-written postcard; we don't use those. If you only send one then you probably won't hear from us. [http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~houghtong/order.htm] FANTASTIC STORIES OF THE IMAGINATION [Quarterly printzine, F/SF 2,000-15,000 wds. Pays 1-5 cents/wd . No E-mail subm.] Ed McFadden, editor PO Box 329 Brightwaters NY 11718-0329 E-mail (queries only): fantasticstories@dnapublications.com www.dnapublications.com/fantastic/index.htm =Fantastic Stories= is a full-size, quarterly fantasy and science fiction magazine. Each issue has a full color glossy cover and is filled with imaginative stories, poetry, interviews and art, by professional and small press writers. =Fantastic Stories= features fantasy and science fiction in all their forms. While elements in the story must be SF/F oriented, mixing genres is permissible (e.g., an SF Mystery.) All stories must be well written, factually correct and, of course, entertaining. Stories should be entirely fictional; do not send stories based on actual events. 2,000 to 15,000 words; average is 4,000 to 5,000 words. Payment is 1 to 5 cents per word for FNASR. POETRY: All forms and styles, 3-20 lines, within the stated genres; payment up to $1 per line for First North American Serial Rights. ART: =Fantastic Stories= is always in need of good art. Send B&W samples for interior and color photocopied samples for cover work. Payment for interior and cover art is negotiated with each artist. Follow standard manuscript format; mss. with type smaller than 12 point will be returned unread; submissions without a self- addressed stamped envelope (with IRCs for international submissions) will be destroyed unread. Do not send rewrites unless they are specifically requested. Response time is 1-2 months. Include cover letter w/credits. Sample $5. No e-mail subs. [http://www.dnapublications.com/info/guide.htm] FUTURES MYSTERIOUS ANTHOLOGY [Printzine, SF/mystery to 7000 wds. Pays $10/story. E-mail subm. only. Seldom uses reprints. No mult subm in one E-mail. Sim subs okay.] Babs Lakey, publisher E-mail submissions: BARBL@tela.com http://www.futuresforstorylovers.com/ ***Due to an overwhelming number of submissions =Futures= is taking a Holiday break this year. We will be closed to new submissions from, and including, Tuesday November 20th, throughout the month of December, and we'll open for new submissions once again on Tuesday January 9th. During the break we will remain open to all contest entries and will respond on accepted or rejected submissions received prior to this date as usual. We wish you a Happy and Save Holiday! --the =Futures= Staff =Futures= considers itself a stepping stone for many younger writers as well as a magazine with tremendous variety and creative power for seasoned writers and artists. Please consider that many proudly show their family the content and use appropriate language. When in doubt, feel free to inquire. We nominate for the Pushcart Prize Award each year and are honored to do so; profanity will exclude a Pushcart nomination. We accept submissions via email only. Save your story in plain text and then insert it into the body of your email message. Do not use attachments--often they cannot be opened at this end. Use single spaced lines. One space between sentences, not two. Two hard returns between paragraphs, plus a five-space indent. Some programs will change a TAB to spaces, some won't, so please indent with the space bar. To indicate italics, use the asterisk, thus: *word/sentence*. Do not use such gimmicks as reverse-curling quote marks and apostrophes, hard spaces, underlining, bold print, accent marks, etc. These look nice on paper, but we are not looking at paper. They all plant BINARY CODE, and every bit of it has to be deleted before the story can be inserted into an e-mail and sent to our production manager. Sometimes this takes HOURS. Please stick to the keys on your keyboard, without enhancements. Type THE END at the end of your story. This enables us to verify that your entire manuscript was received. Fiction: Send the entire story. We publish up to 7000 words on a regular basis and serialize on occasion. Non-fiction: We seldom print non-fiction. If you feel your article fits with the tone of the magazine, send a query telling us about your idea. Poetry Submission Guidelines: Because our editors are scattered around the world, we can no longer accept submissions via regular mail. Please submit electronically in the future to: Patricia Donaher futrpoet@mwsc.edu. Write Poetry Submission on the subject line and paste your poems into the message box. Mark line breaks with a slash / at the end of the line since email programs can distort line breaks. Double space between stanzas. If your formatting is somewhat complicated, please send the poem as an attached file in Rich Text Format. You can save most word processed documents as .rtf by choosing it from the "Save" menu. If I have trouble reading your attachment, I will let you know. FOR ALL WORK: Don't rely on your spell checker; proofread your work! Give us your name, address and the word count at the top, along with the genre or subgenre (we realize it is difficult to categorize many stories, but we want to give YOUR STORY the best chance by assigning it to editors who enjoy the kind of writing you do--and later, if accepted, tempt the readers!) Include a short cover letter with a bio. This can be no more than "Hi, I've written a short story for your consideration, and included my bio below." Bios should not rival the story; please limit them to 50 words or less (count them). They should be written in the third person and reflect a quick synopsis of your writing career. For example: "Mary Writer teaches Physics at Arizona State University and writes fantasy tales in her spare time. Her stories have been printed in many prestigious magazines, including -------. She is a regular contributor to FUTURES." or "Joe Writer lives and writes in the mountains of Pennsylvania. This is his first story for FUTURES." Note in your cover letter if this is first rights (including electronic rights). In most cases, we require First North American serial rights, and seldom purchase reprints. Simultaneous submissions will be considered; we only ask that you inform us at the time of submission. Please send only one story in an email. Three stories (each including name, address, word count, genre, and bio) should be submitted in three separate e-mails. If you believe in giving support to a magazine that supports you as a writer and/or artist, be sure to consider a subscription or perhaps buy a single copy to see what we're about--we highly recommend it. (Although it has nothing whatever to do with whether you are published with us or not; a subscriber doesn't have an edge, nor a non-subscriber the opposite!). FUTURES website has an ONLINE STORE. Check it out, we'll be adding new things all the time, but for now, buy a copy and read the magazine you want to become a part of. We hope you'll find many things of interest there. Your participation in the contests is also something we appreciate and recommend--often our winners are new writers! The most recent contest A PICTURE IS WORTH 1000 (to 3000)WORDS benefits not only the winning writer but the illustrator as well, it is great fun, check it out! TWIST is an annual contest that gives you an opportunity to be judged by the master of the twist ending, Henry Slesar, the man who wrote years worth of TV Alfred Hitchcock Presents scripts. Our annual FUTURES fire to fly short story contest is about to end Oct 31. This has a first prize of $350. And, for new writers we have a no fees mystery contest for short fiction and novels, the annual Karen Besecker and Cathey Clarey fire to fly memorial. Stop by and see what we have to offer you. *The FUTURES Holiday break does not affect contests. Please submit as usual. If your story is anything but first time rights--(the story has not been published in paper or electronically, previously) please be sure to tell me, would you? Same thing with a simultaneous submission. **If you have already addressed this in your cover letter, or if the answer is no, then, ** no need to reply to this! Also, if this is would be your first published story be sure we know this, too! We recommended authors read at least one issue prior to any submissions. Futures pays a nominal fee (for most, that is $10). However, we nominate for the Pushcart Prize, as well as the Edgar, Derringer, and our own Fire to Fly. We have a Publisher's Choice each issue and offer Starting Line for first time writers. Join us and become part of what will be OUR future together. Email submissions to Babs at: BARBL@tela.com Babs Lakey, Publisher, FUTURES Magazine [http://www.futuresforstorylovers.com/] GOTHIC.NET [Monthly webzine, H 2,000-5,000 wds. Pays 5 cents/wd original, 1 cent/wd. reprints. E-mail subm. only. Sim subs okay; no mult subm.] E-mail submissions: submit@gothic.net www.gothic.net *We are currently CLOSED to fiction submissions.