Submission Window: October 1st – 31st, 2022
Payment: Fiction: $0.03 per word (USD) + contributor copy, Art: $100 (USD) for previously unpublished art; $50 for reprint art + contributor copy
Theme: Storytelling that centers nonhuman characters and positive multispecies interactions

Open for Submissions: October 1 – 31, 2022
Story Length: up to 7,000 words
Payment:
Fiction: $0.03 per word (USD) + contributor copy
Art: $100 (USD) for previously unpublished art; $50 for reprint art + contributor copy

To imagine and build better futures, we’re championing a new wave of inclusive storytelling that centers nonhuman characters and positive multispecies interactions. Whether the setting is urban or rural or a space station, we’re looking for stories and artwork that put human-nonhuman or even nonhuman-nonhuman relations in the spotlight. We encourage creators to imagine nonhuman main characters, and we welcome narratives that acknowledge the agency of multispecies actors, both in the worldbuilding and in the plot. Because this is a solarpunk anthology, stories that acknowledge the realities of climate change and address those challenges through uplifting possibilities will have the best chance.

We’re defining “creature” broadly, so let us see your depictions of wild animals as well as domesticated ones, of intelligent fungi or plastic-eating bacteria, of lakes and rivers granted personhood. Reconsider the traditional tropes of alien first contact and sentient AI, and envision them in a way that doesn’t replicate the same old oppressions and assumptions of human dominance. We’re looking for work that acknowledges humans as one species in a larger ecosystem, for human characters who strive for cooperation with (rather than dominance over) other creatures, for settings that reflect a sustainable balance of nature and technology.

This is a sequel-in-spirit to Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures, which reimagined our urban spaces as less anthropocentric. Read those stories to get a sense of what our editors will be looking for. We also adore Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot duology, and would love to see stories and artwork in that tenor.

Submissions from authors outside of the United States are highly encouraged, as well as from authors of marginalized identities. We aim to curate a diverse, inclusive, and international table of contents. Stories must be in English; translations are welcome, provided the original author has given permission.

​Simultaneous submissions are okay, so long as you let us know if it sells to another market before we can make a decision. Please send only one story or one work of visual art.

How to submit:
Fiction: Send story as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf to publisher[at]worldweaverpress[dot]com. Include a brief cover letter in the body of the email. (Please do not summarize your story in the cover letter.)
Artwork: Send art as. png or .jpeg attachments with a DPI of 300 or higher to publisher[at]worldweaverpress[dot]com. While both color and black and white will be considered, please note that all artwork will be printed in black and white in the paperback. All color artwork will be considered for the cover art as well; if we select your art for the cover, we will negotiate a higher rate with you. Please let us know in your cover letter whether or not the art has appeared elsewhere.

Via: World Weaver Press.