CALLIHOO Newsletter Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Julia West, Editor Vol. 9, No. 21 26 March 2002 Website: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue Deadlines Anthology Leaps of Faith antho (gls) Market Guidelines Flesh and Blood (gls) Market Information Artemis Magazine Black Maple (closed) DNA Publications Elysian Fiction Foxfire (dead) Malefica (closed) Silver Lake Publishing (closed) Speculon Strange Horizons ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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.) NEW CENTURY WRITER AWARDS Deadline 30 March 2002 [Contest, Novel/novella any style, theme, or genre. $30 entry fee. 1st $2,000, 2nd $1,000, 3rd $500, 4th-10th $100 each + pub in antho. Mult. subs. okay. No e-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 16)] PAX FANTASTICA CHALLENGE Deadline 31 March 2002 [Competition, writers under 21, speculative fiction to 6,000 wds. E-mail and mult subs okay. Prizes gift certs to Amazon.com: 1st-3rd $40, $30, $20. No entry fee. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 17)] WRITERS OF THE FUTURE, 2ND QUARTER 2002 Deadline 31 March 2002 [$1000 first, $750 2nd, $500 3rd place. No entry fee. L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, P.O. Box 1630-JBW, Los Angeles, CA 90078. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 1)] CON-VERSION XIX / CAN-VENTION XXII SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 1 April 2002 [Canadian convention contest, SF/F/H to 5,000 wds. No reprints. $5C/story entry fee (non-con members). Prizes: Apprentice 1st $200C, 2nd $150C, 3rd $100C, 2 HM $25 gift cert.; Journeyman 1st $250C, 2nd $200C, 3rd $150C, 2HM $40 gift cert. Winners pub in program book. No E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 20)] 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)] MATTER OF TIME CONTEST Deadline 19 April 2002 [Contest, time-themed story to 5,000 wds, undergrad students only. No E-mail subs, prize $2,500 and pub in literary journal =Limestone=. 2 HMs published. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 14)] LORIAN HEMINGWAY SHORT STORY COMPETITION Deadline 1 May 2002 [Annual competition, fiction all genres, new writers. To 3000 wds. No reprints or E-mail subs. Contest format. Entry fee $10 before 1 May, $15 1-15 May. Prizes: 1st $1000, 2nd and 3rd $500 ea. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 17)] SONGS FROM DEAD SINGERS Deadline 1 May 2002 [Print anthology, H to 6,000 wds (2500-4000 ideal). Pays $10US per story on pub. No reprints, sim, or mult subs. E-mail subs only. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 16)] 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)] NEW CENTURY WRITER AWARDS Deadline 31 May 2002 [Contest, poem any style, theme, or genre. $3 entry fee. Prizes: 1st $500, 2nd $250, 3rd $100, 4th-10th $25 each + pub in antho. Mult. subs. okay. No e-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 16)] VIRTUAL IRELAND SHORT STORY COMPETITION Deadline 31 May 2002 [Contest, short fiction, any genre, in English or Irish, to 1950 wds. Mult and online subs okay. Entry fee of $12US per entry. 1st place $4,000US, 2nd place $400 book package, 3rd place $200 book package. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 16)] DEATHLINGS.COM "THE 70S WERE HELL AND WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT" CONTEST Deadline 15 Jun 2002 [Use contests to submit to magazines. H/DF to 4,000 wds. Pays 3 cents/wd. E-mail subs only. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 6)] 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 and No. 14).] DOWNSTATE STORY MAGAZINE Yearly Deadline 30 June 2002 [Annual literary printzine, genre fiction to 2,000 wds. Pays $50/story on accept. No reprints or E-mail subs. Buys 10 stories/year. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 6)] IDEOMANCER UNBOUND Deadline 30 June 2002 [Ebook antho, SF/F/H 1,000-5,000 wds, pays $20 on accept +royalties. No sim or mult subs or reprints. E-mail subs only. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 19)] LEAPS OF FAITH Deadline 30 June 2002 [Christian E-book SF antho, SF 3,000 to 10,000 wds. Pays royalties. Reprints and mult subs okay. E-mail subs only. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 21)] 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)] NEW CENTURY WRITER AWARDS Deadline 31 July 2002 [Contest, screenplay or stage play any style, theme, or genre. $30 entry fee. Screenplay 1st $3000, 2nd $1500, 3rd $500, 4th-10th $200 each. Stage play 1st $2000, 2nd $1000, 3rd $500, 4th-10th $200 each. Mult. subs. okay. No e-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 16)] UPC SCIENCE FICTION AWARD Deadline 14 September 2002 [European contest, SF (Catalan, Spanish, English, or French) 70 to 115 pp. Prizes 6,000 and 1,500 Euros +pub. No reprints or E- mail subs. Submit in contest format. No entrance fee. