Times are hard. Perhaps not quite hard enough for Arthur to awaken from his long sleep, but other characters from mythology and history may still be here to lend a hand.Are you having trouble with an unscrupulous landlord? Is your village or wildlife reserve being threatened by a multi-national corporation? Is funding being cut for the very services that allow your community to thrive, or function at all?

Throughout history, from the Chartist movement to the formation of the NHS via the Rebecca Riots, Welsh communities have been at their most fierce when they are under threat, and despite the oppression of Welsh language and culture over the centuries, Wales has endured. We are still here, even if now and again we need a little help from the supernatural. That might come from one of Arthur's knights, or a helpful saint. It could be one of the fair folk, a dark little coblyn from the mines, or even a monstrous giant. They are all still here, and perhaps can be persuaded to help out in our time of need. (When we say 'help out', we do mean 'help', not swoop in and save the day. Please give your mundane characters meaningful roles to play. We want these stories to be about community, not about supernatural saviours). 

They are Still Here (Maen Nhw Yma O Hyd) will be an anthology of fantasy tales of resistance and resilience. The setting should be broadly contemporary; near past and near future will be considered. The threats will be modern, but the resolution will be rooted in the strange and  fabulous mythological history of Wales.

We do not insist that contributors identify as Welsh or live in Wales, but we do expect the stories to be deeply rooted in actual Welsh settings, not in a Hollywood version of Wales, and to show a thorough understanding of Welsh perspectives. So if you don't have a strong connection with Wales, please do some research before writing the story. 

We are aiming to include 15 stories of up to 7,000 words each.

Please include your name, email address and word count on the first page of your story.

Please use a clear font in 12 pt font (Times New Roman or similar is ideal).

Please include a brief cover statement stating that your story is for They Are Still Here.

No horror or poetry please.

Unfortunately at the moment we can only accept submissions in English – if you have a story that is also available in Welsh we may be able to add that to the ebook, so please let us know!

The advance payment will be £150 per story.

We are looking for Fantasy and SF novellas, including steampunk, slipstream, weird, gothic and any other slippery genres you like, but categorically no full-blown horror. Although we like our toes to be curled sometimes, Wizards Tower is not a horror publisher. There are lots of dedicated horror publishers out there and you will have more success with them. Also no poetry. There is a place for your 125 stanza epic poem, but it’s not here.

Please send us works of between 18,000 and 38,000 words. We are not currently open for full length novels. 

We will not accept works that have been created with the aid of so-called “AI” tools such as ChatGPT. We want your work, not work that has been plagiarised from other people’s stolen work. We are looking for original ideas, entertaining stories, strong plots, settings and characters. 

We are a diverse (and trans-owned) publisher and we want to hear from new voices – please don’t self reject!

Please submit your finished, edited novella here.

Follow Standard Manuscript Format as far as possible: 12 pts in a nice readable font (preferably Times New Roman or similar). Ensure your contact details are in the manuscript as well as entering them into the submissions form.

We will send rejections – if you haven’t heard anything from us after 3 months feel free to give us a little prod, but generally speaking the longer we have your story the more we like it!

There are no advances, but the two authors in each Wiz Duo book will received equal shares of royalties on net sales receipts. For more information on contracts write to info@wizardstowerpress.com.

Feel free to ask questions before you submit if you feel you need to – it may save us all time in the long run. You can email the editors at wizduos@wizardstowerpress.com or find us on BlueSky: hierath77 and rozc.

The submission period will be open indefinitely – if we decide to close submissions we will give two weeks notice so you can get your stories tidied up and posted under the wire!