Introduction

Before we kick off, I wanted to be vague and announce that I got a short story acceptance! I can’t tell you anything about it, but I am so freaking excited. I also won a square at the Super Bowl so this week is looking up. Lol.

Today I want to talk about a short story project coming to you from me and fantasy author M. Stevenson, whose debut BEHOOVED comes out this year. Writers, we need you! Readers, stick around. We’re doing a Kickstarter in April, so if this anthology sounds up your alley, please consider supporting us!

Enter Here: An Anthology of Portals

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions will be open for all marginalized writers from June 1, 2025 to June 15, 2025 and for BIPOC writers from June 1, 2025 to June 22, 2025. Submissions received after 11:59pm EST on June 15 for general submissions/June 22, 2025 for BIPOC submissions will be deleted unread. We are asking you to self-identify and will not be verifying identities, so please respect these submission windows.

• Authors must self-identify as marginalized in some way. Intersectionality and #ownvoices are encouraged. However, you are not required to disclose your marginalizations. The purpose of this item is to ensure that we are capturing stories from marginalized writers, not to make an exhaustive list of identities. In addition, we will not be verifying or asking for proof of identities in any way.

• Submissions should include a brief, standard cover letter of less than 250 words. Do not worry over this! Please provide the name of your story, word count, and anything you wish to say about yourself and your publishing credentials (previous publications are not required).

• All stories must respond to the basic prompt “A door opens.” Feel free to interpret this prompt as you wish, in as realistic or metaphorical a manner as you’d like. Delight us. Surprise us. However you do it, the door should be a significant feature in your story.

• All stories must contain a speculative element. Science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all in-between genres are acceptable as long as they have an element of the fantastical.

• Stories should be aimed at an adult audience.

• Stories should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words in length. Slightly below 2,000 words is acceptable, but 4,000 words is a hard upper limit.

• Stories should be delivered in a .docx or .pdf format.

• Stories should be in a format similar to Shunn Modern Format (https://www.shunn.net/format/story/) but with all personal information anonymized. We will not penalize you for small deviations in formatting, but please do not use lurid fonts and bizarre formats unless these are integral to your story.

• Submissions must be ANONYMIZED. There should be no details of author name, address, phone number, email, etc. or anything connecting to your legal identity in either the story manuscript or file name. Non-anonymous submissions will be deleted unread.

• Translations are okay, but please include both the name and contact information of the original writer and the translator and affirm that both the writer and translator agree with submitting to this project. If the work was previously published in a language other than English, please note where and when the story was published and confirm you have the right to sell an English version of the story. We will make only one payment, and it is up to the author and translator to determine how to divide the money.

• Co-written stories are okay, but please list all authors and contact emails for each author. As with translations, we will make only one payment, and it is up to the authors to determine how to divide the money.

• Simultaneous submissions are okay, but please let us know as soon as possible by email if your story needs to be withdrawn.

• Multiple submissions (more than one submission by the same author) are not permitted. One submission is allowed per author.

• We aim to respond to all submissions by August 30, 2025.

• Authors will be paid a token payment of $0.01 USD per word. If we raise additional funds from the kickstarter beyond operating costs, we will increase our payment rate. Paypal and Venmo are standard methods of payment. Alternate methods can be investigated if these are not possible.

• We are asking for first world anthology rights for accepted stories, for publication in the English language anywhere in the world in print, electronic, and audio format. Accepted submissions will receive a contract. We ask for exclusivity for three months.

• Because of the high volume of submissions we expect to receive and our fast turnaround time, we will likely send form rejections to most authors. This is not a reflection of the quality of your work.

• Submissions must not use generative AI of any kind. This includes ChatGPT. We do not exclude basic grammar/spell checking features or dictation software as long as they are not generative in nature.

• Submissions must be sent via our Google Form (link will be added below once the submission window opens). Submissions sent unannounced to the email will be deleted unread. However, if you require accommodations for accessibility reasons and prefer to submit via email, please email us at EnterHereAnthology [at] gmail [dot] com for further instructions.

Conclusion

If you have any questions, feel free to email us or shoot a question on this post and we’ll be happy to answer! I can’t wait to see everyone’s submissions. If you’re interested, save the submissions page.

If you would like to help fund the anthology and get a copy and other goodies, save the Kickstarter page—we go live April 1!

Thanks for reading C.J. Subko Books! This post is public so feel free to share it.