* =Gothic.Net= is a market primarily for horror fiction with the occasional just strange story that doesn't fit anywhere else. While we may enjoy science fiction and fantasy, sadly, we just don't buy stories in those genres. We buy stories to cater to our audience: they're mostly young, hip, educated, and cynical. They tend to like moody, complicated stories, We don't know why our readers like those kinds of stories, they just do. The editor avoids yawnfest topics like vampires, serial killers, et cetera. He may mock you if you submit a story like that. Just a warning. Perusing our website and reading the current month's content will naturally give you the best idea of what stories we prefer. We buy stories from 2000-5000 words usually. We like a short cover letter with title, name, snail address, phone, email. Either MSWord or ASCII (text) and please, no .wpd files. Email submissions to submit@gothic.net ONLY. Send snail mail submissions at your own risk. Simultaneous submissions are okay, one submission per author. Payment: 5 cents/word for original fiction, 1 cent/word for reprints. Exclusive rights for one month, nonexclusive archival rights for 1 year terminated at will by the author. [http://www.gothic.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=FAQ&file=index &myfaq=yes&id_cat=4&categories=Submission+Guidelines] HMS BEAGLE [BioMed webzine, biological SF, pays $350/story, E-mails subm. only.] Laurie Zamprelli-Pasiuk, editor E-mail submissions: laurie@hmsbeagle.com http://news.bmn.com/hmsbeagle/ Call for Fiction Submissions Got a good beam-me-up-Scotty type of short story? We'd like to consider it for possible publication in our science-fiction section. Some guidelines: We will pay $350 for each story published in =HMS Beagle=. We are interested in fiction that is set in current or past places and times, as well as in the undefined future or in outer space. An imaginary conversation between Charles Darwin and his dying daughter would be as acceptable as a story about life in another galaxy. All stories must be very strongly related to biological matters or biological science. All submissions and questions should be addressed to Laurie Zamprelli-Pasiuk, laurie@hmsbeagle.com We look forward to hearing from you! [http://news.bmn.com/hmsbeagle/new] INTERZONE [British printzine, SF/F 2,000 to 6,000 wds. Pays on pub. No sim, mult, or E-mail subm. No reprints.] Interzone 217 Preston Drove Brighton BN1 6FL, UK E-mail (queries only): interzone@cix.co.uk. http://www.sfsite.com/interzone/ Sorry, but in common with most other professional-level print publications we cannot consider story submissions sent by e-mail. If you are serious about submitting, please send hard-copy manuscripts only, as detailed below. We are looking for innovative, entertaining, well-written and up-to-date science fiction and fantasy. We are unlikely to accept hackneyed space opera, sword-and-sorcery tales or traditional ghost stories. All submissions should be original and unpublished anywhere else. =Interzone= now receives about 200 manuscripts a month. While it's gratifying that there are so many science-fiction and fantasy authors who are eager to be published in our pages it's a lot of work for us to deal with such a quantity of material. Our job will be rendered easier, and your chances of acceptance increased, if you take careful note of the following: Please read a few recent issues of =Interzone= before you submit anything to us. Familiarizing yourself with the market is absolutely essential, but it's surprising how many people fail to do it. Unless you're a reader of a particular magazine (and this goes for any market), you're unlikely to have what it takes to become a successful writer for it. Send just one story at a time. Seriously, it's not in your interest to send half a dozen pieces at once---if we read one of them and are unimpressed by it we're not likely to turn to the others with any enthusiasm. Do not send us stories much shorter than 2,000 words or longer than 6,000 words. We sometimes publish pieces which fall outside these limits, but they're unlikely to be by writers who are unknown to us. Please put the estimated word-length of the story on the top sheet of your manuscript. Put your name and address on the top sheet, and please number your pages. Having your address on the manuscript is a necessary safeguard in case we lose your return envelope. Manuscripts should be typewritten or word-processed, on one side of the paper only, with plenty of spacing between lines and wide margins all round. If you're using a computer, don't send us grey or "draft quality" print-out. Indent your paragraphs, and do not leave extra line-spaces between paragraphs unless they're intended to indicate a deliberate line-break. Fiction with dialogue in it looks bad if the paragraphs are not indented. Always send a stamped, self-addressed envelope of adequate size for us to return the manuscript to you. Persons overseas should send a disposable manuscript (marked as such) and a small envelope with two International Reply Coupons. Please do not send foreign stamps, as they are no use to us. In self-defense, we've had to institute a rule of not replying to writers who fail to send return postage. Make sure you keep a copy of any manuscript you send us. We very rarely lose manuscripts, but we cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage to your submission. Please don't send submissions by recorded delivery or registered post---if you want proof that we have received your story, then send an additional small envelope or postcard for us to acknowledge receipt. Please do not bind or staple your manuscripts together, and don't send cardboard folders or bulky padded bags for return of the MS. A short-story manuscript should be able to slide through a letter-box easily, and anything which prevents it from doing so is a nuisance. Please allow at least two months for us to consider your story. We try to turn manuscripts round as quickly as possible, but there is a huge quantity of material to read, and none of us is able to do the reading on a full-time basis. Obviously, we're obliged to send promising manuscripts backwards and forwards through the post, and this takes time. If we accept your story, we shall buy First English-Language Serial Rights only, and pay you on publication. A contract will be sent to you at the time of acceptance. If we reject your story, we will not normally be able to supply a detailed reason. We'd like to be more helpful, but we simply haven't the time to become tutors to so many writers. If we say "no" to your piece this doesn't necessarily mean that it's without merit. Those 200 manuscripts a month are whittled down to just five or six which we shall end up accepting for publication, and many of the items we send back will deserve to find a home elsewhere. Watch =Interzone='s editorials, advertisements and Small Ads for clues as to other possible markets. Among others, The New SF Alliance is an excellent source of information (c/o Chris Reed, PO Box 625, Sheffield, S1 3GY---send an SAE for info but do not submit mss to him direct). =Interzone= needs your support to continue. So please consider taking out a subscription with us, even if we have been foolish enough to reject one of your stories. Our address is: Interzone, 217 Preston Drove, Brighton BN1 6FL, UK To contact us about editorial matters, send an email to Interzone at interzone@cix.co.uk. [http://www.sfsite.com/interzone/guide.htm] LADY CHURCHILL'S ROSEBUD WRISTLET [Twice yearly printzine, spec fic, pays "a little." No E-mail subm, uses reprints only occasionally.] Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet 360 Atlantic Ave., PMB #132 Brooklyn, NY 11217 http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/index.htm We do not accept email submissions. We recommend you read =Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet= before submitting. You can procure a copy from us or from assorted book shops. We accept fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and black and white art*. The fiction we publish most of tends toward the speculative. This does not mean only quietly desperate stories. We will consider items that fall out with regular categories. We do not publish gore, sword and sorcery or pornography. We can discuss these terms if you like. There are places for them all, this is not one of them. * Original black and white art should not be sent unless it is disposable. Do not send color (or colour) art unless you are sending enough money with it for us to print a color cover. Jpeg files and anything readable by Photoshop should work. I use the word 'should' advisably. We recommend at least one rewrite for both our sanities. Please follow standard ms format: 12pt Courier, double-spaced, numbered pages, &c. We buy first North American rights and occasionally reprints (which we solicit). We do not buy electronic rights, although we might in future times. We do not pay much. Neither do we publish often. The paper edition of LCRW comes out twice yearly, the web version with a few bits from the paper and a few other things sometimes, well, you know. This website, although we publish on it, is not a paying market. [http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/guide.htm] ON SPEC [Canadian quarterly printzine, spec fic SF/F/H to 6,000 wds. Pays $50C-$180C on accept. No E-mail or faxed subm. or reprints. Deadlines Feb 28, May 31, Aug 31, Nov 30] On Spec: The Canadian Magazine of Speculative Writing P.O. Box 4727, Stn. South, Edmonton, AB T6E 5G6 Phone: 780-413-0215 FAX: 780-413-1538 E-mail (queries only): onspec@canada.com http://www.icomm.ca/onspec/ WRITERS GUIDELINES revised March 2, 2001 **Please note: we do not consider e-mailed or faxed submissions. The best way to contact us regarding order requests, subscriptions, change of address, advertising opportunities, and general inquiries is to email us. Although we do respond to inquiries about the status of your fiction or poetry submission, we do not accept emailed submissions.** Send all mail to: ON SPEC Magazine, Box 4727, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6E 5G6 FICTION GUIDELINES -- General ALL MAIL TO: On Spec Magazine, Box 4727, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6E 5G6 The On Spec Editors: General Editor: Diane Walton Production Editor: Jena Snyder Fiction Editors: Derryl Murphy, Jena Snyder, Diane L. Walton, and Peter Watts Poetry Editor: Barry Hammond SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: The =On Spec= editors are looking for original, unpublished speculative fiction (SF) and poetry -- fantasy, horror, ghost stories, fairy stories, magic realism, etc. Our mandate is to provide a market for the Canadian viewpoint, but we welcome submissions from writers everywhere, and have published authors from Canada, the U.S., Britain, New Zealand, South America, and more. Send your short stories (max. 6000 words), short short stories (under 1000 words) or poetry (max. 100 lines) to the =On Spec= address above. Please note: we no longer require submissions in competition format. We do not read E-mailed or faxed submissions, and we do not buy work that has appeared in print or on the Internet. A writer sent us an e-mail about our guidelines recently. In it he asked what, precisely, did we mean when we said "no 'shaggy alien' stories". He was concerned that we were against ANY "space alien" humour, even that as well-crafted as William Tenn's "Seven Sexes" or Kornbluth's "Silly Season." For the record, here's my reply. I'm responding to your question about what we mean when we say "no shaggy alien stories". It's not much different from "shaggy dog stories", except there is usually something science fictional tossed in, in a feeble attempt to convince the reader that it really is a genre piece. In SF fan fiction, these are often called "Feghoots" (see http://www.geocities.com/ CapitolHill/Lobby/9517/feghoot.html). A shaggy *anything* story is little more than a long, drawn-out anecdote, ending with a rather dreadful pun or one-liner punch line. Sort of the "who'd send a knight out on a dog like this?" style. This is all very well and good and entertaining if both writer and audience acknowledge that a joke is coming at the end, but when an author disguises the joke as fiction, then it becomes a massive groaner and a waste of the reader's time. We can usually see them coming a mile away. And it is not what we are looking for, even in humour fiction. COVER LETTER: * include your name, address, telephone number, email address, story title, accurate word count, and a brief (3-line) biography including your publishing background * don't include a synopsis: let your story sell itself FORMAT: All submissions to On Spec should: * be in standard submission format * be mailed to us (we don't read faxed or e-mailed submissions) * be accompanied by a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) * be accompanied by a cover letter * be printed on white paper in black ink * be double-spaced * be printed on one side of the page only * be in a readable font (e.g. Times or Courier) * have 1-inch margins all around * be left-justified, with a "ragged right" margin * have a header on each page with story title and page number * be paper-clipped together, not stapled or bound * be no more than 6,000 words long REPLIES: * we do not reply via email * we prefer disposable manuscripts, but if you want your manuscript returned, include Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) bearing sufficient Canadian postage for its return. If your manuscript is disposable, mark it "disposable" and include #10 SASE (or SAE and IRCs) for our reply * manuscripts sent from outside Canada should include Canadian stamps or International Reply Coupons (IRCs, available from most post offices) * submissions without a SASE will be held for 6 months, then recycled PAYMENT: =On Spec= buys first North American serial (magazine) rights to your work. We pay upon acceptance. Minimum payment for fiction is $50 and maximum payment is $180. Pay rates are as follows and are in Canadian dollars: Poems: 4-100 lines $20 plus one contributor's copy Short-short stories (under 1000 words): $50, plus one contributor's copy Fiction (6000 words max.) 1000-2999 words $100 plus 2 contributor's copies 3000-4999 words $150 plus 2 contributor's copies 5000-6000 words $180 plus 2 contributor's copies DEADLINES: Deadlines are February 28, May 31, August 31, and November 30. Publication