The Tangled Bank

There are just under four more weeks until submissions for The Tangled Bank anthology close.

As you might expect, we’re seeing a lot of science fiction, space opera in particular. The Tangled Bank is an equal opportunity anthology, so it would be good to see more of other genres — fantasy, horror, new weird, steampunk, and all the rest. We’ve accepted a couple of excellent stories that explore evolution metaphorically, but in many submissions (particularly fantasy) the metaphor is too thin; no matter how good, stories about survival or change or human nature aren’t going to interest us unless there is a significant link to evolution at some level. Again, that deeper link doesn’t need to be scientific, it just needs to be recognisable as evolution. We’d also like to see more artwork.

The anthology is filling up with longer and serious stories, so shorter or lighter submissions will have something extra going for them. But, so long as the piece is an entertaining and thought provoking exploration of evolution, send it our way.

The deadline for story and poetry submissions for The Tangled Bank anthology has been extended until 15th September, 2009 (or when filled).

An important bonus is that we’ve tripled the advance on royalties to AU$0.03/word for stories, and doubled the royalties shared between all contributors to 40 per cent. The advance for poetry and artwork has increased to AU$15, and AU$100 for cover art. The anthology will be published on multiple electronic platforms, which I expect will break some new ground for anthologies.

Submissions and queries are acknowledged within 48 hours, and our response time currently averages less than two weeks. To date we’ve accepted several first-rate pieces on evolution, and we’re looking for quality to match. If you have any questions, see the FAQ below or email thetangledbank (at) gmail.com.

Just a quick update to remind people that you only have two weeks to submit your story or poetry. And to announce that the deadline for art has changed:

Art will now be accepted after 30th June, until the anthology is filled.

A few frequently asked questions:

Do you accept reprints?

Yes, though the bar is higher than the standard for unpublished work. Generally, we’re more interested in recent publications. Please clearly state where and when the work was published when submitting.

Can I ignore the guidelines?

The guidelines are there for a reason. Reading them carefully will ensure that we’re in a good mood when we read your submission. But see the next question.

Should I query?

If you have something that you think is perfect for the anthology, but which doesn’t fit the guidelines, we’re probably still interested in seeing it. But it helps to send a query email first. We respond very quickly to all email.

Are you interested in non-fiction articles or essays?

Yes, but please query first.

What kind of stories or poems are you looking for?

Please refer to the Guidelines and the blog posts below. Essentially, we’re open to anything which explores evolution in a thought-provoking and entertaining way. One thing that we’re less interested in is variations on the X-Men theme: suddenly, and inexplicably, some humans evolve into a new race. There’s no reason this can’t be done well, but nearly all of the stories of this type we’ve seen don’t engage with evolution. If you could replace the new humans with robots or aliens without significantly affecting the story, then we probably won’t be interested.

A few other general tips for contributors:

• It helps if you include your full name and the title of the work in the subject header, and the word/line count in the body of your email.
• A cover note with a brief bio is helpful but not necessary.
• There is no need to justify why your submission is perfect for the anthology, or to discuss the issues your submission explores — in our experience this is usually a bad sign.
• You’ll receive an acknowledgement of your submission within a week, and usually within 48 hours. If your submission isn’t acknowledged within a week, please resend it. A few submissions have been filtered as spam.
• We’ll have a decision for you within 90 days, but we’re currently responding much faster than that — within 30 days in most cases. Generally, the longer our response takes, the more seriously we’re considering your submission.