***UPDATE: The open call is now closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted! The final creator lineup will be announced in March.***
This will be the seventh book in the Red Stylo Presents series of anthologies, but there’s one diabolical twist. Just as Jekyll and Hyde do battle for a single body, A SOUL DIVIDED/ CAGED IN FLESH will be a double-sided, dueling collection of stories, with one-half inspired by the tortured Dr. Jekyll and the other entirely devoted to the abominable Mr. Hyde. There will be no middle ground. The two halves will exist together, each dueling for supremacy, but caged tightly in one collection of original works inspired by Stevenson’s horror classic.
“A SOUL DIVIDED, original comic stories inspired by Dr. Jekyll.” “CAGED IN FLESH, original comic stories inspired by Mr. Hyde.” Choose a side.
Some things to consider when formulating your story ideas:
- We’re looking for inspiration, not adaptation. Whether you choose to pitch for the Jekyll or Hyde side of the book, the challenge is to take the characters, themes or setting from Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel and use it as inspiration for an original story. J&H has been adapted many, many times and we’ll turn down anything pulled from a Hollywood adaptation or similar that doesn’t draw from the original book, no matter how brilliant. If you haven’t already, check out our past comic anthologies to get an idea of how previous contributors have taken on similar challenges.
- We are not kidding about the “inspired by the book” part of this project. Anyone could do a collection of J&H-concept stories. Please believe us when we say we’re looking for stories that are inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel.
- Any genre is welcome, and there is no restriction on the setting/time of your story. Modern, historical, comedy, horror, tragedy, farce, sci-fi…the more “out there” the idea is, the more we want to see it.
- This personality will be split straight down the middle: we will accept EXACTLY the same number of Jekyll stories as Hyde stories. Conversely, if we only get three strong pitches for Jekyll, then we will cull the evil Hyde until balance is restored. The book (and thus the number of submissions we accept) will shrink or grow depending on how many quality pitches we want to greenlight for either side. Now, there may be a little Hyde in your Jekyll, or a little Jekyll in your Hyde, but we want stories that show a clear dominance of one over the other.
- Given these limits, applicants are still encouraged to pitch for either or both halves of the collection. In fact, to help your chances, if you’re invited to pitch, we recommend you offer us at least one pitch for each half. (This is encouraged, but not required.)
Though this book is different from anything we’ve done before, the rules for submitting have stayed the same. Here’s how to pitch for the anthology:
You must be invited to pitch. To make our list, writers and artists may send a query as a comic team (writer and artist together) or as an individual open to being assigned to a creative team. Please note: do not send a pitch or attachment without being invited. Pitches sent without invitation will be deleted without reply–sorry!
- WRITERS, please format your query as follows (no more, no less): Send a message through the form below with your name, brief bio and a link to a portfolio or sample of your work–links only, no attachments. First time comic writers and students welcome, but you should at least have some kind of creative work available online for us to peruse, even if it’s just social media. Tell us if you are a team or an individual.
- ARTISTS, please format your query as follows (no more, no less): Send a message through the form below with your name, brief bio and a link to your online portfolio or website. Again, first timers and students welcome, but you MUST have a link to samples of your work online, no exceptions. Tell us if you do sequential work, or will only do posters/prints/vignettes. Please note that vignette artists will still be asked to complete between two and four pieces. Inkers and Colorists are welcome to apply as well!
Everyone can expect a reply within two weeks of receipt. Haven’t heard from us? Please check our guidelines and send again. Fuzzy on anything? Check out our FAQs page here.
Tarry not! This open call only lasts until February 15th so get your queries in. We will be accepting pitches on a rolling basis, so you do NOT want to save this until the last day. Good luck, everyone.