Tag: calls for submissions

Happy holidays…wait, what? Get your short stories ready!

Hi, peeps!

Hope everything and everybody are treating you well. April has been a whirlwind of crazy bizzy, but it’s all good.

Anyway, I bring up the holidays, friends, because there are usually many opportunities to submit short stories to holiday anthologies at many different publishers. Now, I’m not going to delve into whether or not said anthologies make money, but they remain pretty dang popular every year. And some publishers turn them into really cool fundraising opportunities for good causes, like Ylva did last year with their anthology, Unwrap These Presents. ALL profits go to organizations that help homeless LGBTQ youth. (full disclosure — I have a story published in this anthology)

At any rate, so what, Andi? It’s NOT EVEN FREAKING MAY AND HERE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT DECEMBER HOLIDAY CRAZY.

Indeed. But I do this because if you want to get your stories in said anthologies, you need to start writing NOW. That’s one of the issues with holiday anthologies. You have to start thinking about it at least 6-7 months in advance and get that story hammered out and submitted. I personally enjoy writing for holiday anthologies because of a bit of personal baggage.

That is, I am so not a fan of the November-December holidays. Christmas is a particular drag for me, but I realized some years back that I get to decide my holiday fate, so I make it a point not to get involved in the absolute nuttiness and rampant commercialism of the season. My friends and family all agreed that instead of doing that, we’d engage in good works and fun and relaxed party things and we all discovered that we are way happier and less stressed at that time of year than in the past.

So I’ve decided that part of my holiday therapy, if you will, is to make it a regular thing to write a story or novella or something comparable that deals with some aspect of the November-December holidays and either get it published or post it somewhere. I particularly like romance/romantic comedies that time of year, so that’s probably going to be a recurring theme.

Having said that, I actually just started writing a holiday novella a couple of nights ago. The idea hit me the day I started writing it. I went home after work and BOOM. Writing crazy. Most likely it’ll be done toward the end of May and then all my critique peeps will rip it apart and I’ll rewrite is 32 times and then see what kind of publishing venue is out there for it. If nobody wants it, I may make it available on Kindle. We’ll see…

So for now, friends, start thinking about holiday anthologies as possible venues for your work. Ylva loves holiday anthologies, and they’re doing one this year, too. F/F romance and/or erotica.

CHECK IT. Deadline is July 15. Get crackin’.

Or perhaps you feel more comfie writing creepy Halloween stories this time of year. GREAT. Ylva loves Halloween anthologies, too.

CLICK. Deadline is May 31. Get creepin’.

Or, if you totally don’t want to do holidays in that vein at all, consider submitting to me and my co-editor R.G. Emanuelle for a second round of F/F FOOD and ROMANCE/EROTICA. FOR REALS! We’d love to consider your work.

CLICK RIGHT HERE BECAUSE OMG YOU SO WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR FORTHCOMING ORDER UP ANTHOLOGY OMG I KNOW YOU DO.

Anyway, if you know of any other holiday anthologies, please feel free to share in the comments. Other readers will totally appreciate that. And for now, start thinking about getting stories ready. After all, you don’t need snow to feel festive.

Happy writing, happy Thursday!

by Categories: Calls for submissions, Inspiration, Things you might like, WritingTags: , 1 Comment

Calls for Submissions

Hey, kids–

Lambda Literary always has some groovy calls for submission going on.

Like, for example, this sexy anthology of dark erotic tales via Riptide Publishing:

Riptide Publishing Open Submission Call: Bump in the Night

Keep us earthbound or launch us into outer space. Unveil the hungry horrors of this world or of one full of fantasy and magic. Show us too-friendly creatures from the deep or amorous plants in the rainforest. Expose us to a mad scientist’s tireless steam-powered machine or a matriarchal tribe’s sperm-milking farm. Take us into Hell, or merely into the dark recesses of someone’s dreams. Show us eager “victims” or hesitant ones, or even full-blown resistance . . . as long as it all works out in the end.

Whatever they may be, explore your wildest fantasies in this collection of dark erotic tales.

