Events

Deadline: January 31st, 2018 Payment: 0.5p a word (£20 for 4,000 words, £30 for 6,000 words), a contributor's copy, and royalties 2018 sees the re-launch of the Alchemy Press Book Of… anthologies with a brand new title: HORRORS, edited by Peter Coleborn and Jan Edwards. We are looking for horror stories … but tales that can be described as “weird”, “strange”, “amazing” and “peculiar”: stories that would have found a home in Weird Tales, Unknown Worlds, Fantastic and Fantasy Tales among other illustrious publications. Your story can be set in almost any era, any place but glimpse at and pervert the usual perceptions of reality – and unreality. We do not want stories that deal with common horror tropes without stretching boundaries. Avoid zombies unless they are tackled in an unexpected and strange fashion. No urban romance – you know, heroine falling for a vampire and so forth. Nor do we want to see religious tracts, adult content, and we really, really do not want gross-out horror tales. Please send your stories in a standard manuscript format (3,000-6,000 words ) to [email protected] to arrive by 31 January 2018 (contact us if an extension is required). Payment: 0.5p a word (£20 for 4,000 words, £30 for 6,000 words), plus a copy of the book and royalties. The anthology will be in print for a maximum of five years and then the book will become OOP. If you are interested put on your story-thinking hat now. Any questions please get back to us at the above email address or use this contact form. NOTES: We accept stories from anywhere in the world (the galaxy, even) if written in English We only accept email submissions We are looking for new stories although reprints may be considered Please present your manuscript as a Word document (or RTF or similar) using standard formatting (double spacing,...

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: fifty percent of the royalties divided equally. Darkhouse Books seeks poetry, flash, short fiction, and creative nonfiction reflecting the theme of sanctuary, refuge, shelter, or asylum, from the perspective of those offering, seeking, denying, or destroying it. From Bangladesh to the city animal shelter, all are welcome, as are all genres. TIPS: If you are familiar with the Darkhouse Books anthology Descansos you will have some idea what the editors are looking for. This series leans toward the literary while welcoming all genres, so long as the author has paid close attention to craft. Send us work that stands out because of its excellence, of course, but also because of its creative take on the theme and on the craft of writing. Take a risk and do it with skill! When it comes to prose, the editors tend to prefer short and tight, but if you write long and you can prove us wrong, you’re in. We will accept reprints so long as the piece was published more than a year before you submit it, and you are submitting in accordance with the previous publisher’s guidelines, along with ours. SUBMISSION Requirements: Please include whether your submission is poetry or prose in the subject line of your email, and include a cover page that lists the title, your name, and your contact information, as well as the name and date of any previous publication, if it is a reprint.   DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME OR CONTACT INFORMATION in the body of YOUR PIECE. IF YOU DO, IT WILL NOT BE READ. Format your piece in 12-point Times New Roman or Courier, double spaced, with initial indents of .5”, and 1” margins. Send your manuscript as .doc or .docx. Please submit no more than five poems and/or two prose...

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: Contributors will share equally fifty percent of the royalties received. Scheduled for release in late spring of next year and timed for summer reading, this anthology will feature cozy to cozy-noir stories featuring libraries and librarians. Extra points will be shamelessly awarded to writers with personal ties to libraries. The submission period for this anthology runs from November 1st to February 28th, upon the last stroke of midnight, Pacific Standard Time. We are looking for stories from 2500 to 5000 words, but will consider stories outside that range, at our discretion. Contributors will share equally fifty percent of the royalties received. We expect between fifteen and twenty stories to be accepted and are aiming at a volume length of around eighty-five thousand words, and around two-hundred and thirty pages—all dependent, obviously, upon the length of the material chosen. We will accept work previously published, provided it was not published after May of 2017, and that you hold the rights. Simultaneous submissions are fine, with the usual proviso that we should be notified should the work be accepted elsewhere, so that we may withdraw it from consideration. Submissions and questions may be sent to [email protected]. Here are some manuscript formatting tips. Via: Dark House Books.

