Deadline: October 31st, 2022
Payment: Contributors Copy and Royalties
Theme: The Natural World

NOTE: PLEASE ENSURE YOUR SUBMISSION IS INTENDED FOR THE SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY. DO NOT SUBMIT IN THIS CATEGORY UNLESS YOUR SUBMISSION IS A SHORT STORY. Submissions in erroneous categories will be rejected, and those with repeated infractions may be blocked from further submissions.

The theme for our Fourth Annual Short Story Anthology is The Natural World. Stories should take place predominantly outdoors or in some natural context, with nature a defining aspect of the work. Man-made environments and situations should take a backseat in the characteristics of landscape, plot, and other elements of your submission.  Merriam-Webster defines “the natural world” as “all of the animals, plants, and other things existing in nature and not made or caused by people.” We would love to see stories that explore how interactions with nature cause tension, excitement, wonder, and/or increase the knowledge of the reader and characters in the story. Reconnecting with the natural world is vital in these times of pandemic, resulting in working from home, avoiding crowds, being cooped up in enclosed spaces, away from each other. How can we maintain our humanity without nature?  How often should we try to be outside, in nature? What can happen because of it? Without it?

ANNUAL SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSIONS:
Short stories submitted in this category will be evaluated for inclusion in the annual Anthology. For stand-alone collections, please submit in the other Short Story category.
Please tell us in query form the length, as well as the theme, working title, and upload the complete short story in .doc, .docx, .txt., or .rft format. Please do NOT upload a .pdf of your story. If your story is illustrated, kindly state this in the query, and we will contact you regarding these if selected.
***
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable in this category but please tell us if you are submitting this work to other publishers, and we would appreciate being notified should you decide to contract with another publisher before we have made a final decision on acceptance of your work. Publication in this collection does not preclude publication elsewhere, as will seek a one-time publication only.
Winners will receive the following:
1. One (1) print copy of the Anthology
2. One (1) digital copy of the Anthology in the format of your choice
3. Substantially reduced price on purchase of an unlimited number of copies of the Anthology
4. A pro-rata share of the proceeds, paid annually

PLEASE NOTE: DO NOT SUBMIT IN THIS CATEGORY IF YOUR SUBMISSION IS NOT A SHORT STORY FOR OUR ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY. THERE ARE SEPARATE CATEGORIES FOR SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS, FICTION, NON-FICTION, ETC. If you don’t see them, check back later – it means we are not accepting submissions in that category presently due to a backlog of submissions.

ALSO: Should you desire to amend or update your submission, please request us to open it for editing, or upload the new version as an attachment to a message in the Submittable Message Center. Please Do Not Withdraw your submission and resubmit as a new submission. Doing so uses up the numbers of allowable submissions, causes the submission cap to be reached early, and takes spaces that other writers would have liked to use. Please be courteous to the other folk who write short stories. Thank you.

We will contact you directly should we require more information. Generally we make a final decision on submissions in this category after submissions are closed. Please do not email us for updates. This is an extremely popular Anthology and we receive hundreds of submissions; only a couple dozen submissions will be chosen for the final publication, which will be released in the winter of 2022-2023.

Submissions will close on OCTOBER 31, 2022 at midnight or when the submissions cap has been reached. We will contact each submitter with a decision prior to the publication of this collection. Thank you for your interest, and best wishes.

Via: Propertius Press Submittable.