Jonathan Green // Call for Submissions
In May 2015 Snowbooks published SHARKPUNK, an anthology of twenty killer shark stories edited by Jonathan Green, inside a fantastic cover by comic book artist Simon Coleby. Such has been the interest in the book that we are already planning a second volume, to be published in 2017.The inspiration behind SHARKPUNK is such classic shark movies as Jaws, Deep Blue Sea and The Reef (as well as such ludicrous delights as Sharknado, Sharktopus and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus). The stories contained within SHARKPUNK are a mixture of rip-roaring page-turners, slow-build chillers, and darkly humorous comedies, which celebrate all things savage, pulp and selachian. For SHARKPUNK 2 we want more of the same.
The stories in SHARKPUNK 2 can – and indeed should – cover the whole range of speculative fiction genres, from horror and steampunk, through to science fiction and action-adventure; the only stipulation is that they must all feature sharks in some way. Alternate historical settings for stories are welcomed (there haven’t been any involving the Golden Age of Piracy yet, or medieval crusading knights braving the perils of the Mediterranean). I am also very happy that the stories feature recurring characters of your own creation, as long as including them in the anthology won’t infringe upon anyone’s copyright. (In other words, you need to own the rights to the character yourself, or have permission from the copyright owner to have them appear in SHARKPUNK 2 at no charge.)
Stories need to be between 3,500 and 7,000 words in length (although there will be some flexibility with this, depending on the individual stories) and the deadline for first drafts is 1st July 2016. SHARKPUNK (Volume 1) features stories involving space sharks, ghost sharks, Franken-sharks, psychological sharks, and “sharks with frikkin’ laser-beams attached to their heads” (just about). However, we’ve yet to read any stories about zombie sharks, Hawaiian were-sharks, alien sharks, or tales featuring vampires and sharks, for example, so please bear this in mind when you are working up your idea. I don’t mind if some themes are revisited, but obviously I don’t want an anthology of nothing but steam-powered sharks made out of brass and walnut panelling – heaven forbid!
The plan is to publish SHARKPUNK 2 in 2017 and I am going to be running a Kickstarter (either towards the end of 2016 or early 2017) to raise funds to produce the book and, just as importantly, to pay the contributors. If your story is selected for publication, subject to a successful Kickstarter, you will be paid £50 and will receive a physical copy of the book. However, you will also receive royalties from copies of the book sold outside of the initial Kickstarter, which will be paid on top of your fee. Not instead of, not offset against royalties, but as well as! One of the Kickstarter rewards will be a signed copy of the book and you need to be prepared to sign however many copies are required to fulfil this reward level.
In terms of rights, Snowbooks ask for exclusive World English language rights for six months from the date of publication, dropping to non-exclusive World English language rights thereafter, with an option for foreign language translation within the anthology should offers be made for overseas editions. They also require rights to special editions, omnibus editions or other anthology editions, where appropriate.
If you are interested in being a part of SHARKPUNK 2, then please read the submission guidelines below very carefully, as any submissions not adhering to them will be automatically rejected.
SHARKPUNK 2 submission guidelines
1. Fonts – choose something easy on the eye for proofing, something like Palatino, Calibri or Times New Roman.
2. Dialogue – “double quote marks” around speech, ‘rather than single’, which can be used for quoting within speech.
3. Formatting – indent new paragraphs, rather than leave a single line break, but use two (or more) line breaks for a change of scene/time/point of view. Please use a single space between sentences rather than two spaces. Please leave a space after an ellipsis but not before one. Submit your story double line spaced.
4. Spelling – please use English spellings throughout, and ‘s’ over ‘z’ in words like ‘realise’.
5. Proof-reading – please proof-read your story carefully before you send it, and remember that a Spellchecker is your friend (although not infallible).
6. Poetry – SHARKPUNK 2 is an anthology of short stories, not a poetry collection, so no poetry please.
7. Contact details – make sure your name and contacts details (including email) appear on the first page of your story.
8. Document name – this should include ‘SHARKPUNK 2’, the name of your story, and your name, for ease of identification.
9. Emailing your submission – send your submission to info@jonathangreenauthor.com. The subject of your email must include your name, story title, and the words ‘SHARKPUNK 2 submission’ in the subject line. For example, ‘SHARKPUNK 2 submission – The Sharks of Wrath – Jonathan Green’. Please include your real name, your writing name (if different), the title of your story and a one sentence synopsis of your submission. Send your story as a document in .doc (Word) or .rtf (Rich Text) format as an attachment to your email, and not pasted into the body of the email itself. Submissions will only be accepted via email.
10. Reading period – the reading period will be from 1st July – 1st October 2016. Formal feedback will not be given on submissions, unless they are accepted for publication, and discussions will not be entered into regarding reasons for rejection. Please do not submit your story anywhere else, until you know of our decision, and if you are not happy working to the terms outlined above, please do not submit.
I shall look forward to reading your submission in due course, but in the meantime my advice would be, stay out of the water…
