Angela Benedetti

More anthology calls — more holidays, both Halloween and Christmas/etc. I’m including Torquere’s story blitzes even though they’re not technically anthologies, because they’re treated enough like anthologies that it’s close enough IMO. Stories are sold separately, but readers can buy the whole package for a discount, and there’s a single deadline and package promo and all, so there you go.

NOTE: the SHINE anthology deadline has been pushed back to 1 August, so if you were thinking about subbing but didn’t quite make it, you still have some time.

[ETA NOTE2: I've been getting a lot of hits on these posts, so if you've just wandered in off the internet, hi and welcome. I do these posts every month, so click here to make sure you're seeing the most recent one.]

[And what the heck is a "creative nonfiction short story"? o_O If they want a short memoir or a true narrative or whatever, why didn't they say so? Needless to say, that one's not in here.]

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1 August 2009 — SHINE — Solaris Books

Convincing and optimistic: Imagine that we are the biggest skeptics on the planet, then show us how things can change for the better, and persuade us.

Near-future: from now until 50 years later.

SF: we’re not going to define it. Write what you think is SF, and convince us with the story.

The Gritty:
Length: up to 10k words (not hard, but anything longer than 10k should be mind-blowingly superb).

***

1 August 2009 — Halloween Sip Blitz — Torquere

Sips are our popular short story line, running 3000-8000 words. Every Halloween we put out Sips with a spooky theme, to be sold separately and as a package. We prefer male/male stories for this line, but will consider lesbian or menage stories if they’re exceptional. The deadline for this year’s Halloween Sip Blitz is August 1, 2009, and we ask exclusive electronic rights for one year. Sips are a royalty paying line, and authors earn 35% gross on all Torquere site sales, and 25% on all distributor sales.

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1 August 2009 — Holiday Single Shot Extravaganza — Torquere

Got a holiday story that needs telling? Think it will be novelette length, from 10000 to 20000 words? If it’s romantic, gay, lesbian or menage, and has a holiday theme, then query us for our Single Shot extravaganza! Please send query by August 1, 2009 to submissions@torquerepress.com. Once your query has been approved, stories are due by October 1, 2009. We ask exclusive electronic rights for one year. Single Shots are a royalty paying line, and authors earn 35% gross on all Torquere site sales, and 25% on all distributor sales.

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1 August 2009 — Changing Lives, Charity Short Story Blitz — Torquere

The theme is Changing Lives, and proceeds will go to the Matthew Shepherd foundation.

Stories are due August 1, 2009, and will be released in September 2009. Each story should be 3000-8000 words in length, and focus on gay, lesbian or transgendered characters. Priority will be given to stories with strong romantic elements.

What is Changing Lives all about? We want stories about changing minds, about standing up for what you believe in, and about the right to live, and love, as you choose. We’re looking for hope, for positive endings, and of course, love stories.

General submissions guidelines can be found at www.torquerepress.com Please send submissions to submissions @ torquerepress.com with “Changing Minds” in the subject line. Authors agree that all royalties from Charity Sips will be donated to the Matthew Shepherd Foundation, with Torquere matching all donations 100%. Please email Shawn at saclements@torquerepress.com with any questions.

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10 August 2009 — Space Opera Anthology — Samhain

Open to M/F, M/M, or multiples thereof, and any sexual heat level. The only rule is the story should be set mainly or entirely in space and the romance must end happily ever after or happy for now.

The anthology will include novellas from 25,000 to 30,000 words in length and will be released individually as ebooks in April 2010.

To submit a manuscript for consideration, please include the full manuscript (of 25,000 to 30,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis and a cover letter. When you send your manuscript, please be sure to use the naming convention SpaceOpera_Title_MS and SpaceOpera_Title_Synopsis.

Submissions are open until August 10, 2009 and final decision will be made by August 31, 2009. Please send your submission to editor@samhainpublishing.com and include Space Opera Anthology in the subject line.

Questions can be addressed to Sasha Knight sasha@samhainpublishing.com

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12 August 2009 — Men in Kilts Taste Test — Torquere

Publication date November 2009, subs due 8/12/2009 (Celtic barbarians, modern day commando hotties. Highland fling me, please!)

