Deadline: 13 June 2013
Comma Press is looking for new short stories written by Iraqi writers (currently based in Iraq) to be published in both Arabic (eBook) and English translation (book and eBook) in 2014. The anthology will be edited by Hassan Blasim, and each contribution will be selected according to how well they respond to the following brief: Stories must be set in the year 2103 – exactly 100 years after the invasion of Iraq – and must present visions of how the authors imagine life in particular Iraqi cities might be, in 90 years’ time. Each story must tell a stand-alone drama, a complete human story in less than 6000 words. The culture, politics, technology, architecture, and most importantly the language must all be set firmly in the future however, as well as tied to one particular real-life city.
Ten stories will be included, set in ten different Iraqi cities; no city may be featured more than once. There is a list of possible cities to choose from below.
If you would like to write for this project, please contact both the organizers via email to check if the city hasn't already been taken. Comma can pay £200 for every story it publishes. However it cannot pay for a story if it does not ultimately publish it.
We are not just approaching science-fiction writers (although they aren't excluded). We feel that it’s just as interesting to ask literary writers to try their hand at something they’ve never considered before (like science fiction). Authors are allowed to be extravagant in their visions of the future, or to use the unfamiliar future setting as a canvas for allegorical comments on contemporary issues.
Cities to choose from (but you can pick others!): Baghdad, Basrah, Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, Mosul, Erbil, Najaf, Karbala, Falluja, Tikrit, Kut, Nasiriya, Amarah, Sadr City, Halabja, and Ramadi.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For queries/ submissions: hassanblasim@gmail.com and ra.page@commapress.co.uk
Website: http://www.commapress.co.uk/
Comma Press is looking for new short stories written by Iraqi writers (currently based in Iraq) to be published in both Arabic (eBook) and English translation (book and eBook) in 2014. The anthology will be edited by Hassan Blasim, and each contribution will be selected according to how well they respond to the following brief: Stories must be set in the year 2103 – exactly 100 years after the invasion of Iraq – and must present visions of how the authors imagine life in particular Iraqi cities might be, in 90 years’ time. Each story must tell a stand-alone drama, a complete human story in less than 6000 words. The culture, politics, technology, architecture, and most importantly the language must all be set firmly in the future however, as well as tied to one particular real-life city.
Ten stories will be included, set in ten different Iraqi cities; no city may be featured more than once. There is a list of possible cities to choose from below.
If you would like to write for this project, please contact both the organizers via email to check if the city hasn't already been taken. Comma can pay £200 for every story it publishes. However it cannot pay for a story if it does not ultimately publish it.
We are not just approaching science-fiction writers (although they aren't excluded). We feel that it’s just as interesting to ask literary writers to try their hand at something they’ve never considered before (like science fiction). Authors are allowed to be extravagant in their visions of the future, or to use the unfamiliar future setting as a canvas for allegorical comments on contemporary issues.
Cities to choose from (but you can pick others!): Baghdad, Basrah, Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, Mosul, Erbil, Najaf, Karbala, Falluja, Tikrit, Kut, Nasiriya, Amarah, Sadr City, Halabja, and Ramadi.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For queries/ submissions: hassanblasim@gmail.com and ra.page@commapress.co.uk
Website: http://www.commapress.co.uk/
