Category: Anthology

Anthology / Events / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: The Perfectly Fine Neighborhood

Deadline: July 1st, 2023
Payment: 3 cents per word
Theme: A horror story about ghosts in a world where ghosts are a normal, everyday occurance

A shiver ran down Donna’s spine and, even though it was the dead of summer, her breath came out in an icy puff as she exhaled.

“Dammit, Kyle!” Donna shouted, smacking over her shoulder at the ghostly apparition of her brother, who had snuck up behind her. “What are you doing?”

“Just rubbing your shoulders,” he replied, exasperated. As he removed his ethereal fingers, her back warmed up again instantly. “You need to relax more, Red.”

 

***

What if ghosts were real? What if they were a part of everyday life? What if they were, in fact, kind of banal? Could you still tell a horror story about them?

We like to think so. In fact, we wrote an entire novel about it. And now we’re inviting all of you to scare our pants off with your short stories set in the world of THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE.

French Press is delighted to be opening up to our first open call ever, for THE PERFECTLY FINE NEIGHBORHOOD. This open call will round out the entries from our invited authors, modern horror maestros Jeff Strand, Brian Keene, and Candace Nola. We hope to hear from you and all your friends, so please share widely!

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Anthology / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Non-fiction / Poetry

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Taking Submissions: The First Line – Summer 2023

Deadline: May 1st, 2023
Payment: $25.00 – $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 – $10.00 for poetry
Theme: Story must begin with: “All the lawns on Mentone Avenue are mowed on Wednesdays.”

We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we’ve notified you as to our decision (usually four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don’t want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line.

Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that’s cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions.

One more thing while I’ve got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not – nor will we ever – charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests to help come up with new first lines, or we run fun, gimmicky competitions for free stuff, but the actual journal is not a contest in the traditional sense.

Fiction: All stories must be written with the first line provided. The line cannot be altered in any way, unless otherwise noted by the editors. The story should be between 300 and 5,000 words (this is more like a guideline and not a hard-and-fast rule; going over or under the word count won’t get your story tossed from the slush pile). The sentences can be found on the home page of The First Line’s website, as well as in the prior issue. Note: We are open to all genres. We try to make TFL as eclectic as possible.

Poetry: We do accept poetry, though rarely. We have no restrictions on form or line count, but all poems must begin with the first line provided. The line cannot be altered in any way.

Non-Fiction: 500-800 word critical essays about your favorite first line from a literary work.

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Anthology / Events / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: Fanatical Issue 3

Deadline: March 31st, 2023
Payment: £20
Theme: Stories should be inspired by/based on tabletop games – roleplaying games, board games, miniature wargames.

Fanatical is currently OPEN for submissions.
We are looking for unpublished sci-fi, fantasy and horror stories of between 2,000 and 6,000 words.
Please only submit one story at a time and don’t submit if it’s already submitted somewhere else.
All stories should be self-contained, no “to be continued”.
Recurring characters across multiple stories will be considered, as long as each story is a solid read in its own right.
If you’ve already been published in an issue of Fanatical you are free to submit again, but we may hold your submission over so as not to publish the same author in back to back issues.
Fanatical will pay £20 per accepted story, paid upon publication. We pay via Paypal.
Upon acceptance, authors retain rights to the story but we ask they don’t publish/submit it anywhere else before it is published in Fanatical.

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Anthology / Events / Flash / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: The Devil Take You

Deadline: April 15th, 2023
Payment: $125 – $200
Theme: Original weird tales set in the medieval period that explore the human (and inhuman) experience through the lens of horror.

Sentinel Creatives has opened up for submissions for our “THE DEVIL TAKE YOU: TALES OF MEDIEVAL HORROR” anthology.

Deadline for Submissions: 15 April 2023
Wordcount: 3,000 – 6,000
Remuneration: $125 – $200
Simultaneous Submissions: Yes

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

We’re looking for original weird tales set in the medieval period that explore the human (and inhuman) experience through the lens of horror.

