Call for Submissions: Aromantic Short Stories for BEING ARO

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We are delighted to announce a brand new anthology, Being Aro! It is a sequel to Being Ace, which was a Lambda Literary award finalist. This volume will be showcasing stories about aromantic spectrum characters by aromantic spectrum authors. The anthology will be published by Page Street Publishing in Summer 2026.

We have a line-up of bestselling and award-winning authors, but we also have space available for an emerging writer! With this open call, we are seeking to expand the canon of aromantic authors within traditional publishing and introduce readers to a voice they may not have encountered yet.

The submission guidelines:

  • We are looking for aromantic writers (writers identifying on the aromantic spectrum) and short stories should include an aromantic protagonist.
  • Short stories should be written for a young-adult readership (protagonists to be aged between sixteen and nineteen years old please).
  • We are open to ALL genres of young adult fiction.
  • Stories do not need to be about the experience of being aromantic or revolve around arophobia, though they certainly can
  • Stories should be around 5,000 words long.
  • We are using the term “emerging writer” loosely to mean unpublished or new to publishing. We are accepting submissions from writers writers who have two or fewer self-published books, but we are not seeking to add traditionally published writers to the line-up through this open call (short fiction credits do not count toward the total). If you are pursuing traditional publishing/have a literary agent but do not yet have a traditional publishing deal, you are welcome to submit. Ultimately, our goal is to introduce readers to a writer they may not have encountered before, so use your best judgment and when in doubt, submit!
  • Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us as soon as possible if your story is accepted elsewhere.
  • Multiple submissions are allowed, limited to three per writer. Please fill out the submission form for each submission.
  • We are not accepting submissions for reprints.
  • We are only accepting submissions from writers 18 years old or older.
  • We are only accepting original submissions that were 100% human created. We cannot accept fanfiction or fiction that heavily references a property that you do not own (making a Star Wars joke is fine, submissions starring Chewbacca are best left for AO3). Submissions that are AI generated, in part or whole, will not be considered.

Payment

All contributors for this anthology will be paid the same amount, regardless of experience and publication history. Each contributor will receive a $400 USD flat fee in payment for their story. 

To submit, please email stories to MadelineDyerAuthor[at]Yahoo.co.uk by April 28th 2025 and fill out the google form here. The writer of the chosen story will be contacted in May 2025. The editorial process for the chosen story will begin shortly after, with expected publication to be in Summer 2026.