* * * Submissions to this anthology are now closed * * *

You can read Winter Wishes here

Winter Wishes will be the third seasonal anthology by Dreaming Spirit Press.

Deadline for submissions: ~~17 November 2017~~ 27 November 2017

Proposed release date: Beginning of December 2017

Please don’t forget to follow this blog if you are thinking of submitting to this anthology as once the submissions window has closed, a newsletter outlining what’s going on with the anthology will be posted on the blog. (To see an example of one of these anthology newsletters, check out: Summer Spells anthology newsletter)

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Let’s Talk Theme

What do the words “Winter Wishes” mean to you? That is what we want to know for this anthology. We are looking for stories and poems that reflect our anthology’s title, ones that utilise both concepts of ‘winter’ and ‘wishes’, but how you interpret them is up to you.

Please remember, this is a seasonal anthology, so even if you chose to omit the theme of ‘wishes’ from your submission, it must still be influenced by winter in some way (such as having a winter setting) for it to be considered.

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What are we looking for?

up to 5 pieces of microfiction (each up to 100 words in length), or
up to 3 pieces of flash fiction (each up to 500 words in length), or
up to 3 poems (each up to 30 lines in length) or
a mixture of up to 3 pieces of microfiction, flash fiction and poetry, or
1 short story (up to 2500 words in length)

Although we accept multiple submissions as outlined above, each piece will be subject to individual consideration. Having one piece accepted does not guarantee all pieces submitted will be accepted.

For this anthology we will consider all and any genres apart from fanfiction, erotica and work aimed at children, as long as it is original. YA is fine. References to sex and horror are also fine as long as they are not explicit. If in doubt, feel free to ask.

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Where will you be able to find the anthology when it is published?

On Wattpad. Please ensure that you are signed up to Wattpad before submitting to us, even if you are not active on the site. Accounts are free to set up and it only takes a matter of minutes. The reason we ask for this is so that we can link your work with your account, as well as having the work attributed to you within the anthology.

Why Wattpad? Because there is already a strong, supportive readership in place, and work that is posted there is protected. Also anthologies and collaborations are quite popular on the site too.

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Winter Wishes Submission Guidelines

Please send all submissions to: deardreamingspirit@gmail.com In the subject line please include ‘WINTER WISHES SUBMISSION – (your surname), e.g. ‘WINTER WISHES SUBMISSION – Smith’. Multiple submissions should be sent in the one email.
All submissions to be included in the body of an email. No attachments please. Emails with attachments will be deleted unread.
Dreaming Spirit Press is a non-paying market. However, contributors whose work is selected for inclusion in the anthology will each receive a PDF copy of the anthology their work is in. Note, this e-copy of the anthology will not be available elsewhere. It is a gift for the authors only, so that they might have a copy of their work, one that, should they wish it, they can print off (for their personal use only). The only exception will be for the use of reviewers as part of promotion for the anthology.
If you are writing under a pseudonym please make that clear in your email. Incorrect attribution is not the fault of the editor.
All submissions should be accompanied by a short author bio (max 50 words) that includes up to two links (website / blog / Facebook / Twitter etc). Bio’s will be posted on our “Meet the Writers” page close to the release of the anthology. Your Wattpad profile link should also accompany your submission.
Reprints accepted as long as you hold the right to the work(s). Just let us know where it was previously published so we can attribute credit accordingly. What do we mean by the term ‘reprint’? Anything that has been previously published, including on personal websites, blogs and social media.
Copyright always remains with the author. However, by submitting you are giving Dreaming Spirit Press permission to include your work in the anthology Winter Wishes, in the PDF contributors copy and to allow quotes to be used in promotion of the anthology.
Please remember to proofread and edit your work for grammatical errors and typos prior to submitting. We will only lightly edit the work that is included in the anthologies. The reason for this is time (remember, labour of love). Also it can be hard for an editor to know when there is a legitimate error in a story or a poem, or if a strange spelling is intentional, especially when it comes to sci-fi or fantasy, so please, please, please, check your spelling.
Submitting does not guarantee your work will be accepted into the anthology.
Please do not query until the deadline has passed.
Our formatting requirements are simple:
- easy to read font (illegible submissions will be deleted unread)
- one line between paragraphs – no indents please
- place that which you would like to see in bold or italic, in bold or italic
- For poems: artistic layouts will not work with our current method of publishing. All that we can offer at this time is right, left and centre alignment of text, so please do not submit something that requires what we cannot provide. Ideally, simple layouts are preferred as they allow the words themselves to shine.