decisions are made four times annually, with response about 12 weeks after each deadline. Manuscripts that miss a deadline will be held for the next one; this may be up to 6 months. Please let us know if you do not wish a manuscript to be held over. THEME ISSUES: We do one theme issue per year. Deadline is August 31 of each year, for publication the following spring. Our Spring 2001 theme issue, "World Beat" is now closed. Theme for 2002 TBA, deadline August 31, 2001 for submissions. Follow same guidelines as for regular issue. POETRY: Send SASE or see our website for our poetry guidelines. NONFICTION: Non-fiction is commissioned only. We are not looking for nonfiction articles, reviews, etc. at this time. SAMPLE COPIES: Sample copies (current issue) are now $7, including postage and tax (U.S. and overseas: US $7.) Please make checks or money orders payable to ON SPEC or include your Visa information (card number, expiry date, and name as it appears on your credit card). [http://www.icomm.ca/onspec/] PARSEC [Canadian printzine, SF/F/H 3,500 to 7,500 wds. Pay negotiable on pub. Query first--no unsolicited E-mail subm. Sim subm okay.] Chris Krejlgaard, managing editor c/o Plaza 69 Post Office 1935 Paris St. P.O. Box 21019 Sudbury, Ontario P3E 6G6 http://www.parsec.on.ca/ =Parsec= is a science fiction, fantasy and horror magazine. Logically, our PREFERENCE is to work with Canadian writers. But we accept work from around the world. After all, the federal and the provincial governments don't pay us to stick with Canadian writers...so if being paid in Canadian money doesn't phase you, just keep reading. In all cases, writers should query first. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be acknowledged AND will only be read after all other manuscripts (from writers who follow the rules) have been reviewed. All queries (typed and double-space please) should be sent to: Chris Krejlgaard, managing editor, c/o Plaza 69 Post Office, 1935 Paris St., P.O. Box 21019, Sudbury, Ontario P3E 6G6 Queries: These should well-thought out and form an outline of what you want to deal with in the article. In the case of fiction pieces, it should provide a synopsis of what the story is about, as well as what techniques you used. E-mailed QUERIES are accepted . . . DUE TO THE VOLUME OF SUBMISSIONS, UNSOLICITED STORIES SENT OVER EMAIL WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED....THEY WILL BE TRASHED. Non-Fiction: We are interested in interviews and stories regarding science fiction movies, television programs and books. We look for the interview or story that no one has gotten yet (or is likely to get). We will not arrange interviews for freelance writers (that is something we reserve for a handful of our regular contributors). Do not query unless you are certain that you have an interview with the person - we don't like to get our hopes up. Usual length for a feature story is 1,000-3,000 words. Secondary features are usually between 750-1,500 words. We are also interested in stories on new entertainment-related technology news. Length 500-800 words. Fiction: We are always in need of good quality science fiction and fantasy stories. Note the words "good quality." No high school creative writing projects, no stream of consciousness piece that you wrote contemplating the lines in your hand. We are eager to work with unpublished writers, but there is a distinct difference between unpublished and unpublishable. Fiction pieces should be between 3,500 and 7,500 words. Poetry: We don't purchase poetry or filler copy. Payment: Negotiated at acceptance. Payment is made within 60 days of when the issue is on newsstands. We also pay some expenses--this is negotiated if a query is accepted. Terms: We buy first rights and, in cases of fiction stories, reprint rights for our anthology (which carries an additional payment). Simultaneous submissions are okay, but please let us know if you have submitted the work to other publications at the same time we are considering it. We also ask that, if we publish your story, that it not appear anywhere else for a period of one year after we accept it. [http://www.parsec.on.ca/Writers%20Guidelines.html] THE PEDESTAL MAGAZINE [Webzine, all sorts of fiction, incl SF/F (likes cross-genre) to 6,000 wds. Pays 5 cents/wd. No reprints; sim subs okay. Submit mss. online.] Submit work online at http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com/ Submit2.asp http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com/ As editors of =The Pedestal Magazine=, we intend to support both established and burgeoning writers. We are committed to promoting diversity and celebrating the voice of the individual. We are currently receiving submissions in the following areas: Poetry: We are open to a wide variety of poetry, ranging from the highly experimental to the traditionally formal. Pay Rate: $30-$60 per poem Fiction: We are receptive to fiction of all sorts, including literary, experimental, science fiction, and fantasy; however our interests do lean towards works that cross genres, works that do not readily fall into one specific category. Pay Rate: $.05 per word Length: up to 6,000 words Non-Fiction: We are open to academic/scholarly works, as well as works that focus on issues of aesthetics, psychology, philosophy, and religion. Pay Rate: $.05 per word Length: up to 6,000 words =The Pedestal Magazine= does not accept previously published work, unless specifically requested; however, we will accept simultaneous submissions. At the time of publication, all rights revert back to the author/artist; however, =The Pedestal Magazine= retains the right to publish your piece in any subsequent issue or anthology, whether in print or online, without additional payment. Should you decide to republish the piece elsewhere, we ask that you cite =The Pedestal Magazine= as a place of previous publication and provide =The Pedestal Magazine='s web address. Submit work online at http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com/Submit2.asp [http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com/Submit1.asp] PRISM international [Canadian printzine, short fic (no genre, such as SF or H) to 25 pp. Pays $20C per printed page. No reprints, mult, or E-mail subm.] PRISM international Creative Writing Program, UBC Buch. E462 - 1866 Main Mall Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1 Canada http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/ submission guidelines Since 1959, =PRISM international= has published the best in short fiction, poetry, drama, translation, and creative non-fiction. =PRISM= welcomes writing from both established and unknown writers, from Canada and from around the world. Please send original, unpublished material in English. We do not consider work that has already appeared on the Internet, unless it has only been posted to writers' forums for discussion. We do not appreciate multiple submissions. Please limit the number of items in a submission to one prose piece, five poems, or one short play. We rarely publish anything longer than 25 pages. Translations are sought in all genres and must be undertaken with the permission of the original author; wherever possible, please include a copy of the original work. Non-fiction pieces should be creative, exploratory, or experimental in tone rather than rhetorical, academic, or journalistic. Accompanying photographs will occasionally be considered for publication. Fiction writers should note that genre writing such as romance, horror, or science fiction are not suited to =PRISM=. Manuscripts must be typed and double-spaced on letter-sized paper. Please include a brief cover letter with a short bio and publications list. To ensure a reply and/or the return of your material, include a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage (remember to