Doorknobs & BodyPaint Call for Submissions Extended to Feb 5

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.