Otter Libris is an independent publisher of speculative fiction which needs stories for an upcoming anthology, MCSI: Magical Crime Scene Investigation. Writers should consider what tools detectives might use if the usual ones aren’t good enough and they have to use a little magic. The story, 3,000-10,000 words, should be an urban fantasy involving a crime scene which forces the investigator to use magic, ‘or engage the aid of a magical being to solve the crime’. Did the house sprite see what really happened in a domestic incident? Does the detective have a genie’s lamp that will grant him one wish?
Comedy is welcomed, as are diverse protagonists and ‘magic systems and magical creatures outside of the typical Europeanbased fare’.
Reprints may be accepted if they are exceptional, multiple and simultaneous subs are not. Email stories with MCSI in the subject line as an attached doc or rtf file. The deadline is 31 January, 2018.
Response time is ‘six to eight weeks after the closing date’. Payment is $25 plus one contributor’s copy ($10 for reprints), for exclusive print, ebook, and audio rights for one year, and non-exclusive print, ebook, and audio rights for a period of five years