* * * Submissions to this anthology are now closed * * *
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Summer Dreams will be the second summer anthology by Dreaming Spirit Press.
Deadline for submissions: 15 May 2018 Deadline extended to: 17 June 2018
Proposed release date: June 2018
Please note that we have amended our submissions guidelines; double check them before submitting to avoid any confusion.
Please read the whole page before submitting. Thank you.
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Let’s Talk Theme
Summer Dreams is the title of our 2018 Summer Anthology and we are looking for seasonally-inspired fiction and poetry to include in it. We are especially interested in pieces that are somehow influenced by or include dreams (hence the title), but don’t worry if your submissions don’t reference dreams at all. We will still be interested in reading what you submit as long as it is inspired by the summer – that is the main factor here.
Some ideas to get you thinking: the beach, holiday romances, the summer solstice, memories of childhood holidays, dream magic, dream interpretation, using dreams to predict the future, dreams vs reality. What about life on a planet where there no longer is a summer season or perhaps a summer that is out of control? What about a yearning for winter / autumn / spring because you dislike the summer months?
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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.
What if I don’t want to join Wattpad? Can I still submit? Yes you can. We won’t hold it against your submission, but we won’t be able to link your personal profile with the piece(s) we include in the journal when it is posted on Wattpad.
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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Summer Dreams Submission Guidelines
- Please send all submissions to: deardreamingspirit@gmail.com In the subject line please include ‘SUMMER DREAMS SUBMISSION – (your surname), e.g. ‘SUMMER DREAMS 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.
- 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, if you have one.
- 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 Summer Dreams.
- 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 anthology. 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.
- We aim to respond within four weeks of receiving your submission(s). However, this is not always possible, so we ask that you 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
- left alignment of text and verses
Any questions? Feel free to get in touch by commenting below, sending us an email or using the contact form here.
If you have read the guidelines above and would still like to submit to us, what are you waiting for? We can’t wait to read your submissions!
Dreaming Spirit Press 