Finding the Bacon: Market Listings

Sable Jak, Editor

A Good Read

Well, I've managed not to get yelled at, so far, but I figured eventually all you fiction writers are going to get after me to start producing some sites for your submittals. Your un-voiced wishes are my command. Below are some fun, some serious and some delightful sites just for you. (And for the non-fiction writers to try out!) 

What? Me not read? Why, that'd only be…

Over My Dead Body! The Mystery Magazine
P.O. Box 1778
Auburn, WA 98071-1778 USA
http://www.overmydeadbody.com/ 
E-Queries: Yes. Or by snail mail. Do not send queries to the general email addy. When querying, include the title of the story, word count, type of story (cozy, hardboiled, psychological suspense, crime, etc.), and an SASE or email address for a response. Response is 4-6 weeks.
Contact: Editor
Email: omndbedit@newportnet.com (use this email for queries)
Writer's guidelines online: http://www.overmydeadbody.com/wguide20.htm 
Pays: Pays 30 days after acceptance. Author also gets two contributor copies. Pay is (in the words of the website) nominal: $.01/word for fiction, $10-$25 total for unsolicited nonfiction.
Photos: From the website: We seldom buy photos without accompanying manuscript. Model releases and subject identification required. Please query for photos not accompanying a manuscript. We buy one-time rights.
Rights: FNASR. All rights revert to the author upon publication. From the website: SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Simultaneous submissions must be clearly labeled. Unless you state otherwise, OMDB! presumes your submission is not simultaneous, that you are offering first time rights, and that the story, all or in part, has not been published previously either electronically or in paper.
Description: Published quarterly. From the website: Over My Dead Body! The Mystery Magazine publishes a wide variety of mystery-related manuscripts, from cozy to hardboiled and everything in between. We don't discriminate on the basis of content, subgenre, or author recognition. Send us your best.
Readers: Mystery/crime buffs.
Needs: From the website: FICTION: We want to see taut, absorbing, original work. Keep dialogue and narrative consistent with characterization (unless you're using the discrepancy as a plot point). Don't waste words, and don't ignore facts to facilitate your plot. Most importantly, if you're going to break the rules, do it well. 750-4,000 words.
NONFICTION: We're looking for mystery-related author interviews/profiles and articles. Mystery-related travel pieces will also be considered (for example: travel article about the Reichenbach Falls of Sherlock Holmes fame). 500+ words.
Editor's note: The following was said about OMDB!  by "Fiction Beyond the Pulps" website at http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/trivia/digests2.html: "A class act, all the way, even if the slant is towards more traditional mysteries. Beautifully printed, great graphics, original fiction and excellent articles about the genre. Encourages new authors, offers thoughtful critiques of their work."

For those of you who like a little drama:

Dramatics Magazine
Educational Theatre Association
2343 Auburn Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45219-2815 USA
Ph: 513-421-3900
Fx: 513-421-7077
E-Queries: Yes, and via snail mail. However, they prefer to see finished manuscripts. Phone queries are discouraged.
Contact: Don Corathers, Editor
Email: dcorathers@etassoc.org 
Writer's guidelines online: http://www.edta.org/publications/writers_guidelines.asp 
Or http://www.edta.org/pdf_archive/dramatics_writers_guide.pdf (Note: you'll need Acrobat Reader.)
Pays: Pays on acceptance. $25-400 per play. Plays are published usually three months after acceptance.
Rights: Buys one-time, non-exclusive rights. After that all rights remain with the playwright.
Description: Published nine times a year, September through May. Dramatics is an educational theatre magazine published since 1929 by the International Thespian Society, a non-profit honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of secondary school theatre.
Circulation: 42,000. Readers: High school students, teachers and parents.
Needs: From the online guidelines for fiction: "We print seven one-act and full-length plays a year. We occasionally reprint plays, but prefer that they be unpublished. Plays should be performable in high schools, which places some restrictions on language and subject matter; however, we tend not to publish children's theatre pieces, teen angst dramas, and overtly didactic "message" plays."
Of special note: This magazine takes a great many articles on theatre how-to, interviews, etc. Obviously, if you've got a theatre background you have a bit of an edge. Do check out the online guidelines as they have a "What makes us cranky" and "What makes us happy" section.

