Events

Submission Window: December 1st - 2nd, 2023 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints, For artwork: $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. Theme: 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. Note: Reprints welcome     Submissions Schedule We have a new submissions schedule as of June 1, 2020: The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. Only one submission per person. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. We pay 8¢ 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. For new poetry, we pay $1 a line, reprints would be 50¢ a line, up to 40 lines. We’ll look at longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 6¢ per word. We began The Kepler Award 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. 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. Writers Guidelines We accept new work as well as reprints, prose and poetry, anywhere from 1000 word flash fiction on up, but all else being equal,...

Deadline: December 4th, 2023 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: War Poems about Emerging & Future Tech Middle West Press LLC, an independent micro-publisher of military-themed and -adjacent literary projects, has issued a call for human-generated poems engaging with  “Giant Robot” technology themes. This is a "speculative poetry" market.   What is a "Giant Robot" theme? For this project, the term "Giant Robots" can include examples of technologies in timelines both real and imagined, and of any size or (even formless) form. Living Ships. Loitering Drones. Taxi-cab AI. Robot Tanks. Virtual Soldiers. Space Explorers. Mecha-suits. In short, any vessel for exploring themes of human-electro-mechanical-cyber interaction, connection, and competition. The working title of this project is Giant Robot Poems: Poetry About Mecha-Human Science, Culture & War. Editors of the project write: Our intent with this project is to have fun, but also to illuminate, interrogate, and challenge (via the still-human domain of poetry!!!) the ways people think about emerging and future technologies such as robots and drones, Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybernetic enhancements, etc. We are looking for terrain-shifting, mind's-eye-bending, firmament-rending expressions of new and future realities. Be provocative. Be poignant. Be human. Even if you write like a Giant Robot. Ideally, many of the works submitted will engage such questions as: How does technology potentially change human behavior / culture / society? How does technology potentially change human behavior ethics / values? How does technology potentially change the ways humans fight / love / think / feel? Many examples of "Giant Robot-ness" exist in today's news and culture. As a starting point or prompt, our editors offer a list of examples and inspirations. In creating and crafting their own, original concepts and works, poets might consider various modes of commenting, observing, or even inhabiting technologies, mythologies, or stories depicted in these and other...

Submission Window: December 1st - 7th, 2023 Payment: Drabbles and Flash - £5, Short Stories 1001 to 4000 words - £10, Short Stories 4001 to 8000 words - £15 Theme: Speculative fiction, no set theme, though they do like stories inspired by the season you're submitting for Note: Only publishes creators from under represented and/or marginalized communities. WE ONLY PUBLISH CREATORS FROM UNDER REPRESENTED AND/OR MARGINALISED BACKGROUNDS AND/OR COMMUNITIES We don't ask for any proof, we take this on trust with the expectation that anyone not from a marginalised background or underrepresented community wouldn't take up the space of someone who is. We ask you to consider this before submitting. QUARTERLY ONLINE ANTHOLOGY: BRIEF We’re looking for stories you’ve poured your soul into but haven’t been able to find the right home for. We’re looking for stories that make us feel something. Warmth, love, melancholy, rage. We want it all.  All genres, styles and themes will be considered and we especially love stories that are outside the box in their telling. Ambiguous endings? Non-linear storytelling? Antagonist’s point-of-view? A story told in just one scene? We love it all. ​ Quarterly Online Anthology Submission Schedule: December 1st - 7th (Spring Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions March 1st - 7th (Summer Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions June 1st - 7th (Autumn Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions September 1st - 7th (Winter Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions ​ we do not have set issue themes but feel free to be inspired by the season, seasonal occasions and events. We are unlikely to publish stories with seasonal events out of season - for example a story set in the Winter isn't likely to make it into our Summer issue even if we adore it. ​ Click Here...

Deadline: December 9th, 2023 Payment: 15GBP Theme: The End If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 150k+ monthly listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we’ll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. (Vol 100) The End: deadline 9th December 2023 SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If this form isn’t working, please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. Title your email with the following syntax: “SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT”  (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) Submission Guidelines • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document • Stories must fit an upcoming theme • By submitting your story to us, you are confirming that you are the original creator of the story • We will consider entrants whose work has been entered and published elsewhere, however please ensure you state where and when your story has been used elsewhere on the document • You will be allowed to place one call-to-action for your own work at the end of the episode. Be sure to include this at the end of your document, underneath the log line • Payment per accepted story is 15GBP • 2x entries per theme permitted   When will I hear if my story has been accepted or not? We carefully review every single submission that comes through our door....

Deadline: December 15th, 2023 Payment: $0.01/word for fiction, $20/page for art Theme: Found fiction (aka epistolary, found footage, or found file fiction) Archive of the Odd is a biannual magazine of found fiction—stories told in the style of found footage, also known epistolary, neo-epistolary, found file, or found document fiction. Essentially, stories told in the form of other documents. All submissions must be found fiction. We realize this is oddly specific, so if you’re not sure what we’re looking for, the best way will be to look at the stories on our website, or buy an issue to see the full zine treatment (in fact, if you email us or DM us on Twitter we’ll give you a coupon code for being a savvy author… just saying). Alternately, think about all the things you read on a daily basis that aren’t fiction. Newspapers? Emails? Product support guides? …Submissions calls? If you read all of this and still have questions, please refer to our FAQ, or query! Alright, let’s dive in! Writing: Basics: All submissions must be found fiction. We do not accept traditional prose or poetry. Submissions sent before opening dates will be deleted unread. Feel free to resubmit after opening, however! Mistakes happen. We read blind, so please do not include personal information (name, address, email, etc.) in the document. Please include your name in your cover letter, though! We pay 1 cent/word USD + a share of royalties. We are currently pursuing grants and other means of additional funding. 500-8,000 words is preferred for the main magazine, but will consider 5,000-12,000 for a standalone chapbook publication. This is a new venture for us, so expect more details coming soon! Microfiction is also accepted, though it may be harder for us to place. Shunn formatting is nice, but if it doesn’t work for your story, don’t worry! As long...

Deadline: December 15th, 2023 Payment: Fiction: 2¢ per word for original, 1¢ per word for reprints. Poetry: $20 per original poem and $10 for reprints. Artwork: $100 for issue cover art, $30 for back cover art, and $20 for art used on our site. Theme: Stories and poetry containing elements of science fiction, anarchism, transhumanism, or dystopia. Note: Reprints Welcome Radon welcomes short stories and poetry containing elements of science fiction, anarchism, transhumanism, or dystopia. ​ We publish quality work every January, May, and September. Submissions accepted year-round. Simultaneous subs are welcome. Reprints taken if writer has rights. AI submissions are not allowed. ​ We kindly request a third person bio that is 100-words or shorter in your cover letter.Author rights: For original work, Radon asks for first English digital rights and non-exclusive, indefinite archival rights. ​ Authors published in Radon cannot be accepted into the issue immediately following, but may submit after this period. ​ Our reading periods are: ​ January issue: Aug. 16 - Dec. 15 ​​ May issue: Dec. 16 - April 15 ​​ September issue: April 16 - Aug. 15 Prose We accept flash fiction and short story submissions up to 3,000 words. Radon pays a semi-professional rate of 2¢ per word for original work and 1¢ for reprints. ​ For quicker processing, please use a submission style similar to the modern manuscript format. We ask that you utilize single-spacing. Please note that we do not publish fantasy stories and are looking for work that includes leftist social commentary. Poetry Please submit up to five poems in a single Word document. There is no line limit. Radon pays a semi-professional rate of $20 per original poem and $10 for reprints.We request single-spaced formatting using a standard 12pt font such as Times New Roman, Calibri, or Lato. The poetry editor prefers free verse poems with...

