Category: Poetry

Poetry

Taking Submissions: Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores August 2024 (Early Listing)

Submission Window: August 1st-2nd, 2024
Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints, For artwork: $10 for the non-exclusive right to use each image, for as long as the site is online.  If we publish a print collection we will pay a pro-rata share for each image used.
Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world.
Note: Reprints welcome

 

 

Submissions Schedule

The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T.

For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers.

We pay 8¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 8¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles.
For new poetry, we pay $1 per line, and for reprints we pay 50¢ a line  We’re looking for poems up to 40 lines. We’ll consider longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 8¢ per word.

We sponsor The Kepler Award to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways. You can learn aboutThe Kepler Award here.

You can read a copy of our standard contract here.   It can be varied as needed to include the rights of translators, voice actors, etc.

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Taking Submissions: The Orange & Bee Issue #3

Open Window: August 1st to the 14th
Payment: $50 per poem, $80 per story for flash, 8 cents per word for short fiction
Theme: Works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction that engage in a significant way with the long history of fairy tales

Upcoming submission windows

  • Submission window for Issue #3: 1 to 14 August (closes midnight AEST on 14 August)

We do not accept multiple submissions (one piece per submission window, please!), or simultaneous submissions.

Submitting your work

Word/line limits

  • Poetry: up to 50 lines (but we’re a little bit flexible!)
  • Flash: up to 1000 words
  • Short fiction/non-fiction: up to 4000 words

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Taking Submissions: Eye to the Telescope #54

Deadline: September 15th, 2024
Payment: US 4¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25
Theme: Outlaws

Eye to the Telescope 54, Outlaws, will be edited by Melissa Ridley Elmes.

Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy, Belle Star, Wyatt Earp, Bonnie and Clyde … Robin Hood, Aladdin, Zorro, Jean Valjean, the Joker, Villanelle … Malcolm Reynolds, Zoe Washburne, Peter Quill, Gamora, Han Solo, Sam and Dean Winchester … outlaws have a perennial hold on our imaginations, equal parts romanticized and demonized, revered and reviled, admired and loathed, depending on whose side you’re on. Outlaws are anti-heroes. They destabilize existing systems of power, erasing the illusion of control in societies. They bring with them and leave in their wake disorder, chaos, violence, destruction, loss, and death. But on the other hand, they also point to possibilities—of throwing off the shackles of propriety and authority; of living life on their own terms and according to their own ethical codes, standards, and values; of the possibilities that exist beyond established socio-political and cultural structures. I’m looking for your take on outlaws, defined broadly—give me your space cat renegades, your dryad anti-government environmental activists, your fed up monsters ready to throw down against the powers that be, your alien mercenaries, your dynamic lover-robbers, your charming assassins, your child-thieves: make them loud, make them stealthy, make them in-your-face, make them subtle, make them violent, make them pacifist, make them winners or losers, lovable or loatheable—whatever you do, just make sure it’s in verse form, memorable, vivid, and speculative.

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Taking Submissions: Last Girls Club Fall Issue 2024 (Early)

Submission Window: July 1st – August 1st, 2024
Payment: Short Story-2,500 words or less. $0.01 USD per word/$25 USD max, Poems-less than 200 words $10, Flash Fiction-less than a 1,000 words $0.01 USD per word/$10 USD max
Theme: Demagogues

The Last Girls Club Magazine is a quarterly feminist horror magazine that publishes international short stories and poems from the female gaze. It is an homage to the scary comics and zines of the late 20th century.

This season’s theme is Demagogues. Demagogue is defined as a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using a rational argument. Some synonyms for a demagogue are fanatic, fomenter, hothead, incendiary, inciter, instigator, politician, rabble-rouser, radical, rebel, revolutionary, troublemaker. It’s an election year in the US. Things are promising to get weird and/or violent. The rest of the world looks like their having the same fight coming to their doors.

  • No more than two fiction stories per author per submission period.
  • Fiction is limited to 2,500 words or less. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($37.50 USD max).
  • Flash fiction is limited to under 1,000 words. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($15 USD max).
  • No more than three poems per poet.
  • Poems are limited to 200 words or less for each poem. Poets are paid $10 USD upon acceptance.
  • I prefer to use PayPal to pay authors, but will work with authors where PayPal is not available.
  • Nonfiction columns will must be pitched to editor in chief before submission. Email your idea to [email protected]

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Taking Submissions: Book Worms Horror Zine Issue #6

Deadline: September 1st, 2024
Payment: 8 cents a word for fiction and essays (1500 words or less). $25 for short poems (ten lines or less), $50 for longer poem. Also, a contributors copy
Theme: Witchy stories for the Halloween special

All of Them Witches

As Book Worms Horror Zine enters its second year, we’re thrilled to announce that this year’s Halloween issue will be all about Witches. This time around, we’re looking for fiction, poetry, and essays of the witchy kind.

Frequently Asked Question: What kind of stories are you looking for?

