I am incredibly excited to announce that I will be editing a cancer-themed anthology to be published by Wolfsinger Publications 🙂 It will be titled Metastasis.
Call for Submissions
Cancer scares us. It scares us and it intrigues us. There is so much we don’t know about it, but it’s out there, waiting to strike when we least expect it. Cancer is not all-powerful and many people beat it, but to those who don’t cancer is cruel. It doesn’t show them the kindness of a quick death but draws things out, taking their life away in slices.
Metastasis will be a fantasy/sci-fi anthology all about cancer. The stories and poetry included could feature a character with cancer, be written from the point of view of cancer, or even be by someone with cancer. That being said, those which go a step further and dig deeper will be even better.
What if cancer isn’t a disease but an attack on the human race by aliens/demons/monsters/terrorists?
What if it’s sentient?
What if people wanted to get cancer?
What if…?
Cancer is the body turning on itself. It’s uncontrolled growth. It is invisible and indiscriminate. Submissions to this anthology are encouraged to explore metaphorical approaches to this theme as well as literal ones.
Due to the nature of cancer this collection will tend toward the darker side of the speculative fiction spectrum but we don’t want the entire anthology to be gloomy and depressing so the absolute best submissions will find a way to end on a high note, find something to be optimistic about, or evoke an emotion other than (or in addition to) sadness or dread.
A portion of the proceeds from this anthology will be donated to the American Cancer Society.**
The editor for this anthology is Rhonda Parrish.
How to Submit:
I are looking for stories up to 7,500 words long and poems up to 40 lines long.
Please follow standard manuscript formatting when submitting (http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html) and send your submission to editor@wolfsingerpubs.com as an .rtf file.
Poetry doesn’t need to follow standing manuscript formatting (single spaced is fine) but should still be sent as an .rft file to editor@wolfsingerpubs.com
Put ‘Cancer Submission – “the title of your submission” – your last name’ as the subject of your email.
No simultaneous submissions, please.
Due to popular request, multiple submissions will be allowed but this isn’t NaNoWriMo. Quality over quantity, please.
No unsolicited reprints.
Payment is $10.00 advance with an equal share of 25% of royalties.
Deadline: June 30, 2013
**If you’re like me you’re always a little suspicious of vague phrasing like ‘some portion of the proceeds’ when it comes to charity donations. The reason I can’t say specifically yet what percentage of royalties are going to charity is because each contributor will be given the option of donating their percentage of their royalties or not as they’d prefer. The royalty breakdown looks like this:
25% – American Cancer Society
25% – Editor (me)
25% – Publisher
25% – Shared between contributors
and I am donating my royalties as well. So that means at least 50% of the proceeds from this project will be going to the American Cancer Society.
Please help spread the word about this anthology and, if you’re a writer, consider submitting something too.
Updates:
Update #1 – We have a title
Update #2 – Jay Lake, Kevin J. Anderson and Marge Simon
Update #3 – Five Questions for Rhonda Parrish (interview about Metastasis)
Update #4 – Deadline and Decisions
January 5, 2013: Edited to add information about reprints and multiple submissions.
January 23, 2013: Edited to add formatting information for poems and the anthology’s title.
March 18, 2013: Edited to add link to Update #2
June 17, 2013: Edited to add link to Update #3
June 30, 2013: Edited to add link to Update #4
Rhonda:
This is a brilliant idea. I just sent you a proposal for the anthology. You’re branching into really interesting territory.
Thank you Bill, I’m pretty excited about the possibilities 🙂
Love this idea! Putting my thinking cap on.
Fantastic, I look forward to seeing what you come up with 🙂
Rhonda, you definitely have the wheels spinning in my head on this one. Writing fiction for a cause is an absolutely beautiful idea, and the subject matter presents a glimpse into the light in the darkness that comes with being human and being subjected to all the good and bad that comes with it.
I’m glad it’s got you thinking. I hope to see your name in my inbox.
Greetings… what a wonderful idea. As a survivor, I endorse any attempt to remove the stigma of cancer from our society. I published a small collection of poems and photos two years ago after my facial surgery. My experience was positive, living for 5 weeks with 39 other people suffering the same issues was enlightening.
