Call for Submissions
Rock and a Hard Place Presents…
Under the Thumb: Stories of Police Oppression
Edited by S.A. Cosby
What it is: Rock and a Hard Place Press is open for submissions to its first themed anthology of short fiction, titled, Under the Thumb: Stories of Police Oppression. The anthology will feature stories about individuals, families, and communities that have faced or are facing police violence, persecution, harassment, and oppression.
The anthology is open to stories of any genre between 2,000 and 5,000 words.
Rock and a Hard Place particularly encourages people with lived experience in these areas to submit stories that are authentic in tone and feel, especially from marginalized communities for whom police oppression is systematic and pervasive; however, the stories submitted for consideration should be fiction.
Proceeds and payments: Under the Thumb will be a charitable anthology with proceeds going to a related charity to be determined shortly. Rock and a Hard Place, its editors, and contributors will not be paid.
Projected Publication Date: November, 2021
Examples of what we want:
Give us stories about someone facing trumped-up charges, someone who was beaten by police but found themselves charged with assaulting a police officer because the cop bruised his knuckles on their face. Give us stories about people whose possessions were seized by the police. Give us stories about families who grieve for a loved one killed by the police. Write a story about a town terrorized by cops who never seem to be held accountable. Send us stories about someone trying to move on after the police and the justice system derailed their lives.
Give us complex and real characters. We don’t need heroes, but we do need emotion and passion.
Examples of what we do not want:
We do not want hero-cop stories – or stories told from the perspective of police. There are enough of those already.
We do not want stories filled with conspiracy theories or based in any way in hate.
About the Guest Editor:
Under the Thumb Guest Editor S.A. Cosby
Joining the regular Rock and a Hard Place editorial team for this special anthology will be novelist S.A. Cosby. Cosby is an Anthony Award-winning writer from Southeastern Virginia. He is the bestselling author of Blacktop Wasteland, Amazon's #1 Mystery and Thriller of the Year and #3 Best Book of 2020 overall, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, and a Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist. He is also the author of the upcoming Razorblade Tears. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines (his story, “The Anchors That Tie Us Down” appeared in Rock and a Hard Place Magazine, Issue 1), and his story "Slant-Six" was selected as a Distinguished Story in Best American Mystery Stories for 2016. His short story "The Grass Beneath My Feet" won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story in 2019.
Contact us with any questions at Rockandahardplacesubmissions@gmail.com.
Submissions will be open from February 22 until July 1, 2021.