Cappers
Ogden Publications, Inc.
1503 SW 42nd. St.
Topeka, KS 66609-1265 USA
Ph: 913-274-4345
Fx: 913-274-4305
http://www.cappers.com 
E-Queries: No electronic queries please. Please send #10 SASE for submissions/queries
Contact: Ann T. Crahan, Editor
Email: cappers@cjnetworks.com 
Writer's guidelines online: Yes. http://www.cappers.com/guidelines.html 
Pays: Pays on acceptance for poetry and fiction. From the guidelines for serialized novels: Payment of $75-$300 is made upon acceptance. Manuscripts of 12,000 to 25,000 words preferred; 7,500 words minimum, 50,000 maximum."
Rights: FNASR. Byline given. Seasonal material should be submitted three months in advance. Please, no simultaneous submissions.
Description: Tabloid published biweekly with its main emphasis on home and family.
Circulation: 240,000 Readers: Families residing mainly in the rural Midwest.
Needs: "Query first, with brief description of plot and characters. Manuscripts accepted omit profanity, violence, sex and alcohol use. Four to six manuscripts are purchased annually."
Editor's Note: This is not a straight fiction magazine, but one that incorporates a lot of non-fiction too. So make sure to check it all out. The guidelines also list: poetry, jokes, cartoons and original works by teenagers. Make sure to read the "Who We Are" page (http://www.cappers.com/who.html) for insight into the magazine and its needs.

Book®: The Magazine for the Reading Life
West Egg Communications LLC
4645 N. Rockwell St.
Chicago, IL 60625 USA
Ph: 773-267-4300
Fx: 773-267-5496
http://www.bookmagazine.com/ 
E-Queries: Yes, also via snail mail and fax. Find a sample copy of the magazine on the web. (Prepare to have a chunk of your time tied up, but pleasantly so!)
Contact: Adam Langer
Email: alanger@bookmagazine.com 
Writer's guidelines online: Not found.
Pays: Pays 30 days after publication. Pays $300-$5,000.
Rights: FNASR.
Description: Published bimonthly.
Circulation: 100,000.
Needs: Literary short stories of 1,000 to 10,000 words.
Editor's Note: I know, I haven't put much information into this listing simply because there isn't a lot. But one look at the magazine makes me want to write more.

Open Spaces
Open Spaces Publications, Inc.
PMB 134
6327 C SW Capitol Hwy.
Portland, OR 97201-1937 USA
Ph: 503-227-5764
Fx: 503-227-3401
http://www.open-spaces.com 
E-Queries: Yes (but not submissions.) Sample copy is on the website, or send $10 for hard copy.
Contact: Elizabeth Arthur, Editor
Email: info@open-spaces.com 
Writer's guidelines online: http://www.open-spaces.com/submissions.php 
Pays: Pays on publication. Note: average publication date is six months after acceptance. "Send complete manuscript with SASE. Preferred length is 2,000-6,000 words. Payment varies."
Rights: Vary with author. Byline given.
Description: Published quarterly. From the website: "Open Spaces is a quarterly which gives voice to the Northwest on issues that are regional, national and international in scope. Our readership is thoughtful, intelligent, widely read and appreciative of ideas and writing of the highest quality." Obviously they do take fiction!
Readers: From CEOs to rock climbers and university profs.
Needs: "…we seek thoughtful, well-researched articles and insightful fiction, reviews and poetry on a variety of subjects from a number of different viewpoints. Although we take ourselves seriously, we appreciate humor as well. We welcome your interest…" and: Send complete manuscript with SASE. Preferred length is 2,000-6,000 words. Payment varies.

