Deadline: March 1st, 2021
Payment: $900 and potential royalties
Theme: Stories written by queer YA authors, about queer teen protagonists
Note: THERE ARE ONLY 2 OPEN SLOTS so send in your best work

I’m so excited to announce that I am holding open submissions for the third and final OUT anthology, OUT THERE: Into the Queer New Yonder! Coming May 2022 from Inkyard Press, and me, your humble editor!

OUT THERE will feature stories written by queer YA authors, about queer teen protagonists! Set in the future (1 day, 1 million years, who knows?!) , these stories will explore the last (or next, as the case may be) moment in time.

If selected, your story will join stories by Leah Johnson, Kalynn Bayron, Alex London, Nita Tyndall, Abdi Nazemian, Alechia Dow, Kayla Ancrum, Naomi Kanakia, Adam Sass, Mason Deaver, Claire Kann, Zabé Ellor, Emma K. Ohland, Jim McCarthy and Z Brewer in this fantastic, futuristic collection!

This is an open call to fill TWO slots in OUT THERE. Black, Indigenous and Authors of Color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Authors may be published or unpublished, agented or unagented.

Your submissions will be considered by the review panel, featuring Saundra Mitchell, and and award-winning authors Tehlor Kay Mejia and Julian Winters. Mejia appeared in ALL OUT, and Winters appeared in OUT NOW.

The story requirements are simple:

• 4-8 thousand words
• YA fiction set in the future (any genre)
• Queer author, queer protagonist
• The story you wish you had when you were 16
• Does not have to be #ownvoices
• Does not have to contain romantic elements

What you get if selected:

• Publication in OUT THERE: Into the Queer New Yonder anthology, edited by Saundra Mitchell; published by Inkyard Press.
• $900 (US) plus a pro-rated share of any royalties received on the sale of the anthology.
• We ask for exclusive rights from acceptance to 2 years from publication date. Exceptions will be made for Best Of/Year Of/Awards anthologies.
• All rights revert 2 years from publication date of OUT THERE anthology. (On resale, we’d appreciate a credit, “First appeared in OUT THERE, 2022.”)
• We ask for publication and audio rights for that term. All other rights remain with you.
• You must be at least 13 years old to submit to this anthology. Authors 13-18 years old must co-sign their contract with their parent/guardian if selected for publication.

What we get if you’re not selected:

• Nothing. Nada. Zip. You assign no rights, and we ask for no rights, for your submissions.
• Well, I mean, we get to read your awesome story. But other than that, nothing!

How to submit:

• International submissions accepted, but only submissions in English, please.
• Send your story as a TXT, RTF, or DOC attachment to OTANTHOSUBS @ GMAIL DOT COM.
• One submission per person, please.
• Please no simultaneous submissions. Rejections will be sent on a rolling basis.
• No need for a formal cover letter, but please do introduce yourself!
• If you have an official bio, please include it in the body of the e-mail. (This is not required!)
• We will NOT read stories pasted into the body of the e-mail. Attachments only, please.
• Please use standard manuscript formatting: Double space, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Please include your name, mailing and e-mail address at the top of the first page.
• We’re not gonna get out a ruler, but for real. Just open your word processor of choice and don’t change the formatting to something unique.
• All submissions will receive an automatic reply as a receipt.
• All submissions will receive an acceptance or standard rejection.
• We do not guarantee notes on any submission except those selected for publication.
• Submissions close on March 1, 2021. All submissions arriving after that date will be deleted unread.
• Acceptance letters will be sent no later than March 15, 2021.

Via: Saundra Mitchell.