Category: Call For Submissions

Upcoming Reading Period

Hello! I just wanted to provide a short notice about the Call for Submissions for “It Takes A Village.”

We are still accepting submissions for this anthology! The final due date for submissions is currently June 1st. This does not count for re-writes or edits if I’ve requested them, as I will share the required due date for those separately.

We are starting to get quite a few submissions in, so I definitely recommend you submit yours ASAP! My reading period will start on May 10th. You can continue to submit after this date, but I will be prioritizing submissions from before that day and will be reading through until I’m caught up.

Thank you for submitting!

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Call for Submissions: It Takes a Village

OCTOBER 2025 UPDATES:

The pre-launch page for the Kickstarter is up! If you’d like to follow the project, check it out here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/redeyesandtiredlungs/we-make-the-village-an-anthology-of-community?ref=130nsr&token=98e52a52

I am still looking for a couple more (in priority order): personal essays/non-fiction pieces, or flash fiction pieces. Preference for all under 1000 words, some room still for longer pieces (but not many). Please remember, this call is for Canadian writers/authors only.

Special interest in a flash fiction piece inspired by the cover (check out the Kickstarter to see what it looks like!) to include as a bonus story.

What I am looking for:

  • This anthology’s theme is “It Takes a Village” – I’m looking for stories about community: finding it, building it, maintaining it, being expelled from it. How do we build our villages as adults? How do we grow connections with those around us? What do we do when we’ve lost them? We’ve heard the phrase “It takes a village to raise a child” but also “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” How do we tackle these emotions as adults?
    • As this is a bit trickier of an anthology theme than the last one, the reading period is going to be much longer, and the final evolution of the anthology’s theme will come from what the overarching theme and tone from the submitted and accepted pieces create.
  • Poems, flash fiction, short stories, science fiction, fantasy, romance, literary, contemporary, and more. We want a wide variety of fictional stories!
  • Works from Canadian writers/authors only, with some preference for writers from British Columbia.
  • Special consideration/interest for writers who are Former Foster Youth or Adopted
  • Flash Fiction up to 1000 words
  • Short Stories up to 10000 words – very limited spots for over 5000-word stories
  • Poetry sets of up to 5 pages
  • Polished works – please don’t send your first draft. Make sure to put your story through revisions before sending it. Using a beta reader is also a good idea. Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors.
  • If you would like to pick up a copy of our previous anthology to read what we’ve published in the past, check out “Red Eyes and Tired Lungs: An Anthology of Wildfire” (please note, if before April 30, 2024, it’s still on pre-order!)  

What I am NOT looking for:

  • Works written by AI.
    • There is always some pushback on this as many people ask “where is the line?” and the line is that has to be written by a human. What does that mean? If you, a human, write the words and then as you edit your work use something like Grammarly or ProWritingAid to help clean up your writing similar to line edits/grammar edits, that is okay. If you type into an AI like ChatGPT and say, “Write me a story about X”, that is not what we are looking for and will be rejected.
  • Unpolished works
  • Anything consisting of hate speech, bigotry, or otherwise similar offensive content.

Other notes:

  • Multiple submissions are allowed, but will be limited to only two per category.  EX if you have submitted two short stories, you can also submit poetry, but not another short story.
  • Simultaneous submissions are allowed (as in you can submit to other publications at the same time) but if you are accepted elsewhere, please notify us immediately.
  • Please no reprints.

Deadline:

  •  The deadline has been extended! Please read update at the top. Call will officially close once last submissions spots have been filled.

Pay:

  • As this is a passion project and I do not have the funds to pay standard rates for writing, I am currently offering the following payment option:

Receive a flat rate fee:

$5 for poetry sets (up to 5 pages)
$10 for flash fiction (up to 1000 words)
$25 for fiction stories up to 5000 words
+$2/1000 words for over 5000 for fictions stories up to 10,000 words
– Very limited spots available for this tier
– For example, a 10,000 word story would receive $35

The flat rate may increase if additional funding is acquired prior to payout dates.

How to submit:

  • Please email your submission to winterjewelpublishing@gmail.com
  • Send your story in the standard manuscript format. If you don’t know what that is, click here: https://www.shunn.net/format/story/
  • Your email should be titled as follows: “ITAV 2024: STORY NAME : AUTHOR NAME”. If you include multiple submissions, please pick one as the main name for the email.
  • Your email should include:
    • What type of work(s) you are submitting
    • Word count(s)
    • Inspiration/information you would like to provide about your story
    • A short (~50 words) Author Bio
    • The submission document(s) attached as a Word file.
    • Pen name/Legal name information if different

Please allow two months for a response, or up to four weeks after the final deadline. If you have not received a response by that time, feel free to send a follow up email from your original email chain.