use International Reply Coupons if you are from outside Canada). U.S. contributors please note that American postage is NOT valid in Canada. Please use either Canadian postage or an International Reply Coupon, available at your local post office. =PRISM international= purchases First North American Serial Rights. This means that we buy the right to print your work once, but you retain copyright. =PRISM= pays $40 per printed page for poetry and $20 per printed page for all other genres. We pay an extra $10 per printed page if we decide (with your permission) to use your work on our website. All contributors receive a one-year subscription to =PRISM international=. The editorial board awards an annual $500 prize to an outstanding poetry contributor in each volume. All submissions are read by three editors and final decisions are made by the editorial board. We respond as quickly as possible, usually within two to six months. =PRISM international= is always looking for exciting, original writing in all genres. We look forward to hearing from you, The Editors. Mail Submissions To: PRISM international, Creative Writing Program, UBC, Buch. E462 - 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1 Canada [http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/submit/index.htm] QUEEN'S QUARTERLY [Canadian quarterly printzine, all kinds of fiction 2500 to 3000 wds. Payment to be determined on accept; pays on pub. Mult subm (2 stories) okay. No sim subs. E-mail subm okay.] Editor, Queen's Quarterly Queen's University Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6 Canada Telephone 613 533-2667 Fax 613 533-6822 E-mail: qquarter@post.queensu.ca http://www.queensu.ca/quarterly/ =Queen's Quarterly= is a multidisciplinary journal aimed at the general educated reader. We publish articles, reviews, short stories and poetry. For fiction (2500 - 3000 words in length) or poetry, we will consider up to six poems or two stories. We require first North American rights. Please note that we do not accept simultaneous submissions. All articles should be 2500 - 4000 words in length and must conform to the =MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers= (3rd edition) with regard to notes and works cited. We use the =Oxford English Dictionary= for spelling. Articles are reviewed externally on an anonymous basis. Payment to new writers will be determined at time of acceptance and paid upon publication. Submissions can be sent on hard copy with a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (no replys/returns for foreign submissions unless accompanied by an International Reply Coupon) or by e-mail (no S.A.S.E. required) and will be responded to by same. If accepted, we will require a copy of the accepted submission on disk or by e-mail. telephone 613-533-2667 fax 613-533-6822 e-mail QQUARTER@POST.QUEENSU.CA [http://www.queensu.ca/quarterly/qqguide.htm] SCIFICTION (SCIFI.COM) [webzine, SF/F 2,000 to 17,500 wds. Pays 20 cents/wd to $3,500. No reprints, mult or sim subm. No e-mail subm.] Ellen Datlow Fiction Editor SCIFI.COM 48 Eighth Avenue PMB 405 New York, NY 10014 E-mail (queries only): sfeditor@www.scifi.com www.scifi.com/scifiction SCIFI.COM Fiction Writer's Guidelines =SciFiction= is looking for literate, strongly plotted science fiction and fantasy stories between 2,000 and 17,500 words--on a variety of subjects and themes. We want to intrigue our readers with mind-broadening, thought-provoking stories. Characterization is crucial. Stories must be written in clear, understandable prose. Payment is 20 cents a word up to $3,500. Originals only; no reprints. It is impossible for us to judge a story's quality without seeing the complete manuscript. If you have a story you think fits our requirements, submit it for consideration. But please do not send more than one story at a time; wait for a response on one before submitting another. Note: we do not publish sword-and-sorcery or space opera. And we do not accept unsolicited poetry or simultaneous submissions. We will consider a self-contained story that is part of a novel, or may later be developed into one. All stories must be typed, double-spaced, and on only one side of each page. Each page should be numbered and include title and author's last name. The author's full name and address should appear in the upper left-hand corner of page one; an approximate word count should appear in the upper right-hand corner. Do not staple and do not use unusual fonts. All italics must be shown by underlining. Please paper clip your manuscript. If you choose to submit photocopies, they must be clear and readable. We do not accept any form of electronic submission. Please include an appropriately sized, self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). (Contributors residing outside the United States should use at least two (2) international reply coupons.) Even if you do not want your manuscript returned, we require a letter- size SASE for our response; manuscripts without an SASE will not be returned. We usually respond within five to eight weeks after receiving a submission. Depending on numerous variables, however, it can sometimes take longer. Please give us ample time before inquiring about a submission's status. All submissions should be sent to the attention of Ellen Datlow, Fiction Editor, SCIFI.COM, 48 Eighth Avenue, PMB 405, New York, NY 10014. Email the editor [queries only] at sfeditor@www.scifi.com [http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/submit.html] SPECULON [Webzine, SF/F to 5,000 wds. Pays 5 cents/wd on accept. E-mail subm only. Mult subm okay; one per E-mail. Reprints only if never in English before. No sim subs.] Timothy A. Cooper, editor Fiction submissions: submissions@speculon.com All other correspondence: editor@speculon.com http://speculon.com/ Speculon Guidelines Updated Sept. 1, 2001 =Speculon= publishes Science Fiction, Fantasy, and cross-genre short stories. I'm not looking for Horror or exceptionally dark fantasy. Dark SF is good, though. I'm particularly susceptible to good cyberpunk, industrial fantasy, gadget stories, and oddball premises of all sorts. I get lots of well-written submissions; having a particularly interesting idea behind your story is the best way to make it stand out. Recently I have been seeing a large quantity of fiction in the 3000-5000 word range, and not nearly enough in the lower ranges. Particularly, I don't see nearly enough fiction under 1000 words. =Speculon= does have an editorial policy when it comes to content. I will not buy any story which I believe condones hateful actions or which displays them too blatantly. For example, while a rape or an incident of child abuse can occur within a story, it should not be "on-screen" unless extraordinarily tasteful, and the rapist/abuser should have to face the consequences in a creative manner. Submission procedures: Submissions should be sent embedded in the body of an email or attached as a .RTF or .DOC file to submissions@speculon.com. Please include your contact information (mailing address, etc) with your submission. If submitting as an attachment, please include the word count of the story in your cover letter. Multiple submissions are OK, but one submission per email please. Re-submission: Should the author feel that his/her story has significantly improved through revision after its initial consideration, the author is invited to resubmit. Limited only in that if the frequency of re-submission is too great, the author may be yelled at--sending me a story back after a week is OK; sending it back every 2 hours is not. Rights: =Speculon= buys first World-Wide-Web English-Language rights, with a six-week exclusive, and one-year nonexclusive archival rights. Reprints will only be considered if the story has never previously appeared in the English Language. New: =Speculon= is