Category: Flash

Flash / Magazine / Ongoing Submissions / Semipro

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Ongoing Submissions: Frontier Tales

Payment: 1 cent per word
Theme: Stories of action and conflict. Open to some mixed genres, so it can include horror, etc, if it captures the theme and time period of a Western.

Short stories up to 10,000 words in length. Finished and edited.

Our top priority stories are what we like to call “strait shooters”. These are stories of action and conflict. We want gunslingers dueling in saloons, cowboys taking on bandits, Lawmen bringing order to the chaos of the West, bounty hunters going to the ends of the continent to catch their man, a Comanche warrior making his last stand on the open plains, Settlers defending their home from raiders, etc.

While these sorts of yarns are our preference we are still open to other varieties. Romantic western tales of love triumphing or dying on the frontier, ghost stories of the lost souls doomed to wander the among western winds, or weird westerns featuring deep ancient horrors revealing themselves to unsuspecting victims.

What are we not looking for

Smut/pornographic stories

Space/science fiction with western themes

Neo-westerns taking place in a contemporary setting

Stories set outside of America, in the future we may open up this to include other locales but for now it will be exclusively stories set in the US

Serialized stories, we may open this up in the future but for the time being we strictly want stand alone tales

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Artwork / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Poetry / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: NonBinary Review #37

Deadline: August 1st, 2024
Payment: $10 for poetry, $25 for artwork, 1 cent per word for fiction
Theme: False Memories
Note: Reprints Welcome

NonBinary Review is currently open for submissions on the theme of FALSE MEMORIES.

False memories first came to public consciousness in the 1980s when a group of pre-schoolers at a California preschool were coached by well-meaning social workers and police investigators into “remembering” Satanic abuse that never happened. The fallout from that episode wasn’t just the persecution of an innocent family, but a nationwide mass delusion now known as “the Satanic Panic,” where authorities were warning the public about supposed widespread satanic cults committing heinous acts of abuse. Not a single one of these warnings were founded in fact, and it is now known that a large number of them were propaganda.

But false memories aren’t always bad. There is a common phenomenon wherein people hear stories of their early childhoods so often that those stories turn into “memories.” It is common in dreams to have “memories” of things that happened to the dream self, but not to the real self. Or a person might believe that they took their regular medication, brought in the garbage bins, or picked up the mail when they haven’t.

We’re looking for weird and wonderful stories of not just the memories themselves, but of their production, their repercussions, their wider meanings. We’re looking for false memories that might have changed history, that led to remarkable discoveries, that impacted lives.

We’re NOT looking stories of recovered memories. Recovered memories are memories of real events that have been suppressed because they’re traumatic, and are a widely disputed phenomenon. We would also like to avoid stories centering abuse, trauma, and violence.

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Artwork / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Semipro

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Ongoing Submissions: Flash Digest

Payment: Original Stories: 1 cent a word, Cover art: $15.00, Interior art: $5.00
Theme: Original stories that are entertaining and/or have a serious point to them. We prefer to see stories with plot, tension, suspense, conflict, and character development.

Flash Digest is published quarterly, in January, April, July, and October, in print and as an ePub and PDF. It presents original science fiction, fantasy, and spooky horror stories of flash fiction length, which we regard as less than 1500 words. The lead editor is Terrie Leigh Relf.

Flash Digest wants non-AI original stories that are entertaining and/or have a serious point to them. We prefer to see stories with plot, tension, suspense, conflict, and character development. Remember, if readers do not care what happens to your main character[s], they won’t read the story. The narrative should maintain a sense of wondering what’s going to happen next; of what’s lurking just around the corner. Showing is better than telling. Frex, instead of telling the reader that it’s cold, show your character shivering, stomping feet, or having ice form on beard or hair. The inner thoughts and emotions of your character[s] are just as important.

As we will publish no more than six to eight stories per issue, we will be very picky with what we select. Just sayin’.

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Contributor's Copy / Events / Flash / Magazine / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Weird Horror Magazine March 2024 Window (Early Listing)

Submission Window: March 2nd – March 15th, 2024
Payment: 2¢ (2-cents) per word , with a $25 minimum and $100 maximum and 2 contributor’s copies
Theme: Horror and weird fiction from 500 to 5,000 words, firm.

OPENS: March 2, 2024

CLOSES: March 15, 2024

We are seeking horror and weird fiction from 500 to 5,000 words, firm. Query first if your story is over 5,000 words. We are a home for the strange, the macabre, the eerie, the esoteric, the fabulist, and the gothic. The darkly numinous. The odd. We are not interested in extreme horror. Do not send science fiction or fantasy.

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Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Ongoing Submissions / Online

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Ongoing Submissions: Max Blood’s Mausoleum

Payment: $30
Theme: Unthemed horror

What we are looking for

We are looking for horror of any sub-genre and are not squeamish. We’ve read it all before and will read it all again, so send us something that will really set us back on our heels. Terrify us. Make us squirm. Send us the best of your worst.

We welcome art accompaniment for your stories, as these may be used in our compiled issues. Please, no AI art. We wish to feature art created by human artists. If you are the artist, let us know. However, if you are not the artist, please let us know that as well. Credit will be given where it is due. Be sure you have permission to use the art that you send to us.

