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Taking Submissions: Dear Leader Tales

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: 3.0 cents per word, contributors copy, $150 advance maximum on longer stories Theme: Fiction short stories and poetry in support of an election year theme “Dear Leader Tales” (DLT) anthology. We want stories of a humorous or satirical bent which illustrate or lampoon an emperor’s hubris (and lack of clothing). Note: Reprints allowed Theme:  We’re looking for original fiction short stories and poetry in support of an election year theme “Dear Leader Tales” (DLT) anthology. We want stories of a humorous or satirical bent which illustrate or lampoon an emperor’s hubris (and lack of clothing). In that spirit, we don’t want any real life current or past Dear Leaders named directly, but their known foibles are fair game. If you’re one of the oppressed, regardless of who’s in charge, this is your chance to deploy devastating humor, satire, wit, and sarcasm to bring them down a few notches. If nothing else, we can amuse ourselves in a trying time. Examples beyond the political include CEOs who constantly quote Sun Tzu or Machiavelli incorrectly, cats plotting to overthrow their human overlords, in short anywhere clueless oppressors operate. Rules: The stories can range from 1,000 to 5,000 words. First world rights are preferred. Reprint rights will be accepted if the story is good enough. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable as well, provided prompt notice is given should the story be picked up elsewhere. Stories may exceed the 5K word count limit, if it merits, however the advances are limited to a maximum of $150 per story. Schedule: Submission period is July 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, after which no further submittals will be accepted.The email address for submissions will only be active during that period. We plan to release the anthology in mid-September 2020. Team: The evaluation team will consist...

Taking Submissions: Fairytale Dragons

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: Royalties Publication – November 2020 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – A new twist on fairytales with a fresh element: dragons. Each fairytale has been reimagined with these beasts based on the author’s preference. Wise dragons, evil dragons, elemental dragons, oh my! These classic characters will never see this coming. Note: Any kind of dragon is welcome. Fairytales can be from any country and dark or cheerful. * Introduction of yourself should be a short biography in 3rd Person between 100-200 words. Upon acceptance, this will be used within the anthology. Send a bio with every single anthology submission. We work with hundreds of authors and will not take time to retrieve yours from a previous anthology. * Poetry submissions: All poetry needs to be contained within a single e-mail. Each poem should be in a separate document. Haikus may be grouped together. * All e-mails should be addressed to “Dear Editor.” After receiving edits back, the author has two weeks to return the submission for formatting. All submissions will be reviewed within thirty (30) days of the anthology’s submission deadline. This ensures submission calls do not close early and gives everyone a chance to submit. You will know your submission has been received for consideration by receiving a generic response. Whether accepted or rejected, you will always receive a response. View our blog articles on how to submit to a publisher and how to write a proposal.   Failure to submit following all of the guidelines will result in an immediate refusal. You are able to submit again before the submission call deadline.   Rating – Check each anthologies‘ rating. Word count – Check each anthologies‘ word count requirements. E-mail address to submit to – [email protected]   NOTICE –  Failure to submit correctly will result in refusal of submission. Via: Dragon Soul Press.

Taking Submissions: All Dark Places 2

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: Royalties Deadline – July 31st, 2020 Publication – October 2020 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – In a world where so many dark things go bump in the night, terror awaits around every corner as these authors take horror stories to the next level. * Introduction of yourself should be a short biography in 3rd Person between 100-200 words. Upon acceptance, this will be used within the anthology. Send a bio with every single anthology submission. We work with hundreds of authors and will not take time to retrieve yours from a previous anthology. * Poetry submissions: All poetry needs to be contained within a single e-mail. Each poem should be in a separate document. Haikus may be grouped together. * All e-mails should be addressed to “Dear Editor.” After receiving edits back, the author has two weeks to return the submission for formatting. All submissions will be reviewed within thirty (30) days of the anthology’s submission deadline. This ensures submission calls do not close early and gives everyone a chance to submit. You will know your submission has been received for consideration by receiving a generic response. Whether accepted or rejected, you will always receive a response. View our blog articles on how to submit to a publisher and how to write a proposal.   Failure to submit following all of the guidelines will result in an immediate refusal. You are able to submit again before the submission call deadline.   Rating – Check each anthologies‘ rating. Word count – Check each anthologies‘ word count requirements. E-mail address to submit to – [email protected]   NOTICE –  Failure to submit correctly will result in refusal of submission. Via: Dragon Soul Press.

