#jessaminepress

[jessaminepress]

Hello wonderful writers, we have an update from our team:

After receiving messages about submissions, their end date, and the busy weeks ahead, we’ve decided to offer an extension to our submission period! We understand that the holidays, including the time leading up to them, can be busy. In hopes of adding a bit of ease to that and removing some of the submission stress, we’ll now be closing submissions on November 30th.

We hope this will give all potential participants time to enjoy their holiday celebrations. If you have already submitted and would like to take this extension to review or change anything about your form, feel free to contact us at jessaminepress@gmail.com.

OUR SUBMISSION FORM CAN BE FOUND [HERE]. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES CAN BE FOUND [HERE].

An additional note to those who have already submitted: emails to those being chosen to contribute will be sent out on December 2nd. And thank you for all the wonderful submissions thus far! We’re looking forward to releasing our list of contributors on December 4th once final decisions are made.

[naomifranq]

Another backer reward commission for @jessaminepress‘s #MALAISE Anthology! This request was of Youko and Keiki from The Twelve Kingdoms, and I got a little carried away trying to lean hard into the fantasy look haha.

Art © Naomi Franquiz | Ko-Fi | Patreon | Twitter | INPRNT

[inkybarracuda]

The third of my commissions for Malaise Anthology's Peppered Moth tier from @jessaminepress ! @alkarinque asked for some of her fave Pokemom at the Met Gala & I've never been happier. Gengar is in (mostly) Guo Pei. Wooper is in Moschino.

Thank you again for all your support! ❤ ❤

[ziggyschutz]

So, 2017 was… a year.

It’s not quite over, but I thought I’d do a roundup of my year from a writing sense, as well as mention the stuff I’ve already got lined up for 2018.

Eggshells was published in Behind The Mask, by Meerkat Press. This made me officially a published author, which is pretty dang cool. The story stars Pen, who is an invulnerable superhero who gets a concussion, and it follows her for a year as she learns what recovery can look like. 

Pen (and her brother Davie) will show up again in a novel tentatively titled Mightier Than, which is an idea of a first draft right now.

With help from some amazing people, we launched Crossing Wires, a post-apocalyptic audio drama that tells the stories of survivors that don’t usually get to survive the end of the world, in this often very white/straight/able bodied genre. We currently have three episodes, available on iTunes and Google Play and wherever you listen to podcasts!

I spoke on my first panel as a writer at Rose City Comicon, in Portland, talking about fanfiction and how it’s changing the publishing industry. I also made some amazing friends there (thanks Taylor for inviting me to that panel in the first place).

I then attended Read With Pride Northwest in Seattle, and the Write With Pride event the day before. This marked my first time doing a reading in public (!!!), I was on another panel (this one about writing queer stories that are specfic as well), and was also just an amazing experience in general. Getting to chat with authors for two full days was fantastic, and it was also incredibly validating. I’m a fan, I’ll be back next year for sure.

And then I went to Podcon, where I wasn’t a guest or anything but I did talk about Crossing Wires and I learned a lot about podcasts and also just fell in love with the audio drama community and how welcoming and excited for each other they are.

My piece It Befits Her, a short story about a knight and her squire donning armour in a church at the end of the world, appears in the zine about ladies, lady-aligned folk, and swords called Forged, which is on preorder until December 31, and is gonna finish up 2017 for me. Not a bad way to go out.

Now, for 2018 - 

Dogear’d, my nonfiction podcast where I talk to people about lines and passages from books that changed their lives, will be launching in probably late January. If you have a line or scene from a book you’d want to talk about with me for five or so minutes, you should definitely reach out and let me know!

Not quite my writing, but I am also directing and editing The Posterchildren Audiobook, which will be a full-cast audiobook of @quipquipquip‘s amazing book, The Posterchildren: Origins. If you like queer superheroes, you should absolutely check this book out, and the audiobook too, when it is released, chapter by chapter, in early 2018.

I am also going to be a mentor at a local youth writing retreat in Victoria in February! Which is so exciting.

By Candlelight, a short story following a girl and her own ghost waiting for her funeral, will appear in Into The Mystic, Volume 3, by Ninestar Press. It’s a collection of paranormal sapphic stories, and should be coming out sometime in March.

Also in March is Emerald City Comicon, which I will be at. I am in Say It On The Page, a panel about representation in writing. Last year, I went to panels at ECCC and made it my goal to be in a panel at ECCC 2018, and it actually happened! Pretty excited about that.

And also in March I will be flying to Tennessee to attend Writing Cross-Culturally, a three-day, four-night writing workshop, which I had to apply to get into and I did and I’m beyond excited for this, it’s going to be… just incredible.