Editor's Choice
If you've ever gone up in balloon you know how fun it can be. I had to include this magazine.

Balloon Life
Balloon Life Magazine, Inc.
2336 47th Ave. SW
Seattle, WA 98116-2331 USA
Ph: 206-935-3649
Fx: 206-935-3326
http://www.balloonlife.com/ 
Contact: Tom Hamilton, Editor-in-Chief
Email: tom@balloonlife.com 
Writer's guidelines online: http://www.balloonlife.com/rateguide/edguide.htm 
Please note these are not the fiction guidelines.
Pays: Pays on publication. $50 for 800-1,000 words.
Rights: Non-exclusive all rights. Byline given. 50-100% kill fee. Seasonal material should be submitted four months in advance.
Editor's note: After emailing back and forth with the Editor I was able to discern that they buy rights to use your work in all mediums (print, web, anthology, etc.), but ask for non-exclusive rights which lets you remain owner of the copyright.
Description: Published monthly, Balloon Life is about the sport of hot air ballooning.
Circulation: 8,000. Readers: Balloon enthusiasts and participants.
Needs: Humor. They only accept three to five fiction manuscripts a year.

Well, gang, I said I was going to offer you something different in this issue, and I hope I lived up to my promise. I was particularly delighted to find magazines that include fiction AND articles. Hopefully you'll look them over for both.

Next issue I hope to delve into the world of greeting cards, slogans and maybe even a crossword puzzle or two. Let's hope I can find some great places for you to write.

Until next issue, remember the words of Mark Twain when you think you're too busy to write: "Denial ain't just a river in Egypt."

Sable

-- SJ
©2001 Sable Jak

Sable Jak is a freelance writer with a special love for radio drama and screenwriting. She writes for Absolute Write www.absolutewrite.com  and Script Magazine's ezine www.scriptmag.com, is a charter member of The Screenplayers www.screenplayers.net/screenplayersnet.html and has a mystery radio series, "A Phil Byrnes Mystery," on www.virtuallyamerican.com.  She's also an avid crafter. Sable lives in Seattle with her actor-husband and their kitties. In the language of her ancestors her name "Sable" means "sword." She feels it's an appropriate name for a writer and her mighty pen.

Writing Contests & Calls for Entries

Moira Richards, Editor

Hello.
I planned this listing of fantasy and horror writing contests to mark the approach of Halloween. But the events of 11 September have proved that reality is not only stranger than fiction, but that it can be more terrifying too. My heart is with you all in America.
- Moira

Fantasy Writers Wanted Enchanted Realms Anthology
The purpose of FantasyWritersWanted (FWW) is to allow each writer the chance to present that great fantasy story to the world, in a collection of fantasy works. Traditionally, it is the motif of wizards, lords & ladies, dragons, magic, and the like. But if you have something that is an alternative within these realms (e.g. fantasy/romance, horror/fantasy, etc.) then please feel free to submit it.

I am purchasing limited rights for stories from each author to present their story in a fantasy collection. This collection of stories will be published in book format and used to promote our works. The idea of this collection is to get our stories in front of those who can get us published by traditional publishers. The fantasy anthology is called Enchanted Realms. We have already published our first collection in what we hope to be a series. To take full benefit of our group, you should submit stories you think are appropriate to the fantasy genre, and do your best writing possible. This is how it works: I will act as publisher. I will accept or deny stories, either editing or critiquing works that are presented. Once the story is in shape, I will then pay the author a flat rate for rights (which unfortunately is token), and an author's copy of the published anthology. The limited rights that are purchased will in no way disallow you to sell or present your story to anyone else. The purpose of this collection is to give all of us exposure, utilizing the print on-demand publishing technologies that are now out there. If all goes well, then I will make the attempt to solicit the work to those in the traditional publishing industry. If we happen to sell our works either individually or as a collection, then we all get to renegotiate equally, as partners in this venture for any additional monetary rewards. This is basically a grand experiment to see how we can empower ourselves as writers. Because of the nature of on-demand publishing and keeping books in print virtually forever (for details on on-demand publishing go to http://www.xlibris.com), your work will be out there for years to come, perhaps even promoting you after you're long gone.

