Kawartha Lakes is home to a lot of talented writers. Previous paid writing opportunities in this area have existed for writers of non-fiction, historical and literary fiction, but not for genre fiction. This anthology aims showcase writing talent across other genres and pay writers for their work. Often, genre literature is able to tell stories and present issues that might not otherwise be told. It is hoped that fictional stories from genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, action-adventure, romance, and mystery will help form and inform the culture of Kawartha Lakes. Using Kawartha Lakes as a setting will also give opportunity to engage a wider audience with this beautiful city.

Stories must be written by Kawartha Lakes writers. Story setting must be within Kawartha Lakes. Stories should be works of fiction of about 5000 words. Shorter works will be accepted. Longer works will be considered (up to a maximum of 7000 words, but query before sending.)

If your story is chosen, I will need non-exclusive rights to it, and I will pay you $25 CAD on acceptance. I will also send you a copy of the print version of the book when it is published. (Selected stories will be edited, and writers will be expected to adhere to all deadlines.)

When submitting, indicate if the work is original and unpublished. Reprints are welcome, but query first and tell me where and when the story was published.

Excerpts from longer works will not be considered at this time. I want stories with beginnings, middles and endings, and characters I want to spend time with.

All genres accepted. Fiction preferred. Non-fiction will be considered, if it meets these guidelines.

Submissions will open January 1, 2016 and close March 15, 2016 with expected publishing date of July 1, 2016.

Your submission package will include a brief cover letter followed by your story submission in the body of the email. Your cover letter should be short and include relevant experience and publishing credits, if you have them. (See here for examples of cover letters.) Include your address in your email signature.

Send submissions to: kawarthaauthors@gmail.com

Here are some examples of what I’m looking for, but the possibilities are endless:

• a ghost story set in the Academy Theatre or the old Lindsay jail
• a fairy encounter along the Omemee Hogsback/Esker
• a werewolf story set in the woods near Bobcaygeon
• an alien attack in Kirkfield
• a romance set on a boat traveling the Trent canal
• a feud between cottagers where the cottagers are witches
• a murder mystery set at a local bed & breakfast
• a horror set at a summer camp near Burnt River

I want characters with agency and stories with conflict.

Please send any questions to kawarthaauthors@gmail.com

QUESTIONS

“Are these stories for children or for adults?”
At this time, I am not looking for children’s stories. If these stories were movies, then I’m looking for 14A. (Teen writers are invited to submit!) Perhaps in the future I’ll do an anthology of children’s stories.

“What does “non-exclusive rights” mean?”
Non-exclusive rights means you retain all rights to your work. Sometimes when a short story is purchased by a magazine, for example, they retain the rights, which means you cannot publish that story anywhere else. If you decide in the future you want to put together a collection of your short stories or submit your story to another anthology, I believe you should be able to do that so I’m asking for non-exclusive rights.

“Will I get paid royalties?”
At this time, there will not be royalties. Payment is a one-time only $25. All proceeds from the anthology will go towards funding future anthologies and paying writers professional rates. (Basically, I got tired of seeing writers in this area give their work away for free (or worse, paying to enter contests), so I’m funding this out of my own pocket because I believe writers should get paid and I also believe that where opportunities don’t exist, you create them.) I have plans for three more anthologies, and I expect to be able to pay more for each story as we go along.