Issue #21 (June 2012)
The Epitaph
Journal of the New England Horror Writers (NEHW)
The NEHW Committee:
Tracy L. Carbone – Co-Chair
Stacey Longo – Co-Chair
Dan Keohane – Treasurer
Jason Harris – Director of Publicity/Webmaster
K. Allen Wood – Director of Publications
Scott Goudsward – Director of Events
Danny Evarts – Art Director
Tim Deal (alternate)
T.J. May (alternate)
NEHW WRITING OPPORTUNITIES
From Trisha Wooldridge:
Doorways to Extra Time, a short story anthology, is now accepting submissions.
In our busy world of meetings and microwaves, car radios and cell phones, people always wish they could get an extra hour in the day. What if they could? Doorways to Extra Time is an anthology that explores ways to get extra time (be it an hour, a day, or a decade) and the impact it would have (whether upon a single life, a family or an entire world).We’re looking for stories with a touch of the fantastic—whether mystical, magical, mechanical, or just plain mysterious—but they can be set in any time or any genre: contemporary or historical, science fiction or fantasy, horror or magic realism. We could even find a place for a nonfiction essay if it was truly exceptional. In short, show us something show-stopping, and we’ll make time for you.
Suggested Length: full stories (from 3,000 to 7,000 words) and flash fiction (preferred under 1,000 words). We will accept good stories up to 10,000 words but longer lengths are a harder sell.
Due Date: October 15th, 2012
Editors: Anthony Francis and Trisha J. Wooldridge
Submission Guidelines: Please email your submissions to anthology@spencerhillpress.com. Put your story in the BODY of the email (no attachments) and put “DOORWAYS TO EXTRA TIME” in the subject line along with the title.
And now the boring bits: We can only accept previously unpublished stories. Please don’t use characters or material to which you do not own the copyright so Disney doesn’t come sue us—this is not a fan-fiction anthology. Contributor contribution will be an advance of $10, a contributor copy of the print edition, and a equal share of the contributors’ portion of the royalties. Please make your work appropriate for a PG-13 audience and avoid gratuitous sex, violence, politics and puns.
For accepted submissions, Spencer Hill Press will take first print and electronic publishing rights, which are exclusive publishing rights for as long as the anthology remains in print. This means that authors will not be able sell or publish their stories elsewhere, and when the rights revert to the authors after the anthology is no longer in print, they will only be able to market the story as a reprint, which in nearly all cases is a harder sell and has a lower pay rate than first print. We at Spencer Hill Press hope that the anthology will have strong sales that will result in healthy royalty payments, but we want authors to go into this with eyes open, knowing how acceptance to one anthology limits the marketing of the same story down the road.
From Scott Goudsward and Rachel Kenley:
Over the river and through the woods does not always lead to grandma’s house or happy endings—especially if grandma’s house is infested with zombies, or if grandma is really a Lovecraftian being in disguise. Once Upon an Apocalypse is a two volume post-apocalyptic anthology laden with the undead and otherworldly mythos crossing into the realm of fairy tales, nursery rhymes and other timeless stories. Editors Goudsward and Kenley, along with publisher Chaosium, are currently open to submissions for these two books of mixed-up retold fairy tales.
What we are looking for:
For both volumes, we want stories with strong narrative lines, stronger characters and a clear blending of the theme and the fairy tales.
For Volume One, imagine Cinderella arriving at the ball and discovering it filled with zombies. Or how different the story would be if it was Snow White and the Seven Zombies. Give us new horrors with Alice in Zombieland, and a prince who climbs Rapunzel’s hair to get away from and find a way to defeat—you guessed it—zombies.
In Volume Two, we want a strong dose of Lovecraft thrown in. What happens to the townspeople in The Boy who Cried Cthulhu? Pinocchio is going to have a much harder time getting out of the Old One than the whale; a wolf would have been preferable to Little Red Riding Hood and the Byahkee and the Little Mermaid has so much more to worry about then her legs and a missing voice when she faces a Deep One.
