Contests & Anthologies Index - Updated 3/1/2009

Presenting a new short fiction contest for unpublished writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

For its third edition of Spectra Pulse, Bantam Spectra is allowing unpublished writers to get their work featured alongside some of the most well-respected names in science fiction and fantasy.

One lucky winner will receive $100 and have his/her story published in the Summer 2009 issue of Spectra Pulse, Bantam Spectra’s exclusive magazine distributed at Comic-Con San Diego and select conventions and bookstores (available July 2009).

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Write a Flash Fiction piece (500 words max), using the below image as your inspiration.
Deadline for this image: November 16th, 2008

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What are we looking for? Aside from queer characters, queer community and queer relationships - we're looking for a great fantasy story about werewolves. Red ones, white ones, gray ones and black ones but most certainly queer ones - living together in a community.

We'd like to see a community of gay and lesbian werewolves, a queer community background with the emphasis up to the author/story/characters as to whether there is a predominant lesbian or gay main character (or whether that role is dually shared by two).

As a queer publisher, QueeredFiction would like to have an emphasis on the queer community as a whole, rather than by segments. So ideally the perfect submission would have 'queer characters' in the forefront and in the background ... just mainly prominent!

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All stories must be both gay-themed and mysteries set in the Holmes mythos, however the character of Sherlock Holmes need not be the focus or even present.

Writers must do their homework to ensure that the stories are historically accurate if taking place in the Holmes era (though tales can be set later than the Victorian era , such as in the Golden Age of Hollywood during the filming of a Holmes movie or other appropriately familiar settings).

Before you submit, please query the editor with a synopsis of your story and the content, specifically, which characters are being queered.

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Time must figure prominently in each story. For example, the story could be about time travel. Or it might concern a wizard who uses spells that affect time in some way. It might be about people or things that have been displaced to a time other than their own. The story could even be about someone who’s time is running out, perhaps from a deadly disease or poison.

Stories that explore parallel events in time, the nature of time or in some other way are centered around time will all fit in this anthology.

Along with TIME as the central focus of the story, it must also fit in one of the following genres:

Hard Science Fiction
Soft Science Fiction
Fantasy
Space Western

The above genres can be mixed with each other if desired but stories that fall outside of these will not be considered. For example, a story that is Space Western/Fantasy would be perfectly fine but a story that was Horror would not. The only exception would be minor elements. A fantasy could have some horror elements as long as they weren’t so heavy as to turn the story into a Horror or Horror/Fantasy mix.

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SHINE is an anthology of optimistic near-future SF, edited by Jetse de Vries, published by Solaris Books, and is planned for an early 2010 release.

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.

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Mosey on up ta the bar and let me tell ya about the darnedest, silliest, most outrageous Western anthology this side of the Mississip'.

We'll be featuring hilarious stories of the Wild West, some sappy Prairie Romance, and even a little bit o' SteamPunk - as long as it's knock-us-on-our-butt funny! We're also lookin' fer cowboy poetry and limericks, art and comics, and anything else that's sure-as-shootin' silly.

So saddle yer ponies, get them doggies ta market then set yerself down and write us the silliest bunch a words what never come outta that pencil a yers.

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Atomjack will be publishing an e-anthology of alternate future fiction tentatively titled The Butterfly Affects. These are stories that ask questions like what would the colonization of the moon be like if the Nazis had won? What would first contact be like if the Confederates had stomped the Yanks? How might the negation of the extinction of the dinosaurs affect the zombie wars of 2059 and 2170? Change an event in the past and see what the future holds for mankind (or apekind, in the case of however the hell Planet of the Apes works.)

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We are now reading for an anthology tentatively titled Space Cops. As the title implies, we’re looking for stories involving crime in a science fiction setting. Stories can take place anywhere in the galaxy in the past, present or future. Basically, we’re looking for stories about some sort of person or entity that brings wrongdoers to justice. Obviously, the notion of who or what that is may vary across time and space. Whether it’s a badge toting policeman or a crime fighting computer, we’re interested. Likewise, what’s a crime in one place might not be one some place else. Keep in mind this is a science fiction book Stories need to have some type of science fiction content.

We like stories with a sense of adventure. Although we realize violence comes with the territory, we’re not crazy about excessive gore. Humor is also fine, but avoid being silly. Please do not submit stories about copyrighted characters you did not create.

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Severed Press seeks short stories for its new anthology, Dead Bait. Stories should have a Fishing or fish/sea life theme. Genetically altered Frankenfish, Zombie Whales sticking it to Japanese whalers, killer bass in secluded lakes, monsters from the deep, voodoo zombies from puffer fish toxins or maybe that tiny fish from the Amazon that swims up your wiener are just a few ideas. Stories can be based any where in the world and be salt or freshwater.

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Severed Press seeks short stories for its new Apocalypse anthology, 2012AD. Stories should be based around the Ancient Mayan prediction of the world ending on December 21st 2012. Stories can be Horror, Dark humor, Monsters, Zombies, Sci-Fi, Biblical (Antichrist, four horseman ETC) Evil from other dimensions in fact anything goes.

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Short stories with a lesbian character or theme, first published in an edited market in 2008, including stories from e-presses, print presses, journals, and zines

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Exotic queer (gay, lesbian, bisexual) futures unfolding before alien eyes, queer cyborgs and androids in love and at war, augmented queer humans seeding the far flung stars … hard science fiction or realms of lighter pseudo-sciences where queer flowers bloom on strange new worlds; even if that world is our own.

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Stories should be centered on humans as food for some type of monster. Stories should have a supernatural element. Classic monsters (vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc…) are okay, as well as new, creative and original monsters. The focus of the story should be the threat of being eaten; this should dominate the tone of the story. Gore, sex, and violence are fine as long as it is used to enhance the story and not merely for the gross out or the smut.

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