Schrodinger's Bookshelf

Hello, everyone! I just wanted to let you all know where we stand with the Schoolbooks & Sorcery anthology.

Following our wonderfully successful Kickstarter campaign, we enjoyed a several month open submission period, so we could add several more stories to the already-established Table of Contents. And let me just say, I’ve gotten some amazing stuff, and I have some very hard decisions ahead of me. After weeding out a great many inappropriate submissions, I’m still left with some 50 or so, all competing for a mere handful of spots. So in the next few weeks, I’ll be reading through what’s left as I attempt to winnow them down even further to the final contenders.

For those who are curious, I will, of course, be looking to find stories which balance and complement what I already have, which hit certain aspects of diversity and representation, which grab me and make me think or laugh or feel. I may or may not have to enlist the aid of trusted advisers and secondary readers to help me make informed judgments. So I’ll be doing this as quickly as possible while still giving every story its due consideration. After all, they wouldn’t still be in the running if they didn’t have potential…

Meanwhile, I’ll be in touch with other folks as needed to ensure the production of our backer rewards, and I’ll be working on the manuscript itself. I don’t have a specific timeline for that, but I’ll do my very best to keep things moving right along.  Believe me, I want to see this done and published as much as anyone else!

Thanks for your patience, everyone, and I appreciate you all for being part of this.

EDIT AS OF 8/7/2017

Because I’ve been getting numerous submissions which don’t suit my needs, I find myself in the position of placing certain things at the very top, in the hopes people will read them.

1) The word limit of 2000-6000 is strict. I will not consider anything which goes over. Seriously. I have a budget to think of. 

2) No multiple submissions without asking me first. One per author per attempt.

3) No reprints. I’m sorry, I want original stories only. If you really have something which you think is perfect, ask me first.

4) It must be YA. That’s generally an age range of 12-18, but when in doubt, think “high school.” Grades 9-12. That general period. 

5) It must be urban fantasy. No science fiction, no epic fantasy, no horror, no fanfic… stories which mix the “here and now” with fantastic elements. -Very- near future is okay, as is relatively recent past, but certainly nothing beyond the start of the 20th Century.

6) Your story MUST contain visible LGBTQ characters, and within that, specifically, transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, asexual, aromantic, gay, or facets of the spectrum not specifically mentioned. I’m very sorry, but I have enough stories with predominantly lesbian protagonists or relationships. If I don’t see visible evidence, I’ll be forced to assume that everyone is straight/hetero/cis, and that’s not the point of this particular call for submissions. I have several stories already in hand which cover that end of things. 

7) See #6. I’m going to get increasingly cranky if people keep breaking this one. I’m not saying your character needs to burst into the scene going “IIIIII’MMMMMM TRAAAAAANS” and doing a song and dance routine, but if I don’t see some sign of what I’m looking for… well, y’know. I’m a reasonable editor, but I know what I want, and no amount of not giving me what I want is going to make me magically accept something which doesn’t fit the criteria. 

8) This space reserved for the next way in which someone manages to break, ignore, overlook, or bend a rule.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

SCHOOLBOOKS & SORCERY: A QUEER-INCLUSIVE YA URBAN FANTASY ANTHOLOGY

Take high school. It’s weird, confusing, complicated, and frustrating. It’s a time of growth and change, when teens start discovering what they’re made of and who they want to be. Now throw in magic. What happens? That’s the premise of this new YA anthology. Schoolbooks & Sorcery is what happens when you take all the normal ups and downs of high school, inject a healthy dose of magic, shake, stir, and serve.

Editor Michael M. Jones (Scheherazade’s Façade) is looking for YA urban fantasy stories which incorporate the themes of sorcery, magic, and enchantment. The magic can come from within, as an intrinsic ability or a family trait, or from without, in the form of talismans, training, or teaching. Protagonists can be wizards, witches, sorcerers, magicians, shamans, apprentices, or practitioners of more esoteric traditions. Whether they pick it up on their own (accidentally or on purpose), learn from a master, or go to school for institutionalized training, they’ll be involved with magic to some degree. Or, of course, the protagonist could be without magic, and stumble into a world beyond their immediate knowledge. If authors wish to set something in a magical school of their own devising, or in a previously-established setting, that’s perfectly fine. But it doesn’t necessarily need to be set at a school, magical or otherwise, so long as the main characters are of the right age set.

Just about every culture has some sort of tradition involving people who dabble in the supernatural to one end or another, and there’s a vast amount of potential left to be tapped in this genre, especially with teenage protagonists. Whether they’re wizards-in-training, voodoo princesses, the last descendant of an infamous historical figure, the newest apprentice in the family business, or just someone in the wrong place at the right time, the stories are endless.

Schoolbooks & Sorcery is also designed to be a queer-friendly YA anthology, embracing the full spectrum of sexuality and gender identification, while offering a wide selection of satisfying, entertaining, fascinating, powerful stories in which the mundane and the magical overlap and interact. Stories are encouraged to take place in the overlapping area between urban fantasy, high school, and LGBTQ issues and themes. Stories should send the message that it’s not just okay to be gay, it’s okay to be gay and to have the same crazy, wicked, scary, seductive, exciting, magical, strange, funny, romantic, dark adventures as everyone else. We’re looking for stories which are all-inclusive, with the characters writers have been dying to write and readers clearly want to see, diverse and interesting, with an underlying current of tolerance and acceptance. Obviously, we’re looking for a wide range of themes, tones, and voices.

