Getting It Together

Hi, I am Adriano Ariganello.
I'm the the editor of
Big Smoke Pulp.I write indie comics which you can find at pestocomics.comI have been writing for over two decades; originally a budding screenwriter turned short story writer turned comic writer and letterer.

Why Pulp Short Stories?

I love pulp. Not just noir, but every genre. I like reading plot-heavy, quick tales that don't take a compendium to comprehend.And I like to read short.Ellery Queen, Apex, Asimov, Analog and Clarkesworld all get in my monthly rotation - yet I'm only finding the type of stories I like occasionally in those magazines.This anthology is meant to fill that void. To be the kind of collection that you can't wait to read and tear through in a sitting.I want to leave you craving more after every story.

Where Can I Find It?

Big Smoke Pulp will be available in three phases.Phase #1: Kickstarter
Kickstarter is a great platform for comics - and is quickly becoming a great platform for publishing as well.Doing a Kickstarter campaign removes some of the risk from the operation, effectively collecting pre-orders, but also allows you to sell to a curated audience that's hungry for independent content.

Phase #2: Digital Distribution
Post-campaign, digital copies will be made available on Amazon, Kobo, Google Play Books and Apple Books.Phase #3: Print Distribution
Print copies to be made available post-campaign here at pestocomics.comRepeat: Kickstarter
Back issues will also be made available in future Pesto Comics and Big Smoke Pulp Kickstarter campaigns

What We're Looking For

Pulp stories are one thing above all else: Fun.We are not looking for flowery prose or character pieces without a plot.We're looking for breakneck pacing, thrilling action and relatable characters in heaps of trouble. We're looking for something that readers can't put down because they can't imagine not knowing where it ends.

We're looking for PULP.There is no limitation on genre or content. Bring us your young adult romance, hard-nosed noir or epic sci-fi.As long as it follows the guidelines laid out here, we'll want your stories.

Story Length

We're looking for stories in three formats:
Microfiction - 99-750 words
Flash Fiction - 751-2000 words
Short Stories - 2001-5000 wordsAnything above the short stories threshold will not be considered.

We are not looking for novelettes or novellas.These thresholds are in place as we have a limited amount of slots for each story type per issue.The shorter your story, the better your odds of placement.

Series or Serialization

We are looking for full stories with a complete beginning, middle and end.No exceptions.A cool cliffhanger has its place, but if it leaves a story incomplete, it won't be accepted here.

A recurring character within multiple complete stories in a series format is acceptable, but we will only review one submission per author at a time.Do not send all of your stories for that character at once. This will be rejected outright. One at a time only.

Reprints, Multiple or Simultaneous Submissions

Reprints are not permitted.Only original and previously unpublished stories, in any format, will be accepted.Simultaneous Submissions with other publications
are permitted.We know there's no stopping you anyway. We just ask you let us know as soon as possible if your story has been accepted elsewhere.

Multiple submissions per author to Big Smoke Pulp are not permitted.Please wait for a response for your submitted story before submitting another.Whether your story is accepted or rejected, you can send a new story once a response from the edtior is received.

Formatting

Please exclude any formatting.On the submission form, you'll find a field to paste your story. This will strip any formatting you have applied.Leaving any formatting in place risks making your story more difficult to read.

We recommend pasting your story into a .txt file to see the result of an unformatted file.Do not include more than your story.If selected, we'll reach out for your bio, photo and any other details you may wish to share.

Payment

We are offering 1₵ CAD per word.Payment to be made via Paypal upon receipt of a signed contract from the author.

A digital epub & pdf copy will be provided upon publication.Details about discount print copies for resale will be provided post-crowdfunding campaign.

Rights

We claim first world electronic rights and first print rights for one year from publication.All rights are restricted to English language unless specifically stated otherwise.

Use of AI

We will not consider any submissions written, developed, or assisted by these tools.Attempting to submit these works will result in being banned from submitting works in the future.