We generally enjoy “fun”, “80s style” horror reminiscent of the zine’s old-school vibe, but we’ve also been blown away by fresh voices that take the genre in a new direction. That being said, the best chance for your story being accepted by Book Worms is to follow the submission guidelines. Make sure your story is of the horror genre, mail in your submission versus email, meet the deadline, and don’t exceed the word count limit. And if your story doesn’t make it, please keep trying. We’ve had to turn down many excellent stories due to space constraints alone. A good way to get an idea about what we’re looking for is to read our current issue or one of our back issues that are still available.

A Few Tips:

  • Mail early. Unfortunately, we’ve had a few submissions lost in the mail and that didn’t arrive until weeks after the deadline.
  • Consider writing shorter stories. Sometimes we have just enough room to a 500-800 word flash fiction piece.

It might also be helpful to explain what we don’t want.

  • Paranormal romance (Love the genre. It’s not right for Book Worms.)
  • Anything with a political theme.
  • Beyond the pale violence or pornographic material. Keep it fun, kids.

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Taking Submissions: NonBinary Review #38

Deadline: November 1st, 2024
Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $10 per poem, $25 for artwork, $50 for cover art
Theme: Rituals
Note: Reprints Welcome

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

Often, when we think of rituals, we think of robed, hooded figures standing around a large symbol of power etched into the floor, trying to summon a deity who will grant them their every desire. At least, that’s what Hollywood would have us believe. But the truth is that much of our lives is dictated by rituals. The Brushing of the Teeth, The Making of the Coffee, The Feeding of the Pets, The After-Work Drinks, The Watching of the Baking Show – we all have aspects of our lives where we insist on things being done just so, turning something otherwise mundane into a ritual. Rituals can be comforting, or they can be confining. They can help us make sense of our habits, and they can look strange to outside observers.

We want the best speculative takes on ritual – weird rituals, unexpected rituals, little-known rituals. We want to hear not just how rituals are enacted, but where they come from, how they get started, and what unintended consequences happen as a result.

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Taking Submissions: The Lorelei Signal 2025 Jan – Mar Issue

Submission Window: July 15th – August 15th, 2024
Payment: $15.00 for short stories, $5.00 for poems and flash (<1000 wds) fiction pieces., $5.00 for reprints
Theme: Science Fiction and fantasy stories with complex female characters

The Lorelei Signal is a quarterly SF/Fantasy electronic magazine – one that will feature strong / complex female characters. This does not mean your female character has to be the main hero or villain in the story. What it does mean is no shrinking violets, or women who serve only to get into trouble so the male hero can rescue them.


Each issue I hope to publish:
7 short stories, 1 flash fiction piece and 2 poems
that meet the following guidelines:

My primary guideline is simple:
Write a good fantasy story with strong/complex characters.

What I am NOT looking for – erotica / slash / or other such stories.
Although well written love scenes that are IMPORTANT to the story will be considered on a story-by-story basis.

1) Stories should be no longer than 10,000 words.
However, tell the story – if it takes more than 10,000 words to tell the story properly so be it.
Just try to cut it down if possible – but remember the story is the important part.

2) Stories must feature 3 dimensional / complex characters.

3) I will accept reprints as long as it has been at least 1 year since the story was previously published,
rights have reverted back and you tell me where it previously appeared.
These will be limited to 2 per issue.

4) Please keep the graphic gore down to a minimum
(only what’s needed for the story).

5) Please keep the obscene language to a bare minimum
(again, only what’s needed for the story).

6) Simultaneous Submissions will be considered IF:
a) You tell me up front
b) You inform me immediately if the story has been accepted elsewhere
If I have too many occurrences of finding out a story was accepted somewhere else when I contact an author to tell them I would like to accept their story for The Lorelei Signal – I will no longer accept simultaneous submissions.
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Taking Submissions: parABnormal Magazine 2024 – Second Call

Deadline: July 31st, 2024
Payment: Fiction: $25.00 for original stories, $7.00 for reprints, $6.00 for each poem, $20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. $7.00 for reviews and interviews.
Theme: Paranormal – this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores.

Submissions are accepted Feb 1 – Mar 31, Jun 1 – Jul 31, Oct 1 – Nov 30.

Anything submitted outside those periods will be deleted unread.

We no longer accept simultaneous or multiple submissions.

No matter how far we move forward as humans, we are still bound by the instincts and ancestral memories of our animalistic past. None of these are so strong as the fight or flight response. However, there are times when we seem to be perfectly safe, completely at ease and comfortable, when that urge to run from something sneaks up on us. What causes these sensations? Is there something lurking in the darkness? Why is that man giving you the creeps, he’s not even looking at you? And yet, there is something odd. Something instinctual, something you know without fully understanding. We may have moved on, we may have forgotten and left behind those old stories and legends of beasts, voracious monsters, and dark spirits… But they have not forgotten or left us…

What We Want:

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