Anomalous Appetites - dark/horror poetry anthology
Current mood: busy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Call for submissions

It gives me great pleasure to announce that as of August 5th 2008, Anomalous Appetites will be open for submissions. Please read the submission guidelines carefully before submitting any work.

Mission statement:

It is our intention to publish in this anthology the very best of poetry in the speculative genres, illustrated by the very best artists. These genres include horror, sci fi and fantasy. It is our intention to make this an annual vent.

We believe passionately that there is a niche for those poets who choose to write in the above genres with more subtlety and even, (dare I say?) whimsy. I want to—no, intend to-- publish an anthology annually that I'm inordinately proud of, filled with what might be called 'a thinking person's poetry and art,' a volume that reflects levels of understanding and poetic entertainment as yet unseen.

We intend to 'chapterize' poets in this A4 sized format… that is to say, each poet will be allocated his or her own chapter, complete with short bio and a b/w photo. Or, preferably, a pen and ink sketch portrait of themselves.

A forum has been set up for interested parties to update themselves with the latest information regarding publication dates, news bulletins et al. There will be a place for general discussion/questions. You may find it at:

http://anomalousappetite.proboards105.com/index.cgi

You will need to join up to access the forum… it's the only way to keep out the %$*^@& spammers.

Submission guidelines:
from John Irvine

Now, what sort of poetry will trigger my editorial drool-release mechanism? Not traditional hack and slash. Forget Hollywood horror. I will accept gothic material, but it will need to have a fresh and devious slant. I'll be all jiggly about poems with a whimsical and/or dry humorous attitude to mayhem, although they must still fit their chosen genres. I will certainly accept serious subjects as long as they're 'different,' but PLEASE: no dragons and wizards unless you can guarantee to make me wet my pants.

I'm most keen to read poetry that is NOT a rehash of tired old styles. Rhyme is fine, traditional styles ( sonnets, cinquains, villanelles, clogynarchs ) are fine, concrete is dandy and haiku/senryu/haibun are especially welcomed.

There is no theme.

As our intention is to present each poet in his/her own chapter format, submitters are required to provide a minimum of five poems, up to a maximum of ten. Bear in mind the following:

a) that your poem will need to fit into a 2-column A4 sized page. This way your poem will be readable without a page change, and will complement the artist's work (on the opposite page) for your successful submission. Not every poem will be illustrated.
b) that it must be sent to me as a Word ( .doc or .rtf ) attachment in 12 point Times New Roman or Helvetica font. This will ensure that any unusual poem formatting will be in place. I would prefer each poem to be in its own document&183;

Any submissions not complying with these minimum requirements will be deep-sixed without reading. Please allow up to twelve weeks for acceptance (or otherwise,) although I will confirm receipt of your submission immediately.

Payment:
Sigh… oh, that I could afford more. However, I will be paying something to make your involvement less of a gift. It will be as follows:

a) Poets: $10.00US per successful submission regardless of poem numbers, payable only to a PayPal account.
b) Artists: $10.00US per two illustrations regardless of number, payable only to a PayPal account.

I know it's not much, but I'm funding this myself. All payments will be made upon acceptance.

All submissions must be in my inbox by midnight at your place, December 7th 2008. Please direct them to me:

John Irvine    icarusweeping@gmail.com

***

Note to all artists:
We want artists who are interested in joining up with this exciting new concept… if that's you, then please contact me at the above email address asap. We have a few talented people on board now, but need a lot more.

Thanking you all in anticipation,

John Irvine, editor
Dave Freeman, art designer

***

 Enjoy! I hope all of you horror/dark poets are as excited about this project as I am!

~Sharon

12:41 PM - 3 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Inkspot Newsletter
Current mood: busy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Inkspot Newsletter by Sharon M. White            August 2008 issue

Hey folks,

This is my first newsletter since starting my new author site, Inkspot, at www.sharonwhite.emabarqspace.com. This newsletter will be mailed out to everyone in the newsletter (yahoo) group, to print subscribers, and posted in its entirety to the Inkspot site under the Newsletters navigation button.

