Events

Deadline: September 30, 2017 Payment: $200 for stories under 5,000 words and $500 for stories 5,000 words and longer. Contributors also receive a paper copy of the book. Note: I HIGHLY suggest reading the linked to pages here to see exactly what they're looking for. The Binge-Watching Cure II, our all horror edition is open for submissions. We want to see your most terrifying prose. We’re interested in the full range of horror fiction genres and topics: dark fantasy, vampires, zombies, werewolves, Cthulhu Mythos, pure horror, psychological horror, ghost stories, East European myths, kind fairies gone rogue, Japanese monsters, apocalyptic horror, gothic, and plain scary monsters. If your imagination can conjure it, we want to read it. The same general word length categories apply; we’re paying the same as we did for the first edition of The Binge-Watching Cure (which will be available later in 2017.)  Please see our submissions page for details on how to submit your story, and our FAQ for answers to your most pressing questions. For submissions, the only difference between the first edition and the horror edition is that you need to include the words “Horror Edition” in the subject line of your email. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2017. We are not interested in fan fiction or stories with graphic or sexual violence against children, graphic incest, necrophilia, animal torture, or gore for gore’s sake. If you have a question, use our contact form or ping us in Twitter. Please don’t use the submissions email address for queries. Via: The Binge Watching Cure.

Deadline: September 30th, 2017 Payment: $50 and a contributor's copy Books & Boos Press is now accepting short story submissions for an upcoming anthology of darkly funny stories, edited by award-winning writer and editor Rob Smales, tentatively titled A Sharp Stick in the Eye (and Other Funny Stories). What we’re looking for: Original stories that are both entertaining and fall firmly in the horror genre. Think Jeff Strand, Joe Lansdale, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland. Make us die laughing. Books & Boos Press is committed to publishing well-written horror. We are less concerned with how well known or established you are, and more concerned with the quality of the writing submitted. Write your story, polish it up, and see if you can make us laugh. Please note: submissions will be read blind, meaning all author information will be stripped from the story before the editor receives it. To maintain objectivity, we request that when submitting, you refrain from posting your story title on social media. Submission guidelines: ● Length: 4,000–8,000 words. ● Format: Times New Roman, 12-point font, double line spacing. Use indents, NOT tabs. Only one space after each period. Use italics, not underlines. Please include your name, contact information, and word count at the top of the title page. No headers or footers. ● Submit your manuscript as a .docx, .doc, or .rtf attachment to [email protected]. The body of the email should be a brief (one page max) cover letter giving a summary of the story, who you are, and any recent publications. Manuscripts submitted in the body of the email instead of as an attachment will be automatically rejected. ● No simultaneous or multiple submissions allowed. We will reject as we go, so writers will have an opportunity to submit another story if the first one doesn’t...

Deadline: September 30th, 2017 Payment: 1 cent per word Afrocentric Books is taking submissions for a futurism anthology. Futurism is a broad umbrella, encompassing many elements of science fiction and fantasy. For this anthology, we are most interested in science fiction. Time travel, space travel, cultures far advanced from our own. This world, other worlds, space stations, the setting doesn’t matter. We want adult science fiction stories in diverse settings, featuring diverse people. The “in the future all people are a uniform color of café au lait” trope does not interest us. While it is not necessary for you to describe the physical features of all your characters, we do want to know that one of your main characters is of indigenous African descent. Please read our general submission guidelines prior to submitting. 1,000-7,500 words, although we’ll consider pieces that fall outside those parameters on a case-by-case basis. Multiple and simultaneous submissions ok. No reprints. If accepted, pay is 1 cent per word. The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2017.   Submit here. Via: Afrocentric Books.

Deadline: September 30th, 2017 Payment: 75% of net profit from each unit sold will be split between the accepted authors, with each author earning an equal split. Restrictions No Erotica Sex, profanity, gore, and adult themes are allowed, but any submission that relies too heavily on any of these will not be accepted. Word Count- 7,500-10,000 Genre: Horror Compensation-Royalties Accepting between 12 and 17 submissions. The goal is to showcase the talent of budding Independent Authors.  The Horror Anthology will be around 500 pages.  The final amount of accepted submissions will depend on the length of each accepted submission.  Indie Shelves Publishing will retain 25% of the net profits of each unit sold.  The remaining 75% of net profit from each unit sold will be split between the accepted authors, with each author earning an equal split.  5% of Indie Shelves Publishing’s 25% royalty will go to the chosen editor/s.  5% of Indie Shelves Publishing’s 25% royalty will go to the chosen cover designer/s. Each chosen author will be allowed a marketing page, immediately following their submission.  They will be able to list any other works, upcoming works, social media accounts, blog sites, or websites.  The goal is to help get you exposure. Indie Shelves Publishing values the success of the individual author, over its own financial gain.  If, at any time, the author is offered a more beneficial arrangement, or no longer feels that the inclusion of their work, in this anthology, is in their best interest, they may request the removal of their work from the anthology.  The request must be in writing. Once the written request is received, Indie Shelves Publishing will, within 30 days, remove the authors story from the published anthology.  Any/all distribution rights, with Indie Shelves Publishing, for works featured in this anthology, have...

