The Horror Tree

Horror Tree is a resource for authors that lists open markets, articles, interviews, original fiction, and more!

Category: Pay

Payment Scale

Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flat Amount

Taking Submissions: Dead Lucky

Deadline: May 20th, 2020
Payment: $25 or $40 depending on the length and 3 contributors copies.
Theme: Stories that take place in the world of Adrian’s Undead Diary

The world of Adrian Ring welcomes you again.

Dead Lucky is the third anthology of short stories set in the zombie-ridden Adrian Ring universe and this is the call for submission.

I am looking for stories that feature strong main characters that are put into situations where luck rears its head. Call it the Jinx Fairy, call it good fortune, but all stories should feature moments where the storyline hinges on moments of good or bad luck.

Maybe your hero runs to the pickup parked outside the farmhouse with a horde on their heels, and when they drop the visor, the keys descend into the lap. Maybe those keys are for the mower.

Perhaps your character gets bitten, and when they get into their safe house, they realize they have one bullet left, so they can take care of themselves, and protect their friends and family.

Maybe your story features a pilot who has just enough fuel to put their plane down before they have to ditch in a zombie-infested city.

It’s your story. Tell it to me so I can help tell it to the world.

Dead Lucky will be divided into three sections that are AUD-universe timeline-based. The first section of stories will cover incidents on “That Day.” The second will cover the period of story between that day, and the conclusion of Book Eight. The final portion of the book will cover events after book eight.

I will be writing at least three stories, one set in each of the anthology’s time periods.

Dead Lucky will be released in eBook format on the Kindle, in print, and in audio formats in July or August. Stories should follow the general style and rules set forth in the ten books of the AUD universe. Your zombies should be slow, largely mindless, and make no noise. Please feel free to utilize existing characters, or have your story explain something in the AUD universe that has been unexplained thus far.

I am looking for first-rights stories (no reprints) that are unmistakably set in the world of Adrian Ring. Word length should be ~1,000 to ~7,000 words. If you’re under or over, better make it worth it. I will serve as the editor and curator. Simultaneous submissions are okay, but that’s weird, because if you’re story is set in the AUD universe, you ought not to be submitting it to other places. You may submit more than one story, but please try to have your stories occur in different sections of the book’s three timelines, and please try to limit your total word count across stories to 10k or less. I’d like about 18 stories, give or take.

Submissions that are accepted will be compensated with the following;

  • If less than 5k words, $25 cash payment payable via paypal within 30 days of final edit approval.
  • If more than 5k words, $40 cash payment payable via paypal within 30 days of final edit approval.
  • Two Audible audiobook codes
  • Electronic versions in both .pdf and .mobi formats
  • Three print copies signed by me, sent within 30 days of final print approval (US writers only)

Submissions should be in .doc or .docx format, with no tabs or indentations. Please send them as an attachment via email to: [email protected] Use the subject line Dead Lucky Submission (your name). In the body of your email, please write a very brief summary of your story, as well as its word count and title.

Submissions are open as of right now, and will close on May 20th, 2020 or earlier if enough high-quality submissions are received.

Good luck.

Via: Chris Philbrook.

Anthology / Events / Royalties

Taking Submissions: CultureCult

Deadline: May 1st, 2020
Payment: Royalties
Theme: A variety of genre work

CultureCult invites long fiction submissions for its forthcoming anthologies of various genres.

The final date of submission is May 01, 2020

FICTION

Novella/Novelette: (>8000 words) Send no more than TWO novellas/novelettes. All sub-genres welcome.

Short Story: (between 4500-8000 words) Send no more than THREE short stories. All Genres and sub-genres welcome.

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We are accepting TRANSLATED FICTIONS as well. Submission of translated works must be accompanied by a statement declaring that the translator has obtained the author’s permission and their publisher’s, if required.

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Simultaneous Submissions are welcome but the author must inform us by e-mail as soon as the submitted piece is accepted elsewhere. Pieces cannot be withdrawn once CultureCult informs the author of its acceptance for publication.

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We consider reprints but generally do not publish them unless they are absolutely exceptional. We also tend not to share our royalty in case of reprints.

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Each contributor shall receive a predetermined portion of the royalties earned by the book which features their story. Payments will be made exclusively via their Paypal accounts.

Each contributor shall also receive a COMPLIMENTARY DIGITAL COPY of the anthology as soon as it publishes.

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Manuscripts should be directly sent to [email protected]

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Please submit your files in the following formats: .doc /.docx /.txt. DO NOT submit PDFs.

IMPORTANT: Please mention the genre of your story in the subject line of your mail. Add a short synopsis of your story in the body of your mail

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CultureCult uses non exclusive rights to publish in its anthologies and website. Authors are free to republish their work anywhere else once it has been published.

Please submit ONLY original pieces. CultureCult shall not be responsible for any disputes arising out of copyright infringement.

Each piece MUST be attached with a short bio of the author.

NOTE: We typically reply within three months after receiving submissions. However, replies can be delayed indefinitely under unforeseen circumstances.

Via: Culture Cult.

Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flat Amount

Taking Submissions: Sick Cruising

Deadline: May 20th 2020
Payment: $20 and a contributors copy
Theme: A global pandemic of “Red Lungs” is going on. This book tells stories about how the rich have gathered together to weather the storm. Only, one of them is infected

As a new virus rages on land the richest man in the world has invited over five hundred rich and privileged friends, acquaintances, influences and hangers-on to weather the sickness on his private luxury yacht.

But one of them has brought a guest along. You guessed it! The Red Lungs virus. It starts like a cold, becomes a raging fever, then floods the lungs with blood.

What we want:

Snappy short stories with a minimum of 2000 words using our provided writing prompts.

Punch everyone’s virus anxieties, fears; anger at inequality in the nuts with your contribution to this anthology! Use wit, gore, action or inaction, (of course, we always love us some good epistolary fiction) you can even throw some sharks in the mix if you want to.

What we DON’T want:

Torture porn, porn, racism, hate mongering, preachiness, bigotry of any kind, sexism, turgid writing.

What can help you:
Read Masque of the Red Death by Poe
And this helpful Pixar information on io9.Gizmodo.

Deadline: May 20 2020
Publication: June 20th 2020 at the latest
Payment: $20.00 on acceptance, one paperback copy, one digital copy, one audiobook copy.

Submission guidelines:

  1. Use our provided prompts
  2. Final submission must be edited
  3. Rights For this collection. Exclusive, one year; first worldwide electronic, audio and print rights for one year and nonexclusive rights afterward. For reprints, we will ask for nonexclusive reprinting rights.

Formatting

The first page should have:

  • Your name and pen name if you use your pen name.
  • Contact information: Email, phone
  • Title of story: Title of your manuscript 8.5″ × 11″ layout Times New Roman font. Headers: 18 points font size Body of text: 12-point font-size. Double-spaced

 

Submissions: books  at  nphzone.com

Via: NPH Zone.

Events / Flat Amount / Magazine / Poetry

Taking Submissions: UnSung Literary Magazine Volume 2

Deadline: May 10th, 2020
Payment: $20 per piece of fiction / creative non-fiction between 1000-3000 words and $30 per piece between 3001-6000 words. We offer $20 per poem.
Theme: Pieces related to all things love, sex, and eroticism.

 **Submissions for UnSung Volume II Close May 10th**

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Submissions should be sent through the submission page, but any inquiries or concerns can be sent to:    [email protected] 

Share Your Sauciest

UnSung Literary Magazine is accepting pieces of poetry, micro or flash fiction, and short creative non-fiction.

We would also like to feature visual artists, and are accepting illustrations and photography.

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UnSung Literary Magazine is choosing to focus on marginalized voices; priority will be given to artists and authors who are

Black/POC, LGBTQ, or identify as womxn. 

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We are looking for pieces related to all things love, sex, and eroticism. But, we want to see your sensual expressions living within intersections. Have a piece about a Black, Queer AFAB (assigned female at birth) late- night tryst? Maybe prose detailing your attraction to another lesbian with masculinity similar to yours? Show us the tender poem of how his hand grazing yours first time made your heart flutter. We want to know how the moonlight looked reflecting off of their dark skin that night at the lake.

Formatting and Correspondence

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If submitting poetry, multiple pieces are allowed, but please no more than 5 at a time; if poems are each longer than 2 pages, submit no more than 3. Not all submitted may be accepted.

For prose, we’re looking for flash (included micro) fiction, so please limit submissions to 3000 words.

Please put SUBMISSION: [Story Title] – [Full Name] – [Word Count] – [Publication] in the header to help us weed out spam.

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Example: SUBMISSION: [Story A] – [Jane DePerson] – [2500] – [UnSung Magazine]

We invite you to add a cover letter detailing your publication history (if any, non-mandatory) and any relevant details. These bios will appear before your story in the issue, but we respect your privacy, so let us know if you’d like any context to remain off the record instead. 

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When submitting, ensure that you include your pronouns, which name you’d like printed (whether that be a pen name or an alternate version of your birth name, etc) and your PayPal email address.

