Drollerie Press is seeking short stories for an anthology retelling Greek myth re-set as urban fantasy. The stories should be between 5 and 20k in length, and should be YA friendly, that is, appropriate to a sophisticated YA reader and to adults as well. The protagonist(s), therefore, should be wrestling with issues of young adulthood, and should be between the ages of 17 and 25. This is a general fantasy anthology, so stories may contain cross-genre elements, such as love, science, or horror, but should not be specifically written to that genre. In particular, however, the stories should be creative and intelligent, and show knowledge of the source material and skill at reweaving it for a new audience. How veiled the original story remains up to the author.
Submissions for this anthology should be uploaded on our contact page or emailed to submissions AT drolleriepress DOT com, and should contain “GREEK” in the subject. Submissions for this anthology close on January 5, 2010. Further detail can be found on the Open Anthologies page.
Compensation?
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Deena Replied:
August 13th, 2009 at 10:43 am
@Erastes, thanks for asking. I’d forgotten to include it. A percentage of royalties based on word count.
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Very, very cool.
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Just to clarify: Do you want elements of Greek myth or an actual Greek myth reimagined? My impression is the latter, but I want to be sure.
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Deena Replied:
August 13th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
@B, the latter, though you can change elements of it as long as the core of the story is there.
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Deena, thanks for letting me know.
I hope I don’t sound like a pest, but if one wanted to set a story in, say, an alternate-history present, would that be okay? Some definitions of urban fantasy can be very strict, I’ve noticed.
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Deena Replied:
August 13th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
@B, You’re not a pest at all. I think so. I’m not exactly sure what you mean, since I think of urban fantasy as alternate reality already. If you mean significantly different history, in the abstract it’s fine. I’d have to see the story to be sure it worked for me, though.
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I may sound stupied, but I just want to know for sure; by 5 – 20k, do you mean 5000 – 20.000 words?
Thanks
Anna
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Deena Replied:
August 14th, 2009 at 10:53 am
@Anna, yes, that’s what I mean. Thanks for asking.
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Chrys Replied:
December 18th, 2009 at 11:16 am
@Anna, If in the story there is a “suicide” by an immortal to save his brother – mirrored by his brother to save him (nobody dies in the end), would that be acceptable? I am thinking YA and am not sure. Nothing graphic. Thank you in advance for answering.
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Deena Replied:
December 18th, 2009 at 11:51 am
@Chrys, I can’t imagine what story you’re talking about, but yes. If you’ve read any current YA, suicide happens, as does illegal drug use, profanity, and sexual activity. We don’t want to romanticize those things, but we don’t want to sanitize the stories so much that teenagers won’t be interested in reading them.
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Here via Erastes–
Just a quick question: when you use the term ‘urban fantasy’, is it defined as contemporary only? Or can it be set in an earlier time period so long as it takes place in an urban setting?
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Deena Replied:
August 14th, 2009 at 11:00 am
@Kavita, Sub genre definitions are difficult to agree on, I think. In this case, I was thinking specifically contemporary, not necessarily located in a city. I should have made that clearer.
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Since these are stories for young adults are we allowed some creative license, especially with the endings…? There are very few which would (in their original form) be considered appropriate reading material (:
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Deena Replied:
August 14th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
@Jennifer Thorne, yes, you are allowed creative license with the endings, though I’m inclined to disagree that they need to be softened by much. Today’s YA reader is quite sophisticated, and since this is intended for readers 16 and over, I don’t think there’s much they couldn’t or shouldn’t read. Last time I visited a high school library, I found the available works surprisingly adult in nature. As long as you avoid explicit descriptions of sex or violence, we should be good.
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Hmm. Very, very interesting. I may have to think about this one…!
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January of next year you say?…*evilg* Heeeelllloooo Nano!
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Is this going to be printed? Paperback I’d assume. Sounds very cool, I may have something appropriate. Where, besides here do you announce these calls for submissions, I just stumbled across them doing research into places for my novel.
Peace,
Richard
neo-noir fiction
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Deena Replied:
August 20th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
@Richard, ebook first, actually, and if it sells well it will go to trade paperback.
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Quick questions: Can one submit more then one story, or just one. Further, is there a listing of submitted stories, so that people don’t double, or triple up on the same myth, or is that alright given that all stories from different writers have different voices?
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Deena Replied:
September 21st, 2009 at 6:10 pm
@Sophia de Carabas, Thanks for asking those questions.
