Written Backwards

15/05/2024

QUALIA NOUS, VOL. 2 takes home another accolade, this time as a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, all thanks to the following writers and their contributions:

"Interstices" (found poem(s) from Vol. 1 as an intro) - Pat R. Steiner
"A Story That Must Be Read Alone but Never at Night" (short story) - Chuck Palahniuk
"Shattered in Daylight" (poem) - Linda D Addison
"We Come Apart and Then We Arrive" (short story) - Eric LaRocca
"Here We Are" (poem) - Elizabeth Massie
"An Invitation for the Uninvited" (novelette) - Scott Edelman
"Set Me on Fire" (poem) - Cynthia Pelayo
"Twice as Many Stars" (short story) - Paul Michael Anderson
"Playground of the Gods" (poem) - Christina Sng
"The Fallen Man" (short story) - Geneve Flynn
"Lullabies of a Distant World" (poem) - Pedro Iniguez
"Other" (short story) - Gordon Linzner
"Vessel" (poem) - Lee Murray
"Come Find Me" (short story) - Zoje Stage
"Self-Discovery" (poem) - Ngo Binh Anh Khoa
"The Song of Fools" (novelette) - Patrick Freivald
"A Particle Accelerator Love Song" (poem) - Brent Baldwin
"Blue-Red-Green" (novelette) - Peter Hagelslag
"Sacrificing for the Path of Orbits" (poem) - Christopher Collingwood
"Investigations into Hypnagogia" (novelette) - Sachin Baliga
"My Memory Is as Time Is" (poem) - Mark Granger
"The Infinite Hourglass" (short story) - Kehkashan Khalid
"Common Sense, No More" (prose poem) - Maxwell Ian Gold
"The Sum of Our Parts Needs Only One Heart" (short story) - Michael Gonzalez
"Alive / Real / Exists / Human" (collection of poems) - Eugen Bacon
"Bilocation in Liminal Space" (short story) - Erik Williams
"Danse Sanguinaire" (poem) - Deborah L. Davitt
"Choose Your Own Demise" (short story) - Richard Thomas & Repo Kempt
"Crazy" (poem) - Jeffrey Oliver
"Stuff She Put in a Box for Her New Room" (novelette) - Gary A. Braunbeck
"What Weird Weather We Had" (poem) - Josh Malerman
"Oil on Water" (short story) - Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
"Nightmare" (poem) - L. Marie Wood
"Once, I Dreamed I Was Dead" (short story) - Rebecca J. Allred
"Paranoid: A Chant" (poem) - Stephen King
"Lucid Interval" (novelette) - Michael J. Riser
"Deeply You" (poem) - Max Booth III
"The Thing That Laughs in the Dark" (short story) - Gabino Iglesias
"Some Days, Most Days" (poem) - Kaaron Warren
"Dog-Whistles" (short story) - Cody Goodfellow
"Ghost in the Machine" (poem) - Karen Poppy
"Everyday Horror" (short story) - Steve Rasnic Tem
"Me" (poem) - Jamal Hodge

09/05/2024

I am extremely excited to announce that RIGHTING WRITING is a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award, along with a few other accolades it has collected since going to print.

30/04/2024

A reminder about a few upcoming open calls for fiction, one of which opens at midnight on May 1st. All are seeking original work. No reprints. Basically, Doug Murano and I are going to continue rocking indie press and we want you to play along.

LONG DIVISION: Stories of Social Decay, Societal Collapse and Bad Manners (co-edited by Doug Murano & Michael Bailey, Bad Hand Books).

Submissions open at 12:01 AM (CST) 05/01/24, capped at 500 submissions. 10 cents/word up to 5K. Features (so far):

"The Nocturnal Gardener" by Clay McLeod Chapman
"Celeste" by Chuck Palahniuk
"The Mean Season" by Zoje Stage
"Cinders in Your Hair" by Eugen Bacon
"Third Time Lucy" by Anna Taborska
"Item G2V" by Alex Grecian
"You Are the Emptiness in Every Room You Occupy" by Eric LaRocca
"The Next Station Is—" by Ai Jiang

- - -

YOU, HUMAN, Vol. 2 (edited by Michael Bailey, Written Backwards).