Deadline: December 15th, 2023 Payment: $20 Theme: Stories about things that are carried in the blood. Be it magic, disease or something else – it must be Borne in the Blood. Blood is thicker than water. // You can spill your life’s blood. // Blood Brothers All of these are sayings that are associated with blood. Our blood carries the oxygen we breathe throughout our body. Our blood carries our immune system’s defenses against disease and infection. And sadly our blood can also carry infection and disease that will attack our body. WolfSinger Publications is seeking stories about things that are carried in the blood. Be it magic, disease or something else – it must be Borne in the Blood. We will be donating proceeds from Borne in the Blood to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Any time, any place from ancient civilizations to far in the future as well as fantasy realms are acceptable. Break the story writing rules if you want. If you use a tried-and-true plotline, twist it in an original and interesting way. Original stories are preferred. Query for reprints. ALL writers are encouraged to submit. Doesn’t matter if you’re a pro with years of credits, a beginner just starting out or a teenager – please feel free to send the editor a story. In your cover email, please tell the editor a bit about yourself and a quick one-line synopsis of the story. Include genre. If experimental, please explain the type or how so the editor doesn’t edit out the form or reject it out of hand. Thank you. In the Subject line please put: Submission: Blood, Title of your story, your last name. Attach as a .rtf format. Send to: [email protected] Submissions open: Jun 15th and close: Dec 15th (DO NOT SUBMIT PRIOR TO Jun 15th)...

Deadline: December 15th, 2023 Payment: $50 Theme: Fiction and creative nonfiction, as long if they are compressed in some way The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts is looking for, as you might guess, "compressed creative arts." We accept fiction and creative nonfiction, as long if they are compressed in some way. Work is published weekly, without labels, and the labels here only exist to help us determine its best readers. For fiction & creative nonfiction prose (and we think of the prose poem as such), we have a word-count limit: 600. Please be sure to submit in the correct category; we've been receiving several fiction submissions in the creative nonfiction category. THIS IS THE FICTION CATEGORY. Also if you are writing prose poetry that is also FICTION, this is the category for you. Our response time is generally 1-5 days. Also, our acceptance rate is currently about 2% of submissions. We pay writers $50 per accepted piece and signed contract. The reading period is March 15 to June 15 & September 15 to December 15. If you've been previously published by the press, please wait a year until submitting again. Thanks. The  reader for your submission is, during this round of  submissions, the managing editor. Please be sure to submit in the correct category; we've been receiving several fiction submissions in the creative nonfiction category. We do not publish poetry that has line breaks, but we are thrilled to consider prose poetry without line breaks. For all submitters, we aren't as concerned with labels—hint fiction, prose poetry, micro fiction, flash fiction, and so on—as we are with what compression means to you. In other words, what form "compression" takes in each artist's work will be up to each individual. However, we don't publish erotica or work with strong, graphic sexual content. In short, we want to fall in love with your work. That might happen in the way we've fallen in love...

Deadline: December 15th, 2023 Payment: $100-$300 Theme: BIPOC writers who live in or hail from rural or semi-rural locales and whose short stories feature characters living and/or working in rural or semi-rural spaces published between 2021-2022. EastOver Press is accepting previously published short stories for a forthcoming anthology. The stories should have been published in 2021 or 2022. The anthology will focus on BIPOC writers who live in or hail from rural or semi-rural locales (in the United States) and whose short stories feature characters living and/or working in rural or semi-rural spaces. In addition, we'll also accept work from BIPOC writers who've spent a significant amount of time in rural or semi-rural locales and whose work might reflect those spaces. Erika T. Wurth will serve as guest editor. Submissions should be no more than 25 pages or 7500 words and may include up to three submissions per author or five submissions per editor of a literary journal. Our payment to authors upon publication of the anthology is $100-$300. Send questions to [email protected]. Via: East Over Press.

Deadline: December 15th, 2023 Payment: US 4¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25 Theme: Speculative Poems related to Death Eye to the Telescope 51, Death, will be edited by Robin Wyatt Dunn. This bourn, boundary stone, from where no traveler— Die is said to be a borrowed word in English, used out of “superstitious dread.” Douglas Harper tells us the Dutch euphemism is “to give the pipe to Maarten.” He will not give it back. These pipe dreams, doors and canyons into which we dive, some willingly, some not, some with trepidation, some with relief, are less final than they appear: For our Neil Gaiman she was second only to Destiny: the one we all share. A bodiless zone beyond all reach, or earthly cave filled with the standing bodies awaiting some unknowable future. Give me death, since we cannot have liberty. Give me death, in all its colors. As a gift it is a strange one, non-returnable, non-exchangeable. As an exile, like other exiles, there are occasional modes of return. He or she who rules it orbits the human spirit like a malevolent moon, spinning faster: with a beautiful face. Submission Guidelines SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Use the form at bit.ly/SFPAettt51 to submit. Please submit 1–3 unpublished poems in English (ideally, attached as .docx or .txt) and include a short bio. Translations from other languages are acceptable with the permission of the original poet (unless public domain). Inquiries only to [email protected] with “ETTT” in the subject line. Deadline: December 15. The issue will appear on January 15, 2024. Payment and rights Accepted poems will be paid for at the following rate: US 4¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25. Payment is on publication. The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association normally uses PayPal to pay poets, but can also send checks. Eye to...

Deadline: December 16th, 2023 Payment: £18.50 Theme: All Christmas/holiday-themes stories in any genre welcome as long as they're funny We are looking for stories between 1k-3k words in length. Please do not submit any works outside of this word range or poetry as they will not be considered or responded to. We will allow multiple/simultaneous submissions up to a maximum of two (please note this refers to stories submitted not emails). Please send all submissions via a word or image attachment, along with a short bio. The submission limit does not apply to cartoon subs. We will pay £18.50 per accepted story submission and £5.00 per accepted cartoon. We will pay £30.00 for our favourite short story. In the interest of fairness, this will be kept private between Humour Me and the winning writer. All payments to be made via PayPal 48 hours before issue release at the latest and on the condition that the writer has responded to the acceptance email with confirmation that they wish to proceed. Please note that we cannot guarantee feedback for rejected submissions and we will not respond to rejection follow up emails. Please send all queries and submissions to: [email protected] GENERAL SUBMISSION RULES   We are happy to accept all types of humour, from sharp satire to slapstick. While humour is subjective, we will not tolerate any form of bigotry or discrimination toward any ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality or disability. We cannot guarantee that we will respond to any submissions that do not adhere to the requirements listed above. We reserve the right to edit submissions for publication. We will not accept re-submissions. Via: Humour Me.

