Epona Muse Publishing

Autistic individuals (and other neurodivergent people) have strong relationships with animals. For many of us, our animals are often the only beings who accept us unconditionally, without making demands, or asking that we mask to adapt to a neurotypical society. This anthology celebrates our unique relationship with animals. Come laugh, smile, cry, and grieve with us as we experience the full range of our relationship with the animals in our lives.

Nonfiction essays that talk about own voices/lived experience of being neurodivergent and our relationship with animals. While this anthology can cover any aspect of pet ownership, we ask that it not include distressing details of animal abuse or mistreatment. (It’s okay to say you rescued your pet from a bad situation, just not go into details about just how bad it was.)

What we’d like to avoid: We’re looking for an upbeat and informative anthology, so while death is a part of sharing our lives with animals that live far shorter lives than we do, we’re hoping for stories that are more celebratory than sad.

Length: 1000-8000 words.

Reprints? Original works preferred. Reprints may be considered if the story has been out of print for at least three years and has not been available elsewhere.

NO Generative AI WRITTEN or PROMPTED WORKS!

No simultaneous submissions and no multiple submissions. Authors, please only send one story.

Epona Muse Publishing requests the exclusive rights to publish the story in print and ebook for one full year after publication. Beyond that, the anthology will remain in print for a minimum of 2 years, and then the publisher reserves the right to retire the anthology. The story can be reprinted/republished after the first year of exclusivity. We will also ask for audio rights for the short story (nonexclusive). We will not ask for any other rights or the rights to any subsequent/related works. Any questions, please ask!

Payment: Authors will receive royalties based upon their share of 70% of the royalties received from each sale. The remaining 30% remains with the publisher to cover costs associated with the anthology. Royalties are split equally among contributor and the publisher reserves the right to use PubShare to distribute royalties, which unfortunately does take an additional 10% (leaving 60% for the authors). If you have any strong feelings either way, please indicate so in the cover letter.

Other requirements: It is suggested that authors share the anthology in their newsletter (if applicable) and on social media at least once a month. Remember a rising tide lifts all boats.

Authors will sign a publication agreement outlining the responsibilities of both publisher and author. A W9/W8 (non-US authors) will be required for tax purposes.

Submissions are due by November 30, 2026

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This is a charity anthology, with all proceeds going to The Y’all Squad, an amazing 501c3 organization that helps support people before and after severe weather. (Also, if you’re in need of weather coverage, I highly recommend Ryan Hall Y’all’s page for those of us who fall into radar holes or aren’t well served by local weather networks.)

When a storm gets plum wild and damages a town The Y’all Squad is there to help. And this anthology celebrates the wild weather and weather geek authors by being chock full of fantasy stories featuring magic and weather, and it’s all…you guessed it…plum wild! We’re looking for magically caused tornadoes, floods that follow a weather working, and the magically driven weather that creates for great fantasy reading.

Fantasy stories featuring weather and magic, or magical weather, or weather magic. Just make sure the two topics are tied together in a way that makes them vital to the story. We know weather can cause disasters and heartbreak, but please, we’re looking for stories that don’t end with the village being wiped off the map. It’s okay to rebuild. It’s okay for there to be damage, but let’s not write dark or grimdark stories featuring weather. And no excessive violence or gore. We want to keep this anthology suitable for the general fantasy audience.

What we’d like to avoid: No dark/grimdark stories and no excessive violence or gore. We want to celebrate the exhilaration of weather, the spirit of neighbors helping neighbors, and the rainbow that helps after you take the shelfie. (That’s a selfie in front a shelf cloud and only recommended for professional storm chasers, please.)

Length: 2000-10000 words.

Reprints? Original works preferred. Reprints may be considered if the story has been out of print for at least three years and has not been available elsewhere.

NO Generative AI WRITTEN or PROMPTED WORKS!

No simultaneous submissions and no multiple submissions. Authors, please only send one story.

Epona Muse Publishing requests the exclusive rights to publish the story in print and ebook for six months after publication. Beyond that, the anthology will remain in print for a minimum of 2 years, and then the publisher reserves the right to retire the anthology. The story can be reprinted/republished after the first year of exclusivity. We will also ask for audio rights for the short story (nonexclusive). We will not ask for any other rights or the rights to any subsequent/related works. Any questions, please ask!

Payment: This is a charity anthology which means the authors will not receive royalty payments. All proceeds will go toward the Y’all squad.

Other requirements: It is suggested that authors share the anthology in their newsletter (if applicable) and on social media at least once a month. Remember a rising tide lifts all boats.

Authors will sign a publication agreement outlining the responsibilities of both publisher and author. Since no payment will be made, no W9/W8 (non-US authors) will be required.

Submissions are due by December 31, 2026

Submit

Epona Muse Publishing seeks speculative fiction novellas within the science fiction or fantasy genres and their associated sub-genres. No horror please. Ideally your novella will be between 15-25,000 words, though we will accept works between 10,000 and 30,000 words. We pay 55% royalties on novellas.

We encourage stories written by individuals who consider themselves part of the BIPOC, chronically ill/disabled, neurodivergent, and/or queer communities. These novellas may (or may not) have own voices characters or characters from those communities.

If your novella is strictly a romance with speculative fiction elements, we will be very selective in those we choose as we are not a primary romance publisher. Strong world building, a well-defined magic, technology or political system depending on the story, and well-rounded characters outside of normal tropes will help encourage us to consider your work. We especially would appreciate a transgender, neurodivergent and/or aero/ace character as one of the leads.

The speculative fiction element must be an important part of the story. If it were removed, the story would not work. Elements of other genres are also welcome, but please keep in mind that we do not publish horror, hate or hateful ideologies, stories designed to preach religious ideologies, explicit sex, or gory violence. If you have a question about where your work might fall, please feel free to reach out!

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