PRIZE: Token payment and publication agreement
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: December 31, 2001
URL: http://www.fantasywriterswanted.com/ 

SpecFicWorld.com's Annual High Fantasy Contest
It is my goal to help promote those writers that love the high fantasy genre and wish to share their fantastical worlds with the rest of the world.

The 2002 contest is open to both published and unpublished writers. All entries must be original works of fiction, written in English, unpublished and not accepted by any publisher, or submitted elsewhere at the time of the contest.

Open to: High Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery fiction. No urban or modern-day settings.
Length: Between 1k-20k words.
Taboos: No Fan Fiction. No porn. No gore. No child abuse stories.

Note of Publication: I also require that all the winners allow me to publish their stories in Rogue Worlds E-zine http://www.specficworld.com/rgworlds.html for a maximum of 90 days.

Copyright: Authors retain all Copyrights to their work.

PRIZE: $100, $50, $25 and publication in Rogue Worlds E-zine
ENTRY FEE: $5
DEADLINE: January 15, 2002
URL: http://www.specficworld.com/contest01.html 

L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future® Contest
L. Ron Hubbard established and sponsored The Writers of the Future Contest in 1983. Publication of his own, first professional short story in 1932 had launched one of the most spectacular and prolific writing careers of the 20th century, embracing genres ranging from adventure, western, historical romance, mystery and horror to science fiction and fantasy and producing more than 260 published works of fiction.

At the time of its inception, the very idea of a contest of this scope and of a book filled with first-time fiction by amateur writers was seen in many literary venues as "untried" and "challenging," but at the same time as something both "desirable" and "long-needed." Expert opinions said it couldn't be done.

Since its inception in 1983, the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest provides extraordinary opportunities for new and aspiring writers of science fiction and fantasy to have their creative efforts seen and acknowledged. The foremost international showcase for new talent in the field of speculative fiction, the WOTF contest has enabled numerous beginning writers to go on to outstanding professional careers.

PRIZE: $1000, $750, $500
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINES: The Contest will continue yearly with the following quarterly periods: October 1 -
December 31, January 1 - March 31, April 1 - June 30, July 1 - September 30.
URL: http://www.writersofthefuture.com/ 

Hershey Foods Corporation Mystery Story-Writing Contest
Halloween is filled with mystery and intrigue…what better time of year to tap the creative imaginations of young minds? Encourage your students to enter Hershey's Mystery Story-Writing Contest.

By entering, students become eligible to win one of many great prizes, including a Grand Prize $5000 U.S. Savings Bond. Each Grand Prize winner's school will also receive $1000! The contest is open to students ages 6-18, and entries will be judged in three different age groups (see Official Rules for details).

Entering is easy. Students simply write an original mystery story of up to 200 words and mail it with a completed entry form.

Eligibility: Contest open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 6 to 18 years of age as of 10/9/01.

Judging: All Mystery Story-Writing Contest entries will be divided into three age groups: (Group 1) Little Ghosts, ages 6-11; (Group 2) Ghosts, ages 12-15; and (Group 3) Ghouls, ages 16-18. Judging by an independent panel of judges will be based on the following criteria: 1) Creativity/Originality: 0-40 points; 2) Clarity of expression: 0-30 points; 3) Relevance to the theme: 0-30 points. In the event of a tie, tied entries will be re-judged based on Relevance to the theme: 0-100 points.

