Space Opera Fans discussion

Hi everybody!

This is just a public service announcement 'cause y'all know I'm forever promoting Space Opera as a genre. Anthologies are a good way for a brand new writer to get a short story out there or a more established writer to try on a new sub-genre. When you read the description, I think you'll all agree what they're looking for is dead-on with what we all like.

FYI - April Moon Books normally publishes horror anthologies, so horrible + hopeful will probably give you a slight edge.

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The Stars at my Door?

Yes – we think this is a suitable title for an anthology that celebrates the optimistic science fiction of yesteryear.

So you are looking for Olde Worlde writing?

Not at all (unless that is your thing). We just want stories that embrace the enthusiasm and optimism of ‘old school’ science fiction – stories that aren’t afraid to dream big, get a little weird, not bothered too much with being scientifically accurate, and still have a bit of a sting in the tail.

What should I be looking at to get a flavor of the sort of subs you are looking for?

Well, this anthology was born out of the publisher’s love for the short writing of Fredric Brown and Harry Harrison among others, specifically Brown’s extraordinary short stories to be found in ‘Nightmares and Geezenstacks’ and Harrison’s amazing tales based around the use of a ‘matter transmitter’ in ‘One Step from Earth’.

Aside from these, you should delve into the authors that sprung up during the ‘Golden Age’, folks like Heinlein, Brackett, Vance, E.E. Smith, Pohl, Bradbury, and anything John W. Cambell greenlit before he became too immersed in realism. Think Captain Video, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, with a dash of Verne.

That doesn’t mean we just want period pieces – your story can still be contemporary if you so desire, but it will be much harder to shrug off the shackles of modern cynicism and realist goals…

What should my story be about?

The sky’s the limit, however, we would prefer stories that deal with exploration, new discoveries, a yearning to reach beyond the stars. Meeting our preferred topic is half the battle.

The nitty-gritty

We are looking for stories around the 5000-7000 mark – we can be negotiated with if you go over or under this amount.

Payment will be a flat fee of $25 CAN plus one contributor copy of the paperback, a digital copy and 50% off future purchases of the anthology.

The submission period will open on February 1st and close on July 31st.
Stories can be sent to [email protected] - please use 'Stars-storytitle-yourname-wordcount' as the subject header.

Please refer to our ‘Submissions’ page for all of the other technical stuff, and feel free to contact us if you want more information.

Thank you, and good luck!

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Get more information HERE: http://www.aprilmoonbooks.com/#!the-s...

Hey, wow! I've got a story that would fit this. It needs a bit of updating as it uses the shuttle. Actually it was the runner-up in the first Baen memorial contest.

Thanks!

That's why I'm sharing it :-) I know y'all got stories ... so cough 'em up!

Thanks for the info, sharing with a few author friends - and pondering myself what I might contribute :)

Me too :-) Though I'm taking a screenwriting class right now, so I'm kinda swamped.

Swamped can be a good thing :)

Just finished a submission for an alternate history anthology and juggling my Camp NaNoWriMo work in progress but hey, room to squeeze in a bit of glorious space opera ;)

All you need is 5 ragtag characters, preferably at least one of them a different species, a spaceship, and an evil overlord :-)

Hmm, I already have two or four stories that could fit that,

Toss 'em into the hat, see what happens? Whenever a publisher starts paying attention to space opera, I want to wave a flag and shout, 'yes! Space opera is awesome!' So I will encourage people to give it a shot.

Now I've had time to flip through my archives I find I've got "Anniversary" (accidental discovery of FTL drive), "H Cartridge" (Espionage with FTL) and "Love's Illusion" (Human/Alien romance). I e-mailed them about multiple submissions and they replied that it was acceptable to send all three.