Deadset Press are proud to announce EMBRACE THE SILENCE, an anthology of speculative fiction written by neurodiverse writers from Australia and New Zealand, focusing on neurodiverse characters facing apocalyptic scenarios.

We will welcome submissions from all Australian and New Zealand authors who identify as neurodivergent, and will also encourage submissions from neurodivergent Indigenous and LGBTIQ authors.

EMBRACE THE SILENCE will be assembled – from the cover to the footnotes – by a team of neurodiverse individuals, including the wonderful E. J. Dawson and the sleep deprived Austin P. Sheehan.

The anthology will be open to all speculative fiction subgenres (an apocalypse can occur as easily in a fantasy realm as it can on a futuristic earth), and we should advise that an apocalypse need not be all doom and gloom – tales of hope, strength, and survival are encouraged. The idea behind the title EMBRACE THE SILENCE refers to characters accepting and embracing their neurodiversity, as well as adapting to a changing and challenging new world. We encourage you to be as creative as you like in your approach to the theme.

Our preferred length for short stories is between 4,000 and 6,000 words, however this is just a guideline, we won’t auto-reject stories based on word count alone.

Submissions will open on July 1st, and we intent to publish EMBRACE THE SILENCE in 2024.

Please only submit unpublished pieces.

We will not be accepting AI-written stories.

EMBRACE THE SILENCE will be a paid anthology – details regarding payment will be available soon.

If you have any questions, or are interested in supporting this project, please feel free to reach out to us at deadsetpressenquiries@gmail.com