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Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: $25 There are very few places left in this world that haven’t been explored, mapped, and inhabited. The majority of the surface of the earth is known down to the millimeter. However, a few mysteries do remain. The depths of the oceans evade discovery simply because of their inaccessibility. Likewise, the icy stretches of the last great continent that continues to resist human knowledge: Antarctica. Recent archeological finds confirm that Antarctica was once at least temperate if not subtropical millennia ago. Various authors have recounted, through their fictions, stories relayed to them by survivors of the few successful forays into the icy continent’s heart. In 1819, the San Telmo, a Spanish ship of the line, was lost off the coast of Antarctica with all 644 aboard. Since then, tales have surfaced in rumor, fiction, and legend about the terrors haunting the vast wasteland surrounding the nether pole of the world. The place was one of singular wildness, and its aspect brought to my mind the descriptions given by travellers of those dreary regions marking the site of degraded Babylon. Not to speak of the ruins of the disruptured cliff, which formed a chaotic barrier in the vista to the northward, the surface of the ground in every other direction was strewn with huge tumuli, apparently the wreck of some gigantic structures of art; although, in detail, no semblance of art could be detected. Scoria were abundant, and large shapeless blocks of the black granite, intermingled with others of marl, and both granulated with metal. Of vegetation there were no traces whatsoever throughout the whole of the desolate area within sight. Several immense scorpions were seen, and various reptiles not elsewhere to be found in the high latitudes. from The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of...

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2000 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2000 words Thuggish Itch is our horror and sci-fi anthology collection. This is the place to submit your horror, sci-fi and speculative fiction stories. Current theme: Viva Las Vegas For Thuggish Itch's first collection we are looking for stories that fit the theme 'Viva Las Vegas' and are feature the iconic city in one way or another. Las Vegas is one of our favourite cities and we're keen to see how you can mess with the status quo. Slot machines that will rob you of more than just a nickel or dime? Back alley negotiations that go horribly wrong? A flesh-eating virus that runs riot through each and every casino on the strip. Think outside the box and give us something spectacular. Thuggish Itch is our horror, sci-fi and speculative fiction collection. Please ensure that your story falls within one of these genres. Please ensure that you read through the general guidelines below and if there are specific questions please contact us using the form on the home page or via the listed social media accounts. To help ensure your submission gets to the correct place, please include the following in the subject line of your email: 'Thuggish Itch - Story Title'. Word count: 1000 - 6000 words (we're willing to consider longer or shorter if the story is good) Deadline: June 30 2018 Payment:  AU$5.00 for stories under 2000 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2000 words Via: Gypsum Sound Tales.

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: Royalty arrangement for both print and digital is 50% of net revenue. ERASERHEAD PRESS IS OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: April 1- June 30, 2018 All submissions received by the end of June will receive a response by July 31, 2018. What we are looking for: Eraserhead Press is seeking original novellas and novels of 20,000 to 100,000 words in length that fit into the Bizarro Fiction category. We want surprising, unique, well-crafted weird stories with compelling plots, eccentric characters, and never-before-seen concepts. We want a balance of both plot and character – we love weird characters with weird problems in weird places. We are looking for exciting concepts that make people say “I have to read that!” and well-developed characters they can fall in love with along the way. We’re most drawn to darkly absurd tales that are addictive to read and contain a strong emotional core. We love fiction that is both heart-rending and fun. While it may or may not be funny, we are interested in more than just a joke. If you can make us both laugh and cry or creep us out and draw us in, we will love your book. We are looking for entertaining and accessible stories that speak to a specific audience. Will your book appeal to vegan punks? Riot grrls? Overworked airline pilots? Cos-players? Fans of 80s New Wave? If you’ve identified the audience for your work, please tell us in your book description. Multiple submissions are okay – during our open submission period we are open to reading as many manuscripts as you feel would meet our criteria but we are only interested in your best work. Bring it on! We have high standards – we have been the leading publisher of Bizarro Fiction since 1999...

