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Taking Submissions: Once Upon An Enchanted Forest: An Anthology of Romantic Witchcraft Stories
May 15, 2019
Deadline: May 15th, 2019
Payment: $75 and 2 contributor’s copies
Title: Once Upon An Enchanted Forest: An Anthology of Romantic Witchcraft Stories
Word count: 7K-15K
Submission Window: February 5 – May 15
Payment: $75 paid upon publication + 2 paperback copies + 25 electronic copies for distribution to readers/giveaways
Anthology Release Date: 9.23.2019, the autumnal equinox.
Prompt and Theme: The autumnal equinox marks the shift into darkness which completes on Samhain. Warmth is behind us, cold lies ahead. This is a time of Thanksgiving and kinship. However, in our stories, we also want to consider the theme of The Enchanted Forest. How can you place romance, sorcery, witchcraft, an enchanted wood, cottage, village, or castle into this theme? How can you play up the impending knowledge that everything is changing from light to dark? How can you take your characters from a time of celebration into a world of romance, magical intrigue, and sorcery?
What would lurk in your enchanted forest?
The autumnal equinox, magical/witchcraft elements, and romance must be includedin some manner, but remember that you have a ton of material to pull from. From the Celtic Connection: Druids call this time of year Mabon, Mea’n Fo’mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest. Various other names for this Wiccan Sabbat are The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega, Italian), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans from the Sabbat to Oct. 15th, or Winter’s Night, known as the Norse New Year. (“Information Categories.” What Is Wicca?, wicca.com/celtic/akasha/mabon.htm.)
For modern stories, the autumnal equinox is still celebrated across the world. Every culture recognizes or has recognized this turning of the season, so do a little research. So many ideas await!
Things to note:
- We love diversity in all its forms.
- We love strong women with agency.
- We enjoy historical, contemporary, and even futuristic tales.
- We most definitely want a good romance, which means a Happily Ever After or a Happy for Now ending.
- We are not looking for erotica or horror.
- If you’re wondering what kinds of stories we’re looking for, we advise you to take a look at 2018’s anthology, Once Upon the Longest Night, which released on the winter solstice, 12.21.18.
Formatting and Other Guidelines:
- The work submitted must not have appeared in print or online anywhere before. We do not accept reprints, multiple submissions, or simultaneous submissions.
- We do not accept fanfic.
- All submissions must be in English.
- Follow industry standard format, minus identifying information. We prefer Times New Roman, 12-pt font, double spaced. Use italics for emphasis, smart/curly quotes, and em dashes, not double hyphens.
- Your story should be in DOC or DOCX format.
Response: Final decisions will be made by June 1st.
Remove any identifying information from your submission/header, please.
Thanks and Good Luck!
Once Upon Anthologies
Via: Once Upon’s Submittable.
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Stuart Conover is a father, husband, published author, blogger, geek, entrepreneur, horror fanatic, and runs a few websites including Horror Tree!