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15 August 2009 — Phone Sex Toybox — Torquere

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31 August 2009 — Queer Gothic Anthology — Queered Fiction

Open call for submissions for a Queer Gothic Anthology to be published by QueeredFiction where genre is queered. Deadline is 31st August 2009. We’re looking for gothic tales of horror and romance. Your submission should be a short story between 3,000 and 10,000 words. We are seeking fiction with positive images of queer characters. We’re not looking for clichés. We do not want reprints. We are seeking first world rights for this anthology which will be published as an eBook and in Print format.

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UNTIL FILLED — MM and Menage Steampunk Antho — Phaze

Call: M/M and Menage Steampunk Anthology, Title TBA
Edited by: Leigh Ellwood
Projected release date: late 2010
Format: eBook (with possible print release)
Publisher: Phaze Books
Payment: $50 for one-time electronic and print rights, plus copies

Hey, all you steampunk enthusiasts, grab your goggles and get to writing! Phaze Books is planning an M/M (and bi-M menage) steampunk collection for eBook publication in 2010. If you have a yen for 19th century history with a touch of good humor and technological innovation (and a whole lot of manlove!), we hope you’ll send us your hottest steampunk erotic romance of 10K – 20K words. If you’re not sure about the genre, check out this Wikipedia entry for steampunk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk) to get an idea of the style of stories we’re looking for. Think H.G. Wells or Wild Wild West, then turn up the steam factor with an incredible M/M or MMF/MMM match-up!

This call is open indefinitely until the spots are filled. Contributors will offer one-time electronic and print rights to their works and receive a one-time payment of $50 and contributors copies (eBook and/or print, if the book goes to print).

To submit to this anthology, please follow the Phaze Books structural guidelines at http://www.phaze.com/submissions.html and attach your RTF submission to Leigh Ellwood, c/o Phaze Books at submissions @ phaze (dot) com. Please use STEAMPUNK ANTHOLOGY is your subject header.

More upcoming anthology deadlines. Just a few this time, but you can tell Halloween’s coming. All romance and erotica this month, except for the first one.

Remember to follow the links for full requirements and submission info.

This is the third time I’ve done this and I’ve decided to keep on, since these pages get a nice number of hits. I’ve backed up a bit on the date; since I start listing with the first of the following month, the 10th should be a good posting date, leaving three weeks or so to write a short story if something catches your eye. And since I’ll run the list through the 1st of the month after that, something with a deadline of the 1st will have shown up the previous month anyway, so that should work out.

Note that I’m not trying to be comprehensive here. I keep a file of info on anthologies I’m personally interested in maybe thinking about submitting to, and decided to post them here. So this is just what caught my attention; there’s a lot more out there. Notes either in comments or e-mail about upcoming anthologies are welcome (including from the editors or publishers of said anthos) but I’ll only add it to my list if it’s something that I personally would at least think about subbing to. Although if you want to post a note in comments, I won’t delete it so long as it’s a call for an open, paying anthology. (Paying in money, even if only a little, not just trib copies.)

Questions or suggestions are always welcome.

[ETA NOTE: I've been getting a lot of hits on these posts, so if you've just wandered in off the internet, hi and welcome. I do these posts every month, so click here to make sure you're seeing the most recent one.]

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1 July 2009 — SHINE — Solaris Books

Convincing and optimistic: Imagine that we are the biggest skeptics on the planet, then show us how things can change for the better, and persuade us.

Near-future: from now until 50 years later.

SF: we’re not going to define it. Write what you think is SF, and convince us with the story.

The Gritty:
Length: up to 10k words (not hard, but anything longer than 10k should be mind-blowingly superb).

***

1 July 2009 — I Put a Spell on You — a BBA Menage Anthology — Torquere

Love spells? Magic in the air? You bet. All it takes is two boys, one girl and a magical romance, and you have the perfect story for I Put a Spell on You. We’re looking for m/m/f romance and erotic romance with strong characters and great stories.