8

Call for Submissions: Red Eyes and Tired Lungs

NOW CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS

(If you really really really think you have something that fits and it isn’t January 20th yet, email a.j.goodwin.writes@gmail.com )

That’s right, I’m wanting to create an anthology that is inspired by (or perhaps a response to) the wildfires that are currently raging in British Columbia. Please read below for more information. Make sure to read fully to determine if this is the right call for you.

What I am looking for:

  • The theme is “Red eyes and tired lungs” so this needs to make some sort of appearance in your work. You don’t have to use those words exactly. We also want stories for, about, or by those affected by the wildfires.
  • Poems, flash fiction, short stories, science fiction, fantasy, romance, literary, contemporary, non-fiction, and more. We want a wide variety of stories!
  • Works from British Columbia writers preferred, but other Canadian writers will be considered. Preferably works also written about British Columbia, Canada, or inspired by somewhere in the province.
  • Flash Fiction up to 1000 words
  • Short Stories up to 5000 words
  • Poetry sets of up to 5 pages
  • Non-fiction up to 5000 words
  • Polished works – please don’t send your first draft. Make sure to put your story through revisions before sending it. Using a beta reader is also a good idea. Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors.                

What I am not looking for:

  • Works written by AI.
    • There is always some pushback on this as many people ask “where is the line?” and the line is that has to be written by a human. What does that mean? If you, a human, write the words and then as you edit your work use something like Grammarly or ProWritingAid to help clean up your writing similar to line edits/grammar edits, that is okay. If you type into an AI like ChatGPT and say “Write me a story about X”, that is not what we are looking for and will be rejected.
  • Unpolished works
  • Anything consisting of hate speech, bigotry, or otherwise similar offensive content.

Other notes:

  • Multiple submissions are allowed, but only one per category.  For example: if you have submitted a short story, you can also submit poetry, but not another short story.
  • Simultaneous submissions are allowed (as in you can submit to other publications at the same time) but if you are accepted elsewhere, please notify us immediately.
  • Please no reprints.

Deadline:

 Currently we are looking at a submission deadline of October 31st. If we meet our submission cap, we may close the submissions early. Please check this page for active status. Once the submission window is closed, please do not submit any new stories.

How to submit:

  • Please email your submission to a.j.goodwin.writes@gmail.com
  • Send your story in the standard manuscript format. If you don’t know what that is, click here: https://www.shunn.net/format/story/
  • Your email should be titled as follows: “SUBMISSION 2023 : STORY NAME : AUTHOR NAME”. If you include multiple submissions, please pick one as the main name for the email.
  • Your email should include:
    • What type of work(s) you are submitting
    • Word count(s)
    • Inspiration/information you would like to provide about your story
    • A short (~50 words) Author Bio
    • The submission document(s) attached as a Word file.
    • Pen name/Legal name information if different
  • Please allow six weeks for a response. If you have not received a response by that time, feel free to send a follow-up email.

Pay Rates:

As this is a passion project and I do not have the funds to pay standard rates for writing, we are offering two payment solutions. You can receive a nominal contribution fee, or participate in payment splitting.

  • Receive a flat rate fee:
    • $5 for poetry sets (up to 5 pages)
    • $10 for flash fiction (up to 1000 words) *updated Jul 13
    • $20 for fiction and non-fiction stories (up to 5000 words) *updated Aug 3
    • The flat rate may increase if additional funding is acquired prior to payout dates.
    • Payments will be distributed by e-transfer or paypal.
  • Participate in the payment splitting (based on profits paid by Draft2Digital):
    • 2% for poetry (up to 3 poems)
    • 2% for flash fiction (up to 1000 words)
    • 4% for fiction and non-fiction stories (up to 5000 words)
  • If you are selecting the second option, here is some things to consider:
    • The payments will be processed and distributed through Draft2Digital
    • You will have to make an account through Draft2Digital
    • Draft2Digital only distributes payments of at least $10. If we have not sold enough books that your part of the payment would be under $10, Draft2Digital will not distribute the funds.
    • Draft2Digital is an American company, and so more information to collect the payments will be required. For example, non-US writers who live in a country that have a tax agreement with the US will be required to complete a W-8 BEN form.
    • The percentage is not based on the book sale price. It is calculated after all fees have been deducted by Draft2Digital and other distributors as required.

Thank you for your interest in this submission!

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