Deadline: December 16th, 2023 Payment: $35 and royalties Theme: Noir stories that take place near the beach. Bonus if a surfer or water-related person is a character. This book's predecessors, The Silver Waves of Summer, and The Dark Waves of Winter were huge successes, including The Dark Waves of Winter earning a perfect 5 Stars from Indie Reader. They were both well-reviewed in myriad publications, including Kirkus Reviews.   "A potent assemblage of briskly paced tales that will satisfy mystery and crime noir fans." - Kirkus Reviews. We are looking to build on our previous success.The Amber Waves of Winter is planned for publication in the fall of 2024. Pay is $35.00 dollars per accepted story and a share of royalties. You will be published next to some big names. We are looking for 10-12 short stories that adhere as closely as possible to the following guidelines: 1)  It must take place in a beach locale. 2) We are looking for noir/neo-noir. Crime, capers, detective stories, and mysteries are all a good fit. Literary stories work as well provided it contain the requisite subject matter. 3) We always appreciate a surfer or water-related person (life guards, sea captains, etc) as a character. 4)  Word count between 3k and 6K preferred. Via: Kelp Journal's Submittable.

Deadline: December 17th, 2023 Payment: 9 cents per word Theme: Science-fiction, fantasy and horror, inspired by classic pulp magazines, starring LGBTQIA+ heroes and villains. IWTTO! is seeking classic pulp adventures centring non-traditionally masculine queer heroes and villains. If you’ve ever found yourself reading Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Robert E. Howard or Fritz Leiber, and just wanted it to be more sodding gay then this anthology is for you. Whether fantasy, science-fiction or horror, we want to prove that hetero himbos don’t hold a monopoly on giant swords. We want out and proud thrill-rides starring queers who don’t give a frack what society says. Smash systems, kiss boys, be gay do crime. Concept: Pulp-inspired science fiction, fantasy and horror that explores or subverts classic genre tropes through queer protagonists and villains, particularly those who are non-traditionally masculine. What we’re looking for: Stories that take full advantage of pulp excess (“more is more”), and that have queerness at their core. The Editors take a broad definition of queer and we want to see stories that speak to our own community. We love our LGBTQIA+ heroes AND villains, and are just as eager for queer rage blood baths as we are for Flash-Gordon-style space opera. Bring us your femboy starship captains, bring us to trans berserkers fuelled by queer rage, bring us your literal demon twinks. Most of all, bring us stories that make you shriek... “I Want That Twink OBLITERATED!” Guidelines: ● We are seeking original science fiction, fantasy and horror stories written in English. This is an inclusive LGBTQIA+ anthology from a queer press and we want stories that uphold that ethos. ● Instructions: All stories should be submitted through our online form as a .doc or .docx file. If for any reason you are unable to use a Google login...

Deadline: December 17th, 2023 Payment: 1p a word up to £50.00 and a contributors copy Theme: Science fiction stories published by British authors in 2023 Best of British Science Fiction 2023 is now open for submissions. We are seeking science fiction stories (not fantasy or any other flavour of genre in this instance) that were first published during 2023. Authors must be British, Irish, British-based or ex-pats. This is a reprint anthology, so we are not interested in seeing previously unpublished work on this occasion. There are no limits on word length, though stories over 10,000 words may prove to be a harder sell. Successful authors will receive payment of 1p a word up to £50.00 for the reprint rights. They will also receive contributors' copies of the completed book. Submissions should adhere to standard manuscript format, and should be sent as an attachment (doc, docx, or rtf). Please do not send PDFs or links to published work without an attached document in one of the formats mentioned. Please send only the final version of your work as published. Please note the following: 1. Where conventional speech punctuation applies, please use double quotes rather than single. 2. Where you wish a word to appear in italics, please present it in italics and DO NOT UNDERLINE. 3. Where the word ‘okay’ appears in your text, please present it as such rather than as ‘OK’. We receive a large number of stories so can afford to be selective. Please, therefore, send your very best work to series editor Donna Scott, who will once again be at the helm. Submissions to: [email protected] Submissions close at midnight, UK time, on Sunday December 17th, 2023. Via: NewCon Press.

Submission Window: November 1st - December 17th, 2023 Payment:£20 per accepted story Theme: Self-contained unpublished sci-fi, fantasy and horror stories of between 2,000 and 6,000 words. Fanatical is currently OPEN for submissions. We are looking for unpublished sci-fi, fantasy and horror stories of between 2,000 and 6,000 words. Please only submit one story at a time and don't submit if it's already submitted somewhere else. All stories should be self-contained, no "to be continued". Recurring characters across multiple stories will be considered, as long as each story is a solid read in its own right. If you've already been published in an issue of Fanatical you are free to submit again, but we may hold your submission over so as not to publish the same author in back to back issues. Fanatical will pay £20 per accepted story, paid upon publication. We pay via Paypal. Upon acceptance, authors retain rights to the story but we ask they don't publish/submit it anywhere else before it is published in Fanatical. These stories should be inspired by/based on tabletop games - roleplaying games, board games, miniature wargames. Though Fanatical may take it's name from the concept of fan fiction, we're not looking to get sued here.   A story about an adventuring party consisting of a dwarf, an elf, a human and a halfling going into a dungeon to fight a dragon is fine. A story specifically set in a copyright protected world of Dungeons & Dragons, with reference to its locations and characters is not. A story about a genetically engineered super-soldier in power armour fighting aliens in the far future is fine. A story about a Space Marine fighting Xenos in the grimdark universe of Warhammer 40,000 is not. Rest assured the editors at Fanatical will work with you to ensure your stories meet our criteria in this regard.   Authors should be...

Deadline: December 18th, 2023 Payment: $20 CAD Theme: Science Fiction & Fantasy stories with the theme of: Strange Clocks & Different Calendars. We are accepting submissions for our upcoming Funemployment Quarterly ‘Timeless Volume‘ of short fiction. The prompt for the upcoming anthology is: Strange Clocks & Different Calendars. Think the schism between Gregorian & Julian calendars, the attempt of the French revolution to start their own, the Soviet days of the week, what a calendar would look like if the elves lived millennia, how time would be kept on a space station in the void, internal & external clocks, circadian rhythms, hourglasses filled with enchanted grains, secret societies with secret timepieces, the subjectivity of a second, punching in, clocking out, we can’t wait to see what you & ourselves come up with… The submission deadline for the upcoming anthology is 11:59PM, Pacific Standard Time, on December 18th, 2023. Here are our rules/guidelines for submissions: Length should be one thousand to five thousand words. Broad canvas to paint on! We only accept previously unpublished stories, in English. All stories should be original. No fan fiction or tales set in existing fictional landscapes. Taste is subjective and the complete discretion of the editors. We’re very open-minded people, but nothing that’s going to require a scouring with brain bleach, please. Nothing that glorifies sexual assault, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, vortexes, any of that. There’s a difference between themes and glorification. You know what we’re talking about, cut it out. If you disagree, alt-f4, thx. Payment and Rights Accepted works shall be paid $20 in Canadian currency, through Paypal. If required, other payment methods can likely be arranged, just let us know. If accepted for publication, we purchase exclusive rights for first publication for both the internet and the anthology. These rights exist for...

