Open Anthology Calls

We will accept short story submissions for this anthology call between August 1, 2024, and August 31, 2024. 

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Theme Description:

Wow us with your funniest alien stories. Seriously, we want our cheeks to hurt from giggling. Examples of comical circumstances include first contact stories, abductions, interactions or curiosities, love, bumbling or blundering aliens, secret missions, capers, attacks (whether successful or foiled), and any other inter-alien or inter-species situations. Yep, humans can be in your story, too. Having touches of dark humour is okay, but we don’t want to see full on horror comedies. We also don't want to see any sexual assault (although brief, non-explicit mentions are fine only if necessary to further the story), nor any animal/child abuse depicted within the story (again, a brief mention of a past incident is okay only if it serves the story). Please do not send us any body “probing” stories. However, it's acceptable for the act of probing to be mentioned in passing for comedic effect. No erotica. Some violence is fine as long as it is befitting a comedic tale and not excessively graphic. 

 

Stories can be set on Earth, other planets, a ship, or elsewhere in space. Be as creative as you like. We’re looking for all things lighthearted, rollicking, action-filled, sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek, quirky, cute, unique, twisty, romantic, oddball, unexpected, and just plain fun. 

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Guidelines:

Decisions will be made within six months of the call’s closing date. Original stories are preferred. However, we will consider reprints if they haven’t been published within two years and aren’t currently under contract. No multiple submissions. Simultaneous submissions are okay, but please notify us immediately if your work gets accepted elsewhere for publication.

 

Tales created using artificial intelligence (AI) are not permitted. 

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Ensure that you’ve thoroughly edited your story prior to submitting, and format your story using the standard William Shunn format (12pt, TNR font, double spaced). If you’re not familiar with this style, review it here. 

 

Send your submissions as a Doc/Docx file to submissions.ptp@gmail.com. 

 

Please ensure your file name is as follows: Title_Author name.

Please write in the email subject line: PTP Aliens_Story title_Author Name.

Include a brief author bio in your cover letter, with one website or social media link. If your story is chosen, this will appear in the published book.

 

Payment:

We are a teeny indie press working our way up the ladder, so in truth, we can’t afford to pay much yet. But we are dedicated to paying something.

Stories 2500-4500 pay $10 CAD + free ebook.

Stories 4501-6500 pay $15 CAD + free ebook.

Reprints will be paid at half rate.

 

Discounted paperback copies (50% off + shipping) will be available for all contributing authors to order. We look forward to reading your stories.