AN INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER OF UNIQUE BOOKS

Update 10/22/2024: Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is no longer co-editor for this project or involved in any way, and so the anthology will be edited only by me. I am currently reading through submissions (and loving them), so expect announcements soon!

Submissions are now closed for You, Human, Vol. 2. If you submitted a story, please wait until the beginning of 2025 before inquiring. The guidelines below are for information purposes only for the previously open submission window.

YOU, HUMAN

The first volume of You, Human (2016) won the Benjamin Franklin Award for science fiction and is the most successful and widely-read anthology published by Written Backwards. Josh Malerman’s story “The Jupiter Drop” was also nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction and is currently in development as a major motion picture.

If you need to catch up, it is highly recommended to read the first volume of You, Human before submitting work for consideration.

The second volume will again not only feature legends of the craft but showcase today’s emerging talent, and will be edited by Michael Bailey. The anthology is invite-only around the submission window (with more announcements revealed soon), but submissions are open to the public in September specifically for novelettes.

What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be real? What does it mean to exist? What does it mean to be human? Once again, Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics will be re-evaluated and revised to help define humanity, this time by novelettes (7,500 – 15,000 words max).

Three Laws of Humanity:

1. A human being may not injure another human being or, through inaction, allow another human being to come to harm.
2. A human being must obey the orders given it by other human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first law.
3. A human being must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second laws.

GUIDELINES

Manuscripts must include contact information on the title page, as well as author name (or pseudonym) and page numbers on subsequent pages; 12pt font, double-spaced; there are no hard guidelines for auto-rejections, but understand the basics of professional manuscript formatting.

Original fiction: 7,500 – 15,000 words. The sweet spot is 7,500 – 10,000 words. Nothing under 7,500 words will be accepted, and likewise nothing over 15,000 words. No reprints. No poetry.

Accepted genre(s): Dark sci-fi and all blended sub-genres (horror, fantasy, etc.)

Payment: $0.10 / word (ten cents per word) capped at 5,000 words, and a contributor copy of each edition published (hardcover, paperback, and eBook). So, $500 per story. For collaborative works, payment will be split equally between collaborators.

Rights: First World Rights in English; all rights revert to the writer immediately upon publication, although 12 months exclusivity is requested, except for inclusion in a personal or “best of” collection published after the anthology. All other rights remain with the author.

Submission window: September 1st – September 30th, 2024 (30 days, ending midnight your time). This gives you from now until the end of September to work on something original. Submissions received before or after this window (unless requested) will be auto-rejected.

Exception: Writers previously published in any Written Backwards anthology may submit work at any time, regardless of the submission window. Basically, alumni are always invited.

Reprints: No.

Instant rejections: stories under 7,500 words, stories over 15,000 words, reprints, excerpts, nonfiction, young adult, poetry, romance, erotica, gore for the sake of gore, violence for the sake of violence, works that contain hate speech or discrimination of any kind other than to fight against such horrible things, and any writing influenced by A.I.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

All submissions will be checked for the use of generative artificial intelligence in their creation using detection software and will be automatically rejected if found to include influence. Likewise, any who submit such material will be banned from future submissions.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please notify if your submission is accepted by another venue. Please only submit one manuscript at a time and wait for a non-acceptance (rejection) prior to submitting again, with no more than 2 submissions total. Depending on the amount of stories received, there may not be an opportunity for a second submission.

Illustrations: Similar to previous Written Backwards titles, accepted stories may include illustrations. If an artist is used, they will be paid professional rates and the use of A.I. will not be allowed,

Publication: 2025 (to be determined).

Formats: Hardcover, paperback, and eBook.

Due to the number of submissions anticipated (typically 1,000 – 1,500, sometimes as high as 2,500), non-acceptances will be announced by way of a form response as quickly as manageable.

Allow up to 3 months before inquiring about a submission. For submissions that reach the “maybe pile,” additional time for consideration will be requested until the anthology is full.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Email YH2@nettirw.com with the story attached (.docx, .doc, .rtf only; no PDF). Feel free to include a short bio and information about your particular demographic (representing the underrepresented is a passion of the editor), but no other information is needed.

OTHER INFORMATION

Please do not use this opportunity (as many have in the past) to query about other potential projects. Written Backwards is not open at this time to fiction collections, poetry collections, novellas, novels, anthology ideas, or any other projects.

Written Backwards has always highlighted the work of diverse writers from around the world and will continue to do so, which is why this anthology will open for submissions and will pay professional rates (equal pay and promotion for all writers). While not many like the term “literary,” that is what this anthology is looking for: groundbreaking work that break normal conventions and will stand the test of time, propelling emerging and undiscovered writers into the mainstream.

If unfamiliar with previous Written Backwards anthologies that blend science fiction with other genres, it is highly recommended to read previous titles, such as Prisms and/or Adam’s Ladder (co-edited by Darren Speegle), Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors (co-edited by Doug Murano), the original You, Human, or any of the books in the Chiral Mad or Qualia Nous series. Familiarizing yourself with these works will better your chances of landing a spot in You, Human, Vol. 2.

All accepted works will meet active membership requirements for organizations such as the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), the Horror Writers Association (HWA), and others.

Similar to previous Written Backwards anthologies, all contracts protect the writer.

TABLE OF CONTENTS (so far):

“Being I” / “Watching You” / “They Become One” by Linda D. Addison
“AI Chronicles: Properties of a Human Curse” by Eugen Bacon
“Time for a (R)Evolution! – A Documentary” by Sachin Baliga
“The Touch of an Old Friend’s Hand” by Scott Edelman
“One Brown Mouse” by Gary A. Braunbeck

Featuring an introduction by Maxwell Ian Gold.

More announcements soon!