The themes of the 2021 Anthology #1 are:

Top Theme #1: On the Road

Top Theme #2: Forbidden

Potluck Themes:

• But Wait; There’s More
• Through a Glass Darkly
• Of Gods and Monsters
• It Takes All Kinds
• Darkness Falls
• Boys of the Hills
• You Wouldn’t Understand
• On the Beach
• Great Balls of Fire
• Laughter, the Best Medicine
• Ozark Rumors
• The Tracks
• National Park
• The Warmest Color
• A Visitation
• New Moon
• Turn Back Time
• Chiaroscuro
• Jump Ship
• King of Eighteen
• Up!

Note: If you use a potluck theme, when posting to GA Stories, please include in the description: "Pot Luck Theme: [Insert Theme Here]" so that we can see what themes were used!  Thank you!

Feel free to interpret these themes in any way you want. The anthologies are not exclusive, but inclusive, so don't worry if you think your entry has only a tangential link to the theme. If you are inspired, then write a short story, poem or play, and submit it.

Please read these submission guidelines carefully.

You may address these themes in any style or genre you choose. Be as creative as you want to be with the themes. However, please note that this anthology is an anthology of short stories. By definition, a short story must stand alone and not require reading a prior story. It therefore cannot be a chapter in a serial.

Who may participate

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. However, submission to GA Stories requires that you be a member here at GA so you can be assigned as the author. If you have author status (which is free and you can get after five posts in the GA forums), you can submit stories.

Submission Guidelines

Submission Date: May 31, 2021

Non-Poetry

• No Story Limit: Each story submitted must meet quality and editing guidelines and only one story can be under 1,000 words.
• Each story posted as its own submission
• Minimum Word Count Per Story: 1,000
• Maximum Word Count Per Story: 25,000

Poetry

• Up to five poems
• Posted as a single submission (a collection)
• Each poem posted as its own chapter

Submission Procedure *Please read carefully*

Once your story is complete and has gone through your beta and editing team, please complete the following steps:

• Contact @Valkyrie via PM. Include in the PM the following information: Title, original editor, genre, synopsis, word count, and excerpt in the body of the PM. Attach your story file. You will be paired with an editor from the Anthology Proof Team who will perform a final proof for the anthology and return the file to you. *Please Note: The Anthology Proof Team is not meant to take the place of an author’s normal editing team so all entries MUST be edited prior to contacting  Valkyrie*
• Once you receive your proofed file, complete your edits and submit your story into GA Stories, for help, please read How do I upload my anthology entry into GA Stories?
  • Make sure the story is unpublished by clicking BOTH the publish sliders, one for the chapter and one for the story itself
  • Select “Fiction” as the category. It will be moved to the correct category by the anthology team.
  • Mark your story as COMPLETE. Only completed stories are allowed in the anthologies
  • Description for Pot Luck stories - Please include "Pot Luck Theme: [Insert Theme Here]" in your description
  • Please note that once you submit a story it will NOT show up in your list of stories until the anthology has gone live.
  • Copy the URL for your story and provide Renee Stevens with the URL via the announcement thread so that your submission may be checked to ensure it has been submitted correctly and meets submission guidelines. This also ensures that it will get moved to the anthology category. Please give the URL to the STORY page, not the chapter page.
  • *NEW* Each theme will have it's own category and forum thread. When providing the URL for your story please choose the link thread for the correct theme. Renee will not be responsible for posting it in the wrong category if it was not posted in the correct thread.

  [*]Please do a visual check of your story once it has been uploaded to ensure that it uploaded correctly. If it did not, contact Renee Stevens. 
  IMPORTANT: Please DO NOT do ANYTHING with your story once it has been submitted to the anthology. We lock edits to anthologies, but we can only lock so much and trying to make ANY changes can cause issues with the system. If there is something with your story that absolutely needs fixed, added, etc, PLEASE contact Renee Stevens or another Admin prior to attempting anything. Thank you!

Extensions

Occasionally things happen that prevent an author from meeting the deadline. If you should find yourself in such a predicament, PM Renee Stevens, before the deadline (not the day of or after), and something may be able to be worked out. Please contact Renee only if you need an extension; requests will only be considered when requested by the author personally. However, if the same author is consistently asking for extra time, extensions may no longer be granted for that particular author. Deadlines exist for a reason. The Anthology Team needs time to prep the anthology to go live and extensions, while occasionally warranted due to unforeseeable circumstances, add to the already hectic workload. If you have NOT made arrangements with Renee prior to the deadline, your Anthology will not be included. Please do not send a message the day an anthology is due requesting an extension, these will not be granted. You are welcome to post your story on your own and include a story note stating that it was originally meant to be part of the anthology.

Story Titles

Please do not use the anthology themes or your GA Username as a title. Be as original as you can. In case of duplicate titles within the anthology, we will request that titles be changed.

Unacceptable entries & Content Warnings

Entries that are obviously unedited (containing many errors), are overly graphic, or which are deemed to have unacceptable content will be either declined outright, or changes may be requested as a condition of entry. For information on what is considered to be unacceptable, please see the Story Content Rules FAQ. If you still have questions, ask.

Please include a Content Warning in the story notes if your story contains sensitive content. Examples of sensitive content: abuse, especially graphic/extreme abuse or child abuse, in-scene graphic violence, suicide attempts/themes, allowable incest, etc... if you're unsure that your story falls within this type of content please alert Valkyrie when you send the PM requesting the final proof.

Previously posted stories (whether at GA or elsewhere) are not eligible for inclusion into the GA anthologies.

Editing

All entries MUST be edited prior to being sent to the Anthology Proof Team. If you need an editor, please visit the Writing Support Requests forum to request one. There are editors who prefer to edit only one shots, such as anthologies. Please make sure to state that your story is for the upcoming anthology. Also, please make sure to follow the guidelines when requesting an editor. If your story is clearly NOT edited, your story will be returned and the proof team is under no obligation to provide a proof read until it has been edited.

Copyright

As with all content in GA Stories, the rights remain with the individual authors. Your story will post with a simple 2021 copyright notice, using your GA user display name. If you have another preference (for example, a different name, or a Creative Commons license, or specific copyright wording you'd like to use), please include that with your submission.

However, with this anthology, by submitting your story, you are giving GayAuthors.org first worldwide rights with 14 days exclusivity. What that means is you are giving GayAuthors.org permission to archive your story on its website, distribute it via RSS, kindle, iphone, ipad, eyeball…. And you agree not to publish it anywhere else for 2 weeks.

If you later decide to post your story at another site, please mention at the beginning or end of the story that it was first published as part of the 2021 Gay Authors Anthology #1: [Insert Theme Here], and include a link back to GA if possible.

If you have any questions, please contact Renee Stevens via PM or via the Anthology Blog or Forum.