Thanks to Jamie for inviting me to Boys on the Brink today! My name is K. Piet, and I’m the Marketing Director for Storm Moon Press, a small QUILTBAG-centric publisher. I’m here today to spread the word about our press, as we’ve recently opened up our Budding Moon imprint, which is all about QUILTBAG Young Adult fiction!

It’s incredibly exciting for us to move into the young adult arena of GLBT fiction, and it’s something everyone at the press feels very passionately about. There’s nothing like being able to open up a book as a young person and connect with the characters. This is especially true for those of us who identify as part of the QUILTBAG, as it helps to reduce the isolation of identifying GLBT during adolescence, the feeling that we’re somehow so different that no one can understand or relate to us. Fiction is a powerful tool that can connect people and, in some ways, bridge that gap. It’s something we definitely hope to do through our Budding Moon imprint.

Here are some of the submission calls we have coming up that we would absolutely love to receive submissions for so we can get more GLBT Young Adult fiction out there.

Anthologies:

  • Gym Shorts – (Submissions close March 31st, 2013) – This anthology is all about sports, and we’d love to have submissions that take a fresh approach to the participation of GLBT youth in sports. Whether it’s a character striving to make the team or just trying to get through awkward locker room experiences, we’d love to see stories addressing this aspect of young life.
  • Saving the World (in Tights!) – Ever since I saw the Young Avengers comics include a teenaged gay couple (Hulkling and Wiccan all the way!), I’ve been itching to put out a GLBT young adult anthology centered around superheroes. This is where authors can have a lot of fun, since you can give your superheroes any powers you want, and then explore how that impacts them as they go through their adolescence and come of age.
  • Growing Up Too Soon – For this anthology, we’re seeking short stories that are set in dystopian or post-apocalyptic realities. What is it like for GLBT youth to grow up after disaster strikes, or in a society that is governed in a way that severely limits the way teenagers interact with one another and the adults around them? The possibilities here for intense themes are spectacular, and I hope authors take on the challenge and send us those shorts.

Open Lines:

  • Paranormality – YA GLBT Paranormal – While vampires and werewolves and the supernatural are all the rage (almost to the point of being overdone), we think there’s an untapped potential in telling paranormal stories spotlighting GLBT teens. We’d love to see more novellas and novels featuring GLBT vamps, shapeshifters, psychics, you name it.
  • What Makes a Family – YA GLBT Alternative Families – The modern family unit is evolving to include GLBT parents as well as children, and we would love to receive submissions that highlight unconventional families. Two fathers, two mothers, or being raised by a triad or other group, there are many stories that deserve to be told with alternative family structures. We’re looking forward to being a press that fully embraces the unconventional.

And it doesn’t stop there! Those are just a few of our anthology and open line calls. You can find more on the Storm Moon Press website, for the time being. Over the next year or two, we have calls that will go up for everything from re-imagined fairy tales to all-out steampunk, all with a GLBT YA emphasis.

So, spread the word! Storm Moon Press’ Budding Moon imprint is here, and we hope to inspire young adult fiction authors to expand the pool of GLBT-centric literature that both adults and teens can enjoy! If you have any questions about submissions, you can check out our submission guidelines on the SMP website or contact us here at the press. The joy of having a small press is that your questions get answered quickly by one of our core three owners. We’re all about quality, and that means giving all the help and information we can even before you submit stories to us!

Thanks to Boys on the Brink for hosting us today, and we hope to see both authors and readers getting excited about the YA fiction coming from Budding Moon in 2013!

Giveaway Opportunity!

This guest post is part of Storm Moon Press’ 3rd Anniversary Blog Tour! Comment on this post or any other post on the blog tour with your e-mail address, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win the Grand Prize of receiving 1 FREE e-book each month of 2013 from that month’s new releases for a total of 12 free e-books! Runners up will receive a $25 gift certificate to their choice of Amazon or All Romance eBooks. For more details and to find out about our 3rd Anniversary, head over to Storm Moon Press’ Official Blog. Thanks for joining us!

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