by Stuart Conover | Jun 3, 2019 | Audio, Events, Reprints Allowed, Semipro
Deadline: June 30th, 2019
Payment: 4 cents/word, 1cent/word for reprints
Note: Reprints Welcome
Open 1-30 June 2019 — Special Session: WW2
Special session instructions: stories not set during the World War II era (rise of Nazi Germany to troop homecoming) will automatically be rejected without read. Previously rejected WW2 manuscripts may resubmitted.
Hello! This project is a comfortable two-headed beast at play in the curious and often dark corners of retropunk fiction. That means steampunk, dieselpunk, dreadpunk, bronzepunk, others that haven’t even been invented yet punk … but not atompunk. Sorry, space fans, we draw our line at Sputnik. About 2/3 of rejections are for “bad fit.” We buy nonexclusive rights for fiction, cover & interior art, music & sound effects usage, and narration services.
What we do:
1—Curiosities, a thrice annual themed short story publication, which is available in digital and print on demand formats, and
2—The Gallery of Curiosities, a twice monthly podcast which features stories from the publication. Not every story we buy will make it to an audio podcast release, but we do make good effort to get it there before our rights expire. We started out as a podcast, and went to print later. Audio production is incredibly time intensive.
Short version:
-We buy original (4 cents/word) and reprint (penny/word) short stories.
-Length up to 7500 words.
-We read blind. Anonymize your manuscript before sending it to [email protected] as a doc, docx, or rtf. Remove headers and/or footers as they will mess up the manuscript.
-Use the format SUBMISSION: Your Story Title in the title bar of your email or it gets lost.
-Multiple? No more than 3 at a time. Send them in separate emails.
-Simultaneous? Yes. Please be prompt with a withdrawal if sold.
-If accepted, your story will be published in ebook and print-on-demand formats.
-If accepted, we will make a good faith effort to produce your story for podcast before the contract runs out, but no guarantees. The way is fraught with bear traps and wolves.
Long version:
What we’re looking for:
As an audio venue, we want stories that entertain. We want to be taken on an adventure in a time that never was, be it steampunk, gaslamp, weird tales, dreadpunk, vintage horror, new weird, mad science, fantastic cities (please!), monsters, impossible machines, clockworks, alt-history adventures, surprises, weird westerns, and things that shouldn’t work.
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by Stuart Conover | May 23, 2019 | Magazine, Ongoing Submissions, Semipro
Payment: 2 cents per word
What Are We Looking For?
We are looking for new original short stories in the speculative fiction genres:
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Horror
Paranormal
Supernatural
In general, we are interested in strong character driven stories. We do not want stories that have explicit sex or violence, rapists, child abusers, or cannibals in them.
Original Short Fiction
Submissions must be between 1,000-7,500 words.
Stories must be in English.
Payment for original fiction is $.02 per word up to 7,500 words.
Submit your work in Shunn Standard Manuscript Format.
Send your submissions to [email protected]
Reprints
We do not accept unsolicited reprints.
Rights and Rules
No simultaneous submissions.
We try to respond to all submissions within 30 days.
Via: Legendary Tales.
by Stuart Conover | May 10, 2019 | Anthology, Contributor's Copy, Events, Semipro
Deadline: July 31st, 2019
Payment: 3 cents per word and a contributor’s copy.
2019 marks the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest horror movies of all time: Alien. Yes, it is a horror movie, but set in space. There are also plans for a new branch of the military — in space.
We’ve explored loneliness, isolation, and solitude in our first anthology. We Put the Love Back in Lovecraft in our second anthology. We explored the creatures of cryptozoology in our recent pair of anthologies. Now we will go where all good series eventually go…
…to space.
What We Want:
Finely crafted works of Dark Speculative fiction which feature one (or more) classic monsters. Vampires, mummies, creatures built from dead body parts, lycanthropes, mad scientists, and zombies — yes, even zombies — but we want to see them in space.
We want to see these creatures floating around in zero g, attacking astronauts and colonists, and generally menacing those brave enough to go beyond the confines of our pale blue dot.
Each story must take place somewhere other than the Earth. It can happen on a spaceship, on a colony, on a new terraformed planet. There should be humans involved, but they do not have to be the protagonists.
Each story must also feature (at least) one classic monster. We are looking for new takes on the old classics. Feel free to explore, but they should still be recognizable to the average reader.
What We Don’t Want:
Actual characters from other books or films. As much as we love the idea of Dracula in Space, we are pretty sure that Universal owns the rights to that particular vampire. The vampire doesn’t have to be Dracula in particular (for example: Bubba Ho-Tep has a great mummy, but not THE mummy).
