Songs For The Raven
The anthology will approach the human condition through horror from a literary standpoint. I’m looking for “horror literature.” Dictionary.com defines the human condition as “the positive and negative aspects of existence as a human being, esp. the inevitable events such as birth, childhood, adolescence, love, sex, reproduction, aging, and death” In other words, “The Human Condition” is about the fundamental issues of human existence. One of literature’s central concerns is to comment on these issues.
Payment is one contributor copy for short stories of at least 3000 words. To earn a contributor copy a poet must have five poems selected. Authors that choose to submit fiction less than 2000 words (flash fiction) must have two pieces selected, or a combination of flash fiction with a poem and/or art. For artists, at least three pieces must be selected to earn a contriubtor copy. Contributor copies will be sent about 65 days after publication. You can expect a ton of exposure. If you have any questions regarding payment, please query at the address below. I will work with contributors–I like happy people.
Short stories up to 5000 words and flash fiction up to 1,999 words. Poets: don’t let me get in your way, but I must have five poems for a contributor copy. Horror art will be included, and three subs are needed to earn a contributor copy. Black and white or grayscale is the best format, unless I can do color–that’s to be decided later.
Stay up to date at my Facebook page James Ward Kirk Fiction. My website is jameswardkirkfiction.org
Please send submissions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Put Serial SONGS FOR THE RAVEN in the subject line.
indent paragraphs, show scene break by a centered ***
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Submit work as a Word Doc or RTF.
Georgia SIZE 12
put your BIO at the end of the story.
James Ward Kirk holds an MA in Literature from Indiana University. He is the publisher and editor for Indiana Horror, Indiana Science Fiction and Indiana Crime. He is an Associate Member of the Horror Writers Association. He is the editor of the Static Movement anthologies Serial Killers 2, Hell and Grave Robbers. He is a member of the HWA.
INDIANA CRIME 2013
HWA
ATTENTION AUTHORS AND ARTISTS
We are pleased to announce the new anthology Indiana Crime. Indiana Crime will be an annual anthology.
We want your stories! Open for submissions on: 03/01/2012. Submissions will remain open till filled. Target date for publication and release:05/01//2013.
Our aim is to showcase Indiana authors. We want crime fiction that takes place in Indiana and prefer stories written by Hoosiers or those who have a connection to the Hoosier state. Crime stories with horror and/or science fiction elements are especially welcome.
The Basics
What we want_
We are looking for stories that are 1500-5000 words in length. Although the emphasis is on short stories, we will also consider select pieces of poetry and flash fiction (up to 1500 words) for this anthology if they reach out and grab us by the throat.
So what are we looking for? We want pulp. We want grit. We want heroes and villains, the famous and the infamous, the notorious and glorious. We want raw characters with all their quirks, habits, flaws and vices in full bloom. Give us stories filled with outlaws, gangsters, crooks, thieves, private eyes, marshals, detectives, sheriffs, detectives and amateur sleuths. Throw those characters headlong into bootlegging, hi-jacks, drug running, train robberies, bank heists, corporate crime, extortion, murder, fakes and forgeries. The tale can be about crooks or the cops who catch them. The era can be present day, the 1800’s or any time in between. You decide. The tale can have elements of other genres, like horror, sci-fi, western, urban fantasy or steampunk. If your story is a good one, and involves a crime in Indiana, we want to see it. Think Seth Harwood, Ken Bruen, The Late Robert B. Parker, Elmore and Peter Leonard, J. Lee Butts, Victor Gischler, Sean Doolittle, Jeff Somers, Marcus Sakey, Duane Swierczynski, Jim Thompson, Don Winslow, Richard Stark, Vachss or Hammett and Chandler or John Connolly. Above all, give us a story that makes us want to keep reading.
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CONTENT
We do not censor and, in fact, welcome controversial themes.
