Maintain the North (free form)

Before you proceed: IF YOUR STORY DOES NOT HAVE A MOUNTIE IN IT, DO. NOT. SUBMIT. IT.


Whether you’re a firm believer that a Mountie always gets his man, can’t resist Canadian politeness, or simply grew up with adventure books, Renfrew of the Royal Mounted, Nelson Eddy, or Due South, we want your fiction, slashfic, fanfic, histfic, pulp, and adventure stories for an anthology about the epic mythology and folklore of the Mounties.

We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented authors, and we are an LGBTQUIA+ safe-space. All accepted pieces receive $20, publication in the anthology, and a complimentary digital copy of the finished anthology.

Submissions open: May 1, 2023

Submissions close: NO DATE YET

Pieces selected: Within 4 months

Publication: 2024-2026

• We’re looking for sagas, epics, adventures, detective stories, (light) romance (not erotica and not purely women’s fiction), literary work, parodies, and maybe surreality or the fantastical if you hit us in the right bone. We’re NOT seeking work about modern-day RCMP or Canadian police forces; we want stories of the mythologized past, the cowboys of the North, the daringness of the NWMP from the Norfolk Jacket to the Red Serge, the stories as big as Wild Western lore and legends, as grand as 1930s Hollywood made them out to be. We want heart and humor and adventure and darkness and fun and depth and personality. Kudos for the human condition, diversity, strong females, overarching metaphors and allegories, deeper meanings and morals. Even more kudos if your story has a heroic German Shepherd.
• We’re NOT seeking nonfiction or poetry, nor true stories unless they are grandly fictionalized. Fiction only. Otherwise, all genres and styles considered.
• We are NOT seeking work aimed at children.
• Do not use characters outside of the public domain if you’re playing off someone else’s source material.
• There is currently no deadline for this anthology; as we approach our maximum amount of accepted pieces, we will make a deadline. Please understand that it may take a couple years to reach our volume of accepted quality material, so have patience for completion if your work is accepted. Acceptances and declines will be notified as they are read.
• A soft upper limit of 10,000 words is suggested.
• You may submit up to 3 stories in a single document file.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. We do not consider AI-generated works.
• These submissions are not read incognito. It doesn’t matter if your identifying information is or isn’t inside your submission file.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. You do not have to withdraw a piece that is accepted elsewhere, as long as you still own the reprint rights after first publication.
• Previously published pieces are considered, as long as you still own the reprint rights.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• This is a free form that is unique to you and shouldn't be shared with others. There is a $2 fee for each submission for anyone able to pay.
• We will send a response and notification to every submission within 4 months. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your work. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. If you have not heard back after 4 months, please feel free to follow up (kindly).
• ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING: Your story has to have a Mountie in it, or it won't get accepted. Please do not waste our time with stories that don't follow the theme.