Deadlines, Calvin & Hobbes vs. Fight Club

Dark Discoveries and Basement Stories, two paying speculative magazines, both close to submissions June 1st. It may seem like a long time away, but it'll creep up on you.

Here's an interesting page for any Calvin & Hobbes or Fight Club fans. Galvin P. Chow has written an essay titled "I Am Jack's Younger Self: The Secret Connections between 'Fight Club' and 'Calvin and Hobbes' REVEALED!" It sounds silly, but it actually makes a lot of sense. The writer has put a lot of thought into it, and there are a lot of similarities that I never would have otherwise thought about. It's definitely an interesting read.

If anyone doesn't already have a copy of Bill Higginson and Penny Harter's Haiku Handbook, Kodansha International has just released a 25th Anniversary Edition that is currently only $12.24 at Amazon. This is definitely one of those books that you'll read through and want to keep, because you'll refer back to it often.

Dark Discoveries, 28 Blackbirds, Dwarf Stars

Horror magazine Dark Discoveries has officially raised its pay rate to five cents per word. That's great news for all horror writers, but especially those trying to get into the HWA -- another professional market to submit to.

J. Bruce Fuller's chapbook 28 Blackbirds at the End of the World is now available for preorder at the Bandersnatch Books website. I'm pretty sure it's $8 for a copy, but I can't find that info anywhere on the site. Anyone who orders before the end of January will be entered into a raffle, and the winner will receive a copy of every book Bandersnatch publishes in 2010.

The nominations for the 2009 Dwarf Stars Award have been announced, and there are a lot of familiar names on the list, as well as many new ones. SFPA members get a copy of the Dwarf Stars anthology, which looks to have a pretty good lineup.

Dark Discoveries and other open markets

Dark Discoveries is a great market for horror writers, but it has been closed to submissions for a while. However, anyone who subscribes to editor James Beach's newsletter already knows that the magazine has reopened to subs. It is also now a higher-paying market. Here are the full details from the newsletter (the new guidelines aren't available on the website yet):

DARK DISCOVERIES MAGAZINE RE-OPENING FOR SUBMISSIONS (HIGHER PAY RATES): I'm opening the doors once again for submissions. There are all-new guidelines with a higher pay rate ($.03 to $.05 a word with a minimum of $25 and a maximum of $150 with a 500 to 5000 word range). I'm also no longer accepting simultaneous submissions and will be a bit tougher on proper formatting.

I'm still looking to bump the rates up to $.05 a word starting 2010 if we can make our subscription drive goal of 75 one-year subscriptions. We're almost half way there so please consider subscribing or renewing if you are able to.

In nonpaying market news, Fissure and Twisted Dreams are both currently open to fiction submissions. Twisted Dreams just reopened last week, and Fissure closes to subs November 1st.

Mayfly (which pays $10/haiku) is also currently open to submissions, and if you want a chance for your poem to appear in the winter issue, be sure to submit by December 15th.

My friend and fellow writer Brent Borge saw Zombieland last weekend when it opened -- check out his review.