Cold River Review redux and Clockwork Phoenix opening

Go and read their copyright page. Kudos to Mr Sandoe and his team for what they’ve done to put things right. I said I would sing their praises and I am – believe me, all editors make mistakes (I know I have) and it takes guts to learn from those bad experiences. I sincerely hope that in a few months time I’m going to be featuring a Cold River Review writer who tells us what a great experience it was to have their fiction published in this journal – it seems there’s every likelihood that this will be the case!

In other news, Clockwork Phoenix looks well worth a submssion if you write genre. Tales of Beauty and Strangeness is a new annual anthology series edited by Mike Allen, to be published by Norilana Books starting in 2008. The anthology’s literary focus is on the high end, and it is open to the full range of the speculative and fantastic genres.

Editor Mike Allen says: Clockwork Phoenix is a home for stories that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the ways they cross genre boundaries, that aren’t afraid to experiment with storytelling techniques. But experimentation is not a requirement: the stories in the anthology must be more than gimmicks, and should appeal to genuine emotions, suspense, fear, sorrow, delight, wonder. I will value a story that makes me laugh in its quirky way more than a story that tries to dazzle me with a hollow exercise in wordplay.

The stories should contain elements of the fantastic, be it science fiction, fantasy, horror or some combination thereof. A straight psychological horror story is unlikely to make the cut unless it’s truly scary and truly bizarre. The same applies to a straight adventure fantasy or unremarkable space opera — bring something new and genuine to the equation, whether it’s a touch of literary erudition, playful whimsy, extravagant style, or mind-blowing philosophical speculation and insight. Though stories can be set in this world, settings at least a hair or more askew are preferred. I hope to see prose that is poetic but not opaque. I hope to see stories that will lead the reader into unfamiliar territory, there to find shock and delight.”

RIGHTS PURCHASED: First English Language Rights and non-exclusive electronic rights. The anthology will be published by Norilana Books in a trade paperback edition in the Spring of 2008, to be followed by an electronic edition to be produced later.

PAYMENT: $0.02 a word on acceptance as an advance against royalties, then a pro rata share of royalties after earnout, plus a contributor copy.

WORD LENGTH: Up to 10,000 words, with longer stories having to be exceptional.

READING PERIOD begins on August 1, 2007. Please do not submit your stories before then. (that’s yesterday, people!)

DEADLINE: February 1, 2008.

HOW TO SUBMIT: Submissions are electronic only. Please submit your story via e-mail, as an RTF file attachment. Your e-mail subject line should say “Submission: Story Title”. Include a brief cover letter in the body of your email. It should have your name, address, e-mail address, title of story, number of words, and brief biographical information in case we don’t know you, with most recent publishing credits, if applicable. We are open to new writers and seasoned veterans alike.

EDITORIAL ADDRESS: clockworkphoenix@gmail.com

Ren is sending something ….

1 Comment

  1. Vanessa G
    4th August 2007

    Thanks for the heads up, Kay… (and sorry, I left the blog on for hours when I went out… that’ll skew the sitemeter stats!!)

    Vanessa

    Reply

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