It’s the second week of June, so that means taking a closer look at some of the charity anthologies and contests out there!
Charity Anthologies
Charity anthologies are just that: dedicated to supporting a cause. Generally they don’t pay - at least, not in fat stacks of cash monies. You might get a token payment or a copy of the book. What you certainly will get is the good feeling of knowing your story is helping raise money for a cause you believe in.
Let’s start by highlighting a call for the third volume of the “Haunted Libraries” series. Because, well. Haunted libraries! How cool is that? Plus, they anthology itself supports a library (which may or may not be haunted - they are suspiciously quiet about that particular question…)
Haunted Library Book 3 (August 30th)
While this call has gone out on the Raconteur Press page, it’s technically not one of their projects; the “Haunted Library” series predates that house by several years. However, as you might guess, a lot of your favorite Raconteur folks are involved. If you can contribute a suitable story by August 30th, they’d be most grateful.
The premise is the story is about the Texas Oil Patch between 1890-1930. Of note--It doesn’t limit your type of story! It could be a romance, cops vs. bad guys, oil tycoons, etc, just has to be ‘based’ on the Oil Patch and between 1890 and 1930.
Every year the North Texas gang of authors do an anthology to support the local Tiny Town Library. We've done the Haunted Library Series twice, and now we have a new topic. This is DONATION ONLY—the sales go to support the Chidren's Program. You will not be paid. We've raised over $1000 for them so far, and the books keep selling. This is a way to give back to the places that stock our books and build the next generation of readers.
On top of the Haunted Library call, there are several other charity anthologies that are coming down the pike:
Steel True, Blade Straight (Belanger Books, June 30th)
This anthology will have stories, poems, and scholarship inspired by and about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes
All proceeds from the Anthology will be donated to The Beacon Society, a 501c(3) nonprofit scion society of The Baker Street Irregulars (BSI), that serves as a link to other scion societies, providing teachers, librarians, children museums, and children theaters with local resources to bring the magic of Sherlock Holmes to life.
Meowgical Tales (Pen & Paw, June 30th)
Looking for: cat related stories and poems involving witches, warlocks or other magical practitioners and their cat or cat-like familiar/pets/companions/associates
Here at Pen and Paw, our mission is simple. We wish to make a difference in the world with our words. Joining our love of writing and animals, and working with generous authors, editors, beta readers, proofreaders and more, we are able to create and release fully non-profit anthologies that support rescues across the world. Currently we are supporting Salem’s Community Cats in Salem, NY, U.S.A. and Belle Vie Animal Rescue, of Toowoomba, Qld, Australia.
The Solar Press Horror Anthology, Vol I (Solar Press Books, August 31st)
We are looking for high-concept, original stories, and value creativity above all else. We welcome experimental work and work that combines or cuts across genres.
Contributors included in this year's anthology will receive $50, three physical copies of the anthology, and a lifetime subscription to all future Solar Press Horror Anthologies. All profits from this year's anthology will be donated to charity (Bath Cats and Dogs Home in the UK).
Tales of the Strange (The Writer's Workout, 17 September)
This anthology asks you to explore the beautifully weird, the slightly off, and the unusual. Break free from the norm to investigate the strange!
Proceeds from the sale of Tales of the Strange benefit The Writer's Workout, providing prizes and the means to produce competitions, workshops, and other group activities. Your submission to this anthology is a donation to help writers of all genres around the world. The Writer's Workout appreciates your time, generosity, and talent.
Contests
OK - confession time. While the #TeamAndMore open calls page has a couple of contests listed, there are a whole lot more out there! We focus on anthology open calls, but contests often aren’t (directly) linked to any particular book. So I’m going to point out a few contests, then link you to some places you can find more that might wet your whistle.
Flash Fiction Contest (The Fairy Tale Magazine, June 30th)
$5.00 per entry (and unlimited entries per author). Up to 1000 words. Any subject as long as it is within the fairy tale or folktale genres.
The Drabble Harvest Contest (Hiraeth Books, June 30th)
A "drabble" is defined as a short story containing exactly precisely no more and no fewer than 100 words. It has a title, which can be from 1 to 15 words-- but no more than 15.
The theme of this contest is: Space Station Duty-Free. This should be self-explanatory. What would people/aliens try to smuggle in? Or out?
OFIC Press Prize (OFIC Magazine, June 30th)
You must include some information about your relationship to fandom in your cover letter. This is a magazine for publishing the original work of fans. If you don't identify as a fan, we can't accept your work.
We're looking for manuscripts that don't really fit in a traditional publishing category, maybe because they're too romance-y for general or literary fiction, and not romance-y enough for romance. Or maybe there's just a truly tasteless amount of smut. What we value most is an earnest portrayal of character, interesting relationship dynamics, and well-crafted prose that prioritizes clarity and voice.
The SciFidea Award : Dyson Sphere (SciFidea, August 31st)
It needs to conform to the concepts and characteristics of Dyson Sphere scientific theory, including the uses, size, structure of a Dyson sphere and other related basic settings, and reflect and expand them in the story. On this basis, we welcome the canons and content of various streams of technology that can be considered as topics which could be related to "Dyson Sphere."
Oaths of Valor (Chris Kennedy, November 2nd)
2024 FantaSci Short Story Contest open call for submissions.
The theme is Oaths of Valor, and you story must include deeds of valor centered around paladins and chivalry, and the oaths that bind them.
This does not mean each hero must wear armor, only that they fit the larger class of paladins and chivalry. For example, I contend Malcolm Reynolds is a paladin seeking to regain his faith. Yoda was a paladin. Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, and Spenser are all knights errant.
That’s not enough? You want more? Here you go, then - a list of resources you can check out, bookmark, subscribe to, or otherwise monitor for current and upcoming contest info!
Authors Publish has a post listing 32 Themed Submissions Calls for June 2023, including a cool dozen contests you can submit to.
Cathy’s Comps and Calls for June 2023 lists slightly less than a dozen contests, plus a whole host of other non-anthology opportunities.
Angela T. Carr’s site, A Dreaming Skin, focuses on poetry - but lists over two dozen upcoming contests that are open to fiction as well.
If you go to the Writing Contests site, you’ll find that the contents are exactly as advertised on the label. You can narrow down the posts about contests via a long list of categories, and past entries may help you identify when to keep your eyes open for recurring contests that might come around this year.
New Pages has their Big List of Writing Contests, which is - indeed - a big list. Like, there’s six dozen contest entries listed for June, with over 750 contests total. Most of them have an entry fee, though. Just sayin’.
There you go. Find a charity or a contest that trips your trigger and get writing!