Looking for our poetry submission call? Please go to this page.
PROJECTS FOR 2021
(page updated June 4th, 2021)
—Please read the criteria for submission carefully. Each anthology call is different and the specific themes may not be outlined on Duotrope or The Grinder’s current listings.—
~INSIGNIA DRABBLES SERIES~
Insignia Drabbles Vol.1. was released on April 16th, 2020.
Insignia Drabbles Vol.2. was released on September 28th, 2020.
Insignia Drabbles Vol.3. was released on May 10th, 2021.
SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN!!!
INSIGNIA DRABBLES VOL.4.
Theme: Mythical beings & spirits
Guidelines: This anthology is already about 50% full, with submissions from the contributors of Mythical Creatures of Asia. We are looking for more drabbles set in any Asia country and based on Asian myths of various beings, ghosts, spirits, and the like. Basically anything magical that is NOT an animal, creature, or beast, which have been well-covered in Mythical Creatures of Asia. Also, to be respectful of various religious beliefs, stories about named gods or deities will not be included in this theme.
Deadline: July 5th, 2021.
Word Count: EXACTLY 100 words.
No. of Submissions: 3 stories maximum will be ACCEPTED per author. Do not submit more than 3 at a time. If any stories are rejected, you may submit new pieces. Do not re-submit a revised drabble unless invited to do so.
Other Conditions: Reprints and multiple submissions accepted. No simultaneous submissions please. For reprints, include the publisher and date in your cover letter.
Formatting: Times New Roman and 12pt preferred. Include the story title, your pen name, and email address in the story document (top left, above story). Each story in its own document. No italics for non-English words please.
Payment & Rights: Sorry, there’s no payment for this project, however each author will receive a review copy of the finished anthology (MOBI or EPUB). Rights remain with the author. We only seek permission to include your story in this single eBook and optionally, online (see below). Contracts will be sent with each acceptance.
Publication: For eBook release (no print). We distribute via Amazon, Smashwords, and Draft2Digital. We’ll be accepting around 80 drabbles, depending on the volume of submissions.
How to Submit: email your story/stories to insignia.drabbles(at)gmail.com. Include ‘CALL TITLE’ and your pen name in the subject line, and a cover letter and short author bio (with 2 links only) in your email. You may send up to 3 stories together (in separate Word doc/docx files please). Please list them in your email to confirm they are all received and get read. DO NOT SEND A BLANK EMAIL – your submission will not be read without a proper email message, including a greeting such as ‘Dear Kelly/Ms. Matsuura’ or even ‘Dear Editor’ is ok. Also, please sign off with the name that you would like to be addressed as when I contact you.
We’d be happy to answer any queries or discuss your story themes etc in advance of the deadline. Email us at the above address, send us a tweet at @InsigniaStories, or contact us via Facebook: The Insignia Series Facebook page.
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~Links to be updated soon~
Track Submissions to The Insignia Series on The Grinder
Track Submissions to The Insignia Series on Duotrope
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Well, I have a kind of different spin. My Toonopolis series takes place in a cartoon universe and there is a section of it called Animetown, which borrows a lot of Anime/Asian inspired themes and tropes. There is a full novella starring Anchihiiroo (a minor antagonist in my first novel) that takes place entirely in Animetown. And Wan-Wan (a mech-dog created by an inventor named Yuki in Animetown) is one of my main character’s companions in my first full novel. So… it both is and isn’t in your wheelhouse. Thoughts? 🙂
It sounds really cool! On the blog, my only criteria for sharing books is that the stories have Asian characters, but I don’t mind which country (or fictional world) they live in. However, for the anthologies I’m looking for stories set in specific regions with native characters from those areas.
So, I’ll look up your series and will share it on the blog when I get time. Good luck with the new novels 🙂
Not sure if you already have a theme for the next anthology in mind, but in case you don’t, I’ll throw in my 2 cents: I’d like to see stories revolve around diasporic Asians, especially those who’ve been forcibly displaced by war. There’s a lot of sociocultural dynamics and issues to play with, in addition to sprinkling in speculative elements. I think that’ll make for a really interesting and relevant set of stories.
When you say “Asia”, do you mean any country that’s technically in Asia— including places like Russia, Israel, Turkey, Cyprus, etc? Or are you wanting an emphasis on the Far Eastern cultures, and the sort of countries/cultures most people think of when they think of the Orient?
Hello! I’d be happy to consider stories about West/South Asian countries and cultures. Very interesting!
When will the Asian Beasts anthology appear?
Hi there! Submissions are still open for the Asian Beasts one. I need more stories before I can publish it, so the release will be early next year sometime.
Any comments/questions about the JAPANESE FANTASY DRABBLES anthology will appear below. (Older comments are regarding closed anthology calls).
Hi,
Does the list of SEA countries include India? Just checking 🙂
Thanks!
No, sorry. The countries acceptable for our ‘Southeast Asian Fantasy Drabbles’ anthology are: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand and Vietnam.
I hope to do a 3rd anthology with the South (and perhaps far west) Asian countries next year. ~Kelly~
Hey there!
Should we include a description/background of the mythical creature(s) in our submissions?
Thanks!
It’s not required, but helpful if you have something unusual. 🙂