SPECULATIONS

The Market Maven

January 19th, 2008

Save Your Postage:

Temporarily Closed: ABSINTHE LITERARY REVIEW and FlashSpec are on hiatus. ABYSS & APEX is backlogged and temporarily closed to poetry subs. BLU PHIER PUBLISHING, BREATH & SHADOW, CERULEAN RAIN, scatterbrain (sic), TALES OF MOREAVIA, TRYTIUM PUBLISHING, and WRITERS POST JOURNAL are temporarily closed to subs. CHAMPAGNE SHIVERS is in production and closed to subs. ILLUSION PRESENTS: TRANSMITTER issues are filled and they are temporarily closed to all subs. NIGHT TO DAWN is temporarily closed to fiction subs (open to reviews). RAVEN ELECTRICK reading period closes 2/28/07. SAMHAIN PUBLISHING is temporarily closed to general subs. WITHERSIN MAGAZINE is temporarily closed to fiction and nonfiction subs (open to artwork and reviews).

Permanently Closed: CLOCKWORK PHOENIX closes 2/1/08. COHORT PRESS, FARTHING, LUMI VIRTUALE (Romania), and SENTINEL SF have been declared dead. IN BAD DREAMS closes 3/1/08. NIGHT OF THE WORKING DEAD and TRAPS are filled and closed. WRONG WORLD theme issue "TENANTS-Liquidated Damages" is closed; deadline for "CHOICES-The Fork in the Road" issue is 3/5/08.

Other: ChiZine Publications is currently "an invite-only press." JuanMa (sic) Santiago is no longer the editor of GIGAMESH (Spain). Despite some online reports, PREMONITIONS is NOT a dead market. THRILLING TALES website is static and they are reportedly nonreponding. WRITTEN WORD ONLINE MAGAZINE will suspend fiction subs as of 3/1/08.

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Changes of Address:

BLACK DEATH BOOKS e-mail address to blackdeathbooks@yahoo.com. ESLI (Russia) e-mail address to info@esli.ru. THE DREAM PEOPLE URL to http://www.dreampeople.org/. RAY GUN REVIVAL GLs URL to http://www.raygunrevival.com/guidelines.html.

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Magazine News:

NEW, multi-genre, monthly e-zine FLASH FICTION ONLINE pays 5 cents/word for flash fiction (<1k words). GLs, http://www.flashfictiononline.com/submit.html.

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NEW: ODDLANDS MAGAZINE, a new online market for speculative fiction, is now accepting subs!

ODDLANDS MAGAZINE (http://oddlandsmagazine.com/) is a new webzine published twice a month with a focus on the fantastical. We are looking for stories with elements of F and SF. They must have strong plots, competent characterization, and original ideas. We want the kind of story that you decide to read a paragraph of to give it a chance and suddenly realize you are 3/4 of the way through.

Payment: We pay 1/2 cent/word for fiction. For poetry and nonfiction we pay a flat rate of $5/work. Art is much appreciated, but we are unable to offer payment for it at the moment. We buy First Worldwide Electronic Rights. No simulsubs. First Issue: 3/1/08.

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All unsolicited MSs to BLACK GATE have been returned. Query if you haven't heard. Requested material (including rewrites) should be done by the end of January.

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DOORWAYS MAGAZINE [doorwaysmag@yahoo.com; http://www.ralan.com/sfpro/listings/doorways.htm] is pleased to announce its new GLs for fiction, including payment, word count. Every three months Doorways will feature up to 7 fiction pieces, of which 1 or 2 will be from guest or 'spotlight' writers. For Dec. issue there will be new tales from Len Maynard and Mick Sims, Lee Thomas and Nicholas Grabowsky.

In the past these spotlight writers have included Gary Braunbeck, Graham Masterton, Angeline Hawkes, and Jack Ketchum. Oct. will include Joe R. Lansdale, P.D. Cacek, and Mort Castle.