now also buying one-time non-exclusive e-anthology rights. This carries additional reimbursement of a pro-rated share of 50% royalties (the lack of an 'of' there is not a typo) on the sale of the ebook. Payment: Speculon pays 5 (five) cents per word US for stories up to 3000 words, and a flat rate of $150.00 US for stories between 3000 and 5000 words. We do not buy stories above 5000 words, and that limit is firm. Payment on acceptance. Most non-fiction is produced in-house. If you have an idea for an article, interview, or review, please query. However, there is currently no payment for non-fiction. We do NOT buy art. Is that clear enough? If you were reading the magazine, you would have noticed this. Fiction submissions should be directed to submissions@speculon.com (No poetry submissions, queries, etc. to this address please) All other correspondence to editor@speculon.com Thank you for supporting =Speculon=, Timothy A. Cooper, ed. Poetry Guidelines: I'm looking for well-written, innovative speculative poetry-- that includes science fiction, horror, fantasy, mythic, surreal, and "slipstream" poems. I prefer thoughtful, intelligent poetry. Humor and wit are wonderful, but I'm not interested in outright silliness. And remember, puns are the lowest form of humor. I'll consider all forms, from free verse to sonnets to sestinas, but if you're using a formal structure, make sure you know what you're doing. I'll accept poems of any length, but I prefer under 100 lines. Anything longer than that would have to be very impressive. I like fantasy (especially modern fantasy), but epic high-fantasy doesn't do much for me. I'm unlikely to buy a dwarf drinking song or a sorrowful elf-ballad. I like dark fantasy and horror, but there's a difference between "horror" and "gore"-- splashing blood all over the page to no real purpose will not impress me. Some of my favorite poets, in no particular order: Anne Sexton, Ellen Bass, Billy Collins, e.e. cummings, Margaret Atwood, Jane Yolen, Joe Haldeman, Bruce Boston, Sharon Olds, Nikki Giovanni, Joy Harjo, Adrienne Rich, Neil Gaiman, Basho, Rilke, Rumi. No simultaneous submissions, please. Submissions should be sent embedded in the body of an email or attached as a .RTF or .DOC file to poetry@speculon.com. Please include your contact information (mailing address, etc) with your submission. Multiple submissions are welcome, but be reasonable-- sending me three poems is fine, sending me twenty is not. I'm not accepting reprints at this time. Rights: =Speculon= buys first World-Wide-Web English-Language rights, with a six-week exclusive, and one-year nonexclusive archival rights. We pay a flat rate of $20 per poem. Thanks, Tim Pratt, Poetry Editor [http://speculon.com/guidelines.html] THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE [British printzine (has US subm address), SF/F/H, no length restriction. Pays œ30 per 1,000 words (abt 4.5 cents/word) on pub. No mult, sim or E-mail subm. No reprints.] UK office: The Third Alternative TTA Press 5 Martins Lane Witcham, Ely, Cambs CB6 2LB England US office: The Third Alternative TTA Press PO Box 219 Olyphant, PA 18447 http://www.ttapress.com/publTTA.html It is strongly recommended that you study the magazine before submitting--knowing what we publish will obviously greatly improve your chances of acceptance. NON-FICTION Interviews: we don't like transcripts for these interviews so write them up in an interesting way, not just as a series of questions and answers. We don't mind seeing the interviewer's point of view as well, or hearing his/her opinions. We have run/are running interviews with the likes of Michael Moorcock, Graham Joyce, Jonathan Carroll, Muriel Gray, William Gibson, Peter Straub, Clive Barker. . . . Length of interviews is generally around 3 or 4,000 words. Contact us first via email to check if we haven't already got your intended subject covered. Cinema: in-depth profiles of influential filmmakers who use elements of fantasy in their films. This series has included David Lynch, Roman Polanski, David Cronenberg, Jan Svankmejer, Nicolas Roeg . . . We are also interested in occasionally covering a theme here as opposed to one individual. Length of the cinema feature is generally around 3 or 4,000 words. If you are able to provide film stills this would be a valuable bonus. Please contact us via email first with your suggested subject. The Review: we review novels, graphic novels, anthologies, collections, films, videos, plays, multimedia, etc. The Review section occasionally also contains mini-interviews to accompany reviews. These reviews are invariably written by subscribers. If you want to join the reviewing team please just send us an email. FICTION We publish modern science fiction, fantasy and horror, as well as borderline material which uses genre elements with a relatively mainstream sensibility. The results are often unique and breathtaking, and it is this type of fiction which has earned =The Third Alternative= its enviable critical reputation and four British Fantasy Awards. Many of our stories have earned honourable mentions and reprints in both genre and non-genre Year's Best anthologies, others have won prestigious awards, and a number of our contributors have been selected to appear in various "New Writing" anthologies. Stories are welcome all year round. We are never closed to submissions. There is no restriction on length (within reason). Please send just one story at a time, mailed flat or folded no more than once, in standard manuscript format, with a covering letter and adequate return postage (ie a stamped, self-addressed envelope). There are two addresses to which you can send your submissions. North American contributors may find it easier (and cheaper) to send their stories to the US address. All others should send their submissions to the UK address. North American writers are welcome to send their submissions to the UK address, but these should be disposable manuscripts and an email address should be listed for reply (this option is for submissions from overseas only--always enclose a SASE otherwise). All submissions must be in hard copy; please do not send any unsolicited submissions via email, they will simply be deleted (but queries, letters etc are always welcome via email, and these can be addressed to either our UK or US offices). Please do not send us simultaneous submissions or reprints. Make sure =The Third Alternative= is on the envelope--TTA Press publishes more than one magazine, we don't want to waste time trying to work out which one you're submitting to! Our average reply time is about eight weeks, but please don't query status of manuscripts sooner than three months. PAYMENT: Contracts are exchanged on acceptance and a payment of up to œ30 per 1,000 words (about 4.5 cents/word) is made upon publication for First English Language Rights. WHERE TO SEND YOUR SUBMISSIONS: You can send your submissions to one of two addresses (but never both!). The UK office is The Third Alternative, TTA Press, 5 Martins Lane, Witcham, Ely, Cambs CB6 2LB. The US office is The Third Alternative, TTA Press, PO Box 219, Olyphant, PA 18447. [http://www.ttapress.com/publTTAguides.html] WEIRD TALES [Printzine, F/DF/fantasy H to 10,000 wds (to 8,000 wds pref); pays 3-6 cents/wd on accept.] Darrell Schweitzer, editor 123 Crooked Lane King of Prussia, PA 19406-2570 queries only: weirdtales@dnapublications.com www.dnapublications.com/wt/index.htm No e-mail subs. "Please keep in mind our magazine's title. We almost never buy a story or a poem which has no fantasy content; we hardly ever buy sf which lacks fantasy elements. But this leaves room for an extraordinary range of fiction and poetry: Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian and modern swordplay & sorcery were born in =Weird Tales=. H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, Miskatonic