CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS to upcoming Belanger Books Sherlock Holmes and Solar Pons Publications PLUS Our Current Kickstarter Projects AND FREE Sherlock Holmes and Solar Pons eBooks
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR UPCOMING BELANGER BOOKS ANTHOLOGIES!
The Denarian Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Edited by Thaddeus Tuffentsamer
In a few adventures, such as the ‘Gloria Scott’, and The Musgrave Ritual, Holmes recounted to Watson a couple of adventures that he’d had before they met.
They were just two, but the young Holmes had many, many more adventures. What had Holmes experienced years, or even more than a decade before he lived in Baker Street with Dr. Watson?
What adventures had Holmes had as a boy and young man that shaped the person he’d become?
Where did he learn the art of makeup that allowed him to look like anyone he wanted to?
Where did he learn the acting skills that transformed him into any person he needed to become?
How did he learn and refine the observational skills that made him the world’s greatest private consulting detective?
“The Denarian Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” could answer these questions and explain so much more.
Guidelines: We are asking authors to first send a synopsis of a story that takes place in Holmes’s life between the ages of 10 to 19. We will accept two stories from each year of his life (i.e. two stories for the age of 10, 11, 12…). So, in your synopsis, please say the age of Holmes and a description of the plot. Once the outline is accepted, we’ll ask you to write the story and submit it for consideration.
The stories should be traditional Sherlock Holmes adventures that fit into the timeline of the original canon. We are not looking for any Young Holmes meets Young Watson, or other canon characters, with the exception of Mycroft. We also are not looking for any ‘shocking’ reveals of the Holmes brothers’ parents. There should likewise be no supernatural elements in the stories.
Submissions: The Denarian Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Submissions should be 5,000 – 10,000 words in length (it is okay to go over or under some).
Multiple submissions will be accepted.
Payment for the anthology: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology.
Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication.
The submission deadline for proposals is September 15th, 2023. Submission deadlines for stories is October 31st, 2023.
Send proposals and submissions in a word document to derrick@belangerbooks.com with the heading ATTN: SUBMISSION FOR DENARIAN ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.
The Pontine Dossier: Millennium Edition 2023 Annual
Edited by Derrick Belanger
The next volume of Solar Pons Scholarship from Belanger Books!
Belanger Books is proud to bring back The Pontine Dossier in an annual edition. The Pontine Dossier: Millennium Edition 2023 will feature Pontine articles and scholarships. We would love it if you'd consider contributing.
Guidelines: An article of Pontine Scholarship about Solar Pons, characters in the Solar Pons canon, or author August Derleth. Length can vary from as few as 1,000 words to as many as 5,000 words. We are leaving this wide open to get as many and as varied submissions as possible.
Please submit your manuscript as a word document to derrick@belangerbooks.com. Title your email:
ATTN: PONTINE DOSSIER SUBMISSION.
Multiple submissions will be accepted.
If your article(s) is accepted, you will receive a free print copy of the Dossier.
Submission Deadline: Please submit your article by September 30, 2023. We hope to release the new edition of the Dossier in November, 2023.
SHERLOCK HOLMES TAKES THE STAGE
Edited by Brian Belanger
“What the law has gained, the stage has lost.” Actors, directors and stagehands, take note! Throughout the canon, Sherlock Holmes displays great skills in disguise, but in particular the ability to act so convincingly in character that he fools the public at large, and poor Watson in particular, several times.
Where and when did Holmes develop these skills? Did he, as Baring-Gould suggests, once have a career as a professional actor? If so, he would certainly have exercised his deductive talents backstage. And why did he leave the stage for a career as a consulting detective?
This anthology is an opportunity to write Holmes adventures from a distinctly theatrical point of view. Mysteries involving all the facets of Victorian theatre are welcome.
Submissions: Stories must fit within the guidelines of the traditional Sherlockian canon. Submissions should be between 5,000 - 10,000 words in length (it is okay to go over a bit). NOTE: As The Denarian Adventures of Sherlock Holmes will focus on Holmes’s teenage years, it is preferred that your submissions take place when Holmes is at least in his twenties, in order to avoid overlap.