Quarterly Subs: Fiction GLs: Fiction that runs 500-3.5k words. Paranormal, supernatural, contemporary F, new fabulist, magic realism, shock suspense, sci-horror, character oriented: We like Colin and F. Paul Wilson, J.N. and Jack Williamson, Stephen King and Joe Hill, and of course, Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury, and Richard Matheson, who taught so much to so many of us. If your subjects and verbs are not only not in agreement but cannot tolerate each other, if your spelling is remarkably creative, and you have a decorative approach to comma and apostrophe usage, we're not the right market for you're kreashuns'. (Get it? Sic! Huh?) We've recently accepted stories by Stephen Graham Jones, John Everson, Wayne Allen Sallee, Stephen Mark Rainey, Richard Payne, Bruce Holland Rogers, and Joel Arnold, all of whom write good stories. If you do, too, then let Doorways have a look.

Note: We now have a new pay scale for fiction: 2 cents/word and free copy of magazine.

No reprints.

We will stay open for sub until we become overwhelmed.

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"Starting January 1, ESCAPE VELOCITY MAGAZINE [http://www.escapevelocitymagazine.com/submissions.htm/] subs will be ongoing through the year. February is full, but April, July, October, and the Christmas 2008 (best-of) issue are still open."

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From Edmund Schubert, Editor of INTERGALACTIC MEDICINE SHOW: "I'm heavily bought on F of all kinds and long stories in both the SF and F areas. My greatest need is for SF under 7k words. If you have something long or F that you think is absolutely perfect for IGMS, go ahead and send it in; but know that your best chance of selling me something right now is with shorter SF."

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Prozine NOCTEM AETERNUS has reopened to subs with longer RTs. GLs, http://www.michaelknost.com or http://pages.suddenlink.net/michaelknost/submission_guidelines.htm.

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SPACE AND TIME (http://www.SpaceAndTimeMagazine.com) is now open to subs. Note to authors who made sales to Gordon yet haven't seen their work in print or received payment: Please contact the new editor. Many records are out-of-date and the new editor has no e-mail addresses for you. Your story or poem could be scheduled for publication in Issue 102. Please contact hildy@spaceandtimemagazine.com, and you'll receive an update on the status of your sub.

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The STAR*LINE Special Prose Poem/Flash Fiction issue (Nov-Dec 2008) pays 3 cents/word ($5 min) for 100-500 words. Reprints, simulsubs, and E-subs OK. QUERIES to Editor Bruce Boston at bruboston@aol.com. Closes when full. GLs, http://www.sfpoetry.com/slprose.html.

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Anthology News:

NEW, multi-genre, new/reprint antho: "ART STIMULATES LIT: a fiction antho about art and artists: neoNuma Arts, publisher of Able to... and The Fatal Gift of Beauty and Other Plays, is soliciting short fiction on the theme of art and artists for an antho to be published in 2008.

"In each story, an historical artist or work of art must play an integral part. This may be a fictionalized biography, a story of one person's relationship to an artist or work of art, or some combination or permutation of the same. The artwork may be from any realm of creative endeavor, not only visual art, but dance, theater, music, and other literary figures are equally fair game for stimulating the literary imagination. For models, consider Colum McCann's Dancer (Rudolf Nureyev), or Michael Cunningham's The Hours (Virginia Woolf) or Specimen Days (Walt Whitman). Do NOT consider Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.

Length is open - shorter than a novella (although neoNuma would be interested in seeing novels and novellas along similar themes). Genre is open. Stories should be human, character driven explorations of art and artistry.

"Submit stories to: Neil Ellis Orts, Editor/Publisher, neoNuma Arts, PO Box 460248, Houston, TX 77056.

"Authors will be paid a royalty, based on sales. Previously published stories are acceptable, with proof of available antho rights. Questions to neo@neonuma.com. Deadline, 5/31/08."

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NEW, themed, middle-grade "Climate Change" antho, edited by Tony Bradman: "I am currently seeking contributions to an antho of original short stories on the theme of climate change to be published by Frances Lincoln in 2008. The target readership is 9-12 and I'm looking for a total of eight stories of the highest quality, of about 3-3.5k words. Climate change is constantly in the news, so children are very much aware of it, and it's their futures that may well be affected. Indeed, children are being affected by climate change already, both here and in countries all round the world. That's what I'd like the stories in this collection to explore - the impact of climate change on children now and in the foreseeable future. So I'd like stories set in a wide range of countries, ideally eight stories with eight different backgrounds. Stories can be contemporary, or they can be set in the future, although I think the emphasis will be on the former - I don't want the collection to be purely post-apocalyptic or predictive SF.

