Call For Submissions: Speculative Masculinities

THE SUBMISSIONS PERIOD HAS NOW CLOSED

Masculinity has, almost since the category of speculative fiction emerged in the early 20th century, been a concern of fiction written in the genre. A culturally dominant, Western, toxic form of masculinity has dominated storytelling in speculative fiction. In worlds as varied and diverse as the distant past of magical worlds and the far future of this one, models of maleness and masculinity tend to be the same toxic form of masculinity that dominates modern Western culture. We want to interrogate that model of masculinity, to problematise it, and to question it; we want to see other possible models of masculinity, models not centred on dominance and violence and repression of feelings; other role models for men. We are looking for fiction, essays and poetry which do this.

We are particularly looking for submissions from authors from marginalised identities and backgrounds, especially where those identities complicate the author’s relationship with masculinity, including but by no means limited to disabled writers, trans writers, and writers of colour.

Reading Period: January 15th-April 15th 2018. No responses to submissions will be sent out before May 2nd, 2018.

Fiction
Fiction editors: Jay Wolf & Ronan Sadler

Masculinity, as so much of our media defines it, is discouragingly narrow; the constructs that define “masculinity” are often rigid and unforgiving. Toxic masculinity engenders violence to those marginalized by, as well as to those contained within, it. This violence looks and feels different to everyone, depending on their social location. But what if it didn’t have to be this way?
We’re looking for speculative short fiction that looks past the fitted mold of masculinity, the known and assumed qualities of what constitutes “manliness” that enforce an artificial exclusion. We want to see thoughtful futures, alternate histories, or far-flung fantasies that examine masculinity without boxing it in. We’re not looking for gender-based “gotcha” moments or punchlines. What can masculinity be when it is not a rigid social construct? The stories we are looking for will examine what it means to be masculine while leaving pre-judgments at the door.

Length: 1,000-7,500 words.
Payment: £0.08/word
Fiction Submissions Procedure:
•Please submit your essays as 14pt font, serifed (ex: Time New Roman, Courier, Garamond), double spaced, .RTF, .DOC, or .DOCX format documents.
•The subject line of your email should read FICTION SUBMISSION: [Title], where [Title] is the title of your story.
•Please include the wordcount of your story in the email.
•Email your submission to galli-books [at] galli-books [dot] co [dot] uk
•Please do not send multiple submissions at once, or submissions simultaneously submitted to another market or anthology.

Poetry
Poetry editor: Brandon O’Brien

We’re looking for rich, evocative poetry with depth and a compelling, unique voice. We are looking for work which explores issues and themes related to radical perspectives on masculinity without giving in to stereotype, and we encourage work that offers radically positive models of masculinity.

Length: No line limits
Payment: £30/poem
Poetry Submissions Procedure:
•You may submit up to three poems. Please submit each poem in a separate email, in the form they should appear in the final anthology, in .RTF, .DOC or .DOCX formats. Depending on the complexity of formatting, this may require further discussion between yourself and our poetry editor, Brandon O’Brien.
•The subject line of your email should read POETRY SUBMISSION: [Title], where [Title] is the title of your poem
•Email your submission to galli-books [at] galli-books [dot] co [dot] uk
•Please do not send submissions simultaneously submitted to another market or anthology.

Nonfiction
Nonfiction editor: D Franklin

We are looking for essays discussing the presentation and creation of masculinity in speculative fiction, including science fiction and fantasy; including essays looking at how such presentation and creation has influenced you. We are interested in essays looking at single works or the field as a whole. Creative nonfiction, academic essay, personal essay, or other non-fiction styles are all welcome. We particularly welcome essays which complicate questions of what masculinity means, especially in the context of speculative fiction.

Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Payment: £50/essay
Nonfiction Submissions Procedure:
•Please submit your essays as 14pt font, serifed (ex: Time New Roman, Courier, Garamond), double spaced, .RTF, .DOC, or .DOCX format documents.
•The subject line of your email should read ESSAY SUBMISSION: [Title], where [Title] is the title of your essay
•Please include a brief summary of your essay in the email.
•Email your submission to galli-books [at] galli-books [dot] co [dot] uk
•Please do not send multiple submissions at once, or submissions simultaneously submitted to another market or anthology.

All submissions must be previously unpublished. We are not accepting reprints. If you are unsure whether a submission would count as previously published, or have any other queries, please get in touch by emailing galli-books [at] galli-books [dot] co [dot] uk.

About the Editors

Jay Wolf is a nonbinary author and freelance illustrator based out of Jersey City, NJ. They divide time between disciplines: writing, illustration, costuming, sculpture, mold-making and casting, and other freelance art and creative projects. In addition, Jay is a submissions editor at Uncanny Magazine and Viable Paradise alumnus.

Ronan Sadler is a disabled trans editor and writer based in Toronto. For more information on them, see alembiceditorial.com

Brandon O’Brien is a performance poet and writer from Trinidad and Tobago. His work has appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Strange Horizons, Arsenika, and New Worlds, Old Ways: Speculative Tales from the Caribbean, among other outlets. He is also the poetry editor of FIYAH: A Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction.

D Franklin is the founder of Galli Books. They are by day a Glasgow-based bookseller, and by night a nonbinary reader and fan of science fiction and fantasy.