ENTROPIES AND ALIGNMENTS: POETRY IN UK SFANZINES – THE 1960s by Steve Sneyd (aka DATA DUMP #34/#35), ISBN 0-905262-20-4, A5, 8pp, £1:45/$3 (USA orders in cash or stamps of 50¢ or less) from Steve Sneyd, Hilltop Press, 4 Nowell Place, Almondbury, Huddersfield HD5 8PB. Continuing Steve's series of historical factsheets on genre poetry with this overview of poetry in British SF fanzines of the 1960s, which follows on from his previous work in Laying Siege to Tomorrow.
DARK TERRAINS: ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING
Dark Terrains: Electronic Publishing will be a royalty paying publisher, launching early in 1999. Based in the United Kingdom, the company will offer novel and novella length works of horror and other dark fiction as downloads, as well as on disk.
At present we are looking for four titles to release for the launch of the company, with further releases hitting the market bi-monthly after that. For the initial launch, we hope to have three full-length, original novels from a strong collection of authors. The fourth release will be a collection of four/five new novellas. Submissions/enquiries are welcome, in the formats detailed below. Make your work original and intelligent. Please – only submit your best. If you're not happy with it, we almost certainly won't be. Also, please only send us completed work. Our turnaround time is far faster than print publishers, and we don't want to sit around twiddling our thumbs while you finish your work!
We buy first worldwide electronic rights to the work, and our contracts last for a full year (with an option for renewal). At present we are unable to offer an advance against royalties for novel length work, although our royalty rates are higher than those offered by traditional publishers. Novella submissions that make the grade will be offered an advance.
All work should be in standard manuscript format; double-spaced, with a minimum one inch margin all round. We prefer work to be submitted in a serif font, such as Times New Roman.
Novels: Send us the first three chapters, along with a synopsis. If we like it, we'll ask to see the complete work at a later point. We will consider anything between sixty and one hundred and twenty thousand words long. Shorter or longer works will be considered if exceptional.
Novellas: Please send us the complete work. We will look at pieces between fifteen and thirty thousand words long.
(Anthologies: Please approach in writing first. Outline the project, the contributors and any themes the work orientates around.)
Cover Letters: Include one! Tell us who you are, a little of your writing related background, and anything you feel might interest us regarding the story. Be sure to include your snail mail and email addresses, home telephone number (and fax, if you have one) and an approximate word count for the piece.
Deadlines and Reading Time: Reading time on novel submissions is 4-6 weeks for an initial submission, then a further 8-10 weeks on a full manuscript. There is no deadline for novel submissions. Novellas for the collection mentioned above will be selected by 12 December 1998, with replies being sent at this time.
Formatting: We prefer to work with RTF formatted documents, but will also (grudgingly!) accept Word or WordPerfect. Submissions can be made via e-mail, to rick.wright@dial.pipex.com. It is preferred that you send your work as an attachment, in one file. The address will be valid until the launch of the company, and it's online presence.
Alternatively, you can submit via snail mail, to: Dark Terrains: Electronic Publishing, New Submissions, 429 Great Western Road 1/L, Glasgow G4 9JA, UK.
Please send your submission on disk. If the work is too long for one disk, break it into two parts, labelling each disk carefully. Be sure to include an SAE, if you wish work to be returned.
PEEPING TOM
Send your stories to: David Bell, Editor, Peeping Tom, Yew Tree House, 15 Nottingham Road, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, LE65 1DJ, England (or e-mail StuartHugh@aol.com if you reside outside the UK).
Twice winner of the British Fantasy Award, Peeping Tom primarily publishes horror and dark fantasy, although fantasy, humour and science fiction will be considered. I am looking for stories with strong characters where the story line evolves naturally out of the characters and the situations they find themselves in. The truth is that I don't really know what sort of story I want until I read it. If your story has believable characters and is a good, entertaining read, I want to read it.
If your story falls loosely into the horror/dark fantasy/science fiction or fantasy categories, please feel free to send it along. I am also keen to receive humorous submissions (I don't get anywhere near enough) so long as the humour evolves naturally out of the characters and the situations they find themselves in.
1. Stories should be typed, double spaced on one side of A4 white paper, and must be accompanied by an SSAE of adequate size if you want a reply.
2. Include your name, address and the word length of your story on the first page of your story, and include your pen name (if using one).
3. Do not send your submission by recorded delivery. If you require confirmation of receipt, enclose another SSAE.
4. If you reside in the UK then short stories should be submitted in the traditional (snail mail) way as 1 – 3 above.
5. We would also prefer for contributors living outside the UK to submit stories in the traditional way, but will accept email submissions (one at a time only please) from non UK residents.
6. Although your submission will be handled carefully, we cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage.
7. Length should be between 100 and 3,500 words. Longer stories of exceptional quality will be considered.
8. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please have the courtesy to inform us that your manuscript is being submitted elsewhere.
9. We buy First British Serial Rights and pay approximately £2.50 per 1,000 words on publication. Copyright reverts to the author after one time use.
10. We will consider reprints providing the story has not been previously published in the UK. Please include the story's full publishing history in your cover letter.
11. All submissions are considered and selected for publication on their own merits. We do not object to multiple submissions, but please limit yourself to two or three stories at a time.
12. Peeping Tom uses a panel of Assistant Editors. If your story is unsuitable for publication it will be returned promptly by an Assistant Editor – usually within six weeks – however if your story is recommended to the Editor then the selection process could take up to three months. Please be patient.
13. When writing to Peeping Tom, the simple Golden Rule is: always enclose an SSAE if you want a reply.
14. I regret that the Peeping Tom editorial team is unable to provide feedback on individual stories; however, we do offer subscribers free membership of Midnight Oil – a writer's postal forum which allows you to receive constructive feedback from other aspiring writers.
The best way to discover the sort of stories I'm looking for is to read a copy of Peeping Tom. The magazine costs £8.00 [$24.00 USA] for a four-issue subscription and £2.25 [$7.00 USA] for a sample copy. Available from: Stuart Hughes, Publisher, Peeping Tom, 4 Pottery Close, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0HU, UK. [NB: Americans please send payment in US dollars as this makes it easier for us to pay our American writers]. Please make cheques payable to "Peeping Tom". Enquiries either write to Stuart enclosing an SSAE or e-mail StuartHugh@aol.com.
