“In order to rise from its own ashes, a Phoenix first must burn.”
—Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower
Zoetic Press is seeking dystopian stories written by people of color for their upcoming anthology, A Phoenix Must First Must Burn. Please only submit work if you identify as a person of color.
As Zoetic Press explains:
The past few years have brought the injustices suffered by people of color into sharp relief. Not just because people of color are being victimized and killed, but because when people of color rightly bring attention to the realities of their situation, they are shouted down by white people, and their experiences erased.
This puts people of color in a better position than anyone to write about dystopian futures, and we want to hear about those futures. Take the events of the present to their logical conclusion. Introduce a new catastrophe that makes things worse, if possible. Tell us about the superpowers we will have to develop to survive. Tell us the story of our future with yourself as the lead character.
Submit fiction up to 5,000 words, or up to five pieces of flash fiction (up to 1,000 words each piece). For more details, check out their Submittable page. Deadline to submit is 9/1/2017.
Not a person of color? You can still help out by contributing to their kickstarter campaign. Please share this information widely.