Authentic folktales are popular with young readers and their gatekeepers—teachers, librarians, parents, and publishers. Most of these stories have been retold over centuries. If the story is protected by copyright, you must get approval from the copyright holder to retell.
Many literary gatekeepers want the folktale to be retold by a person who represents the culture that is depicted. I retold a Cherokee folktale, First Fire. For years, I had been searching for such a story to pay tribute to my great-great grandmother, who was of Cherokee heritage.
Editors want the retelling vetted by an authority in the subject. With First Fire, the publisher asked a representative of the Cherokee Nation to vet the story.
My goal was to stay true to the original story, but retelling is a balancing act. The folklorist in me wanted to retain the flavor of the culture and accurately represent it. At the same time, the author in me wanted to add my voice to the rhythm of the words. Together, the folklorist and author sides partnered to retell a story that is customized to today’s reader. Folktales are meant to be retold and recreated by the next storyteller who passes it along and keeps the story alive.
Call for submissions for Adult Writers (Submit soon)
Until the end of June, Tor.com will only be considering novellas of between 20,000 and 40,000 words that fit one of the following science fiction subgenres:
- Time Travel
- Space Opera
- Near Future Thriller
- Cyberpunk
If you have a novella you want to submit that doesn’t fit these parameters, don’t give up hope. Our plan is to rotate which genre we’re soliciting periodically, so check back here and on our submissions guideline page regularly. Once we’ve worked our way through these submissions, we’ll re-open for a different genre. Please don’t ask us what genre we’ll be moving to—we’ll be deciding that closer to the time.
As always, both Lee Harris and Carl Engle-Laird actively request submissions from writers from underrepresented populations. This includes, but is not limited to, writers of any race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, class and physical or mental ability. We believe that good science fiction and fantasy reflects the incredible diversity and potential of the human species, and hope our catalog will reflect that.
WHAT WE’RE NOT LOOKING FOR:
Tor.com does not accept works that have been previously published elsewhere, in any venue. This includes all forms of digital self-publishing.
We do not accept works that are not identifiable as fantasy or science fiction, or do not fit the genre we are currently soliciting. This includes, but is not limited to, non-science-fictional thrillers, and all kinds of non-fiction and memoirs.
We are not currently interested in tie-in fiction. This includes fiction that exists within worlds established in previously published novels, or that relies upon a knowledge of previously published novels.
We do not accept multiple submissions. If you have more than one novella, you may only submit one at a time. You may submit another once we have responded to your first submission.
We prefer that you not simultaneously submit your story to Tor.com and other venues. If you do, however, and your novella is accepted by a different venue, please immediately withdraw your submission from Tor.com
What we pay: We offer an advance against royalties, the size of which will depend on a number of factors, including you, the length of your story and how commercial we think it is. We also offer a royalty-only option, but if we decide to make you an offer, you will be free to choose between the two.
What rights does that give you? Our contract covers the right to publish the story in print, audio and ebook formats, worldwide, in English. Most of our print books will be published as p.o.d., though we may choose to publish other print editions.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
Please submit your novellas through the form at http://submissions.tor.com/tornovellas. Once you’ve registered there you can also use that portal to check the status of your submission.
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