What's New?

My new author site is up and running. A few people have visited the site. I have free fiction and poetry, links to my other blogs and sites, pictures of my book covers (which I need to update), a running list of submissions and stats, a page where you can contact me directly and links to other sites of interest for you if you are interested in dark fiction, poetry or are just an avid reader.

My novel, Dark Halo, is finished. It has received one rejection from DAW (not a big surprise) and is currently out to another publisher (Shroud Publishing). I should have an answer within the next couple of months on that.

Three of my five ghost stories were recently rejected by the Northern Haunts anthology by Shroud Publishing, but the other two stories are still in the running. Wish me luck! I've got my fingers crossed.

My short story, The Robe, was rejected by the Graveside Tales anthology, Harvest Hill and later by Necrotic Tissue. The editors from both publications gave me some really wonderful comments/compliments and advice for the story and I have already re-written it and am looking for a fitting market.

I am still awaiting an answer for my submission, To Feed the Little Children, which went out to Corpulent Insanity Press's The Black Garden anthology and was shortlisted for further consideration. I should have a definitive answer sometime this month.

What Am I Working On Now?

I've started a new novel-length work that takes the idea of benign shadow people and turns it on its head a bit. I'm enjoying the work and the words are flowing nicely. Right now it is in first person but I might change that format at a later date (depends on what my first readers think). I don't have a working title yet.

Another project I've been wanting to start on for quite some time now is a book of "real" horror. All that means is the book will be about things that could actually happen, not so much the supernatural horrors that I'm so fond of writing about. The second story I sold after beginning my writing career, Pretty Things, is far scarier (to me) because it could actually happen--anywhere, to any person. Since then I have wanted to do a novel-length work of this nature and I will start on it sometime in September, if all continues to go well enough with the other projects I'm working on.

Also, there is a wonderful new anthology out for all you horror/dark poets! Anomalous Appetites will be an annual antho in which the poets are chapterized (have a chapter to themselves) and some of each poet's work will be complemented by artwork (I think black and white). I will list the entire document containing the call for submissions on my various sites and it will also be on Duotrope's and Ralan's Webstravaganza sites. Each poet needs to submit no fewer than five poems and no more than ten. They are also looking for interested artists. It is also a paying market! I am working on my submissions and looking forward to this new project aimed at us poets of a darker bent.


What Are Other Authors Up To?

John Everson (www.johneverson.com) signed a mass market paperback deal with Leisure Books for his novel, Covenant. It should be hitting the shelves any day now, so keep your eyes open for it. Visit his site and join the mailing list for all the updates and breaking news as he does his book signing tour.

Louise Bohmer (www.louisebohmer.com) will be on Darker Side of the Moon Radio Talk Show again tonight. I think this is her third time on the show--I love that show! She will be talking about her novel, The Black Act and her upcoming novella, Gypsy Wagon.

The Courting Morpheus anthology (Apex Book Company), edited by the multi-talented Jodi Lee, is up for pre-order at the Apex Book Company site (www.apexbookcompany.com). The TOC  lineup is excellent.


I'm sure there was more I was going to include but that's about enough for now, I suppose. Don't forget, visit www.sharonwhite.embarqspace.com for updates on the writing biz, free reads and possibly some book giveaways in October 2008!

Enjoy what's left of your summer, pat the kiddies on the back as they trundle off to school once again, enjoy life as best you can and pursue your dreams.

Until October…

Yours,
Sharon M. White

P.S. I've not included any of the links in this post because I could not get them to work properly today for some reason...always worked before, today is just One Of Those Days...

11:25 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Rejections
Category: Writing and Poetry

The Shroud Anthology just sent me three rejections out of the five stories I submitted. The three rejected so far:
Self Employed
Headhunter
Closet Monster
I'll have to pick myself up, dust me (and my stories) off and march forward again.

Yours,
Sharon

12:38 PM - 4 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment