First -- Here's a positive note in these bleak days of quarantines and mask ideology: An announcement from a new imprint at Running Wild Press. Rize is looking for writers of color in a wide variety of genres. All the details are in the notice below. As always, this is not an endorsement, simply FYI. Do your homework, check out the press, and be smart if you decide to submit. Good luck.
Second -- New books for July: Cuban Sci-Fi and a Mexican ghost story for kids.
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About: The purpose of the Rize Imprint is to demonstrate our publisher’s (Running Wild) commitment to diversity and inclusivity by ensuring that writers of historically underrepresented backgrounds have their voices amplified—those backgrounds include, but are not limited to, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ communities, Indigenous communities, people with disabilities, and any other marginalized groups who want to share stories from their own perspective.
We are specifically looking for submissions from new and experienced fiction writers of color—in the adult and young adult markets—to highlight how cultural diversity has shaped our social and political landscapes in North America and across the globe. We want works whose themes echo a call to action within and beyond the cultural community where each story is framed.
Unagented submissions are welcome.
Genres we acquire:
Action & Adventure
Crime & Mystery
Fantasy
Paranormal & Horror
Romance
Science Fiction
Westerns
Women’s Fiction
We welcome work that crosses genres and time periods. We will also consider non-fiction or memoir from those who have a vivid concept and a strong platform. However, we are not accepting children’s books or graphic novels at this time.
Word Count: Submissions should fall between 55,000 – 125,000 words. Manuscripts below or above this range will not be considered.
Required:
Query Letter
Synopsis (1600 words or less)
Completed Manuscript
If the manuscript has series potential, please note that information in your query letter and provide a brief summary or outline for the sequels in a separate document.
We will disregard incomplete submissions.
Submission Process:
We will not select manuscripts that have been previously published, whether as a digital-only titles, traditional releases, self-publications, or free downloads on a commercial or private site.
Submit your original, unpublished manuscript via Submittable. We will not accept submissions via email. Unsolicited email submissions will be deleted. Be advised we are unable to provide immediate feedback on every manuscript, so please wait to hear from us. Allow up to six weeks for a response.
You can submit up to four separate files. Submission should be .rtf, .doc, or .docx files. No .pdfs. Label each field using title, type, and author’s last name.
For example: SnowWhite_Manuscript_Doe or SnowWhite_Synopsis_Doe
Your query letter should include the manuscript’s title, genre, and word count as well as a book description and a short author biography. This is an opportunity to tell us about your work as an artist and the accomplishments you’ve made the writing field. Talk about your awards, publication credits, member organizations, social media following, et cetera. Please include your contact information—name, phone number, mailing address, email—on the query letter and all other submission documents.
Your synopsis should be in a separate document from the completed manuscript and is a required part of the submission process. Please do not exceed 1,600 words. Include the main thematic arc, story conflict, and resolution. Use the advice offered HERE to shape your work for this portion of the submission.
Remember to revise and edit your work to the best of your ability prior to submission. Please double space your manuscript and include your name along with the page number in the running header. We encourage applicants to follow the manuscript guidelines suggested HERE.
If you have questions prior to submission, you can email editor@runningwildpress.com or andrea@runningwildpress.com. However, we will not accept submission materials at these addresses.
The submission period ends 11:59 p.m. EST on August 31, 2020.
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Yoss, translated by David Frye
Restless Books -- July 7
On the intergalactic trading station William S. Burroughs, profit is king and aliens are the kingmakers. Earthlings have bowed to their superior power and weaponry, though the aliens—praying-mantis-like Grodos with pheromonal speech and gargantuan Collosaurs with a limited sense of humor—kindly allow them to do business through properly controlled channels.
That’s where our hero comes in, name of Raymond. As part of the android police force, this positronic robot detective navigates both worlds, human and alien, keeping order and evaporating wrongdoers. But nothing in his centuries of experience prepares him for Makrow 34, a fugitive Cetian perp with psi powers. Meaning he can alter the shape of the Gaussian bell curve of statistical probability—making it rain indoors, say, or causing a would-be captor to shoot himself in the face. Raymond will need all his training—and all his careful study of Chandler’s hardbitten cops—to meet his match.
As he did in his brilliantly funny and sharp science-fiction parables A Planet for Rent, Super Extra Grande, and Condomnauts, Yoss makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar in Red Dust, giving us an unforgettable half-human hero and a richly imagined universe where the bad guys are above the laws of physics.
Born José Miguel Sánchez Gómez in Havana, Cuba, in 1969, Yoss assumed his pen name in 1988, when he won the Premio David in the science-fiction category for Timshel. Since then, he has gone on to become one of Cuba's most iconic literary figures—as the author of more than twenty acclaimed books, as a champion of science fiction through his workshops in Cuba and around the world, and as the lead singer of the heavy metal band Tenaz. His three novels translated into English are A Planet for Rent, Super Extra Grande, and Condomnauts.
Flavia Z. Drago
Candlewick Press -- July 14
[from the publisher]
Gustavo is good at doing all sorts of ghostly things: walking through walls, making objects fly, and glowing in the dark. And he loves almost nothing more than playing beautiful music on his violin. But Gustavo is shy, and some things are harder for him to do, like getting in a line to buy eye scream or making friends with other monsters. Whenever he tries getting close to them, he realizes they just can’t see him. Now that the Day of the Dead is fast approaching, what can he do to make them notice him and to share with them something he loves? With fancifully detailed artwork and visual humor, debut picture book creator Flavia Z. Drago’s vivid illustrations tell a sweet and gently offbeat story of loneliness, bravery, and friendship that is sure to be a treat for little ghouls and goblins everywhere.
Flavia Z. Drago was born and raised in Mexico City. As a child, she wanted to be a mermaid. When that didn’t happen, she began her career as a graphic designer and a children’s book illustrator. She loves color, texture, and shapes and enjoys creating them with different materials and a bit of digital sorcery. She lives in Mexico.
[from the publisher]
Gustavo is good at doing all sorts of ghostly things: walking through walls, making objects fly, and glowing in the dark. And he loves almost nothing more than playing beautiful music on his violin. But Gustavo is shy, and some things are harder for him to do, like getting in a line to buy eye scream or making friends with other monsters. Whenever he tries getting close to them, he realizes they just can’t see him. Now that the Day of the Dead is fast approaching, what can he do to make them notice him and to share with them something he loves? With fancifully detailed artwork and visual humor, debut picture book creator Flavia Z. Drago’s vivid illustrations tell a sweet and gently offbeat story of loneliness, bravery, and friendship that is sure to be a treat for little ghouls and goblins everywhere.
Flavia Z. Drago was born and raised in Mexico City. As a child, she wanted to be a mermaid. When that didn’t happen, she began her career as a graphic designer and a children’s book illustrator. She loves color, texture, and shapes and enjoys creating them with different materials and a bit of digital sorcery. She lives in Mexico.
Later.
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Manuel Ramos writes crime fiction and is working on another Gus Corral novel.
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