Beyond Press is back with a brand new comics anthology! This time weâre looking to serve up a delightful and succulent treat for all our passionate readers looking for something juicier. We are glad to present Passion Fruit: A Queerotica Anthology edited by Taneka Stotts (The Beyond Anthologies, ELEMENTS: Fire) and assisted by Christina McKenzie. Weâre looking to show that our love is more than just lovely, itâs a passionate desire that will never go away. Â
Passion Fruit will take unabashedly queer characters, LGBTQIA+ identifying creators, and give you a taste of what we crave after dark.
Our first theme will set the tone for the book, but will not limit your imagination, as we chose to look at whatâs BENEATH the surface. Be it whatâs under our clothes, down in a dugout, or looking up from the embrace of your lovers. What sexy stories are hidden BENEATH your mattress?
This queertessential addition to the Beyond Press comics lineup is hoping to Kickstart in the Fall/Winter of 2017!
Submissions will open from February 6th until March 7th (11PM PST)
Passion Fruit: A Queerotica Anthology will pay $50/completed page (pending Kickstarter funding) up to 18 pages of black and white/grayscale comics; plus 5 softcover comp copies of the anthology, and the right to purchase additional copies for ½ cover price for as long as the anthology remains in print.
Contributors cede to Passion Fruit: A Queerotica Anthology first worldwide print and digital rights to the story for a full calendar year from date of publication, and non-exclusive worldwide print and digital reprint rights in perpetuity. Intellectual property, trademarks, and all non-publishing licensing rights, remain with the creators.
BUT WHAT DOES âQUEEROTICAâ MEAN?
Erotica is a broad literary genre encompassing any artistic work that deals substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing subject matter. Now, combine that with queer culture and you have QUEEROTICA! Â Â
HOW âQUEEROTICâ WILL THIS GET?
Weâre all more than just our sexual organs being exposed and or trying to figure out how to put a square peg in a round hole. However, Passion Fruit is actively looking for queer sexual activity, we will not demand you get up close and personal to the action. But, we wonât shy away from it either?
 WHAT WEâRE LOOKING FOR
Creators who are 18 years or older!
LGBTQIA+ Identifying creators
Positive & sexy queer representation - body positivity, kink positivity, sex work positivity⌠you name it, just donât shame it!
WHAT WEâRE NOT LOOKING FOR
Excessively graphic content (drug use/self-harm/gore or vore/scat or watersports)
Non-consensual/rape scenarios
Sexual situations involving minors (under 18 years of age)
Fanworks (Fanfic, Fanart, anything that is not your IP)
Previously published works and/or extensions/side stories of existing works  (including digital only)
And we will flat-out reject any story that includes:
Anything dubious in relation to  consent and/or underage relationships.
Deliberately outing a character  in a bullying/hateful way.
Bigotry, homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia, racism, sexism, misogyny in any way/shape/form. Even if itâs to illustrate that a character is âthe villainâ or that their point of view is wrong.
Prose/short stories/poetry/your bandâs demo/animation (unfortunately)/illustration
You (and any team members) must be 18 years or older to submit to Passion Fruit.
Please make sure you have a complete creative team unless you are pitching solo. We will not create or finalize teams. Feel free to use the #PassionFruitCollab tag on Twitter and Tumblr to assist with finding an interested partner.
You will need a synopsis of your comic, character descriptions, and a rough estimate of how many pages your story will be. Stories should be between 6 and 18 pages. If you have a question not  answered here, please feel free to contact us via email or our ask box. We reply to all asks privately!
