Call for Materials: "Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine"

At "A Scintillation of Scions," a recent Sherlockian event, I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Carla Coupe, the director of publishing services at Wildside Press, a publisher located in Rockville, Md., specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and mystery books and magazines, including the "Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine (SHMM)."  The magazine is a quarterly publication featuring all types of fiction and non-fiction Holmesian writings.  They are currently soliciting materials for their next (and all future) issues, and I am very excited to pass along the details to all of you.  I hope some of you will take a chance on this excellent opportunity!

~~~

Details have been received from the publisher as follows:

This is an open call for submissions (no deadline, unless otherwise indicated). 

New submissions should be sent to marvinnkaye@yahoo.com.  (Do note the second “n” in the middle of the address.  There is at least one other Marvin Kaye “out there.")

These guidelines are in no way intended to discourage any type of potential contributor,  but below are a few suggestions for fiction and nonfiction that have been typically featured and are suitable for SHMM:

• Sherlock Holmes pastiches.  Please save the magazine editors some time and use UK spellings and punctuation without periods (for instance: favour, honour, Mr, Mrs, Dr John H Watson).
• Sherlock Holmes parodies.
• Mystery stories: if they are reader-solvable whodunits, so much the better.
• Crime stories of all sorts: while the editor dislikes gratuitous gore and violence, if the plot requires it, it will be considered.  Stories with strong sexual themes/content may not be appropriate, but do query; "unpleasantries," if tastefully presented, may be acceptable.
• An occasional ghost story and other kinds of supernatural fiction are sometimes desirable, in the style of the old "London Mystery Magazine."
• Nonfiction: articles about Holmesian subjects, literature, films, and television are of interest, but always query first since they do have ongoing columnists covering some of these areas.  In addition, articles about Nero Wolfe are always quite welcome, as well as other famous literary detectives and authors.

Essentially, if a story would be acceptable to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, it would probably be suitable for SHMM.

More information about Wildside Press and the "Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine" is available online. 

And if need be, feel free to send questions to me and I'll do my best to get an answer for you!