WRITERS’ NEWS
http://www.writers-online.co.uk APRIL 2020^83Here and queer
UK QUEER MARKET
Tina JacksonCipher Press is a new independent
publisher of queer fiction and non-
fiction.
‘We know this is a broad scope,
and in a way that’s intentional,’
said co-publisher Jenn Thompson.
‘We want to publish the many
different stories that make up the
queer community, whether they take the form of short stories, sci-fi, crime
fiction, essays, experimental writing, memoirs, or anything in between. Our one
stipulation is that our books fit somewhere within the literary bracket. We’re not
looking to publish poetry, YA, or children’s literature at this time.’
The first Cipher Press title will appear in the summer. ‘We wanted to start a
queer press for a long time, mostly as a response to the lack of dedicated queer
publishing in the UK,’ said Jenn. ‘We started seriously thinking about it in 2019,
and now will publish our first book in August 2020. It feels like the right time;
independent publishing is thriving, and readers generally seem more open to
books by diverse and underrepresented authors.’
Jenn points to the lack of queer owned and queer run publishing houses in the
UK as another driving factor behind the launch of Cipher Press. ‘In the 1980s
and 90s there were quite a few but they don’t exist anymore,’ she said. ‘Now seems
like a great time to launch something new, something updated that reflects the
way our community has evolved and changed. There is a huge push for diversity
coming from the big publishing houses at the moment, but small presses have
always championed minority voices. The world of independent publishing is
a huge inspiration to us, and we’re excited to be publishing alongside so many
incredible indie presses.’
The Cipher Press team have worked in publishing, editorial, and design for
years. ‘We feel like we just about have the experience to launch Cipher Press. I’m
sure it will be a steep learning curve, but we’re ready for it.’
Initially Cipher Press will be publishing three or four books a year. ‘But we
hope to grow this number as Cipher Press evolves,’ said Jenn. ‘We hope the press
helps to encourage a new queer literary scene in the UK, and that we can work
alongside other incredible publishers, literary mags, and organisations to boost the
voices of our authors and to publish more great books. We’re really excited by all
the support and enthusiasm we’ve had so far, and our hope is that Cipher Press
will not only find amazing new authors but keen new readers. We have a lot of
plans and projects on the go and are absolutely thrilled to be bringing Cipher into
the world.’
A submission window is open until the end of March.
‘We say on our website that we’re, “looking for stories that transcend genres and
explore the many dimensions of queer identity.” We’re aware that queer stories
aren’t always straightforward, and so we’re open to any high-quality writing by
queer authors that reflects some aspect of the queer experience. The LGBTQI+
community is hugely diverse, and we expect our catalogue to be the same. We’re
especially keen to publish work from BAME/POC, working class, trans and
gender non-conforming authors.’
Cipher Press is looking for writers with fresh slants and original ways of telling
their stories. ‘A good book for us is honest, weird, smart, original, and unique. We
like old stories told in new ways and characters we can relate to. You can win us
over with a perfect sentence; we’re very focused on the writing as well as the plot.
Ultimately, a good book can be of any genre as long as it affects us in some way.’
Jenn is happy for writers to rip up the rule book. ‘Our advice would be to
be bold and take risks. To try and tell the story you want to tell as honestly as
possible. To drift away from the mainstream and from literary conventions.
And to just write whatever you want, whether that be erotica, a western, or an
experimental essay. Or a mixture of all three.’
Submit by sending the first three chapters of a
novel, or the first twenty pages if the work is non-
fiction, along with a brief synopsis and bio.
Cipher Press will publish in print and ebook, and
pay and advance and royalties.
Details: email: [email protected];
website: http://www.cipherpress.co.uk
Enter the Corpus
Submissions are open
for two anthologies from
Corpus Press, pubishers
of horror and weird
fiction, ‘modern pulp that
emphasises plot over gore’.
Needing submissions are:- Two-Page Terrors, deadline 31 March, for either
serious or comedic/bizarre horror, 400-550 words. - In Darkness, Delight: Fear the Future (Vol 3), is for
‘truly terrifying stories that deal with futuristic themes,
set in the near future or far’, whether earth-based or
extraterrestrial. Post-apocalyptic stories will not be
accepted and the editors are ‘more interested in “fiction”
than “science”’ and ‘this is a horror anthology first
and foremost, not a science fiction anthology’. Submit
stories, 2,500-4,000 words, by 15
November.
Submissions are currently
closed to novella, collections and
Kindle Shorts submissions.
Payment for Two-Page Terrors
is $5 for world rights. Payment
for In Darkness, Delight is 3¢ per
word up to $150 plus two free
copies.
Website: http://www.corpuspress.com
Poetry from wise women
Believing older women ‘have a lot to say, and they say
it with style’ the independent Grey Hen Press Poetry
Competition is for women over the age of sixty years and
there are prizes of £100, £50 and £25 for first, second and
third winners. If you reach your sixtieth year by the end of
June 2020 you are eligible for the competition.
Poems should be a maximum forty lines, be previously
unpublished and not have been accepted for future
publication. Your name and contact details should
appear on the entry form only and this is available from
the website or by post with an SAE.
The closing date for submissions is 30 April and
entry fees are £3 per poem or £10 for four poems with
cheques being made payable to ‘Grey Hen Press’. The
results will be posted on the website by 30 June.
As email entries will not be accepted post your work
with an SAE marked ‘Results’ if this is required. As no
entries will be returned, keep a copy.
Details: Grey Hen Press, PO Box 269, Kendal,
Cumbria LA9 9FE; website: http://www.greyhenpress.comExciting voices for Brick Lane
The 2020 Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize is
looking for new, original and diverse voices in UK fiction.
The winner will get £1,000. There are second and
third prizes of £250 and £100. The winning and
longlisted stories will be published in the Brick Lane
Bookshop Short Story Prize Anthology. The judges are
Dialogue Books publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove, literary
agent Harriet Moore and Chris Power, author of the
short story collection Mothers.
Enter original, unpublished short stories for adult
readers between 1,000 and 5,000 words.
The entry fee is £10 per story.
The closing date is 15 May.
Website: http://www.bricklanebookshop.org/