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: $15 Volume 34/61 Submission Period: May 1, 2018 - June 30, 2018 Publication Date: November 1, 2018 FORMATTING GUIDELINES This is proving to be a recurring problem, so we're putting it up front. Please, for all our sakes, read this next part carefully. All submissions should be sent by e-mail (no letters or telephone calls please) to [email protected]. Below are some formatting rules to help us process your submission more quickly. Email and Cover Letters Email is accepted in both text and HTML formats. When submitting, please put this in the subject line: Submission: (Title) - (First and Last name) Include the following in the body of the email and in the attached submission: Your name Name to use on the story (byline), if different Your preferred email address Your mailing address The story's title The story's word count You may also include a cover letter in the body of the email. We get a lot of strange stuff in cover letters, so if you're unsure of what goes in them (and especially what doesn't) please refer to these cover letter tips: How to write a cover letter | What not to put in a cover letter by Jed Hartman Submission Formatting We ONLY accept submissions as attachments! All stories submitted as an attachment must follow standard manuscript formatting. We will no longer read any story not properly formatted. (And we much prefer Courier New to Times New Roman) For explanations and tips on what SMF is and how to do it with word processing programs, please see this article. Please send your submission as an attachment in Microsoft Word (DOC, DOCX) or Rich Test Format (RTF) only. Other formats, such as Works, WordPerfect, Open Office, etc., have proven difficult to open. Please note that...

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: Royalty split Note: Reprints Allowed Title: Children of the Sky Reading Period: May 1 – June 30 Publication Date: August 1 Word Count: 3,000 – 12,000 loose Theme: Classic Alien Science Fiction Here at Schreyer Ink Publishing we’re big fans of old films and books. So we’re looking for classic-inspired alien stories for this anthology. We’re looking for stories of 1st contact, alien invasions, 1st steps on alien worlds. We want stories where the aliens come in peace, and stories where aliens come to destroy. We’re looking for stories of lost star explorers, both human and alien, and what they find. Some of our favourites are the old pulp science fiction novellas, Flash Gordon, and the old drive-in movies of the 1950s and 1960s. If you have any questions please use the contact form. Because the contact form strips formatting we are now accepting story submissions in the body of an email sent to schreyer _ ink _ publishing (at) outlook dot com (remove the spaces between the underscores and insert correct symbols). We will not open any attachments that we have not requested. As always, the anthologies pay on a royalty split, every 6 months, and we request exclusive print and e-book rights for 1 year. Via: Schreyer Ink Publishing.

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: 3 cents per word for original work, 1 cent for reprints. Note: Reprints Allowed Short version: -We buy original (3cents/word) and reprint (penny/word) short stories -Length up to 7500 words. -Anonymize your manuscript before sending it via email as a doc, docx, or rtf. -If accepted, your story will be published in ebook and print-on-demand formats. -If accepted, we will try to produce your story on a podcast, but this does not always pan out. It’s complicated. The way is fraught with bear traps and wolves. Long version: Curiosities is a paying speculative fiction anthology podcast and magazine. What makes us different from other SF/F/H markets is that most of our stories have some sort of anachropunkish retro-vintage element, and the handful of others that don’t were the ones that grabbed us by the throat and demanded to be bought. Clear as mud? Good. About 2/3 of submissions are rejected for “Bad Fit.” What we’re looking for: As an audio venue, we want stories that entertain. We want to be taken on an adventure in a time that never was, be it steampunk, gaslamp, weird tales, dreadpunk, vintage horror, mad science, fantastic cities (please!), monsters, impossible machines, clockworks, alt-history adventures, surprises, weird westerns, and things that shouldn’t work. What we don’t want: Serialized novels. Novel excerpts. Stories longer than 7500 words. Fan fiction. Sherlockians. Vulgar language used as punctuation. Cutters. Horror stories that spend most of the word count telling us all the mundane little details of the contemporary protag’s lifestyle before getting to it. JFK theories. Anything that has been on a podcast within the past 18 months. What’s a hard sell: Slipstream. Excessive splatter. Horror based in domestic violence or sexual perversion. Stories that take place in outer space. Anything set after the...

