Would you like to write for The Insignia Series? Please browse the following open submission calls, and check back regularly for updates.
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PROJECTS FOR 2017
After creating four regional-based anthologies, we would like to change gears a little and focus on producing more specific-themed collections with at least 10 stories each. If we don’t receive enough stories within a reasonable time period (say 6 months), we’ll just do one larger anthology for the year.
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Submission Call #1 – Asian Cyberpunk / Dystopia
Deadline: Reading period opens March 1st, 2017. Open Until Full.
Number of Accepted stories to date: 5 (updated April 8, 2017)
What does the future look like in Asia? Entertain us with your wild stories set in an Asian country (realistic or re-imagined). or even in an away-from-earth civilization. Your main characters must however, be recognizable as Asian and retain some cultural traits, or native language, etc.
As well as looking for a good balance in story topics and science fiction sub-genres, we also want a good representation of all the different Asian countries. Ie: as much as we love Japanese stories, we’ll only be selecting 2 or 3 at most.
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Submission Call #2 – Birds & Beasts
Deadline: Reading period opens March 1st, 2017. Open Until Full.
Number of Accepted Stories to date: 2 (updated April 7, 2017)
Stories for this anthology may be set in any Asian country (real or imagined), and main characters should be natives also. The ‘birds and beasts’ concept is open to include any type of animal (real or mythical), and that animal must be important to the story. Animal-shifters are great, as well as stories of people encountering mythical beasts. Your animal could be a hero or a villain, just entertain us with your unique idea.
Note from editor: I expect to get more animal/beast story submissions, so a magical bird story will really make me happy. I’ll probably write one myself! ~Kelly~
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Submission Call #3 – TBA
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Submission & Payment details for all Projects
Word Count: Max. 6000 words. We’ll consider any length piece, but as a guideline, 800 – 4000 words would balance what we have in the previous anthologies.
No. of Submissions: 2 stories maximum per author, per anthology call.
Other Conditions: Priority will be given to unpublished stories, however reprints will be considered. Simultaneous submissions are fine.
Payment: 0-2000 words = US$5 / 2001-6000 words = US$10. For multiple submissions, each piece will be assessed individually. In addition to the payment, each author will receive a review copy of the finished anthology (PDF).
How to Submit: email your story/stories as an attachment to blackwingsandwhitepaper(at)gmail.com. Include ‘Insignia Submissions’ in the subject, and a short author bio in the body of the email. Feel free to tell us a bit about your interest in Asian culture and any relevant publishing experience you have in this area.
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, or contact Kelly Matsuura via Facebook.
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Hi Jeremy! Sorry, but I’m only interested in full short stories. They can be flash pieces (under 1000 words) or reprinted stories are fine too, if you have anything like that. (Or time to write a quick piece this month) 🙂
Also, if you have a published Asian fantasy book or short story, I’m happy to post the info on the blog here. Cheers, Kelly.
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 🙂
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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.
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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!