IN ADDITION TO THE BELOW, I AM SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR THE FOLLOWING:

1) Stories with gay, trans, non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, and/or asexual characters… or other facets of the LGBTQ+ spectrum not specifically mentioned. Because I am trying to achieve a certain balance of representation, I am not looking for lesbian stories at this time

2) I also heavily encourage characters of color, neurodiverse characters, disabled characters, characters from outside the United States, and stories which reflect under-represented voices or experiences. The same goes for the authors! 

TECHNICAL DETAILS:

All stories should be between 2000-6000 words.

All stories must involve magic, and those who practice magic. This covers wizards, witches, sorcerers, magicians, shamans, and other traditions not specifically mentioned. This covers self-taught characters, those whose power is intrinsic or passed down through a family, those who find objects of power or books of spells, those who study with a teacher, those who go to school for magic, and so on. Other paranormal elements, such as vampires, werewolves, ghosts, or fairies, are welcome, as long as they don’t overshadow the primary theme.

Paranormal romance elements are also welcome, but this is not specifically intended as a romance anthology. Romance is good, but not necessary.

All stories must be considered YA.

Stories should be set in modern times/on Earth, but authors are encouraged to use a variety of settings, cultures, and influences to flesh out their characters and world building. Again, one of the primary goals here is to explore diversity.

While LGBTQ elements are not required, they are highly encouraged, as are protagonists who defy traditional roles and labels. (As in “girls doing boy things” and “boys doing girl things”.) More importantly: no story will be turned away for containing LGBTQ characters or elements, unless it violates the other guidelines.

Stories will not be censored for language, drinking, drugs or sexual situations; however, such things must be in moderation, appropriate to the circumstances, and tastefully handled. In movie rating terms, stories would thus fall into the PG-13 range. (To be handled as necessary. We’re not afraid of some bad words now and again…)

All stories will maintain a positive atmosphere concerning sexuality, gender, race, religion, and so on. While individual characters (most likely antagonists) may express biased, prejudiced, or phobic sentiments, or characters may deal with negative situations, the ultimate goal is to promote tolerance, acceptance, and positivity.

PLEASE NOTE: I have already seen a number of stories which address bullying. While I’m still open to considering stories incorporating this theme, I’d like to see some more variety to help round things out.

DEADLINE: August 31, 2017

SUBMISSION ADDRESS: All submissions may be sent to Facadeantho@gmail.com. Please address any questions or queries to that address as well.Submissions should be sent as an attachment, as .rtf or .doc.

PAYMENT: Payment will be 6 cents a word, plus electronic and print contributor copies.

FORMATS: Schoolbooks & Sorcery will be released simultaneously as a trade paperback and an ebook, by Ultra Violet Press, an imprint of Circlet Press.

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Michael M. Jones was the YA reviewer for Science Fiction Chronicle and Realms of Fantasy. These days, he reviews YA for Publishers Weekly and Tor.com. He is also the editor of Scheherazade’s Façade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation (Gressive Press, 2012). His fiction has appeared in anthologies from DAW, Baen, Raven Electrick Ink, Norilana, Circlet, and Cleis Press. He can be found online at www.michaelmjones.com

Well folks, we’re closing in on the final days of the Schoolbooks & Sorcery Kickstarter, and I’m rather excited. Why? Because thanks to hundreds of backers, and the generous support of everyone who’s spread the word, boosted the signal, or showed interest, we’ve funded. We hit our base goal, and are steaming towards our first stretch goal. Woohoo!

With only a few days left, there’s still plenty of time for procrastinators and latecomers to get on board, though. We’ve added an amazing new reward level, where you can get a set of fantastic handmade buttons, and I think they’re spectacular. I’ve just informed the artist that I need several bags for publicity reasons…

Check them out! Aren’t they gorgeous?

My other big news is that, as far as I’m concerned, we’ve got ourselves a brand new Magic University story by Cecilia Tan, one which no fan of hers is going to want to miss. I’ve told her to start writing, so we don’t disappoint anyone. After that, if we hit our next goal at $7000, I can open up submissions for a limited period to seek out more awesomely, unapologetically, unabashedly, proudly queer stories. I won’t lie, I really want these stories. I need to read them…

In closing, I’d like to leave you with an excerpt from Eric Esser’s spooky “Fishing for the Dead.” I think it speaks for itself.

——-

You have to get three things right to catch a ghost: the lure, the pole, and the spell. Tonight Carlo was trying for a dog. Most kids use a tennis ball or dried pig’s ear for the lure, but Carlo tied a stuffed squirrel with a fluffy tail to the end of his line. They’d been his dog Loki’s favorite. Every night for almost a year after Loki’d died, Carlo had sat beneath the stars on nights of the waxing moon, waving his pole over the corner of the backyard where they’d buried Loki beneath the acacias. He’d spend hours hypnotizing himself by swaying his line though the moonlight before he felt it brush Loki’s soul.

