Word Pirates

“Machine of Death,” an upcoming anthology of short stories, is looking for submissions. The book will feature stories that, well, sound very fun to write.

“The machine had been invented a few years ago: a machine that could tell, from just a sample of your blood, how you were going to die. It didn’t give you the date and it didn’t give you specifics. It just spat out a sliver of paper upon which were printed, in careful block letters, the words “DROWNED” or “CANCER” or “OLD AGE” or “CHOKED ON A HANDFUL OF POPCORN”. It let people know how they were going to die.“

In the world described, how would you live your life and what would the implications of such a machine be? The editors say they aren’t looking for gimmicky, ironic-twist kind of stories. So don’t throw all the elements of good story-writing out the window for the sake of a cheap gag (Oh, the machine said I would die by a malfunction of a Machine of Death. Aaaaaarg! Now I am dead, etc.).

The deadline is March 31.

-Marcia