Since its beginnings in the early 1980s, the Life, the Universe, & Everything Symposium (LTUE) has been a staple of the Utah and Intermountain West author and artist community. Many authors, artists, and editors have found inspiration for their careers at the feet of scores of symposium guests. Influential professors and others have mentored those planning and running the symposium, but many of these mentors have passed on.
The symposium helps students of all ages by providing greatly discounted student memberships. Hemelein Publications—in conjunction with LTUE Press—created a series of memorial benefit/charity anthologies to help the symposium continue to help these aspiring creators learn about their crafts at a reasonable cost. Author, artist, and editor royalty proceeds from sales of the anthologies go to LTUE to help students attend for a very low cost.
The ninth of these anthologies, Tales from the Silver City Saloon, is a humorous, weird western science fiction anthology, created in honor of Ken Rand. Ken was a fixture at Utah writing events, whether it was workshops, conventions, LTUE, or just hanging out. He’s perhaps best known for his The 10% Solution writing book, where he helps writers learn how to effectively edit their own work in order to greatly improve their stories. He also wrote a lot of weird westerns, science fiction, fantasy, and horror short works throughout his career, and almost all of his stories had humor in them.
Theme
To celebrate Ken, his works, and his life, we want humorous, weird west, science fiction tales and poetry (as long as the poetry tells a story, and long-form poetry would be awesome). Think The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr., The Wild Wild West TV series, and Cowboys and Aliens. Make your stories fun to read, make the characters interesting, and make us grin. The tales must have heart, must be solid stories, and must be positive in their outlook.
Tell us stories Ken would have loved to read and share.
In summary:
- Stories and poems must be humorous, weird western science fiction. If there are horror elements, they must be light.
- Stories do not have to be set on Earth, or in the “Old West”. They must, however, have the feel of “the Old West”, regardless of location.
- Steampunk elements are acceptable as long as they aren’t the main focus of the story. This isn’t a steampunk anthology.
- Story and poem characters and settings must be your own. Do not use other creators’ characters or settings.
- Generative AI may not be used for these stories. Please do your own work.
- Stories and poems can be any length up to 17,500 words.
- Stories and poems can be unpublished or reprint stories.
- Up to two submissions per author.
- No simultaneous submissions, please.
- Stories must meet the content guidelines described on the Submission Guidelines page. Please be sure to read them!
- This is a benefit/charity anthology, so stories are donated and authors receive no monetary compensation.
- Authors receive one copy of the anthology in each format in which ist is released (print and epub at a minimum).
- We ask for print, electronic book, and audio rights, 90-day exclusive worldwide English after publication for unpublished, and no exclusivity worldwide English for reprints. We request to keep the anthology in publication indefinitely.
- Stories are due by Friday, May 16, 2025 at 11:59pm Mountain Time.
If you have stories that meet these criteria, please submit them here:
Acceptances or rejections will be sent by August 30, 2025, and acceptances will be accompanied by a publication contract with all the details. The anthology will be released during the LTUE symposium in February 2027 (note the year!) in electronic and printed form, and possibly audio format.
As this is a benefit/charity anthology, all author, editor, and artist royalty proceeds go to support the symposium’s mission of education, training, and inspiring authors, artists, and editors in producing the next generation of amazing speculative fiction works. The anthology will be jointly published by Hemelein Publications and LTUE Press. This anthology will be edited by Jaleta Clegg and Joe Monson, co-editors of the LTUE Benefit Anthologies series.
Stories not accepted for this anthology may be submitted for consideration (provided they match the theme) for future benefit anthologies for LTUE during each submission period. Additional benefit anthologies will be published in the future, under a variety of genres. Themes so far have been hard science fiction and space opera, adventure fantasy and science fiction, light horror, wizards, unusual heroes, troubadours and space princesses, stories featuring amazing canines, and military science fiction and space opera.
If you are an artist and would like us to consider using your works for future benefit anthology covers, please contact us. We are always looking for amazing artists to feature.
Please forward this call to anyone you think would be interested. If you have additional questions, feel free to contact us.
We appreciate your support of this cause, and we look forward to seeing your stories.
