Hi all: I've been emailing back and forth this morning with the editor of podcastle,
http://podcastle.org/guidelines which is a fantasy podcast. They also do http://escapepod.org/guidelines/ and http://pseudopod.org/ It's a REPRINT market. I repeat a reprint market. Only works that have been published somewhere else will be accepted...and she said she was looking for writing that isn't particularly American....other countries, other ethnic groups. She asked if my story in So long been dreaming was fantasy. Alas it wasn't. Here are the guidelines. What We Want PodCastle is looking for fantasy stories. We're open to all the sub- genres of fantasy, from magical realism to urban fantasy to slipstream to high fantasy, and everything in between. Fantastical or non-real content should be meaningful to the story. If you have a science fiction story, please send it to our sister podcast Escape Pod. Horror fiction should be directed to Pseudopod. The dividing line between horror and fantasy can be tricky. We at PodCastle are open to dark fantasy. We don't object to your trying us either before or after Psuedopod, if the story seems to suit both aesthetics. Length We're primarily interested in two lengths of fiction, which we've dubbed (somewhat arbitrarily) "short fiction" and "flash fiction." Short Fiction: Most of our weekly stories will fall between about 2,000 and 6,000 words. Shorter stories would be overwhelmed by the commentary before and after the stories. Longer stories are difficult to fit into our upper time limit (defined rigorously as "The length of a morning commute"). We may run longer stories, but it will be a harder sell. We pay $100 for short fiction at this length. Flash Fiction: We will sometimes podcast short five-to-ten minute "bonus" pieces between our weekly main episodes. These stories can be up to 1,000 words. Flash pieces are frequently quirkier and more experimental than our weekly features. We pay $20 for flash fiction. For stories between 1,000 and 2,000 words, we'll make a judgment call, based on whether we think the story would work better as a featured story or a bonus. Reprints We prefer reprints, or works with a prior publication credit. We define "publication" as any venue that paid you money for your work, online or on paper. Unpublished work will be considered as well, but if your story's good enough for us to buy it, it's probably good enough to sell to another market first. Why not try to get two audiences and two checks? If you're looking for a market to send to for first publication, we recommend perusing the listings at Duotrope and Ralan. Multiple and Simultaneous Submissions We accept simultaneous submissions (sending a story to us and to one or more other markets at the same time), but appreciate being advised that the story is under consideration elsewhere. Please do not send multiple submissions (sending more than one story at a time to us) unless you have been told that it is acceptable for you to do so. Content We are an audio magazine. Our audience can't skim past the boring parts. While we appreciate beautiful stories, those that feature beautiful language at the expense of plot may not translate well. Ideally, fiction should have strong pacing, well-defined characters, engaging dialogue, clear action, and still be beautiful. Above all, we're looking for stories that are fun to listen to. Humor is encouraged. Podcastle hopes to publish fiction reflecting the full range of settings and tropes found in fantasy fiction. We'd particularly like to see more stories set outside America, and stories that feature characters who represent a range of backgrounds and ethnicities. We will not balk at sexual content or strong language, but if your story is primarily erotic or scatological in nature, it may not be for us. Consider Open Source Sex for the former or satellite radio for the latter. Preparing Stories for Submission We accept stories in e-mail, in plain text format, at the address [EMAIL PROTECTED] We don't want Word files, PDF files, scanned images of a book, or sound files of you reading the story. Messages with such attachments will get bounced. We will accept messages that are HTML formatted, but if you know how to turn it off, we prefer plain text. Send your story from the e-mail address at which you want us to correspond with you. Otherwise, it's likely our correspondence will go astray. The Subject line of your email should read: "Submission: [Title of Your Story]." (Replace the text within the brackets with the title of your story.) E-mails with different subject lines may be misfiled and go astray. In the body of the message, include the following information: 1. Your real name. (You can use a pseudonym for the byline, but we need to know who's legally offering us this story and to whom the check should be written.) 2. Your mailing address. (If you don't give it to us, we'll need to pay you by PayPal.) 3. A cover letter, listing salient workshops and degrees, and your three to five most recent publications (if you have them). Also, provide information about the publishing history of the piece. Has it been published before? If so, where? Is there anything we need to know about the availability of audio rights? 4. The word count of the story, rounded to the nearest hundred words. 5. The story's byline. (Omit if it's your legal name.) 6. The text of the story. Use single spacing with blank lines between paragraphs and _underscores_ for emphasis. Example: *** Edgar Poe 203 N. Amity St. Baltimore, MD 21223 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype: Da_R4ven Dear Sir/Madam: I would like to submit my horror story "The Pit and the Pendulum" for your podcast. My work has appeared in numerous online and print venues including _The Norton Anthology of Literature_, the Project Gutenberg Web site (http://www.gutenberg.org) and _The Simpsons Halloween Special._ This particular work is in the public domain, and all rights are available. It has previously been adapted into a shockingly strange movie by Roger Corman. Thank you for your time and consideration. 6200 Words THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM by Edgar Allen Poe I was sick sick unto death with that long agony; and when they at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me. The sentence the dread sentence of death was the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ears. After that, the sound of the inquisitorial voices seemed merged in one dreamy indeterminate hum. It conveyed to my soul the idea of _revolution_ perhaps from its association in fancy with the burr of a mill-wheel. This only for a brief period; for presently I heard no more. [. . .] *** Once again, the submissions address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] Stories sent to other addresses may not be considered. Our Process of Consideration Once you've sent us your story, we will review it and respond to you via e-mail. Feel free to query if you have not received a response within two months. Occasional slush updates will be posted at the PodCastle blog. Periodically, the editors will post there to advise submitters of progress and delays. If we accept your story, we'll send you a contract as a PDF file in e- mail. You will sign it and send it back to us via e-mail (after scanning it), fax, or postal mail. Payment will come via check or Pay Pal, at a rate of $100 for short fiction and $20 for flash fiction. Legalese By sending us your story you understand and agree that: 1. You are the original creator of the work submitted to us; 2. You are the copyright holder of the work; 3. You are not prohibited by any prior agreement from the transfer of non-exclusive electronic and audio rights to the work; 4. All information in the contact and cover sections of your e-mail is accurate and truthful; 5. You accept sole responsibility for any false statements or encumbrances upon rights not disclosed to us. If we buy your story we'll send you a contract, and you'll be bound to all of the above. Rights PodCastle's audio files are released under a Creative Commons license. Specifically, we use the Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives license. Briefly, this means that the entire world has permission to distribute the podcast for free, provided they give credit for it, don't try to make money off of it, and don't change it in any way. Transcribing it, extracting portions from it beyond fair use, and mashing it up are all prohibited. This license applies only to our audio performance of your work, for which we've contracted and paid you. It does not apply to your story itself; you retain your copyright and all rights to any other use of the story. For further discussion of Creative Commons licensing, see the Escape Pod guidelines. If you are concerned about the licensing, we prefer that you research and make your decision before submitting. In case you're wondering whether you currently have audio rights to your stories: unless you're doing work-for-hire for a game company, all reputable SF/F magazines of which we're aware acquire serial print rights, often with non-exclusive electronic or anthology options. We know of no regular short fiction market that contracts for exclusive audio rights. That doesn't mean it can't happen; always check your contracts. Still got questions? If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or criticism (but not stories) send them to our staff at [EMAIL PROTECTED] We'll do our best to get back to you within a few days. Thanks very much for your time, and we look forward to reading and hopefully speaking what you've got! Sincerely, Submissions Editor, Rachel Swirsky Associate Editor, Ann Leckie and editorial staff
