Rocket Kapre – Fantastic Filipino Speculative Fiction

The Philippine National Red Cross has a page up with information for those who want to help the people of Haiti in the wake of their worst earthquake in centuries. You can find that information here, but I also found a few other ways to help that might be of special interest to genre fans and creators.

First up, DriveThruRPG is selling a Gamers Helping Haiti bundle, where for a US$20 donation, you get to download a cornucopia of RPG ebooks with a total worth in excess of US$1000 (yes that’s one THOUSAND dollars). Even if you’re not a gamer, if you’re a writer you might find RPG source books can be a great way to jumpstart your imagination–I certainly read through dozens when I was young, even if I never used them in an actual game. The promotion lasts until the end of January, so please head on over and take a look.

Next, we have Crossed Genres’ Post a Story for Haiti initiative. Authors can post stories at their own sites and make them available for free online, then once they notify Crossed Genres the stories will be added to the list of stories already contributed (which includes stories from the likes of Jeff Vandermeer and Jay Lake) as an incentive for donors. If you’re a writer, feel free to contribute (and hey, let us know when you do), and if you’re a reader, why not use the stories as a way to reward yourself after sending in a donation?

If you guys know of any other ways to help, feel free to post in the comments. I’ll update this post if I stumble across any more that might involve the genre in an interesting or unique way.

(Image source: PNRC)

Our friends over at Estranghero Press have been busy lately, so I thought it might be best to gather some relevant updates in this post.

First off, everyone remembers that the deadline for story submissions for their Demons of the New Year anthology is on January 15 right?  Well if you didn’t remember, now you do, so no excuses. Procastinators and crammers (I think that covers about 90% of the people I know) have around five days to polish up those horror stories and send them to co-editors Joseph Nacino and Karl R. De Mesa.

Second, Estranghero Press now has a facebook page so go add them up if you’re a fan.

Third, head honcho Joseph Nacino has posted the digital press’ guidelines to shed some light on how it will be run and how often they plan to release new titles.

With NaNoWriMo having just ended, a list of deadlines might be the last thing that most writers would want to see–but the Christmas holiday is one of the longest in the year, and if you can find some time to get some writing done between Simbang Gabi and Noche Buena, I thought it might be useful to have a consolidated list of markets for your stories, especially given that many reading periods end this month. So I’ve combed through my usual sources (top of that list being Ralan, Duotrope, Bibliophile Stalker and Specficmarkets) and assembled this list of open markets and contests with upcoming deadlines (up to those which fall within the 1st quarter of 2010).  If I’ve missed any, local or international, please let me know in the comments.

And oh, it might not have a deadline, but don’t forget that Usok is open to submissions as well. ^_^

Note: The December deadlines are in bold print… You know, for added urgency

Novelette/Novella Markets:

• Delirium Books – Horror novellas and novelettes. Deadline is December 15, 2009.
• Distant Worlds - an anthology of novella length Science Fiction. Submissions are now open and will close on 15 Jan 2010.
• Twelfth Planet Open Reading Period – Novelette submissions are open until February 28, 2010.

Anthologies/Special Issues:

• Retro Spec - Retro Spec is a planned trade paperback anthology of speculative flash fiction, short stories, and poetry about culture, society, and politics from the 1920s to the 1980s. Deadline is December 8, 2009.
• The Pedestal Magazine: Speculative Fiction Issue - speculative flash fiction. Deadline is December 14 2009.
• Innsmouth Free Press: Multiethnic Issue - (Not an anthology but a special issue of a regular magazine) scary, funny, exciting and plain-bizarre stories with a Lovecraftian twist. Until December 15, 2009.
• Horrowire Anthology – Horror short stories. Deadline is December 15, 2009.
• Crossed Genres: Any Previous Genre Issue – (Not an anthology, but Crossed Genre submissions have themes which change every month, so technically a story you plan to submit to them within a particular genre has a month-long deadline). Deadline is December 31, 2009.
• The Beast Unleashed (The Beast Within 2) - new takes on “were-” tales. Deadline is December 31, 2009 or until filled.
• The Four Horsemen: An Anthology of Conquest, War, Famine & Death -  The anthology will be divided into four sections: Conquest, War, Famine/Pestilence, and Death. Most genres, including, but not limited to, supernatural, dark fantasy, horror, suspense, crime, mystery, humor and science fiction, are welcome as long as they fit the theme of one of our four categories (conquest, war, famine/pestilence, death). Please note which category your story fits into when you submit. Deadline is 31 December 2009.
• War of the Worlds: Frontlines – are stories influenced by War of the Worlds and containing Aliens in some form against Humanity. They don’t have to be the tripod riding, octopus-style Martians from the original novel. In fact, we would prefer seeing what your imagination can come up with. And while the title of the anthology is War of the Worlds: Front Lines, we realize that wars between man and alien could be fought on many fronts, and in many ways. Deadline is 31 December 2009.
  
