See below for more information about publishing with us and to submit your work
Open Fiction & Nonfiction Anthologies
How to submit & About our submissions process
General Submission Information
We publish three different things: fiction anthologies, nonfiction anthologies, and novellas. Please read below for more information about each.
For novellas we request exclusive rights to publish and distribute for a term of three years, with that being continued upon agreement. We pay 60% royalties to the author. All details are outlined in our contract.
Special Information For Anthologies
Anthology submission calls are posted on this page above and are open through the due date. Generally we prefer to publish between 10 and 15 essays or stories in any given anthology, but are open to running second volumes if submissions warrant. So don’t be shy! Submit your work and sign up to our author news list for reminders of open anthologies.
All anthologies will pay the authors unless otherwise specified. We will publish charity anthologies from time to time and these will be clearly stated. This means for our paying anthologies, the author will be required to provide a W-9 (US) or W8 (non-US) as well as applicable identifying information. Depending on the anthology, we are also experimenting with using PubShare to divide royalties. Pubshare takes 10% of what they receive as a fee for this service. We take pen names seriously and take steps to ensure that authors are published only under the name they choose. All identifying information is held in the strictest confidence. Payment is 70% of royalties received divided equally among all contributors, paid no less frequently than quarterly. With 10 contributors (as an example), this means each author would receive 7% of what we receive from vendors/sales on our website. (Anthologies utilizing PubShare would be 6% after they take their cut.)
All authors will sign a contract stating that they agree to terms and payment. We ask for exclusive rights for print, ebook, and audio for a full 12 months after publication and non-exclusive rights for the duration after that as long as the book is in print. Royalties are paid for as long as the anthology is in print. We’re happy to answer additional questions or provide a copy of the agreement upon request.
We are looking for speculative fiction stories that are connected to the anthology’s theme. Make sure both the theme and the speculative fiction element are a paramount part of your story. That means if either were removed, your story wouldn’t work.
While our focus is on publishing works from individuals in marginalized communities, we welcome writers from all walks of life and do not discriminate on the basis of age (provided the author is over the age of 18), race, disability, neurotype, sexual or gender identity or expression, or any other protected class. We do not allow hate speech or hatred against a group of individuals and will not publish stories that glorify violence, hate, or its associated political ideologies. We will pass on horror and generally won’t publish grimdark or other darker stories.
Our goal is to create a group of essays around the lived experience of the contributors as related to the theme. While you can provide support, help, or how-to in your essay as many of us are coaches or work supporting our communities, these anthologies are not designed to be how-to or advice focused. Instead, their purpose is to explore topics, provide shared experiences, and help others feel not alone.
For nonfiction essays, if you are not individually part of the group or facing the situation being discussed in each individual anthology, please do not submit. Nothing about us, without us.
We publish speculative fiction novellas written by individuals who consider themselves part of the BIPOC, chronically ill/disabled, neurodivergent, or queer communities. These novellas may (or may not) have own voices characters or characters from those communities.
The speculative fiction element must be an important part of the story. If it were removed, the story would not work. Elements of other genres are also welcome, but please keep in mind that we do not publish horror, hate or hateful ideologies, or explicit sex or gory violence. If you have a question about where your work might fall, please feel free to reach out!
We prefer submissions to be:
- standard manuscript format (1″ margins, Times New Roman, double spaced, justified margins, first line indent by .5, and name/word count on top of first page in the left/right corners respectively)
- .doc/.docx file (LibreOffice is also accepted)
- For anthologies between 2000 and 8500 words / Novellas are 15,000 to 30,000 words
- Times New Roman or other serif font, 12 point.
- Include preferred author name and bio at the end of the document, including any links you’d like us to use. Please note that we will strip any Amazon/direct store links (other than your website) from the bio. Use a UBL (universal book link, either to your website or another service where possible).
- If you’d like to be ahead of the curve, you can also submit an author photograph or logo at this time so we have it for our website. Otherwise, if your story is accepted we’ll ask for it at the time the contract is signed. You are welcome to use a logo, picture of your pet, or not have a picture on our website.
Tips for Nonfiction
Please don’t overthink or stress out over your essay. Many of our favorite essays are ones where the author said, “I just sat down and began to write.” The flow of inspiration is often more powerful than calculated, careful words. If you feel comfortable, you’re encouraged to drop the mask when you’re writing an essay.
All essays will be edited. The goal is to keep the author’s voice and intent in place; therefore, all edits will focus on grammar, spelling, and where necessary clarity. Authors will be granted the chance to review edits to their essays.
Tips for Fiction
Have fun with the theme. One of the best parts of being a publisher is getting to see where authors go from the theme I provided. I have been delightfully surprised, moved to tears, and even touched by some of the stories that have been submitted (and simply enjoyed all of them). If you have questions, please ask. Word count is fudgeable on the upper end; I’d prefer not anything much shorter than 2000 words.
Unless a given anthology specifies, we publish both science fiction and fantasy and love to mix them in the anthologies. As a general rule we will not accept horror or darker stories.
Want to Hear About Submission Calls?
To hear about submission calls subscribe to our main newsletter at the bottom of the page, or for our author-focused newsletter, subscribe below.