Over the Brink: Environmental Disaster antho

© University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Photo by Carlye Calvin

THE MARKET

• Antho: Over the Brink: Environmental Disaster (plus two more anthologies in 2012)
• Editor(s): Juliana Rew
• Pay Rate: 2¢ USD/word
• Response Time: 6 weeks
• Reading Period: April 1-30, 2012
• Description: Anthology with the theme of “Environmental Disaster,” to be published online-only on June 30, 2012
• Submission Guidelines: www.thirdflatiron.com

NOTE: Author D.L. Snell conducted the following interview to give writers a better idea of what the editors of this specific market are seeking; however, most editors are open to ideas outside of the preferences discussed here, as long as they fit the basic submission guidelines.

THE SCOOP

1) What authors do you enjoy, and why does their writing captivate you?

We like mainline SF/Fantasy writers like Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke, Dan Simmons, Connie Willis, and Vernor Vinge.

2) What are your favorite genres? Which genres would you like to see incorporated into submissions to this market?

We prefer an SF/Fantasy bent.

3) What settings most intrigue you? Ordinary or exotic locales? Real or fantasy? Past, present, or future?

We like exotic locales, but ordinary settings are fine if the story is speculative (for example, time travel) or the situation is out-of-the-ordinary.

4) Explain the type of pacing you enjoy, e.g. slow building to fast, fast throughout, etc.

We are publishing short stories, so a rather quick build up is desirable.

5) What types of characters appeal to you the most? Any examples?

We like humans who have a wry sense of humor and a problem-solving attitude. We also like intelligent aliens and creatures.

6) Is there a specific tone you'd like to set in your publication? What kind of voices grab you and keep you enthralled? Any examples?

We are looking for stories that revolve around age-old questions and have something instructive to tell us as human beings.

7) What is your policy for vulgarity, violence, and sexual content? Any taboos?

 A little vulgarity is ok where appropriate. No overly graphic depictions of rape and murder, please, although some death and destruction is expected for this collection.

8) What kind of themes are you seeking most in submissions to this market? In general, what themes interest you?

The current anthology is about environmental disaster, or the fixes we’ve gotten ourselves into. The next anthology (open for submissions on April 1, 2012) will be on the theme of “War.” The final anthology for 2012 will have the theme, “Origins.”

9) Overall, do you prefer downbeat or upbeat endings?

Either is fine. Also like endings with a twist.

10) Any last advice for submitters to this market? Any critical do's or do not's?

We are also interested in short humor pieces, which will be featured separately in the anthologies. These should also have an SF/Fantasy bent, preferably.

---

For more scoops, go to www.dlsnell.com.

D.L. Snell writes with Permuted Press. He edited Dr. Kim Paffenroth thrice, John Dies at the End once, and provided a constructive critique to Joe McKinney on his next major novel after Dead City, Apocalypse of the Dead. You can shoot D.L. Snell in the head at www.dlsnell.com.

To reprint this article, please contact D.L. Snell.

Steampunk Cthulhu antho

THE MARKET

• Antho: Steampunk Cthulhu
• Editor(s): Brian M. Sammons & Glynn Owen Barrass
• Pay Rate: 3¢ / word + 3 contributor copies
• Response Time: variable 
• Reading Period: now until July 31
• Description: The age of steam meets the age of Cthulhu, in a past where technology unbound warps Victorian Britain and the world at large into a dark Steampunk reality.
• Submission Guidelines: www.freewebs.com/batglynn/

NOTE: Author D.L. Snell conducted the following interview to give writers a better idea of what the editors of this specific market are seeking; however, most editors are open to ideas outside of the preferences discussed here, as long as they fit the basic submission guidelines.

THE SCOOP

1) What authors do you enjoy, and why does their writing captivate you?

GB: Gawd there are so many… let’s see now! Two favourites: Raymond Chandler, because of his attention to detail and the rawness of his prose, and of course, H.P. Lovecraft, so rich with imagination and darkness, I couldn’t imagine a world without his sinister vision.

BMS: Lovecraft, for his original vision of horror. Stephen King for being the first author of adult books I ever read and introducing me to the joys of reading. Robert Bloch and Joe R. Lansdale for doing both bleak horror and black comedy so well. Richard Matheson for being the most consistently good and enjoyable over such a long career. And I can’t forget Robert E. Howard for his manly badassery. 


2) What are your favorite genres? Which genres would you like to see incorporated into submissions to this market?

GB: My genres, cyberpunk, and horror, for the most part. For this book, with immense clues in the title, we want to see the Cthulhu Mythos mixed with Steampunk, and are quite happy to see elements of fantasy, sci-fi, and even comedy within the subs.

