10:35am August 25, 2014

➸ Truancy | Delinquent's Spice

DS is proud to announce a brand new venue for fiction based off one or more fairytale revision. Truancy, as the name suggests, allows for less conventional folk and fairytale retellings. Perhaps “retellings” is too specific a word. I want ambitious short fiction pieces, I want people to consider not just unusual folk or fairytales to retell. I want them to create their own fairytales.

This is guided by the same ethos as Delinquent’s Spice. I want stories from the planet that aren’t hegemonic or caught up with imperialism. I realise there’s a dearth of such venues and we need new venues for short stories that build off folklore and fairytale. The difference is that Truancy stories won’t be connected by prompts, and this allows me to give writers more freedom.

Here are the general guidelines:

1. Short fiction, between 2000-3500 words would be ideal but the hard limit is 4000 words. Payment is a flat rate of USD10 per story.
2. Prose poems, stream-of-consciousness and experimental prose are all welcome in this venue. It’s called Truancy for a reason, you know? Here you get to play.
3. There may occasionally be themed issues and guest editors in the future. When this happens, specific sets of guidelines will be released.
4. The emphasis remains on marginalised voices that are strong, bold, playful and experimental.
a.I want WoC/PoC/QUILTBAG writers. This is also a disability-friendly venue. I want lesser represented, non-Anglophone cultures. I will be happy with non-neurotypical/neurodiverse characters/writers. Non-binary writers are also most welcome.
b. Although the stories accepted in this venue should be primarily written in English, I also accept Englishes, and excerpts and dialogues in other languages, so long as the meaning is self-explanatory (this is important because we don’t want your story to be clogged up with an overload of exposition. That will obscure the story AND your voice).
c. I want stories that shine with dialect, with pidgin, with improvision, with beat, and meter. Let’s shake things up here, let’s be truant, let’s start a fairytale riot.Let’s get rid of that misconception that fairytales and folktales are for the twee, and that they’re no longer relevant. We need them for every age.
4. Do read the general guidelines for Delinquent Spice in regards to inclusiveness, diversity and appropriation. They apply to Truancy as well. This is very important. Do not give me stories that demonise any minority, displays racism, ableism, misogyny and stereotypes.
5. While I use the Aarne-Thompson-Uther (ATU) specifications for Volume One of Delinquent’s Spice, they are by no means the be-all and end-all for folk and fairytales (the systems-obsessed nerd in me does like the elegant simplicity of the categories, but that’s par for the course).
a. Therefore, do look deeper into the treasures of your respective cultures to find these stories. They may exist in children’s books or in a different language. Urban legends are fine too.
b. Do let me know in your cover letter about the fairytale or tale-type you’re referencing. If there’s no available translation in English, just give me the gist of the story! If you’re making it up as you go along but messing around with fairytale/folktale tropes, do let me know as well.
6. Please read the general guidelines here for very essential requirements for both DS pubs. The submissions email address is there too with formatting instructions!

Reblogging for my readers who write!