• Timelines: Stories inspired by H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine – stories inspired by The Time Machine. Stories that delicately reach into our past. Stories that boldly stride into the future. And everything in between. Send us your stories of paradoxes and contradictions, show us what happens when we mess with our timelines or create new ones. Deadline is 31 December 2009.
• The Future Fire: Feminist SF Issue – (Not an anthology but a special issue of a regular magazine) We shall publish dark science fiction and art with a social conscience, a political sensibility, and of the highest quality. New not only means recently composed, previously unpublished, and original. New means: Creative. Inventive. Experimental. Postmodern. Speculative. Meaningful. Progressive. Deadline is 31 December 2009.
• Trafficking in Magic/Magicking in Traffic - Trafficking in Magic deals with the sale and transport of magical goods and services, including magical beings, artifacts, fortune telling, communing with the dead, and other spells for hire, or the sale of magical energy itself; Magicking in Traffic deals with magic in the flow of traffic–which could be street traffic, commerce, the flow of energies, or something else entirely–whether to aid, block, or manipulate the flow of traffic, or simply to play in it. Deadline is 5 January 2010.
• Demons of the New Year – horror anthology from Estranghero Press. Deadline is January 15, 2010.
• Warrior Wisewoman 3 – an annual anthology series of science fiction featuring powerful and remarkable women. Deadline is 15 January 2010.
• Aether Age – Shared universe alternate history anthology. Deadline is January 30, 2010.
• Zombie Zoology: A Natural History of Zombies - Stories must include themes revolving around living-dead animals, beasts, creatures, or anything of the sort. We are looking for variety in both animals and the locations in which the story is set. Stories involving local myths, legends and superstitions will be well regarded as will the use of science. Stories can be set in the past or present. Closing date is the 30th January 2010 and replies will go out after this date.
• While the Morning Stars Sing – An Anthology of Spiritually Infused Speculative Fiction. Deadline is 31 January, 2010.
• SCHEHERAZADE’S FAÇADE - “History, literature and mythology are replete with stories of those who, for one reason or another, disguise themselves as the opposite gender, or are transformed into that which they are not. Whether it’s for love, ambition, or self-preservation, whether it’s to challenge the status quo or simply to embrace their true nature, whether it’s done willingly or thrust upon them, there will always be those who cross-dress and blur the lines between genders. Deadline is February 28, 2010.
• Quest for Atlantis – unique short stories that celebrate the legend of The Lost Continent of Atlantis. Most genres, including, but not limited to, fantasy, science fiction, horror, suspense, mystery, romance, humor, etc., are welcome as long as they fit the theme of the anthology (Atlantis). Deadline is February 28, 2010.
• Rebel Books’ Faerie Stories Anthology – “We are looking to produce an anthology of Faerie Stories for young adults. Your stories must be modern, original stories about or including faeries with an edgy teen focus.” Deadline is February 28, 2010.
• Night Terrors - Night Terrors will be an open themed anthology of horror. Science fiction and dark fantasy will be considered as long as it has a strong element of horror. Try to avoid classic horror conventions, unless you incorporate a new twist. Remember, evil has no boundaries and neither do we! Nothing is off limits, so take advantage of the freedom. We’ll accept stories in any setting or time period, as long as it’s well written, powerful and original. Most importantly, scare us. We want to be haunted by your story long after we put it down. Gore and sex are acceptable, as long as it serves a purpose. Deadlines is March 13, 2010.
• The Way of the Wizard – The story should be about a wizard, witch, sorcerer, sorceress, of some kind (basically, any sort of user of magic). Open until March 31, 2010.
• Jabberwocky 5 – The elements and bedrock of Jabberwocky can be largely described as the -ical approach: lyrical, whimsical, mythical, in all its forms, particularly short fiction, poetry, and illustrative. Reading period will remain open until the collection is full. Response time is 2 weeks

