Deadline: May 5th, 2017
Payment: $10, contributor’s copy, and royalties

We’re going a little bit different for our summer anthology versus our winter one.

Think Evil Dead or Shaun of the Dead. Dark with a humorous, tongue-in-cheek, or ironic bent. We don’t need to be rolling on the floor laughing when we read your submission. Getting a chuckle or an eye roll out of us will do.

As usual, this is a non-themed dark fiction anthology.

WHAT WE WANT:

• 100% original short stories. We are not accepting reprints. We are purchasing the exclusive world-wide first print and electronic rights to your work.
• Minimum 1,000 words. Maximum 5,000 words. Anything above or under these guidelines will be discarded, unless you get a written exception from us.
• Stories can be set in any time period you choose and any genre you choose, except romance, erotica, hard science fiction, historical fiction, extreme horror/splatterpunk.
• Characters and plots that are three-dimensional. Neither are required to be likeable, but they are required to be believable. Immerse us in your characters’ lives and fictional world.
• We want to see pieces from all background and experience level. Having diverse characters is a plus for us, too. We support diversity every chance we get. This anthology project is no different!
• Manuscripts must be in .DOC or .DOCX file format and formatted in standard manuscript format. We will not accept RTF files. We will discard any story that doesn’t follow the standard manuscript format outlined here:  http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html. No exceptions.
• Simultaneous submissions are okay, but we ask that you let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere as soon as possible.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT:

• No parts of novels or novellas. The story you submit must have a defined beginning and end.
• No multiple submissions.
• No trunk (unfinished) stories. We only want your best work. We are happy to work with the right story to a degree, but typos, grammatical errors, and/or an underdeveloped plot/characters will get your story tossed.
• No explicit sex scenes or excessive violence/gore.
• Absolutely no explicit descriptions of abuse toward children or animals, and no sexual abuse of any kind. Abuse in a character’s past is fine, but please include no more than subtle flashbacks as long as it’s integral to the plot.
• “Trendy” subjects like vampires, werewolves, and zombies are fine, if you can find an original way to present these tropes. We don’t want your interpretation of Interview with the Vampire or An American Werewolf in Paris or The Walking Dead. Be original.

COMPENSATION:

The compensation is $10 (US) paid via PayPal, a printed contributor’s copy, and a 3% royalty bonus, after our costs are met. (Our last anthology achieved this within 5 days of release.)

We sincerely hope this compensation rate will increase with subsequent releases.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK:

Send your work to [email protected] with the subject line: MQB Summer Anthology 2017 Submission.

Note: Inquiries and questions should be directed to [email protected].

Include your submission as an attachment in one of the two formats listed above.

Put the following in the body of your email:

• Your name and pen name (if applicable)
• A short description of what you are submitting
• The word count of your piece (this should also be on your manuscript)

Any emails received after the May 5th deadline will be discarded.

Good luck!

Via: Mighty Quill Books.