Submissions open 09/01/24 - 09/30/24. Looking for novelettes between 7,500 and 15,000 words. $500 flat payment. Writers should be familiar with the original YOU, HUMAN anthology. This will have between 10 and 12 stories. Features (so far):

"The Touch of an Old Friend’s Hand" by Scott Edelman
"AI Chronicles: Properties of a Human Curse" by Eugen Bacon
"Time for a (R)Evolution! - A Documentary" by Sachin Baliga
"Introduction" by Maxwell Ian Gold

- - -

SILENT NIGHTMARES: Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year (co-edited by Chuck Palahniuk & Michael Bailey, publisher TBA).

Submissions open later this year with a short window and/or submission cap. Similar payment as the others. More information soon. Think Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol . . .

10/04/2024

PSYCHOTROPIC DRAGON is now available as an audiobook, read by Sarah Grace. I have a handful of free codes for Audible, so send me a message if interested.

08/04/2024

Proud to announce that QUALIA NOUS, VOL. 2 is a recipient of The BookFest Award for anthologies. This could not have happened without the following writers and their contributions:

"Interstices" (found poem(s) from Vol. 1 as an intro) - Pat R. Steiner
"A Story That Must Be Read Alone but Never at Night" (short story) - Chuck Palahniuk
"Shattered in Daylight" (poem) - Linda D Addison
"We Come Apart and Then We Arrive" (short story) - Eric LaRocca
"Here We Are" (poem) - Elizabeth Massie
"An Invitation for the Uninvited" (novelette) - Scott Edelman
"Set Me on Fire" (poem) - Cynthia Pelayo
"Twice as Many Stars" (short story) - Paul Michael Anderson
"Playground of the Gods" (poem) - Christina Sng
"The Fallen Man" (short story) - Geneve Flynn
"Lullabies of a Distant World" (poem) - Pedro Iniguez
"Other" (short story) - Gordon Linzner
"Vessel" (poem) - Lee Murray
"Come Find Me" (short story) - Zoje Stage
"Self-Discovery" (poem) - Ngo Binh Anh Khoa
"The Song of Fools" (novelette) - Patrick Freivald
"A Particle Accelerator Love Song" (poem) - Brent Baldwin
"Blue-Red-Green" (novelette) - Peter Hagelslag
"Sacrificing for the Path of Orbits" (poem) - Christopher Collingwood
"Investigations into Hypnagogia" (novelette) - Sachin Baliga
"My Memory Is as Time Is" (poem) - Mark Granger
"The Infinite Hourglass" (short story) - Kehkashan Khalid
"Common Sense, No More" (prose poem) - Maxwell Ian Gold
"The Sum of Our Parts Needs Only One Heart" (short story) - Michael Gonzalez
"Alive / Real / Exists / Human" (collection of poems) - Eugen Bacon
"Bilocation in Liminal Space" (short story) - Erik Williams
"Danse Sanguinaire" (poem) - Deborah L. Davitt
"Choose Your Own Demise" (short story) - Richard Thomas & Repo Kempt
"Crazy" (poem) - Jeffrey Oliver
"Stuff She Put in a Box for Her New Room" (novelette) - Gary A. Braunbeck
"What Weird Weather We Had" (poem) - Josh Malerman
"Oil on Water" (short story) - Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
"Nightmare" (poem) - L. Marie Wood
"Once, I Dreamed I Was Dead" (short story) - Rebecca J. Allred
"Paranoid: A Chant" (poem) - Stephen King
"Lucid Interval" (novelette) - Michael J. Riser
"Deeply You" (poem) - Max Booth III
"The Thing That Laughs in the Dark" (short story) - Gabino Iglesias
"Some Days, Most Days" (poem) - Kaaron Warren
"Dog-Whistles" (short story) - Cody Goodfellow
"Ghost in the Machine" (poem) - Karen Poppy
"Everyday Horror" (short story) - Steve Rasnic Tem
"Me" (poem) - Jamal Hodge

28/03/2024

Proud to announce that HANGTOWN, a novel about Hangtown, Ca (my birthplace), is nominated for the Benjamin Franklin Award by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).