"Neither do I want the collection to be a gloom fest. Obviously climate change is a serious issue, but it would be easy to pile on the gloom and doom. I'm temperamentally inclined to think that might be counter-productive, so I'm hoping for stories that look at the affects of climate change and have plenty of positive aspects wherever possible. Obvious subjects suggest themselves - coastal erosion, floods, the effects of changing weather patterns on farming, parents' occupations, etc. - but it would be nice to have at least a couple of stories about wildlife and children, and at least one or two that are school-based. Although at the heart of each story it would be good to see a young character. As ever I'm happy to look at ideas, proposals and outlines. The deadline is 3/31/08, but of course, it's always a case of the sooner the better!"

Pay rates negotiable; probably "around L400 sterling for a time-limited (2-5 years) exclusive licence." Tony Bradman, 29 The Heights, Foxgrove Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 4SE UK; QUERIES, tbradman@ntlworld.com.

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NEW: CONE ZERO: Scriptus Innominatus/NEMONYMOUS Eight (Des Lewis, Editor): "The next antho of Nemonymous Magic Fiction and Magic Reality."

1. "The Nemonymous editor requires a story judged suitable by its author for inclusion in the projected Cone Zero book, planned to be published in 5/08. Ideally, this story should be specially written for Cone Zero. Your story can be entitled 'Cone Zero' or not, but it should reflect 'Cone Zero', to a greater or lesser degree. 'Cone Zero' means what it means to you." 2.5k-12k words; pays "65 UK pounds/story published in the printed Cone Zero. (If you present a story below 2.5k words, it will still be considered but for a payment of 25 UK pounds)."

2. "Stories should be submitted as a Word Doc attachment. The editorial addresses to which your sub should be sent are [listed below]."

3. "Only one story per author under consideration at any one time."

4. "You may submit the story under your real name or anonymously. If the latter, you will be asked to reveal your real name when and if the story is placed on the short list."

5. "The story must be original to the author and never published before in any form. No simulsubs."

6. "It is possible that any story will be kept for the whole of the reading period and still not be accepted for publication."

7. "The stories will be published without a direct byline but there will be a disordered list of authors' names printed on the back cover. The bylines will be correctly assigned online to the stories' titles when six months have elapsed after the publication of Cone Zero and also correctly assigned within the projected printed Nemonymous Nine in 2009. As there is likely to be more than one story entitled 'Cone Zero,' the page number in the book will be included when assigning the correct author's name."

8. "The decision of the Nemonymous editor is final regarding all points above. By submitting a story, any author accepts these terms. Please put 'Nemo Story: Title' as the subject of your e-mail. Also, please show a word count at the top."

E-mail, bfitzworth@yahoo.co.uk AND nemonymity@excite.com; http://www.nemonymous.com/; http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/. Deadline, 3/31/08.

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NEW: Call For Subs: INDIAN COUNTRY ANTHO: An antho of original noir short stories set in Indian Country will be released next year. The editors are seeking stories that take place in Indian Country, which includes Canadian reserves, U.S. reservations, Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexican Indian land, and/or stories that revolve around Native characters.

Stories may be historical, literary, and/or crime fiction, as long as they are previously unpublished, and stories that take place in the Eastern or Southern United States are particularly needed.

Writers of First Nation ancestry are especially invited to submit. Emerging writers, as well as established authors, are encouraged to send their work.

Stories should be 3k-6k words, and the deadline is 5/15/08. Pay will be approximately $200, and rights revert back to the author. Direct any questions or send stories via e-mail to IndianCountryAnthology (at) gmail (dot) com.

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NEW: Call for Subs: LOVE BITES: a M/M/F antho. Publisher: Torquere Press' Bareback Angels imprint (http://www.barebackangels.com/). Editor: Shawn Clements.

"I could spend a lot of time explaining our concept for this antho, but it's easier to tell you the cover concept - a man's neck with two bite marks - one with lipstick, one without. Vampires? Werewolves? Kinky partners? Just a sweet little love nibble? Sure. Just make me believe it and make me fall in love by the end.

"Payment is $50 and a copy of both the ebook and the print book. Stories should be sexy, heated, but undeniably romantic, unpublished, 5k-10k words long, and of the m/m/f persuasion. We will contract for exclusive 5 year print and e-rights. The deadline for this is 3/1/08. Questions? Queries? Subs? Send them to saclements@torquerepress.com."