Taking Submissions: Typehouse Literary Magazine #17

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: $15 or more Theme: Stories with a unique perspective and honest insight into our world We are looking for submissions of poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction and visual art. Writing that grabs us conveys a unique perspective and honest insight into our world. We are especially interested in underrepresented voices of all kinds, and we want to see submissions from writers and artists of all races, sexualities, nationalities, religions, and genders, as well as disabled and neurodivergent creators. Genre fiction submissions are welcome, particularly speculative fiction. We are all writers and artists, so simultaneous submission are encouraged, but please let us know immediately if it has been accepted elsewhere. Previously published work will not be considered, and this includes work published on social media and personal websites. If it available publicly online, that means it is published. Once you have received a response to a submission, please wait two months before sending us a new work. Submitting is free, but please consider tossing a couple of dollars in the feedback option – you’ll receive personalized feedback on your submission! We are closed to regular submissions during the months of January, May, and September as we put together the new issue, although feedback and visual arts submissions will remain open. ****NOTE**** Due to the uncertainty of when things will return to a normal schedule, we will be publishing May’s issue combined with September’s in a special jumbo 20th issue. We will remain open to submissions until July 31st, 2020, with scheduled printing of the jumbo issue coming the beginning of September!! Prose Submissions: There is no minimum number of words, although we most frequently publish fiction and non-fiction between 500-5,000 words. We accept up to three prose submissions per author as long as the total number of words...

Taking Submissions: Kyanite Press Journal Volume 3 Issue 1

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: Royalties Theme: The Wonderful Weird Volume 3, Issue 1: Winter 2020 Coming in November 2020 Theme: The Wonderful Weird Preferred Genres*: Weird Fiction Word Count: We are looking for short stories and novelettes ranging from 2,500 to 15,000 words, and poetry of up to 20 pages in length**. Submission Deadline: July 31, 2020 Show us the strange side of your imagination, from tales of cosmic horror that explore the unknowable to delving into supernatural mysteries. Weird fiction is a genre that both pre-dates and defies speculative fiction genre conventions. Blending fantasy, horror, and science fiction with elements of the supernatural; it is more an exploration of tone and theme than one of genre conventions. Learn more about what we’re looking for in The Origins and Evolution of Weird Fiction by our Editor-in-Chief, B.K. Bass. *We hope to ensure that the majority of each issue fits a theme, but will consider other submissions for each issue. Stories in the Preferred Genres will receive primary preference, related genres and or themes will be considered next, and unrelated content will be given tertiary consideration. ** 20 pages in an 8.5″ x 11″ Word doc at 12 pt TNR or Courier, single-spaced with spaces between stanzas. Submission Guidelines Please read through this section thoroughly before sending your story! Submissions that do not follow these guidelines may not make it through our initial screening process. What to Include in the Email An introduction is always nice. Tell us who you are. Have we met, or did somebody refer you to us? Here is a good place to remind us. The elevator pitch. In one to three sentences, what’s the selling point for the story? What’s it about? What makes it stand apart? What are the genre(s), main theme(s), and word count? The...

Taking Submissions: Unfading Daydream

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: 1000-3000 words is $5 and longer is $10 Theme: Unique and exceptional speculative fiction 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 are currently not open for submissions. 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 If you are under 18, we require parental permission and have made a permission form. The form can be found HERE Reading periods are May to July and November to January. All submissions must be in by 11:59pm CST on the last day of the reading period (July or January). Be advised that if we get enough stories before the end of a submission period, we may close submissions early. Please do not send submissions outside of our reading periods. Submissions received outside of reading periods will not be considered. Expect a decision within 4-6 weeks of the reading period closing 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...

Taking Submissions: Mojo #18

Deadline:July 31st, 2020 Payment: $15 USD Theme: Stories that the editors can connect with and be moved by Regular submissions for mojo 18 are now OPEN. Fiction: We are interested in stories that excite us with innovation in form, structure, and language, but above all, we’re looking for stories that connect us, touch us, and revolutionize our worlds. Experimental or not, give us a quality story.   Please send a single story under 6,000 words. If you’re submitting flash fiction, include up to three stories in a single document. Poetry: Our staff is interested in poems that blur contemporary styles with traditional modes, poems that light up with raw energy but point in a specific direction, and poems that push through leaps of image and gesture but resound with a strong emotional core. Above all, we enjoy poems that are willing to take risks while maintaining clarity of expression.   Send up to 4 poems at a time or 8 pages maximum. If you have a single long poem that exceeds 8 pages, we welcome you to submit it as an exception to the page-limit rule and as the totality of your submission for that issue. Please submit all of your poems in one document. Nonfiction: We enjoy creative nonfiction pieces that embrace the tactics of fiction, but we don’t shy away from the innovative and experimental (in fact, we’re rather interested in what you can show us)! But keep in mind, we’re looking for engaging nonfiction stories, not journalism or academic essays.   Pieces should be under 6,000 words. Comics: We’re interested in narrative-driven art and comics that embody any number of different styles and techniques. Show us something that uses the visual medium to push boundaries and says something important.   We are looking for anything. Political commentary. Comedy. Memoir. Or just a good...