It also won The BookFest Award for historical fiction, and is nominated for the Eric Hoffer Award.

27/03/2024

I was just informed that RIGHTING WRITING is a finalist for the Imaginarium "Imadjinn Award."

28/02/2024

How could I possibly make YOU, HUMAN, VOL. 2 even better? By bringing on Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki as co-editor. More news soon as this anthology takes shape. Open call Sep. 1 - 30, 2024. Novelettes.

Table of Contents (so far):

"AI Chronicles: Properties of a Human Curse" by Eugen Bacon
"The Touch of an Old Friend’s Hand" by Scott Edelman
"Time for a (R)Evolution! - A Documentary" - Sachin Baliga

With an introduction by Maxwell Ian Gold.

26/02/2024

THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD, winner of the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement is currently listed by BookBub. Snag the eBook edition of this anthology now through the end of March 3rd for under a buck in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.

Illustrated throughout by gak, and includes:

A Bram Stoker Award-nominated long fiction / introduction by Norman Partridge

"Those Who Shall Never be Named" by Yvonne Navarro
"The Last Things to Go" by Mary SanGiovanni & Brian Keene
"A Raven in the Dove's Nest" by Ro Lannes
"I'm Not There" by Kealan Patrick Burke
"A Chimera's Tale" by Chris Marrs
"I'm Getting Closer" by JF Gonzalez
"Reliving Through Better Chemistry" by Weston Ochse
"Cthylla" by Lucy A. Snyder
"Fault Lines" by Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon
"Jaded Winds" by Rena Mason
"Tears of the Dragon" by Michael McBride
"Phantom on the Ice" by Erinn Kemper
"Night Soliloquy" by Sydney Leigh
"Broken Lady" by Gene O'Neill
"Tales the Ashes Tell" by Gary A. Braunbeck

And an afterword by Mary SanGiovanni

23/02/2024

Ballots for the Nebula Awards close February 29th. If you are a member of the SFWA, don't forget to cast your ballots! The following are on the reading list this year, and eligible.

Novelettes (from Qualia Nous, Vol. 2, by Written Backwards):

"The Song of Fools" by Patrick Freivald
"Stuff She Put in a Box for Her New Room" by Gary A. Braunbeck
"Red-Green-Blue" by Peter Hagelslag

Short stories (from Qualia Nous, Vol. 2, by Written Backwards):

"Oil on Water" by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
"The Sum of Our Parts Needs Only One Heart" by Michael Gonzalez
"We Come Apart and Then We Arrive" by Eric LaRocca
"Come Find Me" by Zoje Stage

Short story (from Never Wakes, by Crystal Lake Entertainment):
"Labyrinthine" by Michael Bailey

17/02/2024

If you are a writer searching for future open submissions for short and/or long fiction, here are a few anthologies to consider. All are seeking original fiction. Basically, Doug Murano and I are going to rock indie press over the next few years, so you should play along.

LONG DIVISION: Stories of Social Decay, Societal Collapse and Bad Manners (co-edited by Doug Murano & Michael Bailey, Bad Hand Books). Submissions open 05/01/24, capped at 500 submissions. 10 cents/word up to 5K. Features (so far):

"The Nocturnal Gardener" by Clay McLeod Chapman
"Celeste" by Chuck Palahniuk
"The Mean Season" by Zoje Stage
"Cinders in Your Hair" by Eugen Bacon
"Third Time Lucy" by Anna Taborska

- - -

YOU, HUMAN, Vol. 2 (edited by Michael Bailey, Written Backwards). Submissions open 09/01/24 - 09/30/24. 10 cents/word up to 5K. This will have between 10 and 12 novelettes. And wait... is that a new name on the cover?! Features (so far):

"The Touch of an Old Friend’s Hand" by Scott Edelman
"AI Chronicles: Properties of a Human Curse" by Eugen Bacon
"Time for a (R)Evolution! - A Documentary" by Sachin Baliga
"Introduction" by Maxwell Ian Gold

- - -

HOLIDAY HORROR ANTHOLOGY / UNTITLED (co-edited by Chuck Palahniuk & Michael Bailey, publisher TBA). This will open for submissions with a very short window and/or submission cap. More information soon. Think Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol . . .

16/02/2024

Due to the number of inquiries received re: YOU, HUMAN, VOL. 2, submission information is now available on the Written Backwards website. The basics: novelettes, 10 cents per word, open submission window Sep. 1 - 30, 2024.

27/01/2023

2024 ?

27/03/2022

A reminder that Written Backwards is not open to submissions (hence why it reads "not open to submissions at this time" on the website contact page). Research first and avoid blindly sending unsolicited work to any venue. If a publisher is seeking work, they will make it known.

19/05/2021

There is still time to vote for the This Is Horror Awards. MISCREATIONS: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors (co-edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey) is up for Anthology of the Year, along with other great books. Anyone can vote.

Hello, wonderful horror readers! The This Is Horror Awards 2020 are now open. Please send your votes to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Awards 2020’. To cast a vote simply write th…

24/12/2020

Midnight Dec. 24th through midnight Dec. 28th, the following are available as free downloads for Amazon Kindle. This is a sampling of work by Michael Bailey: short fiction & poetry (including illustrations by Daniele Serra), a composite novel, and themed long fiction. Fill up your Kindle. They're free! Trade paperback and hardcover editions are also available. INKBLOTS AND BLOOD SPOTS…...

http://blog.nettirw.com/2020/12/24/free-holiday-e-books/

Midnight Dec. 24th through midnight Dec. 28th, the following are available as free downloads for Amazon Kindle. This is a sampling of work by Michael Bailey: short fiction & poetry (including i…

22/12/2020

The submission window for CHIRAL MAD 5 closes at midnight (your time) on 12/31/20. Open to anyone. Almost 1,000 submissions so far. Only a few spots remain. Details here: bit.ly/30bMVKI

13/11/2020

Starting midnight on Friday the 13th (November 13, 2020) through midnight the 20th, The Impossible Weight of Life eBook is on sale at Amazon for only $1.99 in the US, and £1.99 in the UK. Also available in hardcover and trade paperback.

http://blog.nettirw.com/2020/11/13/the-impossible-weight-of-e-books/

Starting midnight on Friday the 13th (November 13, 2020) through midnight the 20th, The Impossible Weight of Life eBook is on sale at Amazon for only $1.99 in the US, and £1.99 in the UK. Also avai…

13/10/2020

Written Backwards presents The Impossible Weight of Life, a painfully autobiographical collection of speculative fiction and poetry by Michael Bailey, author of previous collections such as Scales and Petals, Inkblots and Blood Spots, and Oversight. Available now wherever books are sold! Amazon: eBook | trade paperback | hardcover. Also available in the UK, … [ 87 more words ]

http://blog.nettirw.com/2020/10/13/available-now-the-impossible-weight-of-life/

Written Backwards presents THE IMPOSSIBLE WEIGHT OF LIFE, a painfully autobiographical collection of speculative fiction and poetry by Michael Bailey, author of previous collections such as SCALES …

14/08/2020

THE IMPOSSIBLE WEIGHT OF LIFE: a painfully autobiographical collection of speculative fiction and poetry by Michael Bailey, coming soon from Written Backwards
http://blog.nettirw.com/2020/08/14/the-impossible-weight-of-life/

THE IMPOSSIBLE WEIGHT OF LIFE: a painfully autobiographical collection of speculative fiction and poetry by Michael Bailey, coming soon from Written Backwards

04/08/2020

CHIRAL MAD - ILLUSTRATED! (and final push). Seth Brown has been commissioned to create black and white interior artwork for each of the stories within Chiral Mad 5. At least 15, but perhaps more ...
http://blog.nettirw.com/2020/08/04/chiral-mad-illustrated-and-final-push/

Thanks to your help, Chiral Mad 5 is happening. We have officially reached the first two goal unlocks, which means the anthology will include at least 100,000 words of fiction and poetry, featuring…

