Theme: We’re looking for original fiction short stories and poetry in support of an election year theme “Dear Leader Tales” (DLT) anthology. We want stories of a humorous or satirical bent which illustrate or lampoon an emperor’s hubris (and lack of clothing). In that spirit, we don’t want any real life current or past Dear Leaders named directly, but their known foibles are fair game.
If you’re one of the oppressed, regardless of who’s in charge, this is your chance to deploy devastating humor, satire, wit, and sarcasm to bring them down a few notches. If nothing else, we can amuse ourselves in a trying time. Examples beyond the political include CEOs who constantly quote Sun Tzu or Machiavelli incorrectly, cats plotting to overthrow their human overlords, in short anywhere clueless oppressors operate.
Rules: The stories can range from 1,000 to 5,000 words. First world rights are preferred. Reprint rights will be accepted if the story is good enough. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable as well, provided prompt notice is given should the story be picked up elsewhere. Stories may exceed the 5K word count limit, if it merits, however the advances are limited to a maximum of $150 per story. Submissions which are not responsive to the theme will be disqualified.
Schedule: Submission period is July 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, after which no further submittals will be accepted.The email address for submissions will only be active during that period. We plan to release the anthology in mid-September 2020. As of August 1, 2020 we are no longer accepting submissions. Authors will be notified of their results before August 21st, 2020.
Team: The evaluation team will consist of fabulous guest author E.E. King and Feral Cat Publishers personnel who will shepherd the work to a polished end product.
Submission Process: All submissions should follow proper manuscript format. Email to Leaders @ feralcatpublishers.com. Subject line to read: “DLT-[Author Name],[Story Title], [Reprint or First]”. Please attach all submissions in .doc, .docx, or rtf formatted electronic files—No submissions embedded within the body of the email will be considered. Include a personal bio and relevant copyright information for your story in email cover letter.
Compensation: Selected short story authors will receive a one-time payment of $0.03/word of the final, edited version of their story. Selected poetry authors will receive a one-time payment of $25 per piece selected. All authors will also receive one paperback author’s copy and wholesale unit rates when purchasing extra paperbacks for resale. The authors of the three highest-ranked stories will be listed on the front cover; the remaining authors will be listed on the back cover.
Terms and Conditions: Standard contract terms example Feral_Author_Agreement_200614.
Questions: See FAQs or direct other questions to mmcnulty @ feralcatpublishers.com
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