Making content for an established universe is a difficult thing – everybody does it slightly differently. Here at Alkimia Fables, we’re not asking you to submit complete works, work that you probably won’t be able to publish anywhere else (certainly not without making us very sad.)
Instead, the process is as follows: read the current Alkimia pages on this blog (and some of the current Alkimia corpus, if you like), come up with your idea. Then sit and think on it. Then: write us a 300-600 word pitch of what exactly it is you want to do. Don’t worry about pitch rules in this case. If you’ve got an outline, we want to see it. If you snapped and wrote the opening to your story or drew a sketch, show us!
These pitches can range in detail, but for fiction and flash fiction we’d like to see:
-solid beginning
-hazy but interesting ending idea (this can change!)
-you definitely read the lore pages (protip: we want to know what element your main character is!)
-an interesting character idea.
For art:
-A scribble or sketch – think very rough storyboard
-How it ties into the universe
-That you definitely read the lore pages (what element do you want to work with, for example?)
-Black and white? Colour? Tell us a little more about how you work, what you work with, etc!
For poetry:
-A few lines of verse
-That you definitely read the lore page (catching my drift?)
-A core idea or thought you’re driving at (this can be vague! Poetry is a different writing experience for everyone)
-Free verse/blank verse? Rhyming? Sonnet? Tell us what you want the final product to look like, or sound like.
For multimedia:
-That you definitely read the lore page
-a basic concept of what you want to do
-a basic concept of how you want to do it
-why this format? why this way? There’s no right answer since this is your project, but this is the difference between ‘half-baked idea’ and ‘something we’d like to encourage and publish’.
In addition to your pitch, please attach two samples of previous writing, art, or multimedia work. This can, in fact, be fanfiction if that’s what you’ve got on hand; they can be poetry or flash fiction even if you’re submitting for multimedia or fiction, and vice versa! As long as we can get a sense of your writing style and your interests, we’re happy. For art, we do ask that you include specifically art, but we think that’s understandable. Finally, include a bio of 200 words or less that describes previous publications, if any, where you are in your career, what you do in your spare time, how many pets you have, etc.
If we like your pitch, we’ll send you an acceptance that includes an optional Discord link. (We highly recommend joining the Discord; it’s part of the process.)
IN SUMMARY:
Email your submission to elliott.dunstan@gmail.com with the subject line ‘SUBMISSION: Alkimia, <(Flash Fiction, Art, Fiction, Multimedia, or Poetry)>: <Your Name>’ (ex: ‘SUBMISSION: Alkimia, Flash Fiction: Elliott Dunstan’)
You have 300-600 words to impress us. Cover letter style, iambic pentameter, a sample of the thing you wrote in feverish inspiration last night – bring on the thunder! We like weird, but we also like readable.
Attach two samples of previous writing, between 500-5,000 words, or art, as finished as possible and indicative of your style.
If you haven’t heard from us and it’s been a month, send a check-up email.
OTHER IMPORTANT DETAILS:
If you treat other contributors in the anthology badly, we reserve the right to retract your submission.
The verse is collaborative, but you still have to play by the basic rules.
We will be asking contributors to help with marketing on social media. If this makes you uncomfortable, that’s fine! But it’s just part of this kind of collaborative project.
The Alkimia Fables 