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: $50 and a contributor's copy On a recent camping trip with my family, the stillness of the night seemed to amplify each sound. Every rustle of a branch or scrape of a twig seemed louder than a gunshot. I froze in fear and barely slept a wink all night. I felt exposed and vulnerable, and it terrified me. Knowing that bears often visited this park didn’t help matters either. How could I sleep when an attack could come from any direction? This frightful anticipation reminded me of a scene from one of my favorite TV shows, Lost. Survivors from a plane crash hear the metallic scream of an unknown beast that sounds like a dinosaur in the jungle as it draws closer to their safe position on the beach. Palm trees are knocked sideways at an alarming rate as a terror in the night inches closer to their vulnerable location. Not being able to see the beast heightens the suspense. What is that thing? When will it strike? How can they survive? I wonder how our early ancestors slept outside in the open air. Did they ever feel secure enough to fall into a deep sleep? I think it would be impossible for me. I find security in our houses, towns, and cities. So many horrors lurk in dark alleyways and shelter in deserted corners of the world. Very quickly, my mind pictures vampires hungry for blood or monsters creeping through abandoned buildings on the outside of town. A fire burning bright in the darkness seems like a beacon of hope. Light seems to drive the fear away and offer a bit of safety, while the dark unknown teems with danger. But adding the lure of a full moon to a night already fraught with...

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: 1 cent/word and a contributor copy The Rabbit Dies First FurPlanet is pleased to invite writers of anthropomorphic fiction to submit to its upcoming anthology, The Rabbit Dies First. We are looking for stories of all genres: scifi, fantasy, horror, mystery, crime, romance, or slice of life -- to name a few -- all centered around two concepts: the rabbit is going to die, and someone else is next. But I don't want to kill a rabbit! Then don't! Maybe the rabbit knows the rabbit is supposed to die first. Maybe everyone only expects the rabbit to die. Maybe death isn't what it seems. We encourage you to play with the concept, rebel against it, or adhere to it--whatever makes a great story. Seriously, what genre? Is erotic fiction okay? Erotic fiction is okay as long as it contributes to a good story. We're looking for a balanced anthology with many different genre types, so give us the type of story you love to write the most, or take this opportunity to try a genre you've always wanted to write in. We want to put out a book full of stories that are fun, gripping, heartbreaking, suspenseful, sweet, sexy, terrifying, and any combination. Want to write a prison drama or a high seas adventure? Send it to us! Just remember: The Rabbit Dies First. Is there anything you don't want? We also do not want stories with only humans and no anthropomorphic animals. We do welcome and will be looking for diverse voices. Submission Guidelines Submissions should be in standard manuscript format and attached in .doc, .docx., or .rtf format in an email to [email protected] with the subject STORY SUBMISSION: In the message body, please include a brief cover letter introducing yourself and your story....

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: Varies, 1 cent per word for the first 2000-3000 words and changes above that (see below.) Submissions for Issue No.3, the “Coexistence” issue, are NOW OPEN through June 30th, 2018! What We’re Looking For WCP is looking for stories to publish in Issue No.3 (theme: “Coexistence”) of its magazine, Weird City. These stories should: Fit the Issue No.3 theme of “Coexistence”. Click here for theme details. Be well-written and carefully proofread. Stories with obvious or gratuitous typos or grammatical errors will be disregarded. Be formatted according to the William Shunn Manuscript Format, including the following: Font: Courier New or Courier, 12pt. Spacing: Double-spaced. Margins: At least 1″ on each side. Italicized Words: Underline italicized words and remove italics. File Format: *.doc, *.docx, or equivalent format. Be original works — no copied works, fanfics, or reinterpretations. We also discourage incorporating distinct elements from other works into yours (e.g. We don’t want to see Cthulhu stories). Be self-contained, standalone stories. No chapter excerpts please. Be between 2000 and 10000 words. In case you’re wondering: YES, we do accept simultaneous submissions. What We’re NOT Looking For Multiple submissions. Submit one story at a time, please. Reprints. We’re buying first publication rights only. First drafts. Rough stories or those with obvious or gratuitous typos or grammatical errors will be disregarded. Cliches. We agree that it’s all been done, but we are not looking for stories that rely on cliches or tropes. Smut. We at WCP have nothing against erotica, smut, or dirty writing, but we’re not looking to publish it. Offensive material. That includes everything you think it does: racism, bigotry, sexism, etc. Yes, a character in a story may be a racist (for example) but know the difference between this and ideology pushing. That one story you just...

