You know what’s big in Columbus right now? Columbus.
There are a lot of things I really like about Columbus, Ohio. It’s big enough to offer the services and culture of a big city, but still small enough that traffic and real estate prices aren’t too horrendous.
We have a vibrant campus, outlets for the arts, several unique historical districts like German Village and Olde Towne East, two professional sports teams, and ample opportunities for outdoor recreation.
One of my favorite things about Columbus is that we get four real seasons. It’s real hot for a few days in the summer and it snows a little bit in the winter. Fall and spring are perfectly in between. Not a lot of places offer that kind of variety.
Our next anthology is themed “Columbus, Ohio” (submit your work here). We thought about leaving the theme completely open, but ultimately decided that the book would be easier to market if it had at least some semblance of unity to it.
But the good news is that we’re holding it with a very loose hand. Your story doesn’t have to be set in modern day Columbus, Ohio. We only require it to be partially set in Columbus – and that can be modern, historic, prehistoric, or futuristic Central Ohio, or even Ohio in a parallel universe.
Columbus is big enough that any plot that needs a big city can be set here. Any plot that requires a small town can be set in any number of our Central Ohio suburbs, like Westerville, Dublin, Grove City, or even Lithopolis or West Jefferson if you need to go really small.
So if you’ve been working on a story that’s set somewhere else, don’t panic. Get creative and a simple rewrite can have it set in Columbus.
Need people to be speaking Japanese for your plot to work? Parallel universe where the nazis won WWII and gave Ohio to the Japanses. Bam! Nailed it.
Need the largest building in the world? Twenty years in the future Columbus builds the largest building. Dunzo!
Want to set your story in the dessert? Childhood flashback to the beautiful humid summers of Columbus. Booyah!
You get the idea. Have fun with it.
I hope you enjoy writing about Columbus as much as I enjoy living here. If you think Central Ohio’s boring, you just need to get out of your house more (and I don’t mean head to the shopping mall).
The deadline for “Central Ohio” themed stories is October 7, 2011. Click here for complete information, and contact us with any questions.