Submission Guidelines

The Future Embodied – An anthology of speculative stories exploring how science and technology might change our bodies and what it means to be human.

The editors are looking for character-driven, near-future stories of how the trajectory of current science and technology could impact our daily lives and choices. Social sciences and as-yet-untested or anecdotal discoveries are fair game. If an idea or discovery has the potential to impact human behavior and bodies, it could make a great story.

What Type of Stories We’re Looking For:

We are looking for stories of medical and aesthetic body modification.  Consider topics like genetic engineering, prosthetics, implants, body ornamentation, surgical augmentation, and age retardation or reversal.

Surprise us.  Don’t give us stories that we’ve read before.

We want this anthology to embody the wide range of human experience, voices, and bodies, and, in particular, to credibly consider our present and future demographics. You are encouraged to populate your stories of the future with the kinds of bodies that have been under-represented in speculative fiction but which should be ever more present in visions of our near future — aging bodies, obese bodies, chronically ill bodies, diverse racial and multi-racial bodies, bodies from diverse geographies…

Good Fiction Examples:

• “Faces in Revolving Souls” by Caitlin R Kiernan. This is a story that deftly balances the idea of how a science might progress AND the human feelings behind such changes and how it might change their experience of the world.

What do we want to avoid:

• This anthology specifically is concentrating on the evolution of the human body through technology. We are not looking for disembodied avatar stories.
• We enjoy historical science fiction, but this is not the anthology for it.
• We are not looking for poetry for this anthology.

Details:

Word-count: 2,000 to 5,500

Worldwide print and e-book rights (exclusive for 6 months, non-exclusive for an additional 30 months). Exceptions will be made for stories accepted for “Best Of” anthologies.

The Future Embodied will be available in both print and e-book formats.

Submissions open March 1, 2013, and will close at 11:59 PST on April 15, 2013.

You may submit at: future.embodied.anthology@gmail.com (Do not submit before March 1st 2013 or your submission will be deleted)

Queries and questions may be sent to future.embodied.anthology@gmail.com.  (You may send queries and questions anytime.)

All responses will be accepted or rejected by July 15th, 2013. Please do not query about submitted stories before then.

No multiple or simultaneous submissions.  Our word count limits are hard for open submissions.

Please use standard format guidelines. If it is difficult to read, we will reject your story. Your story must include your name, address, telephone number, email address, and approximate word count on the first page.

Your cover letter should include your complete contact information, story title, approximate word count, and a short bio.

Payment:

3 cents per word, paid within 90 days after publication.  Plus contributor copy of print and e-book.