Deadline: September 30th, 2017 Payment: $5.00 flat rate plus equal share of 50% of the anthology’s royalties. Welcome to the Fluffy Bunny The Fluffy Bunny? You say? What kind of name is that for an adventurer’s bar? Well, it’s not only the name of the bar it’s also the name of that blade you see hanging over the bar. The blade I used to slay the ancient dragon Thorenoak. All adventurers are welcome here. But I have found the ones who are truly the bravest are not those who give themselves or their weapons grandiose names. They are the ones who are reluctant to tell their stories. However, the best stories come from the ones who have silly nicknames – like The Fluffy Bunny. So pull up a chair and tell us how your weapon earned its name. First drink is on the house. And depending on the quality of the tale another may follow as well. -- What we are looking for are Fantasy stories that feature your main character telling a tale about how they or their weapon earned their name. Humor is a plus. All stories need to start with: “This is my tale…” Please note the editor will be adding a frame to each story to maintain the illusion the story is taking place in The Fluffy Bunny and is being told to the bartender/patrons therein. You do not need to add any elements/breaks in the story – just tell the story about your hero and/or their weapon’s silly nickname. Break the story-writing rules if you want. If you use a tried and true plotline, twist it in an original and interesting way. Original stories are preferred. Query for reprints. ALL writers are encouraged to submit. Doesn’t matter if you’re a pro with years of credits,...

Deadline: September 30th, 2017 Payment: $50 for stories up to 1,500 words, rising to a maximum of $150 for stories up to 5,000 words. Does a train whistle in the distance make you excited, wistful, or afraid? Trains have fired the imaginations of many people, especially writers. Anna Karenina, Night on the Galactic Railroad, The Signal Man, Strangers on a Train, The Lady Vanishes, Murder on the Orient Express all use trains as their main setting, not to mention the trains in children’s books—like Thomas the Tank Engine, The Little Engine that Could, and The Polar Express. As travelers, we’ve been spurred to go farther because of trains, see new things, take chances. Trains have also, sometimes, pushed us too far, sliced the wilderness, inserted us into places to draw out resources, assisted in invasion. Trains, in a sense, even created Time as we know it. Trains altered our perceptions of identity, place, even of destiny. Suddenly, people could travel far away quickly, leave their families and homes for a better life, or opportunity—or people could escape the destiny of location. Step on a train, and you never know what you might find, or with whom you might cross paths. In essence, trains are Change. We’re looking for your stories of trains—fantasy, steampunk, science fiction, horror, slipstream, urban fantasy, apocalyptic, set in any time, any place,—we’ll buy a ticket on all of them. We’d like to see what you can do with a train. A good part of your story should take place on a train—or most, if you can do it. We don’t care what era, what planet, or how the train might look differently there (it might even be alive!) or even if the train is moving. We just want that train—what you do with it is your magic. This book will be...

Deadline: September 30th, 2017 Payment: Royalty Split Announcing NOIRVILLE an exciting new competition for crime fiction authors. We get hundreds of submissions every week and in among all the novels we've noticed an increasing number of writers pitching short stories to us - at Fahrenheit we're passionate about giving new talent a chance to break through so we thought what better way to kill two birds with one stone? So how is it gonna work? Simple. The best 12 stories (as chosen by our panel of judges) will be published in Fahrenheit's first short story collection NOIRVILLE which will be published in both eBook & paperback towards the end of 2017. Who are the judges? Rather than the usual publishing industry suspects we've compiled a panel of judges made up of four of the very best book bloggers around. As an added bonus, Jo Perry, Fahrenheit's very own High Priestess Of Noir, has agreed to chair the judging panel. Jo Perry (Author) Kate Moloney (Bibliophile Book Club) Gordon McGhie (Grab This Book) Janet Emson (From First To Last Page) Verity Wilde (Verity Reads Books) What does it cost to enter? Unlike most short story competiions this one is FREE TO ENTER and winning authors will be paid royalties on their stories. The Rules You know we hate rules so we've tried to keep this simple.... 1} Stories must be LESS THAN 7500 words in length 2) Stories must NOT have been previously published. 3) Stories must be set firmly in the Crime/Thriller genre. 4) Existing Fahrenheit authors are very welcome to submit entries but the judges will be voting blind so there will be zero chance of preferential treatment. 5) This is meant to fun so use your common sense, stick to the rules, and don't be a dick. 6) ALL our decisions are...

