Call for Abstracts: Craft Essays on Writing Mil-SF & Other Genres

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Middle West Press LLC, an independent micro-publisher of military-themed and -adjacent literary projects, has issued a call for 300-word proposals regarding craft essays on the writing of Military-themed Science-Fiction and Other Genres. Editors there write:

In 2019, we published "Why We Write: Craft Essays on Writing War," a 250-page anthology featuring tips, techniques, and insights from more than 60 established and emerging authors, each of whom tell stories involving military themes and topics. With this newly proposed project, we are aiming at similar targets, but viewed through a specific scope: how military-writers write and publish creative, genre, and speculative fiction. 
For the purposes of this project, "Military-themed Science-Fiction and Other Genres" can be defined to include, but be not limited to:

While the editorial make-up of the anthology is not yet determined, editors anticipate concentrations in at least three types of approaches:

  • Tactics, Topics & Technologies: What do today's military-focused writers need to know about tomorrow's infantry, armor, ships, robots, drones, climate change, AI, genetics, Space Force, etc.? Examples: "The Kill Chain vs. Blockchain: Release the BitDoges of War"; "Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics as Applied to the Law of War"; "What We Write About When We Write About 'Star Wars'"
  • How-to-Write Techniques: Must-have tropes, taxonomies and mini-histories of given genres/sub-genres, insights on character- and world-building, collaborative techniques such as co-authoring and world-sharing, etc. Examples: "Military Humor: Does It Have to be Dick-based?"; "Planning Military Operations in a Shared Universe"; "Hitting the Heist: Put a Little Larceny in Your Next War Story"; "Writing about Space Marines: In Space, No One Can Hear Us Eat Crayons"
  • Author Platforming & Marketing: How-to essays on building mil-themed/-friendly/-focused newsletters, audiences, marketing personas, book proposals, and research. Examples: "How to Research Alternative Histories"; "How to Find (or Become) a Military-Friendly Publisher"; "Pre-Combat Checklists for Book Launches"

There is no submissions fee. Deadline for proposals is Dec. 4, 2023.

Previously published material will be considered, if submitted by the copyright owner. If published on-line, include the link in your proposal description. If not published on-line, describe the essay and where it has previously appeared.

Notifications of proposal acceptances will occur not later than Jan. 1, 2024.

Requested deliveries of resulting 1,200- to 2,400-word manuscripts would be not earlier than July 1, 2024.

Submit 300-word proposals via Submittable page here at this link. Include 75-word professional biographical statement written in third-person.

While the business model and publication schedule for this proposed anthology project are still pending, successful contributors will receive at minimum one free contributor copy in consideration for their work. The publisher is exploring the possibility of crowd-funding this project, with the intent of financially compensating contributors for their works prior to publication.

A signed and mutually agreeable copyright agreement between author and publisher will be required for publication. The publisher will likely request first and non-exclusive worldwide print and digital rights for inclusion in the anthology, along with sufficient rights feature and/or excerpt selected work on a military-writing website or similar venue. Designation of a partner military-writing organization for this anthology is pending.

In addition to underwriting The Aiming Circle community of practice, similar past Middle West Press projects include the 2020 anthology "Our Best War Stories: Prize-winning Poetry & Prose from the Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Awards," and the 2019 non-fiction anthology "Why We Write: Craft Essays on Writing War."

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