Once you choose a story to change it’s your call how far you will take it. Make the apocalypse clear and give some meaning as to why the dead are meandering through the streets and munching on the breathing or why the Elder God has paid the town a visit. Plague, pestilence, bio warfare, meteor shower, tail of a comet…be creative.
Because we don’t want duplicates of themes, you will be able to follow the progress of the anthologies on our blog (http://onceuponanapocalypse.com) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/OnceUponAnApocalypse) where we’ll keep a current list of themes/tales accepted. For example, if we get a Sleeping Beauty story and it’s awesome, that will be it for the book. Stories should be 2K – 4K in length (please query for stories under or over our limit. We will consider them if they are of exceptional merit.) The only true way to have similar stories is A Snow White and the Seven Zombies in one and Snow White Star Vampire Slayer in the other.
What we are not looking for:
We all know these are dark fiction anthologies, but gore for the sake of gore is un-needed. This is not splatterpunk or extreme horror. Sex? If the story calls for it, fine, but keep it to an R rating (maybe even PG-13). We don’t to hear about insertions and spurting fluids, unless its blood from a bite wound or a gun shot. Try to keep the violence towards animals at a minimum. In some mythos, zombies chew on animals and that’s fine, but we don’t want redneck zombies killing all of Bo-Peep’s sheep for a pie. Finally, though we shouldn’t have to mention it (but we will, given the theme)—go easy on the child-related violence, please. And no pedophilia—that’s just skeevy.
Reading period: now through July 31, or until filled.
Pay rates: pays $.03 per word, no royalties, and three free books and additional copies at 50% off cover.
Format:
Stories should be an attachment to your cover letter email, NOT copied and pasted into the body of the email. The cover letter should include a single paragraph synopsis of the story and your publishing history. The submission should be in RTF or DOC format (no DOCX). Left aligned, 1/2” indentation for paragraphs, single spaced. Double space between scenes and use five stars (*****) for breaks in the story. Contact info should be on the first page of the story with word count.
Please do not query for your story until we’ve had it for at least 12 weeks. Publication is expected for the first half of 2013. No reprints and no simultaneous submissions. If we turn you down feel free to try again with a new story, but give it a few days between submissions.
And please, when submitting, be specific which book you are submitting to. We’re reading for both simultaneously. Subject line of the email should be Name, Story Name, Which book.
NEHW MEMBER NEWS:
From Nick Cato:
Cato’s new novella, The Apocalypse of Peter, was officially released on June 1 from Damnation Books. There is a synopsis and a brief excerpt on the publisher’s site: http://damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781615726806
From Stacey Longo:
Longo has written and illustrated a children’s book. Pookie and the Lost & Found Friend was published by Farmer’s Daughter Press on June 30 and is the story of a cat named Pookie, her friend Jack, and their hair-raising Halloween adventure. The book is available at http://tinyurl.com/pookie630.
From John Grover:
Grover is proud to announce his participation in the Dark Light charity anthology. This anthology, assembled by Carl Hose, gathers over 40 of today’s horror writers. All proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House. Grover’s story, “Hannah’s Babysitting Blues,” is featured. A great book for a great cause. Check out the e-book at Amazon: http://amzn.to/KPPfLj
Grover also has a story, “Under a Civil Moon,” in the anthology, Best New Werewolf Tales volume 1, by Books of the Dead Press. Check it out here: http://amzn.to/LHehgT.
Coming soon is his first zombie book, Frozen Stiff. The zombie apocalypse is upon us. A small group of survivors rescued by a military search and rescue team is re-routed to a secret artic ice station when the city’s rescue shelter is overrun. There they are ordered to await evacuation. Problem is, no one knows when that will be. The weather worsens, the generators weaken, and the dead wake from a cold sleep. Look for it soon on Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook. Amazing cover art by NEHW member Jonathan Banchik can be viewed at his site: http://bit.ly/ME03f3.
From L.L. Soares:
Soares’ novel, Life Rage, will be released this September by Nightscape Press. It will debut at the KillerCon convention in Las Vegas the weekend of September 20 – 23.
