Melusine Muse Press taking submissions for SupeHERo Tales - Volume 2

This is the cover for volume one, designed by Julia Lela Stilchen.

SuperHERo Tales (Volume 2)

This series of anthologies was created with the idea in mind that girls do not have enough female superhero stories to read and female superhero characters to look up to, at least not as avidly represented in the media as the male superheroes, so we, as writers, want to create and provide our own.

You need to create a character. She is female and a superhero, but what she looks like, what her powers are, what she wears and what kind of personality she has is all up to you. Start by outlining these specific things:

Name of female superhero:

Name of human alter ego, if different:

Superhero Appearance (hair, eyes, body type, etc.):

Human alter ego appearance (if she has an alter ego):

Costume:

Personality:

Brief description of how the superheroine gets her powers (i.e. born with them, radioactive accident, mad scientist experiments on her, etc.):

Powers:

Anything else important:

Once you have filled these details in, write a flash fiction or short story, no less than 300 words long and no longer than 1,000 words, that is a complete scene. This scene can be one that shows how your character develops her powers, how she becomes a superhero. It can be a fight scene, showing how she uses her powers. It can be a romance scene (PG, please) showing how she interacts with her love interest (if she has one). It can be anything you want it to be that shows some aspect of your character, something important to her life. It doesn't have to be a complete story, but it must be a complete scene. Think of it as if you have your own TV series dedicated to your superhero, and this short story is one episode of the series. (That suggests it should at least have an end to the scene, even though everyone watching/reading knows that the story continues.)

At the beginning of the page, before starting the list, type your name and the word count. Then type the word "anthology:" and add "yes."

E-mail your story to Melusine Muse Press at the e-mail listed below.

You may submit up to three stories.

Because this is for charity, there will be no payment, but your name will be listed as a contributing author and you will have an author bio (which you will have to send in) near the end of the book. The book will be published in e-book and print formats.

Note: If you contributed a story/superhero to the first SuperHERo Tales, you may write about the same superhero, but must have a different piece of flash fiction about her - readers must learn something new about your superheroine that they did not learn in the first anthology.

Deadline: September 30th, 2014

Art submissions: This anthology is for a charity that benefits girls, and as we are creating female superheroes in the comic tradition, we are looking for some superhero drawings to represent the superheroes. E-mail me for a list of the descriptions of the superheroes that have been added to the anthology so far if you plan on submitting a drawing or more than one drawing. Because this is for charity, there will be no payment, but your name will be listed as the artist and you will have an artist bio (which you will have to send in) near the end of the book. We reserve the right not to use any illustrations in the anthology. We are looking for superheroines drawn in the comic book style only.

You may submit multiple illustrations.

Deadline: September 30th, 2014

E-mail story and art submissions to Rebecca (at) Fyfe (dot) net.

Authors retain all rights to submitted stories. If your story is accepted, you will be e-mailed a contract.

Proceeds from the anthology will go to Because I Am a Girl. From the website:

"Because I am a Girl is a global initiative to end gender inequality, promote girls’ rights and lift millions of girls – and everyone around them – out of poverty.

Girls in the poorest regions of the world are among the most disadvantaged people on the planet. They are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to be denied access to education, more likely to be denied medical care, and more likely to be malnourished, simply because they’re girls. And yet, studies show that if you give a girl enough to eat, an education and a safe environment, she’ll work to raise the standard of living for herself, her family and her community.

 We operate a wide range of programs worldwide to improve the status of girls and give them equal access to health care, education, protection, independence, and an opportunity to participate in society.

Our State of the Worlds Girls report series is an ongoing investigation to shine the light on  specific barriers to young girls’ development and their access to basic human rights."

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