Stories are due July 1, 2009 for release in October 2009. Word count between 3000-8000 words, with a payment of $50.00, as well as a contributor copy in both electronic and paperback format. Since this is a direct to print anthology, we’re asking exclusive electronic and paperback rights for 5 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Spell in the subject line.

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1 July 2009 — The Care and Feeding of Demons — Torquere

Demon romance! Demon hunter romance! Urban fantasy, kick-butt antiheroes. This one was requested by Torquere’s authors, who asked and received! All demons, all the time! Stories should be gay male, and should be romance or erotic romance with a hopeful or happy ending.

Stories are due July 1, 2009 for release in October 2009. Word count between 3000-8000 words, with a payment of $35.00, as well as a contributor copy in electronic format. We’re asking exclusive electronic 2 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Demons Anthology in the subject line.

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15 July 2009 — Scared Stiff Taste Test — Torquere

Publication date October 2009, subs due 7/15/2009 (Sexy spooks? Ghosts with something extra to stick to you? Heck yes!)

Taste Tests are mini-anthologies consisting of three or more stories ranging from 3000-7000 words each for a total of 10000-20000 words. Monthly themes are posted on the Taste Test submission page, along with deadlines and links to our general submission guidelines. Authors may submit a single story to any open theme, or submit a set of stories as single author collection, suggesting their own theme. Single-author collections will be published concurrently with a regularly scheduled monthly title.

Please send all submissions to submissions@torquerepress.com care of Lorna Hinson with Taste Test (theme title) in the subject line. This line pays our standard royalty rates, split equally among all authors (co-written stories receive a single payment divided between the co-authors). Please follow our general guidelines for formatting and cover letter information. If you have questions about the suitability of any story or need clarification on our guidelines, please email Lorna at ldoone@torquerepress.com

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15 July 2009 — Costumes Toybox — Torquere

Toy Boxes are small collections of three to four stories ranging from 3000-7000 words each for a total of 10000-20000 words. We’ll post themes that we’d like to see, and authors can submit one story or a whole collection. Entire collections must center around a single toy box item.

M/M stories are preferred.

Our standard submission requirements apply as far as formatting and cover letters. Please send all submissions to submissions@torquerepress.com care of M. Rode.

***

UNTIL FILLED — MM and Menage Steampunk Antho — Phaze

Call: M/M and Menage Steampunk Anthology, Title TBA
Edited by: Leigh Ellwood
Projected release date: late 2010
Format: eBook (with possible print release)
Publisher: Phaze Books
Payment: $50 for one-time electronic and print rights, plus copies

Hey, all you steampunk enthusiasts, grab your goggles and get to writing! Phaze Books is planning an M/M (and bi-M menage) steampunk collection for eBook publication in 2010. If you have a yen for 19th century history with a touch of good humor and technological innovation (and a whole lot of manlove!), we hope you’ll send us your hottest steampunk erotic romance of 10K – 20K words. If you’re not sure about the genre, check out this Wikipedia entry for steampunk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk) to get an idea of the style of stories we’re looking for. Think H.G. Wells or Wild Wild West, then turn up the steam factor with an incredible M/M or MMF/MMM match-up!

This call is open indefinitely until the spots are filled. Contributors will offer one-time electronic and print rights to their works and receive a one-time payment of $50 and contributors copies (eBook and/or print, if the book goes to print).

To submit to this anthology, please follow the Phaze Books structural guidelines at http://www.phaze.com/submissions.html and attach your RTF submission to Leigh Ellwood, c/o Phaze Books at submissions @ phaze (dot) com. Please use STEAMPUNK ANTHOLOGY is your subject header.

[ETA: Closed to comments to prevent a spamstorm.]

More anthology markets from my list. Note that sometimes you have to scroll down a bit after clicking the links, if the publisher puts all their anthology info on one page.

For non-erotic markets, check out Destination: Future and SHINE, both SF. Also note that Love Wide Open is themed around helping family and friends understand GLBT friends and relatives, and erotica would probably be missing the point so that one qualifies too.

[ETA NOTE: I've been getting a lot of hits on these posts, so if you've just wandered in off the internet, hi and welcome. I do these posts every month, so click here to make sure you're seeing the most recent one.]