Contests:

• SHINE Anthology competition – a guessing/matching competition dealing with the table of contents of the upcoming SHINE Anthology. The competition will run from November 30 until December 15: it will close to entries at December 15 midnight, Dutch time.
• Spec the Halls – a contest for speculative winter holiday-themed fiction, artwork, and poetry. Entries must be first posted between November 1st and December 18th, the week before Christmas. They must stay online until Groundhog Day (February 2nd) or until the winners are announced (Groundhog Day is the outside deadline that I’m setting myself for the decision). However, it should be noted that submitting earlier (when there’s less competition) will increase a submission’s chances of being a “Featured Submission.”
• “Why I Write” Essay Contest - sponsored by Editor Unleashed and Smashwords. Post Your Entry: Monday, November 9 – Thursday, December 31; Popular Ranking: Monday, January 4 – Friday, January 29
• Eighth Annual (2009) SFReader Short Story Contest - “We are interested in works that feature well developed characters along with colorful settings and fast-moving plots. There are no restrictions on sub-genres, though all stories must be firmly within the realm of Speculative Fiction. Our interests include, but are not limited to: Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Cyberpunk, Slipstream, and Alternate History, just to name a few. The speculative element must be integral to the story.”

[Image source: Spec the Halls ]

Usok, Rocket Kapre’s webzine of Fantastic Filipino Fiction has officially launched!

What are you waiting for? Check it out here and tell us what you think.

With the first issue out the door, we are now open for submissions.

I hope to hear from all you writers soon (or at least as soon as you recover from NaNo ^_^).

Joey Nacino of Estranghero Press has announced a new anthology “Demons of the New Year: Horror from the Philippines“. This is Estranghero Press’s second anthology following “The Farthest Shore” and this time Joey will be joined by horror-meister Karl “M.F.” de Mesa, of Damaged People: Tales of the Gothic-Punk and the upcoming News from Shaman. You can find the rest of the submissions guidelines here, but here’s an executive summary:

Theme: Horror with demons – “This collection of stories will be an anthology about demons– but don’t let that stop you from coming up with a really good idea about what constitutes your ‘Demons of the New Year.’ Like I said in an earlier post, don’t let a particular idea stop you from writing a good story”

Deadline: January 15, 2010.

(Slider image by Gazzmundo found here, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Dominque Cimafranca has launched a new website, aptly named Deadline.kom.ph (note the “k” in “kom”) which serves as an online deadline calendar for writer’s markets that are open to submissions. Here’s what Dominique has to say about the purpose of the website:

As the name says, this site is all about deadlines: whether it’s for a contest or call to submission for an anthology; whether it’s for short stories, poems, artwork, or novels; this is about deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. Why? Because sometimes nothing spurs creativity and kills procrastination more quickly and effectively than a looming immovable target.

Check back with the site from time to time to see what’s coming up soon, or better yet, subscribe to our feed.

If you have any deadlines for contests or anthologies that you want announced here, drop us a note, too.

You can also check out their FAQ here.

The National Book Development Board (an organization that is perhaps more familiar to book lovers due to the Great Book Blockade) has announced a contest for novel-length works or an anthology of short stories. The deadline is on October 5 at 5:00 p.m. though, so that’s a bit… tight if you don’t happen to have an unpublished novel or ample unpublished short stories lying around. The October deadline also means you can’t count on using your NaNoWriMo entries.

Regardless of the short time frame, it’s always great to have a new excuse to write, and a government-sponsored one at that. The NBDB is looking for four categories:

1. Tagalog/Filipino Romance;
2. Horror/Crime or Suspense (I presume in either English or Filipino);
3. Chick Lit in English;
4. A collection of short stories or a novel in English, Filipino or any of the regional languages provided a translation in English or Filipino is provided.

Not sure if stories with Speculative elements qualify in 1- 3 1 and 3, but it should certainly fit in category 2 and 4. (And hey, you do know there’s a new publisher on the look out for Spec Fic works right? *nudge nudge* *wink wink*) You can find the rules here and the entry form here. Please note the following key points though:

• The prize is PHP15,000.00 and maybe publication at the discretion of the publisher/judges. Winning therefore does not automatically mean your work will be published. On the other hand, it also means you don’t have to agree to any publishing offer made.
• Under the rules you need to submit both a physical copy and a digital copy. The digital copy can be in a CD or sent by email.

Thanks to Dominique for the info!