Deadline: December 25th, 2023 Payment: (All in CAD) $100 per interview, $200 per essay, $100 per review, $150 per work of fiction, $35 per poem (or page, capped at $120 for poems running four pages or more), $50+ per experimental or hybrid work, at an increasing scale depending on the nature of the piece Theme: Any genre, though best to see previously published work for a feel for the magazine. Feel encouraged to push boundaries, play with form, and explore genre elements. Consider reading the fiction in our last few issues to familiarize yourself with work we've published. Please do not submit stories over 10,000 words, flash fiction (under 1,000 words), or novel excerpts. Please only send one story at a time. Note that all submissions must be previously unpublished and that we will not publish the same author more than once per year. We are especially interested in work by LGBTQ2S+ writers, BIPOC writers, and writing from other marginalized folks. --- Please Note: All Austin Clarke Prize for Literary Excellence entries must be accompanied by a payment of $20; however, this category is free of charge! You also have the option of giving The Ex-Puritan a tip of $3, should you wish to contribute to the overall costs of running the magazine. But thanks for your submission regardless! If submissions have been disabled on this category, it's because we've reached our monthly limit. We can only accept a limited number of no-fee submissions each month. You can either submit to one of our fee submissions categories or wait until we reopen on the 1st of the next month. All of our submissions are considered equally. Open until Dec 25th A premier Canadian literary magazine, publishing the best in new writing. We award the annual Austin Clarke Prizes in fiction...

Deadline: December 27th, 2023 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: short stories, fairy tales, flash fiction, and novellas of 500-10,000 words Moonstruck Books will publish an anthology of dark fiction titled Nightmare Diaries in Spring 2025. We are seeking short stories, fairy tales, flash fiction, and novellas of 500-10,000 words. Payment is $0.10 per word. Deadline: December 27, 2023. Please follow our general submission guidelines. Send your work (one submission per author, please) to [email protected] and include the word “Anthology” in the subject line. The golden rule of publishing Please know that we receive hundreds of submissions. Due to our small size, commitment to excellence, and discerning acquisition process, we must reject most of the manuscripts we read. We understand that the submission process can be grueling and discouraging. With this in mind, we try to be as respectful as possible toward authors and their creative efforts, offering kindness and professionalism. Not sure if your work fits on our shelf? Browse the shop here. What does “non-traditional” mean? We define “non-traditional” broadly. We believe that speculative fiction, horror, fantasy, and science fiction are innately diverse and represent visions of many possible futures. With this in mind, we seek to work with authors of unique personal experiences and perspectives. To us, “non-traditional” can mean: Creating boundary-pushing fiction that questions the dominant cultural narrative, however the individual defines that narrative; Unpublished or otherwise uncredited, and/or having a small social media following; Belonging to a historically marginalized group and/or identifying as lesbian or gay, queer, transgender or nonbinary; Black, Indigenous, Latinx, people of color (BIPOC); blue collar writers, self-supporting writers, anti-commercial writers, and people from non-affluent backgrounds; people who live with chronic illness and other disabilities; and other individual experiences which are not traditionally centered in mainstream publishing; Originating from a rural, agricultural,...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Space exploration and colonization The Way of Worlds is an anthology focused on space exploration and colonization (see, we have you covered). We want aliens, solar systems, spaceships, alternate universes, and to go somewhere beyond imagination. The focus of this anthology is space but it doesn't have to be hard science fiction. Show us what is happening in the galaxy next door. Closes 11:59 pm 12/31/2023. How you incorporate the quarterly theme in your story is up to you.  We do ask that you make sure the theme idea is not an afterthought, but an integral part of the story.  We want truly want stories depicting underdogs rising to the occasion when it seems all hope is lost. We are looking for polished manuscripts of about 3,500 - 12,000 words (not hard cut-offs, but not too much under/over please) in standard Shunn format. Please include your contact information, including full name and email address and any social media links you may have as well as any prior publications. If your story is nobledark, noblebright, grimdark, or grimbright or something in the middle of all of those that's okay.  Let us take a look. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] as an attached Word doc or docx. Please format the email subject line and your submitted file name as “The Underdogs Rise – by for ”. Accepted authors will be paid $.03/word and receive a contributor copy of the standard mass market paperback. We are purchasing first world-wide print rights for three years from publication (reprints in “best of” yearly anthologies will be allowed). We plan to notify all authors on the outcome of submissions by mid-December. Reprints are not accepted for this anthology. Simultaneous submissions are not accepted. Multiple submissions are accepted, but limited to three per...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $75.00 and 10% of the cover price for print books, 40% of the cover price for eBooks with an optional $25 advance and 5% for audio rights Theme: Primarily Science Fiction and Fantasy Novellas and Novels All material must be submitted as a .rtf document.Please follow standard manuscript formatting when submitting:Manuscripts should be double-spaced.Indicate scene breaks with # or another symbol - but please be consistent throughout.Please use tabs or paragraph settings to indent the first line.Make sure you include your contact information on the first page of the manuscript.The body of your email should include the following information:Contact informationTitle of manuscriptApproximate word countGenreBrief Synopsis of the storyA general idea of how you will be marketing and promoting your book.We are looking primarily for Science Fiction and Fantasy Novellas and Novels, but will consider other genres except children's and erotica. For YA - we prefer books that are geared for older teens that might also appeal to adult readers as well.Our minimum word count is 25,000 and our preferred maximum word count is 80,000 words.Please note 80,000 words is the preferred maximum - it is not a hard and fast limit. Prefer stories to have a PG-13 rating - but this is not a hard requirement.We will only be publishing a maximum of 10 print titles per year.Submit the complete manuscript to [email protected] put 'WolfSinger Submission - "the title of your submission" - your last name' in the subject.While we are primarily a royalty press, authors will receive an initial up front payment of $75.00 for books (contributors to anthologies will receive $15.00). Books and anthologies will start to earn royalties after initial production costs are earned back from all revenue received through book sales. Once a book earns back its production costs royalties will be calculated as 10% of the cover price for print books, 40%...

