An Alphabet of Embers submissions guidelines

People have been asking to see the guidelines for AoE, and I am happy to oblige. Please note that I am not reading yet; we are still in the fundraising stage, and the anthology won’t happen unless we raise the money. I firmly believe in paying authors professional rates.

————————

Pending successful funding, I will be seeking submissions for An Alphabet of Embers. AoE is an anthology of unclassifiables – lyrical, surreal, magical, experimental pieces that straddle the border between poetry and prose.

I am looking for work that is between 500 and 1400 words in length. Ideally, I’d like to accept a mix of pieces that can traditionally be labeled stories, and pieces that defy such definitions. If you’ve been told your piece is ‘too slight’ or ‘more of a vignette’, ‘too poetic’ or ‘too experimental,’ I’d love to consider it.

I am looking for work that is evocative, beautiful, stirring; I envision An Alphabet of Embers as a book that moves us, emotionally and intellectually, to consider the world from angles new and old and new again. I want AoE to resonate with lyrical strangeness, and pain, and vibrancy, and hope. I am always keenly interested boundary-crossing work, and want to showcase a variety of voices and perspectives.

I am committed to diversity of voice and theme in all my editorial projects, and this one will be no exception (here are my thoughts on looking for diversity of voice and theme, as an editor). This anthology is not specifically diversity themed; rather, I believe that every editorial project should be diverse, and every editorial project of mine has been, and will be diverse. Examples of my work include The Moment of Change (Aqueduct Press, 2012), and Stone Telling Magazine, which I co-edit with Shweta Narayan.

I welcome and encourage submissions from creators who belong to marginalized groups, including PoC, LGBTQIA creators, people of all ages, people of various levels of (dis)ability and income, people with neuroatypicalities, immigrants, and more. I’d love to see your work regardless of whether you have prior sales. This anthology is open to everyone.

I would love to consider work in a variety of Englishes. Your language variant is welcome here.

PAY: if the anthology Kickstarter funds, I will be paying SFWA professional rates at 6c a word. I will pay 3c a word for reprints.

Details on submissions technicalities will be posted once funding is secured. These details will include manuscript format, editorial address, cover letter particulars, etc.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Originally published at RoseLemberg.net. You can comment here or there.