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1 June 2009 — Back in the Saddle — Torquere

Cowboy stories are so popular with Torquere that we had to bring them back in the tradition of Under this Cowboy’s Hat or Cowboy Up! Old west, rodeo, contemporary, or foreign, you name it, we want our cowboys! Stories should be gay male, romantic, and feature happy endings.

Stories are due June 1, 2009 for release in September 2009. Word count of 8000 or more words, with a payment of $75.00, as well as a contributor copy in both electronic and paperback format. Since this is a direct to print anthology, we’re asking exclusive electronic and paperback rights for 5 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Back in the Saddle in the subject line.

10 June 2009 — Over the Moon paranormal anthology — Total-E-Bound

* 15K to 20K word count per short story/novella
* Paranormal – Werewolves, MF or MFM only
* Heat Rating: Burning/Melting (see our book rating info)

The Submission deadline is June 10th 2009 for release in November 2009. Submit the full story plus synopsis. When submitting, please enter “Paranormal Submission” in the email subject line.

15 June 2009 — Prince Albert Toybox — Torquere

17 June 2009 — Chain Male Taste Test — Torquere

Publication date September 2009, submissions due 6/17/2009 (Knights on white horses. Squires in chains! Saracens who want to show Europeans how to bathe, among other things. Bring on the knight.)

30 June 2009 — Destination: Future — Hadley Rille Books

SF, hard SF, alien worlds, space operas, alien encounter beyond Earth, exploration and quest stories. No alternative or historical fiction, steampunk, fantasy or horror. 3-6K words.

30 June 2009 — Love Wide Open

All submissions should focus on helping people, especially parents, accept the orientation and sexual identity of their gay, lesbian, bisexual, gender variant or questioning children. Extreme negativity is discouraged. Degradation of any group of people, whether defined by religion, sexuality, age, ethnicity, etc., will not be tolerated. Disagreement with the beliefs and creeds of any religion or ideology must be addressed respectfully.

1 July 2009 — SHINE — Solaris Books

Convincing and optimistic: Imagine that we are the biggest skeptics on the planet, then show us how things can change for the better, and persuade us.

Near-future: from now until 50 years later.

SF: we’re not going to define it. Write what you think is SF, and convince us with the story.

The Gritty:
Length: up to 10k words (not hard, but anything longer than 10k should be mind-blowingly superb).

1 July 2009 — I Put a Spell on You Menage Anthology — Torquere’s Bareback Angels imprint

Love spells? Magic in the air? You bet. All it takes is two boys, one girl and a magical romance, and you have the perfect story for I Put a Spell on You. We’re looking for m/m/f romance and erotic romance with strong characters and great stories.

Stories are due July 1, 2009 for release in October 2009. Word count between 3000-8000 words, with a payment of $50.00, as well as a contributor copy in both electronic and paperback format. Since this is a direct to print anthology, we’re asking exclusive electronic and paperback rights for 5 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Spell in the subject line.

1 July 2009 — The Care and Feeding of Demons — Torquere

Demon romance! Demon hunter romance! Urban fantasy, kick-butt antiheroes. This one was requested by Torquere’s authors, who asked and received! All demons, all the time! Stories should be gay male, and should be romance or erotic romance with a hopeful or happy ending.

Stories are due July 1, 2009 for release in October 2009. Word count between 3000-8000 words, with a payment of $35.00, as well as a contributor copy in electronic format. We’re asking exclusive electronic 2 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Demons Anthology in the subject line.

I finally started keeping track of anthologies in a file instead of just writing them down in my calendar or bookmarking the link up in a special folder in my browser. While it’s true that I have at times written a complete short story in a few days, or occasionally in a few hours, I’ve discovered that this works best when you get a sudden spark of inspiration and can start furiously banging away on the story right off. Turning the calendar page and seeing that there’s a theme anthology with a deadline on Wednesday and trying to come up with an idea which fits the theme an then writing and polishing it to send in two and a half days later is another matter. [wry smile]

So, with some advance notice, there are seven anthologies with deadlines in mid- to late-May. (Not even close to comprehensive — these are just my publisher’s anthos, plus other calls I ran across and which interested me enough to jot down the info.)

