Synopsis: What adventures did Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson solve during their first year living in 221B Baker Street? What happened in January after the day the two friends met? What mysteries did they solve in their first summer and winter together? Find out in Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1881. This collection contains a dozen cases, one for each month of the year, from January to December.

Submission Guidelines: Stories must be canonical in nature and follow the Baring-Gould Timeline (i.e. A Study in Scarlet occurred from Fri, Mar 4 – Mon, Mar 7, 1881. No other canonical adventure takes place during this year). Holmes and Watson should be young and still getting to know each other.

Authors interested in participating should first send a synopsis of their adventure and the month of the year they wish it to take place. If your story does not need a specific month (i.e. it takes place in autumn and could be in September, October, or November) please let us know that as well. Once your synopsis has been accepted, you should begin drafting the story.

Submission length: 5,000 – 10,0000 words (it is okay to go over some).

Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology.

Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication.

Submission deadline for proposals is December 1st, 2020. Submission deadline for stories is January 31st, 2021.

Send proposals and submissions in a word document that is double spaced, in Times New Roman, and in 14 point font to [email protected] with the heading ATTN: SHERLOCK HOLMES A YEAR OF MYSTERIES 1881.

Sherlock Holmes: Stranger than Truth

Sherlock Holmes: Stranger than Fiction

Guidelines: These traditional Sherlock Holmes adventures are sure to be a lot of fun.

For Sherlock Holmes: Stranger than Truth Holmes’s client is a real historical figure. It could be Queen Victoria, Billy the Kid, President Harrison, The Dalai Lama, Nellie Bly, Laura Ingalls Wilder, or any person who lived during the time Holmes and Watson worked together.

For Sherlock Holmes: Stranger than Fiction Holmes’s client is a fictional character. It must be a public domain character and fit in with the Victorian/ edwardian time frame of Holmes and Watson. Perhaps the client is an elderly Oliver Twist or a young Dr. Caligari. Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson could be visiting London and need help from a detective. Maybe Alice needs help finding Wonderland or Dorothy returning to Oz.

Submissions:  Sherlock Holmes: Stranger than Truth – Stories must fit traditional Holmes. Submissions should be 5,000 – 10,000 words in length (it is okay to go over or under some). Since these cases involve historical figures they should be canonical in nature. Holmes and Watson must be their traditional selves.

  Sherlock Holmes: Stranger than Fiction –  Since these stories involve fictional characters, you have some leeway in adding elements of fantasy, horror, and science fiction (i.e. if you use Dracula, or the Time Machine, or Wonderland’s Red Queen). Even with this leeway, Holmes and Watson must be the traditional Holmes and Watson. They must act as they would in the original canonical adventures.  Submissions should be 5,000 – 10,000 words in length (it is okay to go over or under some)

Payment for both anthologies: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology.

Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication.

Submission deadline for both anthologies is December 31st, 2020. Authors are welcome to submit stories to either or both anthologies.

Send submissions in a word document to [email protected] with the heading ATTN: SUBMISSION FOR STRANGER THAN TRUTH or ATTN: SUBMISSION FOR STRANGER THAN FICTION.