2017 Daily Dose: Storybook Love - Now Open for Submissions!

Open Call for Submissions

2017 DAILY DOSE: STORYBOOK LOVE

 Edited by Tricia Kristufek

These contemporary stories feature meet-cutes with fairy-tale happy endings. Think sweep-you-off-your-feet whirlwind romances. Can’t-believe-it’s-happening true love. All-his-dreams-come-true Mr. Perfect. Icing-on-the-cake white-picket-fence weddings. Romance right out of the storybooks really is out there.

EXAMPLES

• After years of hard work, Phil finally has the perfect suburban yard. His grass is green and weed-free. His tulips go unmolested by squirrels. He’s just putting the final coat on his white picket fence when his new neighbor offers him a glass of lemonade and Phil spills paint all over his lawn-because Carl is the most beautiful man he’s ever seen. Phil would swear birds sing when he speaks, but there haven’t been any songbirds around his house since he installed those bird-of-prey statues. Soon the pristine, characterless house next door is beset by wildflowers and chipmunks. Phil would even swear he saw a deer. Rabbits and garden snakes invade Phil’s oasis, turning Phil’s carefully ordered yard into chaos… but Phil is too busy falling in love with Carl to care.
• Cameron knows working as a barista isn’t what most people would call a dream job, but he’s happy working the early-morning rush and retreating to the afternoon sunlight in his loft above the coffee shop to paint when his shift is over. His easy little job pays his rent and fills his fridge, and his art feeds his soul. All that’s missing is the perfect guy to share in his simple life. Alfred stops by the coffee shop at seven sharp every morning. His routine is so ingrained; the barista even has the tray of drinks ready for him when he walks in the door. Too bad, because Alfred would love it if he had an excuse to linger and at least find out the guy’s name, because he looks like a dream come true to Alfred’s weary heart.
• Grant never believed in all that fairy tale love guff. It was over the top, unbelievable, inconceivable, and simply not logical. It just doesn’t fit into his life view as an actuary. But lo and behold, all his careful justifications are blown out of the water when he’s swept off his feet. Literally. Swept off his feet. By a buff fireman herding him and his staff out of their burning office building. The fireman has a blinding white-toothed smile, angelic curly blond hair, absolutely fabulous biceps… and he’s got Grant suddenly suspecting that Prince Charming isn’t such a mathematical impossibility after all.
• Adam loves combining his skills from his library and theater degrees, and he has put together a very popular Storytime Theater Hour at the public library. A couple of first-graders and their single dad are new faces, and Adam makes it a goal to get the kids to participate instead of instigate. Their dad, Doug, is putting together a children’s book, and asks for Adam’s help. Both men are surprised at how well they click-it’s like something, well, out of a storybook. When Doug presents his new book at the next Storyteller Open Mike, it’s the story of how they met, and it looks like he’s already written their HEA.

HERE’S HOW IT WILL WORK 

• Romantic themes are required and stories will focus on happy endings.
• Requirements: Bittersweet Dreams will not be accepted for this anthology.
• Because of the packaged nature of the set, all stories need to stand alone. No sequels to or spin-offs of previously published works will be accepted.
• Submission Deadline: January 1, 2017. Contract offers will be made by February 1, 2017
• Publication Date: June 2017
• Advent Calendar story length: 5,000 – 18,000 words
• Manuscripts shorter or longer will be considered but will have to be extraordinary.
• Follow general Submission Guidelines for instructions and formatting.

TO SUBMIT

Send all submissions to submissions@dreamspinnerpress.com. Please include “DAILY DOSE” in the subject line.

Send in the body of the e-mail:

• Your legal name, pseudonym if applicable, and contact e-mail address.
• Working title, series name if applicable.
• Genre and manuscript length.
• General story description in two paragraphs.
• Writing credentials.

Attach to the e-mail:

• A short but complete story summary and/or synopsis.
• The complete manuscript, for all lengths of works.

FORMATTING YOUR SUBMISSION

Please follow these simple formatting guidelines. Our editors will thank you.

• Submissions will be accepted in .docx, .doc, .rtf, and .txt formats.
• Standard 12 pt Times New Roman, 1 inch margins, .5 indent for the first line of each paragraph. 1.5 line spaces between lines. No tabs or spacing to indent, please! Page numbers in the upper right corner, author name in the upper left corner with the title of the work following. Example: Stephen King / The Shining
• All submissions must be spellchecked and edited for American English grammar and spelling. Regional words and slang are acceptable when appropriate.
• Dreamspinner Press edits works using The Chicago Manual of Style as its primary reference. Editing your work to these standards prior to publication will greatly facilitate the publication process.