Taking Submissions: The Lost Poetry Club – September 2024 Window

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Deadline: October 31st, 2024
Payment: Over 300 words: £0.015 per word, Under 300 words: £5 flat rate.
Theme: Reverse Mermaid
Note: This is only for audio rights

Reverse Mermaid
Under the moon’s glow, I cast my line into dark, choppy waters, fishing for stories. Something stirs beneath—a ripple, a glint—something waits to be caught. Two eyes break the surface; its scales reflecting the moonlight. Is that a fish… or a man? It’s impossible to say.

Reverse mermaids, strange and unsettling, haunt these depths. Unlike their traditional counterparts, they defy expectations, caught between two worlds in a form that exemplifies the absurd. They are symbols of transgression and transformation, urging us to embrace the parts of ourselves that don’t fit neatly into established categories.

Stories are out there, waiting to be reeled in. With a bucket of maggot sandwiches and the patience to wait, we’re ready for whatever surfaces —absurd scenarios, monstrous creatures in mundane lives, or vice versa, powerful transformations, quirky individuals, nightmares and hallucinations out in the daylight, worlds flipped upside down, and tales of two halves that proudly let our freak flag fly.

The Catch of the Day includes stories, scripts, poems, flash fiction, and songs that champion the eccentric, unique, and unexpected, leaping from the surface level, and pulling us, kicking and screaming, down, down, down into the realm of the extraordinary.

Current Deadline: October 30th, 2024

We seek writing that transports listeners beyond themselves, offering glimpses into uncharted emotions, compelling characters, and imaginative worlds. These stories should delight, disgust, or inspire awe. They should make our sides split with laughter, enthrall us with mystery, or evoke deep feelings that linger long after the episode ends – show us your unique universe; make us feel something!

What are we looking for?​

Currently, we are working on our 1st Season and opening a new submissions theme bi-monthly based on planned episodes, but we also accept rolling submissions.

We prioritize:

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  • Originality and depth

  • Fresh & Unique perspectives

  • Craftsmanship

  • Meaningful interpretations of submission themes (tip: avoid being too literal)

  • Suitable for audio

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What to Submit:

Our main focus is on speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, mystery, slipstream),

but we embrace a variety of genres and formats, including non-fiction.

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  • Short Stories/Scripts: Up to 15 mins or 3000 words.

  • Poetry/Flash Fiction: Up to 5 mins or 500 words.

  • Songs/Music/Other: Up to 10 mins.

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Compensation: 

  • Over 300 words: £0.015 per word. 

  • Under 300 words: £5 flat rate.

​

Rights:

  • If previously unpublished, we claim first-world on-going non-exclusive rights (text and audio) with 120 days of exclusivity from publication. However, we do accept reprints. 

  • Any audio adaptations produced belong to us solely.

  • Other formats like recordings and music are also on an on-going, non-exclusive basis.

How to Submit:

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  • Use the current theme as your email subject.

  • If the current theme doesn’t suit, please feel free to send in your work anyway, at any time, as it may be suitable for future themes. Title your subject: Theme Unknown.

  • Make sure the word count is clearly stated somewhere.

  • If submitting written work: pdf file or Docx.

  • OR, if submitting recorded work: high-quality mp3/wav file (accompanied by a pdf transcript and the full cast and crew list, if applicable).

  • Simultaneous submissions are permitted (but don’t overdo it, please).

  • Well-formatted: awkward formatting or mistakes are not the end of the world, but there are limits…

  • Clarkesworld’s list of “Hard Sells” is a good guide for what not to submit. You can check those out here.

Any further questions, please reach out to [email protected].

Send Your Submissions

Here:

[email protected]

Via: The Lost Poetry Club.

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