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 20)] MOTA: AN ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY OF FINE FICTION Deadline 1 November 2002 [Annual antho, fiction to 10,000 wds (to 8,000 wds preferred). Pays $100 on pub. Mult subs and reprints okay. (GLs in Vol. 9, No. 9)] THE MOONLIGHT & MAGNOLIA FICTION WRITING CONTEST: SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, HORROR Deadline 15 December 2002 [Annual competition for new writers, SF/F/H to 10,000 wds. No reprints. Prizes: 1st $250, 2nd $100, 3rd $50. Entry fee $7.50 per story ($2.50 2nd and thereafter to 3 entries). (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 17)] ----------------------------------------------------------------- ANTHOLOGY LEAPS OF FAITH [Christian E-book SF antho, SF 3,000 to 10,000 wds. Pays royalties. Reprints and mult subs okay. E-mail subs only. Deadline 30 June 2002.] Karina and Rob Fabian, editors Submissions: francisisidore@hrtide.com =Leaps of Faith=: a Science-Fiction Anthology to be published by FrancisIsidore Electronic Press, early 2003 How will the Christian/Catholic faith grow as science opens new horizons in time, space and technology? What does the future hold for Christianity, the Church, and her faithful? FrancisIsidore Electronic Press, publisher of Christian cross-genre books in electronic format, seeks to ponder these questions with an uncoming anthology of science fiction stories. Stories ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 words are sought for =Leaps of Faith= (tentative title), an anthology edited by Karina and Rob Fabian. Karina is a regular columnist for Montana Catholic and has published numerous articles and stories in various publications; Rob is a 13-year veteran of military space operations and had authored many technical papers and presentations on military and civil space issues. Ideal submissions will highlight a coexistence of science and the Christian faith (any denomination), with any conflicts resolved in a manner that leaves both realms intact. Science should not negate the need for religion, nor should it be the root of all evil, and vice versa. Stories may examine the technicalities of religious practice (e.g. broadcasting religious services to Alpha Centauri, or holding Mass in zero gravity); how technology may affect doctrine (Do clones need baptism? Can they be saved?) or how religion may temper scientific research. Whatever the plot, science and/or technology should play an integral role. Stories may be set in any time, though an ideal story set in the near-future should contain plausible principles. Likewise, be sure use of religion is doctrinally correct or changes are explained (e.g. hypothesizing that the Catholic Church may allow a priest to marry if it's the only way he would be allowed on a colony ship, etc.) Submissions must be the original work of the author; authors may submit more than one story for consideration. Stories never before published will be considered, as will previously published stories so long as the author retains all rights. Authors selected for the anthology will receive a percentage of royalties from sales of downloads and CD-ROM purchases in all e-book formats utilized (the exact percentage will depend upon the final number of authors selected). To submit a story for consideration, send your manuscript in an attachment (MS Word or rich text format, double-spaced) to Karina and Rob Fabian at francisisidore@hrtide.com. Please include in the manuscript and in the body of the e-mail the following information: your name, mailing address, story title, final word count, and an e-mail address where you can be reached. Deadline for all submissions is June 30, 2002. Final selections will be made in September, 2002 with a targeted publication date in January, 2003. [http://home.earthlink.net/~mklively/fiepress/ scifiguidlines.html] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET GUIDELINES FLESH AND BLOOD: QUIET TALES OF DARK FANTASY & HORROR [Triannual printzine, H/DF to 4,000 wds. Pays 2-3 cents/wd. RT 2-6 weeks. E-mail subs and reprints okay. No sim subs.] Jack Fisher; Editor-in-Chief c/o Flesh and Blood: Quiet Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror 121 Joseph Street Bayville, NJ 08721 Submissions: HorrorJack@aol.com http://zombie.horrorseek.com/horror/fleshnblood/main.htm =Flesh and Blood: Quiet Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror= is a triannual digest-size magazine ranging from 48- 52 pages in length, sporting glossy, two-colored covers, and packed with horror and dark fantasy fiction, and occasional interview(s) and articles. =Flesh & Blood= is currently overstocked on fiction for the rest of the year. Although we are still open to fiction, publication wait could be at least 10-12 months. FICTION: I will look at any work of fiction up to 4,000 words and nothing over this. Anything over this will be returned unread. What I am looking for is very simple--I want stories that have one, more, or all of the following: the supernatural, surrealism, offbeat, bizarre, darkly fantastic, magic. I do not want to see overdone stories (i.e. vampires and the like). The writing and writing style should be polished and clean. Journal-entry stories, stories told in the first person, stories about revenge, cannibalism, all have a scant chance at being considered. Don't be afraid to try me with swift, quirky sentences; the more fast-moving and weird the story, the better chance you'll have. Atmosphere is also a big plus. Try to avoid an excess of dialogue; rely on atmosphere and mood to tell the story. POETRY: Same guidelines for fiction apply for poetry submissions. Send no more than 5 poems at a time. The poem should not exceed any more than two typed pages. Rhyming poems, poems about long-lost loves, love in general, etc. will not be favored. ART & NONFICTION: We have columnists and artists for the time being. If you're interested in becoming a staff