(These stories will be released as a single ebook and print anthology. Select stories may be released individually several months after the release of the anthology.)

Length: 5,000 to 10,000. Slightly longer or shorter stories may be accepted, but be prepared to wow us.
Genres: Any
Heat Levels: HOT!
Ending: No tragedies, please
Orientation: Any LGBTQ
Submissions Due: Saturday, December 1, 2012
Acceptance Letters Sent By: February 1
Anticipated Release Date: October, 2013

Click the link for all the details.

M2Q Zine:
Genderqueer is a word that points to infinite possibilities for playing with, sabotaging, cutting up, reinventing and/or reclaiming gender. However, there is a frequent perception that genderqueer is most often claimed by people who were assigned female at birth. This zine aims to address this by creating a space for genderqueer people who were assigned male at birth to tell their stories, examine and explore their identities and experiences, and offer their perspectives and visions on gender, queerness, and beyond.

Click the link for more info.

Lavender Review:
Lavender Review is an international, biannual e-zine dedicated to poetry and art by, about, and for lesbians, including whatever might appeal to a lesbian readership.
The theme of Issue 6 is Muse.
The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2012.
See http://lavrev.net for complete guidelines.

Just a taste of what you’ll find at Lambda Literary’s calls for submissions. So go on. See what’s cookin’ and maybe get in on some.

Happy Wednesday.

by Categories: Calls for submissionsTags: , , , , 2 Comments

Calls for Submissions, love and leather

Hi, all–

I’m a little late to the party, but found out that Radclyffe’s Best Lesbian Romance 2013 through Cleis Press is up and running and ready to accept submissions. You can go to this link (RadNews!) and there on the left, you’ll see “Best Lesbian Romance 2013” link. Click that, and a pop-up for a .pdf will show. You can thus print it out for easy peasy reference. (Deadline March 15, 2012)

You can also find it here, at the Erotica Readers and Writers Association.

The ERWA also has some other calls for submissions:

JMS Publications is looking for LGBT short stories. See here (deadline Dec. 30, 2011).

EDITED TO ADD: Hi, all–Victoria Oldham noted (see comment below) that JMS seems to be a little tight with story rights. So, make sure you check into that if you want to work with them.

Also according to ERWA, Bradley Publishing is looking for romance, too. Check details here.

And Laura Antoniou is looking for submissions (heh!) to her leather anthologies. Click this link. One has a deadline of Dec. 31, 2011 and another has a deadline of January 31, 2012, and another February 28, 2012. If that’s your gig, go check it out!

There. That should keep you busy for a little bit…

Happy writing!

by Categories: Calls for submissions, Coolness, WritingTags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

A few calls for submissions

Um–STORY submissions, you nasty-minded cretins! (but that’s why I luuuuuv you!)

Anyway, Lambda Literary posts calls over at their website. Here’re a couple you might want to consider:

Lethe Press is looking for Bisexual/Genderqueer REPRINT SPEC FIC stories for an anthology. $100 if accepted. REPRINTS ONLY. Here’s the scoop. The deadline for both suggestions and submissions is November 15, 2011.

And Storm Moon Press is looking for gay and lesbian stories that center on the theme “whispered vows” — as in, secret marriages. Romance is good, strong erotic elements at the core of your story is strongly encouraged, and your story must have an HEA (Happily Ever After) ending. Clickie for the skinny. Deadline for stories is October 28, 2011.

And here, my friends, is a super fun one. The fun folks over at Cocktail Hour/Bar Rag are holding their own short story contest. The stipulations: between 10K-30K words and the story MUST contain the phrases “Cocktail Hour” and “bearded clam” (oh, lord have mercy!). And you must be 18 or over. There is a prize involved, but it has yet to be announced. So if you’re a writer of lesfic or lesbian fanfic, maybe feel a sexy, nasty groove coming on, well, you might want to give this one a whirl. HERE’s the 411. Deadline is October 15, 2011.

All rightie. Get them creative juices flowing and have at!

Happy writing!

by Categories: Calls for submissions, Contests, WritingTags: , , , ,