26/07/2020

CHIRAL MAD 5 update: The campaign is not over yet, and is scheduled to end August 4, 2020 at 11:59pm PDT, which means there's still time to pre-order and help make the book even better. Help us illustrate this thing ...
http://blog.nettirw.com/2020/07/26/chiral-mad-5-update/

The campaign is not over yet, and is scheduled to end August 4, 2020 at 11:59pm PDT, which means there’s still time to pre-order and help make the book even better. Help us illustrate this th…

22/06/2020

At 115% funded, CHIRAL MAD 5 will add 2 more stories and 2 more poems (basically, about 10,000 words). Let's make this book even better! Support the campaign (*pre-order*) here: https://bit.ly/30bMVKI

An anthology of speculative fiction, with all proceeds going to the Black Lives Matter movement | Check out 'CHIRAL MAD 5' on Indiegogo.

20/06/2020

Chiral Mad 5 is now 100% funded! The work sought out and also submitted for consideration so far has been incredible, and more work is on the way. The book will include at least 80,000 words of fiction by writers from around the world, as well as poetry and artwork. This will be the most diverse, most powerful anthology Written Backwards has ever created. [ 289 more words ]
http://blog.nettirw.com/2020/06/19/chiral-mad-5-100-funded/

Chiral Mad 5 is now 100% funded! The work sought out and also submitted for consideration so far has been incredible, and more work is on the way. The book will include at least 80,000 words of fic…

11/06/2020

The CHIRAL MAD 5 campaign is closing in on 60%. Let's push hard these next few days to get this project funded. New perks are available, including book sets by Dark House Press and LVP Publications, as well as deluxe signed & numbered hardcovers (limited to only 100), editing, book design, etc. Give until it hurts. bit.ly/30bMVKI

An anthology of speculative fiction, with all proceeds going to the Black Lives Matter movement | Check out 'CHIRAL MAD 5' on Indiegogo.

06/06/2020

10% funded in the first 24 hours. Let's keep it going. Pre-order CHIRAL MAD 5 now in eBook, paperback, hardcover, and deluxe signed & numbered hardcover (only 100 will ever be printed), along with editing & book design packages, multi-book deals ... Let's make this happen!

05/06/2020

The campaign for CHIRAL MAD 5 is now live, its primary focus to raise awareness and money for underrepresented demographics around the literary world. All profit from the book will go Black Lives Matter, indefinitely.
http://blog.nettirw.com/2020/06/05/chiral-mad-5/

The campaign for Chiral Mad 5 is now live, its primary focus to raise awareness and money for underrepresented demographics around the literary world. All profit from the book will go Black Lives M…

05/06/2020

The campaign for CHIRAL MAD 5 is now live, its primary focus to raise awareness and money for underrepresented demographics around the literary world. All profit from the book will go Black Lives Matter, indefinitely. Donate what you can and get some amazing books. Let's listen. Let's react.

Also, for the next 60 days, all Written Backwards titles purchased as add-ons through the campaign will go to the cause. Let's change things.

Submissions are now officially open for all writers and poets of underrepresented demographics. Fiction, poetry, art. Send to [email protected]. Table of Contents announcements for work already commissioned will be announced through the campaign and social media over the next 60 days.

An anthology of speculative fiction, with all proceeds going to the Black Lives Matter movement | Check out 'CHIRAL MAD 5' on Indiegogo.

03/06/2020

When CHIRAL MAD 5 happens, all profit will be donated to the Black Lives Matter movement, indefinitely. The Table of Contents will be more diverse than anything I have ever worked on, with a goal of finding and promoting emerging literary voices around the world. Please do not ask to be included, but if you are aware of new literary voices who need to be heard, feel free to recommend.

06/05/2020

AGATHA'S BARN: A CARPENTER'S FARM STORY (part 5):
Welcome back to Agatha's Barn, a serial novella by Michael Bailey. This is a tie-in to Carpenter's Farm, the serial novel by Josh Malerman.
http://blog.nettirw.com/2020/05/06/agathas-barn-a-carpenters-farm-story-part-5/

Welcome to Part 4 of “Agatha’s Barn” by Michael Bailey. This is a tie-in to Carpenter’s Farm, the serial novel by Josh Malerman. Created with permission, and free for all to…