The theme of the 2010 Winter Anthology is "Haunted".
Feel free to interpret this theme in any way you want. The anthologies are not exclusive, but inclusive, so don't worry if you think your entry has only a tangential link to the theme. If you are inspired, then write a short story, poem or play, and submit it.
Please read these submission guidelines carefully. There has been some changes in the poetry submission guidelines, so if you plan on submitting some poetry, please review that section. Also, there has been a minor change to the HTML submission guidelines, so if you plan on submitted your entry already formatted, please recheck those guidelines.
You may address this theme in any genre: modern, historical, romance, coming out story, mystery, fantasy, SciFi, fanfic, essay, poetry, script for a play, or whatever your heart desires. Be as creative as you want to be with the theme. However, please note that this anthology, like all before it, is an anthology of short stories. By definition, a short story must stand alone and not require reading a prior story. It therefore cannot be a chapter in a serial. Unless you are already running a numbered series in the anthology, you cannot name a story episode 7, etc.
Submission Guidelines
Final submission date: December 1st (except for those submitting in prepared HTML) 2010, with online publication around December 15th. You are encouraged to submit your story as far in advance as possible, to allow for adequate time for story review and page design. If you submit in HTML, the deadline is extended to December 8th, because it helps us by reducing our workload (and we really appreciate it!). Just remember to review the HTML submission guidelines. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask :)
Maximum words: No limit, however, please use the definition of a short story; A brief piece of fiction that is more pointed and more economically detailed as to character, situation, and plot than a novel.
Minimum (non-poetry): 250
Minimum (poetry): Up to three poems (to be presented on a single page), with a minimum of five words per poem. However, if you submit three five word poems, your entry may be questioned as to its seriousness. :)
Format: text files or Word (.doc or .rtf) files or HTML. A .txt file will be accepted if you are unable to save the file in any of these formats. I'm now also able to accept .docx format if you're using the latest version of MS Word.
Submission procedure: Please send your submission as an attachment by email to anthology@gayauthors.org No more than one entry per person, please. For poetry, up to three poems may be submitted as a single entry.
Please also put your title and GA username (if you have one) at the top of the text or in the body of the email.
***Please have your stories edited before submitting them.***
Story Titles: Please do not use the anthology theme as a title. Be as original as you can. In case of duplicate titles, we will request that titles be changed.
Story Blurb: We would request that you send in a short (one or two line) blurb to go onto the index page for the anthology. The idea is something that will give readers an idea of what the story/poem will be about. You can check the latest anthologies for examples of what we are looking for. If you don't supply a blurb, we'll suggest one for you, but it will be a lot easier if you can send through a blurb with the story.
Unacceptable entries: Entries that are obviously unedited (containing many errors), are overly graphic, or which are deemed to have unacceptable content will be either declined outright, or changes may be requested as a condition of entry. An example of unacceptable content would be the depiction of an adult/child sexual relationship (explicitly against GA's rules, anywhere on the site). If you have any questions on this, just PM me and ask. :)
Page Design: We will prepare a unique page layout for each story. If you would like to submit a graphic to be used on your story page, feel free to do so. You may also create your own page design, but please let us know in advance so that any technical issues can be addressed ahead of time. Please refer to the HTML Submission Guidelines for the details.
Copyright: As with all stories at GA, the rights remain with the individual authors. We will post your submission with a simple 2010 copyright notice, using your GA user display name. If you have another preference (for example, a different name, or a Creative Commons license, or specific copyright wording you'd like to use), please include that with your submission.
By submitting your story, you are giving GayAuthors.org the right of first publication, so please wait until after the Anthology is online to submit your story elsewhere. If you post your story at another site, please mention at the beginning or end of the story that it was first published as part of the GA Anthology, and include a link back to GA if possible.
Contact information: If you're a GA Hosted Author or Shared/Hosted author, we'll be including a link to your GA webpage and/or discussion forum at the end of your story. You may also include contact information (email address, GA username, etc.) at the beginning or end of your story. If you've got a blog or website, feel free to include links to those too.
Who may participate: You do not have to be an official GA author to submit your work for the anthology. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate.
More information here.
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