Angry Robot wants your epic fantasy!

[Anne Lyle]

Angry Robot are having another Open Door Month soon, this time solely for epic fantasy (a subgenre they haven't really done much of before).

Find out more here: http://angryrobotbooks.com/2012/01/the-return-of-open-door/

 

[Hex]

Good news also that Strange Chemistry (which is the YA bit of Angry Robot) is looking for all fantasy/ sf, and not just epic... though I'm still not 100% sure what 'epic fantasy' is, unless it's hobbits...

 

[HareBrain]

though I'm still not 100% sure what 'epic fantasy' is, unless it's hobbits...

Wikipedia seems to think it's basically the same as high fantasy, and look what a problem we had defining that a week or so ago.

Would Pullman's His Dark Materials qualify as epic fantasy if it wasn't YA and the books were longer?

 

[Rosemary Fryth]

Angry Robot are having another Open Door Month soon, this time solely for epic fantasy (a subgenre they haven't really done much of before).

Find out more here: http://angryrobotbooks.com/2012/01/the-return-of-open-door/

Interesting, my trilogy is epic fantasy. I may consider approaching them since my KDP Direct contract runs out at end of March. Perhaps a submission plus healthy Amazon sales figures might interest them.

Then again, perhaps not. I'm kinda getting used to having pricing and creative control over my work.

 

[Anne Lyle]

All entrants need to read the guidelines very carefully. They clearly state that they don't want "Books that have already been published elsewhere (including podcast, self-published as eBooks or print-on-demand)."

Ignoring the guidelines will see your entry kicked to the curb, and rightly so. Nobody likes a Special Snowflake

 

[Boneman]

Thanks for that, Anne. I was one of 11 (I think) who had their whole book called for last year, and it so happens that I should be finished my nth rewrite of my epic fantasy by then! I almost submitted it last year, but I knew it wasn't ready - polishing edits here we come!

 

[thaddeus6th]

Thanks for this.

Hmm. I've got an unpublished first part of a trilogy that fits the bill. It was written a few years ago, though, so I might try editing it. Hmmm...

 

[Hex]

Wikipedia seems to think it's basically the same as high fantasy, and look what a problem we had defining that a week or so ago.

Would Pullman's His Dark Materials qualify as epic fantasy if it wasn't YA and the books were longer?

Yes, according to wikipedia... but then according to them, 'epic fantasy' is set in worlds-that-aren't-this-one (though they put it more elegantly).

Still, on GoodReads when you search for 'epic fantasy' the screen fills with dragons.

 

[HareBrain]

Thought I'd post again regarding AR's not-especially-helpful definition of epic fantasy:

It should be easy to decide whether or not your book is epic fantasy. If in doubt, do the following:
Ask yourself “Is my book epic fantasy?”
If you can truthfully say “yes” without thinking too much about it, we’ll be delighted to take a look. If your answer is “well, I’m not quite sure”, then our answer would probably be the same, so save yourself (and us) the time, and find somewhere more appropriate for it.

I'm quite happy to claim mine as epic and fantasy, and it doesn't fall into any other genre, but it doesn't have a medieval or ancient setting, which was my initial doubt.

In case others are in the same boat, I've just discovered that Stephen King's Dark Tower series is described as epic fantasy on Amazon, so the definition seems to be more wide-ranging than might at first be assumed.

Edit @ Hex: that page (which is on high fantasy, and mentions epic only as a synonym for high, not very convincingly IMO) gives His Dark Materials as an example of a "secondary world with portal" fantasy, but it also gives The Phantom Tollbooth as a similar example! Which isn't quite epic, as far as I recall.

 

[Hex]

What if you're just a thoughtful kind of person??

Yours is epic fantasy. What else would it be?

I think mine is urban fantasy (???), though. Fortunately since it's YA (and not ready yet anyway) I don't need to decide.

This is an interestingly specific thing for Angry Robot to do -- I really liked the way they encouraged a mix of genres on their general submissions page:

"we’re looking for all types of sub-genre, so for example, hard SF, space opera, cyberpunk, military SF, alternate future history, future crime, time travel, and more. We have no problem if your book mashes together two or more of these genres; in fact, we practically insist upon it."

 

[Anne Lyle]

Sorry, forgot to mention that Angry Robot's YA imprint, Strange Chemistry, is also having an Open Door month - but I think the blog post says as much.

 

[Hex]

Sorry, forgot to mention that Angry Robot's YA imprint, Strange Chemistry, is also having an Open Door month - but I think the blog post says as much.

It does, and the further details are here:
http://strangechemistrybooks.com/opendoor/

 

[Brian G Turner]

• If your manuscript contains italics, use italics. Do not use underline instead.

Gaaahh! Am not finished anyway. But still a great idea from AR.

 

[Ursa major]

I was one of 11 (I think) who had their whole book called for last year....

Well done.

 

[chopper]

good thing i decided February would be Editing Month for HTTN. looks like March will be too!

 

[Boneman]

Well done.

Ay thank yew!!! The feedback I got emphasised how few had made it, and although it fell at the final hurdle, at least I reached the final hurdle. (Note to self: improve hurdling skills by April...)

 

[chopper]

very nicely done there, BM!

 

[JDP]

Thanks for the timely 'Heads up', Anne!

I have a MS which was rejected elsewhere, but with lots of feedback. This may well be the kick in the backside I need to do another round of editing on it.

 

[Boneman]

very nicely done there, BM!

Thanks Chopper! Haven't seen you around so much, or have we been on different threads?

I'm hoping that Angry Robot's success chivvies other publishers into doing the same - nothing like it, to make you really work at editing/polishing, is there?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Also to open the market out, instead of the closed agents circle. What classifies as YA; how dark can it go? I suspect mine is too dark in places, but I'm not sure eg. does bad language rule it out/ sex/ torture etc etc. any advice?