Deadline: January 31st, 2019
Payment: 8 cents per word
Rebuilding Tomorrow is a followup anthology to Defying Doomsday, which was an anthology of apocalypse-survival fiction with a focus on disabled characters. Rebuilding Tomorrow will again focus on disabled and/or chronically ill protagonists but, rather than focussing on survival in the immediate aftermath of an apocalypse, we want stories set a significant time after an apocalyptic disaster. We want stories that show society getting back on its feet and people who have moved past (or are in the process of moving past) subsistence-level existence into a new, sustainable world, even though it’s one that has been irrevocably changed by an apocalypse.
We already have some fantastic stories lined up, but we want more! If you have an apocalypse story featuring a character with a disability, we would love to read it.
Submission Guidelines:
(One of) the protagonist(s) must be a character with a disability or physical impairment, chronic illness, mental illness or neurodiversity etc. We will consider stories with characters experiencing all kinds of disability and illness and hope that submitting authors will be creative with the possibilities.
We feel strongly that disability or chronic illness (etc) should have a frequent (if not daily) impact on the character’s life. For example, a character with a deadly peanut allergy in a world where peanuts have been wiped out by a plague isn’t going to quite cut it. However, we are not looking for issue stories or stories where disability is the sole focus of the narrative.
Some sort of cataclysmic event must have occurred well before the start of the story. We are open to a variety of past events, including apocalypses, alien invasions, devastating war, natural disasters etc. Be creative! The important thing is that these events should be in the past, although characters may still be dealing with some longterm consequences.
We are not interested in fantasy (that means no magic).
Stories can be young adult or adult stories. Graphic themes and content are okay, but we’re not looking for erotica or gratuitous violence.
Stories should be between 2000 and 6000 words in length and submitted in some approximation of standard manuscript format. We will happily accept .rtf, .doc and .docx files.
No reprints, no simultaneous submissions, no multiple submissions.
We want a varied anthology with stories that are fun, sad, adventurous or horrific etc. We are also looking for variety in both characters and worldbuilding. Most of all, we are looking for good quality, well written stories. Note that, while we value #ownvoices stories, we do not require authors to disclose personal information to us.
Some things we already have covered (hard sells to steer away from):
Stories featuring protagonists with upper limb deficiencies
Stories where the central plot involves a happy community being temporarily disrupted by belligerent outsiders
Submissions are open from 1 October 2019 to 23:59 on 31 January 2020 Australian Eastern Standard Time.
Payment will be 8 cents per word (USD) to be paid on acceptance in exchange for First World Publication Rights, with an exclusivity period of 12 months (with the exception of Year’s Best reprints).
Deadline: December 31st, 2019
Payment: original: $0.08USD per word for the first 1,000 words, and $0.01USD above 1,000 words., reprints: $0.01USD per word. $50USD per poem or $15 per reprint poem.
Note: Seeking authors and poets from the African continent and the African Diaspora
Note: Reprints welcome
Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora seeks speculative fiction that grapples with the question: “What is the legacy and the future of Africa and the African Diaspora?” We want authors and poets from the African continent and the African Diaspora. More specifically, we want horror, science fiction, fantasy, and alternate history in the following sub-genres: Horror Noire, Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, Sword and Soul, Rococoa, Steamfunk, and Dieselfunk. Submissions are open August 26, 2019, through December 31, 2019.
SUBMIT
Format using Shunn’s manuscript style. Track your submissions using Duotrope and The Submission Grinder. Submit via email with the subject line “Dominion Anthology: [TITLE]: [FORMAT]: [LENGTH]” at subs [at] aurelialeo.com. All of the following information should be in one .doc, .docx (preferred) or .rtf document.
A short cover letter is required submitted above the text of your submission in the same document. Please include your legal name, pen name (if relevant), contact information, PayPal email address (if different), recent publications/awards (if any), preferred contributor’s copy (.epup, .mobi for Kindle™ or .pdf), and a third person bio of 50-150 words. A photo may be requested.
We take 2-3 weeks to respond to submissions. If you haven’t received a response by then, please query. If you have any questions, email info [at] aurelialeo.com.
POETRY: Any length paid $50USD per poem.
REPRINTS: Any length of poetry paid $15USD and 1,000-17,500 words of fiction paid $0.01USD per word.
FICTION: 1,000-17,500 words paid $0.08USD per word for the first 1,000 words, and $0.01USD above 1,000 words.
