Cast of Wonders

View Submission Guidelines

The Young Adult Speculative Fiction Podcast

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Audio Upload

This is the portal for submitting your completed narration or guest host audio files. You can use the cover letter section of the form to include any updates to an existing bio. If you are a new narrator/host, we'd also like you to submit a full bio using the author/narrator bio submission portal, where you can also upload your optional bio image. Should you wish to update your details at any time, please get in touch with the editor directly. We are not currently accepting general auditions. Please do not upload unsolicited auditions or stories to this portal, they will not be reviewed.

Currently Open to Submissions

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Author, narrator and host bio

This portal is for authors of accepted stories, narrators and guest hosts to provide their bio text and (optional) image for our website.

Currently Open to Submissions

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Demonstration Window--Test

This is a test. Do not submit. ALL SUBMISSIONS WILL BE DELETED UNREAD.

Currently Open to Submissions

The following submission types are temporarily closed:

Banned Books Week 2020

Our theme for 2020 is Lifelines: books that help us get through periods of isolation. "Books" can be any one-way form of communication: a box of letters, a podcast, skywriting -- anything the recipient can't easily reply to. "Isolation" can be either physical or social: an astronaut alone in a spaceship; a person in a place where no one speaks their language; someone in prison. The stories don't necessarily need to have a happy ending, but they do need to end on a hopeful note. And of course they should follow all of the standard Cast of Wonders guidelines. We are not accepting simultaneous or multiple submissions for Banned Books Week 2020; please submit only one story to this call, and please don't submit stories here and to another venue at the same time. (It's okay to have one story submitted here and a different story submitted to a different Cast of Wonders call at the same time, though).

Currently Closed to Submissions

Banned Books Week 2021

Oppression wants to cover our lives in a blanket of darkness, but each small act of resistance, each defiant moment of hope, brings light to our shared spaces. 26th September to 2nd October, 2021 is Banned Books Week, an annual international event celebrating the freedom to read and raising awareness of the immense social value of free and open access to information. Our 2021 theme is Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us. Cast of Wonders is continuing its tradition of holding a specific submission call for YA fiction to air that week. https://www.castofwonders.org/banned-books-week/bbw-subs-guidelines/

Currently Closed to Submissions

Banned Books Week 2022

To See Yourself in Pages, Paragraphs, Sentences, and Words: Books, Stories, and Representation At Cast of Wonders, we welcome stories that portray the full spectrum of human (and non-human) experience. We don’t challenge books; we want books and stories to challenge us! For Banned Books Week 2022, send us your stories that show how books and stories serve as a beacon for identity, serving to draw peoples and communities together; books that make the statement: “This is who I am, this is who we are, and we will be heard!” (This phrase need not appear in the story but should be a resonant theme). The book should feature prominently in the story and not serve as a prop or McGuffin; however, we encourage creativity in interpreting what a book is and how it is woven into the story. We like to be surprised! We are especially interested in stories that feature joy and hope, even if the setting is intergalactic war or a zombie apocalypse. Cast of Wonders looks for stories that evoke a sense of wonder, have deep emotional resonance, and have something unreal about them. We aim for a 12-17 age range: that means sophisticated, non-condescending stories with wide appeal, and without gratuitous or explicit sex, violence or pervasive obscene language. Preference for this submission window is under 5,000 words with an absolute limit of 6,000 words. Submissions must adhere to Cast of Wonders guidelines available at: https://www.castofwonders.org/submissions/

Currently Closed to Submissions

Dinovember

This is the portal for submitting stories for our Dinovember event. The submission call information can be found at on our website at https://www.castofwonders.org/2020/01/announcing-the-dinovember-2020-themed-call/ We're looking for intelligent dinosaur stories of 500-6000 words in length. Stories should also meet the usual Cast of Wonders submission guidelines.

Currently Closed to Submissions

Flash Fiction Contest 2020

This is the portal for submitting stories for our 2020 Flash Fiction Contest. The submission call information can be found at on our website at https://www.castofwonders.org/2020/08/the-2020-cast-of-wonders-flash-fiction-contest-is-here/. We're looking for original flash fiction stories of no more than 500 words in length. Stories should also meet the usual Cast of Wonders submission guidelines.

Currently Closed to Submissions

General Submissions

Short fiction between 1500 and 6000 words in length, and flash fiction between 100 and 1500 words in length

Currently Closed to Submissions

General Submissions November/December 2021

Short fiction between 1500 and 6000 words in length, and flash fiction between 100 and 1500 words in length

Currently Closed to Submissions

Halloween Submissions

Original flash fiction of 100 to 1500 words in length. Original short fiction of 1500 to 4500 words in length. Reprints up to 6000 words in length.

Currently Closed to Submissions

Seasonal Submissions

Original flash fiction of 100 to 1500 words in length. Original short fiction of 1500 to 4500 words in length. Reprints up to 6000 words in length.

Currently Closed to Submissions

Winter Solstice

Cast of Wonders will be open to submissions for our Winter Solstice episode from 1-10th June, midnight to midnight GMT. The theme we're looking at for this episode is 'The Longest Night'.

Currently Closed to Submissions

Young Author Showcase

A special limited-demographic submission window for Young Authors only (aged <20 on 31st July 2020). Cast of Wonders' standard submissions guidelines otherwise apply: all stories should contain a clear speculative element and be appropriate for a YA audience. Documents should be fully anonymised. We particularly encourage submissions from authors whose backgrounds are under-represented in publishing, and also love #ownvoices submissions. Don't self-reject!

Currently Closed to Submissions

Young Author Showcase 2021

A special limited-demographic submission window for Young Authors only (aged <20 on 18th August 2021). Cast of Wonders' standard submissions guidelines otherwise apply: all stories should contain a clear speculative element and be appropriate for a YA audience. Documents should be fully anonymised. We particularly encourage submissions from authors whose backgrounds are under-represented in publishing, and also love #ownvoices submissions. Don't self-reject!

Currently Closed to Submissions

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