Anyway… can I help at all? If I can contribute in any way I would love to. I have plenty of poems…
Regards,
John Irvine
Thank you so much John 🙂 I won’t repeat here what I said in response to your email except to say I really appreciate your kind words and generous offer 🙂
Great idea!
I’d love to contribute towards this. As the daughter of a survivor of cancer, I applaud you for the effort you’ve taken!
Thank you very much. I look forward to reading your submission.
Lovely idea. It would be an honor to be included. Time to imagine….
‘Time to imagine…’ I love that!
This is a great cause — now to come up with something cancerous…
Good luck, Milo. I hope to see a submission from you in my inbox 🙂
Sounds like a great project, Rhonda.
I’m out visiting the A-Z participants to say “hi” and nice to meet you. Hi!
Tina @ Life is Good
Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge
@TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge
Thank you, Tina. It’s pretty close to my heard.
Do you accept YA?
While this anthology is not targeted at a YA audience I’m still happy to consider YA stories with crossover potential.
Rhonda,
I’ve already contributed a story for this, and wanted to make sure you got it. The title is “Lewis and the Brain Tumor.” It was emailed 30 days ago. If you haven’t gotten it, please let me know; I’ll be happy to resend. Thank you.
Ken
Hi Ken,
I see your story in my email, so it has arrived safely. I plan to read through this most current batch of submissions today so you may even hear back about it before you read this comment. 🙂
Hello, Rhonda! What an unusual anthology. There are a lot of what ifs you can associate with cancer. I hope you receive many terrific submissions!
Happy A to Z-ing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines
Thanks Laura 🙂 We’ve had some really good ones already, I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks will hold 🙂
Sounds like a great idea and for a great cause. Good luck with it.
Dropping by from A to Z. This is my first year participating.
Brett Minor
Transformed Nonconformist
Thank you Brett, and best of luck with your A to Z challenge 🙂
Interesting idea for an anthology, thanks for sharing! I’ll have to scratch my brain for some ideas.
Thank you for popping by. I hope inspiration strikes you in the best possible way 🙂
Great idea! I work in a large high school, we have at least six staff members fighting cancer at the moment and my next door neighbour has just been diagnosed with leukemia. It seems to be a threat to all of us!
Wow, six teachers all at the same time. That’s brutal! Cancer sucks so bad. So, so bad.
Awesome. I post places to submit work every Friday on my author FB page. I will bookmark this and send it out to my following.
~Summer
My A-Z
Thank you Summer, I appreciate the assistance in spreading the word.
Great idea! I’ll spread the word 🙂
Thank you 🙂
this is stupendous!
i need to make time and do this!
cancer sucks! (poetic, i know)
Thank you Tara, and yes, cancer sucks. So hard.
Great anthology idea. Congrats on being the editor!
Cancer is everywhere. I’d love to see more progress on the fight against it.
Thank you, and thank you.
I too would like to see us gain some more ground on cancer, and sooner would be better.
Cancer is very scary. This is an interesting idea.
It really is ðŸ™
Thank you.
This is a really awesome idea!
Thank you, Gina. I think it has a lot of potential 🙂
I love this idea, especially since I am a cancer SURVIVOR and have been down the dark road of fear, contemplation and pain…Just wanted to stop by via the challenge and say hello and I’m following you now!
Shannon at I Survived and Now I Run
Thank you for popping by and for the follow Shannon. I appreciate both, and especially your encouraging words regarding this anthology.
I wish you much luck in your anthology!
Thank you Bob, I’ll take all I can get 🙂
Oh, cool–sounds like a great anthology! I will be sure to share this. I can’t write a short story to save my life, but it’s an excellent opportunity.
Thank you Hart, I appreciate all the signal boosts I can get 🙂
I just sent you a Flash Fiction piece on this subject. After overcoming my initial unwillingness to even speak with the cancer cells, I just let it rip and had a few laughs while doing it. Great idea. Great cause.
That’s fantastic 🙂
Is the deadline 12:00am June 30 or 11:59pm June 30? I’m working on a piece but I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish it up by tonight.
The deadline is 11:59pm on June 30th 🙂
Thank you so much! Thanks to you, I have now sent off my first original story to be considered for publication. Regardless of outcome I’m very grateful for the opportunity! 🙂