From Eric Dimbleby:
Dimbleby’s novel, Please Don’t Go, won the “Best Speculative Fiction” award for the state of Maine in 2012. The award was issued by the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance.
His newest novel, A Beast in Spring, was released in e-formats on June 4. It is a twisted tale of juvenile survival, cruel demigods, and malignant father figures. One fan referred to the story as “Lord of the Flies, but on a terrifying acid trip.” You can purchase both novels by visiting www.ericdimbleby.com.
From Daniel Robichaud:
Robichaud’s story, “Weathering the Storm,” will be reprinted in the State of Horror: Florida anthology from Rymefire Press this month.
From L.L. Soares:
Soares novel, Life Rage, will be coming out this September from Nightscape Press. More details can be found at http://www.nightscapepress.com/books/novels/.
The Collected Cinema Knife Fight: Volume One (2004 – 2009) by Michael Arruda and Soares is now available on Kindle, Nook, and other e-readers from Necon Ebooks (http://www.neconebooks.com/cinemaknifefightv1.htm). Volume One collects all of their early columns that appeared in the Hellnotes newsletter and the website Fear Zone.
His story, “The Gulch,” will be appearing in the anthology, Welcome to Hell (An anthology of western weirdness) edited by Eric S. Brown, coming soon from E-Volve Books.
From Robert Heske:
Heske reports The Night Projectionist, hit store shelves on July 5. The reviews on the book that Fangoria called “The next ‘30 Days of Night’” are already starting to come in.
If you don’t see it at your favorite comic book store, tell them to order it by giving them this Diamond Preview code: MAR121187 NIGHT PROJECTIONIST TP. Or simply go to this web page:
Or order it on Amazon here:
Heske is also putting together packaging on an ultra-low budget film that he hopes to film in Massachusetts. More details to come!
From Dale Phillips:
Phillips will be appearing in the Author’s Expo, to be held at the Danvesport Yacht Club, on Wednesday, July 18th. Check out the event’s website,
From K. A. Laity:
Laity has signed with Tirgearr Publishing in Ireland to bring out Unquiet Dreams, her collection of horror and dark fantasy tales this autumn.
Laity is editing the anthology, Weird Noir, for Fox Spirit Books in the UK.
Space is limited, but if you have a pitch that might fit, let her know ASAP, katelaity@gmail.com.
Her recent publications include:
The Tender Trap. Flash fiction. At the Bijou
Losing My Religion. Flash fiction. Spinetingler Magazine
by-k-a-laity/>. June 29, 2012.
The Beaver Dating Service. Humour. The Laughter Shack
aity.html>. June 29, 2012.
Kingsley Amis in the Afterlife. Poem. Short Humour Site
htm>. June 19, 2012.
Homework. Flash fiction. Necon E-Books
Flash Contest.
Twitter Wedding. Poem. Asinine Poetry
Just Waiting. Short story. Near to the Knuckle
From E. F. Schraeder:
Schraeder’s story, “The Threshold,” appeared at Tales of the Zombie War in June, and “Stacked” appears in the summer issue of Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine.
From Scott Goudsward:
Goudsward’s novel Trailer Trash has been re-issued from Briona Glen (http://www.brionaglen.com/). The book is up at Smashwords now and should be on Kindle soon, not to mention the trade paperback version.
Goudsward’s story, “That Place,” has come out in the book, The Call of Lovecraft, which was edited by Geregory Norris and published by Evil Jester Press. It is now available in print and kindle formats.
From Roxanne Dent:
Dent’s short story “Zombies at Red Rock” will appear in the anthology A Fistful of Horror, published by Cruentis Libri Press. The anthology is due out July 2012.
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:
Joe Mirabello (MA)
Curt McDermott (NH)
Rob Hunter (ME)
– Jason Harris, Editor, the Epitaph: Journal of NEHW
– Stacey Longo, Assistant Editor, the Epitaph: Journal of NEHW
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