Freedom Forge Press is accepting submissions for a freedom-themed anthology, with working title, Forging Freedom: Breaking Shackles.

For our 2016 themed anthology, we are looking for stories about freedom throughout history. These stories can be true, or based on true stories, or they can be realistic fiction. They can be written about any time period and any country as long as they contain the theme of freedom. We love stories that pull us into the local color of a time period and place without feeling like we’re sitting in a history class. We love stories about people, stories that celebrate the inextinguishable spirit of human beings and make us feel alive. While we’ll print stories written about obvious struggles for freedom (the Underground Railroad, for instance), we also love stories about lesser-known struggles. Unless they’re completely unique, we’ll only accept one story about each time period, so the more unique (and well-written) your story, the greater chance you’ll have at publication. For this anthology, submissions must be from a historical period – any time before 2015.

We are seeking manuscripts of 1,500 to 5,000 words. If you have a piece that does not fit in this word count range, please query us with a summary of your story and an approximate word count.

This work is intended for general audiences, so keep your submissions at a PG-13 rating. Submissions should be compelling, easy-to-read, and relevant to a wide audience.

If you would like to see the types of submissions that were successful in previous anthologies, you can purchase a copy from our store or from Amazon.com.

Submission Requirements:

Please send your submissions as an attachment in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format using double-spaced 12-point font to submissions <at> freedomforgepress <dot> com. Please also include a contributor bio in your submission email.

For proper routing of your submission, please use the following Subject format: “Breaking Shackles Submission – [Story Title] – [Last Name]. For example, ” Breaking Shackles Submission – Fahrenheit 451 – Bradbury”. (Of course we would have gotten a query about this one due to its length.)

Stories will be short-listed on a rolling basis, but final decisions will not be made until after the deadline. Submissions will close on October 31, 2015. Please, no simultaneous submissions.

Payment for accepted works will be a contributor copy, plus a $10 advance payment against royalties earned. In addition, contributors will have the opportunity to purchase copies at a contributor discount for personal use or to sell for self-promotion purposes. Royalties will be paid in perpetuity, as long as there is market demand for the book.

Reprints will be considered, but we do prefer original pieces. In order for us to publish a reprint, you must have had the rights revert back to you from your original publisher or have reprint rights. It is your responsibility to indicate to us any requirements from your publisher if we accept a reprinted work.

If we accept your submission, we will ask for print and e-publication rights. Please be aware this will count as the first-print publication of your work, which may impact your ability to print the same work with other publishers in the future.

All payments will be submitted in USD funds via check or PayPal approximately 45 days after book publication. For international authors, we must pay you electronically (sorry no checks).

Publisher states the preceding terms as a good faith approximation of the anthology project and may, at its discretion, amend the terms, including payment arrangements, as necessary up to the point where contracts are mutually agreed to and signed by contributors and publisher.