Taking Submissions: Channel #3

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: €15 per poem and €15 per page of prose up to a total maximum fee of €60 Theme: A particular interest in work which encourages reflection on human interaction with plant and animal life, landscape and the self We are now inviting submissions across all forms for Issue 3, and will be accepting fiction and poetry until 31 July. Essay submissions, which will be considered for online publication as well as for future print issues, are accepted ongoingly. What We Publish We publish new, previously unpublished work that engages with the natural world. We have a particular interest in work which encourages reflection on human interaction with plant and animal life, landscape and the self. Each issue includes a mix of poetry and fiction, alongside a selection of essays which may include creative non-fiction, criticism, and the occasional review of new creative work or of community-based environmental projects. We also welcome submissions in translation. Essay – [email protected] We accept both completed essay submissions and proposals. Completed essays (including creative non-fiction, reportage, commentary, and criticism) should generally not exceed 6000 words. We ask that you send your essay as a Word document attachment to the above-listed email. If you have a proposal for an essay or an interview, please contact us directly with a brief description of same. Essay submissions exclusively will be accepted on a rolling basis, regardless of the dates of submissions windows. As well as accepting essay submissions for print, we welcome submissions for online publication on the Channel blog. Pieces of 1500 words or fewer which explore a particular issue in current events or explicate upon a community-based environmental project are particularly encouraged for blog publication. If we feel that a piece submitted for the magazine would do well online, we may also offer...

Taking Submissions: Mythic

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: $0.01 cent a word and a contributors copy Theme: Diverse sci-fi and fantasy fiction. MYTHIC is seeking diverse sci-fi and fantasy fiction. We want original short stories that have never been published. Authors are encouraged to submit their stories during the specific reading periods listed below. Reading Periods June 1 through July 31 (Reading for Fall and Winter Issues) December 1 through January 31 (Reading for Spring and Summer Issues) Guidelines Please submit in standard manuscript format. Works should be between 2,000-6,000 words. (No wiggle room above or below.) Submit in Standard Manuscript Format We prefer Times New Roman or Courier and 12 point type. Double-spaced pages. Please include your name and contact information at the beginning of the story. Submit in .doc, .docx, .rtf format. Please no simultaneous or multiple submissions. No reprints. Rights Purchased: We are purchasing World English Rights on all short stories. Following an exclusivity period, all other rights revert to the author. MYTHIC retains a nonexclusive right to keep stories in the issue they appear for as long as the issue remains in print. Compensation: At this time, we pay $0.01 cent a word for short fiction. We provide authors with one free copy of the issue in which their story appears. Payment made upon publication via PayPal. (We are not responsible for any transaction fees). To submit fiction: Send all stories to [email protected]. Your story should be attached. Put “Fiction Submission: Title of Your Story” in the subject line for fiction. Please include your name, title, word count, and contact information in the body of the email. Note on nonfiction: All articles and other content are chosen in-house. Please do not submit queries at this time. If you have further questions, use the contact form.   Thank you for your interest in MYTHIC. Via: Mythic Magazine.

Taking Submissions: Silver Blade Poetry August 2020 Issue

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: $8 Theme: Cutting edge Science Fiction, Slipstream, Classic and Modern Fantasy Submissions Welcome to the Silver Pen Writers Association group of publications. From this web page, you will have an opportunity to submit your work to Silver Blade Magazine. General Guidelines (Updated February 2020) Give us something unexpected and well written.  Technique, voice, characterization, and language will all play a part in our decision to publish.  Amaze us with your writing, use of language, sense of story, and memorable characters.  Give us a story readers will not be able to forget and will eagerly recommend to others. The following are “hard sells” here: Stories possessing several of the cliché elements listed here. Fan Fiction or erotica Anthropomorphism (talking cats, foxes, toasters or whatever) Sloppy work–significant typographical, spelling, or grammatical errors (please proofread before you submit) Publicly available items (seriously, why would we pay to publish something being given away on a blog, forum, social media, etc?) Our editorial policies respect the artistic license of our authors.  However, there are occasions when changes are needed that go beyond basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections. In any case, the author will be given the choice of final approval, prior to publication, over substantial edits made by our staff. We appreciate your willingness to work with us in this regard. Do not submit if you are not open to suggestions. Formatting All submissions should… Have 1 inch margins, 1 1/2 line spacing and double space between paragraphs. NO fancy headers or footers, text effects, background colors or images. Use a standard font (Arial, Calibri, Times Roman, Courier) in 12 point size. Exceptions will be made ONLY for poetry submissions (see below). Silver Blade Poetry Poetry up to 1,000 words: Submit Now Our poetry reading periods are as follows: December and January (For the February Issue)...

