Sisters in Crime North Dallas Anthology 2023
Eligibility:
Open to any person who is a current member of both National Sisters in Crime, and Sisters in Crime North Dallas at the time of submitting a story, and member in good standing at the time of publication.
We limit submissions to a mystery-themed story of 4,500-6,000 words between now and the deadline of 12 p.m. (noon), CT, October 18, 2023. Stories must be entirely fiction (not based on actual crimes or real-life events), the original work of the author, and not previously published elsewhere. Only one story submission per person.
Submitting your story:
Because this is a mystery anthology, stories must fall into that genre. Classic detection, police procedurals, private eye, cozies, courtroom drama, suspense, cold cases, or the threat of a crime (or fear of one) are the types of stories these mystery-themed anthologies publish. No graphic violence or explicit sex scenes, please. (Refer to *Content Warnings at the end of this document.)
Stories should be set in Dallas Metroplex (Click HERE for Metroplex cities) and reflect the flavor of the Metroplex, either featuring residents, vacationers, or passers-by, as long as Dallas is recognized as the setting. Whether it happens in another era is optional, as long as facts are researched and confirmed as accurate for that time period. Example: vehicles of the time period, weapons, clothing, outlying towns, etc.
Place only your name, email address, story title, word length, and note that you are a current member of both National Sisters in Crime and Sisters in Crime North Dallas on the email page.
ALL identifying information should be on the email page only. If you know the approximate date you joined National Sisters in Crime and Sisters in Crime North Dallas, it will be very helpful to include that.
DO NOT put anything personally identifying in the story attachment.
SUGGESTION: It’s always good to have another pair of eyes look at your writing. Maybe you have a critique partner, close friend, family member or another author who would review your story before you submit.
Send your story in a doc. attachment following the above guidelines of only the story itself. Send the attachment in an email to sincndsecretary@gmail.com. All stories will be stripped of identifying information and sent to a panel of judges.
The story should be in standard formatting, 4,500-6,000 words in length, double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman, with numbered pages.
Set one-inch margins all around.
The first line of every paragraph should be indented one half-inch from the left margin. Do not place extra line spaces between paragraphs.
Selection of stories:
The panel of judges evaluates and selects the top stories. A professional editor will provide two rounds of editing to the authors of selected stories to proof any errors and polish the story to perfection for publication.
The authors of stories selected for inclusion in the anthology will be asked to sign a contract which attests that the story is the sole work of the author; that the work is original; that the work does not infringe upon anyone's copyright, trademark, proprietary, privacy or publicity rights; that the work is not defamatory, obscene or otherwise contrary to law; that the author has obtained all necessary permissions; and finally, that "the author agrees to indemnify Sisters in Crime North Dallas, its officers, employees, and agents against all cost, expense, and damage arising from any breach by Author of these warranties, actual or claimed, if sustained."
Any Advances and royalties will accrue to the Chapter.
Please send any questions you may have in an email to sincndsecretary@gmail.com.
*Content Warnings: Please include Content Warnings as part of your submissions, if appropriate. (Guidelines for Content Warnings may be found here.) If such stories are eventually chosen for the anthology, these Content Warnings (vetted and approved by the anthology editor and designated Chapter personnel) may be included with applicable stories as part of the final publication.