January 1st is National Bloody Mary Day. December 31st is National Make Up Your Mind Day. On those days and every day in between, each day is designated as a national day for something. All of them are fair game for a crime. Potter's Field Publishing is looking for original flash fiction that includes a crime taking place on, or relating to, national days.

Is the mulled cider spiked with more than rum on National Punch Day? Or does some poor soul get his ticket punched some other way? Did the winning lottery ticket in the office pool and the pool organizer go missing for National Take A Chance Day? Or did that jumbotron proposal at an NBA game end in more than just a restraining order? Pick one of the over 1500 National Days and have fun with it. Play it straight or give it your own twist—as long as it's a recognized day and a crime takes place. Stories that feature violence against children and/or animals will not be accepted. Submissions must not have been previously published or written by AI tools such as Chat GPT.

Submissions will be accepted from April 1 to July 1, 2024. All stories will have been selected for the anthology by September, 2024 and all notifications made in that approximate time frame.

We would prefer crime stories for obscure National Days, but will consider any well-written flash fiction that meets the following submission guidelines:

1. Writers may submit up to two stories.

2. Stories should be 750 to 1,000 words in length. Longer stories will be considered, but are not encouraged.

3. All manuscripts should follow standard formatting guidelines for fiction. From the second page on, include your name and story title in the header of the document.

4. Send your submissions to pfpublishing@comcast.net with your story or stories attached as a DOC or DOCX document.

5. Type 'The Plot Thickens submission' in the subject line. Without this identification, your attachment will not be opened.

6. In the body of the email, include your name, address, phone number, story title, national day(s) involved, word count and a 100-word maximum, third-person bio.

Potter's Field Publishing will pay $10 for one story or $25 for two stories upon publication. All contributors will receive an ebook copy and a generous discount on paperback versions.

In consideration of payment, Potter's Field Publishing will have First North American serial rights to all purchased stories. One year from publication, the rights revert to the author. If the story is reprinted elsewhere, Potter's Field Publishing asks that the author state that it was originally published in A Plot for Any Occasion: The Plot Thickens.