It’s that time of year—we’re carving pumpkins, installing ghosts in the front yard, and putting out the next Bikes in Space call for submissions. This time around, it’s for volume 13, which needed an appropriate theme. Fortunately, guest editor Summer Jewel Keown came up with one for the ages: Queer Halloween! Here’s the info:
Please submit your original queer Halloween short fiction (in written or comics form) about bicycling from a feminist perspective. We’re looking for stories that give us a shiver or make us leave the hallway light on at night. Raise our hair and make our spines tingle. We’ll also consider Halloween-themed stories that aren’t as frightful, but they should still be infused with all things spooky season.
Stories should be written by authors who consider yourself queer (in whatever way you identify), and should feature Halloween and/or otherworldly elements, and queer characters/themes, as well as feminism. All four elements should be intrinsic to the narrative:
Halloween (or stories sufficiently scary or thematic enough to be read around Halloween)
Queer
Feminism (it is sufficient to simply not include sexist themes or tropes)
Bicycles
The genre can be anything fantastical—ghost stories, horror, hard sci-fi, comedic fantasy, slipstream, or anything in that constellation—despite the series title, stories need not be be set in space. No fanfic, poetry, nonfiction, or erotica for this series, please. Stories should not include extreme body horror or graphic violence.
For this volume of the anthology, we ask that all authors be queer/part of the queer/LGBTQIA+ community, in some way, shape or form. We aren’t the queer police (which sounds both fabulous and like a bad idea) and if you identify as queer/LGBTQIA+, that’s good enough for us.
We welcome submissions from marginalized authors and first-time authors.
Stories are submitted in consideration for inclusion in the anthology. Submission is not a guarantee that any given story will be accepted or included. All stories are selected by the editors.
Word count: 500 – 6,000 words
Format: MS Word or PDF. Comics submissions of up to 6 pages can be submitted in thumbnails. Contact us if you are unable to submit in one of these formats.
Payment: A portion of profits after expenses from the Kickstarter project used to fund this book is split between contributors, with a guaranteed minimum of $50 each, plus copies of the book.
Deadline: April 15, 2024
Submit via Google Form here: https://forms.gle/41PxyvJUtiLR1kqb7
Questions? Email summer at microcosmpublishing dot com. Please do not email your submissions. We don’t want any getting lost in spam!
Haven’t checked out the other Bikes in Space books yet? Take a look at them here!