My pitch for a short thriller featuring a hydrophobic girl and a reckless journalist and a series of strange drownings was picked for Malaise, a collection of horror stories written by marginalized authors that is being put out by @jessaminepress. The kickstarter for that should be going up in early summer.

And of course, we will be finishing Crossing Wires’s first season, and beginning the second season! 

I’m done with 2017, honestly. It wasn’t a bad year for me on paper (or at least my writing, although I think I did do better mentally and physically in terms of health compared to 2016, which ISN’T HARD TO DO as 2016 was not good for me at all), but it was a rough year, it was a year that weighs on the soul. Everything that was happening made putting myself out there, made being creative and hopeful, so much harder.

Bring on 2018, is what I say. Bring it on, and we can all do our best to make it better.

[zine-scene]

Hello wonderful writers, we have an update from our team:

After receiving messages about submissions, their end date, and the busy weeks ahead, we’ve decided to offer add an extension to our submission period! We understand that the holidays, including the time leading up to them, can be busy. In hopes of adding a bit of ease to that and removing some of the submission stress, we’ll now be closing submissions on November 30th.

We hope this will give all potential participants time to enjoy their holiday celebrations. If you have already submitted and would like to take this extension to review or change anything about your form, feel free to contact us at jessaminepress@gmail.com.

OUR SUBMISSION FORM CAN BE FOUND [HERE]. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES CAN BE FOUND [HERE].

An additional note to those who have already submitted: emails to those being chosen to contribute will be sent out on December 2nd. And thank you for all the wonderful submissions thus far! We’re looking forward to releasing our list of contributors on December 4th once final decisions are made.

[welovezines]

Submissions for MALAISE are NOW OPEN!

Malaise is a short story anthology for all types of horror from marginalized creators. We’re looking for 13 horrific short stories to showcase all things that go bump in the night. We seek to promote those with voices often unheard, particularly in this genre. What we hope to share are scary stories that are unique - especially to those writing them - exploring concepts and stories that echo deeper than simple jumpscares.

This is an open call for pitches from all marginalized writers! 

Our application period will run from October 31st to November 17th, with the final list of contributors posted on November 20th.  For more information on this project, please see our homepage [HERE] and our submission guidelines [HERE]. No previous anthology or publishing experience is required, and we encourage all creators over the age of 18 to join!

OUR SUBMISSION FORM CAN BE FOUND [HERE]. 

We look forward to seeing your pitches and hope you’re as excited as we are! As always, we are open for any questions you may have. Feel free to shoot us an ask here, or an email over at jessaminepress@gmail.com. Jessamine Press can also be found on Twitter & Facebook.

Thank you for all your support thus far! We ask that you help us a little bit more with our project by reblogging and sharing this post! 

[jessaminepress]

Jessamine Press is proud to announce our first anthology, Malaise, a collection of 13 short stories guaranteed to frighten and delight, all told through the lenses of marginalized writers. We’re searching for unique tales that no one else could quite convey, laden with all things dark and scary. Malaise is there to cater to the those looking to convey dread, the dead, and more. Just make sure you’re ready for All Hallows’ Eve, October 31st, when pitch submissions officially open!

Until then, you can find us, and more information, at the below: Tumblr Twitter Facebook

[jessaminepress]

Attention Applicants

After a lengthy deliberation, Jessamine Press has sent out acceptance and rejection emails to those that applied. Please check your email address for responses. The official announcement for the finalized writers list has been rescheduled to December 8th to allow for the selected writers to respond to the email and confirm their participation. 

Thank you to all that applied - it was a fantastic opportunity to read your writing and ideas for the anthology. We are excited to announce our writers this Friday.

[jessaminepress]

A TERRIFYING NEW ANTHOLOGY LOOKING FOR MARGINALIZED WRITERS

When nightmare becomes real, when the thing in the wood awakes, when the swap gets its first monster, when the airlock opens to the dead floating in space, there is Malaise.

Jessamine Press is proud to present our first anthology, Malaise, whose focus takes root in tales of horror, discomfort, and unease, all told through the lenses of marginalized writers. We’re searching for unique tales that no one else could quite convey, all laden with things dark and scary. Whether you plan to make an audience screech or squirm, Malaise is there to cater to the those looking to convey dread, the dead, and more.

We’re looking for 13 horrific short stories to showcase all things that go bump in the night. We seek to promote those with voices often unheard, particularly in this genre. What we hope to share are scary stories that are unique - especially to those writing them - exploring concepts and stories that echo deeper than simple jumpscares.

There is no preference when it comes to the subgenre of submitted pitches. Echoing reality with unease, exploring fear in a fantastical setting, or setting up scares in space, whatever best sets up the story you wish to tell, we’re open to. However, it’s the harmful horror tropes that we want to leave behind. After all, horror doesn’t have to mean horrible.

