British Fantasy Society LGBT Issue Takes Flute and Harp; Extinctions to Go to The Darkness Internal

We’ve got a double header for Tuesday, one a fantasy story accepted (albeit maybe a bit on the dark side), the other psychological horror.  The first is from Editor Sarah Newton of the BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY JOURNAL who had put out a special call for “some of the material in [issue]#12 to reflect the theme ‘LGBT & fantasy.’ This could be fiction or poetry featuring LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) characters, or non-fiction concerning LGBT authors or writing.  Submissions of material not relating to this theme are also welcome.”

So it’s not an entirely LGBT edition, but as it happens I had a story called “Flute and Harp,” originally published in WHISPERS & SHADOWS (Prime Books, 2001) and set in my far-future “Tombs” universe, that seemed like it might fit the bill.  The British fantasists apparently thought so too as Editor Newton replied, in part, “I enjoyed it very much, and would like to publish it in our upcoming LGBT-themed issue 12.”

For more information on the BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY JOURNAL, including guidelines for publication (including articles, etc., too), press here.

Then the other’s a little more complicated but, in essence, VOLUTED TALES puts out periodic special editions, with one coming up this year from Guest Editor Christopher Nadeau to be called THE DARKNESS INTERNAL.  But let’s let him explain it in his own words:

“THE DARKNESS INTERNALl”– Looking for stories that are outside the norm.  They can be horror, dark fantasy, science fiction or even mainstream lit as long they meet the following criteria: Tales of inner darkness.  Think Kafka or Phillip K Dick or any U.S. Congressional hearing. Stories should focus on an internal struggle or occurrence.  Not looking for genre staples such as vampires, werewolves, and especially not zombies.  More interested in tales of torment and struggle as defined by the classic “Man Versus Himself” approach to writing.  Still, if you can find a fresh and exciting way to tell the story following the criteria and using those fabled beings, knock us out!

So this one’s not about digestion, or even “the darkness eternal” as I finger-fumbled on the subject line of my submission, but what I sent was another reprint, “Extinctions,” originally published in THE BLUE LADY in Autumn 1996, having to do with a man who thinks he’s seen a comet scheduled to collide with the Earth on New Year’s Eve 1999.  But has he really? Well . . . he does seem to be a little unstable, so maybe it’s psychological horror. But much has to do with actual news headlines in the year the story was published, so maybe it’s alternate history instead.

Be that as it may it’s been accepted too, according to this afternoon’s email, for “our Winter issue.”  And for more information on VOLUTED TALES and THE DARKNESS INTERNAL, press here.