Editor Mike Allen has finalized the guidelines and reading period for Clockwork Phoenix 2: More Tales of Beauty and Strangeness (which will be published by Norilana Books in July 2009). From 23 August to 16 November, he’ll be reading “stories that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the ways they cross genre boundaries, that aren’t afraid to experiment with storytelling techniques. But experimentation is not a requirement: the stories in the anthology must be more than gimmicks, and should appeal to genuine emotions, suspense, fear, sorrow, delight, wonder. I will value a story that makes me laugh in its quirky way more than a story that tries to dazzle me with a hollow exercise in wordplay.” All stories should contain some element of the fantastic.
In addition to what he wants, Allen “developed some criteria for stories that aren’t likely to interest” him (over the course of reading for the first volume). “These include straightfoward retellings of well-known fairy tales; stories in which a Machine Discovers Its Humanity; stories that aim to prove Christianity/Religion Is Bad; stories about a Privileged Schmuck who comes to understand Oppression Is Bad; stories whose entire plot can be described as X Commits a Murder; stories of wish-fulfillment with little complication—i.e.: character longs for something; character is granted that something; end of story.”
Publication is planned to be first in trade paperback, followed by an electronic version sometime later. Allen is offering two cents per word (stories should be 10,000 words or shorter) and a pro rata share of royalties. For full details/guidelines, see www.clockworkphoenix.com.