If you find yourself prepared to present an idea that’s as horrifying as it is unique, we’re ready to hear from you. Follow us on Tumblr, Twitter, or Facebook for more details and announcements as they come. Just make sure you’re ready for All Hallows’ Eve, October 31st, for when submissions open!

SUBMISSIONS

Initial pitches must be submitted through the appropriate Google form. Final submissions must be sent in .doc form or through Google drive by the final deadline.

All submissions will have a minimum word count of 7,000 words and a maximum word count of 10,000 words. We will accept final products that go slightly over the maximum but ask that our contributors do their best to stay within the given limit.

The submission must be a standalone original work created specifically for Malaise. It cannot have been previously published nor may it include intellectual property owned by a third party. The submission must meet a horror theme.

We ask that each author limit themselves to one pitch. This will make it easy for our editors to pick the final list of contributors and will level the playing field in the interest of fairness. All pitches should have a beginning, middle, and some idea of an end. These pitches can be rough but please try to give us as much detail as possible so we can get a good idea of your story.

Submissions should be appropriate for adult audiences but excessive gore/violence, sexual themes, etc, will be edited and/or removed.

As this anthology was created with marginalized creators in mind, please note that precedence will be given to underrepresented contributors.

We ask that all stories are free of discrimination and that our writers avoid harmful portrayals/stereotypes of race, sexuality, gender, etc. We trust our authors to interpret this guideline in a responsible manner but our editors and sensitivity readers will have final say.

Please note that special or unconventional formatting will need to be discussed with the editors prior to writing.

As editors and organizers, we reserve the right to request edits to manuscripts or deny entry into the anthology if the final product differs too much from the original pitch and/or contains harmful content. We reserve the right to deny pitches we deem inappropriate for this anthology.

Submissions will open October 31st, 2017, at 1:00 a.m. and will close November 17th, 2017, at midnight.

SCHEDULE

October 31st - Pitch Submissions Open

November 17th - Pitch Submissions Close

November 20th - Final List of Contributors Posted

December 15th - First Check-in

January 15th - Second Check-in

February 15th - Final Submission

March 1st - Kickstarter Launches

FAQ

What does horror mean exactly?

We are giving our creators the freedom to decide. As long as the story lurks somewhere under a horror umbrella, you can write about any number of things: space horror, zombies, monsters, apocalyptic horror, ghost stories, psychological horror, gothic romance, etc. Your stories can have sad endings, happy endings, or ambiguous ones, but we simply ask that they have a complete ending.

Can we take inspiration from x, y, z?

As long as the story falls into a broad horror genre the creator has as much freedom with interpreting that as they like. We only ask that you do not use existing IPs for your stories and that any inspiration drawn from other sources is either free source or extremely minimal. If you wish to do a horror retelling of a story please note that we will not accept pitches that use the same characters. As in, you are allowed to do a western horror retelling inspired by the myth of Hades and Persephone, but cannot write about Hades and Persephone themselves. We also ask that creators be mindful and respectful if writing outside their own culture.

Can we submit fanworks for our samples?

Absolutely! We use the samples to gauge writing and storytelling ability and using fanwork examples will neither harm nor hinder your chance of acceptance. However, this anthology will focus on wholly original work, so we would appreciate a mix of original and fan fiction.

Who can apply?

Malaise (and Jessamine Press) is dedicated to giving voices to marginalized and underrepresented creators and we ask that all authors be over 18 years of age.

Can we apply in teams?

Unfortunately we are not accepting teams for this anthology as we’d like to focus on individual efforts.

Do I need to have previous anthology experience?

Nope! As with fanworks, previous anthology experience will neither harm nor hinder your chance of acceptance. We aim to shine a spotlight particularly on new and upcoming authors, however.

How will funding work? Payment?

All authors will be guaranteed compensation regardless of funding. Funding for the final anthology will be secured through a Kickstarter campaign and payment will be distributed to contributors after the campaign ends, regardless of funding success. Any money made over our initial goal will be put towards stretch goals, improved book quality, and increased contributor payment.

Things to consider:

Horror relies on a number of tropes that we strongly encourage- alright, we flat out ask, our creators to keep a wide berth from. Racist, ableist, bigoted or homophobic pitches will not be accepted and we will not be publishing anything akin to torture porn or rape fantasies, either. We reserve the right to ask our creators to change a story at any time. While this does not mean we expect these stories to be cheerful (it is horror, after all) we ask that you approach the subject matter with care and caution. We have a team of editors and will hire sensitivity readers as needed. We understand that horror themes can be used by some to cope, but ask that our contributors be mindful that their coping mechanism may be extremely harmful to others’ mental well-being. At the end of the day, we’re simply asking you to care about other people.

