Anthology 2019 - Call for Submissions!

Coffee House Writers Group (CHWG) invites you be a part of our new anthology where the stories are to take place where we call home.

Your task:
Write a short story of speculative fiction taking place in Los Angeles and/or Orange Counties.

Once entered, your work may appear in the next anthology and may be selected to win a prize.

Specifications:

1. By submitting, the entrant agrees to abide by all rules listed herein. The entrant also grants Coffee House Writers Group the right to publish the story indefinitely.
2. No entry fee is required, and all rights to the story remain the property of the author after chosen.
3. The entry must contain at least one fantastical element that may classify the story as either fantasy or science fiction. The time (past, present, future), plot, genre (e.g. drama, comedy), and characters are all up the writer. At minimum one significant plot point must take place within LA or Orange County.
4. The entry must have been read in full at one of our many critique groups. The reading may take place over multiple weeks. The group leader will be asked to verify that the entry has been shared at the critique group. If the participant is a previously established CHWG member who has attended critique groups in the past but cannot currently attend a group, they may become eligible if they get their story beta read by another verified CHWG member. Reasons for being unable to attend subject to disqualification. All entries are final.
5. The story may not previously be published or selected to be published by another entity until six months after their submission date.
6. To be eligible to win a prize, the entry must be a work of prose between 3500 - 15000 words in length. Shorter works will be accepted, but ineligible for a prize.
7. All entries must be original works, in English. Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters, or another person’s universe, without written permission, will result in disqualification.
8. Entries are to be submitted online to chwgsubmissions@gmail.com in doc, docx, or pdf format. In the body of the email, the entrant must list their legal name, a pen name if applicable, address, telephone number, alternate email addresses, approximate word count, and name of the Coffee House Writers Group critique group where it was shared (Long Beach, Pomona, Fullerton) (OR critique group previously attended, reason critique group cannot be attended, and name and contact info of beta reader). Please label all pages within the document with a header or footer with the title of the story with page numbers.
9. The editor will narrow the stories down to the top four, with the top two to be determined by a panel of judges who will not see the names of the entrants. First prize shall be $600 in scholarship funds applicable to the entrant or to anyone the entrant may pass it to including family or friends. Second place prize shall be a scholarship of $400.
10. Deadline for entry is July 1st, 2019. (Entries less than 3500 will be accepted until August 1st, 2019.)
11. Each entrant may submit up to two manuscripts for the duration of the entry period to chwgsubmissions@gmail.com

As much as literature can be used to evoke emotions, sensations, and images, it can also give the reader a feel for a place. The details in a well-written story can convey a city’s personality and make the world the author created seem authentic. So get to it and write something uniquely LA/OC. Creativity and Originality are highly encouraged.

Need to bounce some ideas around or to ask advice? Private Message the Editor, J Bryan Jones.