the book of imaginary beasts

THE BOOK
The Book of Imaginary Beasts is a bi-monthly webzine dedicated to original fiction of the oneshot variety. Created in the spirit of encouraging people to write crazy original stories in as many genres as we can dubiously endorse - from historically inaccurate Regency romance to scientifically implausible space opera to melodramatic wuxia to wham bang action - if you're game for it, we probably are too. XD

IMPORTANT: INFORMATION, SUBMISSION RULES

FOLLOW US AROUND THE WEB:
http://twitter.com/ImaginaryBeasts
http://imaginarybeasts.tumblr.com

THE ISSUES
Issues will be released every two months, and each issue will have a theme as chosen by the editors. Interested participants may submit according to the theme. Our primary focus is original fiction one shots, but we also accept art and poetry. XD We'd also love to have the stories illustrated, so feel free to volunteer if you're up for it. XD

We have reached the final issue of the zine, but may have exciting news ahead. Stay tuned!

VOLUME 01: 2007
Book #01: Imaginary Beasts
Book #02: Love Story
Book #03: Cyberpunk
Book #04: Heatwave
Book #05: Ghost Story
Book #06: Fairy Tales

VOLUME 02: 2008
Book #07: Magic + Science
Book #08: Gendertwist
Book #09: Steampunk
Book #10: Travel
Book #11: School Stories
Book #12: Mythology

VOLUME 03: 2009
Book #13: Erase/Rewind
Book #14: Carnivale
Book #15: Cities
Book #16: Rogues and Scoundrels
Book #17: Monsters
Book #18: Winter

VOLUME 4: 2010
Book #19: Apocalypse/Dystopia
Book #20: Heaven and Hell
Book #21: Wuxia
Book #22: Oceans and Seas
Book #23: Crime and Punishment
Book #24: Flight

VOLUME 5: 2011
Book #25: Erase/Rewind
Book #26: Dreams
Book #27: Masks and Costumes
Book #28: Dichotomy
Book #29: Autumn
Book #30: Science Fiction

VOLUME 6: 2012
Book #31: Music
Book #32: Time Travel
Book #33: Desert
Book #34: War
Book #35: Spring
Book #36: Historical Asia

VOLUME 7: 2013
Book #37: Erase and Rewind
Book #38: Urban Fantasy
Book #39: Regency romance
Book #40: Mountains
Book #41: Superpowers
Book #42: Animals

VOLUME 8: 2014
Book #43: Utopia
Interview with recent contributors, the management, and the zine founder
Book #45: Vacations
Book #46: Paranormal
Book #47: Stratagems
Book #48: Comedy
Book #49: Erase and Rewind

VOLUME 9: 2015/2016
Book #50: Heavenly Beings
Book #51: Untruth
Book #52: Flowers
Book #53: Erase and Rewind

SUBMISSIONS
1. Please sign up for the theme before submitting, that the editor(s) may have a decent idea of what to expect for the issue turn-out.

2. To submit, email your story/art to thebookofimaginary@gmail.com.

STORY/OTHER WRITING: .txt format ONLY
ART/ILLUSTRATION: .jpg, .gif or .png ONLY

This is for consistency purposes and so the editor(s) doesn't go crazy formatting/dealing with several dozen files in several dozen different file formats.

For ALL submissions (story/art/illustration/other), please read the COMPLETE SUBMISSION RULES. These rules are compulsory requirements, and if you ignore them, we will reject your submission and ask you to resubmit following the rules anyway.

3. Along with your story/art, please provide me with the name you wish to be published under, the email you want readers to reach you at, and your lj username if you want it to be attached. If you have submitted a shameless porn-fest or a pseudo-Harlequin or... whatever-it-is that you do not wish your actual/fandom name to be associated with, you may publish it under a penname/anonymously. However, for repeat contributors, the editor(s) would want you to pick a few names and stick with them to minimise confusion on all sides, thank you. XD It'll help readers keep track of you. XD

4. All submissions should be between 1,000 to 10,000 words. I say 10,000 because the lj entry word limit is in that range. You could maybe go up to 11,000 but if your story does not fit into one entry, we will have to ask you to either trim it down or divide it into sections to post separately, whichever works better.

Anything under 1,000 words would probably count more as flashfic, and while I am not banning flashfic, our preference is definitely for longer, plot-driven pieces. If you would like to submit something shorter than 1,000 words, we'll be happy to take a look but the editorial decision will be made on a strictly case-by-case basis.

5. Linked to the above, all stories should have a semblance of a beginning, middle and end and be able to stand alone somewhat decently. They should also be original work, ie. nominally not fanfic.

6. Bad grammar and spelling is not okay. Please check your spelling and grammar before submitting. You should proofread your story at least once, if not twice, before submission, to catch your own mistakes. If you can get a beta reader to look it through for you, that is strongly recommended.

Yes, the editors will read through your story and edit it for any mistakes we find, as a safeguard. But we're not here to be your beta readers - catching some typos and grammatical slip ups is fine, but there's a limit to how much editing we have time to do, and we are a) anal and b) here to ensure readability for everyone. If we can't tell, say, who is doing what in a given sentence, adjectives are incorrect, adverbs are abused, etc, we will have to reject you unless you get a beta reader to help clean it up.

7. Submissions should be new work, or work you have not submitted or posted elsewhere before. However, I am not strictly banning older submissions - if you would like to submit an older piece, ask me and we will discuss the possibility. I would prefer it if writers did not make a habit of submiting older work, however.

8. If you signed up for a theme but later find that you are unable to meet the deadline, that is fine. Anyone who does not submit by the specified date will simply be assumed to have dropped out. Don't worry, you may still sign up and contribute to future issues. XD You may not submit after the deadline. If you are unable to submit by the specified date but still want to contribute to that particular issue, let me know at least two days ahead of the deadline so that we can discuss it.

9. Yes, we will be more than happy to say yes if you'd like to contribute multiple submissions to an issue. XD

10. Editors reserve the right to reject a story if they feel it does not fit the issue theme, if submission guidelines are not followed, or if they feel the writing is not up to our standards of readability.


RATINGS
Stories so far have not been given ratings, as a glance at past issues can tell you. There are no immediate plans to do so, though this might change depending on how things go. As stated, we're open to porn, violence, hetero/homosexual relationships and for that matter, orgies if it came to it, so please consider this a warning that you might encounter mature material, or material that does not adhere to your personal beliefs.


THE NAME
The name of the zine, The Book of Imaginary Beasts, is derived from Jorges Luis Borges' The Book of Imaginary Beings. I admit to irregular bouts of artsy pretention, though I promise to not inflict them on anyone else. XD


DETAILS

The Book of Imaginary Beasts was founded by lacewood and maintained by her until 2010.
Chief editors: lilacfield, sub_divided
Story archive: ib_archive
Administrative: INFORMATION, SUBMISSION RULES


OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST
bb_shousetsu: Original boy's love one shots