University and all, is welcome to our pages, as are stories set in fantasy-worlds of your own invention. We're looking for the best in fantasy-based horror, heroic fantasy, and exotic mood pieces plus the occasional odd story that won't fit anywhere else. We want to please our readers with superior writing and to surprise them with new ideas. To this end, we will occasionally publish a story in which the ominous, eldritch, and/or squamous horrors waiting to pounce turn out to be quite innocuous. We almost never use material already published in the US." Story elements we see much too often: "We don't object to corpses nor to tragic endings, but protagonists who exist only to wallow in woe and then succumb quietly to an undeserved doom really don't belong in WT. Your protagonists must at least try to cope, and must try to change something, even if the outcome is tragic. Stories whose only point is that the world is a dreadful, dreadful place tell our readers what they already know; people read WT to escape from everyday futility, not to be splattered with more. Mere description of a horror is not as effective as telling a story about people trying to cope with it, successfully or not. Believable, often sympathetic people make horror stories scary, while standard-issue, cardboard villains who come to a (usually predictable) bad end do not. "Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with stories about classical vampires, deals with the Devil, formalities of the Hereafter, or people eating people (and vice versa); but our readers have already seen stories based on these ideas. If you wrap a story around an old, familiar idea, add something new and different! A story never surprises readers if all it does is reveal, as a 'surprise' ending, that the protagonist is a vampire, or that he finally noticed he's been dead since page 2. Please remember that WT is a fiction magazine; the Real Inside Truth About The Occult belongs elsewhere, as do real-life ghost sightings and almost anything about airborne crockery and/or alien abductions." To Sum Up: "Most stories rejected by any fiction editor are rejected for 1 or more of these flaws: 1. Lack of a clear, consistent POV. 2. Too much exposition and too little narration, esp. at the beginning. 3. Failure to establish the characters' identity and setting, in both time and place, early in the story. 4. Characters so uninteresting, unpleasant, or unconvincing that the reader simply doesn't care whether or not those characters get eaten alive (or worse) on stage. Characters who don't even try to cope with their problems (your protagonists should protag!). 5. Plots that fail to resolve (tragically, happily, or otherwise) problems or conflicts, but just present them. Plots with neither problems nor conflicts. Plots based on ideas so old and tired that the ending is obvious halfway down page 6. Plots that cheat readers by holding back information for a 'surprise' ending." To 10,000 wds; pays 3-6 cents/wd, on acceptance for 1st NASR and anthology option. "Most of what we buy is shorter than 8000 wds. We do not serialize novels. We have no min. length. Short-short stories (less than 1000 wds or so) are very hard to write, but they are easy to sell. Cover letter? No more than 1 page long, and only if you really want to; remember that editors don't buy cover letters; they buy stories. Don't distract an editor by telling him how good your story is, or spoil the suspense by giving a synopsis. Do not attach your bibliography or resume'; you may cite 2 or 3 earlier sales in the body of that 1-page letter. Then get out of the way and let the story sell itself." [http://www.dnapublications.com/info/guide.htm] WOULD THAT IT WERE [Quarterly webzine, historical SF to 5,000 wds (to 3,000 first subm.). Pays 1-5 cents/wd. depending on length. E-mail subm. only. Reprints okay.] E-mail submissions to: editor@wouldthatitwere.com http://wouldthatitwere.com/ Guidelines =Would That It Were= is a magazine of historical science fiction. Stories submitted must contain an element of science and a tie to the 18th or early 19th century, or an arguable tie to a historical period clearly in the Industrial Age. We receive hundreds of submissions each issue; therefore, our guidelines have become more stringent. Please read the following even if you are already familiar with our guidelines. We do not accept: * Westerns, unless they contain science fiction elements * Ghost stories or horror, unless they contain science fiction elements * Swords and Sorcery, in other words Stories set in medieval times, prehistoric periods, during the age of King Arthur or Beowulf, etc., even if they contain elements of science fiction We've expanded the format to include gothic, neo-Lovecraftian fiction with loose ties to SF and the historical angle. We've included Alternate History and SteamPunk, which are William Gibson-like stories set in the 1800's and early 1900's (for an example, see William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's Difference Engine) along with the usual Vernean / Wellsian material. You are welcome to submit stories that match the general feel of any of these subgenres of Historical SF. We reserve the right to relax the guidelines according to our editorial taste. Meeting our guidelines is not guarantee of publication. We accept short stories, poetry and art. Submissions should be sent electronically to editor@wouldthatitwere.com. We will not reply to hard copy submissions and we will not return your material. You may submit your work in plain text (if short), RTF, MSWord, WordPerfect or Works format as a single attachment (do not send your story in pieces), but please identify the format in your email. Each submission must clearly identify the following in the subject line of the email: Author Title Word length Submissions entitled "Submission" or similar will be ignored. Email filters will be set up eventually to automatically delete such messages, so this guideline should be taken seriously. If you have never sent us a submission before, we encourage you to send a shorter piece, less than 3000 words in length. Our editors decide quickly whether to keep or toss a story, so nothing is gained by the extra length. If we like your material, we may invite you to submit longer pieces as features. Authors should send a short bio (approx. 50 words unless you are significantly published) and thumbnail headshot so that the work can be properly credited; if you do not have access to a scanner or digital camera, you may specify an alternate graphic or web link to be included in place of your picture. Do not send us 500K images from your digital camera. Crop your images and resize them so that they are no more than 50K in size. We prefer jpg or gif images. We do not accept submissions over 5000 words except by special arrangement, and we do not accept submissions over 3000 words unless we have previously published the author's material. =Would That It Were= does not accept anything it deems to be pornographic, obscene, defamatory or otherwise in poor taste; however, neither does it assume or imply any responsibility for adverse consequences associated with the posting of a submission. Submissions with pervasive grammatical, spelling and common usage errors are unacceptable. Everyone makes a mistake now and then, and we will do our best to prevent them in print, but if you can't tell the difference between "it's" and "its", through and threw, lie, lay, laid and lain, we can't help you. =Would That It Were= buys first North American serial electronic rights, and may use images or portions of your submission multiple times in a single issue. All other rights revert to and remain with the author/artist after the current issue has been archived (as indicated by web links). We may include summaries