Multiple submissions will be accepted.
Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication.
Submission due date: November 30th, 2023
Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology.
Publication date: Spring 2024
Submit stories as word docs to Brian Belanger at brian@belangerbooks.com with the heading ATTN: SUBMISSION FOR SHERLOCK HOLMES TAKES THE STAGE.
The American Adventures of Solar Pons
Edited by David Marcum
Between the First and Second World Wars, one of England’s greatest detectives was Solar Pons of Praed Street. With the assistance of his friend, Dr. Lyndon Parker, he carried on Sherlock Holmes’s tradition of solving mysteries with strict and traditional ratiocination and deduction. There have been over 70 Canonical Pons cases during this 20-year period (as reported by August Derleth), and over 100 more related by later authors – which still leaves a lot of Pons and Parker’s time unchronicled. During those years, Pons and Parker certainly traveled to North America – and it’s now time to reveal some of those adventures.
Contribute to this anthology and help disclose more of Pons’s investigations, where “The Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street” crosses the ocean to solve distinctly American mysteries . . . .
Submissions: Stories must fit with the traditional Solar Pons stories. Submissions should be 5,000 – 10,000 words in length. (It is okay to go over or under some.) Submissions should be traditional and Canonical. Pons should be a hero, and there should be no aspects of parody or actual supernatural encounters, and no anachronisms. Although some Solar Pons stories involved fantasy and science fiction, this aspect will not fit with the scope of this anthology.
Chronology: The Canonical Solar Pons stories occurred between mid-1919 (when Dr. Parker met Pons) to mid-1939 (just before World War II). Stories should essentially fall between these dates, although some might be considered outside this range, if the content does not disagree with generally assumed Ponsian facts. Additionally, as these stories will be set in North America, Pons and Parker’s visits to that continent cannot conflict with dates established in Canonical Pons cases. If in doubt about dates or any other questions, PLEASE confer ahead of time with the editor.
Multiple submissions will be accepted.
Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology.
Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication.
Submission Due Date: December 31st, 2023
Publication Date: Summer 2024
Submit stories to David Marcum, Editor, at thepapersofsherlockholmes@gmail.com or Belanger Books at derrick@belangerbooks.com
Sherlock Holmes and the Great Lady Detectives
Edited by Derrick Belanger
This book in the Sherlock Holmes and the Great Detectives series focuses on adventures where Holmes teams up with one (or more) of the great lady detectives of the Victorian or Edwardian time period such as New York Nell, Loveday Brooke, Lois Cayley, or Lady Molly of Scotland Yard. There are plenty of “public domain” female detectives to choose from (here is a great article to help you get started) or you can create your own.
Submission guidelines: A 5,000 - 10,000 word traditional story teaming Sherlock Holmes with a classic lady detective. The other detective must be in the public domain or your own original character.
Payment for the anthology: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology.
Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication.
Please submit your manuscript as a word document to derrick@belangerbooks.com.
Title your email:
ATTN: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE GREAT LADY DETECTIVES SUBMISSION.
Multiple submissions will be accepted.
Submission Deadline: January 31st, 2024
Publication Date: Spring or Summer 2024
Current Kickstarter Campaigns
Sherlock Holmes: The Ripper Dilemma
Sherlock Holmes faces off against the world's most infamous serial killer - Jack the Ripper! A novel of mystery, madness... and murder.
The "Jack the Ripper" murders of 1888 and the Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889 shocked Victorian London. Few, however, realized that the two cases were linked at the very highest levels of British society. SHERLOCK HOLMES takes it upon himself to investigate the Ripper murders and bring the killer to justice... but uncovering the truth reveals a conspiracy with Royal implications.
Does the play The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have a connection to the killings? What is the importance of a single copper button? And why must a Whitechapel prostitute be trained to excel at chess? Author Charles Blanksteen, BSI, takes the reader through the highways and byways of one of the darkest chapters in London's history.
