---

There are a number of short stories in anthologies and collections that deserve to get in front of more readers. We want to shine more light across our community and widen our circle to make room for more writers and readers. In specific, PseudoPod has penciled out space in a large portion of November and early December 2020 to support this effort.

Publishers, please send us your collections and anthologies, specifically those that have been or will be published in 2020, and identify any stories original to that publication.

Authors, ask your publisher to send us the book; if they’re not interested, we still want you to submit your story here — just include the collection or anthology title in the cover letter for your individual story.

Our preferred format is a MOBI, followed by EPUB then Word Doc. We will also accept PDF’s, but please understand that PDF’s provide more barriers for consideration (they are less friendly to a wide array of reading devices.)

We will be purchasing non-exclusive reprint rights. Please let us know if there is an exclusivity period for which we will need to request a waiver.

PseudoPod will be reading during the spring and summer to allow for reading the books and scheduling the stories.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Where do I submit?

Right here on our new Moksha platform: https://escapeartists.moksha.io/publication/escape-artists-special-project-teams

What kind of stories are you looking for?

The same as we always have, so long as they’re from a 2020 publication. If you’re unfamiliar with what we publish, we encourage you to start here: https://pseudopod.org/new-to-pseudopod/

Will you accept multiple submissions?

For our regular submissions, we restrict submission to one story at a time per author. However, since we’re accepting collections, for this call we do not have a restriction on multiple submissions. That includes if you have something in an anthology (or two) as well as a collection release. We’re receiving complete books and individual stories.

How much are you paying?

These stories will be purchased at our standard $100 reprint rate.

How do we handle exclusivity periods?

If there’s a story in a book that has an exclusivity period, we’ll ask the publisher very nicely if they will waive the exclusivity period. We think there’s a definite advantage, as due to the nature of this project, we will be specifically and explicitly talking about the anthology or collection the stories was published in. If no waiver is granted by the publisher, then we will consider the story for a reprint once the exclusivity period has expired.

Does it have to be an original story to the anthology or collection?

The book should be a 2020 publication. While stories originally published in 2020 will have an advantage, we’re also happy to consider an older story if we think it would be a better audio presentation and/or it better highlights the book it was in. In particular, stories that were originally published prior to 2020 that are included as part of a 2020 collection will be strongly considered.

What if my anthology or collection is coming out later this year?

Send in an Advanced Reader Copy. We have enough flexibility in our schedule that we commit to not impacting the book’s original publication credit. The intent is for a rising tide to raise all ships – we’re interested in amplifying the message, not making it about us.

What if the book is self-published?

We’ve been publishing for almost 15 years outside a Legacy Publishing structure, so please send us books that are outside one as well. Just make sure it’s from 2020, please.

What about re-releasing a previous publication in a new format (trade paperback, new digital edition, etc.)?

We debated this internally and we ultimately fell on the side of “no.” These are stories we encourage you send us during normal submission periods, and we want to focus our energies for this call on 2020 publications.

I don’t have an upcoming story in an anthology or collection in 2020. Can I submit anyway?

Sorry, no. Our 2020 publication schedule is set through Halloween. We’ll be open for general submissions in October. Send us your best then.

 

More questions will be added as we receive them. Added self-pub question 4/6. Clarified focus of call on 2020 publications 4/16. Clarified multiple submissions 4/20. Clarified new formats 4/26.