Call for Submissions Issue 85
Doorknobs & BodyPaint (flash fiction only)
online
publication
http://www.iceflow.com/doorknobs
Opens—December
1, 2016 / Closes—January 29, 2017—EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 5, 2017
Publication
Date: February 2017
Theme: Love
in the Afternoon
Send
submissions to:
doorknobsandbodypaint@gmail.com
Love in the Afternoon.
Remember the movie? Sweet innocent young woman meets reckless playboy.
They fall in love; she disappears. He must find her or his heart will
break. Feelings push their way to the
surface and claim their place in his life.
Do they reconnect in your story?
How? Is she so innocent? Is he so reckless? Write a story about this
oddly matched couple using the guidelines below.
DORSAL
CONTEST: Bara Swain, editor
How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie) is a satirical
short story by Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz. Diaz’s dating guide for
the Dominican American teenage male takes on the authority of experience by
employing a narrator speaking in second person.
Wait until your
brother, your sisters, and your mother leave the apartment. You've already told
them that you were feeling too sick to go to Union City to visit that tia who
likes to squeeze your nuts. And even though your moms knew you weren't sick you
stuck to your story until finally she said, Go ahead and stay, malcriado. Clear the government cheese
from the refrigerator. If the girl is from the Terrace, stack the boxes in the
crisper. If she's from the Park or Society Hill, then hide the cheese in the
cabinet above the oven, where she'll never see it. Leave a reminder under your
pillow to get out the cheese before morning or your moms will kick your ass.
Take down embarrassing photos . . . A local girl will have hips and a nice ass
but won't be quick about letting you touch her. A white girl might give it up
right then. Don't stop her. She'll say, I like Spanish guys, and even though
you've never been to Spain, say, I like you. You'll be with her until about
eight-thirty, and then she'll want to wash up. After she leaves the phone will
ring. Don't answer it. Don't fall asleep. Put the government cheese back in its
place before your moms kills you.
In 450 words or less, write a dating guide for
any gender, race, sexual preference or ethnicity.
DOORKNOBS: Kieron Devlin, editor
1. Maximum
length: 250 words.
2. The sub-theme
is: authentic
love.
3. The year
is: 2007.
4. Within the
story, you must use this text: the whiteness of white sheets.
HAYWARD FAULT LINE:
Leila Rae, editor (shake us up)
1. Maximum
length: 450 words.
2. The sub-theme
is: commitment.
3. The setting
is: Cassablanca, Morocco.
4. Within the
story, you must use this bit of text: chilling.
TAPAS: Joanne Faries, editor (tiny morsels)
1. Maximum
length: 250 words.
2. The
sub-theme is: heart flutter.
3. Within the
story, you must use this bit of text: glided
into the room.
4. Like
seasoning, it is language that makes your story unique. Surprise us.
CAIRO
ROOM
The Cairo Room
contains all non-contest and writer's pool selections under 450 words. From the
exotic to the post-modern to hypertext to first time writers, this room
welcomes all writers.
General
Guidelines:
SUBMISSION
PERIOD OPENING AND CLOSING: December 1, 2016 through January 29, 2017.
The selection of
a story for publication and the winner depends on the guidelines
(mandatory). If you want clarification
on any of them, email us before sending your story. We will be glad to help.
Send your
submission by email, please include your name, postal address, email address,
and bio at the beginning of each story; paste your story into the body of your
email. If you send more than one story (four total), send each story as a
separate email.
Email subject line
should read: Category (DK (Doorknobs), HF (Hayward Fault), DO (Dorsals),
TA (Tapas), PB (Planet Betty), CR (Cairo Room), the issue #, and your last
name. (example: HF, 61, Argure) Please be careful with this one, otherwise,
stories end up in the TRASH.
Do not use MS Word with smart quotes.
It doesn’t transfer well on the internet. Do not send your story in HTML format. If you
send your story in HTML format or as an attachment, it will be discarded or
returned.
We cannot pay
for your work.
