Divine inspiration

TDotSpec is a team of writers and editors from Toronto, who claim to be ‘dedicated to publishing awesome speculative fiction that reflects diverse and vibrant voices from around the world’. They like to publish stories people want to talk about, ‘stories with compelling hooks, writing that grabs you with the first line, and concepts that grab you before then’. Send work which is ‘cool… fresh… different, compelling, intriguing’. Their next anthology will be The Science Fiction Tarot a book containing 22 stories, ‘one tale standing in for each of the cards of the major arcana’.

The team seek stories, no more than 7,500 words with preference given to submissions of 5,000 words and fewer. Start with a query of ‘a 1-3 word science fiction concept for a card, along with a story that exhibits that idea through character, plot or theme’. Be sure to have ‘a clear archetype, setting, or SF subgenre’ and centre the work around the concept. But beware, the focus of the tale should be the idea conveyed, not the tarot card the writer creates. To clarify this check out the examples the team give in the guidelines. Be imaginative and think of something that might be distilled down into a tarot card.

Don’t worry about artistic skills, the team have artists lined up to make the black and white illustration of the author’s card. Simultaneous submissions and reprints are allowed, not multiple subs. Submit the work online using their system.

The deadline is 4 October. Response time is ‘4-6 weeks’. Payment is 3¢ cents per word for original work and 1¢ cent per word for reprints, for ‘three months’ worldwide print and digital rights on original works selected; for reprints we are seeking non-exclusive rights.’

Website: http://tdotspec.com