PRIZE: Various big prizes for the winners, and for their schools
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: November 15, 2001
URL: http://www.trickortreats.com/teacher/mysterywriting_rules.asp 

St. Martin's Press / Malice Domestic Contest for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel
The contest is open to any profession or non-professional writer, regardless of nationality, who has never written a published traditional mystery, as defined by the guidelines below, and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a traditional mystery. Only one manuscript entry is permitted per writer. Must be original works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approx 60,000 words)

GUIDELINES
Murder or another serious crime is at the heart of the story, and the emphasis is on the solution rather than the details of the crime.

Whatever violence is necessarily involved should be neither excessive nor gratuitously detailed, nor is there explicit sex.

The crime is an extraordinary event in the lives of the characters.

The principal characters are people whom the reader might not like, but would be interested in knowing.

The suspects and victim should know one another.

There is a limited number of suspects, each of whom has a credible motive and reasonable opportunity to have committed the crime.

The person who solves the crime is the central character.

The detective is an amateur, or, if a professional (private investigator, police officer), is not hardboiled and is as fully developed as the other characters.

The detective may find him- or herself in serious peril, but he or she does not get beaten up to any large extent.

All of the cast represent themselves as individuals, rather than large, impersonal institutions like a national government, the Mafia, the CIA, etc.

PRIZE: $10,000 advance against future royalties
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: October 15, 2001
URL: http://users.erols.com/malice/malice12.htm 

Hard-Boiled Holiday Writing Contest
It's time to start tapping away on your keyboards again for our 4th annual Hard-Boiled Writing contest. Most of all, have fun with it!
Your story:
must be 1000 words or less
must fit within the parameters of our writer's guidelines
must include the words below in the body text of your story:

fruitcake
wreath
egg nog
gloves
brandy
gift
turkey
taxi
store
cigar

Got a flair for murder? If so, Blue Murder Magazine would love to read your story. We're currently accepting manuscripts through e-mail submissions only. Manuscripts must be attached to your e-mail in Rich Text Format (RTF) only. Please don't include your story in the body of your e-mail, as those will not be considered for publication.

Blue Murder Magazine publishes 'fresh pulp at its finest.' We're looking for stories that are a fast-paced, gripping read that involves the reader from the first sentence to the last. We want to taste the fear, feel the apprehension, hear our own pulse hammering as the suspense builds. You should submerge the reader into the experience you're describing, engage all our senses as you spin your tale. Writers must be familiar with the genre and able to construct unique crime stories of dark-edged mystery and suspense.

Categories of the genre include: Private Eye, Police Procedural, Hard-Boiled Crime and Love Gone Bad. The protagonist of the story will typically have a murky past, dark intent, few morals, and a heart that shifts between good and bad. Whether your plot features the protagonist as murderer or victim, it should elicit the reader's sympathy, since you've developed a character we can feel for.
We'd like to see strong stories with a hot new take on cold blood.

PRIZE: $100 & publication
ENTRY FEE: $10
DEADLINE: November 12, 2001
URL: http://www.bluemurder.com/contests.html 

The Twenty-First Annual Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Story Contest
Sponsored by Science Fiction Writers of Earth (Science Fiction Writers of Earth is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and improving opportunities for talented writers to become published authors.)

Purpose: To promote the art of short story writing.

Eligibility: Unpublished members of SFWoE in good standing who are not serving on the 2001 contest nominating committee are eligible to enter. Since the entry fee includes a one-year membership in SFWoE, the contestant on submitting the entry fee automatically meets the eligibility requirement. (Note: "Unpublished member" is defined as a member who, prior to entering this contest, has never received money for a published piece of fiction writing.)
Disqualification: A manuscript will be disqualified if in the judgment of the nominating committee the entry falls into any one or more of the following categories:
Manuscript fails to meet all of the contest submittal requirements.
Story has been published and/or the author has received payment for the story or some other piece of fiction writing prior to the date of entry.
Story is considered to be outside of the SF/F genre.
Story contains sex for the purpose of arousal only.
Story contains harsh or foul language for the purpose of shock only.
Story is in bad taste

