The Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild (CSFG) is about to open submissions for its upcoming anthology A Hand of Knaves.
Here’s the pitch:
Rogues, thieves, pirates and ne’er-do-wells abound in speculative fiction. Sometimes heroic, sometimes villainous, often somewhere in between, rogues are as likely to steal one’s heart as one’s purse, and show little remorse while helping themselves to either.
We want swashbuckling adventures brimming with humour, loot, and bad blood. Gut-wrenching dilemmas, resolved (for good or ill), by the thrust of a knife in the dark. Thoughtful stories exploring the foggy spaces between justice, and the law. Heroic deeds performed by someone with a less-than-heroic past. Magic and/or technology, combined with charm and charisma, to pull off an impossible heist. Hilarious sea shanties. Sweaty tales of betrayal and Machiavellian intrigue. We want to discover passion, righteous indignation, and the depths of one thief’s hatred of another.
To spur contributors’ imaginations, editors Leife Shallcross and Chris Large have posted an update with a link to their Pinterest board, with over 200 images of ne’er-do-wells, rapscallions and blaggards, all ripe for storytelling.
The full submission guidelines are here. (Key point – submissions are *blind*, so make sure you do not put your name anywhere in the manuscript). Subs open on Tuesday 1 August and close on the 15th of November.
CSFG anthologies are always super-competitive, so I am wracking my brain trying to come up with an idea good enough to put up. I encourage everyone of a writing bent (Australians and Australian-based writers only, though!) to try their luck.
