Category: Anthology

Anthologies

Taking Submissions: Search for the Any Key

Submission Window: May 1st – August 29th, 2025
Payment: $15.00 plus equal share of 50% of the anthology’s royalties.
Theme: Action/adventure mixed with any drama, can’t use a physical key, the why of the search should be the most important part

This will be mostly action/adventure, but can be placed in any time period, on other planets or any type of setting. All genres accepted and may contain humor, drama, romance, etc. Diverse characters welcome, human or otherwise.

The catch – no traditional keys accepted. If the characters don’t find the key, that’s okay.

Example – on a certain TV show, characters were searching for forgiveness and the key to enter was tears of regret. Another film had a key as part of a puzzle box which opened several artifacts.

Please think outside the box when writing these stories. The Why of the search is the most important point.

ALL writers are encouraged to submit. Doesn’t matter if you’re a pro with years of credits, a beginner just starting out, or a teenager – please feel free to send the editor a story. In your cover email, please tell the editor a bit about yourself and a quick one-line synopsis of the story. Include genre. If experimental, please explain the type or how so the editor doesn’t edit out the form or reject it out of hand.

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Taking Submissions: Tales of Galactic Pest Control

Deadline: July 1st, 2025
Payment: $100 or higher depending on Kickstartr
Theme: Short stories that explore the theme of pest control in creative, unexpected, and engaging ways.

We’re seeking original short stories that explore the theme of pest control in creative, unexpected, and engaging ways. However, don’t be misled by the title—this is not a shared-universe project, nor does your story have to be set in space or on an alien world. Your tale can take place anywhere—on a starship, in a medieval village, deep in the jungle, or even within the microcosm of a single human body. The crucial element is the struggle against some form of infestation, nuisance, or destructive force.

Your protagonist might be a seasoned exterminator, a desperate homeowner battling an alien infestation, or even the pest itself, trying to survive against overwhelming odds. We welcome a wide range of tones, from serious and thought-provoking explorations of ethical dilemmas to lighthearted, comedic takes on interstellar vermin problems. Whether your story leans toward hard science fiction, space opera, fantasy, horror, or slipstream, as long as it aligns with the pest control theme, we want to see it!

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Taking Submissions: Elven Rock of Ages

Deadline: August 31st, 2025
Payment: Royalties
Theme: A 1980s band that end up in a fantasy kingdom (a few specific details to include below.)

Announcing the latest open call by Ps and Qs Publishing! Elven Rock of Ages

 

What I’m Looking For: 

 

Rift is tired of ruling his Elven Kingdom. He’s been maintaining peace for a thousand years. His son is ready to take over and his daughter is leading his armies. He has nothing to do except sit in his court and pretend to be entertained. Enter a 1980s band that managed to stumble into his kingdom. Finally, something new. Deciding that playing rock music is how he wants to spend his time, he and three of his most trusted guards head out into the world. They take on the names, 

 

Rift – singer

Belanger – bass 

Draye – guitar 

Todd – drummer (Someone has to have a normal human name.) 

1988 – Band Name

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Taking Submissions: High Stakes and Bloody Business

Deadline: July 31st, 2025
Payment: One free paperback OR $10 USD
Theme: Stories that involve vampires. Your vampire(s) can be the whumpee, whumper, and/or caretaker. We will also consider stories about vampire-adjacent creatures such as dhampirs, succubi, etc.

Bring out your vampires! For WPP’s fourth anthology, we’re looking for stories that involve vampires. Your vampire(s) can be the whumpee, whumper, and/or caretaker. We will also consider stories about vampire-adjacent creatures such as dhampirs, succubi, etc.

Word Count: Up to 17,500 words

 

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Taking Submissions: Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers, Vol. 10

Deadline: May 1st, 2025
Payment: Approximately: 10,000 words – $100, 7,500 words – $75, 5,000 words – $50, 2,500 words – $25, 1,500 words – $20
Theme: Horror set in Texas written by Texas authors

HellBound Books is pleased to announce the 2025 edition of Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers. Author E. R. Bills will edit Vol. 10 of the series, which has featured works from Joe R. Lansdale, Katherine Anne Porter, Stephen Graham Jones, Robert E. Howard, Madison Estes, Jeremy Hepler, Bret McCormick, Josh Rountree, Patrice Sarath, Mario E. Martinez, James H. Longmore, William Jensen and others. RK10 is looking for original horror stories 1,500-10,000 words in length.

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Taking Submissions: Tales from the Silver City Saloon

Deadline: May 16th, 2025
Payment: Contributors Copy (as this is a charity anthology outside of that.)
Theme: Humorous, weird western science fiction

This is a humorous, weird western science fiction anthology, created in honor of Ken Rand. Ken was a fixture at Utah writing events, whether it was workshops, conventions, LTUE, or just hanging out. He’s perhaps best known for his The 10% Solution writing book, where he helps writers learn how to effectively edit their own work in order to greatly improve their stories. He also wrote a lot of weird westerns, science fiction, fantasy, and horror short works throughout his career, and almost all of his stories had humor in them.

We want humorous, weird west, science fiction tales and poetry (as long as the poetry tells a story, and long-form poetry would be awesome). Think The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr., The Wild Wild West TV series, and Cowboys and Aliens. Make your stories fun to read, make the characters interesting, and make us grin. The tales must have heart, must be solid stories, and must be positive in their outlook.

About the charity and more details for submissions:

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Taking Submissions: Spicy Monster Romance Anthology

Deadline: April 30th, 2025
Payment: 2 cents per word
Theme: Spicy monster romance horror stories,

Graveside Press’s next themed anthology will be MONSTERS.

Open for Submissions: April 1, 2025 through April 30, 2025
Expected Publication: February 13, 2026
(Yes, it’s a little ways out, but it’s Friday the 13th and the day before Valentine’s Day. We can’t pass that up!)
What Are We Looking For?
Monsters! Specifically … people who love monsters.

Like … a lot.

Give us your spicy monster romance stories, but keep in mind this is still horror; we aren’t looking for sweet urban fantasy tales. Your submission should still have a heavy horror factor.

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Taking Submissions: Liminal Madness

Deadline: May 31st, 2025
Payment: Royalties
Theme: Stories where liminal space is a priority 

M Presents Publishing is looking for short stories for its forthcoming anthology: Liminal Madness. Liminal Madness is a slight departure from the straight horror that previous anthologies had focused on; while horror is definitely a theme in this book the stories can be about anything so long as the idea of liminal space is priority. Think of the popular Backrooms or any place that is an eerie transition between places, a place that seems normal yet there is something… wrong: a hallway in a school that is strangely silent or a staircase that seems to keep descending with no discernable bottom.

Liminal: adj: relating to a transitional or intermediate state, stage, or period
Liminal Space: noun: a state or place characterized by being transitional or intermediate in some way; informal: any location that is unsettling, uncanny, or dreamlike

Let your imagination run wild as these spaces envelop your mind, whether you’ve no-clipped out of reality or wandered off the forest path.

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