For The Exile Book of New Canadian Noir, editors Claude Lalumière and David Nickle are looking for previously unpublished dark fiction that spans across genres to capture the whole spectrum of the noir esthetic: its traditional form within crime fiction; its imaginative forays into horror, fantasy, and surrealism; its dystopian consequences within speculative fiction; its disquieting mood in erotica; its grim journeys into frontier fiction; its stark expression in literary realism. We will look at noir fiction of any stripe, within any genre or any combination of genres. Although writers need to be Canadian, there is no restriction on setting. Stories can be set anywhere.
- Open only to Canadian writers (citizens, residents, expats, etc.)
- Length: 1000-8000 words
- Previously unpublished stories only (no plays or poetry)
- English-language translations of stories having previously appeared in other languages welcome
- Opens to submissions on 1 March 2014
- Deadline: 2 July 2014, 12 midnight, Pacific Time
- Multiple submissions welcome; up to two stories, sent under separate cover
- We prefer no simultaneous submissions, please (we promise to respond promptly)
- Initial responses (rejections, holds, and rewrite requests) within 15 days of submission; final responses no later than 30 days after the deadline
- Pay: 5 cents/word
- Electronic submissions only, via Submittable at newcanadiannoir.submittable.com/submit
- File Formats: .docx, .rtf, or .doc.
- Formatting: indented paragraphs; italics in italics (not underlined); Canadian spelling; # (or other unambiguous symbol) to indicate scene breaks; no headers; no outlandish formatting, please; full contact info and word count on the first page (that said, don’t fret too much about formatting; good fiction is what’s most important)
- Please include a cover letter with a brief author bio, title of story, and full contact info, including street address (if your address is outside Canada, please explain your Canadian status in the cover letter)
- Do not summarize or describe the story in the cover letter
- To be published by Exile Editions in 2015.
- queries: newcanadiannoir@gmail.com