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Response times may range between one to three weeks. If you haven’t heard anything after four weeks, please email [email protected] and put QUERY: [Story Title] – [Full Name] as the subject line and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

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Compensation and Rights

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We are a token paying market, offering $20 per piece of fiction / creative non-fiction between 1000-3000 words and $30 per piece between 3001-6000 words. We offer $20 per poem. All payable via PayPal. Additionally, you will receive a hard copy of the publication, and free marketing from UnSung Magazine. 

We are purchasing Non-Exclusive First World Rights to your work, meaning we are the first market in the world to feature your work, but you are allowed to submit it to a different market in the meantime, as long as Market B doesn’t want exclusivity. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your pieces are accepted elsewhere!

Visual Art & Photography

Please email us up to five pieces of your best work you think would fit well with our theme. You can email them to [email protected]

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Please put [ART]: [Full Name] – [UnSung] in the header to help us weed out spam.

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Artists will receive $20 payable via PayPal for each chosen piece. 

Via: Unsung Literary Magazine Volume 2.

Events / Flat Amount / Online

Taking Submissions: DECODED: a SFFH story for every day of Pride month

Deadline: April 30th, 2020 (not in post, confirmed on Twitter from the publisher.)
Payment: Flash short story (up to 250 words) – $25, Short story (up to 2500 words) – $100, Long form (up to 7500 words) – $200, Comics – $75
Theme: Queer science fiction, fantasy, and horror by queer authors

Decoded is a story-a-day anthology of queer science fiction, fantasy, and horror by queer authors. We will feature writing and comics released to subscribers every day of Pride month. If you want to get an email when subscriptions become available, please sign up for our email list.

We are both avid readers, and as such, we welcome a wide array of subject matter. Everything from experimental comics to thinly-veiled fanfiction to good old formulaic genre is right up our alley, so don’t disqualify yourself – submit! Our only rule for the month is that you’re a queer creator – and that you bring your A-game!

The point is to create a space for queer folks to build community as fiction writers and comic creators. We seek to center the voices of those most marginalized within queer communities. We want to facilitate works with queer themes, writers, and audiences.

If that sounds like you, read more below about logistics and how to submit your story.

Fees paid to authors

Flash short story (up to 250 words) – $25

Short story (up to 2500 words) – $100

Long form (up to 7500 words) – $200

Comics – $75

Fees will be paid via PayPal.

Submitting stories

  • Please email your submission to [email protected] with the title “DECODED SUBMISSION – [story/comic title]” by midnight on April 30th.
  • Attach your submission in a word document with 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced with one inch margins (or something similar). For comics, email us the best way to view your work.
  • Submissions must be all original content (unpublished elsewhere).
  • You may submit multiple works, as long as they fit different categories. For instance, you can submit one longform and one comic or one short story and one flash, but not two flash or two long form.
  • Simultaneous submission is fine, but tell us if it gets placed elsewhere.
  • In your email, please tell us a bit about yourself and what “queer” means to you. Listen, we’re not checking contributors’ identities, but if you are cisgender, heterosexual, and/or not queer in any sense, please refrain from submitting to this call. There are infinite possibilities for your work to be published, edited, and praised by cishet editors. Let us do our thing.
  • There is no fee for entry, but if you love this anthology idea and want to see it thrive, we’ll have a tip jar set up soon.
  • Please sign up for our email list if you want to get emails about Decoded and know when submissions go live.

Who are we?

Sara and S.E. are the co-hosts of the podcast Bitches on Comics – we’re also critics and creators. We both write fiction and we both love reading fiction. This collection has come about because we believe that it is important to honor the rebellious, anti-fascist history of Pride by focusing on queer artists and writers of today. Learn more about us.

Nitty Gritty Details

  • This release will be online-only and available to anyone for a small subscription fee. Contributors will all receive the full season on the house.
  • We are not multilingual, but we welcome multilingual work and will work with translations to assess the fit of any pieces submitted in multiple languages. We will accept stories from all over the world.
  • We claim first worldwide electronic rights (text and audio), first print rights (author must be willing to sign copies), and non-exclusive anthology rights.

Via: Bitches On Comics.

Anthology / Events / Flat Amount / Reprints Allowed

Taking Submissions: The Trench Coat Chronicles

Deadline: April 15th, 2020
Payment: $10
Theme: Murder mysteries where someone has to wear a trench coat
Note: Reprints Welcome

Submission guidelines for The Trench Coat Chronicles

Send us your best murder mystery stories! There is one requirement: your story must include a trench coat.

