Category: Poetry

Taking Submissions: Dangerous to Go Alone! 2

Deadline: October 31st, 2024
Payment: $10 and $5 for reprints
Theme: Poems inspired by games or game culture (Ideally video games, tabletop also accepted.)
Note: Reprints Welcome

Submissions are now open for “Dangerous to Go Alone! 2”, the sequel to Manawaker Studio’s anthology of gamer poetry, edited by CB Droege.

The guidelines follow.

POETRY ONLY

Unlike many other Manawaker anthologies, DtGA is only for poetry. Sorry, fiction writers and visual artists. We’ll do another multi-media anthology next year. ;D

We are looking for poems inspired by games or game culture. Most of the selected poems will be about video games and the culture surrounding them, but some will be about tabletop games. (We don’t want any poems about field sports or casino games). For legal reasons, poems about games with specific IP should be somewhat abstract. We feel that poetry is pretty well protected by fair use in this case, so specific characters and situations can be mentioned, but it’s still better if they are only alluded to.

(more…)

Taking Submissions: Radon Journal September 2024 Issue

Submission Window: April 16th – Aug. 15th, 2024
Payment: Fiction: 2¢ per word for original, 1¢ per word for reprints. Poetry: $20 per original poem and $10 for reprints. $100 for issue cover art, $30 for back cover art, and $20 for art used on our site
Theme: Stories and poetry containing elements of science fiction, anarchism, transhumanism, or dystopia.
Note: Reprints Welcome

Radon welcomes short stories and poetry containing elements of science fiction, anarchism, transhumanism, or dystopia.

We publish quality literature every mid-January, May, and September.

  • Submissions are accepted year-round.

  • Simultaneous submissions are welcome.

  • Reprints accepted if writer has the rights.

  • AI submissions are not allowed at Radon.

Please click below to submit your work through our no-fee Submittable page:

We kindly request a third-person bio that is 100-words or shorter in your cover letter.

Author rights:

For original work, Radon asks for first English digital rights and non-exclusive, indefinite archival rights.

Authors published in Radon cannot be accepted into the issue immediately following, but may submit after this period.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

Taking Submissions: SpeKulative Stories Anthology Series

Deadline: November 30th, 2024
Payment: 10 cents per word for fiction and $2/line for poetry. Also, a contributor’s copy
Theme: Speculative short stories and poems that either include trains or aliens as their focal point

The purpose of the SpeKulative Stories Anthology Series is to showcase provocative and powerful tales related to a single theme. Following the publication of our first theme anthology, Automobilia, in 2024, we are now seeking short stories and poems for the next two anthologies in the series. The titles are Train Tales and Aliens Among Us. Publication is set for early 2025.

As each title suggests, a train or an alien (space aliens that is) should be such an integral part of your story or poem that if removed the story or poem collapses.

(more…)

Ongoing Submissions: ITERANT

Payment: $50
Theme: Poetry.

Iterant publishes poetry and artwork quarterly online.

How to submit/Guidelines

Please submit up to 8 poems for consideration, following these guidelines:
1. Save your poems as a single document, and DO NOT INCLUDE A FOOTER OR HEADER.
2. Complete the form with your information and upload your poems
3. Click SUBMIT, and you’ll receive an email confirming that we received your submission. Currently, we do not offer a way to check the status of your submission.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. Please send only one submission at a time. Please wait until you hear back from us before uploading a new submission.
2. We have a small reading team that reads many poems every month. Our response time can be up to 5 months, although we strive for 3. Thank you for your patience and understanding!
3. We ONLY consider previously unpublished work. Writing that has appeared online for any reason, including social media posts, is considered to have been previously published and should not be submitted.
4. Although we welcome poems in all languages, we do intend to publish English translations of any work in other languages, and currently our reading team is not multi-lingual. If you submit non-English language work we will reach out to you to discuss any help we can offer in finding a translator.
5. ITERANT is open to simultaneous submissions, but let us know immediately if work is accepted elsewhere visiting this page and choosing ‘retraction’ from the submission form here.
6. We currently pay $50 per poet per publication.
7. To make sure you receive our response, set your spam filter to allow emails from [email protected].

(more…)

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.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

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!

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.

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.

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.)

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

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.

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!

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.)

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.

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.

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

(more…)