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.