We want creativity! While we love Dick Tracy and Humphrey Bogart, we really don’t want any story to contain those particular characters. Give us new, unique tales. We want our readers to be immersed in each story and invested in each character. Is the coat worn by the detective? The victim? The reporter? Is it peripheral to the story or the focus of it? In fact, the trench coat itself could be one of your characters!

We want fiction between 500 and 3,500 words in length. We suck at math so if you go over by a bit, we’re not going to slap your wrist. We won’t even know. But just a little bit.

Uninvited are screenplays and nonfiction. Also uninvited are stories that are publicly available on any website, such as a Facebook page or Wattpad. We will not accept stories with graphic porn (no old-men-enticing-little-girls or flasher stories), and yes, we’ll know bad taste when we see it. We want YA readers to enjoy the published anthology without parental balking.

Submissions will open at 12:00:01 a.m. EST on the Ides of March, March 15, 2020 and will close at 23:59:59 EST on April 15, 2020. The judges will not read submissions as they arrive; they will begin to read submissions on April 16. You will receive a status notification (rejected or accepted) approximately three months after submissions close (sometime in July). Judges will only offer an acceptance or rejection email, without feedback. Along with their thanks for submitting, of course, either way.

There Is No Reading Fee

You may submit as many as three stories, but we will accept a maximum of two stories per author. We will pay $10 USD via PayPal per story accepted. Contributors will receive one copy of the book electronically (even if two stories are accepted). We will plaster your name around the universe as best we can. In other words, wherever we market the book, publicize the book, or mention the book, the contributing authors’ names will be mentioned. We expect to publish The Trench Coat Chronicles in paperback and ebook, both available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and everywhere in the galaxy. For authors local to Southeast Pennsylvania, we will attempt to provide as much face-time as possible, including book signings and readings.

Do not put your name on your submission, on either the manuscript itself or as part of the file name. If your name is on it, we will not favor you even if we know you, or you’re adorable, or you’re a New York Times best-selling author; we will judge the writing only.

Submissions must be made via Moksha. Follow the instructions on the site to ensure your work is attributable to you. Format: Use Word, 12-point font in Georgia, Times New Roman, or equivalent, in black ink, double-spaced (Shunn) format.

Your work should be as perfect as possible prior to submitting. We want to read your best writing. We are editors by trade so grammatical, typographical, and syntactical errors will be glaring to us and will take us out of your story.

We will accept reprints if you have the rights back; please note in your cover letter if your story is a reprint. If you submit your story simultaneously to other markets, you must notify us via email by close of submissions on April 16, 2020 if it has been accepted elsewhere.

We anticipate approximately 90K words in the anthology.

Now the legal jargon: We’re asking for first rights nationally and internationally, but all rights will revert back to you six months after initial publication. After those six months, you can publish it wherever you like so long as you note that it was first published in our anthology. If for some odd reason the book is not published within 24 months from the date of acceptance (as John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,”) we will return first rights to you immediately. Once your story(ies) is/are accepted, you will receive a contract with details of rights and how you get paid. If an accepted author is under the age of 18, a parent must sign the contract.

If you have never been published, and wish to gain publication credit, submit because we’d love to read your submission. If you’ve been published many times and wish to see your name in print in a new venture, submit because we’d love to read your story. Did we say it enough? We want to read your story.

Via: Gemini Word Smiths.

Events / Magazine / Semipro

Taking Submissions: Translunar Travelers Lounge

Deadline: April 15th, 2020
Payment: $0.03 per word
Theme: “fun” stories with speculative elements

SUBMISSIONS WILL BE OPEN MARCH 15 – APRIL 15, 2020.

We are open annually for submissions from March 15th through April 15th for our August issue, and from September 15th through October 15th for our February issue.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The short version:

  • We pay $0.03 per word with a minimum of $20 in exchange for first world electronic rights in English. We ask for an exclusivity period of 3 months from date of publication.
  • Maximum 5,000 words.
  • Your story should contain speculative elements.
  • We do not accept nonfiction.
  • No simultaneous submissions.
  • Only one submission per open period.
  • Save your manuscript in Standard Manuscript Format as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf and email it as an attachment to translunartravelerslounge AT gmail DOT com.
  • You’re welcome to include a cover letter, but try to avoid summarizing your story. We don’t generally look at cover letters until after we’ve read the story. Also, please limit your writing credits to your top two or three. (No worries if you don’t have any! We love new writers.)
  • Translunar Travelers Lounge is co-edited by Ms. Aimee Ogden and Mx. Bennett North. Feel free to just address your email to “Dear Editors,” but if you decide to use our names, we would appreciate if you mention both of us, since this magazine is a joint effort.
  • You will receive a response no later than two months after the submission period closes, and often much sooner. If you haven’t heard from us, please query ASAP at the above address, using the email header QUERY: Story Title by Author Name.

