2021 Anthology

Open Submissions for: “No Ordinary Day” ~ A WCYR Anthology

November 1, 2021 – December 3, 2021

The Writers’ Community of York Region recently hosted the BDO Writing Contests for short stories, poetry, and flash fiction. The winners of those contests will be automatically included in the “No Ordinary Day” anthology publication along with their winning or honorary mention status.

In addition to the winners of the contests, the WCYR would like to open the remaining story/poetry spots in the anthology as a PERK for members.

We are looking to include an additional 7-10 short stories, 5 pieces of flash fiction, and up to 6 more poems of various genres.

THEME: From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary

The WCYR is running this open submission in conjunction with our Mini-NaNoWriMo initiative to help encourage our writers to put pen-to-page, fingers-to-keys, voice-to-text or however you are inspiried to create your stories.

Guidelines for submissions follow below, but first a little more information about why we are putting together this anthology:

Since the inception of this writing community, one of our goals has been to build an anthology; something our members and friends could contribute to, use to gain experience of the editing/publishing process, and be able to celebrate all of the amazing writers who share their craft with us.

We are currently in the unique position where several of our members are well-versed in the publishing process and have volunteered their time and expertise to help make this goal a reality.

We are also working to find additional revenue streams to help bolster our community after the impact of COVID-19.

This anthology will be a not-for-profit endeavor whereby those who submit their writing (and are accepted) will receive no monetary compensation for their work. We are asking in exchange for your donated time/craft that our volunteers will publish your work in a professional print & electronic book for sales to help reinvigorate the Events/Special Opportunities budgets for the WCYR.

All entries must be original work. No reprints please. We will retain first print rights for 3 months after the date of publication.

We will also provide one free copy of the print book to each non-winning author included in the anthology, and make available author copies for purchase. A contract outlining these details will be signed by those included in the anthology.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES ~ Submit to events@wcyork.ca c/o Anthology Coordinator

Short Story

One entry per person.

2,000-2,500 words (some wiggle room allowed within the span of a short sentence).

Any genre except Erotica.

Theme: From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary

Formatting:

12 point Times New Roman or Calibri font

Double spaced; indented paragraphs; no additional spaces between paragraphs

1″ margins all around

Word .doc or .docx document only

Title Page is centred, single-spaced with your form stated (Short Story, Flash, or Poetry), name, email, phone number, word count, genre, title.

Numbered pages in upper right corner with the title & your name (My Title/LastName/1).

Be sure to submit a clean copy of your manuscript – spelling/punctuation/grammar/formatting.

Flash Fiction:

One entry per person.

400-500 words (no wiggle room).

Theme: From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary

Any genre except Erotica.

Formatting:

12 point Times New Roman or Calibri font

Double spaced; indented paragraphs; no additional spaces between paragraphs

1″ margins all around

Word .doc or .docx document only

Title Page is centred, single-spaced with your form stated (Short Story, Flash or Poetry), name, email, phone number, word count, genre, title.

Be sure to submit a clean copy of your manuscript – spelling/punctuation/grammar/formatting.

Poetry:

One entry per person.

12-16 lines.

Theme: From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary

Any genre except erotica.

Formatting:

Must fit on one page.

Design the layout as you (or your muse) choose, just be sure it is readable.

Standard fonts such as Times New Roman and Calibri only but font-size may vary depending on how you choose to say your piece.

Save as a PDF if you’re concerned you will lose formatting during the submission process though we prefer .doc or .docx files.

Title Page: centred, single-spaced with your form stated (Short Story, Flash, Poetry), name, email, phone number, word count, genre, title.

Submissions Open November 1, 2021 – December 3, 2021