The Library of Kris
Tales from the Library, Volume II: A Valentine's Anthology. Call for submissions: short stories up to around 3,000 words, due January 20. Volume II
Call for Submissions

Tales from the Library
Volume II

A Valentine's anthology. Short stories that explore Valentine's themes through one of ten body parts: dark romance, horror, fantasy, speculative, and all the beautifully weird in between.

Submit a Story Read the Prompt Read Volume One
DUE — January 20, 2027, Central time LENGTH — Around 3,000 words ENTRIES — One per author ELIGIBLE — Original and unpublished

The Prompt

Note 01

Your story must include at least one of the ten body parts below. It can be featured literally, used as a metaphor, or appear as a symbol.

01Blood
02Fingers
03Liver
04Brain
05Spine
06Heart
07Skin
08Eyes
09Tongue
10Teeth

Guidelines

Note 02

Genre

Dark romance, horror, fantasy, speculative, and all the beautifully weird in between are welcome.

Word count

Up to around 3,000 words, give or take. The form counts the words for you.

Original work

Stories must be your own original fiction. Substack and previously published work are not eligible for this anthology.

One entry per author

Choose your strongest tale. If you need to fix something before the deadline, you can replace your file through your private link.

How It Works

Note 03
  1. Send your story with the form below. No account or sign-in needed.
  2. Confirm by email. You'll get an email from LoKAnthology @ veridianstudios . com. It includes a full copy of the agreement you signed. Open the link and press Confirm. A submission not confirmed within 7 days is deleted.
  3. Get your receipt. Once confirmed, you're emailed a signed PDF of what you sent and agreed to. Keep it.
  4. Hear back from Kris after the deadline.
  5. If accepted, you get a private link to send your final file, bio, photo and links, and to approve your final edited text.
  6. Advance copy and launch. You'll get an advance copy before release. Private links stop working on publication day.

Your Story, Kept Safe

Note 04
  • Stories that aren't accepted stay private. They are never shared, published or used for anything else.
  • Your work stays yours. You keep the rights the agreement leaves with you, whether or not your story is accepted.
  • Declined and withdrawn stories are deleted within 7 days after you've been told.
  • Your signed receipt is kept as the record of what was agreed. It holds your details and answers, never your story.
  • Your legal name is used only for the agreement and never appears in the book. Your pen name stays your pen name.
  • Keep your own original. Backups protect the anthology, not individual drafts.
Submission Slip

Send your story to the Library.

Everything Kris needs in one go. Your confirmation email comes from LoKAnthology @ veridianstudios . com, so check your spam folder if it doesn't arrive.

Submissions open soon
Your pen name or the name you publish under.
Thematic element (choose at least one)
Word (.docx or .doc), .odt or .txt, up to 10 MB. Writing in Google Docs? Choose File, Download, Microsoft Word first.
Amazon asks publishers whether a book contains AI-generated content. Your answer is used only for that.
Please confirm
The agreement

Author Agreement: Tales from the Library, Volume II

This agreement is between you, the author named on this form, and Kristi Buckel, who publishes as the Library of Kris (“Kris”), the editor and publisher of Tales from the Library, Volume II (the “Anthology”). By typing your legal name and pressing “I agree and sign,” you agree to the following.

  1. You can agree. You are at least 18 years old and legally able to enter this agreement.
  2. It is yours. The story you submit (the “Story”) is your own original work, you own the rights needed to grant this agreement, and no one else has a claim to it.
  3. It is unpublished. The Story has not been published anywhere, in print or online, including on Substack, a blog, a website, social media, or in another book or anthology.
  4. It is lawful. The Story does not infringe anyone’s copyright or other rights, does not defame any real person, and does not break any law.
  5. AI disclosure. Amazon requires publishers to say whether a book contains AI-generated content. You have answered the AI question on this form truthfully, and your answer is used only for that disclosure.
  6. Your statements are true. Everything you state on this form is true, and you accept responsibility if it is not, including any claim that results from a false statement.
  7. What you grant. If the Story is accepted, you grant Kris the non-exclusive right to edit lightly, publish, and sell the Story as part of the Anthology, worldwide, as an ebook, in print, and as a PDF, including through Amazon KDP, KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited, for as long as the Anthology is on sale.
  8. Kindle Unlimited. While the Anthology is enrolled in KDP Select, you will not publish the Story digitally anywhere else, except for an excerpt of no more than 10% of the Story, posted after the Anthology is released, with a link to buy the Anthology. Print rights and all other formats stay with you.
  9. Editing and approval. Kris may make light edits for clarity, consistency and style. You will see the final text and approve it before publication, and nothing is published without your approval. You must approve the final text by 11:59 p.m. Central time six (6) days before the Anthology’s publication date, because Amazon locks the print edition’s files five days before release. If you have not approved it by then, the Story will not be included in the Anthology and this agreement ends.
  10. Promotion. Kris may use your byline, bio, photo, and short excerpts of the Story to promote the Anthology.
  11. You keep everything else. You keep the copyright in the Story and every right not granted here. After the Anthology’s release you may publish the Story elsewhere, subject to section 8 while the Anthology is in KDP Select.
  12. Withdrawing. You may withdraw the Story at any time before you approve its final text by notifying Kris in writing at LoKAnthology @ veridianstudios . com. Once you approve the final text, you may not withdraw it from the Anthology while the Anthology is on sale.
  13. No payment is promised. Publication in the Anthology under your byline is the reward for contributing. It does not entitle you to royalties, fees or any other payment, or to the Anthology’s sales or royalty records.
  14. Your author page. The digital editions will carry a working link to your Amazon author page, if you have one, and the print edition will show its address.
  15. Advance copies. You will not share an advance copy of the Anthology before its release date.
  16. No guarantee. Submitting does not guarantee acceptance, and Kris makes all editorial decisions.
  17. If it does not happen. If the Story is declined, withdrawn, or the Anthology is not published within 12 months after the submission deadline, this agreement ends and all rights in the Story remain with you. If the Anthology is permanently taken off sale, the rights you granted end.
  18. Your information. Your legal name, email address and IP address are recorded on your signed receipt and kept as described on this page. Your legal name never appears in the Anthology.
  19. Electronic signature. You agree to sign this agreement electronically. Typing your legal name and pressing “I agree and sign” is your signature, and your emailed receipt is your copy.
  20. The whole agreement. This is the entire agreement between you and Kris about the Story. It is governed by the laws of the State of Louisiana. If any part is found unenforceable, the rest still applies.
Used only on your signed receipt. It never appears in the book.