The long version:

Broadly defined, the type of fiction we are looking for is “fun”. Yes, that descriptor is highly subjective, and ultimately it comes down to the personal preferences of the editors. However, here are a few road signs to get you started on the path into our hearts.

A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be silly or lighthearted (though it certainly can be). Joy can be made all the more powerful when juxtaposed against tragedy. In the end, though, there should be hope, and we want stories that are truly fun for as many different kinds of people as possible.

Swashbuckling adventure, deadly intrigue, and gleeful romance are some of the most obvious examples of what we’re looking for, but we won’t say no to more subtle or complicated topics, as long as they fit under the wider “fun” umbrella.

We HIGHLY ENCOURAGE submissions from authors of marginalized ethnicities, sexualities, genders, abilities and perspectives. If you are an author whose experience is not often represented, we absolutely want to hear from you. YES, YOU. If you’re comfortable sharing this information with us in your cover letter, please do.

What we’re enthusiastic about:

  • Characters of all genders and sexualities or lack thereof
  • Settings in non-Western cultures
  • Friendship
  • Happy marriages
  • Stories that pass the Bechdel test and/or the Mako Mori test
  • Afrofuturism
  • Neurodivergent characters
  • Characters with disabilities

What we’re NOT looking for:

  • Pedophilia and rape, especially stories that glorify those things or use them as cheap ways of sidelining female characters.
  • Violence is okay, but torture porn is not. In other words, the violence should serve the story, not BE the story.
  • Similarly, sex is okay, but erotica is not.
  • No fanfiction.
  • No revenge fantasies against shrewish, nagging wives and girlfriends.
  • No stories about how humanity is basically terrible.
  • No works previously published in English. This includes anything that has been published on your own website. In other words, we don’t accept reprints.
  • No stories that we’ve already rejected unless we specifically request a rewrite.

If you’re not sure if your story is what we’re looking for, please send it to us and let us decide! DON’T SELF REJECT.

Via: Translunar Travelers Lounge.

Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Ongoing Submissions / Poetry / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

Ongoing Submissions: The Fifth Di…

Payment: Original Stories: $25.00, Reprint Stories: $15.00, Flash Fiction: 1 cent/word, Poems: $5.00, Articles: $20.00
Theme: All genre work with a strong emphasis on character development
Note: Reprints Allowed

The Fifth Di… began with James Baker of ProMart Publishing back around the turn of the millennium. After his passing in September 2002, it was under the editorial stewardship of J Alan Erwine, now of Nomadic Delirium Press. In November 2019, it was handed over to Hiraeth Books.

The Fifth Di… is now published quarterly, in March, June, September, and December, in print [and, eventually, as an eBook]. It presents original science fiction, fantasy, and spooky horror stories. It also presents a few original poems, again along the overall theme.

The Fifth Di… wants original 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.

Stories submitted to The Fifth Di… should be between 4K and 8K words long. Longer or shorter stories will be considered; however, anything less than 4K will be a difficult sell. Anything 1K or less will be considered flash fiction. We will consider reprint stories, provided they adhere to the guidelines; however, they are difficult sells.

Submit your stories as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Blame spammers].

Please submit one story at a time, and wait for the response before submitting another. We hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

Poetry submitted to The Fifth Di… should be from about ten to a hundred lines. Please submit no more than three poems at a time, and wait for the response before submitting more. Again, we hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

Submit your poems as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] or IBOE to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Blame spammers].

The Fifth Di… also considers articles related to science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Articles include essays and reviews, as well as writing tips. Word count should be around 1K words, up to a loose 5K words. Please submit one article at a time, and wait for the response before submitting another. Yet again, we hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

Submit your articles as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Boil spammers; inexpensive vegetable oil works best].

The Fifth Di… is not considering cover art at this time.

Payment is made upon publication by check or Paypal as follows:

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Original Stories: $25.00

Reprint Stories: $15.00

Flash Fiction: 1 cent/word

Poems: $5.00

Articles: $20.00

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NOTE: If you live outside the United States, you will be paid via Paypal, or must make some other arrangement with the editor.

All submissions must include contact information. This means:

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Name [yours, not necessarily your byline name]

Address [street, city, country, and zip code or equivalent]

e-mail address

Paypal address

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If your address changes before the publication date, please let us know.

Queries should be sent to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Grill spammers; the grillwork of a 1950 Buick or a 1953 Packard works best].

Via: Hiraeth Publishing.

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