Due to a lack of interest in maps (who would have thought!), we’ve extended the deadline for submissions to our annual anthology AND we are opening up submissions to everyone. Please forward wide and far. If you have a story featuring a map or maps, please consider submitting it to our anthology. Reprints welcomed!
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Tales of Cartographic Wonders
Maps, or graphical representations of spatial information, have shaped our world ever since people have put pen to paper, or stylus to a clay tablet, or chisel to stone. The focus of pirates searching for lost treasure or someone following a trail among the stars, maps in many guises have served humanity’s heroes and villains for a long time. What does the concept of maps inspire in you?
GUIDELINES
Authors are invited to submit a story with a map, or maps, playing a central or pivotal role. You are open to interpret ‘map’ however you see fit, but you can use the following definitions to rein in your imagination.
- A diagrammatic representation of an area of land or sea showing physical features, cities, roads, etc.,
- a picture or chart that shows the different parts of something,
- something that represents with a clarity suggestive of a map (i.e. map of the mind),
- the arrangement of genes on a chromosome (i.e. genetic map),
- star charts, or
- the correspondence of elements in one set to elements in the same set or another set (as in mathematics).
Stories must include some elements of science fiction or fantasy, but can be of any sub-genre. In addition, if you would like to submit an accompany map with your story, that is fine. But keep in mind that we may not use it. The resulting anthology may include a limited number of graphical maps.
Stories should be between 3,000 and 9,000 words (flexible).
Deadline for all submissions: July 31th, 2016 September 30th, 2016
To submit a story, email your story directly to nilaewhite (at) gmail (dot) com. Please double-space between paragraphs, single-space within. Also, do NOT tag your formatting. Simply use the italics, bold, centering commands of whatever program you use. Preferred file format is Google Document, Word DOC or DOCX, or RTF.
REQUIREMENTS
You must be a member of SFFWorld.com in good standing (no strikes) prior to submitting your story.Membership not required! Come one, come all.- Your story must fall in the speculative fiction genre (including but not limited to Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, etc.)
- No fan-fiction
5,000-10,000 words (firm)3,000 and 9,000 words (flexible)
RIGHTS & COMPENSATION
N. E. White (on behalf of SFFWorld.com) will ask for exclusive, worldwide digital and print rights for up to six months. Payment is a flat $15 USD (paid via PayPal), plus an e-book copy of the anthology.
Many thanks to Andrew Leon Hudson for designing the cover!
Do you get to claim it towards your credits at least?
I was busy working on my novel so I didn’tparticipate. But if the deadline’s pushed back, I’ll definitely submit!
Great!
Also, please note that I had to change the word count limits. I’m still open to accepting something up to 10k, though. So, don’t panic if your story is over 9,000 words.
What do you mean when you say “not tagging”?
I see that you said in the comments that you had to change the word count limits. Up above, it says: “Stories should be between 3,000 and 9,000 words (flexible).” vs “REQUIREMENTS: 5,000-10,000 words (firm)”. So is anywhere between 3k-10k words acceptable?
Yes, anywhere between 3k & 10k is acceptable. Thanks for asking and I’ll fix the requirements!
Hi, I’ve got a story that might well fit this. It was inspired by an old map, and features pirates (not Hollywood ones, but escaped slaves visiting Ranters’ Bay in Madagascar and attacking Dutch East India Company caravels). Re-reading it, I see there aren’t any actual references to maps in the actual text, though given the subject matter, it’s implied! The other problem is, at 10,400 words, it’s somewhat over your word limit. Would it be of interest to you, and if so, should I get rid of those excess 400 words, or send it as it is? Thanks for your time!
Hello Tom! Thank you for your interest. We really want stories where a map or the concept of a map is key to the story, but send it in anyway. We just may like it enough to accept it, even with the extra 400 words. Good luck.
OK, thanks for your reply!
Are simultaneous submissions acceptable?