Hey Space Cadets, how’re y’all doing today? While I’m dealing with real life issues, I needed a hobby. So, as one does, I had such a great result from my first Christmas anthology, I thought I would do it again. For those of you who don’t know, the idea centered around a picture of Santa as a knuckle dragging, door kicking, Grade-A Operator. It started with just joking around. One email friend egged me on – then another, and now here we are. So, after talking to my admin staff (you know, the boss) we decided to go for it. If this is up your alley, read below! We’ve got an open call for short stories for this anthology!
Title: Claus of War: Santa’s Battle Chronicles
Cover Designer: Jack Hoyle
Editor: Bayonet Books Publishing
Submission Due Date: September 1, 2025
Story Acceptance Date: September 15, 2025
Projected Publication Date: November 2025
Revision of Rights: One (1) year after publication, the non-exclusive rights return to the author.
Requirements: 6,000 – 10,000 words – an original, unpublished story. All stories must be in a final edited state.
Publisher: Bayonet Books Publishing
Concept: A short story inspired by Santa as a military operative – science fiction or fantasy are fine, but we want plenty of action and adventure. Lots of probing questions about aliens or monsters are expected, with plenty of room for things to go belly up.
We will be accepting a limited number of submissions via open call. Please submit your story in the following form:
document formatted in .rtf, 12pt Times New Roman, with a single space after periods. Indicate a scene break with three asterisks, centered, with a space in between, like this: *** Nothing else! Preface your story with your name, the title, your email address, and the word count as well as a short blurb and short bio (about 150 words each).
NOTE: Stories not in .rtf will not be accepted.
If your story is chosen, we will send you a contract that spells out all the details. It should be noted that we only use Kindle Unlimited for 90 days – then publish wide unless we are getting good sales from KU.
Please send all submissions to Bayonet Books Publishing at this email address: anthologies@jrhandleyinc.com. The subject line should have Santa Operator story submission followed by your name: ex: Santa Operator story submission, Bill Author.
Again, please preface your story with your name, the title, your email address, and word count. All of this makes your story easier to read, then quickly format for publication. Also, please provide a short bio and a blurb for your story.
Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!
J. R.
->As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are screen grabs taken by JR Handley for use under the Fair Use Doctrine.
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