Biennially, Desert Sleuths produces an anthology of crime and mystery stories written by its members. The process begins in the preceding fall with the opening of submissions and editor readings. The resulting anthology of short stories releases to coincide with our annual fall conference, WriteNOW!
SOWEST: EXTREME ELEMENTS
Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Anthology #12
The 2027 Desert Sleuths anthology will feature Desert Sleuths member-written-and-edited mystery and crime short stories with a theme of Extreme Elements.
Planned Release Date: September 2027 as part of WriteNOW! 2027
Submissions accepted 9/1/2026 – 1/8/2027 (5 p.m. MST) — no extensions, deadline is firm
Contributing authors will be selected through a blind judging process by the editors of the 2027 anthology: Claire A Murray (lead editor), Eva Eldridge, Suzanne E Flaig, Denise Ganley, Kris Neri, and Sarah Smith.
Eligibility
-
- You must be a Desert Sleuths member in good standing, with dues paid to both SinC WW and Desert Sleuths, in 2026 and 2027 to be eligible. Your 2026 Desert Sleuths and SinC WW memberships must be active *before* 10/1/2026.
- Any accepted author who does not renew their 2027 SinC WW and Desert Sleuths memberships will be dropped from the anthology.
- Not a member? Join Now! (before 10/1/26 to be eligible to submit)
Criteria
-
- Theme: A crime or mystery fiction story with extreme elements must be a primary to the story. No poetry or verse, although it can contain a brief poem or verse if the story warrants; such verse must be authored by you and meet all the other guidelines.
- Location: The central storyline must take place in, and be clearly recognizable as, Arizona.
- Timeframe can be contemporary, futuristic, or historical. Any subgenre of crime/mystery is permitted. Be creative!
- Word Count: Maximum 5,000 words
- # Submissions: Authors may submit up to two original, unpublished stories written to the theme. If both stories from an author are accepted, only one story will appear. Please note that audio, website, webzine, and other online venues constitute “published.”
- Respect for Others: Stories should be sensitive to people of diverse backgrounds, in line with Sisters in Crime’s goals for Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. See here for resources.
- We’re not asking for diversity stories; we’re merely reminding authors that people from backgrounds other than our own, if we include them in our stories, should be represented without tropes, stereotypes, and mistakes.
- We do not accept stories that feature abuse of children or animals or with gratuitous violence or sex.
- Generative AI: No use of generative AI is permitted. Generative AI for this anthology is defined as artificial intelligence that is used to write and/or edit your text. Every story must be the author’s unique work and not be written OR edited by AI. You can use AI for plot suggestions and to check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. In fact, we recognize that most major grammar-assist programs use AI as a tool for corrections and suggestions in that regard. But if the program suggests/writes sentences/paragraphs, that writing is not your own and cannot be used. Write your own words.
Formatting
-
- 12 pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced with half-inch paragraph indents—not tabs; no editor should have to reformat your document paragraph by paragraph.
- Save in Word format (.doc, .rtf, or .docx). Header or footer should include story title and page number.
Submissions
Submissions will be read as they come in, so please don’t wait until January to submit. Our editors will be reading all submissions and need time to consider everyone’s story with care.
-
- Blind Submissions: Every story is initially read by all editors. Your name should not appear anywhere in the story file. In Word, go to File/Info/Inspect Document and have it remove all “Document Properties and Personal Information.”
- Submit: Email your properly formatted story to anthology-submissions@desertsleuths.com.
- Email Subject: 2027 Submission, Story Title, Your Name.
- Email Body: Story title, word count, your name, contact email, and phone # (in case we cannot reach you via email). Please put our submissions address in your email whitelist.
- Confirmation: You will receive confirmation from our Submissions Coordinator that your story was received (usually within 1 or 2 days). If you do not hear within 3 days, please email anthology-submissions@desertsleuths.com and ask if it was received.
These guidelines will be strictly followed. If any submission does not meet ALL criteria, it will be automatically disqualified from consideration. No exceptions.
Post Submission:
-
- Planned Release Date: September 2027 at WriteNOW! 2027, with a release party planned for that weekend.
- Author Compensation: Twenty-five dollars ($25) or two (2) complimentary copies of the printed anthology.
- Publishing Rights: DS Publishing, on behalf of the Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter, retains the first publishing rights and non-exclusive worldwide print and electronic rights to the accepted stories. The copyright remains with the author. Full details of author rights and when author can publish a story that appears in the anthology will be detailed in the contract.
- Publishing Format: The anthology will be published in eBook, print, and possibly audio formats. The chapter will make specially priced print copies available for authors to purchase to sell or give as gifts. These must be ordered through the chapter and not directly from the vendor(s).