Warren Zevon Crime Fiction Anthology

Submission & Selection Process

Thank you for considering Literary Garage for your Warren Zevon–inspired crime fiction. We take fairness in our selection process seriously — almost as seriously as Zevon took bad decisions, dark humor, and characters who probably should’ve left town sooner.

Here’s how submissions are handled:

Step 1: Anonymous Processing

When a story is submitted, the Literary Garage editor assigns it a submission number and removes all identifying author information. Names, bios, and any accidental signature confessions get stripped away.

At this stage, your story becomes a mysterious literary drifter — judged solely on the strength of the writing.

Step 2: Blind Reading

Each anonymized story is then forwarded to anthology edito Michael Downing, who evaluates submissions without knowing the identity of the author.

This blind reading process helps ensure impartiality and prevents favoritism, industry bias, or any behind-the-scenes deals involving lawyers, guns, or money.

Step 3: Final Selection

Once the reading process is complete, stories selected for inclusion in the anthology are matched back with their authors. Notifications will then be sent with next steps and publication details.

Our Goal

We aim to build an anthology that captures the spirit of Warren Zevon’s work — sharp, darkly funny, emotionally layered, and just a little dangerous.

We’re honored that writers trust us with their work and we’re committed to providing a fair, thoughtful reading process for every submission we receive.