Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Call for "The Memory Eater" Anthology Submissions

“Have a cheating ex you can’t stop thinking about?  How about a past failure which now defines you?  Do you wish you could forget about the time you walked in on your parents making your brother or sister?

“Yes?  Well then today’s your lucky day.  Introducing the brand new Memory Eater—an orb-like device that fits neatly around your head like a diver’s helmet with the ability to locate and destroy any memory in the human mind.

“Victims of rape no longer need to fear dating.  Drunk drivers don’t have to regret getting back on the road.  And for those who have lost loved ones, you no longer need to mourn.

“Today is a new day.  Today is your day.  Start it off by deleting the past so you can save your future.”



And so reads the advertisement for the Memory Eater.  Performed by licensed technicians, the process is fairly simple.  Go to a Memory Eater store and let a licensed technician enter your mind for five minutes.  After a simple search and destroy command, followed by a mind defragmentation, the selected memory will be gone from the customer’s memory forever.

But be warned, for sometimes memories are strung together.  Like an ex-husband and children.  Or drugs and a $50,000 college education.  And if a licensed technician makes a mistake (only 3% error rate), you may forget how to walk, or how to talk, or how to go to the bathroom.

There have also been reports of “subject tampering”.  For instance, a man went in to have his nagging wife deleted, but it turns out his wife paid the technician more money to wipe video games, beer and sports from his mind.  Now the man apparently watches The Notebook every night while eating bonbons with his wife.

But such is the case with any new technology.  There are always pros and cons, glitches and total catastrophes.


Anthology Information:

·    Submissions will be open from March 15, 2011 to TBA.  They will close two weeks after I announce last call.
·    Writers will split an equal amount of the profits.


Guidelines for your story:

·    While the backdrop of the story must relate somehow to the Memory Eater, a character does not necessarily have to have a memory erased.  A character may think they had a memory erased, when in fact they didn't.  Or perhaps you can take this idea in a different direction.
·    Every genre is acceptable.
·    I'm looking for 25-30 stories total, ranging from humorous to thought-provoking to emotional.  I want to see how this technology goes wrong.  How it goes right.  What effect it has on our future.
·    Above all else, these stories should be entertaining.
·    There is no word count or limit on submissions.


Guidelines for sending your story:

·    Email your stories to: anthologies2011@gmail.com
·    Please paste your story in the body of the email.  I won't open attachments.
·    You do not need to include a cover letter or qualifications.

Feel free to email me with any questions.  I'm a pretty laid back guy, so don't be shy.

I want to thank you in advance for participating, and I look forward to reading your stories.

C. P.

41 comments:

  1. Hi - sounds interesting. Is this something you're doing as a physical book, or ebook?

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  2. I'm planning to release the anthology as print-on-demand followed by ebook versions. I go into more detail about this in a post titled "Addressing Questions / Tip of the Day".

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  3. This is a pretty cool idea! I'll have to think about it.

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  4. I like this idea. I will try to make it my next project. It is interesting and fun.

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  5. Thank you everyone. I hope each of you enters:)

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  6. This sounds like a cool project. Is that image of the rhino going to be the cover of the final book?

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  7. Hey Jon, the rhino picture was done by another artist. I'm attempting to purchase it, but if that doesn't pan out, which is looking to be the case, I drew a backup similar to this, only with a human head instead of a rhino. I'm not nearly as talented as this artist, but I'm not too shabby either. I will be posting the potential cover later this week.

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  8. I heard the deadline is extended. This sounds like a fantastic bit of fiction for me to work on.

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  9. Hey Ryan, thanks for checking this out. I wish you luck.

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  10. I am working on something right now.

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  11. Forgive me, but I must say, that cover illustration is pretty repulsive for me. eeeek!

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  12. Are submissions still open? Are you half-full? 3/4 full?

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  13. Follow up on the Cover comment. I guess I'm thinking that would be fine if this were a horror anthology, but I'm reading the setup you gave as more of a "good outcome" or mainstream kind of anthology. Might be better with a "Happy Smiling Satisfied Customer" :)

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  14. Hey Kenny, July 15th is the deadline, and there isn't a limit on the amount of submissions I'm accepting.

    There may be those who don't care for the cover, but I think it stands out and demands attention. And with the content I'm getting (darker), it fits the theme well.

    Thanks for commenting:)

    C. P.

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  15. I just submitted my three stories. :D

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  16. Where's the rhino image mentioned above?

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  17. I ended up taking the rhino picture down.

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  18. Sorry Grumps..better luck next time at getting your face etched in literature's latest tome..I'll bet your stories would definitely get your name in there though. I can't wait to read what you might enter. See you in WVU!

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  19. I'm definitely in. Sounds very cool as is that gruesome yet cheerful-seeming cover!

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  20. I'm homing in on the end of my story. Would it be all right if I linked the antho I'm editing for charity here?

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  21. Nadeau, feel free to link it.

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  22. Thanks. The story is completed as well. Soon as I do a few rounds of edits, I'll send it your way.
    Please see my antho info below (all of that rhymed):


    I'm creating and editing an anthology of short stories about the Apocalypse called "Not in the Brochure" dealing with a disappointing resolution to the so-called end of the world. Genres and interpretations are open. This would be a "for the love" antho so please don't submit if you're not cool with that. The antho itself would be made available on Kindle and in other digital formats.

    Any revenue will be donated to http://www.projectliteracyinc.org/

    Reprints are welcome!

    All writers retain the rights to their work.

    Reply if interested here or email me at christophernadeau71@yahoo.com

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  23. And my submission has been emailed. :)

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  24. Does the writers who get picked get a free copy of the book?

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  25. Groovy, as it stands, authors will not receive a free copy of the book. Things may change if I land a publisher.

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  26. Wow, I'm really intrigued by this... I need deadlines or I don't write... I think I will seriously consider this. Good luck!

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  27. @C.P.... Sorry to hear the rhino got ditched - that's another step toward extinction.

    @Nurse Artist... sorry... being a rhino, it took me a while to get back here. Thanks for your confidence in thinking my stuff might fit in here - though the deadline is looming close; and Life is taking up all my time right now.

    I hope you'll be submitting some of your own work.
    Wishes and vibes,
    Grumps aka Rare Rhino. ;-)

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  28. Just found this.. sounds awesome! *gets scribble pad out to start plotting* eeeeeeeek do I have time to craft something good enough to submit?

    lets see then..

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  29. Rhino? I don't remember there being any rhino....

    Seriously, looks like a fun antho. I might craft something, but first I'm wondering, what rights are obtained by the publisher, does the author retain copyright, etc?

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  30. Oops, sorry due to my poor eyesight I missed the link to the page about rights, but I am reading that now. Thanks.

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  31. Hey Damon, no problem. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to email me.

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  32. I am wishing I had found this sooner, too! Wow. I've still got two weeks; I can do something, right? I'm going to try. I'm interested. This sounds great.

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  33. Hey David, as authors, we never have enough time:) But good luck and hope to see something from you!

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  34. have the subs officially closed yet?

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  35. The original date was July 15th, but I took the deadline down, so now it's open until I post for last call. Authors will have two weeks after I post last call to get their submissions in.

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  36. Hi,

    Is there a word limit for the story?

    - Lisamarie

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  37. Oops, ignore that, I've just re-read the guidelines and seen there's no limit

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  38. This looks fun, and I'm so glad the deadline has been pushed back. Looking forward to submitting.

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  39. So I can still work on something starting now? Excellent.

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