Payment: Modest advance + Industry standard royalties Theme: New Weird Horror-based that might exist OUTSIDE THE BOX. You can find some general information about what we look for in NOVELS and NOVELLAS below. But we’re also interested to hear about any projects that fall under the graphic novel/comics umbrella, and anything New Weird Horror-based that might exist OUTSIDE THE BOX. SUBMIT YOUR PITCHES HERE. PLEASE FILL OUT ALL SECTIONS. GENERAL INFO ON TENEBROUS PRESS’ NOVEL AND NOVELLA TERMS: Word Count: 20,000-up Payment: Modest advance + Industry standard royalties Reprints: No Simultaneous Submissions: Yes Target Age Group: Mature Audiences Rights: World English first rights in print, electronic, and ebook, and a three-year exclusivity period. All copyright belongs to the author. Response times: 2-3 months. All submissions will be responded to. Important Reminder: - Please only pitch work that is complete or well on its way to completion; if we request the manuscript and it takes longer than a month to reach us, we may no longer be able to consider it! - In the interest of giving everyone a fair chance, please only pitch ONE work, and allow for THREE months between pitches. - If you have something strange to pitch that doesn't fit into this form, tell us about it at [email protected] - Your query letter should include a one-paragraph pitch. - Length: Book-length projects, including novellas, novels, themed collections, and other - Genre: all kinds of Weird Horror - Reprints: No - Simultaneous Submissions: Yes - Target Age Group: Mature Audiences Via: Tenebrous Press.

Submission Window: December 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: 8 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: Stories about places where weird things happen Editors Sheree Renée Thomas and Lesley Conner are looking for stories about places where weird things happen. Places that have strange histories, their own traditions and customs, their own dangers. These can be based off real folk tales or old wives tales - think the Mothman in Point Pleasant, WV - or ones that you come up with all on your own. But your story should tell of someone going to one of these places - either intentionally or they just stumble across it - and what happens when they encounter the frightening/strange thing that is in or occurs in that location. Depending on the Map of Lost Places Kickstarter funding level, we expect to fill the anthology with eight to twelve original stories selected from an open reading period. The Kickstarter will launch on October 10 - click here to be notified as soon as it happens! In order to avoid duplicates in the open submission call, locations already chosen by the featured authors are listed below. This list will be updated as the authors make their decisions, so be sure to check back! Monroe, GA Underwater cave in the Caribbean Sea The Forbidden City in Beijing, China Central Pennsylvania Arkabutla Lake in Coldwater, Mississippi Open call begins: December 1, 2023 Open call ends: December 31st, 2023 Word Count: Up to 5000 Payment: 8 cents a word (up to 5000) + copy of anthology in soft cover Rights: First English language rights (soft cover, hard cover, ebook, digital) Sim-subs: Yes Multi-subs: No Format: Docx, Doc, or RTF using Shunn Manuscript Guidelines Apex Book Company and its editors welcome and encourage submissions from writers of all races, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression,...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: A tale delivered from a character who stepped through a door and found themselves someplace unexpected. On their journey, they will notice a book called Midnight Labyrinth. No requirement to read or interact with it; it just needs to appear. Genre-bending is welcome! Sci-fi, steampunk, horror, fantasy, etc. Grendel Press accepts short story submissions that fit into our chosen genres of Dark Fantasy, Horror, and Romance. We will develop themes for each genre as submissions accumulate. Unpublished short stories must be 2,500-7,000 words and if approved, will be featured in our anthologies consisting of approximately ~65,000 words each. Approved stories will be published in English ebook, and print with a possibility for audiobook. If approved, you will be notified when the anthology has received the perfect combination of stories to publish, and it’s expected publication date. Uncanny & Unearthly Tales (Vol 2) – The Midnight Labyrinth Submission Period: August 1st, 2023 – December 31st, 2023 (Midnight CST) Each story should feature a tale delivered from a character who stepped through a door and found themselves someplace unexpected. On their journey, they will notice a book called Midnight Labyrinth. No requirement to read or interact with it; it just needs to appear. Genre-bending is welcome! Sci-fi, steampunk, horror, fantasy, etc. Compensation     We pay .05 per word in exchange for rights to publish your original stories in a seasonal anthology. No reprints, these stories must be unpublished elsewhere. We may be running multiple themed anthologies at a time, so feel free to submit one story per theme only. Exclusivity Terms & Author Rights Upon payment, GrendelPress gains the right to publish your story in our seasonal theme anthology exclusively for one year from the date of publication. You retain the rights...

