(Pic from here. And yes, I know the astronaut’s American!)

Hey folks, here’s a reminder that the deadline for Diaspora Ad Astra: Science Fiction from the Philippines is coming up by July 31. So if you’ve got an SF story, go submit!

Here are the guidelines for the call for submissions again:

Our upcoming next anthology will look into the future (near or far). Will we still be exporting human workers to Mars or to Alpha Centauri? Will we be ruling an Empire of Humanity? Or will we be running a guerrilla war against robots that we’ve invented as the rest of homo sapiens flee into space in derelict battleships?

What do you think?

(Unlike the previous collections, we’re hoping these stories will be focusing on Filipinos as characters or as a race in these stories. As the title implies, we may have the future but it’s our future at least.)

“Diaspora Ad Astra: Science Fiction from the Philippines edited by Joseph Nacino & Professor Emil Flores” will be published electronically to make this collection of stories available to a wider international audience. Through this anthology we will be able to show the world that the Filipino writer can create worlds with the best of them.

Submission Guidelines:

1. As works of the imagination and speculative fiction, the theme is the title: ‘Diaspora Ad Astra’. Works of Science Fiction will be preferred.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. We will accept only original unpublished stories.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration. No simultaneous submissions. Authors should not have their stories under consideration to other publications at the time of the submission and consolidation period.

8. Each story’s word count must be no more than 7,500 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: estranghero@gmail.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: DAA Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example – DAA Submission: The Constellation of Marcos 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any).

12. Deadline for submissions is July 31, 2010. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email.

13.This anthology will be made available online. Target publishing date is August 2010.

14. Compensation is Php500 for every accepted story.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups – and send your story in.

Thanks,

banzai cat

http://estranghero.blogspot.com/

Don’t forget, y’all! (Cross-posted from here.)

I’ve already sent out notifications to those involved. To that end, here’s the list of the stories accepted in the upcoming online anthology Demons of the New Year: Horror from the Philippines.

1. Catherine Walder: The Kambubulag
2. Eliza Victoria: Salot
3. Don Jaucian: The Different Degrees of Night
4. Marguerite de Leon: K-10 Mushroom
5. Tyron Caliente: Dark Moving Houses
6. Dominique Cimafranca: People’s Champ (English version)
7. Rommel Santos: Best Served Cold
8. Karren Sena: Lullabies

I also solicited a number of stories from a few writers:

9. Adam David: Snip
10. Carljoe Javier: Demon Gaga
11. Ed Geronia: The Summoner

This, plus Karl de Mesa’s excerpt of The Magdalene Fist, will make the anthology an even dozen. (Or maybe that should have been 13?)

Anyway, congratulations to everyone!

Whether you’re commemorating the dead or celebrating with the spirits, here’s something interesting to think about. After writing about secondary fantasy worlds, I thought that we should breath easy, take a step back– and think about the remains of the year left to us.

More precisely, think about what ‘demons’ will be haunting our dreams, our lives and our sleep when the year 2010 rolls around, like that ghost on the shoulder of the protagonist in Shutter. Remember that scene? You know the one.

(To be exact, the scene starts at 6 minutes, 32 seconds. Enjoy!)

After that, tell us about them: the garden-variety demons from hell with plastic forks and spongy tails, the ones in your head that come out to play at midnight, the spirits that make up most of your lives like a Frankenstein monster– write your story and send it to us. Let out all those things that will be haunting you in 2010 and share the horror.

Joining us for this venture as co-editor will be horror-meister Karl “M.F.” de Mesa, of Damaged People: Tales of the Gothic-Punk and the upcoming News from Shaman. Give him a big hand, folks. Preferably one that’s not so chewed-on. *wink*

“Demons of the New Year: Horror from the Philippines, edited by Joseph Nacino & Karl de Mesa” will be published electronically to make this collection of stories available to a wider international audience. Through this anthology we will be able to show the world that the Filipino writer can create worlds with the best of them.

This collection of stories will be an anthology about demons– but don’t let that stop you from coming up with a really good idea about what constitutes your ‘Demons of the New Year.’ Like I said in an earlier post, don’t let a particular idea stop you from writing a good story.

Submission Guidelines:

1. As works of the imagination and speculative fiction, the theme is the title: ‘Demons of the New Year’. Works of horror will be preferred.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. We will accept only original unpublished stories.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration.

8. Each story’s word count must be no more than 7,500 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: estranghero@gmail.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: DNY Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example – DNY Submission: The Fields of Marikina 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any).

12. Deadline for submissions is January 15, 2010. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email.

13.This anthology will be made available online. Target publishing date is January 30, 2010.

14. Compensation is Php500 for every accepted story.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups – and send your story in.

I’d like to reiterate that it’s up to you define the story’s ‘demons’ but I’d rather keep it vague so that you can have a free field. But make it scary, okay?

Thanks,

banzai cat

http://estranghero.blogspot.com/

Karl “M.F”. de Mesa

http://trustyourblackshirt.blogspot.com/