Deadline: October 1, 2015

Payment: $100 and contributor’s copy

iPhones are magic.

I mean, do you know how yours works? Could you take it apart and put it back together? We can’t go out without our smartphones. They organize our lives, find our locations, and sync with all our other tech. We sleep with them beside our pillows. Yet… their workings are a mystery.

What does “magic iPhone” mean to you? Consider the supervillain who mind-controls a city’s populace, or the employee who stamps the runes that make your iPhone 8s so lightweight.

This anthology is based on the success of anthology editor Janine A. Southard’s recent novel, Cracked! A Magic iPhone Story, which stars an explicitly magical iPhone (found by story gamers in modern-day Seattle). That iPhone comes pre-loaded with a romance finder app of dubious morality that not only sends its users on terrible dates, but also sucks their life forces.

Editor’s Note: I’m looking for stories that cleverly incorporate the idea of a “magic iPhone” into any setting you like. I will, of course, be psyched to read variations on my crazy romance app, but I’m also excited to read something totally different. I’m accepting all genres except straight-up erotica or hard-core horror. (We’re aiming this anthology at general audiences, after all.) I think the idea lends itself well to comedy and dark fantasy, but… I guess that was obvious already. 😉

How to submit: Send your story in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format to Janine A. Southard at[email protected].

Note about brands: In Cracked! A Magic iPhone Story the titular device was, clearly, an iPhone. Cantina Publishing acknowledges that not everyone rates an iPhone as their favorite device, but the concept of the magic iPhone is the element which will tie together stories in this anthology. You are welcome to feature alternate devices in addition to the iPhone, but be respectful in the event of brand/model comparisons. “iPhone” is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.; Cantina Publishing is not affiliated with Apple Inc. (aside from having listings in the Apple iBooks Store); Cantina Publishing has received no incentive from Apple Inc. for featuring their product in this anthology.

Rights and compensation: Originals only, no reprints. We will purchase first publishing rights for inclusion in this anthology (ebook and print) and one year of exclusivity for $100 (further funding may be possible, subject to Kickstarter project fund availability). Authors retain the rights to the individual stories; Cantina Publishing exercises rights to the anthology as a whole. Each author will also receive a POD copy of the finished work.

General Guidelines:

Do send: Your story with your contact details, name (and pseudonym, if applicable), and word count on the first page of a .doc, .docx, or .rtf document. Please use italics instead of underlining. Cantina Publishing recommends using a really common workhorse font like Times New Roman or Calibri at whatever the default setting is for your word processor. (Font selections are subject to change before publication. Still, the submissions reader will remember you as “the jerk who sent something all in wingdings.” So we don’t recommend that particular level of creativity.) 3,000-7,000 words recommended.

Don’t send: Fanfic of any kind. (Unless specified by the call for submissions.) Grotesque horror. Anything over 10,000 words without querying first.

Via: Cantina Publishing.