Some clarifications:

Weird: The term “weird” should be understood to mean a certain sense of breathless and unexplainable dread, of outer, unknown forces present, a suggestion of the defeat or suspension of the laws of nature which have hitherto served to protect our minds and bodies (and souls) from the assault of chaos. By its very nature, weird fiction should invoke in the reader a sense of profound uneasiness and dread, it should hint at the inability of the human mind to comprehend the true nature of existence, and it should cause us to question the stability of our faith in the established laws of nature.

Medieval: The term “medieval” denotes the period in Europe lasting from around 500AD to 1500AD and is typically divided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. There is a temptation here that often proves too powerful to ignore, to view Europe through a monist lens: to see all of Europe as Christian, white, and “Western”. But this is a strange way to view a continent and a period that saw so much strife and upheaval precisely because of the differences of those living within its borders. These are the differences—the tensions—that create the opportunity for compelling storytelling.
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Anthology / Events / Flash / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: We Fear Not the Sea

Deadline: March 30th, 2023
Payment: 2 cents per word
Theme: Stories inspired by sea shanties, more on that below!

This is a Call for Submissions for We Fear Not the Sea, an anthology of stories inspired by sea shanties.

Each tale should be based on, or somehow incorporate, one sea shanty and include a speculative element of some kind. Give us your adventures with ghosts, sea monsters, and mermaids! Put us in the salty sea boots of sailors, whalers, pirates, and privateers!

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Anthology / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Token Payment

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Taking Submissions: Jane Nightshade’s Serial Encounters

Deadline: August 30th, 2023
Payment: $5
Theme: Short stories about casual encounters of fictional people with serial killers

Have you ever wondered about the ordinary people who came in contact with famous serial killers before everyone knew them for their depraved, murderous acts?

What did Jeffrey Dahmer’s plumber experience when he unclogged the notorious cannibal’s toilet? Or how about the guy who worked in the music shop where Charles Manson had his guitars strung? The girl who waited on Ted Bundy at his favorite coffee shop? Jack the Ripper’s neighborhood bartender? How about one of the kids who had John Wayne Gacey perform as a clown at their birthday party?

For this anthology, we’re looking for short stories about casual encounters of fictional people with serial killers, that turned creepy or deadly. Stories can be straight crime/thriller stories or ones with a supernatural bent (haunted objects, ghosts, demons, etc.).

Characters and victims, aside from the serial killers, must be fictional—real names of victims or family members can not be used. Also, feel free to use lesser-known killers like Richard Speck or The Boston Strangler, in case the Bundy and Manson stories start piling up like the bodies of their victims…

Note: Stories should not lionize or celebrate the serial killers, or promote racism, bigotry, or depictions of violence against children.

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Anthology / Events / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: Colp: Desert/Dessert Theme

Deadline: March 31st, 2023
Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2500 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2500 words
Theme: Desert/Dessert Theme

Colp is our ‘anything goes’ genre-free anthology collection.

Expect to see a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Current theme:

DESERT/DESSERT

Desert: a waterless, desolate area of land with little or no vegetation, typically one covered with sand.

Dessert: the sweet coarse eaten at the end of a meal.

We are currently looking for stories that feature deserts and/or desserts, so whether it is a tale about a journey into the Sahara or one about the lemon meringue pie that just wouldn’t quit, please feel free to send your work through.

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Anthology / Events / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: CloisterFox #3

Deadline: January 31st, 2023
Payment: £30 plus a copy of the zine
Theme: Ruins
Note: British authors and authors of other nationalities living in Britain

Submissions are open until midnight GMT on the 31st of Jan 2023.

The theme of issue two is ruins. We want crumbling castle ramparts and wrecks haunting the sea bed. Give us derelict shopping centres and condemned flats. And don’t forget, people can be ruins too.

We’re looking for submissions from British authors and authors of other nationalities living in Britain. We are particularly keen to hear from under-represented groups, including BIPOC, LGBT, and disabled writers.

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