100 sites for fiction writers: #29 - Anthologies Online

This is an ongoing series looking at websites that can be of help to fiction writers with their craft and career.

Anthologies Online

Ever walk through a book store and pick up a collection of great short stories from a bunch of different writers? Then have you wondered how all those stories came together?

It's pretty simple, really. There's an editor in charge of the anthology, sometimes more than one editor, and he or she takes submissions from writers. Sometimes the editor will have certain writers with whom they want to work, and they will contact those writers first and ask if the writers would like to take part in the anthology by supplying a short story. Other times, an editor will be open to submissions from writers with which he or she has not worked. Often the editor makes the search for stories public, but sometimes not, depending upon contacts and word of mouth to let writers know about an upcoming anthology.

For writers, it is not always easy to find out about anthologies. Often a writer has to hope to hear about an anthology open to story submissions, or they can check out a handful of websites that keep track of anthologies.

One of the best of these sites is Anthologies Online.

To check out lists of anthologies that are seeking stories and poetry, go to the Writers Wanted section. Here you will find lists broken down by month. Click on the month and you'll be taken to a list of anthologies seeking stories that month.

You can also go to the Anthologies link to check out Featured Anthologies. And don't forget to find out about writing and poetry Contests.

There is even a Message Board where you can ask about anthologies and where sometimes editors go to look for writers.

Don't forget to look around the rest of the site, because you'll also find tips for beginning writers and poets, as well as a few interviews with writers.