Deadline: December 31st, 2019
Payment: 1 cent per word
Note: Reprints Only
Theme: Hardcore Horror
Is your story too heavy and hardcore for other “best of” anthologies? Then you’ve come to the right place because Red Room Press is now accepting stories for YEAR’S BEST HARDCORE HORROR VOL. 5, a yearly collection intended to give recognition to the extreme, harder side of horror, stories that break boundaries and trash taboos.
Editors: Randy Chandler and Cheryl Mullenax.
Requirements: The story was originally (or will be) published in a 2019 anthology, single author collection, magazine, or online magazine. Self-published anthologies and collections are acceptable as well.
Deadline: December 31, 2019.
Length: Up to 6000 words. Word count is flexible and longer works are always considered but please note the max payment is $60.00.
Payment: 1 cent a word for reprint rights. ($60 max)
What to Send
Authors:
In the body of an email:
Author name
Story title
Name of anthology or magazine or online magazine it was (or will be) published in:
If the book is available on Amazon and your story credit appears somewhere on the page, send us the link. If not, send a link to the best source with that information (publisher’s page, etc).
If the story was in a magazine, send us a web link to the issue TOC where your story appears, or if that’s not available send us a scan of the table of contents (print magazines, etc.).
A bio
A short description of the story.
Attach the entire manuscript in rtf, doc format, or a PDF or mobi of the magazine or book it appears in if available. Note: if sending a doc or rtf, please make sure this is the final version of your story, exactly as it appears in the published version.
Important Note: Make sure your contract allows you to publish the story in a “best of” anthology. If you’re not sure, check with your publisher. If necessary, ask them for a waiver.
Publishers
In an email include the following:
Name of publication and publisher, date published and format (print, ebook, magazine, etc)
A pdf, doc, rtf, or mobi of the publication.
If there are any particular stories you feel we might be interested in feel free to make a note of that (optional).
__________
Include in the Email subject line: YEAR’S BEST HARDCORE HORROR
Email to ybhh (at) redroompress.com
We’ll send a notification within 48 hours that we received your submission. If you don’t get this, please inquire. We may not have received it. Please note that we are not sending out rejection notices and will only notify authors if their story was selected. Thank you!
Payment: $50
Note: Reprints welcome if not previously done in audio
Theme: Science Fiction Erotica
We pay $50 for 2-6k speculative fiction erotica stories.
No stories that have been previously podcasted elsewhere, though if they have appeared in print, ebook or on the web that’s fine.
Up to three submissions at a time.
Simultaneous submissions are fine.
Please upload your story as a .rtf. Only. No other formats please. Absolutely no .docx. ONLY RTF ACCEPTED.
Nobilis Erotica is the longest running and most prolific erotica podcast on the internet! It’s hard to be that awesome (and sexy) without a bit of help. Even Nobilis can only produce so much wonderful smut. Which is where you come in. Nobilis is looking for your best, most delectable and utterly sexy speculative fiction erotica stories. We’re looking for robots that turn you on, dragons that might want to do things with the princess other than devour her, and what happens when the lights go out in every sense of the word (possibly with a tentacle or three). Take off the corsets and uniforms and have some fun. We welcome LGBTQ+ stories. We’re looking for stories that are both good speculative fiction and good erotica – are you up for the challenge? If not sure, listen to the podcast to find out what we like – free of charge. (more…)
fresh.ink magazine combines highly-rated work from the fresh.ink beta reader feedback platform with some of the best stories published elsewhere.
fresh.ink is a digital magazine accessed via our iOS and Android apps. It’s due to launch early October 2019.
Ahead of our launch, we’re accepting submissions for fiction reprints of any length at 1c per word for non-exclusive rights. Our guidelines are listed below, but if you have any questions, drop us an email at [email protected].
fresh.ink magazine features the highest-rated writing from our fresh.ink critique platform combined with some of the best fiction from literary magazines across the US.
We’re looking for fiction work of any length. In order to qualify, work must have been published in a reputable literary magazine or publisher. We’re not currently accepting unpublished, self-published or vanity press work.
Any fiction genre is welcome except erotica, fan-fiction or overly graphic/explicit work.
We require submissions to be in US English.
You must ensure your work is no longer bound by contractual obligations to the original publisher. Check your original contract to ensure any exclusivity periods have expired. If your original publisher requires a mention on reprints, that’s no problem, but you must let us know in the submission description field.
There is no submission fee.
We pay $0.01 (USD) per word for accepted submissions.
Our submissions are open and ongoing as our digital library is updated weekly.