Deadline: September 30th, 2017 Payment: 0.06 per word and a contributor's copy Tales of Ruma is an anthology of stories inspired by Greek and Roman mythology. Some of the stories are set in the world of the Ruma: Dawn of Empire tabletop role playing game, while others are in worlds of their own, perhaps even alternate versions of Earth. The anthology will be released in paperback and electronic (epub and mobi) format, with potentially a hardcover limited edition. Submission Window: August 15 – September 30, 2017. Length: 500-5000 words. What We Want: Original stories set in the world of Ruma, Earth, or another world, which build upon the themes (such as heroism, the gods, and the arcane) and imagery of Greek and Roman mythology. Please see below for additional details on the world of Ruma. Stories set in the world of Ruma do not have to meet any exact criteria as the world is fluid so anything can fit somewhere. What We Don’t Want: We would rather not see anything overly sexual or with excessive violence/swearing. The audience level is teen and above. Format: RTF or DOC/DOCX in Standard Manuscript Format, or as close as possible. Send Submissions To: Please send submissions to seneschal at azurekeep dot com, with “Tales of Ruma Submission” in the subject line. Limit of 1 submission per author. Payment: $0.06 per word + contributor copy (paperback and electronic). Payment upon acceptance via PayPal. Rights Sought: First Worldwide print and electronic English language rights. Exclusivity for 90 days from date of release. Non-exclusive print, ebook, and audio rights afterward. Copyrights for stories set in the world of Ruma remain with the author. About the world of Ruma: Ruma is an alternate Roman Empire set on an alternate version of Earth where the gods and magic are real. The RPG is...

Deadline: September 30th, 2017 Payment: Flash 500-2,000: New:$10.00 Reprint: $5.00 - Short 2,001-8,000: New:$20.00 Reprint: $10.00 What We Want We are OPEN to regular submissions until September 30, 2017. Unless specified otherwise, we’re looking for stories that are: 500-8,000 words long. First person. Arguably mad science related. The mad science is negotiable. The rest is not. We are strongly biased towards science fiction, fantasy, and horror. We are also committed to publishing work by authors belonging to marginalized groups. If you are LGBTQ, a person of color, or belong to some other group that is underrepresented in the genre, we really want to hear from you. When it comes to “first person,” this can includes fictional newspaper articles, press releases, brochures, etc. We’re also happy to consider reprints and more than one submission at a time. Do not send us poetry, screenplays, stories that are being considered by another market (also known as simultaneous submissions), or long winded ramblings from disgruntled mad scientists without any plot. Stories should be submitted in Standard Manuscript Format. Here’s a an explanation of what that means. We currently only open for submissions one month at a time. Sometimes we will hold a story until the end of that period before deciding. If you haven’t heard from us within a month of our submission period closing, send us an email. If Accepted Stories will require a fictional identity for the narrator, with a bio. Authors will still be credited under their own name as follows: Title of Your Story An essay by , as provided by . We will send a contract for esignature. For new stories, we will ask for exclusive first worldwide electronic and print rights for one year and nonexclusive rights afterwards. For reprints, we will ask for nonexclusive reprinting rights. Payment is based on story...

Deadline: September 30th, 2017 Payment: $30 per story, $10 per poem Please read the following in its entirety before submitting. The rules are needed, and EC will not consider your work if they have not been followed. It's important to read samples of published work on EC. You can find just a few examples here. HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT: No unsolicited work of any kind is being accepted. Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at EC. -- Six times a year, writers and poets will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories and poems. No non-fiction of any kind. -- Here are the submission periods: Months--January, March, May, July, September, November.      -- Days of those months--the first through the 30th. That's starting at 12 a.m. on the first day of a submission month. That's ending at 11:59 p.m. of the 30th of a submission month (28th for February). Those are Eastern Standard Times.      -- No stories or poems will be accepted in the following months, so please do not send any: February, April, June, August, October, December.      -- You submit through email only. Please use this address only: [email protected]. That's for submissions only.      -- All questions, but no submissions, should be sent to [email protected].      -- Your last name, the month and the year should be in the subject line of the email.      -- You must be 18 years old or older, but may be from any country.      -- You should try to use American English word forms and punctuation.      -- Do not send attachments. They will not be opened or considered. Paste your work in the body of an email.      -- You will receive a response telling you I have received your...