OPEN ANTHOLOGY CALL: A MYSTERIOUS KEEPER OF CREATURES OF IMAGINATION -- CALL OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS TO ‘MATAGORDIA’S MYTHICAL MENAGERIE’ ANTHOLOGY
Known for its unique anthologies, Pro Se Productions ups its game as a cutting edge genre fiction publisher with its latest submissions call. Based on a concept created by Pro Se’s Editor in Chief, Tommy Hancock, proposals are now being accepted for ‘MATAGORDIA’S MYTHICAL MENAGERIE VOLUME ONE.’
“Perhaps the greatest part of my job, ” says Hancock, “is getting to be a part of the creative process at Pro Se. To not only make sure great writers and artists work for the company, but to also build concepts that challenge creators and draw in readers is one of the major reasons I do what I do. MATAGORDIA’S MYTHICAL MENAGERIE is a concept I’ve toyed with for a while, looking for a way to combine aspects of my favorite concepts from different genres and stories. I think this is it and one that will definitely excite both readers and writers.”
The world is not simply a blue and brown ball called Earth. It is a wondrous mix of magic, mystery, and madness. And from this tangle of wonder and wild come beasts, beings, and monsters thought to be fantasy…or fears alone. Yet, the truth is that humans and the animals we know to exist are not alone, never have been. And those things, those living things that belong to legend and nightmare, to dream and story…they need a place to be as well. A way to live, many of them the last of their kind. And someone to take care of them.
“Matagordia,” explains Hancock, “is a person that has what some would call a circus, a freak show, a traveling extravaganza…it all sort of depends on which time period you’re talking about. Be it a circus tent in the middle of a Midwestern field in the 19th Century or a small auditorium that somehow suddenly appears in Chicago in the 1930s…or any other such thing…Matagordia’s Mythical Menagerie is a place where not only can regular folks see creatures they thought to be made up…but those very beasts aren’t on display as much as they live in a world all their own, one that is more than tent flaps or doors. Where outsiders see a warehouse actually may exist entire landscapes…and then there’s Matagordia him…or herself.”
Stories for this anthology must be set in between the years 1800 to the present day. Writers interested in submitting proposals must request the bible for the concept by emailing submissions@prose-press.com. Stories will focus either on Matagordia’s work/hunt/rescue of creatures considered mythical from multiple beliefs, stories, and cryptozology or on adventures that take place within Matagordia’s unique mobile world. A list of creatures will be available and listed in the concept bible. No submissions will be considered for this anthology without the writer having reviewed the bible.
Stories must be 8-10,000 words in length. A proposal of 100-500 words must be submitted to
submissions@prose-press.com. Authors not previously published by Pro Se Productions must submit a writing sample of at least two pages with their proposals.
Final deadline for completed stories is 90 days following acceptance of proposals. Payment will be in the form of royalties, the percentage determined by number of accepted submissions. These are considered works for hire as the properties are based on concepts created by Tommy Hancock and Pro Se Productions.
MATAGORDIA’S MYTHICAL MENAGERIE is a part of the Pro Se Open, the company's anthology project, and is scheduled to be published in the 2019-2021 calendar years, depending on submissions and other factors.
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OPEN ANTHOLOGY CALL REPOSTED: LIBRARIANS ON HORSEBACK IN THE WILDS OF APPALACHIA! SUBMISSIONS OPEN FOR NEW ANTHOLOGY -- ‘BOOKRIDERS’!
Oftentimes some of the best ideas for fiction come from fact. Pro Se Productions announces an anthology that has its roots in 1930s Kentucky, the WPA, and some of the most amazing women ever to carry a book. Submissions are now open for BOOKRIDERS, an anthology of fiction tales based on the Pack Horse Library initiative.
“The old concept,” says Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions, “about someone not being able to write a fiction story as good as the truth sometimes rings true more often than not. It definitely does where the Pack Horse Library initiative comes into play. Getting books out to the people who lived across eastern Kentucky in the 1930s was not only hard, but nearly impossible. In an attempt to employ women and to make sure books were accessible, the WPA started a program that actually, in its nine year history, employed 274 women as librarians riding horses or mules, literally spreading knowledge a book at a time to people that had no access otherwise. Who could make that up? And what better basis for a collection of great stories focused on fantastic women and the danger, adventure, and success they had to encounter on those backwoods trails? That is why BOOKRIDERS will be a collection, one we will dedicate to every single woman who rode hard with saddlebags loaded down with books. ”
Stories for BOOKRIDERS must be set in eastern Kentucky within the years of 1934 to 1943, the year the WPA ended. The central character of each story must be a woman employed by the Pack Horse initiative as a librarian. If writers find women who were actually a part of the program and they wish to base their stories on them, that is allowed. Fictional librarians are also appropriate as well. These stories must be true to the period, must contain some semblance of action or danger, adding to the pacing of the tale, and must be set firmly in reality and history. No supernatural, science fiction, or otherworldly elements allowed.