Get this incredible new Sherlock Holmes book on Kickstarter by CLICKING HERE!
The Essential Sherlock Holmes volume III
The most ESSENTIAL stories of the Sherlock Holmes canon -- with new essays and illustrations!
At last! The third of four volumes bringing together, in chronological order, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most important adventures of SHERLOCK HOLMES from a biographical point of view, augmented with insightful essays and striking illustrations.
The stories featured in this third volume of The Essential Sherlock Holmes include three adventures united by Holmes's greatest antagonist, Professor James Moriarty:
- The Valley of Fear - arguably the first hard-boiled detective story
- The Final Problem - the last Sherlock Holmes adventure
- The Empty House - the return of Sherlock Holmes
Each of the above stories features a new introduction by Dan Andriacco, BSI, and includes at least one new essay:
- "The Pinnacle of My Career": The Dual Masterpieces of The Valley of Fear – Nick Martorelli, BSI
- Sherlock Holmes the Cryptanalyst – S. Brent Morris
- With a Little Help From...? Holmes's Helpers After the Duel at the Falls – Brigitte Latella, BSI
- "Killed Holmes." What Was He Thinking? – Kathleen Kaska
- Moriarty – Steven T. Doyle, BSI
- A Study in Combat – Derrick Belanger
- The Empty Heart Restored – John C. Sherwood
Each story also includes new artwork from Brian Belanger.
The campaign includes all three volumes of this exciting Sherlock Holmes Project that every fan needs for their collection!
Back The Essential Sherlock Holmes Volume 3 today by CLICKING HERE!
And here's a campaign from our friends at MX Publishing!
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Found Note
Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of The Found Note
Darkness clung to the early Baker Street morning as Dr Watson opened the front door. The night watchman held out a small slither of paper. Written faintly upon this were just two short words: “Help me”.
Sherlock Holmes must use all of his remarkable powers of deduction to identify the author of this desperate plea. His investigations lead him and his companion into a murky conspiracy - a sinister secret society plotting a fiendish scheme that could destroy the British economy and bring down the government.
From a thunderous carriage chase through the streets of London to a deadly shootout on a remote island off the North-East coast of England, can Holmes and Watson uncover the dark secret that lies within the sinister ‘Ex Tenebris’ club? Find out by CLICKING HERE and backing the book on Kickstarter!
Free Sherlock Holmes and Solar Pons eBooks
“There are many problems of disease, many strange pathological possibilities, in the East, Watson.” He paused after each sentence to collect his failing strength. “I have learned so much during some recent researches which have a medico-criminal aspect…”
– The Adventure of the Dying Detective, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
In this two-volume collection of traditional Sherlock Holmes adventures, the good doctor himself is given a chance to shine. These two volumes contain twenty-six mysteries involving such maladies as plagues, poisonings, cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, dementia, somnambulism, and many more! The stories are traditional Holmes pastiches and are written by some of today’s top Sherlockian writers!
This anthology is in collaboration with Dr. Ed Chan, who is raising awareness of lung disease caused by Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria, a very difficult-to-treat (often times incurable) and increasingly prevalent form of pneumonia (related to tuberculosis) caused by microorganisms that are acquired from our home and outdoor environments.
Now, the estate of August Derleth has authorized an anthology of Derleth’s original versions of many Solar Pons stories, as they appeared in early pulp magazines. You haven’t read these stories until you’ve read the original versions! With notes by Pons scholar Mark Wardecker, PSI, this is an anthology no Solar Pons fan can live without!
Join us again at 7B Praed Street, where… the game is afoot!
Get a FREE copy of the Kindle edition of the original versions of the Solar Pons stories (available through August 31st) by CLICKING HERE!
All of these projects sound so interesting, but the one that stands out for me is Sherlock Holmes Takes the Stage. It's really tempting. And Solar Pons continues to pique my interest, although I haven't read him yet. I'm hoping to make time for that sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, we'd love to have you contribute a story to the Take the Stage anthology. Please contact us with any questions.
Delete