I have a question about:

Please feel free to send this blog an ask or contact us directly at jessaminepress@gmail.com

[naomifranq]

Bones is comin’ for them coins, y’all! Another @jessaminepress backer reward commission, this time for @volarus of her D&D pirate cat, Bones. This one was a lot of fun, and not just because I’m biased towards grey cats.

Art © Naomi Franquiz | Ko-Fi | Patreon | Twitter | INPRNT

[jessaminepress]

Submissions for MALAISE are NOW OPEN!

Malaise is a short story anthology for all types of horror from marginalized creators. We’re looking for 13 horrific short stories to showcase all things that go bump in the night. We seek to promote those with voices often unheard, particularly in this genre. What we hope to share are scary stories that are unique - especially to those writing them - exploring concepts and stories that echo deeper than simple jumpscares.

This is an open call for pitches from all marginalized writers!

Our application period will run from October 31st to November 17th, with the final list of contributors posted on November 20th.  For more information on this project, please see our homepage [HERE] and our submission guidelines [HERE]. No previous anthology or publishing experience is required, and we encourage all creators over the age of 18 to join!

OUR SUBMISSION FORM CAN BE FOUND [HERE]. 

We look forward to seeing your pitches and hope you’re as excited as we are! As always, we are open for any questions you may have. Feel free to shoot us an ask here, or an email over at jessaminepress@gmail.com. Jessamine Press can also be found on Twitter & Facebook.

Thank you for all your support thus far! We ask that you help us a little bit more with our project by reblogging and sharing this post! 

[zine-scene]

Submissions for MALAISE are NOW OPEN!

Malaise is a short story anthology for all types of horror from marginalized creators. We’re looking for 13 horrific short stories to showcase all things that go bump in the night. We seek to promote those with voices often unheard, particularly in this genre. What we hope to share are scary stories that are unique - especially to those writing them - exploring concepts and stories that echo deeper than simple jumpscares.

This is an open call for pitches from all marginalized writers! 

Our application period will run from October 31st to November 17th, with the final list of contributors posted on November 20th.  For more information on this project, please see our homepage [HERE] and our submission guidelines [HERE]. No previous anthology or publishing experience is required, and we encourage all creators over the age of 18 to join!

OUR SUBMISSION FORM CAN BE FOUND [HERE]. 

We look forward to seeing your pitches and hope you’re as excited as we are! As always, we are open for any questions you may have. Feel free to shoot us an ask here, or an email over at jessaminepress@gmail.com. Jessamine Press can also be found on Twitter & Facebook.

Thank you for all your support thus far! We ask that you help us a little bit more with our project by reblogging and sharing this post! 

[jessaminepress]

Pitches Opening Tomorrow!

Hey writers!

We’re officially one day away from opening submissions and we can’t wait to see all of your pitches. Keep an eye out for an official announcement here (and on all our other social media accounts) come All Hallow’s Eve.

Submissions will officially go live at 8 a.m. PST tomorrow, 10/31. You’ll have until 11:59 p.m. PST on 11/17 to submit your pitches and, as always, we are open for any questions you may have. Feel free to shoot us an ask here, or an email over at jessaminepress@gmail.com.  Happy Haunting!

[jessaminepress]

Countdown to Pitches

Hello from us to all of you!

We want to extend a big thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in our project so far. Thank you for the follows, reblogs, and (over on the ol’ twitter) retweets. We hope you’re just as excited as us; we have only about a week left to go before pitches officially open, so we’d like to give you guys a preview of what to expect from our pitch form:

The Basics: Name, email, social media (twitter, tumblr, etc), why would you like to apply?

Have you participated in an anthology/zine before? Please note that a yes or a no answer won’t affect your chances at all. We’re simply trying to gauge how much experience people may or may not have with a conventional anthology set-up.

Link to Portfolio Site/Writing Samples: All writing samples should be 1500 words or less. Please try to provide no more than 3 samples. You may edit for length. We will accept both fandom and original samples, as this is just a way to get a feel of your writing style. If attaching a google .doc, please have all relevant samples in the same .doc to make it easier for us to evaluate your writing. Any portfolio sites should be easy to navigate; please highlight which samples you’d like us to look at.

Pitch: Please give us as many pitch details as possible - spoil the ending for us. We want to have a good idea of your story so we can make informed decisions. We ask that you try to keep your pitch to roughly a page long but will not penalize you if they go longer. As mentioned previously, we ask that all applicants submit one pitch only, in the interest of fairness.

We would also like to take this time to encourage you all to ask any questions you may have. We’ve tried to make our FAQ and guidelines as comprehensive as possible but if there’s any burning queries, questions, inquiries, or comments you’d like to make - please don’t be shy!  You can reach us via ask here or, if you’d prefer, feel free to shoot us an email at jessaminepress@gmail.com. We’ll do our best to answer any question you might have.