*****PLEASE BE SURE TO READ MY GUIDELINES CLOSELY AND ONLY SUBMIT MATERIAL IN THE FORMAT I AM ASKING FOR -- SUBMISSIONS NOT IN THE REQUESTED FORMAT WILL BE REJECTED WITHOUT BEING READ*****
I've just sold a new anthology pitch, and here's the prospectus to get a jump-start on. Gentlemen (and ladies), start your enzymes!
MARK OF THE BEAST
New Legends of the Werewolf
Edited by Scott David Aniolowski
Author and Editor Scott David Aniolowski is now accepting submissions for MARK OF THE BEAST; New Legends of the Werewolf, an anthology of werewolf tales to be published in late 2012 by Chaosium, Inc.
Werewolves have recently become very big in pop culture, thanks to the popularity of certain young adult novels and their movie adaptations. Unfortunately, our lycanthropic friends are now being portrayed as pouty, angsty, shirtless hunky teens, instead of savage, bestial figures from folklore and nightmares. It is my goal to assemble stories that put the horror back into the werewolf.
There are countless variations on the werewolf legend from around the world and throughout history. The more common causes for lycanthropy include being bitten by a wolf or werewolf, cursed by a Gypsy or witch, a family curse, donning an enchanted pelt, imbibing potions or poisons, selling your soul to the devil, falling from religious grace, etc. Some werewolves change from human to giant wolf – some to hybrid wolf-men. And the infliction strikes at various times, depending upon the legend: during a full moon, while under great emotional stress, when the pelt is worn or potion drank – or even at will – etc. Some werewolves are aware of their condition and remember everything when they change – others have no knowledge whatsoever, or experience memories as “nightmares”. Some are solitary – others live in packs. Silver kills some werewolves but not all. Clinical Lycanthropy is a real mental disorder wherein the sufferer believes he or she is a werewolf. And so on….
I want authors to explore different legends and aspects of the werewolf stories, and just about any genre is acceptable (Gothic horror, quiet horror, sci-fi, cyberpunk, splatter, psychological, Victorian London, the old west, folklore/urban legend, etc. -- NO HUMOR -- SERIOUS HORROR STORIES ONLY!) as long as the underlying theme is HORROR! Pop culture has turned the werewolf into dreamy poster boys and romance novel figures (don’t believe me? Browse Amazon.com and see for yourself how many werewolf romance novels there are!). I want to give the werewolf his balls back! I want to make him a figure of terror and nightmares again.
HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART: Send submissions in MS Word doc. or rtf. files. Basic formatting: single spaced, aligned left, no tabs (a space between paragraphs ONLY), no page numbering, no headers or footers, etc. Considering short-shorts/flash fiction up to 8,000ish words. Poetry is okay, as well. Reprints will be considered only if they have previously appeared in very limited run publications (indicate previous publication along with date and approximate circulation). Payment is 3 cents a word for new works (possibly less for reprints), and 3 contributor copies of the published book. Publication will be in trade paperback format with an estimated release of late 2012. Deadline for submissions is May 1, 2012. DO NOT SEND ME RUN-OF-THE-MILL, STANDARD OR TYPICAL WEREWOLF STORIES. I WANT TO SEE SOMETHING NEW AND FRESH AND EXCITING!
E-mail to: Olantern1@aol.com
Until next time from the House of Secrets,
Good Writing!
Good stuff, SDA. You're gonna' be a busy man the next few years. :)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this. I would submit a story, but I've already done my werewolf story for my publisher. But, like I said, I can't wait to read this. Good luck getting it together.
ReplyDeleteSounds like this will be a great collection. Is payment on acceptance or on publication?
ReplyDeleteJust submitted! This one looks like it will be fun!
ReplyDeleteIt's about time the horror archetypes get scary again.
If I have to watch a movie about sexy, sparkling zombies, I think I will throw up.
I have w/w horror and I have w/w humour.
ReplyDeleteWhich is the better fit?
Barry
Horror. I do not want humorous stories.
DeleteThanks for the opportunity. Submission incoming...hot off the presses.
ReplyDeleteIn the guidelines, what exactly do you mean by 'no tabs'? You want spaces between paragrpahs instead of having the first line of each paragraph indented? Just wanted to make sure of this before formatting my sub. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes, that's correct -- spaces between paragraphs instead of tabs.
DeleteWhat do you want for chapter breaks/page breaks? I believe the standard is a centered "#", but if so, should it be right between the paragraphs without spacing? If not, how would you like us to indicate a break in the text?
