Call for submissions: Best Women's Erotica 2016

Please direct any questions about this call to bwe2016 at gmail dot com and please make sure to read the entire thing before asking in case your questions is answered below - thank you! I don't know the exact publication date, though I suspect it will be in January or February 2016, and if I find out more precisely, I will update this post. Also, as I especially welcome submissions from authors who've never been published in the series, and those who've never published erotica before, please do share this widely.

Call for Submissions
Best Women’s Erotica 2016
Edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel
To be published by Cleis Press in 2016

For my first year as editor of the Best Women’s Erotica series, I want your best, hottest, most creative and diverse erotica stories, written by and starring a wide range of women, from single to coupled, living in big cities and small towns anywhere in the world, of various ages (18+), races, sexualities, fetishes, jobs, interests, life experiences. Stories in the final book will range from humorous and playful to intense and soulful.

I don’t want to limit your creativity, because I want these approximately 25 stories to be as dazzling, varied and sexy as possible. I want your very best work, the kind that will make readers want to savor your story over and over again. Some things I’m looking to include: stories by authors who’ve never been published in the Best Women’s Erotica series, stories by and about women of color, stories featuring women 40+, romantic erotica (doesn’t necessarily need to have a happy ending, but happy endings are wonderful too), stories involving more than two people, stories in unusual settings, erotica touching on current events (though the story should be one readers ten or twenty years from now will also appreciate), BDSM stories (especially ones with creative motivations and femdom stories, though I also want submissive women who aren’t pushovers), stories that blow my mind. I gravitate toward unique, creative characters, settings, and scenarios. I will consider sci fi, fantasy and paranormal stories, but they will not be the focus of this anthology. For an idea of the types of stories I like, see my women’s erotica anthologies Fast Girls or Orgasmic.

Rights: non-exclusive right to publish the story in this anthology in print, ebook and audiobook form. Authors will retain copyright to their stories. Standard Cleis Press contributor contract.

Guidelines: Submit only original, unpublished stories of 1,500-3,500 words that are not being considered elsewhere. I want only original work that has never been published online or in print. All characters must be 18 or over. No poetry. No incest or scat. US grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) required. Maximum two submissions per author. Submit to bwe2016 at gmail dot com by attaching a Word .doc or .docx file, double spaced, Times New Roman black font with legal name, pseudonym (if applicable), mailing address, and 50-word-or-under third person bio on the front page. All stories must have title and byline included with the submission. Indent half an inch at start of each paragraph. Do not add extra lines between paragraphs or use any other irregular spacing; the entire file should be double spaced. If you cannot use Word, please submit as both an RTF AND include the story’s title and text, 50-word-or-under third person bio and legal name, pseudonym (if applicable) and mailing address in the body of an email. DO NOT submit alternate versions of the same story twice; only the first submission will be considered. Submissions that don’t conform to my guidelines will not be considered.

I will confirm that I have received your submission within 72 hours. I will respond to all submissions by September 30, 2015. If you have not heard back from me by October 1, 2015, feel free to follow up.

Payment: $100 and 2 copies of the book within 90 days of publication

Deadline: June 1, 2015 (earlier submissions strongly encouraged)

Questions: Email bwe2016 at gmail dot com