We don’t like being sued.
Retreads of Alien/Aliens/etc. We love the Xenomorph, but we are looking for new interpretations of old monsters. The Xeno is only 40. That’s not old.
On a related note, stories where small bands of humans have to fend off a horde of creatures are going to be a hard sell. We love Aliens, but it’s really more of a sci-fi action movie. We’re looking for horror. We want you to evoke that sense of fear that will make us want to turn on a light and pull the covers up.
Important Note: We are looking for monsterial diversity. In other words, we don’t want a whole anthology filled with the same creatures. Two of the same may work, but not more than that. The earlier you submit, the earlier you can nail down that monster.
The Specifics: We are looking for short fiction up to 6,000 words. While we prefer original material, we will consider reprints. Please query before submitting reprints ([email protected]). Naturally, we will only consider stories which you retain the rights to. Please provide original publication information for all reprints. Fan Fiction, Slash Fiction, and any other material containing characters or setting which you did not create, are not acceptable. Submissions should follow standard format. For an example of what we are looking for in terms of formatting, please visit link. The only addendum to this is that the editor prefers Times New Roman.
Please edit your material carefully. Common spelling errors (they’re/their/there, your/you’re) may be acceptable in social media posts, but not in works submitted for publication.
Word (.doc/.docx) format is preferred, but we will also accept submissions in Open Office (.odt), Pages (pages), and Rich Text Format (.rtf). Send your stories to [email protected]. In the subject line of your e-mail list “Monster in Space,” the title of your story, and your last name. For example:
Monsters in Space / Really Awesome Story / I. M. N. Alien
E-mails which do not follow this format will be deleted unread.
Provide a short (500 words or less) biography in the body of your e-mail. Also, feel free to describe why you chose the particular monster that you did.
We are looking for North American Print and Digital Rights. Rights revert back to the author upon publication. Submissions accepted until 31 July 2019 or until filled. Our previous anthologies have each closed to submissions a month or more before the deadline. For this book, we are only looking for 13 – 15 stories. Don’t delay, start writing today!
Please wait four weeks before querying.
Multiple submissions are OK, but please wait until you have received a response on your first piece before submitting your second. Simultaneous submissions: no.
Estimated publication date Fall 2019 via POD (KDP) and on various digital formats.
At this time payment is one cent per word ($0.03/word) plus one contributor’s copy and one digital version in the format of the author’s choosing. We will be running a crowd sourcing campaign with the goal of providing higher monetary recompense to our authors. As with our previous anthologies, this is a charity anthology to raise money for the canine rescue organization Last Day Dog Rescue.
Note to New Authors: Most publications seek First North American Rights. While you may be able to sell your story again as a reprint, publication in this anthology may limit your story’s future marketability and may affect the amount of money you will be able to receive from other markets. Please take this into consideration before submitting.
Via: The Dragon Roost
by Stuart Conover | Apr 18, 2019 | Events, Flat Amount, Magazine, Poetry, Pro, Reprints Allowed, Semipro
Deadline: June 30th, 2019
Payment: Between $0.04 and $0.08/word, depending on factors listed below
Note: Reprints, poetry accepted
Following our guidelines does not guarantee that we will accept your story, but ignoring them does guarantee that your submission may be returned without receiving the attention it deserves.
An Overview
At DreamForge, our goal is to publish positive science and fantasy fiction. (That’s about it, but if you want to know more, you can check out our Rules of Fiction page.)
What Are We Looking For?
Space opera, urban fantasy, military sf, magical realms, hard science fiction, sword & sorcery, time travel, cyberpunk, steampunk, hopepunk, and whatever else comes before punk. Parables, poetry, zombies, and vampires are also welcome. No horror please.
- Yes to communities and teams working together to overcome dire challenges.
- Yes to marginalized and under-represented characters as protagonists.
- Yes to science and magic that solve problems, alleviate suffering, and boldly explore new possibilities.
- No to corrupt, dystopian governments or evil corporations.
- No Horror, please
- Stories set before, during, or after an “apocalypse” are more likely than not to be rejected.
- Tone down the violence, profanity, and sex
Story Length
Shorter is better!
If you submit a story over 5,000 words, it has to be amazing to get very far in the review process. We want variety in each issue, and longer your story, the less variety we can print.
Overall, we will consider the following word counts:
- Flash Fiction & Poetry: 100 – 1500 words
- Short Stories: 2,000 – 7,500 words
- Novelettes: 7,500 – 12,000 words.