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NEW: "MYSTICS, MAGICIANS, AND MESMERISTS: A new collection of lesbian fantasy. Edited by Fantasy Editor, Susan Taylor, and the editorial team of Stephanie K. Yorque and F.A. Pollard of SPUTNIK57 Books.

"Subs close: 5/31/08. Final decision by: 8/30/08. Tentative release date: Spring 2009

"SPUTNIK57 Books is asking for subs for a new antho of lesbian F. We are looking for original stories containing lesbian main characters strongly portrayed in a positive light. While we are happy for you to cross genres please make sure the main content is F. All categories of F will be accepted, including but not limited to magic, supernatural, high, dark, science, urban, romantic, contemporary, historical, and everything in between. We want you to be creative, different, and imaginative. Characterization and plot are a must. Please, no erotica or fan fiction. No previously published stories or anything that is (or was) available on the Internet will be accepted. Send us your best, most polished work.

"Payment: a percentage of net royalties, plus a copy of the book." GLs, http://sputnik57.ca/?p=53.

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NEW: "PARSEC Ink is reading for their annual antho, TRIANGULATIONS. This year, the theme (and the subtitle) is 'Taking Flight,' so they're looking for short speculative fiction on that topic. They want stories up to 5k words or so (that's not a strict limit, but a GL). As with last year's antho, they're planning to publish it as a PoD book via Lulu.com. And they will consider reprints. The sub deadline is 3/31/08, and the pay rate is 2 cents/word." Subs MUST follow GLs at http://parsecink.org/triangulation/2008/.guidelines.html.

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NEW, themed antho: Permuted Press is now open to subs for a collection of giant creature stories for an antho to be released in 2008. Editor Ryan C. Thomas (permutedgiants [AT] yahoo.com) seeks original stories of animals/insects/etc. grown to enormous sizes (or at least vastly bigger than they should be). Pays $15 via Paypal. GLs, http://www.permutedpress.com/giantcreatures.php.

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NEW: RedJack Books [http://redjackbooks.com/] has launched free e'antho ANATHEMA [http://www.redjackbooks.com/Anathema/Anathema.html], which is intended "to challenge the writer and reader to view the world from a perspective that is contrary to his or her own, with the hope of leading to a greater understanding of those who actually hold that contrary viewpoint...[B]ecause RedJack is all about speculative fiction, most of the stories are in that vein, from the humorous to the fantastic to the brooding to the hyperreal to the plainly bizarre." They pay $25 "plus a choice of book(s) of up to $20 in value from the RedJack catalog." GLs, http://www.redjackbooks.com/Anathema/AnathemaGuide.html.

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NEW: ROBOTS BEYOND (Permuted Press, http://www.permutedpress.com) pays $.01/word and contrib's copy for 3k-7.5K words, but NO royalties. GLs, http://permutedpress.com/smf/index.php?topic=2202.0.

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NEW: GLs for VOICES: An Antho of Contemporary Horror (http://www.eneitpress.com/index.php?page=17): Voices (working title) is a new antho edited by Mark S. Deniz and Amanda Pillar, which will be published by ENEIT PRESS, late 10/08. The antho will focus on the H genre exclusively and is rooted very much in today's society, rather than other worlds and times.

Voices is an antho in which every story will take place in a hotel room. There are no GLs for how the room will look, as this is something that will not be mentioned by place, a hotel that the reader will in fact not see, other than in the selected rooms.

We are looking for stories that shock, disturb and scare the reader. Well crafted psychological and/or supernatural H stories are preferable here to hack n' slash gore stories, although if they are excellent we will consider them too. Think claustrophobia, think confinement, think hopelessness, think fear.

Payment: $20 USD + contrib's copy. Word length: 2k-7k words (longer stories will need to be discussed with us before submitting).

Deadline: 4/1/08. This is not a rolling sub and we will inform authors as to whether they are successful or not as soon as possible after this date.

To submit: Send your original, previously unpublished sub, in Rich Text Format (RTF), as an attachment only. Put 'Submission:' followed by your story title in the subject line of your e-mail. Send to: voices@eneitpress.com. In the body of your e-mail, please include your mailing address, contact e-mail address, and the word count of your story.

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Publishing News:

NEW imprint: "SOHO PRESS will launch the SOHO CONSTABLE imprint this spring. The imprint will publish mysteries originally released in the UK by CONSTABLE AND ROBINSON."

