General Guidelines / Themes / Previous Anthologies
(1) Anthology Submissions are by EMAIL ONLY. All submissions should be emailed as WORD (.doc NOT .docX) or RTF attachments to editor@mainstreetrag.com
(2) File name should match the title of the story and subject line of email should read: "Anthology Submission for ___________ theme" (fill in the blank).
(3) Authors may submit 1 story per theme for the reading period; maximum length: 10,000 words. Flash fiction is acceptable as are stand-alone novel excerpts. If the anthology is considering poetry, 2 poems is submission limit. If writers are submitting to more than one theme, please use separate emails since each theme is read by a different editor.
(4) Stories should be double-space using 11 or 12pt serif font (Times, Times New Roman, etc.). Single space is fine for poetry.
(5) Reading Period: Each anthology is different, so be sure to read the specific terms below, but most will consider submissions that arrive between May 1 and September 15 (submissions close 5pm EASTERN time September 15) with final report time no later than November 1.
(6) Previously Published Stories are eligible if they have NOT been published in print within the past 5 years in another anthology, magazine or individual collection. Stories or poems published online are not eligible.
(7) NO Simultaneous Submissions. We don't report for anthologies the same way we do for our literary magazine, so the report time may be slightly longer, but we will not include work that is being published simultaneously elsewhere (with the exception of an author's individual collection), so we'd rather not invest the time in something that we will not be able to use. We appreciate authors' understanding of our rationale.
If you have any questions in regard to eligibility, query first to editor@mainstreetrag.com. If the question concerns previously published, please include where and when it was previously published.Thank you.
Current Themes:
Porches. Reading period: Closed. So much of our daily lives revolves around what happens on porches, decks, balconies, even the stoop that abuts the sidewalk in front of our homes, condos or apartments. Whether it's a meeting place, a place where neighbors sit to discuss news of the day, a place to cook dinner or drink our morning brew, these are places where life happens, people gather, stories evolve. That's what we are looking for: stories (fiction and/or creative non-fiction) or poems related to or involving scenes from porches, decks, balconies, or stoops. Final Selections to be announced by June 15.
NEW THEMES to be announced soon.
What better way to know what we do than to read what we've already done. Listed below are anthologies Main Street Rag has published with links directly to their authors' page for details. Others can be found on the MSR Online Bookstore.
Law & Disorder (expected release: Fall 2013)Aftermath (Fall/Winter 2012, Rayne Debski, Editor)
Altered States (2011, Amy Locklin, Editor)
a la carte (2010, S. Craig Renfroe, Jr., Editor)
Big Water (2008, S. Craig Renfroe, Jr., Editor)
The Book of Villains (2011, Josh Woods, Editor)
Coming Home (2010, Katey Schultz, Editor)
Commutability (2010, David Jack Bell & Molly McCaffrey, Editors)
Dots on a Map (2009, Katey Schultz, Editor)
Keeping Track (Fall/Winter 2012, Yelizaveta P. Renfro, Editor)
Mountain Memoirs
(non-fiction & poetry, Fall/Winter 2012, Chris Arvidson, Scot Pope, & Julie E. Townsend, Editors)Suicidally Beautiful (2011, Dennis Bormann, Steve Taylor editors)
Tattoos (Fall/Winter 2012, Alice Osborn, Editor)
XX Excentric (2009, S. Craig Renfroe, Jr., Editor)
In December 2001, Main Street Rag began circulating a monthly electronic newsletter. Among other things, our goal with this service is to provide subscribers with a monthly reminder of events, deadlines, contests, and magazines that are actively seeking manuscripts. If you would like to learn more about this service, just click.
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