PRIZE: $200, $100, $50 & publication
ENTRY FEE: $5
DEADLINE: October 30, 2001
URL: http://www.flash.net/~sfwoe/intrules.htm 

Deadline is past on this one, but there are on-going contests and this will give you an idea of what they look for:

The Harrow Summer Murder 2001 Contest
THEME:
Life's a bitch. Sometimes you just want to kick back ... relax ... have a cold one ... and blow someone's brains out. Or you hold that butcher knife ... feel the weight in your hand, feel the cold steel resting against your fingers as you slowly pull the blade across your palm ... and you wonder how it would feel to plunge it into someone's back. Dead bodies litter the streets like discarded Kleenex. Did YOU do it?

Revenge. Passion. Psychosis. Homicide. Or just plain, old-fashioned murder. Are you getting the idea here? Stories about murder, any angle, any theme, preferably with a horror slant -- supernatural, psychological, traditional, doesn't matter. Just kill someone off. Make it as bloody and disgusting as you like. And have fun doing it. Hell, this is murder we're talking about. Just make sure it's 4,000 words, tops. Horror, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, noir... I'm not picky. Cross genres, if that's what turns you on. Just make it good. 4,000 words maximum.

The Harrow normally offers detailed critiques of stories submitted, but due to the volume of submissions expected we will not provide critiques during our contests.

The Harrow receives nonexclusive First Electronic (World Wide Web) Publishing Rights for the first-, second-, and third-place winning stories. Please note that all works published on The Harrow are archived indefinitely.

PRIZE: $50, $25, $10 plus publication in The Harrow
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: September 1, 2001
URL: http://www.theharrow.com/contest.html

The Best of Soft Science Fiction Contest
Sponsored annually by the Soft SF Writer's Association

Who Can Enter
The contest is open to all writers, and you can enter as many manuscripts as you wish. The entry must have been published or offered for sale within the year the contest is entered. If the story has been published, include this information so it can be listed with any announcement of winners.

Judging Criteria
Emotional impact, artistic style, cleverness, originality, characterization, theme weight, imagery, sensuality. Stories which contain shocking or disturbing elements are unlikely to win. This is not the type of emotional impact we're looking for.

General
Soft SF is different from hard in that characters, emotional content and artistic effect are emphasized rather than plot and deterministic science. Although adult issues are encouraged, gratuitous violence and graphic sex should be kept to a reasonable minimum. Mixed-genre stories are acceptable (fantasy/SF, mystery/SF, horror/SF) as long as elements of science fiction are included--that is, some projection of trends, facts or technology in a scientific way. Social, behavioral, natural or hard science are all acceptable as a basis; and past, present, future or alternate universe are all fine as a setting.

PRIZE: $100, $50, $25
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: December 15, 2001
URL: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Den/5752/index.html

The Seventh Annual Confluence Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story Contest
Prizes and eligibility: The contest is open to non-professional writers (those who have not met eligibility requirements for SFWA or equivalent). Previous multiple winners and current contest coordinators are also ineligible. The best story which relates to and features the contest theme will be published in the Confluence 2002 program book.

Format: Stories must be Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror in genre. Stories must be original, unpublished, unsold and no more than 3500 words in length. Stories must relate to the theme.

Theme:
"Well Met by Moonlight"
The "Moonlight" theme lends itself to fantasy, science fiction or horror. Stories should take place at night or at some time when the Moon is visible, either on Earth or from out in space, and should involve an interaction between two or more beings: whether romantic, adventurous, criminal, political warlike or all of the above. The Lunar element of this theme commemorates our con's recent move from Mars, PA to Moon Township, PA.