Although authors may submit their own creations as librarians, Pro Se will provide a bible on this concept, which will include five characters created by Pro Se that writers may also use. Writers interested in proposing for this anthology should request the bible.
Stories must be 5-8,000 words in length. A proposal of 100-500 words must be submitted to
submissions@prose-press.com. Authors not previously published by Pro Se Productions must submit a writing sample of at least two pages with their proposals.
Final deadline for completed stories is 90 days following acceptance of proposals. Payment will be in the form of royalties, the percentage determined by number of accepted submissions.
BOOKRIDERS is a part of the Pro Se Open, the company's anthology project, and is scheduled to be published in the 2019-2021 calendar years, depending on submissions and other factors.
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SUBMISSIONS CALL OPEN FOR FOUR MONTHLY PRO SE SINGLE SHOT SIGNATURE SERIES!
In 2014, Pro Se Productions announced and launched The Pro Se Single Shot Signature Series, an innovative line of digital only fiction series, most of them episodic in nature and centering around a series regular or cast. Though the first incarnation of the line came to an end in 2016, Pro Se Productions announces the return of The Pro Se Single Shot Signature series by opening a submissions call for four new monthly series for release in 2018-2019.
Proposals for submissions are now being accepted for four new series as a part of the Pro Se Single Shot Signature line. Any genre is acceptable and word length must be 3 to 10 thousand words per month for a twelve month series. The series may either be episodic, ‘chapters’ in one continual story OR 12 individual stories featuring the same character or cast, like stand alone episodes. A mix of both can also be used, some stand alone episodes, some multi ‘chapter’ arcs.
Proposals for a series MUST outline 12 episodes/chapters/stories. This is non negotiable. Stories each month must be a MINIMUM of 3 thousand words and a MAXIMUM of 10,000 words and authors can determine themselves how long each story will be within these parameters. Once a proposal is accepted, a series will not debut until the first three installments are submitted to Pro Se Productions. Depending on sales, each series may be collected at the end of its digital run as a single novel/collection.
As previously stated, any genre is acceptable for submission. Preference will be given to stories that move quickly and keep a reader engaged. Authors with skill in writing serialized tales and/or recurring episodic work are encouraged to submit. Please do not propose serializing works that were originally completed as a novel. Newly written works aimed at being a 12 chapter/episode series are preferred.
This is a royalty only project, with the author of each accepted series receiving 50% royalties for the entire run of the series and, if collected, the resulting book/collection. If a writer submitting a proposal has not previously submitted to Pro Se before, proposals must include a four page writing sample.
All proposals must be sent to
submissions@prose-press.com.
Examples of series from the Pro Se Signature Series’ first incarnation can be found at:
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FROM APOCALYPTIC PROMPT TO ANTHOLOGY -- SUBMISSIONS OPEN FOR ‘BLIND MAN BLUFF’
Pro Se Productions, a home for imaginative concepts, announces an open call for a unique anthology where authors take a few written lines and allow the story to carry them wherever it may. BLIND MAN BLUFF is now open for submissions.
“Providing a prompt,” says Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions, “is a standard way for writers to practice or get ideas, usually used in writing groups or online. BLIND MAN BLUFF is an anthology that adapts the prompt to give authors an opportunity to create a world based on just a few sentences, giving them the seed to see what they allow to grow with it. And the lines we provide are where each story starts. I am excited to see who takes a chance on this idea and what sort of tales get told.”
