Please note: Submissions for this anthology are now closed. To those who submitted something, thank you. I will be working my way through the remaining stories in the coming weeks. I received a total of 68 stories for consideration.
Solarwyrm Press is seeking short speculative fiction stories for its tentatively titled “Amok” anthology.
The main requirement is that stories must be set somewhere in the Asia-Pacific region — from India to Hawaii, and everything in between (as far north as Mongolia and south as Australia/New Zealand)*.
For the purposes of this anthology, speculative fiction is defined as science-fiction, fantasy, or horror, set in the real world, with elements that go beyond our current most-agreed-upon view of the world. Alternate history (e.g. What if Korea won the space race?) is also acceptable, and stories may be set in the past, present, and/or future.
Do you have a story where the Japanese had a zombie army that invaded the Philippines in World War II? A future-tech story with China as the main world power? A love affair between a mermaid and a Hindu in India? A ghost haunting a Muslim family in Malaysia? A dystopian New Zealand, where they’re the only country that survived the apocalypse? These are the types of stories we have in mind. Hopefully these ideas help inspire you. Don’t feel constrained to them!
Consideration is especially given to a diverse array of characters, at the very least within the anthology, if not within individual stories. We’d like to see racial and religious diversity, which should be easier to include with the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as characters who fall somewhere on the QUILTBAG spectrum, or are generally not limited to protagonists who are straight, white, abled men in their 20s or 30s.
Whilst racism may be explored in stories submitted, if the overall sentiment is that one race (or religion) is better than another, your story will not be accepted.
*Full list of countries/island regions accepted:
American Samoa, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, East Timor, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaiian Islands, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, North Korea, Palau, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna.
Hawaii may not be technically considered part of the region, but it is in the Pacific Ocean and the editor has a soft spot for the islands, so stories set there will be considered.
If you have another location that you think ought to be included that is not on this list, please query the editor first.
Submission Guidelines
Please send your submissions by email directed to Dominica Malcolm at solarwyrm@gmail.com. You may submit up to 3 stories for consideration.
Your attached story should be a .doc, .odt, or .rtf file and must be formatted with double spacing. Times New Roman font is preferred.
The subject line should read “Amok Anthology Submission/YOUR SURNAME/TITLE/WORD COUNT”
Please also indicate the location(s) used in your story within the body of your email.
Word count: Between 1,000-8,000 words.
Deadline: November 30th, 2013.
We will endeavour to notify all writers accepted for the anthology by December 31st, 2013.
Rights and Remuneration
The author will retain copyright of the work. Solarwyrm Press requests first print and digital publication rights, exclusive for 3 months from publication. After that, the author is free to accept publication elsewhere, post the story to their blog, or anything else.
Stories may be edited for minor spelling, grammar, or formatting issues. Stories with major spelling and grammar issues will be rejected.
The author will receive 1 paperback copy of the anthology, and be paid at the rate of 1/2 a cent per word, which equates to a maximum of US$40.
This anthology will also be crowdfunded and promoted in conjunction with editor Jax Goss’s Precocious Children anthology. Feel free to consider submitting to both.
Solarwyrm Press 
Hi there! Are you only looking for original fiction, or are reprints also acceptable?
I would prefer new, original fiction, as I am seeking first publication rights. If I am to consider previously-published works, I’d need to have confirmation that you still have copyright and it’s allowed to be published elsewhere. I may be more inclined to include it if it was only published online on your personal blog.
If they are considered, I may reserve the right to pay less for the work in question. But I suspect I’ll only consider using previously-published works if I do not receive enough high quality new works of fiction.
I have 2 stories that are set in Australia. One has an Aborigine as a main character. Would you like to see one or both?
Thanks
I have 2 stories set in Australia. One has an Aborigine as the main character.
Would you be interested in seeing them both or just one?
(Actually, all my stories are set in Oz but these two are most appropriate)
Thanks Barry
You’re welcome to send both. I should probably update the submission call to say how many entries I’ll accept from the same person.
Thanks!
Thanks for your reply, Dominica. I’ll send them off in a week or so.
Barry
Thanks!
I do not advocate racism, but what about a story that involves dystopian future, where racism in the government led to the problems?
That sounds interesting to me!
There have been serious allegations of racism in my country’s government (Malaysia).
If I am to attempt to write something with publication in mind, this is something I will not be silent about.
I live in Malaysia and am at least vaguely aware of the racism in the government, so I encourage you to explore that. 🙂
Does the setting have to be an integral part of the story? You’ve given some examples where it is, but what if the story is simply set in one of the listed countries and that’s the extent of its ‘role’?
No, it doesn’t have to be integral to the story. I’ve had some submissions that I’ve liked where it’s not.
Thank you!
Does the setting have to be mentioned in the story, or is it okay if I just hint at it?
It doesn’t have to be specifically mentioned, but it might depend how you hint at it. For example, mentioning a character eating the local food might be enough. You can always submit something and I can let you know if it’s enough of a hint for me once I’ve had the chance to read it. 🙂
Alright, thanks! XD
Does the setting have to mentioned in the story, or can I just hint at it?
Hello there! Quick one, can the story be a surreal one? Say, if it’s got human elements as well as fantastical, mystic ones too? I’m not sure if my story follows the requirements of the theme of the competition. Also, there is no age limit right? 🙂
From this comment, it sounds like it would be fine, but I can’t say for sure until I read it.
There’s no age limit, no.
Thank you so much! I do hope the story is fine.
PG-13 or R? Also, is there anything within the horror genre that you would prefer be avoided? Is cannibalism acceptable?
I’m comfortable with any rating, and you can include cannibalism if it suits your story. I don’t want to put any restrictions on writers in those areas.
Can I write a story with no characters? At least, no living and/or human ones. Post-apocalyptic sci-fi set in Singapore.
Sure, you could. I don’t think I’ve read anything like that before so I can’t say how I might respond to it, but it could be interesting. 🙂
Hey Dominica — how many total stories (roughly) do you think will go into the book and how many do you already have? Some fill much faster than their deadlines. I’m still working on my story set in Mongolia and hope to submit it to you very soon.
I’m not going to make my final decision until after the deadline. I’ve read less than half of the current submissions, and only said yes to two definitely so far (though there were others I enjoyed, I just wanted to see what else I get first). The number I accept will depend on length and quality of submissions I receive. I was estimating having a total word count between 60-80K words, though.
Reblogged this on The INSIGNIA Series and commented:
Here’s a great submission call for an Asia-Pacific fantasy anthology. Just what we love!
Hi, I been trying to submit my story but your email address doesn’t seem to exist. I am having trouble of sending it to the current email…have you any suggestion or another email address I can send my story to?
Kevin A. Harris
Did you highlight the address and copy it exactly? Did you maybe misspell it by mistake? Because I’ve received numerous submissions to the address listed, so it does exist.
I have a story that meets the requirements of the Amok anthology and the Precocious Children anthology. May I submit it to both?
I think it’s fine for you to submit to both.
Is there a way we can confirm receipt of our submission? I wouldn’t want my submission to have not been delivered and only find out on the 1st of December.
We reply directly to emails we received to confirm. If you haven’t heard back within a few days, you can try again.
At this date are we right to assume that you have selected the pieces for your anthology, or are you still in the process of selecting?
Hi Daniel. I’m in the process of replying to everyone now. There were a lot of submissions so it’s taking a while for me to get through them all, but you should be hearing from me soon.