Open Calls
We are currently accepting submissions of short stories for two anthologies, Phone and Cat Tales.
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Length: Stories should be 1,500 to 6,000 words.
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Timeframe: Both anthologies will be published in 2025.
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Compensation: The lead-off story for each anthology will receive $100; other stories that we include will receive $50.
Submission deadline: Please check the details below.
Phone
It's almost trite to say that phones are important in our lives. For hundreds of millions of people, phones are our lives: our constant companions and constant distractions. This enormous change in the human experience is less than two decades old and ripe for exploration in fiction.
Your story must include a phone; the rest is up to you! Need some thought-starters? How about: A whole town destroys their phones to reclaim their lives, and learns that habits can be very hard to break. A woman discovers that she'll only live as long as her phone battery lasts, or gets a text from someone not of this earth, or not among the living. Scammers think they've tricked an old man into sending them all his money, but find out that two can play that game. A married couple enjoys kinky sexting for years but finds out the signals were crossed all along with their next-door neighbors, or inadvertently live-streamed to a crowd of adoring fans that's grown to tens of millions. The possibilities are endless.
Submissions must be made by 3/15/25 and be between 1,500 and 6,000 words.
Cat Tales
We love cats! Little kitty cats and big scary wildcats, and all cats in between. Tell us a cute story about your cat, or go bold and write about Bastet, the Egyptian goddess with a cat head. Tell us a scary story about a world taken over by cats, where humans exist as playthings or slaves, or a future of hybrid cat-people living alongside plain ole' humans in an uneasy cold peace (or cold war!).
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We welcome stories told from a cat's point of view, or a cat tail's POV, or a cornered mouse's point of view. You name it, we'll take a look at it, as long as it's catty.
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Submissions must be made by 4/15/25 and be between 1,500 and 6,000 words.
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Our anthologies are open to all authors, experienced and new. You may submit up to two stories per anthology.
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Submit your story by email to submissions@LakeEerieBooks.com. Put the name of the anthology you're submitting to, and your name, in the subject line. Attach your story as a file (.doc, .docx, .or .rtf formats only).
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Include the following information on the first page: ​
Title.
Number of words.
Your name or pen name, exactly as you want it to appear in print.
An email address so we can get in touch with you, and a Paypal email address (if different) so we can send payment if we publish your story.
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Off-limit topics: rape, child abuse, animal abuse, and gratuitous graphic violence. Sexual content is OK but should be appropriate to the storyline.
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If, after sending us your story, you decide to publish it elsewhere, please let us know as soon as possible.​
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The fine print:
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Payment will only be made for stories we publish, via Paypal within three days of publication.
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You must be the original author of any story you submit to us, and have full rights to it (including any illustrations/ art). It cannot have been previously published.
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Submission of a story grants Lake Eerie Books the right of first publication and a non-exclusive right to use the story in the anthology for as long as it is available. Upon publication, all rights revert to the author.
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