The Slab Press

I hope you all had a good break and that this year is filled with opportunities and positivity. I’ve certainly got some to pass on.

Speaking of which…

Laughs in Space – an anthology of humorous science-fiction stories. August 2024.

Science fiction is often a very serious genre, but it shares something with comedy in that it can reflect the world back to us, inspire us, evoke our curiosity, and help us to appreciate human creativity and wit. Many of us find our route to a love of science fiction via comedy, too, be it through the books or radio plays of Douglas Adams, watching Red Dwarf or Doctor Who(or reading the books), or getting into the MCU.As an editor, I’ve been championing science fiction for many years. As a stand-up comedian, much the same! So naturally I wanted to bring out an anthology of humorous science fiction.

What I’m looking for:

Short fiction stories from 2000 words to 9000 words.I’m looking for great stories first and foremost, with relatable characters. They do not need to be riddled with dad jokes or puns. They do not need to be set in space! They do need to fit the broad remit of science fiction, but any kind of science fiction or humour is welcome, be it silly, generic parody*, grotesque, or black humour.No punching down in your humour though, please. * Generic parody is fine, but please, no utilising other people’s content for the sake of parody, regardless of whether that content has entered public domain due to age. No AI-generated content. If you are unsure whether a story will fit, you are welcome to send a query email.

Submissions: please send stories between 1st March 2024 and 7th April 2024 only.

Please use standard manuscript formatting. Font TNR, Arial, Calibri, Garamond, or Calibri, 12 points. Double line spacing. Single spaces between words/following punctuation. Include page numbers in footers and name and title in headers. Also include a first page with name, title, word count. Use double quotation marks for speech. British English spelling preferred.

Payment:£10 per 500 words, up to £55.

…

I’m very much looking forward to all the conventions I will be at in 2024 and 2025, representing The Slab.

First up, I am returning to Sci-Fi Weekender from 14th -16th March. I was there last year doing stand-up, but this year I’m there in a solely literary capacity, and will be interviewing Steampunk author Paul Eccentric.

I’m not going to all of Eastercon this year, but I will be there most likely on the Friday (actually, doing stand-up!). You will be able to buy the Slab anthology Dark Horses from the Newcon Press stand, thanks to the awesomely generous Ian Whates.

And I’ll be in Chester for Fantasycon later in the year,too. Plus, I’m signed up for 2025 cons, Eastercon in Belfast and World Fantasycon in Brighton.

That’s a lot of planning and organising to fit in this year!

Donna x