Wish Upon a Star – A Far-Future Fairy Tale Anthology – Coming 2024

It’s time for a new age of myth anthology. After the success of Turning Roads, Down Below and Fractured Realms, we’re turning our attention to modern mythology. Introducing Wish Upon a Star, an anthology of far-future fairy tales! Series editor Paul Carroll returns to lead the project for a 2024 release, joined once more by rising star Gary Moloney.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

Wish Upon a Star will feature 20 four-page comics. Your pitch should incorporate an existing (and well-known) fairy tale, with a science fiction far-future twist. Stories may retain their fantasy elements, provided they fit the far-future aspect of the anthology. Every story should consist of four pages, with page 1 beginning on the right hand side of the book, in full-colour. You will have two page turns when the book is in print, and one spread. Note that full-colour in this instance does not necessarily mean technicolour, and the Editors are happy to talk to people about the colour design of their comics.

When preparing your pitch, consider:

• How recognisable is the story to the public?
• Is your story unique enough when compared to existing materials?
• How can you put a twist on a familiar tale?
• Are the changes you propose to make to the story going to make it unrecognisable to readers?

Please note that we are not looking for:

• A rehashing of ideas from The Wicked and the Divine or Fables. (We love them, we just don’t need a re-telling of their stories!)
• Stories that are more than four pages in length
• Stories that do not have an ending
• Illustrated prose or poetry
• Illustrations that are not comics

As with our original trilogy of anthologies, we are unlikely to accept multiple pitches examining the same fairy tale unless the stories are radically different from one another. Creative teams are permitted to submit more than one pitch.

Please note that we are only accepting pitches from complete teams (or solo creators). Writers and artists may only be included in the book once. We don’t advise joining multiple teams, as this is guaranteed to leave someone disappointed. Letterers have been on multiple teams in the past, and are welcome to continue as such provided they can balance their own workload.

Stories should be suitable for teens.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Pitches are open as of November 29, 2023. The deadline for pitches is January 26, 2024. More details on pitching and the link to the form are below. Please note that the form will close at 11:59pm (GMT) on January 26, 2024.

On February 18, 2024, applicants will be advised whether they have been accepted into the anthology. If you pitch more than one story, you will be advised specifically which one has been chosen.

On March 01 through to March 31, the book will be funding on Kickstarter.*

The deadline for final pages is June 23 with Kickstarter fulfilment planned for August.*

WHY PITCH TO US?

Limit Break Comics has been building its brand in Irish comics since July 2018, with the publication of thirteen books, including short story collections, an on-going series and a one-shot story. 2021 saw the publication of Turning Roads, which received backing on Kickstarter from over 500 people. This was succeeded by Down Below, with over 880 backers on Kickstarter, and Fractured Realms with over 400 backers on Kickstarter. In 2023, Limit Break Comics was nominated for Best Publisher in the European Science Fiction Society Hall of Fame Awards.

Wish Upon a Star seeks to build on the success of our earlier myth anthologies, to further showcase Irish and international talent. The project timeline allows for the book to appear at Dublin Comic Con, Octocon and Thought Bubble in the second half of 2024.

As well as offering a platform to lots of lovely comic readers, we want to pay contributors!

Payment of €65 per page will be made to each creative team in the book, made via PayPal. Teams are responsible for deciding how they split the payment.

Contributors maintain copyright over their work; Limit Break Comics is granted first publication rights for one calendar year.

WHERE TO PITCH

Pitches should be made through this form. You may submit more than one pitch. We are seeking pitches from complete teams for this project, which includes creators who can complete all of the work solo.

When pitching, you do not need to submit sample art or a script related to the story. Please provide:

• Portfolio links for each creator in the project
• A working title
• A logline for the story
• A brief summary of the story
• The fairy tale your story is based upon

WHY KICKSTARTER?

We’ve built up a community on the platform, and despite the challenges associated with running these sorts of projects, we still love them and want to keep in touch with our readers with new stories and new ideas.

WHO ARE THE EDITORS?

Paul Carroll is the editor of Turning Roads and co-editor of Down Below and Fractured Realms, as well as the writer behind Plexus and Meouch. In 2021, Paul co-founded IrishComics.ie. When not working in comics, Paul writes prose and publishes short story anthologies through Cupán Fae, and is Chair of Octocon in 2024. In 2023, he was selected to participate in the third iteration of the Irish Writers Centre’s Evolution Programme, and to teach first year Creative Writing students at the University of Galway about comics.

Gary Moloney is the co-editor of Down Below, Fractured Realms and Secrets of the Majestic, as well as the writer behind Lens and an as-yet-to-be-announced creator-owned series. When Gary isn’t writing and editing comics, he works as a professional law-talking guy. He lives with his partner, child and pets in a house made of comics and action figures.

QUERIES?

Any queries should be sent to limitbreakireland (at) gmail (dot) com.

Personal contact information will only be shared with members of individual teams, and with editorial staff.

*These dates subject to change, but contributors will be notified in advance.