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"TOR ROMANCE publishes one book a month. In 7/07 Tor released its first romantic suspense title with no paranormal elements. They are looking to acquire more books like this. They would like to eventually publish one romantic suspense and one paranormal per month. These are published in MM paper format. Tor also publishes paranormal romance, fantasy romance, and futuristic romance.

"[Editor Heather Osborn] is a huge fan of paranormal romance in general. She likes 'kick-butt' heroines - intelligent heroines. She doesn't want heroines put in jeopardy solely for the convenience of the plot. Heroines should be capable of rescuing themselves. She says vampires are a tougher sell right now because there are already so many good vampire series established, so if you are going to submit a vampire story, it will have to compete in that market. She's looking for plot-heavy, action driven romantic suspense. Heather would like to see urban F with a lot of romance in it. She is open to time travel stories, but there needs to be an ongoing paranormal theme within the time travel, if the characters are traveling into the past. Time travel alone is not enough. However, if the characters are traveling into the future, they would be interested in that as a futuristic. Heather likes humor, but she's very picky about it. She prefers snark and sarcasm over slapstick or anything campy.

"[Editor Melissa Singer] acquires general women's fiction. She's particularly looking for books that will appeal to the female reader over the age of 35 - with heroines over the age of 35. She's interested in both contemporary and historical fiction. She's interested in different settings, such as India or China. She's looking for series mystery with a female protagonist. Humor is good, but it should be witty, not silly. She is also acquiring a limited amount of F and SF. And she is acquiring H fiction and darker urban F. A really dark vampire story would be welcome as a horror story. Gore is fine, but don't make it gratuitous without a point. She's not interested in erotica, but is open to sensual stories.

"Tor will accept unagented, unsolicited MSs. The FAQ on the website http://www.tor-Forge.com has info on submitting to Tor. All subs must include an SASE (a letter envelope with one stamp is sufficient [please note that under current US postal regulations, they CANNOT return a full-length novel MS]). They aren't interested in query letters. Submit the first three chapters and a brief (2-4 pages) synopsis with a cover letter. Mention if you've met one of the editors at a conference. They do not accept electronic subs. The turnaround time for proposals is approximately four months, though Heather admitted it may be longer for romance.

"You can subscribe to the Tor e-mail NL by going to http://www.tor-forge.com and click on the button for newsletter. The NLs are primarily focused on speculative fiction, though some romance is also featured." Tor Books, 175 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10010.

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More URLs to Worry About:

ANDROIDS 2 (pulp fiction style SF romance; pays $25): http://www.androids2.com

COBBLESTONE PRESS (sensual and erotic romance e'publisher): http://www.cobblestone-press.com

COACH'S MIDNIGHT DINER (Christian weird fiction antho): http://www.themidnightdiner.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/44-SubsOpen.html

THE NAKED EDGE PRESENTS: 1st Short Story Contest (adult fiction; 15 prizes = $540): http://www.the-naked-edge.com/

PLANET MAGAZINE (UK): http://www.planetmagazine.org.uk

SISYPHUS BOOKS (all-genre e'publisher; pays 30% royalty): http://www.sisyphus-books.com/

SOLANDER (historical fiction magazine; pays US$150 or UK L100/story): http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org

THANEROS (dark, multi-genre erotica; pays $10-$15/story via Paypal): http://www.thaneros.com/

THIS AIN'T NO RODEO (WolfSinger Publications antho): http://www.wolfsingerpubs.com

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Thank You:

I would like to thank Kent Brewster; Speculations readers; editors and publishers; Ralan Conley's Webstravaganza (http://www.ralan.com); Erotica Readers & Writers Association (http://erotica-readers.com/ERA/G/Call_For_Submissions.htm); Expressions (http://samsdotpublishing.com/expressions/); Foreign Market List (subscribe-ForeignMarketList@yahoogroups.com); Locus Online (http://www.locusmag.com); SF Scope (http://sfscope.com/newsnotes/market-reports/); Speculations Rumor Mill (http://www.speculations.com/); Cynthia Sterling's Market News (cynthiasterling-subscribe@yahoogroups.com); and Writers Markets for Speculative Fiction: SF/F/H's Journal (http://community.livejournal.com/specficmarkets/).

Copyright 2008, Cynthia Ward