artist, send a portfolio of work for consideration. Be sure to include a cover letter explaining your background, credentials, etc. Payment for assigned work is $5-10 per piece and $20-25 for cover art. Along with the cash payment, you will receive one contributor's copy. PAYMENT: Payment for fiction is 2-3 cents/word (depending on quality--going rate at present is 2 cents/word) for unsolicited fiction/poetry, plus one contributor's copy in which the work will appear. Anything under 1,000 words (or thereof) will be paid with by means of contributor's copies (2). Poetry will be bought at $5-8 per accepted poem, plus one contributor's copy. Additional contributor copies can be purchased at $3/copy. RESPONSE TIME: Response time varies. At present, expect a 2-6 week wait. If you don't hear from us within 60 days, query. We will no longer reply via email and we will not look at any more than one submission per envelope. MEANS OF SUBMISSION: You may either send your work to us through snail mail (see address at the bottom of this page) or through email (see email address below as well). Send submissions in the body of the email or as MS Word attachments. BEFORE SUBMITTING: Always include a SASE and a brief cover letter listing previous publication credits. We've been throwing a lot of manuscripts away these days that come without SASE's. We DO NOT accept simultaneous submissions, but will grudgingly consider reprints just as long as it's not been printed in more than one other publication (name the publication in your cover letter and how long ago it appeared). Make sure your submission is formatted properly: name, address, email address in the top upper left-hand corner; word count in the top upper right-hand corner. Number all your pages except the first and, if possible, paper-clip the manuscript together. Stapling them only makes it more frustrating to read quickly and not clipping pages together means running a high risk for losing sheets. SUBMISSIONS ADDRESSES: Jack Fisher; Editor-in-Chief, c/o Flesh and Blood: Quiet Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror, 121 Joseph Street, Bayville, NJ 08721 Email: HorrorJack@aol.com [http://zombie.horrorseek.com/horror/fleshnblood/guidelines.htm] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET INFORMATION ARTEMIS MAGAZINE When asked what the press run of =Artemis Magazine= was, Ian Randal Strock, editor and publisher, answered, "It's not posted anywhere because it's a constantly changing number. For the current issue, we printed 8,000 copies, sent out about 1,500 subscription copies, and put about 2,000 copies on the newsstands. We've distributed about 1,500 free copies, and single-issue orders are coming in in droves. "Next issue, in addition to Tower and Books-a-Million, we'll be on the stands in Barnes and Noble as well." When asked about the state of the slush pile, Mr. Strock replied, "As of Friday night/Saturday morning [22/23 Mar], the mound o' slush is GONE! . . . [except] the pile of manuscripts from people I know to read. I'll be getting into those when next I wake up." "I've responded to more than 800 manuscripts in the past two weeks . . . they had been building up unread. Now I only hope I can keep up with them day-to-day." [sff.publishing.artemismagazine, 18, 23-24 Mar 2002] BLACK MAPLE A writer on the =Speculations= Rumor Mill says, "=Malefica= & =Black Maple= are closed to subs. They have bought their allocation of stories for the year." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291, 19 Mar 2002] DNA PUBLICATIONS Warren Lapine, publisher of DNA Publications, says, "I know I've been swearing up and down that I wouldn't do it again. I've told anyone that would listen that I had no intention of buying another magazine for some time to come. Well, I did it again. I just bought a new magazine. This one is our first none-genre magazine. As of Monday [25 Mar], DNA Publications will own =The Whole Cat Journal=. This is not a joke, I really did buy the magazine. It currently has close to 20,000 subscribers. I expect it to generate at least as much income as the other magazines combined. "=The Whole Cat Journal= will not be added to the DNA website. It will be getting its own page at www.wholecatjournal.com. We think cross-marketing these magazines would actually hurt sales for all of the magazines. Eventually, I expect we'll have other pet magazines that will be marketed along with =Whole Cat=. And yes, once we've written them, we'll be posting writers' guidelines. "The magazine's focus is on natural/holistic health alternatives for cats. If you can write [an] article from that perspective, then yes we'd like to see it. There are many cases where traditional care for pets [is] not the best alternative. We explore those cases. The magazine as it was before us was twenty-two pages and completely concerned with health issues. We're adding fourteen pages immediately and another sixteen over time so we'll also have articles of interest to the general cat owner. "The website is not up yet. We only agreed to terms on the magazine two days ago. We move quickly, but not that quickly. We've already created media kits, new envelopes, press releases, and a full color subscription flyer. Angela started on the website today. It'll probably be the end of the week before it's up. "We won't be publishing any fiction in this magazine." [sff.publishing.dnapublications, 22-24 Mar 2002] ELYSIAN FICTION Jim Bailey, editor