To celebrate the Kingdom of Plantae, we are wheeling out our green bin for this summer general submission call.

Stories do not have to be set in summer – but they do have to be GREEN in some way, embracing the phyto-world. We are not looking for animal ecology with an absence of plantlife, or stories about recycling.
Here are some quotes and images to give you inspiration.

We have two Guest Readers for this sub call – Trash Family members Kathy Prokhovnik and Leigh Loveday

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.“ Franklin D. Roosevelt

“The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The colour and shape of flowers are a precise record of what bees find attractive.” Frederick Turner

“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. ” Herman Hesse

• plants as spell ingredients
• a phyto-apocalypse
• secrets buried in ancient soil
• lovers compared to flowers
• insectivorous plants turn on bigger prey
• someone finds peace in the nurturing of pot plants
• a rewilded plot brings unexpected visitors
• a new species of fungi is found to cure…
• a family traverses different landscapes looking for connection to the world – and each other
• a green space is under threat
• a year of vegetable crops tells the story of loss
• what does the plantlife of another world look like?

This theme lends itself to any genre and form.
We welcome hermitty flash, contemporary literary stories and any genre fiction as always. Give us immersive settings, sensory explosions, complex characters and, above all, give it some GREEN.

When your green treasure is ready to submit, click HERE to return to the Submissions page. Links to submission forms are at the end of the page.

All images shown are from Unsplash