Submission Window: December 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $5 for poetry, 1 cent per word for non-fiction, $35 for cover art Theme: Speculative fiction It's our goal to publish diverse voices from around the world, and to do that, we are actively seeking stories, poems, and non-fiction pieces by authors from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in the science fiction and fantasy canon. Our submission cycle is therefore split into two categories, where every other month is explicitly reserved for submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. The interposing six months remain open to everyone. Guidelines for Fiction We are seeking stories in the English language up to 6,000 words by writers from around the world. We favor submisions that have not been published before (including on your own website), though we do accept a limited number of reprints not currently appearing anywhere online. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we're particularly interested in publishing stories from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we're open to a wide variety of stories across the SFF and weird spectra. We pay 1¢ per word for fiction, and we try to respond to all submissions within ten weeks. We will also accept a limited number of previously published stories, so please indicate on the form if your submission is a reprint. All submissions must use the Shunn manuscript format (we prefer Courier New) and be either .rtf, .doc, or .docx. We like stories that are subtle in their telling and stick with us long after we've finished. We're more likely to buy stories that balance a sense of wonder with a bold plot and...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $25 USD for original stories and $10 for reprints Theme: Subtle and atmospheric ghost stories that give the reader a chill. Note: Reprints Accepted The Black Beacon Book of Ghost Stories is open until the 31st of December, 2023. For more details on the pirate anthology, click the link above. For the ghost story anthology, we're looking for subtle and atmospheric ghost stories that give the reader a chill. Do you need some classics to get you in the mood? Think May Sinclair's "Where their Fire is Not Quenched", Joan Aiken's "Listening", Robert Aickman's "Ringing the Changes", and just about anything by the master, M.R. James. For both anthologies, read the full guidelines on this page. We regularly post news on our Facebook page. You can also get a feel for what we like by buying our previously published titles. Publishing quality fiction is an expensive passion, so the more we sell, the more we can publish. It's that simple. Our cherished Patreon patrons also provide us with the means to keep producing quality books. # Rates: We use PayPal to pay our contributors. If your submission is successful, you'll need an account. Alternatively, we can pay with an electronic Amazon gift coupon. Payment is made upon publication. $25 USD  for original stories and $10 for reprints regardless of length, plus one print copy. Preferred word count between 3,000 and 9,000 words. Please read the all the guidelines below before submitting. # ANTHOLOGY GUIDELINES AND DETAILS Please submit one story per publication. No simultaneous submissions for original fiction. Stories are chosen on merit and suitability for the anthology. However, when it comes to choosing between equally worthy submissions, social media presence and engagement may be taken into account. Social media is at the heart of our marketing strategy and most of...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $10 per accepted poem, 1c/word ($5 minimum.) for accepted fiction ($15 per page for graphic narrative fiction), $20 per accepted piece of non-narrative internal visual art,. Half of above for reprints, $100 (negotiable) for the cover illustration Theme: stories about the future which feature rodents NOTE: This is not the cover art; this is just a cool picture we made with MidJourney. A human artist will make the real cover. Submissions are now open for Rattus Futura: An Anthology of Future Rodents (working title) from Manawaker Studio, edited by CB Droege. This book serves as a sequel to the previous anthology Felis Futura. Rattus Futura is an anthology focused on stories about the future which feature rodents. This volume will contain stories, poetry, and visual art. THEME Submitted works should be of any genre, as long as the work depicts a world that is noticeably in the future. Hard and Soft Sci-fi, (Post-)apocalyptic, Solarpunk, Slipstream, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Alternate (future) History, Supernatural, Retro-futurism etc. are all fine names for genres that often take place in the future, but your story doesn’t have to fit into one of those. In fact, if it manages to miss all of those labels, we may be even more interested to see it (unless it thus falls into what we specifically don’t want (see next paragraph)). All works must also prominently feature at least one rodent. It does not have to be a rodent of the genus Rattus. Other members of the rodent family, like mice and beavers, are also acceptable, as are non-biological minks, metaphorical hamsters, robots with the acronym S.Q.R.L., and so on. We are not looking for gore horror nor erotic romance. Works that contain some horror elements or some romantic elements are fine, but we would like the book to remain accessible to young adults and squeamish...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $10 Theme: Stories that peel back the layers of the literary process to reveal the psychological horrors writers face daily. Scott McGregor and Harriet Everend are teaming up to compile a new anthology, Writer’s Retreat: Tales of Writing and Madness under January Embers Press. Beneath the polished pages of every story lies a world shrouded in shadows—a world where the act of creation transforms into psychological madness fraught with terror. "Writers Retreat: Tales of Writing and Madness" is an anthology seeking to peel back the layers of the literary process to reveal the psychological horrors writers face daily. From the dreaded writer’s block to the malevolent spirits of rejection, this collection delves into the darkest corners of the creative mind, where the lines between reality and imagination blur. Think stories surrounding the psychological monster of writer’s block; fans who stalk their favourite authors to dangerous heights; newbie authors who make deals with cosmic overlords to get their work published; best-selling authors who secretly plagiarize material through witchcraft; editors who receive death threats from ghosts who were previously rejected. This anthology seeks to present the different facets of torment faced by those who dare shape their ideas into words with the wielding of a pen. The mundane nuisances of the writing world—plagiarism, pressure from fans, and incessant self-doubt—are what woven into narratives of chilling intensity, elevated by the infusion of supernatural elements and the exploration of the twisted depths of human nature. Genre: Writing-themed Horror Length: Short Stories - 5000 Words Max Poetry - 2 Pages Maximum Format: .DOC, .DOCX, PFD Can submit multiple entries, but only one of your pieces will be selected to allow as many names as possible. Please email final draft submissions with title to [email protected]

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $5 USD per 1000 words Theme: Looking forward with a positive outlook. Solarpunk, cyberpunk, etc! Back by popular demand! A new anthology in the spirit of looking forward with a positive outlook. Solarpunk, cyberpunk, other planets, alternate worlds that might be nearly lost through our own hubris; futuristic fantasy and speculative-fiction stories of all kinds that are hopeful and leave us with the idea that despite the doom and gloom in the universe, things can possibly work out if we strive to make life better, even if in a small way. Send us your stories! Deadline: December 31, 2023. GENERAL BUT IMPORTANT INFORMATION Please read prior to submitting! NOTE: We are currently only accepting short stories for the anthologies and cannot accept full-length novel manuscripts at this time. ** Please put the anthology you're submitting to in the subject line of the email.** Payment for accepted stories will be $5 USD per 1000 words for all current anthologies (excepting contests). Payments occur via PayPal, so please have a PayPal account into which we can pay you. We will also provide you with a digital copy (epub and pdf) of the finished manuscript. We're looking for speculative fiction across all anthologies (unless otherwise specified). That includes everything from high fantasy to hard scifi and anything in between. We do accept reprints, simultaneous submissions, and multiple submissions, though these will slow down our response time. Story lengths should be anywhere from flash-length to about 15k words, but we have at times made exceptions. We know a story is complete when it's complete, and arbitrary word count requirements are not always helpful. If you have an amazing story that exceeds 15k words, let us know. We may be able to make special accommodations. :) With regard to copyright, we...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $0.01 per word and a contributors copy Theme: horror stories with a mathematical theme Polymath Press is pleased to announce a new anthology to be titled Arithmophobia: An Anthology of Mathematical Horror edited by Robert Lewis.  We are now open for submissions of original horror stories with a mathematical theme. Please read these guidelines carefully to maximize your chances of placing a story in our anthology. About the anthology: Polymath Press founder and executive editor Robert Lewis has spent years looking for good horror stories with some kind of mathematical content.  As it turns out, they’re rather rare, so he’s decided to assemble a brand new anthology of such short stories.  The anthology is to be called Arithmophobia: An Anthology of Mathematical Horror and will be published by Polymath Press in early 2024. What we’re looking for: We want your best horror stories with some kind of mathematical theme.  Of course, the story must come first, so don’t bog us down in technical details.  After all, we don’t want to limit our readership to only doctoral-level mathematicians.  However, make sure the mathematical ideas are clearly featured in the story.  What kind of mathematical ideas do we want? That’s for you to decide.  Think outside the box and give us something interesting.  Show us weird geometries, cursed numbers, mathematicians going crazy, you name it.  Most importantly of all, remember that we want math AND horror, so make it as scary as you can. What we don’t want: Try to avoid giving us stories whose only mathematical content is that someone is afraid of going to math class.  We know a lot of people are afraid of mathematics, but generic math anxiety isn’t really the kind of horror we’re looking for (though if you think such a story is brilliant enough to overcome our kneejerk reaction,...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $30 CAD Theme: Hometown (Writing about film, TV, and pop culture related to your hometown. I suspect there are plenty of speculative fiction options out there that can fit this theme.) Note: Not our usual fiction call but I felt that this would be a great fit for some of the authors who frequent the site and have pop culture knowledge about where they live (or whose own books may have taken place in their hometown.) Submissions are OPEN for In The Mood Magazine Issue 9: HOMETOWN! We’re looking for writing about film, TV, and pop culture related to your hometown—however you may define it. These could be films shot or set in your town, state/province, or country. Or maybe it’s a town you’ve always identified with, an invented hometown, or a hometown hero. - Theme: HOMETOWN ‍- Deadline: December 31st, 2023 ‍- Word count: 1,000 words max for features, 300 words max for Film Diaries - Honorarium: $30 CAD for features, $20 CAD for Film Diaries 💡 Some ideas for inspiration: ‍ ‍- Cities pretending to be others (Vancouver as L.A., Toronto as New York) - Films set in your hometown, school, or workplace (What do they get right/wrong? How does it affect the town's reputation?) - Hometown heroes (stars or filmmakers from your hometown, what the hometown thinks of them) or celebrities that went to your school - Movies that were big in your hometown (Phantom of the Paradise in Winnipeg, Bon Cop/Bad Cop in Ottawa) - Imaginary hometowns (In the Mouth of Madness, Pleasantville) - Films about places you wish were your hometown - Film/TV production hotspots (Atlanta, New York, Vancouver, Toronto) 👇 Please read our guidelines before submitting:‍ Submission/Pitch Guidelines Magazine: Submissions are open 3 times a year, and issues are themed. If you have an off-theme and/or timely pitch, consider sending it to our newsletter. ‍Newsletter: Submissions are always open, and we...

