Welcome to a world where rumors tangle communities in suspicion, and the tightest-knit communities harbor the knottiest secrets. For our upcoming anthology, Stitching Up Death, we’re looking for contemporary, traditional, cozy mystery stories. From quiet spinning circles and local quilt shops to high-stakes weaving exhibitions, fiber arts offer the ultimate backdrop for classic cozy mayhem — stories where observant artisans and crafters notice every dropped stitch and out-of-place thread.
These stories must center on some aspect of a fiber art, whether that’s knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery, quilting, spinning, weaving, etc. We want clever, human-led mysteries where the craft itself is woven into the plot or the unraveling of the crime. What long-forgotten secret does the coded message stitched into an heirloom quilt reveal? Who tampered with the hand-dyed yarn to create a toxic scarf? Why did the woman who slipped into the yarn store and ducked behind a display appear to be hiding from someone just outside the window? Show us an amateur sleuth who uses their sharp eyes, community connections, and crafting know-how to bring a killer to justice.
We are looking for polished, well-paced, contemporary short stories between 6,000 and 8,000 words that deliver a curious mystery and a satisfying resolution. Show us amateur sleuths tying off loose ends as they gather physical evidence, unravel clues behind so-called mechanical mishaps, and surprise us with their clever deductions. If you have a yarn that will keep readers hooked until the final stitch, we want to read it!
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- No pets or children in jeopardy. Ever.
- No pandemic or politics of any sort. Period.
- No swearing, sex, etc.
- This is a cozy mystery anthology. The gory details should remain neatly off-screen.
And please don’t limit your story settings. Stitching groups, quilt shops, knitting circles, and more are everywhere. While we are looking for situations involving close-knit groups of individuals, they can be in larger cities or small towns. And, as with all of our anthology calls, settings outside the U.S. are always welcome.
Have fun with these – I’m looking forward to ‘virtually’ Stitching Up Death with your characters!
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To Submit:
- Anthology Title: Stitching Up Death
- Length: 6000 – 8000 words
NOTE: YES, we WILL consider reprints of stories previously published prior to Jan 1, 2022, for which you have reprint rights. If your story is still in another collection, that’s okay. If it’s available for free somewhere, we will ask that you pull it down once it’s been accepted. Please include the original publication information with your submission. - Submission Deadline: October 31, 2026
- Anticipated release: late January, 2027
- Exclusivity/Reversion of rights: We distribute our anthologies in both paper and ebook formats across multiple retailers. We ask for 6 months exclusivity post-publication, after which we continue to market the anthology in both print and ebook formats, but you have the right to submit the story elsewhere, publish it yourself, etc., as you wish.
- Pay: Royalty-Share, via PayPal
NOTE: A royalty-share anthology is only successful if all of the participants help with the promotion. We will provide art and marketing copy, and assist with promotion as we are able; but if you submit, you should also be prepared to promote the anthology to your readers – and share ideas/successes with the group, if you can! - Send your stories to: editor at camdenparkpress dot com
- Submission Subject line: Please help out the office elves by using the subject line to pre-sort your story into the right inbox:
STITCHING DEATH_Story Title - Attachment types accepted: DOC, DOCX, or RTF file
- File Name: Please name your manuscript like this:
STITCHING DEATH_Author Name_Story Title
VERY IMPORTANT: We are often working on multiple projects at the same time, so following the Subject line and File Name guidelines will help make sure your message ends up in the correct folder.
Other: These things should go without saying, but we’ve seen them ignored too many times:
- Please keep your cover letter brief.
- Use standard manuscript format (if you don’t know what that means, Google it. The Shunn “modern manuscript format” is a good guide.)
- Include your name, contact information (mailing address, and email), and the story title on the manuscript.
- Please review and follow the submission guidelines (above).
Social Media stuff: We use a combination of email, Google Docs, and a private Facebook group to coordinate with authors and keep everyone aware of the project status. Just letting everyone know this ahead of time.