of =Elysian Fiction=, says of the slush pile, "Trying to nail down the last few spots, and dammit, you people are making it hard by sending me so many good stories!" [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 20 Mar 2002] The next day he exulted, "OK, it's finally done. I now have 21 stories picked for inclusion in issues #3 and #4, pending of course, author approval of terms. "I'm *extremely* pleased by the lineup these stories will represent, and yet, there will always be the doubts that I've let a gem slip through my fingers. "But it's *finished*, and now it's time to move on to the process of getting the 33 stories selected for the next 3 issues PUBLISHED (all while keeping up with the *new* submissions, which at present stretch back to Feb 1st, but I'll clear that within the next week as well). "Rejects and acceptances through Jan 31st to all go out when I get back from work later today, then contracts and payments to go out, and proofs to prepare for issue #2, and.... "My thanks and appreciations for everybody's support and patience, I think the upcoming issues will have been worth the wait, and with an accelerated schedule until I'm back on the quarterly track, there will be as much new fantasy material coming out in the next few months as has been seen in the field in some time." [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 21 March 2002] When asked what stories would be in the upcoming issues, Mr. Bailey said, "As soon as I have the confirmations back from the authors and I get the contract payment process duly underway. A good mix of established writers and talented newcomers. Through issue #3 in fact, I know that at least 5 stories are Very First Sales (with one of those coming off the author's Very First Submission). "I haven't gotten to sending out the notices yet, acceptances or rejects (did handle queries, though), and may not have time until Sunday the way things keep cropping up at home (nothing serious, just time consuming). So nobody panic just yet if you haven't heard. At least things are finally rolling downhill." [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 22 March 2002] FOXFIRE A writer on the Rumor Mill received an E-mail from Megan Miller, editor of =Foxfire=, "For the usual constellation of reasons, I'm not going to be able to continue publishing =Foxfire=. I've mailed out payments for unpublished stories slated for Issue 5 and beyond, in appreciation of the inconvenience of having a story suspended in limbo for some length of time." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291, 21 March 2002] MALEFICA see =Black Maple= SILVER LAKE PUBLISHING A writer on the Rumor Mill received an E-mail from Megan Miller, of Silver Lake Publishing: "SLP is reorganizing; more details will be posted shortly. For the time being, SLP is not taking on new manuscripts." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291, 21 March 2002] Another Rumor Mill writer said, "I [also] received an email from Megan Miller. She hinted that she was bowing out of publishing and someone [else] was taking over SLP." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291, 22 Mar 2002] SPECULON A writer on the Rumor Mill says, "I just received word today that SFWA now considers [=Speculon=] a "pro market" for purposes of establishing SFWA membership." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=201, 22 Mar 02] STRANGE HORIZONS Mary Anne Mohanraj, editor-in-chief of =Strange Horizons=, says, "Just received word from Chuck Rothman, SFWA treasurer and head of the membership committee, that =Strange Horizons= is officially a pro market by SFWA standards. This decision is retroactive back to the first issue (September 2000). We're pleased." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=919, 24 Mar 02] Jed Hartman, one of the fiction editors for =Strange Horizons=, says, "Our average response time over the lifetime of the magazine, according to our records, is 23 days. (That doesn't include anything that we haven't responded to yet, nor does it include response times for revisions we've requested.) Our average response time since the beginning of 2002 is 25 days. We say in our autoresponder message that our response time averages about a month (which gives us a little leeway), and to query if you haven't heard back in two months; almost all of our responses have taken under 60 days. "With the exception of a few outliers in unusual circumstances, our shortest response times have been around 9 days. (And our current reading schedule makes it very unlikely that we'll respond to anything in under 12 days.) Our longest ever was 99 days, one of only three responses that took more than 90 days. About 16% of our responses have gone over 30 days (remember that the above 25-day figure is an average), and about 2% have gone over 60. "Our shortest acceptance was 11 days; our longest was 98 days. Both of those are unusual, though. "The Submitting to the Black Hole response-times tracker tends to have pretty accurate results for us, though both the low end and the high end must have been unusual circumstances that didn't make it into our records. (I suspect the 2 days was for something that didn't follow our guidelines, and that the 158 days was for something that got lost in email and never reached us.)" [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204, 24 March 2002] ==End of the CALLIHOO Newsletter for 26 March 2002==