Post by williemeikle on Jun 15, 2010 22:08:07 GMT
Guidelines for Dead But Dreaming 2 from Miskatonic River Press - (The 1st one was very well received... )
I'll definitely be working on something for this one
____________________________________________________
Here are the guidelines as originally posted, but note that the deadlines and publication date are obviously not current. I'm going to take stories until September or so, since I don't have a bookfull of good stories yet.
Let me know if you have any questions. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Kevin Ross
DEAD BUT DREAMING 2
Writers’ Guidelines
9-1-09
Dead But Dreaming 2 is the follow-up to the popular Lovecraftian horror fiction anthology Dead But Dreaming, originally published in 2001 by DarkTales Publications and since reprinted -- and given a wider audience -- by Miskatonic River Press in 2008. Dead But Dreaming is frequently cited as the best anthology of Lovecraft-inspired fiction of the past decade: high praise when one considers how many such collections have been published in that time by better-known editors, authors, and publishers. The original Dead But Dreaming contained 15 stories totalling about 86,000 words. Most of those stories emphasized nameless cosmic horrors and personal brushes with the "outside" rather than name-brand figures from the Cthulhu Mythos of Lovecraft and his literary descendants. I eventually chose to select stories based on their use of what I termed the "dark epiphany": that dreadful moment where an individual is faced with evidence that the world he thought he knew is far more vast and uncaring and terrible than he could ever have dreamt in his worst nightmares. This realization is at the heart of what I think are some of the best examples of Lovecraftian fiction, and its absence is frequently why most stories of this ilk are dull, repetitive failures.
With Dead But Dreaming 2 I have no agenda other than to collect 100,000 words (hopefully about 17-18 stories) of the best original Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos fiction I can find. While I tend to scorn most pastiche fiction -- justifiably, I think -- I’m going to try to be a little more receptive to name-brand Mythos elements for this volume. I’m a notoriously hard sell when it comes to Cthulhu Mythos fiction, however, so please don’t send me stories containing lists of Mythos books or creatures, or hierarchies and family trees of alien entities, or Mary Sue characters who can rattle off their encyclopedic knowledge of the Mythos at the drop of a hat.
What I AM looking for is good stories first, and good cosmic horror second. To get some idea of my tastes in Lovecraftian horror, obviously the best place to start is with the original Dead But Dreaming anthology. The introduction there lays out my philosophy of what’s wrong with most Cthulhoid fiction, and the stories in that book should give you some idea of the types of things I like. Probably the best Cthulhoid anthology of all time -- certainly my favorite -- is Ramsey Campbell’s New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, containing several truly classic stories by David Drake, T.E.D. Klein, A.A. Attanasio, and Campbell himself. I greatly admire the voices and storytelling abilities of T.E.D. Klein and Thomas Ligotti, and two of my favorite modern Mythos stories are Karl Edward Wagner’s pulpy "Sticks" and Ramsey Campbell’s cosmic nightmare "The Tugging."
For Dead But Dreaming 2 we’re looking for stories up to 10,000 words in length. No poetry, please, and I’m not much of a fan of humorous Mythos stories or parodies -- again, such a thing would be a hard sell with me.
As an avowed Luddite, I prefer hard copy submissions sent to the editorial address listed at the end of this prospectus. Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope or a valid email address for my reply, and if you want your manuscript returned include sufficient postage. Multiple submissions are permitted as long as you don’t send more than three stories at a time, and no more than three stories per month. If you wish to send an email copy, please contact me first via the Miskatonic River Press website. If an electronic submission is arranged, please have your story saved in Rich Text Format -- again, see Luddite admission above.
If your story is accepted, Miskatonic River Press will buy the First North American Serial Rights to your story. Payment will be in the form of royalties based on the book’s cover price, number of copies sold, and the number of contributors. We are open to submissions beginning immediately (September 2009), with a final deadline for stories being May 31, 2010. Publication is tentatively planned for August 2010 -- the 120th anniversary of Lovecraft’s birth. If you have any questions, please contact me or Tom Lynch via the Miskatonic River Press website.