Art
We are also seeking an artist to provide theme-related, original front and back cover and interior art. Finished art work should be high-resolution, print quality digital image of the work. The work can be line art, pen-and-ink, digital graphics or any other suitable medium. Artwork must be original. Artist agrees to grant the right to use the image on the cover of Indiana Crime and for any related marketing purposes for the duration of the book’s availability. Back cover art should include spacefor text.
Format
Use standard manuscript format. Not sure what that is? Google ‘standard manuscript formatting or go to: http://www.shunn.net/format/story.htmlUse 12 point Times New Roman font.
How to submit
All submissions should be sent via E-mail as a .doc attachment to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. AND This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Place the following in the subject line of your E-mail:
INDIANA CRIME SUBMISSION: “Story title” / Author’s last name
(example: INDIANA CRIME SUBMISSION: Hot Lead / Smith)
Please give a brief cover letter in the body of your E-mail and include your name, full contact info including postal address, phone # and E-mail address, a 2 – 3 sentence ‘teaser’ of your story including approximate word count and a brief bio that tells us a little about you, your publishing credits, awards and honors. Don’t have any? No problem! All writers are welcome here, so don’t sweat it.
Payment The top two stories, one favorite selected by each editor, will receive payment of $25. Payment will be through PayPal. Additionally, all authors selected will have their bio and photograph published in the anthology with their story. The selected artist will be paid $10 for the featured work and will also be given a cover art credit and bio space in the anthology. Payment will be made approxiametly 61 days after publication.
We will announce some acceptances as we go, but will hold our announcement of our selected “favorites” until the end. We hope to respond to submissions within 4-6 weeks, but will hang on to some stories longer if they are being considered. Be patient. A slow response may mean you’ve made it through the “first cut” and we are holding your story for further consideration. We are writers too, so we know how tough it can be. We want to give everyone an equal chance and fair consideration. Time permitting, we will comment on submissions. We may request some edits if a story is under serious consideration. We will work with you.
Please visit our facebook page and give us a “like” and stay up to date with what’s going on.
About the editors of Indiana Crime
CLICK HERE FOR THE HOME OF MURPHY EDWARDS:http://murphyedwards.wordpress.com
Murphy Edwards: Murphy Edwards has appeared in over fifty professional magazines and journals including, Dimensions Magazine, The East Side Edition, Black October, Horizons, MidAtlantic Monthly, Modern Drummer, The Nor’Easter, Walking Bones, Escaping Elsewhere, Trail of Indiscretion, Hardboiled Magazine, Barbaric Yawp, Samsara, The Magazine of Suffering, The Nocturnal Lyric, Night Chills, Big Pulp Magazine and in the anthologies Dead Bait (Severed Press), Assassin’s Canon (Utility Fog Press), Abaculus II (Leucrota Press), Night Terrors (Blood Bound Books), Unspeakable (Blood Bound Books), Bloody Carnival (Pill Hill Press), Dead Bait II (Severed Press) and Indiana Horror 2011 (Indiana Horror Writer’s Association). His short story, “Mister Checkers”, was chosen to be among the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror of 2009 for the Leucrota Press Anthology, Abaculus III. Edwards is also a 2011 recipient of The Midwest Writers Workshop Writers Retreat Fellowship Award for Fiction. In addition to the United States, Edward’s work has been published in Ireland, Australia, South Africa, and the U.K. He currently resides in Indiana and on the web at http://murphyedwards.wordpress.com
James Ward Kirk: He is a member of the Horror Writers Association. James Ward Kirk is the publisher and editor of the Indiana Horror and Indiana Science Fiction annual anthologies (Amazon & Smashwords.) His novel “The Butterfly Killer” is in the publication process with Wild Child Publishing. His most recent publications include short stories in Dark Gothic Resurrected magazine and the anthology Shadow of the Unknown. He lives in Indianapolis with Monica, his wife of 20 years, and his Chihuahua Lucy (the meanest dog ever).
