Ella T. Holmes | Writer • Editor • Designer

Hello, and welcome to the submissions process for this anthology. This will be the second anthology of disabled and chronic illness stories compiled, edited, and illustrated by Ella T Holmes. Read more about the first, Artifice & Access, here.

Click here to acces the Google Docs version of this page.

I’m so glad you may be interested in submitting! Below you will find all the information on the purpose of this anthology, the theme, submission guidelines, and more. If you need this information in another format, please let me know and I’ll be more than happy to accomodate. Good luck, and have fun!

  1. Mission Statement:
  2. Anthology Theme: Disability in Dystopia
  3. Submission Eligibility:
  4. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  5. ENQUIRIES & HOW TO SUBMIT
  6. UPDATES & FUNDING:
  7. Payment, Process, and Commitment:

Mission Statement:

Disabled creatives face many barriers to entry into the publishing world, and our stories are often dismissed, erased, and told by people outside of our community. In an effort to uplift and support creatives who have disabilities and/or chronic illnesses (mental health and neurodivergent inclusive), I am fundraising and investing labour into creating collections of stories that help us feel heard, seen, and show that we need and deserve space in the literary landscape!

Dystopian is a compelling genre that marginalised people are often missing from or are the first to die in. In this anthology, I’d like to showcase the thousands of ways disabled and chronically ill communities band together to do mutual aid, fundraise, create mask blocs, and advocate for more equitable access for everyone.

DEADLINE: JULY 31, 2025

Anthology Theme: Disability in Dystopia

How do we improvise and adapt to world-changing circumstances? How do we survive in times of hardship and deep, humanity-challenging inequity? When the world is falling apart, how do we come together? Where do we fit in the revolution?

Many disabled people are used to fighting for survival, and the disability community is often at the forefront of emergency preparedness, mutual aid, contingency planning, and community interconnectedness. We know what it’s like to have to fight to survive oppressive systems that tell everyone we’re “better off dead”. 

How do we survive in your dystopia?

This theme can be interpreted any way you like, and your story can be speculative, sci-fi, fantasy—the list goes on. Have fun with it!

See the SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES further down for information on what we’re not looking for more specifically.

Submission Eligibility:

  • – You must self-identify as disabled (this includes neurodivergent, anxiety, depression, and chronic illness). We will NOT ask for proof and you do not need to disclose anything you don’t want to disclose.
    • If you are not comfortable calling yourself disabled, but you have a condition that is defined as a disability, feel free to submit.
  • – Authors who are not disabled themselves may not submit, even if their characters are disabled. 
  • – Stories must include at least one character with a disability or centre disability in some way. 
  • – Please send something that has not been published before.
  • – Your submission must be your own original work. No part of your submission may be written with the use of AI. Any submission found to have used AI will be rejected. 
  • – #OwnVoices is not a requirement, however we would ask that any author writing a disability they don’t have please do so with care, and have someone sensitivity-read before submission.
  • – There is no “gold standard” here, however, your submitted story must be complete and polished. Spelling errors will not disqualify you!
  • – You do NOT need to be previously published anywhere. New and first-time writers are highly encouraged to submit.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

  • – You may submit ONE story up to 4,000 words. 
  • – Please submit your story as a word document. Font size 12. Double-spaced.
    • If these guidelines are not accessible, or if you realise you missed something, we will still accept your submission. Don’t worry!
  • – Stories do not have to be titled — we will happily help workshop a title for your story if it is accepted. 
  • – On the first page of your submission document, please include your: First name, pronouns, and email address.
  • – We accept stories that are currently being considered elsewhere (also known as a simultaneous submission), and we ask that you let us know and withdraw your submission ASAP if it is accepted elsewhere.

If you would like some general feedback on your submission in the event it is not selected for publication, you can donate $10 to the GoFundMe for this project. Please attach a screenshot of proof in your submission email.

DEADLINE: JULY 31, 2025

  • Genres/tones/elements we are NOT looking for:
    • Horror, body horror, grimdark, extreme violence, sexual assault, explicit and vivid physical abuse. No explicit sexual content.
  • Hard sells:
    • Stories that rely on a disabled character sacrificing themselves, using magic to cure or erase their disability, or having to “overcome” their disability without critique or problematization of the fact are unlikely to appeal to us as they don’t align with our ethics and desire for inclusion of disabled people as they are.
      • However, stories come in all shapes and can be surprising, so this is not a blanket “no” and we encourage you not to self-reject.

ENQUIRIES & HOW TO SUBMIT

  • – Please send your story to dis-anthology@outlook.com 
  • – In the email subject line, please put “SUBMISSION” first and then the title of your story if you have one. Example:
    • SUBMISSION Princess and The Pea
    • SUBMISSION Untitled
  • – You don’t need to send us a bio or anything at this stage. A quick “Hi, here’s my short story for the anthology, Thank you!” is perfectly fine. If you like, you can include a little information about the story, self-identification, and or why you wrote your story.
    • If you would like some general feedback on your submission in the event it is not selected for publication, you can donate $10 to the GoFundMe for this project. Please attach a screenshot of proof in your submission email.
  • – If you are BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ or otherwise marginalised and feel comfortable identifying in your email, please do so. Our mission is to collect diverse stories, and this helps us do so. 
  • – I will endeavour to get back to everyone who submitted by July 20th. If you do not hear back from me by then, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
  • – If you have any questions or difficulties, please contact Ella through email dis-anthology@outlook.com (include the word “ENQUIRY” in the subject line) or on Twitter and Bluesky @ ellatholmes 

UPDATES & FUNDING:

Payment, Process, and Commitment:

  • – The title of this anthology will be announced at a later date.
  • – House style is British English. However, to preserve authorial voice and style, each story will retain the original English it was written in. 
  • – Stories will be read by a small group of readers. We’ll pick 13 stories for publication, which will make a total of 14 stories in this anthology. Stories will be edited, and after edits are turned in and the stories are complete, the book will be formatted and the release process will begin. 
  • – This anthology will be edited through an equity lens, which means edits will be for clarity only. Author intention, style, and voice will be retained.
  • – We are committed to accessibility. If for any reason throughout this process you need accommodations, have feedback, or need something resolved, we encourage open and honest communication and will do our best to accommodate you.
  • – We are dedicated to representing intersectional identities, publishing queer and BIPOC authors and authors with different experiences of disability. We will never put anyone in a position where they have to disclose that personal information, but we appreciate any willingness to self-identify. 
  • – Contributors will be paid a guaranteed  one-time payment of $100AUD (Australian dollars) through paypal, once the editing is complete and the contract is confirmed. Contributors will sign a contract agreeing that their story may not be published or appear elsewhere for 6 months after publication, after which all rights revert back to them.
    • Any “profit” made from sales will roll on to funding the next project.