Deadline May 31 | Call for Submissions: The Ayam Curtain Anthology (Singapore)

23 May 2012
Deadline May 31 | Call for Submissions: The Ayam Curtain Anthology (Singapore)
Deadline: 31 May 2012

Kong jiao wei: Hokkien, colloquial, lit. “speaking bird language”. A cock-and-bull story, a flight of fancy.

In conjuction with Math Paper Press, we are assembling a collection of very, very short speculative fiction stories to be published in the second half of 2012. Anchor contributors to the anthology include Dave Chua, Judith Huang, and Alvin Pang.

Speculative fiction is fiction that contains speculative elements — things that are different from the world we live in. It covers the genres of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror etc., although it is certainly not limited to that. The Handmaid’s Tale is speculative fiction. Midnight’s Children is speculative fiction. 1984 is speculative fiction. Anything with an imaginative element to it falls under the broad umbrella of speculative fiction.

We are looking for stories of alternate worlds marinated with a local flavour: Tell us your visions of an alternate Singapore. Airships? Robots? Exciting new laws? Let your imagination take wing.

Our submissions fall into two categories:

Category I: SPEAKING BIRD LANGUAGE

From the branches above Orchard Road to the void decks where old men with cages gather, bird share stories of fantastic realities they have visited in a cacophony of tweets.
Send us microscopic glimpses into fantastical worlds of lengths between 100-150 words.

Category II: THE AYAM CURTAIN

Numbering more than 23 billion across the globe, there are more specimens of Gallus gallus, the domestic chicken, than any other bird in the world. On paper, by the reckoning of numbers, they are a runaway success as a species. But what utopias do they dream of, caged in their factory farm coops?

Send us 500-1000 word stories of worlds where the boundaries have been shifted in strange ways.

We’ve been asked if stories need to be bird- or chicken-themed: No, they don’t have to be! Feel free to explore whatever nifty ideas you have.

Submitted entries should:
  • be speculative fiction– fiction that largely contains elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternate history/reality, and related genres.
  • be primarily written in (UK) English
  • be authored by Singaporeans or residents of Singapore (not necessarily PRs).

The finer print:
  • Submissions are open between 1st April 2012 and 31st May 2012.
  • Multiple submissions are allowed.
  • Email your stories to specfic.sg@gmail.com, with “AYAM CURTAIN + (category name)”, AND your name in the subject.
  • Send submissions in a readable font, either in .rtf or .doc formats. We don’t want .docx files, it makes some computers cough up hairballs. Include title, your name, and pen-name (if applicable) in the text of the document.
  • Please include a 50-word author biography in the submission email.
  • Selected authors will receive 5 complimentary copies of the anthology, as well as a 40% discount on as many other copies they want to buy.
  • Reprints are okay, as long as you have the rights with you. Do let us know if you’re sending us a reprint.
  • All submissions chosen for the anthology may be edited.
  • The editors reserve the right to reject submissions based on inappropriate content, including (but not limited to) excessively graphic sex & violence, and disrespect towards individuals, groups, cultures and religions.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries/ submissions: specfic.sg@gmail.com

Website: http://speculativesingapore.wordpress.com/, http://booksactually.com/mathpaperpress.html
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