Most are romance or erotica, but also listed are Sword and Sorceress 24 (Fantasy) and Catastrophia (SF/Horror).

[ETA NOTE: I've been getting a lot of hits on these posts, so if you've just wandered in off the internet, hi and welcome. I do these posts every month, so click here to make sure you're seeing the most recent one.]

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13 May 2009 — Pushy Little Bottoms Taste Test — Torquere
Publication date August 2009, submissions due 5/13/2009 (Topping from below? Demanding a good spanking RIGHT NOW? You bet. I want bossy little bottom boys! No whining allowed.)

Taste Tests are mini-anthologies consisting of three or more stories ranging from 3000-7000 words each for a total of 10000-20000 words. Monthly themes are posted on the Taste Test submission page, along with deadlines and links to our general submission guidelines. Authors may submit a single story to any open theme, or submit a set of stories as single author collection, suggesting their own theme.

15 May 2009 — Body Paint Toybox — Torquere
Like the Taste Tests, Toy Boxes are small collections of three to four stories ranging from 3000-7000 words each for a total of 10000-20000 words. We’ll post themes that we’d like to see, and authors can submit one story or a whole collection. Entire collections must center around a single toy box item.

15 May 2009 — Wrap Me Up – Erotic Holiday Tales — STARbooks
Do you like to sit on Santa’s lap? Are there eight things you wish you could do to your boyfriend during Hanukah? Does Kwanzaa give you the urge to commune with nature? Or, do you just like to write about people who get horny over the holidays?

There is no limit to the possibilities. Your stories can take place at the North Pole, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, or the Continent of Africa, just to name a few locales. Your characters may be Maccabees, Wise Men, Tribal Elders, Romans, Greeks, or Elves, just to give you a few ideas. Let your imagination roll and think outside the gift-wrapped box, and give us your hottest holiday story. Have fun and give our readers the gift that keeps on giving, so they come back for more.

15 May 2009 — Sword and Sorceress 24
Stories should be the type generally referred to as “sword and sorcery” and must have a strong female protagonist whom the reader will care about. See Sword & Sorceress 22 and Sword & Sorceress 23 (or 1-20) for examples. We do not want stories with explicit sex, gratuitous violence, or profanity. We are NOT a market for poetry. We are willing to consider stories set in modern times, but we won’t buy more than one or two of those for the anthology. We always want something short and funny for the last story.

Length: up to 9,000 words, with preference given to shorter stories. The longer a story is, the better it has to be. Long stories should be submitted early in the reading period.

20 May 2009 — BEST GAY ROMANCE 2010 — Cleis Press
For the sensual anthology series BEST GAY ROMANCE 2010 (Cleis Press, Winter 2009) I’m looking for short stories (maximum 6,000 words) that are as sweet as they are steamy, as emotive as they are erotic: fiction (or true stories) about two men (or, who knows, more) falling in love. The wooing and the winning, the blush of a crush, the details of a date, the rush of romance… If sex happens, that’s fine, but the emphasis in these stories should be on what happens on the way to ’sexual congress’ – or what happens after it, happily ever after.Deadline: May 20, 2009. Submissions to BGR2010 [BGR2010@gmail.com]; please put BGR 2010 in the subject line. Original stories or work published from May 2008 to May 2009.

31 May 2009 — Catastrophia — Allen Ashley, PS Publishing
Catastrophia will be a collection of stories loosely themed around the theme of catastrophes, disasters and post-apocalyptic fiction. I will be looking for original, unpublished stories which deal in a modern manner with these classic SF- and Horror-based tropes.

31 May 2009 — Blood Fruit — QueeredFiction
Queer, dark, macabre tales of horror, (blood and gore and rotten fruits welcome) are sought by QUEEREDFICTION. Chill us with your horrifying, sensual tales of gay and lesbian terror. Your submission should be a short story between 4,000 and 10,000 words. We are seeking fiction with positive images of queer characters. We’re not looking for clichés. We do not want reprints. We are seeking first world rights for this anthology. For full details view the official guidelines. Queries welcome.

Angie