or thumbnail images to link readers to past issues in which your material previously appeared. No work may be copied, reprinted, redistributed or sold in any format, abridged or unabridged, without the express written permission (or verifiable electronic equivalent) of the author, in accordance with U.S. and applicable international copyright laws. If a submission has already appeared elsewhere, it is the responsibility of the author to identify when and where, and to assure that no conflicts exist which would prevent us from publishing your work. Rates: Typical pay rates for non-contributing (non-staff) authors and illustrators are as follows. These are not guarantees of payment. If your work is accepted, you will usually be extended a verbal or email offer mentioning the amount of likely payment, and if the terms are acceptable to you, sent a check for your contribution. Your deposit of our check indicates acceptance of any terms and conditions set forth by =Would That It Were= and / or its publisher, Small Potatoes Press. Range by length (including non-fiction): Flash Fiction: less than 500 words: $0.05 to $0.10/word up to $50 Short-short: 501-3,000 words: $0.03 to $0.05/word up to $150.00 Short Stories: 3,001-5,000 words: $0.03 to $0.05/word up to $250.00 Longer Short Stories: 5,000 - 10,000 words: $0.02 to $0.03/word up to $300.00 (rare) Novelettes: over 10,000 words: $0.01 - $0.02/word or by special arrangement PLEASE keep in mind that we strongly prefer to receive stories in the range of no more than 1500 words from new authors. Novelettes are expensive and we pay by the word, so if you have a story that MUST take ten thousand words to tell, it had better be damned good AND we had better know your material well before you even think of it. We don't mean to be cruel, but we have received well in excess of our fair share of ill-conceived 'magnum dopuses' from authors who would benefit from a lesson in brevity. Make your prose SING, and make every word count! =Would That It Were= does not pay up front for book reviews, editorials, interviews or other non-fiction work other than articles except by special arrangement. Book reviews pay on a click-through basis; that is, as the books are sold. Each reviewer receives 5% of the gross on total Amazon sales for that book via WTIW. For example, if WTIW has sold $100 worth of books (the minimum required by Amazon) and someone buys Verne's Paris in the Twentieth Century hardback via =Would That It Were= for $20.00, you get $1.00). Anything that falls outside these terms will be handled on a case-by-case basis by WTIW's management and editorial staff. Please email the Editor for details. Original Art and Illustrations - negotiated per piece; illustrations provided by author are considered part of the submission. Rates on all submissions may change at any time and without warning. =Would That It Were= generally respects rates that were in operation at the time negotiation began on a submission. [http://wouldthatitwere.com/guidelines.html] ZOETROPE ALL-STORY EXTRA [Webzine, 2 stories/mo., submit via Zoetrope Virtual Studio] http://www.all-story.com/ase.cgi =All-Story Extra= is an on-line supplement to Francis Coppola's short story magazine =Zoetrope: All-Story=. Each month, =All-Story Extra= features two new stories submitted by writers through the Zoetrope Virtual Studio. The Zoetrope Virtual Studio is a powerful collaborative tool for writers and other artists. Submit your short stories through the Virtual Studio's short story workshop. You will receive valuable feedback on your work from other writers, and your submissions may be read and considered for publication by the =Zoetrope: All-Story= editorial staff. The Virtual Studio is a lively community where thousands of writers, filmmakers and other artists communicate and collaborate daily. Even if you don't want to workshop your stories, we encourage you to join the community. Membership is free. [http://www.all-story.com/virtualstudio.cgi] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET INFORMATION BACK BRAIN RECLUSE A note in the guidelines on =Back Brain Recluse='s website says, "Please note that BBR is now closed to unsolicited short story submissions." [http://www.bbr-online.com/backbrainrecluse/guidelines.shtml] DARK PLANET E-ZINE A note on the =Dark Planet= website says, "This site is currently closed to submissions. We will probably reopen at some point in the future; to be notified when this happens, please sign up for Dark Planet's announcement list." [http://www.sfsite.com/darkplanet/guidelines.html] Wednesday, August 29th, 2001: =Dark Planet= is on indefinite hiatus. In the editor's online journal, she says, "Due to a variety of personal writing and web design projects coming up this fall, I just won't have the proper time for =Dark Planet=. Much as it pains me to do so, I'm going to put the site on indefinite hiatus after I get the next update online. "I am intending to get the next update posted in the next two weeks. "=Dark Planet= will remain live and on its current server for as long as SF Site wishes to host it. Archived materials will remain available on DP for as long as their authors wish." http://www.livejournal.com/users/darkplanet/ MEDUSA'S HAIRDO MAGAZINE A note on the -Medusa's Hairdo- website says, "I am saddened to announce that I will no longer be publishing -Medusa's Hairdo-. I've enjoyed the past six years, and especially cherish the friends I've made through my publishing hobby. I have many repeat contributors that I think of often, and will miss. However, I no longer maintain enough interest in publishing to perform my duties to submittors and contributors in an efficient and effective manner. It's not fair to keep writers waiting as long as I have (and I'm not telling how long) just because I have chosen to dedicate a little more of my time to other pursuits. I have made sure to publish all accepted work in my final issue, so it will be a nice fat one. "Thank you all for a successful and happy six years." Beverly Moore, Editor, Medusa's Hairdo Magazine [http://victorian.fortunecity.com/brambles/4/mh/] MILLENNIUM WEBZINE A note at the beginning of the guidelines on =The Millennium= website says, "Attention: All submissions are closed. Thank you." [http://www.jopoppub.com/Guidelines.htm] MIND'S EYE FICTION A note on the =Mind's Eye= website says, "Due to our ongoing corporate reorganization, =Mind's Eye Fiction= is temporarily closed to new submissions. Please watch this space [the website] for updates or drop me a line to be notified when the situation changes." -- Ken Jenks, =Mind's Eye Fiction= [http://tale.com/writech.phtml] =Mind's Eye Fiction= was purchased by Alexandria Digital Literature, and is currently part of the AlexLit site, but it's unclear how the stories on it relate to the AlexLit stories. NIGHT TERRORS MAGAZINE A note on the =Night Terrors= website says, "Our slush is mountainous and therefore we will not be reading new material until further notice. Stories currently with us will be read and considered for publication." [http://www.night-terrors-publications.com/] TRANSVERSIONS Former printzine =TransVersions= has become an anthology, and doesn't seem to have guidelines on their web page anymore. WINEDARK SEA Australian printzine =Winedark Sea= has a note on its website that reads, "Due to a backlog of unanswered stories, =Winedark= is temporarily closed to submissions." [http://www.winedark.com/writeguide.html] ***************************************************************** * ON REWRITING: * * * * "I have made this longer only because I did not have the * * leisure to make it shorter. * * --John Barth (Letters, 1979, quoting Blaise Pascal, * * Lettres Provinciales XVI) * ***************************************************************** ==End of the CALLIHOO Newsletter for 13 November 2001==