RULES
Translations are accepted
Simultaneous submissions to other markets are accepted
Only four submissions allowed in total (one original poem, one original story, one reprinted poem, and one reprinted story)
RIGHTS
Copyright remains with the author and poet at all times
Non-exclusive archival rights as long as the website(s) hosting the work are online
First world electronic and print rights in English with exclusivity for 12 months from the date of publication
If selected to be republished in another anthology in the future, payment in royalties is $0.01USD per word
If selected for a podcast or audiobook, payment is $0.01USD per word for non-exclusive electronic audio rights
HARD SALES
Excerpts out of a novel
Poorly formatted and edited work
Overtly racist, sexist, or violent work
ABSOLUTE NO
Fanfiction of any kind
Works above the word count
Taboo elements (rape in all forms, incest, pedophilia, etc.) in almost all cases
OF INTEREST
Settings outside of the United States of America, or the United States of America as we know it
Protagonists that are African(s), African Descendants of Slaves (ADOS) or members of the African Diaspora
Intersectionality in regards to gender, class, ability status, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, and so on
Deadline: September 28th, 2019
Payment: 6¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints
Note: This is being listed a little early due to the short window.
Submissions Schedule
We have a regular submissions schedule, easy to remember and plan for:
four times a year, one week each time, midnight E.S.T. to midnight E.S.T., at the beginning of each season of the year: March 21 – 28, June 21 – 28, September 21 – 28, December 21 – 28
We beganThe Kepler Award this spring. The purpose of the award is 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 about The Kepler Award here.
We pay 6¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 6¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles.
Reprints must not have been published elsewhere within the past year or be available for sale online.
For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers.
Writers Guidelines
We accept new work as well as reprints, anywhere from 1000 word flash fiction on up, but all else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored. We also accept poetry. We have tough standards but only care about the quality of the writing, storytelling ability, characters, plot, and ideas, not whether you’re new or established. Submit only work you are proud of — if you don’t love it, neither will our readers! If in doubt, edit it down further. And further.
For the many writers who valued our feedback on their stories, we have brought back a modified version of the feedback system which will not be time intensive for the editors:
— Writers who would like feedback on their stories should request it at the end of their submissions comments.
— You will receive feedback only if you request it.
— Writers requesting feedback must understand that this is Unedited Feedback Not Intended as Diplomatic Critique; it is the honest and considered opinions of our first readers and assistant editors, designed to help the editors in their assessment of stories.
— There may be repetition and contradictory opinions.
— Readers can opt in or out of having their feedback passed on, so there may be few or no opinions to send you.
— Comments will be passed on without reader names.
Fiction
We are looking for: 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. We care about character, plot, ideas, and storytelling ability. We accept both serious and humorous work. We like science fiction in all its states of matter, from solid to gaseous to plasma, i.e., from hard as steel to as insubstantial as interstellar space. If you use real existing science, please get it right. You can also read the About Us page for more information.
Hard Sells: Vampires, werewolves, zombies, monsters in general, super-heroes, Lovecraftian stories, anthro, robots with feelings, gritty and despairing post-apocalyptic worlds.
We don’t accept: horror, hate, blood & guts, explicit language, excessive violence, angst-ridden romance, fan fiction*, sex, axe-grinding, or stories that leave readers feeling they’ve had the energy and joy sucked out of them. Also, seems we have to say it, we don’t take work that makes fun of grief, suffering, and death, whether of real, imaginary, or religious characters.
Fact
We are looking for fact-based articles, interesting information, reviews, and humor in any discipline that relates to the type of stories we publish or that might provide inspiration and information for writers and artists.
Artwork and Other Imagery
We’re looking for storytelling through images. We want to see skillful composition, use of color, rendering of form, character, and emotions. For photomanipulations or photography using models, etc., all stock and resources used must be credited and used according to the stock provider’s rules.
We are not presently commissioning any work. We are looking only for already existing work for use on site pages or for illustrating stories. We pay $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.
For video, if possible send links, and have it available in both MP4 and WEBM formats for compatibility across all browsers.
Just as for written works, we’re not looking for romance, fan art*, hate, horror, blood & guts, excessive violence, sex, nudity, copies of photographs, propaganda, or work that leave readers feeling they’ve had the energy and joy sucked out of them. We do not accept work using materials that required the death or mistreatment of animals.
*If the original work is still in copyright and was not commissioned or sanctioned by the creator or owner we will not accept it. Some fan art is accepted or encouraged by the copyright owners — e.g., cosplay, and these works we welcome.
An illustration of a fairy tale, myth, legend, old classic, or any work no longer in copyright would not be counted as fan art.
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.
Please Read Before Submitting:
In the submissions comments, tell us only: — your name, — story title, — genre — word count — whether your story is new or would be a reprint, and if a reprint, where and when it was first published. If a reprint, it must not have been published within the preceding twelve months and must not be currently available to read for free or for sale as an individual story. — Do not include a resume; we will judge the story solely on its own merits.
We may ask for revisions on a story we are interested in, whether it is new or a reprint, but a request for revision is not a guarantee of acceptance.
No simultaneous submissions, and no multiple submissions to the same genre.
We prefer text in .docx Times New Roman and images as a jpg or through a link.