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Anthology / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Poetry

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Taking Submissions: Writer’s Retreat: Tales of Writing and Madness

Deadline: December 31st, 2023
Payment: $10
Theme: Stories that peel back the layers of the literary process to reveal the psychological horrors writers face daily.

Scott McGregor and Harriet Everend are teaming up to compile a new anthology, Writer’s Retreat: Tales of Writing and Madness under January Embers Press.
Beneath the polished pages of every story lies a world shrouded in shadows—a world where the act of creation transforms into psychological madness fraught with terror. “Writers Retreat: Tales of Writing and Madness” is an anthology seeking to peel back the layers of the literary process to reveal the psychological horrors writers face daily. From the dreaded writer’s block to the malevolent spirits of rejection, this collection delves into the darkest corners of the creative mind, where the lines between reality and imagination blur.

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Artwork / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Poetry / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Diet Milk Magazine Spring/Summer 2023 Issue Window

Submission Window: December 1st 2023 – January 8th, 2024
Payment: $15 per poem, $0.01 per word ($40 minimum) for short stories, and $50 per art piece via PayPal
Theme: Gothic stories, no set genre

Opens on Friday, December 1, 2023 12:00 AM UTC (in 24 days)

From December 1st – January 8th, Diet Milk Magazine will be accepting submissions for its Spring/Summer issue. We will be open to poetry, prose, and visual art of all kinds. While the most detailed information can be found on our website, here’s a quick rundown of what potential contributors need to know!

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

  • All submissions must fall under the Gothic umbrella, but aren’t required to be a specific genre
  • No reprints or multiple submissions
  • Simultaneous submissions permitted, though we ask to be informed promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere!
  • Poetry/Prose submissions should be .doc, .docx, or .pdf // Art submissions should be .jpeg or .png
  • If you receive a rejection, you may submit again (with new work) immediately

P O E T R Y :

Poets may submit up to three poems at a time. No single poem should exceed five pages in length.

P R O S E :

Authors may submit one short story at a time, up to 5000 words. This doesn’t have to be on the dot, but stories exceeding 5025 words will be rejected automatically.

A R T :

Artists may submit up to two pieces at a time. We’ll consider any type of visual art. If you’re unsure whether or not your work falls into this category, query us first. Reach out to [email protected] using the subject line “QUERY: YourName [ART SUB]”. We’ll let you know within 24 hours if your preferred medium is eligible.

Responses, Rights, & Payment

  • Please allow up to three weeks for a response. After that, send a gentle nudge via email
  • Diet Milk Magazine asks for first serial rights. Upon publication, all rights revert back to the creator. A contract will be provided upon acceptance
  • All payments made via PayPal.

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Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Ongoing Submissions / Poetry

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Ongoing Submissions: Rising Action Review

Payment: $30
Theme: Poetry or Fiction of any genre

We aim to make submissions as easy and stress free as possible for you. We know all too well how nerve wracking it can be to share your work with a literary journal and a complicated submission process doesn’t help. We only have a few things to keep in mind when submitting, please check them out below and then send us that work already!

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We proudly select some of the best pieces we receive annually to submit to Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize!

 

Fiction

Length: While we would love to read your novel someday we must ask that you limit submissions to no more than 8,000 words. This can be one story or multiple flash fiction pieces as long as they stay under the word limit.

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What we want: Your best work! Any genre and any style are welcome here. Simultaneous submissions are accepted but we request that you notify us as soon as possible if your work has been accepted elsewhere. At this time we only accept submissions in English but welcome translated works.

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What we don’t want: While we love all genres and styles we will not tolerate work that is homophobic, racist, sexist, transphobic or anti-semitic in nature.

Additionally, we do not accept previously published work at this time. (Email us if you have any questions regarding what counts.)

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Formatting: For fiction submissions use Times New Roman or Arial font, and double space your work.

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How to submit: Submissions can be sent to [email protected]  Please send your submission as an attachment (word document or pdf.) Include your name and type of submission in the subject line of your email. Example: John Doe – Fiction Submission

In the body of the message include a short third person bio. If your work is selected for publication your bio will accompany it, so include anything you want your audience to know about you. Check out the bios on some of our published work if you need inspiration. You may also include an author photo to appear next to your bio but this is optional.

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What to expect: We try to review submissions as quickly as possible our usual response time is between 2-3 weeks. Feel free to follow up with us after three weeks if you still haven’t heard back.

If your work is selected for publication we will contact you about any needed edits or formatting changes and provide you with a publication date! If your piece is rejected we will offer our thoughts and welcome you to resubmit. After submitting (regardless of decision) please wait 3 months before submitting again, thank you!

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Payment: Thanks to a grant that our budding press received we are now able to pay each  contributor a small stipend of $30.00 to compensate them for their work. (Please note that all authors will receive no more than 1 – $30.00 stipend (per calendar year) regardless of the number of pieces they have accepted.)

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Payment will be dispersed on the date your piece is published. For U.S. writers compensation can be sent via check, Venmo, or Cash App. For international writers we currently only offer payment through Venmo and Cash App at this time. Thank you.

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Technical Bits: If we publish your work on the website, we reserve first North American electronic publication rights and the right to keep it here in our archives indefinitely. All other rights remain property of the author. We also retain the right to share your work on our social media channels.

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We hope to read your work soon! Thanks you for visiting us and happy writing!

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