Deadline: December 31st 2012
Payment: 5 cents a word

What could be more appropriate for the dreariest month in the year than a zombie apocalypse? Screw all that Valentine’s Day stuff—we want to see zombies…in a blizzard..arms falling off as they swat Cupid out of the sky and eat his wings like hor d’ouerves. Whatever you do, though, find a way to make your zombies different…as different as zombies can be. Let’s make this the zombie apocalypse that no one has thought of yet.
CALL BEGINS ON OCTOBER 1, 2012
CALL ENDS ON DECEMBER 31, 2012

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Please do NOT submit until the beginning date of a future call for submissions. We will not evaluate any stories BEFORE the scheduled date.

We are ONLY accepting submissions in our currently open themed calls.

Penumbra publishes speculative fiction that always culminates in something unexpected—a flash of humor in the darkest tale or a fantasy piece that goes against the tropes–always something that hovers right on the periphery of the eclipse.

Penumbra is looking for speculative fiction that’s unexpected and adventurous. We don’t want the same old short stories–we want funny horror stories, or fantasy with a modern theme, or science fiction that takes the reader someplace they really didn’t expect to go…even if its their own kitchen at home.

Word counts—500 to 3500 words, paid at 5 cents a word.

Poetry—we will review poetry for each issue.

Please send a cover letter with brief publishing history and your entire submission as a .doc or .rtf attachment to Penumbra Submissions. Please put “Penumbra Submission” in the subject line of your email. No simultaneous or multiple submissions please.

Initial response time to queries is expected to be short, within 2-3 weeks. This is likely to change and any such submission changes will be listed here. Once your story is passed to a higher round of evaluation, response times may vary but they will be long. We go through an extensive review process that may take several months. If you submit during the first month of a call and your story makes it past the initial reader, you can expect a wait time of 4-5 months. We do not select our stories until the month BEFORE release.

We absolutely do not accept fan fiction, not even thinly disguised fan fiction. We will review previously published, rights reverted material on a case by case basis. If you have any questions or need further information, please contact us at [email protected].
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