Submission Window: November 1st - December 31st, 2023 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Resource Scarcity We are seeking stories for an anthology to be titled We Are All Thieves of Somebody's Future which will collect stories with the theme: Resource Scarcity - using up the last of a critical resource and dealing with the aftermath. While stories could be dystopic (ex. the last tree), authors could also explore hopepunk (losing a resource leads to something unforeseen and positive), solarpunk (a pollution laden resource leads to a better solution), fantasy (the last dragon). We are open to all genres. All stories are requested to be between 1000 and 3000 words in length. Authors may explore any genre with their stories and we encourage a wide variety of ideas and interpretations. Submission Dates Submissions open: November 1st, 2023 Submissions close: December 31st, 2023 Reading/Review begins: January 1, 2024 Reading/Review ends: February 29, 2024 All authors will be contacted by: April 15, 2024 General Submission Information We like to seek out new authors and book ideas ourselves rather than be contacted directly because we are a small, self-funded press, and only publish 4-5 books a year. We usually offer open call submissions on anthologies we decide to do, or we contact authors directly if we have particular needs. We pay $0.08/word for the stories we publish. Most of our books are limited editions of between 100 and 200 copies and we prefer to print physical books over creating ebooks. The Air and Nothingness Press is interested only in publishing works created by the individual, creative efforts of human authors. We are not completely opposed to the use of AI as a tool to develop art or writing, rather we are opposed to the use of it in place of art or writing. If you "wrote" a...

Submission Window: November 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023 Payment: 8¢ per word Theme: Speculative flash fiction Interstellar Flight Press seeks speculative flash fiction for 2024 publication in our online magazine and yearly anthology. We will publish one piece of flash fiction a month in 2024, celebrating micro and small fictions. Submissions will be read by our team of readers and final selections will be made by flash series editor, Annika Barranti Klein.  Guidelines: Genres: as long as it’s speculative (even a little bit!), anything goes for genre. Please see below for specific content hard sells and loves.  Length: up to 1,250 words (no minimum) Payment: 8¢ per word (minimum payment $25) within 30 days of publication. 1 print contributor’s copy of our yearly anthology.  Simultaneous subs? Yes! Please let us know right away if you need to withdraw a story by emailing [email protected]. Multiple subs? Yes! Up to three stories per person; please fill out a separate form for each story.  Response times: We aim to reply to submissions in 90 days. We will try to get first round answers (rejections or holds) out as quickly as possible.  Terms: Original stories, no reprints please. First English Rights with a 3-month exclusivity period. Inclusion in our annual print anthology.  Please do not send anything generated using the large language models commonly called AI; they are built on plagiarism and we won’t publish them. Tools like spellcheck are absolutely fine.  Accepted stories will be featured on our website and Patreon, where authors will be asked to complete a short Q&A interview for our patrons. All accepted stories will also be in our yearly anthology, along with the interview.  About the Flash Series Editor Annika Barranti Klein’s flash fiction has been in Mermaids Monthly, The Future Fire, Milk Candy Review, HAD, Hallowzine, and Worlds of Possibility. Her...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $20 USD for original stories and $5 for reprints and a contributor's copy Theme: Pirate tales, preferably about pirates and buccaneers from the 16th to 18th centuries Note: Reprints Welcome For this anthology, we're looking for pirate tales, prefereably about pirates and buccaneers from the 16th to 18th centuries. Stories set in completely fictional/fantasy worlds will be considered but are likely to be a hard sell. That said, we're interested in stories belonging to various genres just so long as the central characters and setting are pirates or centred on the theme of piracy, even if the story is set in the present. For example, a ghost story featuring a legendary pirate or a mystery about a lost treasure. We're not looking for sci-fi or futuristic stories. As usual, if you have any questions, just get in touch. The submissions window will remain open until December the 31st. Now, raise that black flag and get back to your writing desk! # Rates: We use PayPal to pay our contributors. If your submission is successful, you'll need an account. Alternatively, we can pay with an electronic Amazon gift coupon. Payment is made upon publication. $20 USD  for original stories and $5 for reprints regardless of length, plus one print copy. Preferred word count between 3,000 and 9,000 words. Please read the all the guidelines below before submitting. # ANTHOLOGY GUIDELINES AND DETAILS Please submit one story per publication. No simultaneous submissions for original fiction. Stories are chosen on merit and suitability for the anthology. However, when it comes to choosing between equally worthy submissions, social media presence and engagement may be taken into account. Social media is at the heart of our marketing strategy and most of our contributors have profiles on multiple platforms. We strongly encourage you to...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $100 per short story, $50 per flash fiction story, $50 per poem, $50-$100 per illustration, depending on size & complexity Theme: Stories with a range of neurodivergent perspectives on encountering aliens. Thinking Ink Press wants to publish your short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and art exploring encounters between neurodivergent people and neurodivergent aliens. Submission deadline: December 31, 2023 The universe is filled with aliens—creatures with different histories, cultures, and even biologies—who may seem strange to us. But our world is filled with a diversity of people, many of whom find each other strange. One particular group finds the rest of humanity especially strange: neurodivergent people. Would neurodivergent folks find themselves at an advantage in dealing with aliens? Let’s find out. Neurodiversiverse will be an anthology of 60,000 – 90,000 words, edited by Anthony Francis & Liza Olmsted, featuring stories with a range of neurodivergent perspectives on encountering aliens. We’re inviting you to put your spin on what that means. We welcome all well-told stories, but we are particularly interested in representation, empowerment, and own voices for neurodivergent people—especially stories which highlight how neurodivergent perspectives and experiences might give advantages when dealing with aliens. Own voices and diversity Thinking Ink Press believes that people of all backgrounds deserve to have their voices heard. We primarily publish books relating to disability, writing advice and inspiration, and diverse speculative fiction. Editor Liza Olmsted is neurodivergent, and all of the founders of Thinking Ink Press are members of marginalized communities. For this anthology, we are particularly interested in short stories written by people who are neurodivergent, including but not limited to: autistic, ADHD, OCD, Tourette’s. We understand the impact of intersectionality, and explicitly invite people from other marginalized backgrounds to submit stories. We’re also aware of how insidious unconscious bias...

