Furry Writers' Guild Forum

Pawradiso: The Ten Spheres of Furry Heaven

Pawradiso: The Ten Spheres of Furry Heaven
Deadline: July 15, 2019
Editor: Rayah James
Word count: 2,500-8,000; a little above and a little below will be acceptable

Unlike the other two regions of Dante’s famed Divine Comedy, the poem of Paradiso has received very little attention both culturally and critically. This anthology works to challenge that…even as it changes what heaven would be like for furry people: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradiso_(Dante). This collection will be divided respectively into the ten parts. We expect stories to be framed to focus on people who will end up in a specific sphere. Most of a story should focus on what they did back on Earth in life. Showing how they died is not required but is pretty standard for this anthology series. We need to see their virtue that brought them there. However, here’s the challenge: we want to see anthro-animal characters who were strong and virtuous even in dark and trying circumstances, even if they ultimately failed. That’s right: like the previous two volumes, we are still wanting dark stories, be they horror, dark erotica, or similar. Easy ways to do this would be having a virtuous character be a victim to evil characters, or have a virtuous character be a witness, or perhaps most dastardly have a well-meaning character have to choose between the lesser of two evils…It is perfectly fine but not required if submissions are NSFW. All story submissions must be “furry” in nature.

We will NOT accept:
Racism, sexism, or discrimination presented in a positive light.
Pedophilia or sex with characters under the age of 18 presented in a positive light.
Rape, torture, dubious consent, forced seduction presented in a positive light.
Snuff or Necrophilia presented in a positive light
Bestiality presented in a positive light
If you are in doubt, ASK. Better to ask then to get a straight up rejection! If you are unsure, just shoot me an email at sherayah.thurstonhowlpub@gmail.com. (restrictions borrowed from Voice: https://t.co/MWykJ6RY36)

You can submit up to three stories, but we will only accept one per author (if any).
Reprints are fine, but you have to own full permission of the work in order for us to consider it.
We will not accept simultaneous submissions.
Payment: Authors will receive a free copy of the print book.
Send submissions in .doc or .docx format to sherayah.thurstonhowlpub@gmail.com.
Title your email with the circle in all caps, e.g. “FIRST.” If you are sending more than one submission, send multiple emails instead of putting them all in one.
We will inform all authors regarding decisions within a week or two after the deadline.
Book will likely be released December in plenty of time for a heavenly Christmas.

Here are the ten spheres and their general values.
First (The Moon / The Inconstant)
Second (Mercury / The Ambitious)
Third (Venus / The Lovers)
Fourth (The Sun / The Wise)
Fifth (Mars / The Warriors of the Faith)
Sixth (Jupiter / The Just Rulers)
Seventh (Saturn / The Contemplatives)
Eighth (The Fixed Stars / Faith, Hope, and Love)
Ninth (The Primum Mobile / The Angels)
Tenth (The Empyrean / God) [publisher’s note: I thought about taking this out for the sheer controversy it enabled; but then I realized it couldn’t hurt to see what authors came up with for it anyway. You all have impressed us numerous times before. We see no reason to stop your creativity now.]