Use letters and numbers only for filenames or else your file may not load.
For video, if possible send links, and have it available in both MP4 and WEBM formats for compatibility across all browsers.
On the submissions page, check that you agree with the terms of our guidelines before you submit.
A small percentage of people may find that the spam filters on their email host don’t allow them to register. Adding donotreply at cosmicrootsandeldritchshores dot com and submissions at cosmicrootsandeldritchshores dot com
to your address list may solve this problem. If it doesn’t, you can email submissions at cosmicrootsandeldritchshores dot com and we will manually input you into the system.
Addresses to note and add to address books:
cosmicrootsandeldritchshores dot com/portal — login for subscribers to the magazine.
submissions at cosmicrootsandeldritchshores dot com — for questions about submissions.
editor at cosmicrootsandeldritchshores dot com Fran Eisemann, editor-in-chief
fantasyeditor at cosmicrootsandeldritchshores dot com Casey Honebrink
eldritcheditor at cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com Aaron Gudmunson
We get a large number of submissions, so please be patient. Turn-around times are generally between one and twelve weeks. If you haven’t heard back after twelve weeks, feel free to query.
Interstellar submitters please use standard Earth formats or query in advance for other arrangements. We’d love to be the first to publish your work here on Earth! 🙂
When creating passwords for the submissions manager we suggest 12 characters or more with a combination of numbers and both upper case and lower case letters. Please avoid using the ampersand &, percent sign %, plus sign +, quotation marks “, less than <, or greater than >
After reading our guidelines, you can login to the submissions manager and submit stories through the link at the bottom of our submissions page.
For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. Our thanks go to Glenn Lyvers at Prolific Press for creating this feature for us.
Good luck, and we look forward to reading you!
For people interested in becoming readers for Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, you can read about the process through the link at the bottom of our submissions page.
Deadline: December 31st, 2019
Payment: Pay rate will be an advance of a minimum of 8 cents per word w/royalties
Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its three science fiction and fantasy anthologies APOCALYPTIC, GALACTIC STEW, and MY BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS GETTING DARK. Stories must be submitted in electronic form as an attachment with the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx format. The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for along with the title of the submission (for example: WERE-: WereJellyfish Gone Wild!). The content of the email should also include which anthology the manuscript is intended for. Please send multiple manuscripts in separate emails; you may submit to any or all of the anthologies as many times as you wish. Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered. Please use Times New Roman font. The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s real name. Italics and bold should be in italics and bold.
Stories for this anthology must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, and must satisfy the theme of the anthology.
GALACTIC STEW is to feature stories involving food, whether it be poisoning, a cultural or societal ritual, a trade meeting over dinner, etc. We are attempting to fill half of the anthology with science fiction stories and half with fantasy stories. Stories featuring more interesting takes on the use of food regarding the story will receive more attention than those that are more mundane. Make certain the story is centered on the food! If the food element is removed, the story should fall apart. We do NOT want to see stories about cannibalism. So be creative and use food in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.
DEADLINE and TIMELINE:
The deadline for submissions is December 31st, 2019. Decisions on stories should be completed by the end of February 2020. Please send submissions to [email protected] You will receive a receipt email within a few days of receiving the submission and having it filed for consideration. Notices about decisions on the stories will be sent out no later than the end of March 2020.
If your story is selected for use in the anthology, you should expect a revision letter by the end of April 2020. Revisions and the final draft of the story will be expected no later than the end of May 2020. These dates may change due to the editors’ work schedules. Zombies Need Brains LLC is seeking exclusive world anthology rights (including electronic rights) in all languages for the duration of one year after publication/release of the anthology, non-exclusive world anthology rights (including electronic rights) in all languages after that. Your story cannot appear elsewhere during that first year. Pay rate will be an advance of a minimum of 8 cents per word. The anthology will be published as an ebook and an exclusive mass market paperback edition, distributed to the Kickstarter backers. The book would be available after that to the general public in ebook and trade paperback formats. Advances would be immediately earned out by the success of the Kickstarter. Royalties on additional sales beyond the Kickstarter will be 25% of ebook cover price and 10% of trade paperback cover price, both split evenly (not by word count) between the authors in and editors of the anthology.
Questions regarding these submission guidelines should be sent to [email protected] Thank you.
Deadline: December 31st, 2019
Payment: Pay rate will be an advance of a minimum of 8 cents per word w/royalties
Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its three science fiction and fantasy anthologies APOCALYPTIC, GALACTIC STEW, and MY BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS GETTING DARK. Stories must be submitted in electronic form as an attachment with the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx format. The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for along with the title of the submission (for example: WERE-: WereJellyfish Gone Wild!). The content of the email should also include which anthology the manuscript is intended for. Please send multiple manuscripts in separate emails; you may submit to any or all of the anthologies as many times as you wish. Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered. Please use Times New Roman font. The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s real name. Italics and bold should be in italics and bold.
