Deadline: May 5, 2012
Payment: $0.02/word and contributor copy

I’m pleased to announce we’re open for submissions for Mirror Shards: Volume Two. Last year’s anthology, Mirror Shards: Volume One, was a success on many accounts. The new volume will be released by Black Moon Books in late summer 2012 as an eBook and POD.

Augmented reality holds the promise of great social change in both the near and far-flung futures. It’s also a wonderful medium for storytelling as information and graphics overlain eye-screens challenges the doors of perception and creates mixed-reality worlds to work and play. Black Moon Books is seeking stories between 3000 and 9000 words (soft edges) that utilize augmented reality as a way to explore the human condition. The stories can be set in any place, time, or genre, as long as the story cannot exist bereft of augmented reality. Feel free to explore the edges of the technology.

The anthology will pay from $0.02/word to $0.05/word. Minimum payment per word will be $0.02 for all accepted slush stories, but one pro paying slot ($0.05/word) will be given for the best story (Gold Prize.) Rights I’ll ask for include exclusivity for 3 months, First Electronic & First English-Language Book Rights. One copy will be provided for each author in the anthology.

Stories should be emailed to mirrorshards2012 (at) blackmoonbooks (dot) com and should follow standard manuscript formatting (courier new, 12 point, double spaced, etc.) The file should be attached as an .doc or .rtf (not .docx). Multiple submissions are welcome, though your best bet is to pick your best story and send only that one.

A brief cover letter listing current publication credits would be helpful in the body of the email. If you have received an honorable mention or above in the Writers of the Future contest, please note that.

The submission period for the anthology will be from February 11, 2012 to May 5, 2012. All story selections will be complete by May 10, 2012. Payment will be on acceptance and will be either mailed as a check or sent through PayPal. Publication date will be in early August. Accepted authors will also be required to provide a brief bio for the anthology. Authors are also encouraged to put their stories up online once the rights have reverted and will be requested (optional) to put a note in their stories linking back to the anthology to help each other (ie – if you liked this story, please check out other authors writing AR stories in…)

I will try to notify quickly for rejections. I will also notify authors of those stories I’m holding as a “maybe”. The latest possible date for all notifications, acceptance or rejection, will be May 10, 2012.

[via: Blackmoon Books.]