New Anthologies for 2021
I get asked occasionally about Clarendon House’s plans for further anthologies.
I began producing anthologies in 2018, beginning with Condor, and proceeding with Flashpoint: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Flash Fiction Anthology 2018, Galaxy: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Science Fiction Anthology 2018 and Storm: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Fantasy Anthology 2018 and continuing with many others right the way through to the poetry anthology Poetica # 2 due to be released shortly at this writing.
Each anthology contains a contest: the story which wins the most reader votes earns its author a book contract, and so far eight of those authors have had a collection of stories published by Clarendon House, with more in the works.
In 2020, I concentrated on fulfilling those promised contracts as far as I could, and now P. A. O’Neil, Gabriella Balcom, Emily Fluke, Sharon Frame Gay and Peter Astle have their own books out there in the marketplace in that year. They join R. A Goli, Elizabeth Montague and David Bowmore as Clarendon House authors.
I have many other projects planned for the future - some of which will just blow you away - but amongst them are the three following anthologies which I am ready to announce here:
Galaxy # 2: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Sci-Fi and Fantasy Flash Fiction Anthology 2021
What’s required: 500 word flash fiction
Genre/theme: science fiction or fantasy, no theme
Due date: February 28th, 2021
Open to any member of the Inner Circle Writers’ Group
One submission per person
Poetica # 3: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Second Poetry Anthology 2021
What’s required: 500 word limit poems
Genre/theme: poetry, no theme
Due date: March 28th, 2021
Open to any member of the Inner Circle Writers’ Group
One submission per person
Flashpoint # 2: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Flash Fiction Anthology 2021
What’s required: 500 word flash fiction
Genre/theme: no set genre or theme
Due date: March 28th, 2021
Open to magazine subscribers only
One submission per person
How To Submit
I accept submissions through Clarendon House Publications and its email address:
I need stories sent to me as attached Word documents. Anything more exotic will be refused.
Please use Shunn format BUT PLEASE ALSO INCLUDE IN THE DOCUMENT A 100 WORD AUTHOR BIO (with links if you wish). This is to save time later, if your submission is accepted.
Clarendon House Publications is based in the UK, but I accept submissions from poets all over the world, as long as they are in the correct format outlined above.
No submission fee is required.
Please don’t submit more than one item per person.
Please don’t submit the same item to another publisher at the same time.
Editing Submissions
It is a condition of submission that the writer/poet must be open to me correcting punctuation, spelling, grammar or any other technical basics without always contacting him or her.
If I have suggestions on how to improve a story in order to get it published, I will write back to the author and discuss things. As an editor, I am here to help writers and poets to make it, and all suggestions will be made with that in mind. If, after receiving feedback, the writer/poet does not wish to proceed, that is fine and will not bar future consideration for publication.
It is obviously in the writer/poet’s best interests to ensure that the submission is in the best possible shape prior to sending it to me. If the submission takes too much time to fix, it is likely to be rejected. It also follows from this that submissions must be the FINAL version as far as the writer/poets are concerned — I will not be able to entertain any authorial adjustments to documents once they have been received.
What I’m Looking For In General
I’m looking for well-crafted stories and poems. In the case of poetry, that means poems which have been designed to appeal to readers, not long, rambling free verse or shapeless, incomplete collections of words which don’t make internal sense. Using traditional forms is more likely to catch my eye. Permitting words to flow freely into the page does not alway produce effective or readable poetry. Craft is required.
Nothing sexually or violently graphic or gratuitous will be accepted.
Rights
When I publish a piece, I only ask that it not be tangled up in any other prior agreement and be exclusive to Clarendon House for one year after the date of publication. I don't ask for other rights, or place any limits on what you can do with your work after the exclusivity period.
Copyright
Copyright remains with you at all times.
Word Count
The maximum word count in each of these anthologies is 500 words. This is to ensure that there is room in the anthologies for more writers and poets.
Payment
Each accepted writer/poet receives a free e-copy of the complete anthology upon publication. As you can imagine, in such anthologies, monetary payments to each author are not feasible.
BUT…
Competition
As mentioned, Inner Circle Writers' Group anthologies each have a competition, in which the readers vote for the best story or poem in each volume. The author of that piece will be offered an opportunity to publish a collection of his or her work (not necessarily poetry) with Clarendon House Publications — upon which royalties will be paid. Accepted writers and poets therefore have a path to becoming paid writers and poets.
Marketing
I strongly recommend — but don’t insist — that each accepted poet purchase at least THREE copies of the paperback book once released — one for their own collection (it’s important to validate one’s own progress as a published poet); one for a family member, friend, or influencer; and one for their local library.
I also recommend that each poet purchase a copy of my book Crack Your Marketing, which opens the door to commercial viability for authors and poets.
Response Times
I aim to reply to all submissions within three weeks, although I will sometimes go over this during busy periods. If you're waiting for a reply from me, please keep an eye on your junk mail folder, as some replies do end up there. If you grow concerned, or have any questions about anything, you can always email me at
I look forward to hearing from you!