Deadline: December 31, 2023 Payment: $0.07 per word Theme: Character-driven fictional short stories written by Black women writers. All genres are welcome. We’re Currently Accepting Submissions! Next Deadline: December 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm ET (short fiction – all genres and narrative essays) *updated 10/1/23 CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT! short stories. essays. melanin. Whether you’re an established writer or are just starting out, we want to hear from you! midnight & indigo, a literary journal celebrating Black women writers, has issued a call for submissions to review short stories and narrative essays. We publish content on our digital platform and in our literary journals (paperback/ebook/audiobook). In 2024, we will publish our first long-form anthology! Writers are invited to share their original, fictional, or personal stories. Stories can funny, entertaining, serious, or sincere. Stories must be character-driven and leave readers with something to think about. All genres are welcome! How to Submit: Format:  All submissions should follow proper manuscript format and Microsoft Word .doc format. We will not accept submissions that do not follow our guidelines. All stories must be submitted via Submittable — we will not accept stories via email. You may submit up to three stories at any time. Our average response time is 120 days Word length:  Short stories: 1,500-8,000 words. Narrative essays: min. 1,200 words Please note:  Calls for Submissions will be held on a rolling basis with deadlines four times per year: March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st. Submission does not guarantee that your work will be published. All submissions will be considered for our long-form anthology Genres: All genres and writing styles are welcome. It may be helpful to view our current short stories, essays, and literary journals to get a general sense of what we publish, but don’t be afraid to push the needle! Compensation: We pay for all accepted pieces. Information is available below Fiction...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: 8 cents per word and royalties Themes: 'Familiar': Familiars of any type (cats, dragons, etc) for any genre of speculative fiction and for 'Last-Ditch': Science Fiction or Fantasy stories of back-against-the-wall, desperate purpose--Hail Marys launched when hope seems lost for spies. The FAMILIARS, LAST-DITCH, and AMPYRIUM anthology Kickstarter (back us at http://tinyurl.com/ZNBKickstarter2023) has hit its goal! If you have a story idea that fits one of the anthology themes for FAMILIARS or LAST-DITCH, write it up, revise it, polish it, and send it in for consideration. I've posted the abridged guidelines below. You can find more detailed submission guidelines at http://zombiesneedbrains.moksha.io. AMPYRIUM will NOT have an open call for submissions, since it is establishing a new shared fantasy world. We hope to do an open call for submissions set in this world next year. The FAMILIARS and LAST-DITCH Submission Guidelines Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its two science fiction and fantasy anthologies FAMILIARS and LAST-DITCH. Stories must be submitted in electronic format to the Zombies Need Brains Moksha site for the appropriate anthology at http://zombiesneedbrains.moksha.io. Please send multiple manuscripts in separately; you may submit up to three stories to each anthology, so a total of six stories if you submit the maximum of three stories per anthology. 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, word count, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s real name. Italics and bold should be in italics and bold. Stories for these anthologies 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. FAMILIARS is to...

Submission Window: October 1st - December 31st, 2023 Prizes: $1,500 prize package will be divvied up like so: $750 first place, $500 second place, $250 third place. Theme: Fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc at a MAX of 4500 words Contest guidelines below. READ CAREFULLY. Failure to do so may result in disqualification! Please note that we have additional perks and leeway for MEMBERS, see details below (highlighted in green)! Story Guidelines: The short story contest is open to everyone with a brain (a jab at AI, or to the screen-swiping, order taking, zombie-like state of the West? You decide). Don't be fooled by our promo illustration, there are no restrictions on genre: fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc - we don't care as long as it's a good story. The story itself cannot exceed 4,500 words. There are no restrictions on age of participant, and no need to ask us for permission to participate in the contest - just follow the guidelines below. What do I win? A $1,000 $1,500 prize package will be divvied up like so: $750 first place, $500 second place, $250 third place. The winning story will be featured on Story Unlikely's website, will be strongly considered for our annual (print) sample magazine, and may be sent out as the bonus story for signing up, which means a lot of exposure to the winner. All three placing stories will be published in the monthly issue, and all three will be illustrated by our crackpot team of digital editors! Don't forget about the honorable mentions! That's right, you honorable little losers, you. Is that harsh? It's supposed to be a compliment. Anyway, we do NOT notify honorable mentions ahead of time, because we're lazy busy, so very, very lazy busy. Rather, we announce them in the monthly issue along with the winning story, which you need to sign...

Submission Window: October 1st - December 31st, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? Oxymoron? We don’t think so. One place you can start your exploration of this idea is an article from Nightmare Magazine penned by one of our co-founders. But perhaps the easiest way to understand what we mean is to read stories by some of the old masters we love: Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Roald Dahl. Watch classic episodes of Thriller, The Twilight Zone, and Night Gallery. Read old horror comics. Listen to radio dramas like Suspense, Quiet, Please, and Inner Sanctum Mysteries. Consume enough vintage horror, and you’ll probably begin to get an idea of the type of thing that’s likely to appeal to us. In short, we’re looking to provide a space for a type of storytelling that has largely gone out of style – dark and scary, but playful and approachable with an emphasis on plot. To clarify further, here’s a list of things we want and things we don’t, which may help you hit the sweet spot. THINGS WE LOVE: Stories with a moral core. It need not happen in every tale, but we like to see good prevail (or at least evil punished). Ironic justice, in which cleverly nasty things happen to bad people, as in old EC comics, makes us chuckle with ghoulish delight. Well-earned twist endings. There’s nothing we love more than a really good surprise or a clever way to subvert our expectations. Pull the rug out from under us and leave us gasping. High concept settings and situations reminiscent of the pulps. Androids, ghosts, aliens, old castles, vampires, dinosaurs, deals with the devil, mad scientists, Wild West gunslingers, and so...

Submission Window: December 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: $0.08 CAD per word Theme: short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships in any genre (though they prefer uplifting so probably better for Scifi/Fantasy.) Note: Looking for at least 50% Canadian authors We're looking for short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. We don't want the blaze of new love or the obsession of a new friend. We want pieces that show that comfort that develops when people know each other for years. Give us deep space, dusty frontiers, or dreamy fantasy. We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. While we are primarily looking for stories with happy endings (yeah, yeah), we also want endings that are earned. If things get a little teary or gory, that's ok. We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules. Payment Payment is $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction (1,000-3,500 words) and $60 CAD flat per poem. We are purchasing first publication rights, to revert back to the author after one year. Canadian Writers Since Heartlines Spec is primarily a Canadian magazine, we're looking to feature writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. This includes expats, refugees and displaced people living in Canada, new immigrants, and people who refuse/resist Canadian Identity. Heartlines welcomes submissions from writers of all identities. If you are comfortable, we encourage writers to indicate their intersections in their cover letter. Disclosure is not a requirement to submit, and we recognize that not all people are safe to disclose their identities. We are committed to addressing barriers and systemic discrimination faced by equity-deserving groups, which includes (but is not limited to): Racialized people People with disabilities LGBTQIA+ people Indigenous people Women Neurodivergent people Our goal...