Because we’re only accepting reprints, and we’re not purchasing exclusive rights, simultaneous submissions are allowed.
You may submit multiple times providing all submissions have been published by reputable magazines or publishers.
All work must be a complete, independent story. Flash fiction is acceptable. Previews, series and excerpts are not allowed.
Please remove all author identifying information from the submitted document, we’ll collect these via Submittable. Ensure there is no personally identifiable information within the document. We accept Word documents, PDFs, Apple Pages, rich text and plain text files.
Deadline: Decembre 15th, 2019
Payment: 3¢ per word, $150.00 max, 1 cent per word for reprints
Note: Reprints allowed
We are a literary magazine of dark fiction, both short stories and flash fiction. We want your best. But then, doesn’t everyone? No specific sub-genres or themes, just good stories. For inspiration, we suggest “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits”, and LampLight, Vol1 Issue 1 which is free.
We go for stories that are dark, literary; we are looking for the creepy, the weird and the unsettling.
We do not accept stories with the following: vampires, zombies, werewolves, serial killers, hitmen, excessive gore or sex, excessive abuse against women, revenge fantasies, cannibals, high fantasy.
Writers
We have published writers of all backgrounds from all over the world in LampLight, but not everywhere, nor all shapes and sizes of writers. Help us to shine a light on greater diverse writing and keep LampLight a showcase of the best dark fiction out there by submitting and encouraging others to as well.
Edition and Rights
The quarterly is published as print and ebook, and at the end of the year all the quarterlies are bound together in an annual collection.
We are asking for non-exclusive, worldwide, serial rights to your work for both electronic and print. We want to publish it, we don’t want to own it.
We will take reprints, provided you have the rights we are asking for. We will not consider reprints that are currently available for free online.
If you have already been in LampLight, we ask you wait until the next volume to submit again.
Payment
We accept originals and reprints up to 7,000 words (firm). Payment in USD.
Unpublished Fiction: 3¢ per word, $150.00 max
Reprints: 1¢ per word
Please note: works published to a Patreon or similar site are considered reprints
Simultaneous and Multiple Submissions
Simultaneous submissions are fine, just let us know if it gets accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions are not allowed, and will result in all submissions being rejected.
Submission Times
There are two submission periods for LampLight:
15 March – 15 May for the September and December Issues
For 2019 – 15 October – 15 December for March and June Issues (More Info)
Submissions sent outside of these periods will not be considered.
Where to Submit
Submittable is our preferred method of submission. We accept most file types as well. Please use standard manuscript format for your story (although headers and footers are not needed). Please add REPRINT to the subject line, if your story is a reprint!
If you need to edit your submission
If you uploaded the wrong file, have a newer version, anything, please do not withdraw your story. Instead send us an email and we can release it back to you for editing.
Please note:
We can only get 300 submissions a month through Submittable. If the followed link reads “There are presently no open calls for submissions.” then we have filled our quota for the month. You will be able to submit again on the 1st of the following month. But, when the limit is reached on the last month, time is up!
Deadlines: January 15, 2020. Late submissions will not be considered. All submissions will be acknowledged. Acceptance/rejections will be emailed to all submitting authors on or before April 1, 2020. Please, no simultaneous submissions.
Publication Date: *June 18, 2020 (trade paperback/Kindle; Kobo, Nook, Apple to follow at publisher’s discretion)
*The Publisher reserves the right to postpone and/or cancel due to unforeseen circumstances or if an insufficient number of qualified stories are submitted/accepted.
Description: A multi-author anthology of 21 short stories of mystery and suspense, with an overarching theme of Heartbreaks and half-truths. Estimated length: 250-300 printed pages in trade paperback format. An introduction, acknowledgments, and author bios will be included.
Submission Guidelines: Both previously published and unpublished authors are welcome to submit. There is no entry fee.
Authors may submit 1 (one) reprint or 1 (one) previously unpublished short story, ideally ranging between 1,500 to 5,000 words (though great stories falling “slightly” outside this range will be considered). Preference will be given to new material; reprint material will not exceed 30% of the collection.
Note: Authors of new material will be expected to work with the Editor promptly on any requested revisions to ensure the timeline for release is met without delay. Failure to do so will result in exclusion from the anthology.
For Reprints: Author must own the print and digital copyright and provide complete details of any previous publication(s), including website/blogs. Stories must not currently be available online in any format. Any online availability will immediately disqualify the submission.
Sub Genres: Traditional, locked room, noir, historical and suspense will be considered; however, do not submit stories with overt sex, violence, or excessive bad language. Speculative fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal are not of interest for this collection. For an understanding of the type of stories that will be accepted, read The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense.
