We are CLOSED for Applications
We've just started on Volume 4: Urban Fae

Future Application Windows

Our goal is to put out a new volume roughly every sixth months. We're a small publisher owned and run by five writers with full-time jobs, so that's more of an ambition that a set-in-stone time-line. We usually open applications in the summer and winter, but please follow us on twitters @skullgatemedia or sign up for our newsletter so you know when we're accepting application.

We don't accept "submissions" per se. Instead, we ask for a writing sample, as we don't simply publish stories people send us. Instead, we recruit a group of writers to work collaboratively to create a new world, then write original stories set in that shared universe. It's unlike anything you've ever been involved with: part literary magazine, part RPG, part world's largest writing prompt, part dorm-room hang-out.

How to Apply (for future purposes)

This is not a traditional submissions process. You aren’t sending us a story to see if we want to publish it. Rather, you will apply to be a contributor—if we ask you to join and you accept, you'll be working with dozens of other writers to create a shared world that you will then use as the foundation for your final written work. 

Send a sample of your writing to submissions@skullgatemedia.com, with a subject of “APPLICATION TO VOLUME X."

• The writing sample can be any style or genre and can be pasted in the body of the email or sent as an attachment. (We use google docs A LOT, so sending a google doc would be great). 
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• Please include no more than 1,000 words, which can constitute an entire piece or an excerpt from a longer story. While the limit is 1,000 words, the count is not exact, so feel free to go slightly over to conclude a sentence or paragraph. Please don't submit much LESS, either, as if your sample is too short we can't get a sense of your writing. The sweet spot is 800-1000.
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• The sample does NOT need to have been previously published! Although we love working with established writers, TFYB is often the first place our contributors have been published. We want to get a sense of the quality and overall style of your writing. 

In your email, please tell us a little about yourself and why you’re interested in joining an issue of Tales from the Year Between. We are looking for a diverse group of writers—if you bring any life experiences or part of your identity to your writing that you’d like to share with us, please do.

Interested in Joining?

Tales From the Year Between is NOT like any other anthology. You aren’t submitting a story for us to publish — you are applying to be part of the creative team behind a book of loosely connected writing themed around urban fae. Contributors create a shared world together and use it as the setting for their stories.

We are interested in ALL styles and genres of writing, from short-stories and flash-fiction to poetry, journal entries, letters, faux-academic articles, recipes, music scores, and more. We want it all!

What You'll Actually Do:

Each contributor will submit up to 4,000 words, which can be one traditional short story or several shorter pieces. 

Before we begin writing, you will need to be available to play a world-building, storytelling “game” in mid-late October (exact dates TBA). You won’t have to commit to specific hours, but you will need to put aside a few minutes over a couple days to take your turn.

We value flexibility, creativity, creative chaos, and fun! 

Tales From the Year Between is like a literary journal crossed with a massive game of D&D run by an improv troupe.

Payment & Funding

We are NOT a true paying market at this time. Skullgate is a labor of love—no one running it is making any money from the books we create. However, all contributors will be included in pro-rated profit-sharing. 

We will run a Kickstarter to pay for cover art and base publication fees. We will also include stretch goals to allow us to give our contributors "token payments," as defined by industry standards, which will be an advance against royalties. In the unlikely event that profits surpass our costs, all creators involved will be paid royalties. While we do not have cash on hand, we feel this profit sharing will guarantee everyone involved with be fairly compensated.

Someday we hope to be a true paying market, but for now we are not. Join us if you want to have a great time. And if any money is made... that'd be cool, too. If you have any questions about our funding or payments, feel free to ask.

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