Stories for this anthology must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, and must satisfy the theme of the anthology.
MY BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS GETTING DARK is to feature stories where some type of tech has outlived its time and yet, during the course of the story, it discovers a new purpose or is used in a new, purposeful way. This theme is inspired by the Opportunity rover, which functioned long past its prime. As an example, we want stories that would take the rather sad fate of Opportunity and give it new life—a new, useful purpose—when we reach Mars, whether it be as a repaired resource for a colony or a critical piece of equipment used by spacecraft crash survivors or whatever. Submissions do NOT need to feature the Opportunity rover; in fact, we will likely only include one or two stories involving Opportunity. Submissions also do NOT need to be set in the future or include any kind of sentient tech. Stories featuring more interesting outdated technologies and twists on the resurgent use of those technologies will receive more attention than those with more standard tech. So be creative and come up with an unusual and unexpected use of an outdated technology. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.
DEADLINE and TIMELINE:
The deadline for submissions is December 31st, 2019. Decisions on stories should be completed by the end of February 2020. Please send submissions to [email protected] You will receive a receipt email within a few days of receiving the submission and having it filed for consideration. Notices about decisions on the stories will be sent out no later than the end of March 2020.
If your story is selected for use in the anthology, you should expect a revision letter by the end of April 2020. Revisions and the final draft of the story will be expected no later than the end of May 2020. These dates may change due to the editors’ work schedules. Zombies Need Brains LLC is seeking exclusive world anthology rights (including electronic rights) in all languages for the duration of one year after publication/release of the anthology, non-exclusive world anthology rights (including electronic rights) in all languages after that. Your story cannot appear elsewhere during that first year. Pay rate will be an advance of a minimum of 8 cents per word. The anthology will be published as an ebook and an exclusive mass market paperback edition, distributed to the Kickstarter backers. The book would be available after that to the general public in ebook and trade paperback formats. Advances would be immediately earned out by the success of the Kickstarter. Royalties on additional sales beyond the Kickstarter will be 25% of ebook cover price and 10% of trade paperback cover price, both split evenly (not by word count) between the authors in and editors of the anthology.
Questions regarding these submission guidelines should be sent to [email protected] Thank you.
Deadline: December 31st, 2019
Payment: Pay rate will be an advance of a minimum of 8 cents per word w/royalties
Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its three science fiction and fantasy anthologies APOCALYPTIC, GALACTIC STEW, and MY BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS GETTING DARK. Stories must be submitted in electronic form as an attachment with the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx format. The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for along with the title of the submission (for example: WERE-: WereJellyfish Gone Wild!). The content of the email should also include which anthology the manuscript is intended for. Please send multiple manuscripts in separate emails; you may submit to any or all of the anthologies as many times as you wish. Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered. Please use Times New Roman font. The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s real name. Italics and bold should be in italics and bold.
Stories for this anthology must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, and must satisfy the theme of the anthology.
APOCALYPTIC is to feature science fiction or fantasy stories set during or after an apocalypse. Stories featuring more interesting apocalypses, settings, and twists on the typical apocalypse will receive more attention than those that use standard tropes. In other words, we don’t want to see 100 stories dealing with a zombie apocalypse. If we do, it’s likely that only one, at most, would be selected for the anthology. We are interested in all kinds of apocalypses: zombies, meteors, flus, robots, climate changes, space critters, alien invasions, etc. Be creative, choose something different, and use the apocalypse in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.
DEADLINE and TIMELINE:
The deadline for submissions is December 31st, 2019. Decisions on stories should be completed by the end of February 2020. Please send submissions to [email protected] You will receive a receipt email within a few days of receiving the submission and having it filed for consideration. Notices about decisions on the stories will be sent out no later than the end of March 2020.
If your story is selected for use in the anthology, you should expect a revision letter by the end of April 2020. Revisions and the final draft of the story will be expected no later than the end of May 2020. These dates may change due to the editors’ work schedules. Zombies Need Brains LLC is seeking exclusive world anthology rights (including electronic rights) in all languages for the duration of one year after publication/release of the anthology, non-exclusive world anthology rights (including electronic rights) in all languages after that. Your story cannot appear elsewhere during that first year. Pay rate will be an advance of a minimum of 8 cents per word. The anthology will be published as an ebook and an exclusive mass market paperback edition, distributed to the Kickstarter backers. The book would be available after that to the general public in ebook and trade paperback formats. Advances would be immediately earned out by the success of the Kickstarter. Royalties on additional sales beyond the Kickstarter will be 25% of ebook cover price and 10% of trade paperback cover price, both split evenly (not by word count) between the authors in and editors of the anthology.
Questions regarding these submission guidelines should be sent to [email protected] Thank you.