Kevin Ross
Fiction Editor, Miskatonic River Press
www.miskatonicriverpress.com
Editorial address
Dead But Dreaming 2
1210 Greene St #4
Boone, Iowa 50036
USA
____________________________________________________
Here are the guidelines as originally posted, but note that the deadlines and publication date are obviously not current. I'm going to take stories until September or so, since I don't have a bookfull of good stories yet.
Let me know if you have any questions. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Kevin Ross
DEAD BUT DREAMING 2
Writers’ Guidelines
9-1-09
Dead But Dreaming 2 is the follow-up to the popular Lovecraftian horror fiction anthology Dead But Dreaming, originally published in 2001 by DarkTales Publications and since reprinted -- and given a wider audience -- by Miskatonic River Press in 2008. Dead But Dreaming is frequently cited as the best anthology of Lovecraft-inspired fiction of the past decade: high praise when one considers how many such collections have been published in that time by better-known editors, authors, and publishers. The original Dead But Dreaming contained 15 stories totalling about 86,000 words. Most of those stories emphasized nameless cosmic horrors and personal brushes with the "outside" rather than name-brand figures from the Cthulhu Mythos of Lovecraft and his literary descendants. I eventually chose to select stories based on their use of what I termed the "dark epiphany": that dreadful moment where an individual is faced with evidence that the world he thought he knew is far more vast and uncaring and terrible than he could ever have dreamt in his worst nightmares. This realization is at the heart of what I think are some of the best examples of Lovecraftian fiction, and its absence is frequently why most stories of this ilk are dull, repetitive failures.
With Dead But Dreaming 2 I have no agenda other than to collect 100,000 words (hopefully about 17-18 stories) of the best original Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos fiction I can find. While I tend to scorn most pastiche fiction -- justifiably, I think -- I’m going to try to be a little more receptive to name-brand Mythos elements for this volume. I’m a notoriously hard sell when it comes to Cthulhu Mythos fiction, however, so please don’t send me stories containing lists of Mythos books or creatures, or hierarchies and family trees of alien entities, or Mary Sue characters who can rattle off their encyclopedic knowledge of the Mythos at the drop of a hat.
What I AM looking for is good stories first, and good cosmic horror second. To get some idea of my tastes in Lovecraftian horror, obviously the best place to start is with the original Dead But Dreaming anthology. The introduction there lays out my philosophy of what’s wrong with most Cthulhoid fiction, and the stories in that book should give you some idea of the types of things I like. Probably the best Cthulhoid anthology of all time -- certainly my favorite -- is Ramsey Campbell’s New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, containing several truly classic stories by David Drake, T.E.D. Klein, A.A. Attanasio, and Campbell himself. I greatly admire the voices and storytelling abilities of T.E.D. Klein and Thomas Ligotti, and two of my favorite modern Mythos stories are Karl Edward Wagner’s pulpy "Sticks" and Ramsey Campbell’s cosmic nightmare "The Tugging."
For Dead But Dreaming 2 we’re looking for stories up to 10,000 words in length. No poetry, please, and I’m not much of a fan of humorous Mythos stories or parodies -- again, such a thing would be a hard sell with me.
As an avowed Luddite, I prefer hard copy submissions sent to the editorial address listed at the end of this prospectus. Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope or a valid email address for my reply, and if you want your manuscript returned include sufficient postage. Multiple submissions are permitted as long as you don’t send more than three stories at a time, and no more than three stories per month. If you wish to send an email copy, please contact me first via the Miskatonic River Press website. If an electronic submission is arranged, please have your story saved in Rich Text Format -- again, see Luddite admission above.
If your story is accepted, Miskatonic River Press will buy the First North American Serial Rights to your story. Payment will be in the form of royalties based on the book’s cover price, number of copies sold, and the number of contributors. We are open to submissions beginning immediately (September 2009), with a final deadline for stories being May 31, 2010. Publication is tentatively planned for August 2010 -- the 120th anniversary of Lovecraft’s birth. If you have any questions, please contact me or Tom Lynch via the Miskatonic River Press website.
Kevin Ross
Fiction Editor, Miskatonic River Press
www.miskatonicriverpress.com
Editorial address
Dead But Dreaming 2
1210 Greene St #4
Boone, Iowa 50036
USA
____________________________________________________
I'll definitely be working on something for this one