SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Asterius Press publishes the following: Devil Blossoms,Gnome,andThe 13thWarrior
Review.
These guidelines are provided for your convenience - as well
as mine. Pay close attention to them and take them seriously if
you expect me to take you seriously.
General Guidelines
Rights I may accept: First rights, First Internet rights, First electronic rights, Internet archival rights, and non-exclusive anthology rights. Simultaneous submissions are
acceptable, but not encouraged. No previously published submissions or multiple submissions (sending more than one manuscript at a time) are frowned upon.
I pay 1 contributor's copy for my print publications
and nothing for my online publication except my good graces and
whatever promotional value there is in having your work read
online. For Book/chapbooks I pay 15 contributor copies and a 10% royalty.
I realize that writers have big egos - so do I, and
since I am the god of my small universe around here, there's only
room for my own. Listen, I am not affiliated with any school,
movement, clique, cult, or political party. I am not subsidized
by grant money or a fat trust fund. I pay for this operation out
of my own pocket, therefore, if you decide to cop an attitude
with me, I say to you outright, that you cannot begin to know what
attitude is. I receive thousands of submissions for Devil
Blossoms alone and simply cannot and WILL NOT waste my time
defending my editorial policies and decisions. Ask yourself just
how much I really need to read your writing before you say
something you might regret.
If you cannot handle criticism do not ask for it. If I
should say something about your work, you don't like, tell it to
your shrink, because I do not care. I am not your mommy, English
teacher, or your coach. It is not my job to encourage you.
You only get one chance to say "no" to me. If you believe your work is better suited to a "classier" outfit then, by all means, submit your work there and don't waste my time. And if you are one among those dying breed who don't like Internet publications, you are REALLY wasting my time since more than half of what I do is connected to electronic publishing. Understand that there are too many people out there writing -- some quite talented -- who would love the opportunity to be published here.
Cover letters should be brief and to the point. Do not
enclose lengthy résumés or press kits.
No more than five poems or one prose piece should be
submitted at one time.
Do not staple manuscripts or seal your envelope in so
much tape that I have to use a scalpel and a blow torch to open
it.
Please note that I am going to be phasing-out postal submissions in the future. For now, I will still accept them but I will no longer respond to them via postal mail, so please include your email address along with your mailing address on every submission so I that I have accurate contact information.
Snail mail submissions should be addressed to John C.
Erianne, editor c/o Asterius Press, POB 5122, Seabrook, NJ
08302-3511.
Email submissions are encouraged and, as of 8/01/2008, I am losing up restrictions on file attachments. You may submit file attachments provided they have the following extentions: .doc, .wpd,.rtf, and .txt only. Files with any other extentions will be deleted without reply.Electronic submissions encouraged and must be sent as
text in the message body with "submission" as the subject header.
Email: theeditor@asteriusonline.com
Specific Needs
Devil Blossoms
Needs: Dark, edgy poetry and prose. No more than 3-5 poems. Literary, erotic,
noir, satirical, absurdist, sick, twisted, maniacal, strange,
psychological, Kafkaesque horror, sf, hard-boiled. Fiction up to 3500 words.
What I do not want to see: run-of-the-mill fluff,
workshop exercises, novel excerpts, the typical "ghouls and
goblins" supernatural crap. Realize that nothing shocks me, so
don't assume a teen Goth tale about an alienated teen vampire is
appropriate for Devil Blossoms - especially if you've never read
an issue. No romance, western, cozy mysteries or anything like
what you'd find in Redbook, or Penthouse
letters. No religious or racial themes unless you are
satirizing religion or racists. No
tree-hugging-whale-saving-politically correct or greeting card
nonsense. If you write well, have something to say, and are
willing to take a leap of faith into the abyss, you will likely
find a home here. Please note that I am closed to new submissions until further notice.
Gnome: the online journal of underground
writing
Needs: non-traditional poetry and an occasional piece
of experimental prose.. Neo-populist, neo-beat, street,
experimental, alternative, free-verse, performance, avant-garde,
anti-academic rants and bloodlettings.
What I do not want to see: mainstream, teen angst,
sainted granny inspirational garbage. Unoriginal riffs off of
Bukowski, Ginsburg, Kerouac, Burroughs, Gil Scott Heron, Amiri
Baraka or any other poet who riffs off of any of these writers.
Anything you'd find in The New Yorker, Poetry,
or any other Poetry-like publication.
The 13th Warrior
Review
Needs: excellent literary-quality poetry, fiction (up
to 6000 words), essays, and book reviews.
Fiction:Quality literary fiction. Will consider the occasional genre piece if very well-written with strong characters and excellent dialogue.
Poetry: All excellent poetry will be given serious
consideration.
Interviews: Mainly interested in interviews with
people involved in the arts.
Essays: Creative non-fiction on nearly any subject will be considered. Personal essays, memoir and lyric essays. Articles covering the arts
political topics, science, society and relationship
issues will also be of interest.
Reviews: Book reviews of literary fiction and poetry.
What I do not want to see: Unpolished pieces you
"knocked-off" at the dinner table a few minutes before
submitting. Inaccessible writing. Articles covering topics you
know absolutely nothing about. Reviews in which you spend more
time discussing your beliefs than the work in question.
Interviews with dull people who have nothing to say, or
Interviews by individuals who have nothing of interest to ask
otherwise interesting people.
amateurish, unpublishable, poorly crafted ramblings from
functional illiterates who couldn't even write a check; Essays and
reviews written for a purely academic audience or didactic poetry and prose.
Book Manuscripts and Artwork
Book Manuscripts: No unsolicited manuscripts. Queries are only accepted from writers who have made a minimum of three appearances in Asterius Press publications. Query with book proposal and 10-20 sample pages. Please note I am not looking for new material at this time.
Artwork: While I do consider
some cover artwork my publications, I'm not looking for flash
animations or anything I can't easily reproduce online. Postal
submissions must be clean,unblemished and unbent. Copies please as no
artwork is returned. e-mail submissions must be jpeg or gif
formats only and may be sent as a file attachment IF and only if
they are under 40k in size.
