A new anthology “Humanagerie” is looking for “poetry and short fiction on the theme of animals” till May 31.
Eibonvale Press will be open for submissions for a new anthology edited by Allen Ashley and Sarah Doyle. “Humanagerie” will showcase both poetry and short fiction on the theme of animals. The book will not be about animals as such, but will instead be inspired by the characteristics that animals possess, and the points at which these intersect with – and manifest in – humanity. It will also be based on the strange and beautiful adjectives used to describe such traits, such as: Aquiline – eagle Chelonian – tortoise or turtle Leporine – hare Ostracine – oyster Pieridine / Pierine – butterfly Vespine – wasp / hornetand many many more. You will find a much larger list in the guidelines.
We are interested in shifting states, in scenarios that explore duality, hybridity, and liminality. We are asking writers to consider how animalistic attributes might manifest in the human psyche – or vice versa. We want hints of scales, tails, fur and fins… gills, claws, paws and spines… glimpses of horns, tusks, teeth and tongues… stalking, slinking, slithering and stomping… roars, whimpers, howls and song. We want breath, heat, musk. We want landscapes ranging from urban wastelands to frozen tundra, from bedsits to coastlines, from suburbia to savannah – and the imagined worlds between. We want water and we want fish out of water. We want the visceral and the vulnerable, the slippery and the synaesthetic, emergence and extinction.
The submissions window will run from March 1st until May 31st 2018. The word limits are up to 60 lines for poetry and 4,000 words for fiction.
See guidelines here for more details: https://eibonvale.wordpress.com/2018/02/04/opening-for-a-new-anthology-humanagerie-edited-by-allen-ashley-and-sarah-doyle/
EDIT: I just noticed that the guidelines state, “Please note also that we are not looking for mermaid/selkie stories or vampire bat or straightforward werewolf/were-creature narratives. We are also not looking for “Furry” stories.” (emphasis mine) So I guess “Fox in Starbucks” type furry stuff must not be their thing. Check out the guidelines to get an idea of what exactly they’re looking for.