Inspired by Ray Bradbury, After the Fire (working title) honors the legacy of one of America’s most celebrated speculative fiction writers by inviting a new generation of authors to engage with the spirit and social urgency of Bradbury’s work.
This isn’t a tribute collection or pastiche. We’re inviting contemporary writers to use Bradbury’s legacy as a launching point–to reimagine, reinterpret, and ask new questions of the world we live in now.
We’re looking for stories that grapple with the kinds of big, human questions Bradbury wrote about: censorship, surveillance, climate, otherness, wonder, and what it means to remain human in inhumane systems. But these stories should be firmly rooted in the present, engaging with the issues and possibilities of our own time–from police violence, reproductive justice, and border politics to AI, mutual aid, climate anxiety, speculative kinship, and beyond.
After the Fire is edited by:
Maurice Broaddus – award-winning writer and editor (Sweep of Stars, Pimp my Airship, Dark Faith)
Carrie S. Cooper – Assistant Director of the Ray Bradbury Center and public humanities scholar
IMPORTANT: All submissions must be original fiction. Do not use copyrighted characters, settings, or other material from Ray Bradbury’s stories. No fan fiction.
Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, and Other Speculative Fiction
Length: Up to 5,000 words (firm limit)
Rate: $0.10/word on acceptance
Originality: Original Stories that have never been published in any format
AI: Absolutely no AI-assisted or AI-generated works
Format: All submissions should follow proper manuscript format (modern edition, preferably). Submissions should be emailed to bradbury.anthology@gmail.com, Subject Line: Submissions [Title of Piece]
Please attach all submissions in .doc or .docx or rtf format–we will not accept submissions embedded in the body of the email. Include your bio in your email cover letter.
Submissions open: October 15, 2026
Submissions close: January 31, 2027
Reading/review begins: February 1, 2027
Reading/review closes: March 31, 2027
All authors contacted by: April 30, 2027