1. Multiple submissions are fine, with the understanding that it will be very unlikely that we’ll take more than one story per author.
2. I would rather the author send a story they believe in and not worry about whether or not another author has also written a story about that myth. It’s unlikely we’ll publish two stories about the same myth, but it is possible.
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So anyone can enter? do you have to be already published or is it just free for all?
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Deena Replied:
October 8th, 2009 at 12:27 am
@Autumn, we publish stories we find compelling, regardless of whether or not the author has previous publications. Feel free to submit, and do your best to follow the guidelines.
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This seems silly, but can the stories include magic and/or fantasy elements? I realize that given the subject matter it’d be hard not to, but I wanted to clarify.
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Deena Replied:
October 15th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
@Margaret, I’m glad you asked. They can, and I expect most of them will, but they don’t have to.
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In the guidelines above, you specify you want protagonists btw 17-25. Is it all right to go with a slightly younger main character (15 years)?
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@s.q.eries, I’d consider it.
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I am very excited for this anthology. I love writing stories that are based on myths from all cultures. But would you consider a story by a seventeen-year-old author? (I’m only 17 years old)
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Deena Replied:
October 30th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
@Flora Winters, yes. If you were accepted, we’d just have to work out contract details with your legal guardian.
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If you don’t mind my asking, do you still want all the submission elements? That is, do you want submissions to include synopses, even though the stories are short?
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Deena Replied:
November 4th, 2009 at 9:07 am
@B, a short description within the body of the cover/email is fine.
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Hi, i would very much enter like to submit…i would just like one thing cleared up that wasnt in the questions above…
we take the moral of the myth…say persephone being taken underground and adapt it to our own thinking…
a girl is kidnapped by her (something) and we follow the struggle of her (someone) waiting for her return…
or am i off…
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Deena Replied:
November 17th, 2009 at 8:26 am
@Amanda-Lee Finch, It’s hard to say what will or won’t work based on a couple of sentences, but I think it needs to be a little closer to the original. Someone with power (godlike, financial, political) kidnaps someone and takes them somewhere equivalent to Hades because of some form of love, etc.
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one other thing…im from australia…can i still enter?
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Deena Replied:
November 17th, 2009 at 8:23 am
@Amanda-Lee Finch, sure, we accept submissions from everywhere.
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Thank you for this fun call for submissions! I majored in Classical Archaeology so needless to say, I am excited about entering.
Could you please clarify whether a dystopian setting qualifies as urban fantasy? I suppose this is similar to the alternate history question, but I just wanted to be sure.
I’m looking forward to the anthology, and thanks in advance for the clarification.
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Deena Replied:
November 30th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
@Amanda Sun, sure! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
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I love this idea! Looking forward to this anthology.
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Deena Replied:
December 18th, 2009 at 11:52 am
@Stephanie Draven, thanks! I think it’s going to be interesting.
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Pingback: stephaniedraven.com » Blog Archive » Writing Greek Myths? Here’s a Call for Submissions
Do you want the story sent in formatted in standard short story manuscript format?
/Anna
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Deena Replied:
December 26th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
@Anna, yes, please.
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Is a cover letter required when submitting a short story for this anthology?
Thanks
Anna
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Deena Replied:
January 2nd, 2010 at 10:32 am
@Anna, a short paragraph or two introducing yourself/explaining the story is appreciated.
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I sent my story by email but got no notification of reception. Should I worry?
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Deena Replied:
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:09 pm
@Chrys, no, don’t worry. I had some problems with my mail program, but I think I’ve received them all. If you don’t hear from me by February 15, send it again.
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Chrys Replied:
January 28th, 2010 at 9:34 am
@Deena, Okay, thank you!
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Hi,
You might want to check the post on the open submission page. It gives a closing date of 2009 instead of 2010.
Tina
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Deena Replied:
January 7th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Thanks!
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Hi. I still haven’t heard anything from you, you said to wait till the 15 Febr. Should I send the story again?
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Deena Replied:
February 19th, 2010 at 11:35 am
@Chrys, we extended the closing deadline to Feb. 28. Responses will be sent out during the month of March.
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Chrys Replied:
February 25th, 2010 at 9:12 am
@Deena, thank you for answering. I see. March it is, then.
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Hi. I was wondering if you sent off the responses, because I haven’t received anything yet.
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