BMS: Horror first and foremost, with various flavours of sci-fi and the occasional sword and sorcery fantasy, as long as it’s not too cute and fluffy. As for what I’d like to see for this book, a real blend of Lovecraftian nihilistic and inescapable horror with the often “future is bright” feel of steampunk. Also, I’d like to see some tales outside of the Victorian Britain setting.

3) What settings most intrigue you? Ordinary or exotic locales? Real or fantasy? Past, present, or future?
GB: I very much like alternate reality settings, whether it be past, present or future. Imagination can really soar when the world and reality have no boundaries.

BMS: I go through cycles. I’ll be into historical fiction for a while and then switch to something futuristic. However I always return to stories set in the modern world where reality clashes with the horrific or fantastic. 


4) Explain the type of pacing you enjoy, e.g. slow building to fast, fast throughout, etc.
GB: Any really, though it is good sometimes to read something slow paced, that suddenly goes ‘boom’ at a mile a minute near the end.

BMS: While arguments can be made for any type of story, the majority of short stories I really like are fast paced. I like the sense of action they impart. Conversely when it comes to novels or horror movies, I prefer creeping dread. Yeah that’s weird, I know.

5) What types of characters appeal to you the most? Any examples?

GB: Those that feel helpless against an overpowering Evil/Government/Religion, but fight back nonetheless. Doomed protagonists also read very well in a story.

BMS: I always like strong capable characters that nonetheless come up against things they just can’t overcome. It’s the whole feeling of yeah, you might be a bad ass (in whatever field) but compared to this you’re still nothing.

6) Is there a specific tone you'd like to set in your publication? What kind of voices grab you and keep you enthralled? Any examples?

GB: Dark for the most part, dystopian too. Steampunk tales in a grimy, polluted world with nothing shiny but the glint in the antagonist’s eye.

BMS: I’d be happy to run the gambit. From a few (but only a few) silly, humorous tales to the darkest, most feel bad stories imaginable, and everything in between. As long as it’s 100% steampunk and 100% Lovecraftian (or would that be 50% of both?) I’ll be happy.

7) What is your policy for vulgarity, violence, and sexual content? Any taboos?

GB: Swears are okay, as long as they are part of the story, but I don’t see our protagonists lowering themselves to such vulgarities. Violence, no problem where it is a necessary part of the story and not gratuitous. And sex… nothing X-Rated.

BMS: I’m fine with vulgarity; it’s a form of expression I’m fairly familiar with, as long as it’s warranted. Violence, I like violent horror. While not essential to tell a good story, I grew up in the 1980s reading plenty of splatterpunk. Sex, as long as it’s not just tossed in to be titillating and nothing more, I’m fine with it. As for taboos, for me it would be the victimization and sexualisation of children. No one wants to read that, and if you do, then this is not the book for you.

8) What kind of themes are you seeking most in submissions to this market? In general, what themes interest you?

GB: Again, darkness in the Steampunk world, sinister conspiracies and things beyond comprehension breaking through into our reality.

BMS: Technology mixed with black magic or just going too far. Famous characters (fictional or real) from the era would be a good addition, as long as there’s a solid reason for them to be in the story. Perhaps pulpy adventure mixed with the darkest horror. 


9) Overall, do you prefer downbeat or upbeat endings?

GB: Either, and if it’s downbeat for the heroes and upbeat for the bad guys, that’s fine! The protagonist discovering the hopelessness of the human condition in the face of the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos would be a good (but not totally necessary) ending to a Steampunk Cthulhu tale.

BMS: Either, but if I had to lean one way or the other, I’d lean toward downbeat. Not only does it feel more Lovecraftian to me, but I think too many of today’s horror stories have happy endings.

10) Any last advice for submitters to this market? Any critical do's or do not's?

GB: DO NOT pay lip service to the Mythos, as in throwing in a few names here and there just to make something Cthulhu Mythos when it’s not. We want the stories rich with the elements of both genres, blended seamlessly.

BMS: Let me stress that again, DO NOT play lip service to the Lovecraftian element. I’ve recently put together a number of Lovecraftian anthologies and you’d be surprised how many authors think that namedropping Cthulhu or the Necronomicon is sufficient. Well it’s not. The same should be said about the steampunk genre. If you’re not completely comfortable with one side of this genre blending experiment or the other, it will show. 

---

For more scoops, go to www.dlsnell.com.

D.L. Snell writes with Permuted Press. He edited Dr. Kim Paffenroth thrice, John Dies at the End once, and provided a constructive critique to Joe McKinney on his next major novel after Dead City, Apocalypse of the Dead. You can shoot D.L. Snell in the head at www.dlsnell.com.

