We’re going to open for submissions for Issue #2 on 9/15/2024 and close them on 10/31/2024. The theme is Black and White. I’ve made a picture, too. Apply it how you want. Do you have a character who doesn’t believe in nuance? Have all the colors been arrested and imprisoned? Make up a story, apply your interpretation, and send it in.
The winning story will get $50 again. Four more stories will be selected, $20 each this time.
Someone just asked about poetry. Send in a poem if you like, totally fine by me.
Last time, I had to force my co-workers to read the stories after they all said, “Oh yeah, that sounds like so much fun!” when I originally asked them if they wanted to judge the stories. It did turn out to be a lot of fun in the end. It was so much fun, in fact, that I’m getting a whole new batch of judges this time. Same setup as before, maybe we’re not qualified, but I’ve never let that stop me. The reading will be blind and fair. It didn’t matter last time, but let’s cap the stories at 2,000 words. No minimum. We’ll close early if we get 150 submissions, but that seems unlikely.
No reprints, please. Simultaneous submissions are ok, and the zine will only be in print form, so I don’t know if you count anything in it as ‘published’. Also, I’m not asking for exclusive rights, just the rights to include it in the zine. If you want to make my life a little easier, remove your name from your submission ahead of time. The judging will be blind and if you can’t or won’t take your name off your submission, I can do it. It’s not grounds for disqualification, just an extra step.
I don’t feel like anyone should have to say it, but don’t send in anything written by, or with the assistance of, AI like ChatGPT, Gemini, or whatever else is out there. What’s the point? Wouldn’t it be a lot cooler if AI did your laundry anyway? Write your own story, please.
Send your art in black and white, too. I’m going to include 5 arts this time, $15 each.
Again, I know this isn’t a ton of money, but I’m still not rich.
Click below, or email to ToadShadeZine at Gmail.com if that doesn’t pop it up for you.