Taking Submissions: Death of a Bad Neighbour: Revenge is Criminal (Early)
Submission Window: October 1st – 31st, 2021
Payment: 10 cents per word and royalties
Theme: Short crime or mystery stories to fit the Death of a Bad Neighbour theme
Anthology to be edited by Jack Calverley host of the podcast
From the rock star in his fairytale Gothic mansion in Central London whose neighbour plans a double basement excavation, to the retiree in a fisherman’s cottage in the northeast of England whose neighbour tells lies to a court to acquire the back garden that is not theirs: we are plagued by bad neighbours.
One recent article in the Daily Telegraph Online which reported the trauma caused by at best inconsiderate, but at worst criminal, neighbours accumulated five hundred registered comments within half an hour of being published.
It does not take a crime writer to know that a plague of bottom-feeders calls for an exterminator. But it does take the creatively criminal-minded to come up with the bestest plan ever…
Such is the inspiration for “Death of a Bad Neighbour: Revenge is Criminal” – an anthology of all-new crime and mystery stories.
Incidentally, the rock star is Jimmy Page, he of Led Zeppelin fame. His expansive neighbour is Robbie Williams, some crooner or other. And the original suggestion for an anthology came from Carter Blakelaw who was mid-discussion of his story “Tinnitus” at the time (please don’t use “Tinnitus” as a story title. Now it will sound second-hand).
So, I’m after around 20 short crime or mystery stories to fit the Death of a Bad Neighbour theme, 2,000 to 5,000 words (you’re the best judge of the sweet spot length of the story you tell), paying U.S. 10 cents a word for first English language text (eBook and print) and audio publication rights (exclusivity of these rights reverts to the author 12 months after publication or 18 months after the submission deadline, whichever is sooner, and waived for Best Of collections). The submission deadline is October 31st 2021. Accept/reject decisions during December, if not before. Payment on acceptance.
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