To reprint this article, please contact D.L. Snell.

Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories antho

THE MARKET

• Antho: Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories
• Editor(s): Lori Michelle, Max Booth III and Stan Swanson
• Pay Rate: $20 plus contributor’s copy
• Response Time: 2 months
• Reading Period: January 13th—May 31st 
• Description: Alternate history horror
• Submission Guidelines: www.darkmoonbooks.com

NOTE: Author D.L. Snell conducted the following interview to give writers a better idea of what the editors of this specific market are seeking; however, most editors are open to ideas outside of the preferences discussed here, as long as they fit the basic submission guidelines.

THE SCOOP

1) What authors do you enjoy, and why does their writing captivate you?

Stephen King, of course, holds a special place in our hearts. He has a great knack for diving into your average day man and bringing out the true horrors that hide beneath. No one better has been able to bring up a scenario and make the reader ask themselves what they would do if thrown into the same situation. In fact, we appreciate all this man has accomplished so much that we even made a sort of “SK Holiday” back in August on our blog wherein we reviewed some of his older work. We look to do it again next August as well.

2) What are your favorite genres? Which genres would you like to see incorporated into submissions to this market?
Well, obviously our favorite genre is horror. But just because it’s horror, don’t think that we’re expecting a bunch of blood and guts. No, we are looking for stories that are truly horrifying—concepts that rock the very sense of reality itself. We want to be scared, not grossed out.

As for this specific anthology, we don’t want stories that only take place in the past and have a horror element thrown in. We want tales more in vein of The Twilight Zone. We want the weird and the creative. We would like our writers to take a specific historical event, and ask themselves, what if something had gone differently? How would the future have changed? The biggest example being, of course, what if Hitler had won the war? What kind of world would we live in now? And, if you throw in some horror tropes such as zombies or cockatrices or what have you, why, that would be just fine.

3) What settings most intrigue you? Ordinary or exotic locales? Real or fantasy? Past, present, or future?
For this anthology we are looking for real settings instead of full blown fantasy. Just because it’s an alternate history theme, that does not mean that the story has to take place in the past, either; it just means that something in the past went in a different path than what we know to be true; therefore, the future could be and probably is the most appropriate setting for our book.

4) Explain the type of pacing you enjoy, e.g. slow building to fast, fast throughout, etc.
Either, really. Just that it is written well and truly horrifying. Both fast and slow have their advantages; with fast paced stories you are thrown into the story immediately, right there in the action—while a slow paced story, however, prides itself on building the tension. That’s the most important thing when it comes to slow paced stories, that it keeps with the tension. And if your story does begin slow, then it better have one hell of a climax if you want to stand out among the rest of the dozens of submissions we’ve already received.

5) What types of characters appeal to you the most? Any examples?
It would be interesting to see others’ takes on famous historical figures—a few examples being maybe Teddy Roosevelt, Lee Harvey Oswald, Vlad the Impaler, etc. The possibilities are endless. But don’t think that we only want stories featuring famous historical figures; the events and their consequences are more important here, although that isn’t to say that your characters (whoever they are, real or fictional) shouldn’t be written well all the same.

6) Is there a specific tone you'd like to set in your publication? What kind of voices grab you and keep you enthralled? Any examples?
An anthology shouldn’t stick to one specific tone but instead offer a variety of nightmares to appeal to all readers.

7) What is your policy for vulgarity, violence, and sexual content? Any taboos?
Only when necessary. If it pertains to the plot, then by all means knock yourself out. But if you’re just trying to be edgy, then we’re the wrong publication for you.

8) What kind of themes are you seeking most in submissions to this market? In general, what themes interest you?
One question: WHAT IF? What if Y had happened instead of X? What would the consequences be?

9) Overall, do you prefer downbeat or upbeat endings?
Whatever seems appropriate for the rest of the story. If the rest of the story is dark and utterly hopeless, then we don’t want a copout upbeat ending. But there’s no reason to force a downer on us either. Each tale is different.

10) Any last advice for submitters to this market? Any critical do's or do not's?
Do not send us stories that take place in the past and that’s it. Just because there’s the word “history” in the description does not mean you get to skip reading the rest of the guidelines. Please make sure you understand what we’re after before submitting. Also, good luck! This book is going to be awesome.

---

For more scoops, go to www.dlsnell.com.

D.L. Snell writes with Permuted Press. He edited Dr. Kim Paffenroth thrice, John Dies at the End once, and provided a constructive critique to Joe McKinney on his next major novel after Dead City, Apocalypse of the Dead. You can shoot D.L. Snell in the head at www.dlsnell.com.

To reprint this article, please contact D.L. Snell.