ReplyDeleteEither # or *** (which is what I use) is fine. Please insert a line space before and after.
Deletesubmitted. Look forward to hearing from you.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds wonderful. I have a started to think of one, but I fear time is not my companion at the moment. There might be a chance that time permits me to write one... However I would be interested in reading this when it comes out later this year.
ReplyDeleteDeadline is May 12th. Correct ?
ReplyDeleteSorry, just found the deadline... May 1st
DeleteHey Scott, I submitted my story to you, but recently checked the document on a whim and realized that in reformatting it from double to single spacing, I left in an extra space between paragraphs. Would you prefer I re-submit it to you? I'd hate to get tossed in the circular file for formatting.
ReplyDeleteNo, you don't have to re-sub for that.
ReplyDeleteSubmission sent. I hope you enjoy.
ReplyDeleteQuick question: Are multiple submissions allowed?
ReplyDeleteNo. One only. I am being swamped with submissions, so am forced to limit it to one only.
DeleteI've gotten over 200 subs for the werewolf antho I'm reading for, so its going to take me a while to get through all of them. I've been making rejections in batches of about 15 at a time, but any stories I like enough to want or maybe want are going into files to be reviewed again at the end for final selection. So unless an author has been outright rejected, he or she isn't going to hear much of anything from me for a while. Best I can do, especially since my job has me working up to 14 hours a day and six days a week+.
ReplyDeleteAlso again, PLEASE only 1 sub per author at a time. If you've been rejected you can send something else, but no more than 1 submission at a time.
Mr. Aniolowski,
DeleteAt what time & time zone does the deadline fall?
Many thanks,
Andrew F.
Midnight Eastern Time (East Coast USA) May 1. Anything coming in after that will be rejected without being opened and read.
DeleteHow do you want italics indicated?
ReplyDeleteEither italics or underline is fine.
DeleteThanks ... sent!
Delete-- C.
Okay, that's it. The deadline for submissions is now closed. I am accepting no more stories or poems for consideration. Thank you to everyone who sent me something.
ReplyDeleteAre confirmation e-mails sent out? I always fear my stories end up in the ether, better known as spam.
ReplyDeleteI did not send out confirmation e-mails. I carefully checked my spam file for any stray subs, however.
DeleteThanks, the response is much appreciated.
DeleteScott, Thanks for the opportunity you are giving many of us to feel like we are atleast accomplishing something towards the dream. Accepted or rejected, I enjoyed the process of creating a story specifically for your anthology. I look forward to hearing good news from you (crossed fingers).
ReplyDeleteWill the general rule of thumb be . . . If we haven't heard anything so far, it could be good news.
ReplyDeleteI've got about a dozen stories left to read. AS I read them I sort them into YES, MAYBE, and NO files. I've sent out close to 50 rejections in the past week from the NO file. The YES file will be acceptances with stuff from the MAYBE file filling in any holes. The problem is, I've gotten so many subs that I may not be able to even use everything from the YES file, let alone anything from the MAYBE file.
DeleteAnyway, in answer to your question, if you haven't heard anything yet it COULD be good news.
Okay, the last rejection just went out, so that means if you have not yet heard from me your submission has made it into final consideration for MARK OF THE BEAST. This is not a promise of inclusion in the book, but it is one step closer. I will now go through all of the stories and poems I pulled out for inclusion and go through them all again, picking the final lineup. I hope to be able to have this done very soon, and let everyone know finally the fate of his or her submission.
ReplyDeleteThank you to everyone who took the time to create something for me to read and consider. The response to this one has been mind-boggling! I lost count of the number of submissions I received, but at last count it was well over 200. The final anthology will have between 20 and 30 stories and poems in it -- so less than 10% of the submissions will actually make it in.
The final contents have been chosen. This was a really, really tough one. There ended up being about 80 stories that made it all the way to the final consideration (and about 200 rejected before that point). Of the 80 I had to cut it down to about 30, so that means 50 good stories just aren't going to fit. I've tried to keep an impartial editor's eye with this one because I got so many submissions. That means I'm rejecting a lot of very good stuff -- both new names (to me) and established folk & friends.
ReplyDeleteI'll be composing both the final rejections and acceptances tonight or tomorrow, and will post the final table of contents here shortly thereafter.
Thanks to everyone who submitted.
SDA
The table of contents is here: http://scottdavidaniolowski.blogspot.com/2012/06/face-of-beast.html
ReplyDeleteNo, it probably won't be out until mid 2013.
ReplyDelete