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: $.03 cents a word Red Rabbit Publishing is seeking submissions for Red Rabbit Presents, a new anthology of sci-fi short stories. I’m looking for action-filled stories told well. That simple. NOTE: Please Like Red Rabbit’s Facebook group for just-in-time information. THEME: The first issue will release around mid-2018 and the theme will be military sci-fi. Professional soldiers, command structure, mechs beating down aliens, things like that. Explosions and heroes. Think of Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers as an example of military sci-fi. PAY & LENGTH: Rate is $.03 cents a word, original content (no reprints) only. A minimum of 3,000 words and up to 6,000. Story length can go beyond (up to 8,000), but pay will only be to 6,000. ($90.00 to $180.00). Payment will be at time of publication through PayPal. If print books are created, all contributing authors will receive a copy. RIGHTS: First Worldwide print and electronic English Language rights. Exclusivity for 180 days from date of release. Red Rabbit retains non-exclusive reprint and e-book rights afterward. DEADLINE: Story deadline for submission is February 28, 2018. Story selection will be made by April 1, 2018. All entrants will be notified around that time or shortly thereafter. EDITING: A professional editor will work with all authors to ensure a quality story is published. If you prefer, you can secure professional editing at your own expense. (BYOE – Bring Your Own Editor) BOOK COVERS & PRODUCTION: Red Rabbit Publishing will handle all aspects of design, formatting, and story placement. SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: That’s fine, as long as I’m notified (by email) if your submission is accepted elsewhere. SUBMISSION: Send an email to RRPsubmissions (at) akmeek.com with story attached as a Word document. Please use “Mid-2018 Submission” for email subject. Include the following in the email: story name, word count, author name, along with a blurb of any...

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: 2 cents a word and a contributor's copy Triangulation will be accepting submissions as of December first 2017. This year’s theme: “Music”. We are Parsec Ink’s speculative fiction annual, now in our 14th year. We’re looking for outstanding fantasy, science fiction, and horror–from new and established writers. Take the theme and run with it. Tell us a story we won’t forget. Theme:  “Music” We’re looking for fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, and speculative horror stories where music, a musical instrument, the parts of music, or musical culture make an appearance in a meaningful way. As a thematic element, you can apply a light touch or go full tuba. Be aware that we may, in this case, retool the title a bit, depending on the exact quality and character of the submissions we receive. But if you’ve got a better title than “Triangulation: The Musical”, let us know in your cover letter. Submissions Open: December 1, 2017 Submissions Close: February 28, 2018 Word Count: We consider fiction up to 5,000 words, but the sweet spot is 3,000. There is no minimum word count. Genre: We accept science fiction, fantasy, and horror–and enjoy intelligent blends of the three. Stories without a speculative element will not be considered. Compensation: Pay is semi-pro: 2 cents a word. Authors will receive an e-book and one print copy of the anthology, plus wholesale pricing for additional print copies (typically 50% off the cover price). Rights: We purchase North American serial rights, and electronic rights for the downloadable version(s). All subsidiary rights released upon publication. Submissions: We are a meritocracy. New authors are as welcome as those with a laundry list of accomplishments. But it’s going to be the story that wins us over. Grab us by the lapels, drag us onto that plane, take us for the ride of our lives… but...

Missile rocket flying high in dark sky Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: $10 Note: Reprints Only Pole to Pole Publishing is seeking short, re-print fiction for two anthologies to be published in 2018 as the forerunners in our Re-Imagined Stories series: Re-Launch and Re-Quest. Re-Launch requires dark science fiction reprints on the theme of “launch” or “re-launch.” Re-Questrequires dark fantasy reprints on the theme of “quests.” For both anthologies, stories should be 3,000-5,000 words and meet the central theme of the anthology. Reprints currently available on line are not eligible. Preference is for stories that haven’t been published in at least a year. Older reprints will carry more weight than new ones. Author must possess the rights to offer the story for submission. Hard Sells: Profane and vulgar language — because we market to both adult and YA readers. If we are interested in your story, we may ask you to edit profane and vulgar language as a condition of publication. First Person and Present Tense. We’ve published both: when the stories were very, very good. We want to let you know up front that we’re going to reject this most of the time. It’s just not our preference. Excessive Gore and/or violence. Blood and guts are fine—as long as they’re part of the story and not the story itself. Sex. See above about marketing to a wider audience. Right Purchased: – The non-exclusive right to publish the story to the new Pole to Pole Publishing Patreon blog (for patron’s eyes only). – The non-exclusive right to collect the stories into an anthology, published in 2018. Payment: Payment is $10 per story, paid on acceptance (contract must be signed), via PayPal only; plus, one electronic and one print copy of the antho your story appears in. Sorry: If you do not have a PayPal account, please...

