Special Submissions Call: Palestinian Voices
It is in deep solidarity, and continual demand for a ceasefire, that PodCastle would like to announce our special call for fantasy stories by Palestinian writers. As Nina Simone once said: “An artist’s duty… is to reflect the times.” We recognize our position as a publication offers a unique opportunity to insist on art that reflects the times, and as Ursula K. Le Guin offers, “Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”
We stand in solidarity with Palestinian people and their words. The hope of this call is to insist on the right to create spaces for Palestinian imaginations; imaginations for a future that protects Palestinian lives, a past that restores their right to a home, and a present that centers their dignity and self-determination. We want to see stories from Palestinian authors regardless of where they live – whether in Gaza, the West Bank, or diaspora anywhere in the world.
Whilst we can only consider stories written in English, we strongly welcome translations of stories originally written in Arabic (or any other language), and any story that is previously unpublished in English will be treated as an original regardless of whether it has been previously published in a different language. Payment for translated stories will be split between the author and translator. We also especially encourage stories that incorporate more than one dialect, stories that offer alternative structures to the expected linear standardized arc, and stories that offer a fresh take or new perspective on a history that has not been considered universal. We are not necessarily looking for stories set in Palestinian territories or featuring Palestinian characters, though we of course very much welcome those perspectives. Our only special requirement for this call is that you are a writer who claims Palestinian heritage.
We’re a fantasy publication, so all stories must have a fantasy element that’s crucial to the tale, though it can be subtle. We are unable to consider science fiction or straight-up horror, though dark fantasy is more than welcome. We will consider both originals and reprints for this call, paying our standard rate of 8 cents per word for originals (defined as any story previously unpublished in English) and $100 for reprints. We’re looking for stories between 2,000-6,000 words, though we will consider up to 7,000 words for reprints. These upper limits are strict: unfortunately we cannot consider reprints above 7,000 words or originals above 6,000 for this submissions call.
Our standard guidelines apply to anything not already mentioned here. Please submit your stories via our Moksha portal, which will be open for these submissions from the 8th to the 22nd of April 2024.
Narrator Auditions
We will also be opening to auditions for Palestinian narrators during this submissions call! If you are of Palestinian heritage and would like to potentially lend your voice to one of these stories, we would love to consider you. We offer a token payment of $30.00 for the narration of stories above 1,500 words, and $15.00 for flash pieces of 1,500 words or less. Please read our Narrator Guidelines, particularly the Preparation section, and then record a 2-3 minute sample of yourself reading an excerpt of fiction in English. You can now upload your audition via our audition portal until the 30th of April. In the cover letter section, please include a short, third-person bio to tell us a little about yourself. The word-count box can be filled in with any random number, as it’s not relevant to audio submissions. We prefer samples recorded in mono and saved as .wav files.
We very much look forward to reading your stories and hearing your voices.
~Shingai Njeri Kagunda and Eleanor R. Wood
PodCastle Co-Editors