Urban Mythic

Here is the provisional cover design for The Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic, edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber. The fabulous artwork is by Ben Baldwin.

Urban Mythic: contributors announced

Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber, illustrious editors of The Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic, are delighted to announce the final line-up: and here they are, in alphabetical order. The final arrangement is yet to be determined. As publisher, I have to say: Wow!

James Brogden – The Smith of Hockley

Joyce Chng – Dragonform Witch

Zen Cho – Fish Bowl

Graham Edwards – A Night to Forget

Jaine Fenn – Not the Territory

Christopher Golden – Under Cover of Night

Kate Griffin – An Inspector Calls

Alison Littlewood – The Song of the City

Anne Nicholls – The Seeds of a Pomegranate

Jonathan Oliver – White Horse

Mike Resnick – The Wizard of West 34th street

Gaie Sebold – Underground

Adrian Tchaikovsky – Family Business

Ian Whates – Default Reactions

Submission period: one month remaining

Now is the time to start polishing your stories. The submission period for The Alchemy Press Books Of ... Astrologica, Pulp Heroes 2 and Urban Mythic ends on 31st March 2013. Get submitting. For guidelines visit the individual pages (click on the links).

Submissions now open

The Alchemy Press has opened its submission windows for the next three anthologies: Astrologica (edited by Allen Ashley), Urban Mythic (edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber), and Pulp Heroes 2 (edited by Mike Chinn). In brief:

The Alchemy Press Book of the Astrologica is looking for stories about the signs of the Zodiac, the characteristics associated with those signs and/ or people born under them. I will also consider stories involving the mythical characters and creatures of the astrological signs, perhaps their history and origin, perhaps their present and future state. Note: I am not saying that one has to believe in the paraphernalia associated with modern astrology; but authors should seek to use some of this as inspiration and underpinning of their narratives.

The Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic is seeking contemporary tales with all the magic and wonder of myth and legend, blending modern life with the traditions of folklore from around the world. Whether lurking in dark alleys or brash shopping malls; from shanty towns to the floating cities of Venice, Bangkok or Dubai; swanky riverside penthouse lofts or humble suburban semis, we want to see how the mythic is woven into the everyday. Think Charles de Lint, Terri Windling, Robert Holdstock, Seanan McGuire, Jim Butcher, Kate Griffin, Simon R. Green, Holly Black, Neil Gaiman…

The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes 2 is after tales from the arid plains of Mars to the canyons of Manhattan; the foetid jungle to the naked jungle. Demented criminals versus dark heroes with sinister powers. The flash of steel in the palaces of long-forgotten civilizations or along the sterile corridors of impossible spacecraft. Swords against sorcery or sword and planet.

And don’t forget, this year sees the launch of Alchemy Novellas: these will cover almost all areas of Fantasy – that’s heroic fantasy, alternate world fantasy, urban fantasy, supernatural, dark crime and horror. Comic fantasy will be considered but not if it’s a parade of puns or bad gags. We are not fans of zombies or heroic vampires. We will not publish hard science fiction. Essentially, acceptance will be based on how well the novella works for us.

Visit the above links for full details.

Opening the windows...

A reminder to all you writers looking for a home for your stories: the submission periods for the 2013 Alchemy Press anthologies -- Astrologica, Pulp Heroes 2 and Urban Mythic opens on 1st January and remain open until the end of March 2013. Now is the time to polish off your manuscripts and getting them ready to send them in to your hard-working editors.

We had hoped to secure additional funding in order to pay semi-pro rates for your stories. But alas, the people holding the cheque book didn't think that a series of fantasy anthologies was serious enough. What do they know? Therefore we will only be paying a nominal fee again (as we did this year for Ancient Wonders and Pulp Heroes 1). Check the above links for details.