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: $50 (AUD) and a contributor's copy It's time to put the grey matter to use and start planning for the next anthology. With a working title of "Beneath the Waves - Tales from the Deep," this will be our fourth anthology in the Things in the Well series, and will be published in 2018 (Deadline is end of February. Eta is April.) Email: [email protected] when your story is complete, and as good as it can be! Note By all means draw inspiration from them, but I'm not looking for Lovecraft/Mythos fiction, or rehashes of Greek mythology, etc. unless these are outstanding, different, and memorable! I want something new and exciting! New psychological terrors, new fears, new creatures and new stories of the supernatural. If you need more ideas, take a look at Brian Lumley's work, or H.G. Wells, or Cornish myths, Japanese legends, etc. Archetypes Clive Barker's story from the Books of Blood "The Madonna" will be one of our archetypes, so if you don't know that story, please familiarise yourself with it... I'd also urge you to look at some of Brian Lumley's work, e.g. Haggopian for some fresh ideas. But don't forget I've read all these stories, so no pastiches or cheap imitations, please :) Stop! Before putting fingers on keyboards (or pen to paper) you would do well to read my Editor’s blog at http://thingsinthewell.webs.com/editor-s-blog or buy and read some of our previous themed anthologies on Amazon. (You may have to look for them in your stores, or ask for them!) Word Count, etc. Word count is expected to be 5,000 - 8,000 and I am flexible to a degree, on the basis that if the story fits you should wear it. Having said that, although it's a flat-rate payment, I don't think a writer should limit themselves based on the payment rate. I anticipate a...

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: $25 and a contributor's copy The basics Payment is $25 + 1 contributor copy, additional copies at discount. Genre is crime. But there's more to it. Word count is 2000-5000 words. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Reprints and multiple submissions are not. Submissions close end of day February 28, 2018. Diverse is good. Submit it. Pay rate Well, we aren't the majors, so we offer a flat pay rate of $25 and one contributor copy of the published anthology. Payment will be sent within 30 days of publication. You will also be able to purchase additional copies at a discounted rate. Genre This time around, it's crime. Now having said that, we want to put our twist on it. First off, if you don't write crime, that's great -- it goes toward our tagline of "Try something different." So, we are actually encouraging non-crime writers to give it a shot. Need some guidance? Check out the articles here and here. Now, for those of you that actually do write crime, we're still going to ask you to try something different as well. Break the conventions. Shake up the tropes. Want some examples? Well, hey, have you tried layering a different genre on top of it? Science fiction? Horror? Western? Mystery? War? Historical? Diverse stories and characters are always something that we look for. Don't limit yourself. Don't play it safe. Surprise us. Surprise yourself. Word count The sweet spot is between 2000 and 5000 words. Got something that's outside that range? Fair enough. We'll still take a look at it, but bear in mind, if you're going to bend the rules, you have to ensure it's a mind-blowing read. Reprint/Multiple/Simultaneous submissions Let's take these one at a time, shall we? Reprints: No. We want to ensure that we can market the anthology as all-new...

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: 6 cents per word advance up to $300 and royalties. Edited by Christopher Golden and James A. Moore What inspired us to create The Twisted Book of Shadows, and what can readers (and writers) expect from this anthology? Anthologies were a vital, formative part of our development as writers — and as readers. We look back with love and wonder at the efforts of the legendary Charles L. Grant to bring the cream of the horror crop into readers’ hands. His eleven-volume SHADOWS series contained familiar names, but every installment also presented us with the unfamiliar, and often the brand-new. Other Grant anthologies — TERRORS, NIGHTMARES, MIDNIGHT, the quartet of GREYSTONE BAY books — provided the same. Charlie Grant helped move unknown writers into the horror community’s conversation. There were other anthologies that contributed to the trend. Thomas F. Monteleone’s BORDERLANDS series. Kathryn Ptacek’s WOMEN OF DARKNESS. Stuart David Schiff’s WHISPERS series. Kirby McCauley’s legendary DARK FORCES. Skipp & Spector’s milestone BOOK OF THE DEAD. David J. Schow’s SILVER SCREAM. And on and on… But those books were published during horror literature’s glory days. In the years since, it has grown more and more difficult to persuade publishers to invest in horror anthologies (or anthologies of any sort, really). If Golden wants to pitch an anthology to a mainstream publisher, it’s necessary to compile a list of contributors first. Which means that there’s little opportunity to bring in unknown writers. Yet those memories remain. We have talked for years about the desire to present an anthology that is open to anyone, and which allows us to follow some personal rules (outlined below). Yes, it’s a massive time commitment, but we—and John McIlveen of Haverhill House—believe it is absolutely worth it. We want to create a market for horror stories...

