Author Interview: Earth In The Year 10,000
Today’s interview is a little different. It's about an anthology contest being held on Inkshares called Earth In The Year 10,000 (https://www.inkshares.com/projects/earth-in-the-year-10-000). Author Richard Saunders & Mykl Walsh (project sponsors) will tell you more.
Tell us about the concept of Earth In The Year 10,000: It’s an anthology contest where writers can submit essays, poetry, or short stories around a common element. It can be sci-fi -futuristic fantasy or possibly even something like a political manifesto. As long as it takes place on Earth somewhere around the year 10,000 it qualifies.
What inspired the idea? Mykl wrote a short story (Journey) where the first line is “In the year of our lord, 10,001.” This story is the prelude to my serialized novel, SecretAgentMan. That was the germ that made me think we could all write something that takes place in that era.
Why an anthology? Many writers at Inkshares have trouble reaching their funding goals. It occurred to me that if we combined forces to produce a quality anthology we could then use our group strength to promote and fund the project at the 1,000 pre-order level.
What can you tell us about the judges?
Mykl and I will judge the contest. If we encounter difficulties or cannot come to an agreement on an entry, we may consult others outside of Inkshares for input.
What are the judges hoping to see from the submissions? We’re hoping to see a high enough volume that ensures the quality of the winning entries will be high. Ideally, we’ll have trouble with the decisions and will lament that there were entries we rejected that were good enough to make the cut. If this happens, we will be encouraged to do it again in six months to a year.
What are the requirements of the contest? Simply submit an entry of original work not previously published. It is open to current and future Inkshares members. Essays and poems will by nature not need to have a word count. Short stories should be 1,000 to 7,500 words, but that’s more of a guideline than a hard rule.
Do you have any advice for the authors that enter the contest? Don’t wait until the deadline to finish your entry if you can help it. Don’t procrastinate.
Do you anticipate any challenges due to the number of moving parts this project has? The biggest challenge I think will be to get enough entries to ensure high quality. Other challenges that we won’t anticipate may crop up, but we’ll find a way to deal with them. As long as the interest level and number of entries is high, we know we can make this work and be successful.
Are there any other projects you’d like to plug? Our initial Inkshares project hits the market on December 1! So we’re pretty psyched about that.
Coffee or tea? Coffee (was neither an option?)
You’re invited to your dream dinner party. It’s a party of four. Who else is there? I don’t know, but it would be pretty cool to show up and find out!
Name three non-essential items you would want to have on a deserted island: 1. Rowboat 2. An oar 3. A second oar
About Saunders and Walsh:
Mykl Walsh wishes to remain anonymous. Richard Saunders is a method-writer who runs thephoenixfoundation.net.
Learn more at: https://www.inkshares.com/projects/earth-in-the-year-10-000