Deadline: January 1st, 2014
Payment: Authors of fiction chosen for the anthology will receive two free copies of the book as compensation. Poets will receive as compensation one contributor’s copy.

Cairo by Gaslight
Edited by Brandon Black
Poetry Editor: Cathy Chandler

Call For Submissions:

This is a general call for poetry and fiction of a steampunk and gaslamp fantasy nature set within the city of Cairo, Egypt.

Stories need not remain within the confines of Cairo for their entirety but those stories that are well-written and make use of the unique setting and culture of Cairo as a colorful backdrop will be more favorably regarded.

Writers of fiction may send no more than two works unless they have published with Black Tome Books before (i.e., in the pages of New Orleans By Gaslight), in which case they may submit up to three stories. Novel excerpts are acceptable so long as they work independently as short stories.

Poets may submit no more than five poems. While short stories are expected to be both steampunk (or gaslamp fantasy) and set in Cairo, our requirements for poetry are less stringent. Poems should be about 19th century Cairo, or steampunk themed or both.

As we seek to publish the highest quality steampunk fiction and accept both traditional and experimental writing, we place no arbitrary limits on length. Writers, however, should be aware that short shorts and longer manuscripts, such as novelettes and novellas, will have to be exceptionally good to be accepted for publication.

While writers are encouraged to present a nostalgic view of Victorian-era culture as such is in general keeping with the optimistic ethos of the steampunk genre, we encourage authors to present the various and sundry evils of Victorian-era society (religious persecution, slavery, classism, racism, poverty, a lack of child labor laws, etc.). The history of literature is built on the artful depiction of complex, flawed characters, and as such, stories wrapped around such characters are to be encouraged, so long as the moral of the story is that these social evils are, in fact, evils.

Individual scenes of an adult nature or entire stories of steampunk-themed erotica are perfectly acceptable so long as they are well and tastefully written. Likewise, profanity is perfectly acceptable. Please use whatever language you deem appropriate for telling your story.

The inclusion of occult elements (Arab knot magick, Zoroastrian mysticism, witchcraft, Freemasonry, African shamanism, theosophy, etc.) is not only permissible but actively encouraged, if and only if it is well-researched and detailed and not of the “wave wand and utter faux latin”
style. Authors are warned that the trite, outdated and erroneous assumption of the practice of Voudou being evil will not be tolerated. Nor will any stories of a “Zombie Apocalypse” nature be accepted.

10 Writing “Rules” We Wish More Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Would Break:
http://io9.com/5879434/

What We’re Not Looking For:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/guidelines/fiction-common.shtml

SFWA Manuscript Format Article:
http://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/the-obligatory-manuscript-format-article/

Compensation:

Authors of fiction chosen for the anthology will receive two free copies of the book as compensation.

Poets will receive as compensation one contributor’s copy.

Authors agree by virtue of submission to allow their work, if accepted into the anthology, to be later reprinted in a “Best of” anthology or other such compilation.

Submission Guidelines:

All submissions shall follow the following guidelines:
All content submitted must be original. Submissions cannot have been previously published or posted to any public forum.

Any and all submissions must be submitted by the person who wrote or created them. No submissions from third party individuals will be accepted in any form.

Submissions shall be formatted as follows:

Submissions will be double-spaced with wrapped text and in 12 point Times New Roman font.

Italics, bold text and underlining may be used as appropriate.

Section breaks within the body of a story will be denoted by a center-justified “* * *” with a blank line above and below.

All stories and poems shall be delivered in .rtf (RICH text) format.

All stories submitted shall have a plot synopsis included on page one.

The cover page of the synopsis will have the following contact information: Real Name/Pen Name, address, the country in which you reside, telephone number, email address, author’s age, working title (include series title if applicable) and word count.

After the synopsis, please provide a list of other steampunk works written by the submitting author for the information of the readership. Please provide documentation of any other publishing experience you have had.

To submit a story, send an email to brandon.black AT rocketship DOT com. Attach the submission to the email in the format described above, and include the word “submission” in the subject line.

Submissions chosen for publication are subject to revisions by the editor.

Receipt of your submission will be responded to via email.

Please do not write us to inquire about the status of your submission. If your submission is accepted, we will contact you with details.

Submissions that do not follow the guidelines will not be read.

Deadline:

The deadline for submissions is January 1st, 2014.

Source: Brandon Black.