The prompt that each proposed story should use as its starting point is as follows-
"My name is Daniel Bluff. The year doesn’t matter. I am 34 years old, just shy of 35, but age is really just a useless number now, too. I stand six foot, three inches tall, weigh about 285, what most would consider athletic, maybe muscular. Short cropped black hair, peppered with some gray. Deep green eyes, like forest leaves Mariah once told me. I earned the scar that divides my left eyebrow in a fight I should have died in. I have skills most only ever see in movies or read in old paperbacks. How I learned what I know doesn’t matter anymore. Nothing from that life does. Not since the Occurrence. I may even be the last human being left alive or unchanged on the planet. So, I don’t write this for anyone to read. I write it so I remember the words, so I remember what I look like. I write it because I am alone and without much in the way of supplies. No one will be left to tell me what I don’t see.
I write it because… the world as I know it has ended and I am quickly going blind."
Stories must be 5,000-8,000 words in length and must be based on the above prompt. Authors can take the story in any direction they want as long as they are true to the prompt AND Bluff remains blind. Proposals should be 1-3 paragraphs and sent to
submissions@prose-press.com. If an author submitting a proposal has never submitted to Pro Se before, a four page writing sample must be included.
This is a royalty only project, with the final royalties being determined by the number of accepted stories. Deadline will be 90 days after a proposal is accepted.
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To learn more about Pro Se Productions, go to
www.prose-press.com. Like Pro Se on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/ProSeProductions.
You might want to consider which gestures or what body language is typical for each of your characters. For instance, one of my characters in the novel I just finished tends to hug herself when she’s nervous, while another has a habit of rubbing at his shoulder when he’s uncomfortable. They only do it a few times each throughout the book, but I think details like that make characters feel more solid.
by L'atelier des écrivains (The Writers' Workshop, France)
Pro Se Productions, a publisher of Genre Fiction, is also a publisher and a leading figure in one aspect of what is considered The New Pulp Movement. This movement focuses on fiction that is inspired and in the style of Pulp Fiction published in the early 20th Century, influenced by Pulp of the past, but written by modern writers with an eye toward the future. New Pulp exists outside this movement, obviously, and many recognize all aspects of this style of fiction as a community. This feeling has been so prevalent in the past that it has led to creators coming together to produce benefit books in memory of other creators or, in the case of Pro Se’s Editor in Chief, Tommy Hancock, to assist during hard times.
Why do people cheat, rob and murder? Why are people tempted to commit dark deeds? These are the questions that have always plagued the great detective, Sherlock Holmes. In this, the 12th Volume of the best selling series, Consulting Detective, he and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson take on five new cases that will challenge their intellect and lead them through the twisted minds of nefarious souls.
When a shadowy group of criminals start shaking down restaurants in Mobile, Joe Perrone once again dons the cloak and goggles of the Bay Phantom. Shortly thereafter, wealthy young men begin dropping dead without warning. What do these things have in common with a mysterious psychic, a sinister funeral home, and a nationalist movement known as the Transatlantic Patriots Guild? 
Mystery writer and Santa Fe resident Dorothy B. Hughes, whose 1946 novel Ride the Pink Horse is among a handful of books she set here, seems to have harbored complicated feelings about the city. Ride the Pink Horse, which is rife with details about Santa Fe’s complex history, centers on a Chicago hoodlum named Sailor who tracks a vacationing Illinois senator to the Plaza during Fiesta. Sailor initially sneers at the small town (which he repeatedly calls a “dump”), its diverse citizenry, and especially its strange rituals — the burning of Zozobra, Fiesta’s garish carnival ambience — even as he enlists the guidance of a Hispano-Indian carousel operator and an enigmatic San Ildefonso Pueblo teenager. Through the course of the novel, as the capital city’s traditions make an impression on Sailor’s callous modernity, Santa Fe itself becomes a kind of phantom character. One wonders what, exactly, the book’s author may have felt about the annual celebration of Fiesta — or even about the town as a whole.
https://www.darkoakpress.com/pirates.html
https://www.darkoakpress.com/capes.html
When fans of modern Pulp Fiction discuss characters that have made their mark, Derrick Ferguson’s Dillon tops the list. While hitting all the expectations a hero should, Dillon also stands out as a unique character, thanks largely to Ferguson’s skill as a writer. And now, in a showcase of great stories, Pro Se marks Dillon’s first appearance under its banner with DILLON ANNUAL COLLECTION 2018, now available in trade paperback, hardcover, and digital formats.
Award Winning Author I. A. Watson, one of the most prolific voices in New Pulp, takes readers one final time to a world of history of fantasy, one marred with magic, monsters, and mystery in the fifth and final chapter his exclusive original Pro Se Single Shot Signatures Series BYZANTIUM.
