Yes, we're starting our third year. Thank you for your interest and support. The guidelines are below.
Strange Aeon: 2022 (Hopeful Monsters) is a
continuation of the Strange Aeon anthology series. As always, I want
good, solid stories in a cosmic horror/Lovecraftian vein. I specifically say Lovecraftian rather than
Cthulu because I’d like stories across the entire Mythos, including additions
by the original group of Mythos authors like Robert Howard and Clark Ashton
Smith. [1]. In fact, I’d like to use more stories that do not have specific
Lovecraftian references and that move away from the traditional Lovecraft style
and voice. Try to avoid pastiche and tell fresh new stories in your own
settings. Style preference applies to gore and sex as well: think early Weird
Tales, no excessive language or explicit sexual references.
I am especially interested in stories of mad science,
monster-based horror, weird western, and stories that “peel the onion.” Indeed,
I cannot emphasize strongly enough the need for these categories. Victoriana
and Lovecraft era period pieces will have a much harder time finding acceptance.
This year’s anthology is slanted more towards stories
showing protagonists “fighting the good fight” in the face of implacable horror
and fewer stories that are mood based rather than plot driven. That being said,
please send anything you consider a good story. Feel free to query for any
questions. If you are planning to write a story especially for this anthology,
by all means query the idea first.
For this anthology I’m asking for non-exclusive rights and
will happily take reprints. Simply tell me the publication history so that I
can give proper copyright acknowledgement. Simultaneous and multiple
submissions are acceptable; please do so in a professional manner. If you are
in doubt about a story or story idea, feel free to query.
Though I am not especially interested in non-fiction or
poetry, I will consider it. At most,
only one non-fiction piece and one work of (long) poetry will be used.
I’m not overly concerned about length. 5,000 to 10,000 words
is preferable but I know that horror doesn’t always lend itself to a strict
word count and I’ll look at any length. (I think the longest pieces that have
been used have been just over 20,000 words and the shortest about 2,000.) I
don’t care about submission formatting as long as it’s legible, clean copy.
Electronically, I need the manuscript attached as an RTF, DOC, or DOCX file.
Please submit to the email address mkeatonauthor (at) gmail (dot) com with the
word Submission in the header.
The goal is a final book with ten to 15 stories averaging 5,000
to 10,000 words apiece. I will be accepting submissions no later than the end
of June (or until the anthology is filled. If you are writing a story
specifically for this anthology and are concerned about the “is filled,” feel
free to query me in advance). I will
update these guidelines and notify any already accepted authors if the date has
to be pushed back. I plan to start
making final decisions beginning in mid-June. All submissions should have final
confirmation of acceptance or rejection by the first week of July.
What's in it for the author? There will be a token payment
of $20 and a compensatory copy for the author, or $35 for authors outside the
USA. Contributors will get a bio to promote their own work. (I would like to
avoid a specific word limit on bios; please respect the reader and the fact
that every additional page raises the cover price. I reserve the right to edit
bios for space.) Copyright will be retained by the author. Payment will be upon
acceptance with comp copy to follow release of the anthology. If, due to unforeseen circumstances, the
anthology is cancelled, the author is, of course, to keep the $20. [2]
Important Notes:
1] Authors new to
working in the Mythos may find this a bit confusing. Let me be clear: do not
use characters, creatures, book names, or anything else from modern authors.
Modern authors are under copyright. Lovecraft and the other members of his
original “circle” are largely under public domain. Please, do not accidentally infringe on anyone’s copyright. Always
check first. In addition, gaming rules and supplements are also copyrighted
works and should not be used. If in doubt, only use Lovecraft’s own work as a
source just to be on the safe side. Better yet, create your own. This is always
important when writing but especially in the murky pseudo-shared world of the
Mythos where the lines are more difficult to see. If you questions have or
concerns about this, a quick internet search should tell you what you need to
know. (One exception is if you wish to include Cobalt Green milieu
references. Any Cobalt Green tie-ins should be queried first but since I
own the copyrights, I also have the leeway to grant usage rights. Nevertheless,
I would still rather see your original ideas.)
2] Since any
publication, the first time, in any form, is by definition a use of First
Rights, if you sell an unpublished work, even on a non-exclusive contract, then
you have used your First Rights. And once First Rights (North American, World,
Print, E-, or whatever other form they may be) are used, it's all reprints from
there and most places are no longer interested. I would love to see your work, but I don’t want you to lose out
on another market because of confusion about the rights. As noted earlier, I am
interested in reprints for this project. One of the goals of this anthology is
to help writers and readers in this specific genre interest discover each
other. For this, reprints work very well.
Posts