PRIZE: $200, $100, $50 and publication
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: February 2, 2002
URL: http://trfn.clpgh.org/parsec/conflu/contest.html 

"Technology Run Amuck" Short Story Contest
Deathlings.com is proud to announce its next Short Story contest: "Technology Run Amuck." Haven't we all experienced the frustrations of technological advances that are supposed to make life easier and better and well, it doesn't always happen that way, does it? Let your imagination run wild--possessed cell phones, haunted computers, dogs with Global Positioning System implants--the sky's the limit. Please read our Guidelines carefully, blah, blah, blah.

We do not accept stories on an open submission basis. If you'd like to be published in deathlings.com then submit to our contests.

Payment for the First Worldwide Electronic Rights will be the professional rate of 3 cents per word with a 90 day exclusivity after publication. Payment will be made upon publication. Deathlings.com reserves the right to archive the story for an indefinite period, or until the author asks that it be removed from the archive. All rights transfer back to the author 90 days after publication. All other rights remain with the author.

What do we want?
Deathlings.com wants dark fiction that does not rely on excessive gore (grossing us out instead of scaring us, or making us think), gratuitous sex (note the word "gratuitous"--sexual scenes that are integral to the characters and/or plot are fine.) So what do we want exactly? Stories drenched in atmosphere where the setting plays an integral role. Stories that are character, not plot-driven. Any descriptions of the characters should be so vivid that we could pick one of your characters up at the airport if we had to! Don't fall into list writing: this happened, and then this, and then this--get into your characters' minds, flesh out their motivations--why do they do what they do? Please avoid stream-of-consciousness, all the action takes place in the narrator's head-type stories. Eyeball your paragraphs--if you have whole pages without dialogue, your story is not for us. No present tense.
Surprise us--we don't want to be able to guess what's going to happen after the first or second pages.

And finally... deathlings.com (despite the foreboding name) is not strictly a "horror" venue (whatever that is.) Dark fiction, to us, encompasses everything from scare-the-hell-out-of-you stories to stories that are "dark" simply meaning that they could never be published in one of the women's magazines. And please, (personal prejudice alert) no fantasy stories--if Cynnric the High Templar encounters the horrifying Galaryn on the once-edenic ShiningIsle we don't want to read about it.

PRIZE: Payment plus publication by Deathlings.com
ENTRY FEE: None
DEADLINE: January 1, 2002
URL: http://www.deathlings.com/ 

The "Most Dangerous Feminist Book in Speculative Fiction" Contest 2001 (The Margaret Sanger Award)
The idea is to have a "Most Dangerous Feminist Book in Speculative Fiction" contest. Note this isn't the BEST book or the MOST FEMINIST or MOST SPECULATIVE but the MOST DANGEROUS FEMINIST book depending from a speculative idea

- a book somehow
more subversive;
more establishment unpublishable;
more able to undermine the character, morals, and allegiances of its readers through speculation and feminism
than any other book this year.

- It must include something
futuristic,
otherworldly,
fantastic, or
outrageous
as an integral part of the story to be speculative.

As for feminist, let's use the old saw "feminism is the radical notion that women are people."

How do I know if my book is the right kind of book?
Well, IDEALLY, it needs to be speculative, and we dealt with that above; it needs to be feminist, that is, somehow teaching the full humanity and equality of women to members of a man-dominated culture (or somehow exposing the repression of women in that culture); and it should challenge other repression-related beliefs. The more of that it does, the better, and the degree to which your book doesn't do that is the degree to which it is likely to be rejected or not advanced in the contest.

PRIZE: Percentage of fees collected plus publication by Stone Dragon Press
ENTRY FEE: $25
DEADLINE: January 1, 2002
URL: http://www.stonedragonpress.com/sanger.html 

Moira Richards has spent the last couple of decades working as an accountant and doing a little writing. Her next few decades will be devoted to reversing this imbalance. Contact Moira at mr@intekom.co.za.
Websites: 
Suite 101 Contributing Editor -- Women Abuse
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/women_abuse
Contributing Writer for WomenWriters.net
http://www.womenwriters.net/bookreviews/