Wednesday, May 13, 2009

An Excuse to Talk Like a Pirate...the Fun, Old-Fashioned Kind of Pirate

Arrrgh—ahoy, matey…got any short stories about female pirates? Then you’ll be interested in this call for submissions:

Call for Submissions: Skulls and Crossbones
A collection of short stories that features women pirates in any setting, any time period.

Editors: Andi Marquette and R. G. Emanuelle.
Publisher: Mindancer Press (Bedazzled Ink), print and ebook editions

Stipulations:
-No longer than 7000 words; no shorter than 4000 words
-Will consider original and previously published stories.
-$35 per story, paid after contract is signed. Story rights revert back to authors 18 months after date of publication. Each contributor will receive one print copy as well as one ebook copy of the anthology.

GLBTQ/heterosexual characters are welcome BUT EACH STORY MUST FEATURE A WOMAN PIRATE, either as the main character or the focus of the story (e.g. another sailor on the ship who hates the woman pirate and through his/her eyes, we observe the woman pirate). Again, the main character or the focus of the story MUST BE A WOMAN PIRATE. We will consider main characters that identify as transgendered (male to female), but that identity must figure prominently in the story as a driving force and/or something that speaks to the character’s experience as a woman pirate.

Extra caveat: The focus of the story cannot be a romantic hook-up/sex/erotica. Sex, eroticism, and romance may be part of the story (as long as they fit within the story’s overall plot), but they cannot be the reason for the story or the driving force of the story. We want stories that feature adventure, intrigue, antiheroines/heroines, battles (epic, personal, or small-scale), something to be accomplished/overcome, vengeance, trickery, thievery, and/or assorted banditry and outlaw behavior.

Absolutely NO stories that feature acts of pedophilia, incest, bestiality, or rape.

Deadline for submissions is September 1, 2009
Final selections will be made by October 1, 2009, with publication tentatively slated for January 2010

To submit your story, send as an email attachment in RTF format, double-spaced to pirateanthology@gmail.com

Please include your name, pen name (if applicable), mailing address, email address, story title, and word count on the first page of your submission.

More info: http://mindancerpress.wordpress.com/books/skulls-and-crossbones/I

f you have questions, drop us a line at pirateanthology@gmail.com

Work-in-Progress

DC-area author Leslie Pietrzyk explores the creative process and all things literary.