Important: The premise (target theme of Heartbreaks & Half-Truths) must be an integral part of the plot, not necessarily the central theme but not merely incidental.
Formatting: Times New Roman 12, double spaced, 1” margins, .5” indent (no tabs), no header or footer. Word .doc or .docx only. Submissions that do not follow the formatting guidelines will be returned (if time permits) or disqualified.
Terms: Authors will be paid $10 USD for reprints and $20 USD for previously unpublished stories via PayPal within 10 (ten) business days of publication. No further payment or royalty will be paid.
Contract term will be 1 (one) year from the initial date of publication. After the contract period, rights to reprint the story will revert to the Author, however, the Publisher reserves the right to include the story in the anthology in perpetuity, or until the Publisher chooses to remove the anthology from print and vendor sites.
Author Copies: Authors will be provided with one PDF copy of the collection. They will also be offered the option of purchasing trade paperback books at 50% off list, plus shipping and any applicable state or provincial sales tax.
Submissions: should be sent to Judy Penz Sheluk at [email protected] Please put “Heartbreaks & Half-Truths” in the Subject Line.
Payment: CAD 1.5c/word. CAD .4c/word for reprints.
Note: Reprints Welcome
We are currently seeking exciting, entertaining, thought-provoking, and well-written speculative fiction (broadly defined), without limitation on content or theme, in the range of 100 to 10,000 words. Stories in the range of 2 to 5 thousand words are preferred. We offer a semi-professional rate of CAD1.5c/word for original fiction (CAD $15/1000 words).
We accept reprints at a reduced rate of CAD .4c/word (CAD $4/1000 words).
We believe there are many ways to write a good story, so we won’t try to limit what we’re asking for. In general, a good story keeps you turning pages until the end, and a great story keeps you thinking about it long after that. Of course it’s subjective, and our editors represent diverse tastes, so the best thing to do is to submit and see if we like it. Aside from being a good story, with all that entails, some things that might earn you extra points include: innovative stories that grapple with important issues; diverse perspectives; complex or intellectually-stimulating ideas conveyed in a compelling way; stories that resist simple paraphrase and make the reader think; stories that have cool or exciting premises that readers want to share after reading.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions are allowed for original works only, but please limit this to three submissions at any one time; do not submit multiple reprint stories for consideration. Do not resubmit stories that we have already made a decision on; you get one chance per story, so make sure it is polished before you submit.
Use standard manuscript format, or something close to it. Your document should be double-spaced in TNR or Courier font. We accept .rtf, .doc, .docx, and .odt file types. Don’t submit .pdf or .pages.
Rights purchased: for original works, we ask for worldwide first-publication rights for print and digital formats of tdotSpec Magazine and the tdotSpec website, and one-month exclusivity from the time of publication; for reprints, we ask for a non-exclusive license for print and digital format of tdotSpec Magazine and the tdotSpec website.
Poetry: Yes, we are interested in speculative poetry. We pay CAD 25c/line for original poetry, to a maximum of $10; we pay CAD 5c/line for reprint poetry, to a maximum of $5. We prefer shorter poetry and modern forms.
Comics, panel strips, and other graphic format stories: Yes, we’re interested in black-and-white panel strips or other forms of graphic speculative fiction suitable for the interior of a magazine. Images should fit within a 6″ x 9″ page. Compensation for this medium is flexible; consider CAD $1.50/panel as an approximate starting point.
Artwork: Yes, we’re interested in speculative artwork, provided it is a black-and-white line illustration suitable for the interior of a magazine. Images should fit within a 6″ x 9″ page. Compensation for this medium is flexible; consider CAD $6/image as an approximate starting point.
Reviews and non-fiction articles: Yes, we’re interested in neutral/unbiased reviews and non-fiction articles. Neutral/unbiased means we don’t want reviews written by anyone with personal or professional connections to the author whose work is being reviewed. These are non-paying.
Novellas and Serialization: Yes, we are interested in serializing your longer works (paid at the same rate as short fiction), up to 40k words, provided (a) it is fully completed when it is submitted, (b) it is original (previously unpublished; no reprints for serialized works) and (c) you have clearly indicated breaks between serialized sections, such that each section is fewer than 10,000 words (preferably around 5k words) and breaks at a natural and effective point. This is to ensure that serializations are well structured and that stories that start strong do not go awry in future installments. For serialized works in particular, we require gripping stories with strong, memorable characters that the reader cares about, engaged in conflicts with high tension that maintain narrative momentum—enough to carry readers to the next issue.