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by Stuart Conover | Apr 17, 2019 | Anthology, Events, Semipro
Deadline: August 31st, 2019
Payment: trying for 0.02/word (see below) and a contributor’s copy
Anthologists: Ronald Linson & Deidre J Owen
Publication format: print (POD), digital
Word count for submissions: 2,000-7,500 (with exception; see below)
Compensation: authors will receive a free contributor copy (print and digital) as well as a modest monetary compensation; details below.
LITTLE GIRL LOST: THIRTEEN TALES OF YOUTH DISRUPTED will be an
anthology of original stories centering around the idea of the lives of young girls being disrupted in some way. It could be through vanishing mysteriously, experiencing a life-altering event, or… ? We are seeking well-written, imaginative tales that explore this idea to its fullest. Use your own interpretation as to the meaning of ‘lost.’ Surprise us!
Submissions period opens APRIL 8th, 2019 and will close AUGUST 31st, 2019 or when the anthology is filled. Submissions received outside of this period will be deleted unread.
We are seeking original, previously unpublished stories of the highest quality between 2,000 and 7,500 words. We are willing to look at stories up to (but not exceeding) 10,000 words, but they are less likely to be accepted. There are a few slots open for reprints, however (see “Reprints” below).
Genre: Your story can be in any genre so long as it fits the theme of the anthology, with the firm exception of erotica/pornography.
Subjects we WILL NOT accept include (but are not limited to):
- Erotica or pornography
- Pedophilia or bestiality
- Depictions of rape
- Graphic descriptions of sexual activity involving persons under the age of eighteen (18)
- Gratuitous or excessive violence or gore
- Racism, bigotry, or slander towards anyone
- Fan Fiction
(If you are unsure whether your story crosses any lines, please feel free to submit it anyway. Decisions will be made on a case by case basis.)
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by Stuart Conover | Apr 2, 2019 | Anthology, Contributor's Copy, Events, Semipro
Deadline: June 30th, 2019
Payment: AUD5c/word and one contributor copy
AU5c/word / 2k-10k words
Opens Apr 1st / Closes June 30th
Fantasy, Horror, or Science Fiction
Theme – Last stand military horror.
What we want:
Military action-based last-stand horror, and lots of it.
Think 300, the Alamo, the Battle of Mirbat, the First Battle of Mogadishu, the Battle of Hel, or Custer’s Last Stand (but with unnatural monsters)… anything that can be called a high-action potentially-last stand monster story. For level of unnatural creature we will give priority to, think Dog Soldiers or Aliens. We want lots of monster goodness.
We will also be looking for soldiers, mercs, police, private security/paramilitary. Hell, even a group of bodyguards protecting some arsehole druglord on his jungle property.
Just ensure the last stand aspect is both overt and unique, and don’t forget monsters!
This volume is like the previous volumes squared. All action.
We want extreme action, and it has to be military or paramilitary action.
And to say it again, full action. Nothing less. Hoo-rah!
Introduction by Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator, Love, Death & Robots)
Edited by Amanda J Spedding, Matthew Summers, and Geoff Brown
Payment: AUD5c/word and one contributor copy in each format released.
Wordcount range: 2,000 – 10,000 words (query for shorter or longer)
Submissions open April 1 2019.
Closing date is June 30th 2019
Anything submitted outside this period will be deleted without being read or replied to.
No selections will be made until after the period closes.
Projected publication date: Late 2019
Please follow these guidelines when submitting to us:
Please put your full contact details and word count top left of the first page of the manuscript.
Standard submission format, with minimal document formatting.
Courier, Palatino Linotype, or Times New Roman set at 12pt.
Italics as they will appear.
No underlining.
Double spaced.
Please don’t use TAB or space bar to indent lines. Use ‘styles’ only.
If unsure or using a program that has no styles, DO NOT indent at all. That’s still cool.
SEE HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON STYLES.
NO SPACE between paragraphs unless a line-break is required. ONE SPACE after full stops.
Please put full contact details on the first page of the manuscript (yes, I said this twice… it’s important).
Send your submission to Geoff Brown at [email protected]cohesionpress.com as an attachment (.doc/.rtf only)
In the subject line of your email, please put Last Stand: [STORY TITLE] (Replace [STORY TITLE] with your actual story title. Yes, unfortunately I do need to say this)
NO MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS
NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS
NO REPRINTS
Please include a brief ‘hello, this is who I am’ in your email body as a cover letter.
Blank emails with attachments will be deleted.
For a guide to standard submission format, see: http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html
The only variations to this format are that italics MUST appear as they will be used – no underlining – and again, only one space after a full stop.
Anyone that fails to follow these guidelines will likely see their story used to line kitty litter trays by Deadpool.
Via: Cohesion Press.