Four years later he was the best ghost fisher at Monte Vista High, and had dibs on the prime spot on the lowest level of the fire escape in the alley behind the SPCA. He shared it with his best friend Lyssa, their spider silk lines glistening side by side in the moonlight. Most kids preferred the strength of tarantula, but he favored the greater sensitivity of black widow; he could sense a guinea pig three months gone with that.

“Sorry about your boyfriend’s dad,” Carlo said to Lyssa so low no one else could hear. A half dozen other kids sat above or below in other fire escapes or on dumpsters. No one was down on the ground; elevating the line helps when you’re fishing, especially if the remains haven’t been buried but burned to ash and smoke like that which rose from the wide steel pipe at the back of this building. The spirits of dead dogs and cats and rabbits and most any animal you could think of suffused the air of this alley, at one time or another.

“Walter’s not my boyfriend. We just hang out sometimes,” Lyssa said.

“I think the phrase is ‘hook up.'”

“Asshole.” Lyssa swung her pig bone lure into Carlo’s shin. Lyssa had an edge to her with her powder blue hair and half a dozen piercings that Carlo found irresistible, but she went for the burly types, like Walter Resnik: varsity outside linebacker and only a Junior. Carlo was fit but slender and pale and his cheeks were almost as smooth as hers.

“So how’s he doing? Walter?”

“Hasn’t really talked about it. Tough guy.” She paused. “Fucking moron.”

Carlo nodded because he agreed. “I hear they can’t afford a fisher,” he said, trying to sound casual.

“Yeah, no insurance.”

“I wouldn’t mind giving it a shot.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Catch a human soul? With that little pole of yours?”

She glanced toward his crotch. Carlo tried to look uncomfortable but it pleased him. He had crafted his fishing pole from the bough of a dying ash tree, then inlaid the handle with bone he fished out of dinner scraps, mostly cow he had sawn into slivers and polished down. He’d fitted it with a Shimano high speed spinning reel engraved with an invocation to Ereshkigal in cuneiform; he’d worked all last summer bagging groceries to afford it.

—–

What does Carlo fish up? I think you know how to find out… Read it in Schoolbooks & Sorcery!

Well, folks, we’re on day 5 of the Kickstarter for Schoolbooks & Sorcery, and things are looking good. 50 backers for $1135, which puts us at 18% of our funding goal. 25 days to go… we can totally do this. Mind you, despite my happy-go-lucky demeanor, I’m a worrywart deep inside, so I’m totally flailing about and making a backup plan which involves fleeing to Canada, changing my name, and becoming a lumberjack if things don’t work out.

Friends, I would be an AWFUL lumberjack. You do NOT want me anywhere near chainsaws or large men in plaid flannel.

So let’s fund this anthology. Let’s fund it so hard, I never even have to dream of becoming a lumberjack out of shame and regret.

And now… an excerpt from “Protection,” by the amazing Cheryl Rainfield. What happens when a lesbian teenager, harassed by bullies, finds a magical item capable of changing her life?

—–

I walk out into the hall—and Janelle thumps her shoulder into mine, slamming me against the shiny brick wall so hard my teeth jar together. My shoulder aches but I try not to let it show.

Her friends surround me in a half circle, backing me up against the wall, blocking off my exit. Students rush past us in the usual frenzied escape for the weekend, some looking over curiously, others ignoring the tight knot of humans closing me in. Shouts and catcalls sound out, but not for me, sneakers squeak against the floor, boys throw half-finished lunches or sweaty socks at each other.

“Don’t think you can make a pass at me, dyke,” Janelle says, pushing her face up close to mine, her lips a snarl, her normally pretty face transforming into an ugly mask that I’m sure none of the teachers have seen. This close, her sickly sweet perfume is overwhelming.

I push my breath out. “I wasn’t coming on to you! I just liked your presentation. I thought you made depression real. I’ve never heard anyone put it like that before—that it’s like a happiness-eating virus, eating up all the happiness before the person can taste it. It was…real.”

Janelle’s eyes soften a little, and for a second I almost think she wants to ask me something, or maybe tell me something. Then one of the girls snickers. Janelle’s gaze darts sideways at the girl who laughed, and when she looks back at me, her face is hard again, like a mask. “Don’t kiss up to me.”

“I’m not. Besides,” I say, “you’re not my type.”

“Not your type?” Janelle stiffens, tossing her head. Her hair whips my cheek. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I don’t understand this whole straight-girl fear that I’m coming on to them, then offense when they realize I’m not. “I don’t like straight girls. Think about it; why would I? Rejection, aggravation, and there’s no attraction.”

“Maybe you like to suffer,” Zhi says.

“Seriously? Get real,” I say. “No one does.”

“Yeah? Then why are you always trying to flaunt it?” Janelle says.

Flaunt it? “I’m just trying to be me.” Trying to be comfortable in my body and who I am, which is more I can say for any of them, with their faces all made up, the fake girly-girl way they laugh and talk, their designer clothes bought to show off their bodies to boys instead of, god forbid, being liked for who they are.

—–

For more… well, you know whatcha gotta do.