Events

Deadline: December 30th, 2016 Payment: $40 and a contributor's copy TRAGEDY QUEENS is an anthology that brings together two powerful muses: Sylvia Plath and Lana Del Rey. Sylvia’s voice haunts us from beyond the grave. Her words cut like diamonds—sharp, deadly, and forever beautiful. Lana Del Rey’s dark themes and enchanting vocals resonate with listeners from all around the world. Both of these artists explore taboo topics. They find the words to voice the things they are not proud of, the things that haunt them. It takes courage to do the verbal striptease. Let these two extraordinary muses guide you into your own heart of darkness. Themes and Topics: Bad Girls, Bad Boys, Sad Girls, Sad Boys, Self-Destruction, Self-Sabotage, Suicide, Addiction, Obsession, Hedonism, Paganism, Americana, Witches, Tarot Cards and Fortunetelling, BDSM, Crimes of Passion, Shameful Secrets, Blackmail, Deception, Decay, Madness, Fairy Tales Gone Wrong, Trauma, Depression, Alienation, Body Dysmorphia, Mythological Characters and Creatures, Greek Tragedy, Femmes Fatales, Lolitas, Monsters, Loss of Innocence, Loneliness, Dark Side of Hollywood, Bikers, Nazis, Cults, Voyeurism, Doomed Lovers. Submission Guidelines: Stories need to have clear plot beats and arcs. We want realism and logical causality even if the story is surrealistic and dreamlike. Characters must go through transformations, whether they self-destruct or they overcome their obstacles. We want catharsis. We want new perspectives on old themes and narratives. We want strong women, bad women, crazy women. This is a celebration of the dark side of femininity. The side that makes people uncomfortable. The side that scares men and threatens the social order. Pick your favorite Plath poem or Lana song/video as your springboard, or merge a Plath poem and a Lana song and see what comes out of their synergy. Pick a poetry collection or an album. Pick a theme or imagery that resonates. You...

Deadline: December 30th, 2016 Payment: $10USD Syntax & Salt publishes up to 13 magical realism pieces a season. We are open to general submissions from October 1 to December 30, 2016. Myths, Monsters, Legends, and Fairy Tales, our themed issue, is set for publication on October 30th. Here is how you win our hearts and minds: Magical Realism Stories that take up 3500 words or less Proofread, polished manuscripts Old stories told in a new way New stories told in an old way Sad endings that don’t rely on gimmicks or shock value Happy endings that hurt a little bit Beautiful prose and well developed plot Thank you, but no thank you to: Violence for the sake of violence We’re good with profanity, but it needs to fit the story Poetry – the thing is, we love it, but we’re not there yet Rape stories are vital stories. 1 in 4 women report being raped, and men are often silent victims of assault. However, many of the rape stories we’ve read in our careers as writers and slushers and editors do not explore the nuances of character available, and use the act of rape for shock value or to create a victimized character who can be saved. Here’s how you submit: We no longer accept email submissions. Please continue to read through the instructions here, then submit using our Submittable form.  For the sake of formatting, we do prefer standard manuscript formatting. You can find an example here. That does mean Times New Roman or Courier, 12pt., double-spaced. We won’t probably reject you out right for deviations, unless you submit in comic sans — that’s just not ok. We like cover letters — nothing crazy, just an idea of who you are, what you’re submitting, and the length of your submission. A third person bio can be...

Deadline: December 30th, 2016 Payment: 6 cents per word Note: Looking for female authors Announcing an open call for submissions for an anthology of dark and speculative fiction in the Women Up To No Good book series, co-edited by H.L. Nelson and Joanne Merriam, to be published by Upper Rubber Boot Books. Authors must identify as female, non-binary, or a marginalized sex or gender identity. Stories may be funny or serious, set anywhere on or off the world, in any time period, but must feature female protagonists. Word/page count: Up to 5,000 words/story. Payment: six cents per word. Publication history: Original stories only. Reprints may be submitted by invitation only. Multiple submissions: No. Simultaneous submissions: No. Deadline: Friday, 30 December 2016. We plan to reply within a month. To submit: Send to joanne at upperrubberboot dot com: (a) your complete manuscript as a .RTF, (b) a bio of 100 words or fewer, and (c) make sure you provide the following information: legal name (if different from the name you write under), mailing address, and word count. Put “WOMEN UP TO NO GOOD” in the subject line. If the work is a translation, please also provide a statement from the rightsholder that you are authorized to translate and submit it (both author and translator will receive full payment). Via: Upper Rubber Boot.