Submissions

The Robots Were Right is a Kickstarter anthology from the award-nominated editing team at Weird Little Worlds Press. Our other anthologies have been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award® for Excellence in An Anthology as well as individual stories being chosen for BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR and BEST SHORT FICTION.

For this anthology, we are breaking from the formula of most anthologies and not including any personally invited authors. Why? So that we can feature an award-quality anthology of new and upcoming authors of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. We want you!

The Pitch:

Technology has infiltrated every aspect of our lives. From being constantly monitored by our smart devices to AI art taking the jobs of creatives, technology is having a real impact on the lives and livelihoods of people all over the world. In this anthology, we want to hear the strangest, scariest, most stupefying, and most satisfying stories you can imagine. Make us cringe, laugh, cry, hide…but most of all, make us think and make us care!

What We Want:

We are looking for unique, engaging stories that are ripped from the headlines and could be the next episode of Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone. Whatever technology you choose to highlight(not necessarily from this century), it must reflect the pervasive, invasive, abusive, and/or revolutionary power of human-made tools and make us care about the humans they impact.

While we understand that there is a dark side to all unstoppable technology, don’t be afraid to send us something that is funny, poignant, innovative, or uplifting. We are open to all interpretations, and are always looking for a variety of voices, characters, places, backgrounds, narrative styles, and themes.

Great stories that would fit in this anthology:

• “The Life Cycle of Software Objects” by Ted Chiang
• “Lena” by QNTM
• “When the Yogurt Took Over,” by John Scalzi
• “The Jaunt,” by Stephen King
• “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” Ursula K. LeGuin
• “The Regression Test,” Wole Talabi

What We Don’t Want:

This is an adult fiction anthology and although there may be adult situations, strong language, and violent imagery, we do not publish the following:

• Excessive gore, graphic sex, child abuse, sexual assault, or gratuitous profanity.
• Idealized human-to-human gun violence.
• Submissions that include identifying information. We have an anonymous submissions process and you will have a chance to put your information in on the submissions form. DO NOT INCLUDE IT ON YOUR DOCUMENT OR DOCUMENT TITLE OR IT WILL BE REJECTED.
• Unedited manuscripts. Please have someone read it before sending it in.
• Tired cliches or obvious stories. Take your best idea and then make it even better.

Please take a look at our Statement of Purpose for more insight.

Details:

Length: 500-5000

Rights: International audio and print rights for 12 months from publication date

Pay: Short Fiction: .05 per word (up to .08 if stretch goal is met)

Simultaneous/Multiple/Reprint: Sim okay, multiple no, reprint no

Anonymous Submissions: We have an anonymous submissions process where you will include your identifying information on the submissions form. PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE IT ANYWHERE ELSE ON YOUR DOCUMENT. This allows us to choose the best possible story regardless of race, gender, color, or Twitter following. We only judge you on what you’ve created.

Please prepare an ANONYMIZED .doc or .docx file in Shunn Format (without name attached to page number) and save it as such:

Title_Word Count_Type (SF, F, H – Scifi, Fantasy, Horror)_Review 1