Lycan Valley Press Publications LVP Publications

Not too warm. Not too cold. Just Dead. Just Right.

BE THE BEAR Female Rage Anthology, edited by MJ Sydney and Lee Murray

Submissions are open now through December 1* or until full. Please read all guidelines before submitting!

While we appreciate that there are many men who support and advocate for women and can effectively write female characters, this anthology is open to female** authors only! (See below how men can help support this anthology.)

This is a non-profit charity anthology to benefit organizations directly helping rape and sexual assault victims. (Specific organizations will be announced prior to publication).

As the title and cover image suggests, we want stories of women BEING rather CHOOSING the bear. We are looking for horror and speculative women's rage stories. Other than that, we’re leaving it open to allow women to express how and what that means, in a way that best reflects their experiences, who they are and their writing styles. The best female rage stories will be crafted with sensitivity and offer insight into our reactions to the real-world threats facing women and girls in a way that opens dialogue. (Stories based on real people and/or events should be depicted as fictional with names changed.)

Don't hold back. Be loud. Show us your wild woman. Be feral. Show us your rage. Don't choose the bear. Be the bear! Give us your best female rage stories in 1500 and 7500 words (with the sweet spot being around 3500). A limited number of poetry submissions will be considered as well and you may include up to three poems per submission. (Artists*** wishing to submit original artwork should contact Lycan Valley directly.)

Due to the nature of this anthology, we are not limiting relevant graphic descriptions other than to the point they are unnecessary for the story. Do not make your story more graphic in terms of sexual abuse, violence or gore than it needs to be. We will leave it up to you to determine what that level is based on your story’s needs.

ABSOLUTELY NO AI. No reprints unless requested by our editors.

As this is a non-profit, charity anthology, we are asking for stories to be donated for the cause. All sales profits will go directly to support and advocacy for rape victims. Authors will receive a free ebook and audiobook download plus 5 discounted codes to give away and may request a printed copy of the anthology as well (with shipping included in the US, UK and Australia, outside these areas will incur a shipping fee). Authors may also purchase up to 10 copies of the anthology at print cost plus shipping (shipping direct from the printer).

Send all submissions through our submission portal.

With the subject line: STORY/POEM — TITLE — ### WORDS/LINES

Please include a 50-75 word third person author bio as well. Authors wishing to remain anonymous for personal or safety reasons, please let us know in the cover letter section of the submission portal and we will ensure your byline reads "by Anonymous" with no bio included.

Submissions should be formatted to SHUNN manuscript formatting guidelines (or close to it) and be saved as an .rtf or .pages file. Poetry submissions may include up to three separate poems in one document.

Inspiration from the cover artwork can be found here.

*In the event we close submissions early, advance notification will be made on our website and social media. Additionally, we may extend the deadline as needed. If necessary, we may expand this anthology to two volumes.

**This anthology is open to women only. This includes all women, regardless of sex assigned at birth. Men are encouraged to support this anthology by sharing, preordering, and reading women’s stories, by listening to women when they say no or are uncomfortable with men’s behavior and by refusing to stand by and stay silent when their male friends are sexually inappropriate towards women.

***Female artists interested in donating original interior artwork should contact Lycan Valley directly at [email protected] with the subject line BEAR ART. To be considered, art must be the artists own original artwork, no AI or computer graphics. High resolution jpg or png images will be required upon acceptance. Non-art submissions to this email will be deleted unread.

Submit

We are looking for horror, thriller and pulp novellas with some type of paranormal, supernatural, occult or psychological element. Own Voices, LGBTQ2S+ and BIPOC are strongly encouraged to submit. Adult and YA novellas considered.

If you and your story qualify for our Quantum Corsets Queer imprint (LGBTQ2S+ authors and stories only), please make note of this in the cover letter section.

Submit your complete novella (17,500 to 30,000 words) in rtf or pages format. Please use SHUNN formatting. Underline all italics. Use proper paragraph settings for indents; do not use tabs or spaces. No soft returns.

Please include a brief synopsis, a short character description and chapter outline (character descriptions and chapter outlines can be a couple sentence each). You may upload two files per submission (one with the full manuscript and the other with the summary or include the summary in the cover letter section).

In the submission title, include STORY TITLE - YA or A - Word Count (QC if for Quantum Corsets)

Authors may submit up to three (3) separate novellas for this submission window. If the novella is intended as series, please only submit the first one in the series and note the others in the cover letter section.

No reprints without prior permission. No Ai generated or Ai assisted submissions (this will get you banned from future submission).

Submit

Quantum Corsets is an imprint of Lycan Valley open to Own Voices only. In the cover letter section, please include a short statement of inclusion for Own Voices.

ABSOLUTELY NO AI.

We are currently open for novels (N) and novellas (NS) for adult (A), young adult (YA) and middle grade (MG).

Your submission title must include STORY TITLE - A/YA/MG - N/NS/C - Word Count

In the cover letter section, include a statement of inclusion for Own Voices, the genre your manuscript best fits, a list of brief character descriptions and a short summary.

Manuscripts should be SHUNN formatted and attached as .rtf or .pages files only.

About Lycan Valley's Quantum Corsets Imprint:

‘Quantum’ references significant energy and momentum

‘Corsets’ represents empowerment and self-expression without constraints

‘Queer’ is intended to be all inclusive of the LGBTQ2+ community and fluidity, while rejecting restrictive labels and challenging societal norms

Quantum Corsets will publish horror, dark fiction, mystery, thriller, suspense, cultural, and mixed genre novels, novellas and collections for adult, young adult and middle grade readers.

We are not looking for pure romance or porn. These elements may be present as appropriate within the story, but should not be the main genre.

Although Pink Triangle Rhapsody focused specifically on the gay male experience, the anthology would fit in perfectly with Quantum Corsets and is a great sampling of the energy, self-expression and queerness we’re looking for with this imprint.

While Lycan Valley acknowledges and accepts that writers can create believable and compelling characters unlike themselves, Quantum Corsets will publish Own Voices only (others may still submit to Lycan Valley during open call periods).

Bestiality and graphic depictions or glorification of child or adult rape will not be accepted by Lycan Valley under any circumstances.

And we'll say it again: ABSOLUTELY NO AI.

Submit