Anthology Calls for Submissions
Wish Upon a Southern Star will be an anthology of radical retellings of fairy tales for young 
adult readers. Although those of us living in the South Pacific couldn’t be further removed from the European woods of Grimms’ fairy tales, we, like the rest of the world, are immersed in fairy tale lore — so let’s have fun with it! This is a chance for writers of the South Pacific to shine — contributing authors should be from New Zealand, Australia, or a South Pacific island.
Send your sassy stories of princesses doing it for themselves, your romantic tales with risky transformations, your quirky or profound reinterpretation of a favourite tale. Your story should retell a single fairy tale, which may be from the European fairy tale canon or a lesser-known original (including non-European fairy tales). Your retelling should play with the key elements of the original tale, fracturing the original plot, characters, and meanings to deliver its own empowering message.
If you’re not sure how to go about retelling a fairy tale in a radical way, find out how by reading the editor’s recent blog posts on her website.
Wish Upon a Southern Star will be edited by Shelley Chappell, author of Beyond the Briar: A Collection of Romantic Fairy Tales. Shelley has a PhD in children’s and young adult fantasy literature and is the author of a number of short stories. For more information about Shelley and to make a connection, visit her website.
Wish Upon a Southern Star Submission Information:
Submission Eligibility: Contributing authors should be citizens or residents of New Zealand, Australia, or one of the South Pacific islands.
Word count: Any length up to a maximum of 10,000 words.
Accepted forms and genres: Fantasy, science fiction, contemporary fiction, historical fiction; poetry, flash fiction, short story (all for a young adult audience). No parodies or horrors. Please query if unsure.
Submission Deadline: Submissions open 1st August 2016 and close 31st December 2016.
Submission Requirements: Stories should follow standard manuscript formatting.
How to submit: Email stories as .doc, .docx, or .richtxt attachments to [email protected]
In the body of the email, clearly state your name and contact details, the title of the story, what fairy tale it is retelling, your word length, and provide a short description of the story and an author bio. You will receive an acknowledgement of your submission. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please let Shelley Chappell know on Facebook, as your submission may be lost. No previously published works will be accepted. Multiple and simultaneous submissions are accepted (please specify if making a simultaneous submission).
Publication and Distribution: This collection will be independently published on the Kindle and Createspace platforms and distributed online at Amazon and Smashwords, with the potential for admission in selected physical bookstores.
Remuneration & Story Rights: Contributing authors will receive payment in the form of a free e-copy and printed copy of the anthology. Wish Upon a Southern Star maintains first publication rights for print and online. Rights will revert to the contributing authors after 1 year.