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: Royalties Two years ago, The Geeky Press released Bad Jobs & Bullshit: It's Unlikely That We'll Be Missed. We loved the experience (and the writing) so much that we decided to continue the series. We're pleased to announce a call seeking nonfiction and narrative essays, poetry, fiction, and short scripts for an anthology collection titled Bad Jobs & Bullshit: Summer Jobs. As you can surmise, this collection is about the sometimes sweaty, sometimes sentimental, and always entertaining hours we’ve spent at the shittiest summer jobs imaginable. Whether it’s staffing third shift at a rural gas station or hunching under the soul-sucking fluorescent lights of a corporate desk farm, everyone has a story of that job. And the bullshit that went along with it. DEADLINE Open Call: January 1 - June 30 General Submission Guidelines LENGTH Essays and Creative Nonfiction: Submit completed work no more than 5,000 words Fiction + Short Stories: Submit completed work between 1,000 and 5,000 words Scripts: no more than 15 pages Poetry: Submit completed work; no more than 5 pages. You must submit each poem individually! Photo Essay: No more than 5 black-and-white pictures and 100 words per picture STYLE AND SUBJECT We publish fiction, nonfiction (creative nonfiction, essays), screenplays, scripts, black-and-white photography, and poetry. There are standards. We can't articulate them. COVER LETTER Please keep yours brief, though we do like to hear from people who like the magazine. We’re not concerned about writing degrees or past publications, so don’t be daunted if you don’t have an MFA or much in the way of previously published work. FORMATTING Please don't use colors or weird fonts. (We strip both out before we start the design process.) Visual poetry is not accepted. SCRIPT FORMATTING Must be a Word doc or docx, 2010...

Deadline: June 30th, 2018 Payment: $25 and 2 contributor's copies. We were so pleased with how our 2018 WhimsyCon Anthology (Wit & Whimsy) came out, we want to do it again! Do you want to submit your work to be included? See the details below! WhimsyCon 2019 Anthology Submission Guidelines Shiny Garden is seeking short fiction for its 2019 WhimsyCon Anthology. Steampunk, science fiction, fantasy, and other speculative fiction preferred. Submissions should be: Written in English. Written for a PG-13 audience (no explicit sex or violence). Between 5,000 – 15,000 words. Typed and double-spaced. Include the author’s name, address, phone number, and approximate word count at the top of the first page. Print ready (already edited for grammar, continuity, etc.). Saved as a .doc or .docx file. Note: Paragraph indentations must be created using document formatting features, not tabs. If your submission is selected for the anthology, you will receive: $25 in payment. Two (2) complimentary copies of the printed anthology. Option to purchase additional copies at 50% of the cover price. Submission Process Submissions should be sent by email (as an attachment) to [email protected]. Submissions will be accepted May1, 2018 – June 30, 2018. Authors will be notified that their submissions were received within seven (7) business days of receipt. Authors will be notified of acceptance status by July 31, 2018. WhimsyCon 2019 Anthology Guest Editor We are pleased to announce Andy Burns will be our guest editor for the 2019 WhimsyCon Anthology! A.M. Burns has been writing since high school but got serious about things while working in corporate America in his thirties. Since that time, he has authored over 150 works of various lengths and helped numerous authors with their editing. As a member, and previous president of Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group, he’s worked with authors...