Call for submissions: Fae Visions of the Mediterranean

Fae Visions of the Mediterranean

Edited by Valeria Vitale and Djibril al-Ayad

Call open until November 13, 2015 for:
(a) Microfiction in Mediterranean languages;
(b) all stories by North African or Near Eastern authors

Call for stories:

Quivering mirages, ghost ships, glossy scales slipping away beneath the waves; we are seeking progressive and inclusive short stories about wonders, terrors, omens, sea-monsters, apparitions and other folk creatures and horrors from throughout the Mediterranean region. You might find inspiration in medieval bestiaries and the margins of maps and manuscripts; stories whispered by pirates in the long nights at sail; horrible and marvellous visions shaken travellers barely dare to recall; names of creatures known by everyone in the streets around the harbour; particularly troubled nightmares you had or someone shared with you.

The rules:

1. The editors are looking for uncanny stories up to 5 000 words, illustrations/comics up to 12 pages, or poems up to 40 lines.
2. The anthology will also include micro-stories of approximately 500 words written in all languages of the Mediterranean. Authors may send stories in any language. Authors should additionally include a cover letter in English, Italian, French, Arabic or Spanish (these are the languages we can read).
3. Stories may be horror/fantasy, magical realist, surreal, absurdist, pirate stories, ghost stories, folk tales or fairy tales. All stories should be set on or around the Mediterranean Sea. The editors would like to see the cultures and legends of the Mediterranean reflected in the stories.
4. Stories will be free-standing and individual. The anthology is not a shared-world or otherwise constrained to a joint narrative or structure.
5. The editors welcome fiction by authors from the Mediterranean region, particularly North Africa and the Near East. The editors also welcome fiction written by other under-represented groups (such as women, queer/trans/nonbinary, non-anglophones, people of color, people with disabilities, etc.).
6. Story submissions should be sent as a .doc, .docx or .rtf attachment to faevisions.med@gmail.com by Friday, November 14, 2015; the call is closed to general submissions, but two categories of story are still welcome: (a) Microfiction (up to 1000 words) in any Mediterranean languages; (b) stories in English (up to 5000 words) by North African or Near Eastern authors.
7. Reprints and multiple submissions are welcome, but please do not submit stories that are simultaneously under consideration elsewhere. The editors will reply to all submissions as quickly as possible. The editors are NOT interested in fan-fiction.
8. This anthology will pay €30 plus royalties for first world print (or reprint) and e-book publication rights for 1000-5000 word stories, comics and poems. Flash and micro-stories will be paid €15 plus royalties.*
9. The anthology will be edited by Valeria Vitale and Djibril al-Ayad, and published in print and e-book by Futurefire.net Publishing in early 2016.

* Please note that you should decide whether you want to sell first print rights for this relatively low rate; you will only be able to sell a story again as a reprint after it has appeared in this anthology.

Keywords:

• absurdism; Albania; Algeria; bilingual; Borgesian; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Ceuta; comics; Corsica; Croatia; Cyprus; Djerba; djinn; dreams; Egypt; Elba; fantasy; fata morgana; folklore; France; ghosts; ghûl; Gibraltar; Greece; horror; illustration; Israel; Italy; Jebel Tariq; journeys; Lampedusa; Lebanon; Libya; Majorca; Malta; manuscripts; maps; Marmara; microfiction; mirage; Monaco; Morocco; mythology; naznaz; nightmares; Palestine; Pillars of Hercules; pirates; poetry; postmodern; Sardegna; seamonsters; sea stories; shaitan; shipwreck; Sicily; sirens; Slovenia; Spain; surreal; Syria; travelogue; Tunisia; Turkey; uncanny; weird; world literature.