Grumpy Old Gods Volume 10 – Call For Submissions
Deadline For Submissions: May 1st, 2023
As the end of 2022 looms, our Grumpy little minds turn to plots and plans for upcoming anthologies.
It’s time for another Grumpy Old Gods.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
We invite you to re-imagine old myths, mine your local retirement home for things that tickle your fancy, and invite your Muse to go wild. We love it when a writer takes the ‘normal’ form of a God or Goddess and remakes it for the modern world, or conversely, shows a pantheon that’s refusing to adapt. Sparkling dialogue, well-drawn characters, and (most of all) a real ending with a twist will make our little editing hearts skip a beat.
GENRE:
SPECULATIVE FICTION.
What is Speculative Fiction? Well, Wikipedia says… “It encompasses the genres of science fiction, fantasy, science fantasy, horror, alternative history, and magic realism.” That’s a big playground, and we’re encouraging our writers to play.
WORDS: 3000-4000
RATING: PG-13 TO PG-17
Any sex, violence, or foul language MUST be tastefully handled and necessary to the plot enhancing the story rather than distract. Excessive use will probably not fit with anthologies overall tone.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS:
May 1st 2023
SUBMISSION FORMAT:
Word Doc or RTF Must have in Subject Line Grumpy Old Gods 10
PUBLICATION:
Tentative Date June-July 2024
NOTE: Because of the cyclical nature of our anthology, we OFTEN bookmark stories for later anthologies. If you don’t hear back from us, we might have your story in mind for another anthology. We’re happy to remove your story from our potential list if you choose to do so at any time.
THEME:
Grumpy Gods, particularly those who might be using their abilities in a post-internet environment. Maybe Mercury is heavily invested in Google. Janus might be the reason for crypto. Heck, I bet that Aphrodite owns 90% of every single florist in the country. Do your gods still have the juice, or have their powers gotten a little wonky as they have gotten older? Make it Grumpy. Make it funny.
WHAT RIGHTS ARE WE ASKING FOR?
We generally ask for first run rights, but there have been cases where we have negotiated for a particularly apropos story. We’re also asking for non-exclusive rights to put the book in audio format for the first time.
PAYMENT:
Profit share
SUBMIT TO:
grumpyanthology@gmail.com
DETAILS:
Must be your original work. You MUST own all copyrights.
You can create your own god. Must be your original work. Go wild.
The Grumpy God or Goddess doesn’t necessarily have to be your MC. However, your main character must interact with a grumpy god(s) or goddess in some fashion that is pivotal to the story. An immortal character will probably work best, but if you can make it work in the scenario where a grumpy god is involved we will consider it. It must fit the theme and tone of the anthology.
Any pantheon is okay as long as it is not in violation of any copyrights laws. e.g. copyright has expired considered part of public domain. There’s a lot of history to mine. Go find original source material.
Must include a bio of the author in a separate document (not that we’re going to judge anyone by their bio…it just makes putting the book together a lot easier if all the information is in the same place).
No poetry. No plays. No matter how amazing your poems are (and some of them have been) we simply don’t have a payment structure in place for something that short. We might eventually have an unpaid poetry venue on the blog. As for screenplays/plays… we don’t have the marketing staff to branch out, and they obviously don’t work in an anthology.
We prefer first-run rights, but we will consider reprints if the story fits the anthology theme.
No dual submissions. If you have submitted your piece to someone else, do not submit to us.
You can submit more than one story to us for consideration in our anthology. (Limit 3)
If you have an idea you think fits the theme but is not outlined or a question about it email us at grumpyanthology@gmail.com
While the nature of humor is inflammatory, PLEASE do not write anything that will cause someone to kill you, or by extension, us. Dead writers collect no royalty checks. Dead Editors can’t write them .
Let that inner Muse out! Feed her Pixie Stix and see how much awesomeness she can cram into 4000 words.
(All Muses must be convinced to write in American English since the Editors of this anthology do not speak Ancient Greek, Latin, Gaelic, Phoenician, or Egyptian.)