Announcing the 2003 PARSEC Publishing anthology, to be released at Confluence 15, edited by Diane Turnshek. Triangulation will be a showcase of Western Pennsylvania science fiction and fantasy authors. The anthology is only open to submissions by PARSEC members. PARSEC 2003 yearly dues are $10.00 (checks made payable to PARSEC can be sent to P.O. Box 3681, Pittsburgh, PA 15230).
Submission deadline: Thursday, May 15, 2003, but earlier submissions would be very, very welcome! If you plan on waiting until the deadline, I'd appreciate a note saying you intend to submit a story.
Authors submitting work for consideration must guarantee that the story is original, and previously unpublished, and that they own all the rights to the work. The upper word limit is 4000 words, and there is no lower word limit (flash fiction is welcome). Please don't send reprints, fan fiction, simultaneous submissions, excerpts from longer works, or poetry. Authors may submit up to three pieces of work (but, understand you'll be competing with yourself; only one story per author will be selected).
This anthology will contain genre fiction only: science fiction, fantasy, mild horror (no gratuitous violence), slipstream, and genre blends (that is, science fiction or fantasy blended with other genres like romance, mystery, western, or South Seas tales). Pittsburgh settings and/or references are welcome. Stories from The Alien Wore Fish-Net Stockings Contest are welcome. Please keep the rating PG-13 or lower level for sex and violence. No illustrations will be sought for this anthology.
Submit in standard manuscript format (as outlined here), including SASE. No emailed submissions will be accepted. Submissions will be considered disposable; no manuscripts will be returned. If selected for publication, be prepared to consider editorially-suggested changes, and resubmit electronically, by June 1, 2003 with a short bio.
Please include a cover letter with your name, address, contact information (telephone and email address), the story title, and word count, or put that information on the manuscript. If you wish the story to be published under a pen name, include it.
First North American Serial Rights are sought. The pay is one cent a word, up to $40.00 per story (to be paid on publication), plus one copy of the anthology. Rights revert back to the author at the end of August 2003, allowing us to do a possible second printing. Besides the complimentary copy, authors can buy more copies of the anthology at a reduced rate. Any monies earned by the anthology, above and beyond direct costs, go to PARSEC coffers.
Bring manuscripts to the May PARSEC club meeting (see here for meeting times and directions) or send submissions to:
Writing tip: Read the free Nebula Award nominated stories, available through April, here. For shorter fiction, it helps to use creatures or situations that readers already like (ex. dinosaurs, pirates, mistakes in communication, language play, genetic errors, Pittsburgh history, creative costumes, space exploration, pregnancy, aliens and new science). Boring is bad--please send me stories with zing! Hope to hear from every PARSEC member.