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: Stories that are between 1000-3000 words will receive $5. Stories that are longer than that will receive $10 and a contributor's copy Submission Guidelines Unfading Daydream is looking for unique and exceptional fiction to be showcased in our quarterly literary magazine. We strive to feature stories within the genres that have inspired us (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc) as well as stories that feature LGBTQ+ themes. We will be seeking submissions for our 4th issue in February 2018. The theme is ‘retold.’ Think famous stories retold, like sci-fi Jane Eyre or Cinderella with werewolves. Basic Details We are open to established and new, emerging authors. In terms of length, we’re looking for stories between 1000 and 7000 words. Shorter or longer stories will be evaluated on a case by case basis. No previously published works. Please no simultaneous submissions Reading periods are May, August, November, and February.  All submissions must be in by 11:59pm CST on the last day of the reading period (May, August, November, or February) Please do not send submissions outside of our reading periods. Submissions received outside of reading periods will not be considered. Expect a decision within four weeks See full guidelines below Payment Stories that are between 1000-3000 words will receive $5. Stories that are longer than that will receive $10.  All contributors receive a hard copy of the magazine. In time, we would like to pay contributors more! Submissions We accept submissions only by email. Free to submit! Please send your submission to submit  unfadingdaydream com with the title of ‘Unfading Daydream Submission’. Full Guidelines We want to see your unique sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc. We prefer stories that are between 1000-7000 words, but if you feel that your 8000 word story or your 700 word story is brilliant, we’d love to see it. The Submission Piece One submission per...

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: $0.01 per word, minimum of 10.00 Apparition Lit is open for poetry and short story submissions four times a year. February 15-28 May 15-31 August 15-31 November 15-30 Starting January 2018, Apparition Lit will also hold monthly flash fiction contests. These stories will follow selected themes and be published online. For more information on themes and submission guidelines, please see the flash fiction drop down below. Our themes for 2018 will be: Apparition (Now CLOSED to submissions, publishing January 2018) Delusion (open for submissions February 15-28, 2018, publishing April 2018) Vision (open for submissions May 15-31, 2018, publishing July 2018) Diversion (open for submissions August 15-31, 2018, publishing October 2018) PAYMENT: Apparition is a token rate magazine, paying $0.01 per word, minimum of 10.00 dollars (excluding flash contest, a flat rate of 5.00 dollars to the winning flash). If we accept your story, we are purchasing the right to publish the story online and in the quarterly edition. Rights will revert back to the artist after one year. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR: SHORT FICTION: We will only accept stories between 1000-5000 words. If the story is complete with an extra hundred words, then it will still be considered. Any stories over 5,200 words will automatically be rejected. PAYMENT: Apparition is a token-rate magazine, paying $0.01 per word, minimum of 10.00 dollars (excluding flash contest). If we accept your story, we are purchasing the right to publish the story online and in the quarterly edition. Rights will revert back to the artist after one year. HOW TO SUBMIT: Format the story using the Shunn manuscript Please retain all proper formatting marks. Keep font italicized and bolded. We’re not in the typewriter age anymore. Please only use Times New Roman or Arial font in your document Save as an RTF file and attach to an email In...

Deadline: February 28th, 2018 Payment: $.05 per word Open for Nothing’s Sacred Vol. 4 From: January 26th – February 28th Projected Release Date: October 1, 2018 Nothing’s Sacred is Jack of No Trades Productions’ horror magazine. It is made up of  original short fiction, poetry, articles, book reviews, two sentence short stories, and comics. As said in the magazines’ namesake, nothing is off limits. The horror within can range from subtle to grotesque, psychological to physical, dark to full out terror so long as it is character driven. Theme wise, Nothing’s Sacred is relatively open outside of distasteful stories of rape, the degradation and/or humiliation of women, and child content of any kind. What we’re  looking for: Fiction – 3,000 word max. NO REPRINTS Pay rate $.05 Articles – Should be related to or about the horror genre. 2000 word max. Pay rate $.05 Poetry – 3 poems max per submission. 250 words max per poem. Pay rate $10 per poem. Two Sentence Fiction – Just as implied, these stories are extremely short. We will consider up to five submissions per author. Pay rate $5 per story. Comics – We first introduced comics into Nothing’s Sacred in Vol. 3 to include a humorous element to our layout. Comics should include elements of horror in them, and may be either a full page or a banner size (as you would find in your Sunday paper), strip. Pay rate $90 per comic. Pay out for all material: Upon publication Seeks North American Serial Rights and Electronic Rights. Guidelines for Submission: The following guidelines are intended to be used for all of the categories mentioned above. All Submissions should be double spaced and be typed in either Courier or Times Romans (preferably), 12 font. Submissions with multiple pages will be required to have page numbers after the first page. To submit, email material as an attachment with a description of the story in the body of the email. Also, to...