Upcoming Deadlines: Slice Magazine & Dreaming of Djinn

One of the tools I've used sometimes to help myself get started on writing is writing towards prompts or themes for upcoming publications, either anthologies or themed issues of periodicals. Below you will find information about two such calls for submissions.

Slice Magazine is currently reading stories and poems on the theme of "Obsession." This issue's submission call runs from August 31st, 2012 and Kazka will be paying a flat rate of $100 for stories of up to 5,000 words and $50 for poems.

The second submission call for this week is for the Dreaming of Djinn anthology. It's described by the publishers as follows:

[This anthology] will look at romantic Orientalism through a speculative fiction lens. You might find lost cities, magical lamps, mummies, thieves, intrepid explorers, slaves, robotic horsemen, noble queens, sorcerers, outcast princes, harems, dancers, djinn, assassins and even smart-talking camels and cats, set in exotic Persia, Egypt, Arabia, the Ottoman Empire, or a modern incarnation of these.

This submission call runs through October 15th, 2012. They pay 2 cents (Australian) per word plus two copies of the anthology for stories of 2,000-7,500 words.

Edited to add: I've had a conversation about the appropriateness of some of the language in the "Dreaming of Djinn" call. I had a brief concern, myself, last night and I suspect I should have heeded that and selected a different anthology to include in this post. I'm going to leave it here, with this comment, rather than erase my own decision. My hope is that the editors are looking for respectful/respectable stories with the themes of lost cities, etc. but it's fair to question that given some of the language they chose to use. A quick search led me to a blog post which explains the concerns well. Given that the blog post is from four months ago, it seems that either Ticonderoga is unaware of the concerns or chose not to react to them. Ultimately, what I want to say, is that I apologize to anyone who is offended by this anthology's inclusion in this week's "Upcoming Deadlines" post and I will give greater consideration to these issues when selecting publications for future posts. Thank you. -MH

As always, please make sure to read the linked guidelines pages closely to ensure that you understand details of the submission guidelines, terms, payment information, etc.

Stop back next Thursday for more Upcoming Deadlines!