Weren’t Another Other Way To Be
Outlaw Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Waylon Jennings
Edited by Alec Cizak
As he observed the commercialized and soulless country music scene, Waylon Jennings famously sang, “Where do we take it from here?” He answered that question by leaving Nashville and heading home to Texas, to help create what came to be knows as outlaw country.
Today, looking at the crime fiction world, we find ourselves asking the same question. The grittiest, harshest, most disturbing fiction form is being cut off from its roots, sanitized, made “safe.”
In this volume, like Waylon did with the country genre in those bygone days, we’re looking to rock the boat. Don’t give us stories contorted to conform to commercial, or political, agendas. We want outlaw fiction. The real deal. No apologies. No limits.
Guidelines:
*Submissions closed. Stay tuned for more news.
*We are seeking stories between 3,000 and 6,000 words.
*Use a Waylon Jennings song title as the title of your story, then follow wherever the inspiration leads. A complete list of Waylon Jennings’ recorded songs is available here.
*Do not quote the lyrics of the song whose title you have chosen. Take the story in your own direction.
*Avoid cliches. Do not set your story in a bar.
*Seek to capture the spirit and attitude of the artist. Waylon was a hard partier with a big heart and little patience for bullshit.
*Each song title will be used once. Claimed titles will be posted on this page.
By submitting your work you attest that you are able to grant full publication rights, and if your story is accepted for publication you agree not to publish it elsewhere for one year after this anthology is published. Please, no simultaneous submissions. All contributors will receive a cash payment and a contributor copy.
The following song/story titles are already being used:
Somewhere Between Ragged and Right
Gold Dust Woman
Don’t Let the Sun Set On You
Black Rose
People in Dallas Got Hair
Women Do Know How To Carry On
The Eagle
Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand
Wrong Road to Nashville
The Devil’s Right Hand
Lonesome On’ry and Mean
Ain’t Living Long Like This
About The Editor: Alec Cizak is a writer and filmmaker from Indianapolis. His fiction has appeared in several journals and anthologies. He is also the editor of the fiction journal Pulp Modern.