Eerie River Is Open To Dark Fantasy Novels And Novellas!

Submissions Window: June 15th to July 31st, 2020 Payment: A royalty percentage of ebook, print, audio, and merchandise profits. The exact numbers will be available when the call opens on the 15th. Theme: Dark Fantasy Note: I would usually wait to schedule until all payment details are available but ER has a good track record and if anyone was close to finishing a novella or novel in this style I wanted to give you extra time to prepare. Open Submission Window June 15 - July 31, 2020 What are we looking for? DARK FANTASY We are seeking high-quality stand alone novels and a potential novella series in the dark fantasy genre. At this time we are not interested in short story collections, full erotica, strictly religious fiction, or poetry. We want unique, well-crafted worlds with compelling plots, exciting adventures, entertaining characters, and new dark fantasy concepts. We are drawn to the fantasy worlds with a grim heartwrenching twist. The perfect story would balance the light and the dark storyline with humour alongside the emotional twists and turns. In essence, if you can envoke a gambit of emotion throughout the story we will be hard-pressed to say no. Manuscripts should be written in good taste and be aimed for a mature audience that enjoys the darker side of fantasy. As this is dark fantasy, we encourage a step toward some of the darker and horror tones within the storyline, and we won't shy away from some use of violence and gore. However, we will not be accepting any manuscripts with detailed rape scenes, pedophilia, or untoward behaviours to animals of any kind. (you know what I mean) Submissions of novels should be between 60,000 and 120,000 words. Submissions of novellas should be approximately 25,000 - 50,000 words with a series potential...

Taking Submissions: 34 Orchard

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: $50 Theme: Stories that are "scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad" What We Publish At 34 Orchard, we like dark, intense pieces that speak to a deeper truth. We’re not genre-specific; we just like scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad. We like things we can’t put down and things that make us go “wow” when we’ve finished. But our main goal here at 34 Orchard is to publish the stuff we like to read, and you’re not in our heads. So don’t over think it. Just submit. *Update: There has been some question floating around social media in some writing circles as to whether or not writing about the world’s recent pandemic is appropriate, as in, is it “too soon?” At 34 Orchard, we do not think it is too soon. Some of the best art emerges from the darkest tragedies, and often during or immediately afterward. If you have a dark, emotional piece about the pandemic—any aspect of it—we are more than happy to consider it when we are open again for submissions.* Word Counts Short fiction from 1000 to 7500 words Poetry any style or length When We Publish We publish two issues per year, one in the spring (April) and one in the fall (November). Issues are hosted on this site as PDFs. Reading Period Our reading period for the Spring Issue is January 1-January 31. Our reading period for the Fall Issue is July 1-July 31. We only accept submissions, therefore, during January and July. Anything submitted to us outside those months will be deleted unread, and no response will be sent. Simultaneous Submissions Yes, we welcome and encourage them! Just notify us at [email protected] if it’s been accepted elsewhere as soon as you know. Multiple Submissions No. We only consider one piece of fiction per writer at a time. Poetry: you may send up...

Taking Submissions: Rufo’s Dog Wonderfully Weird

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: $25 AU Theme: Wierd stories - multi-eyed heads in jars, things from swamps, or killer robots-anything really-except copy-and-pasted wolves or lightning. We're looking for fantastic fantasy, super-duper science fiction,  Wonderfulliy Weird, and Macabre. ​ Think classic outer-worldly.  Think swashbuckling adventure.  Think stuff that would give Lovecraft the shivers.  Mad professors, demons of the dark, heroes, monsters, giant robots...  We could could go all day.  You get the idea. ​ New, unpublished writers are welcome! ​ Think you've got the chops?  Here are the rules: Under 18? No problem. Just send a note from your teacher or guardian with your submission, telling us it's ok for you to write for us. No gratuitous sex or excessive profanity.  No nasty sex of any kind unless it's inherent to the story, and not glorified.  Gore is fine if it's written well.  Hate speech, or material we might find offensive is not. ​ We pay a flat rate of $25 AU per original piece of fiction.  That’s low right now, but Rufo’s Dog is still a pup.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to pay more soon.  The best way for that to happen is for you to you tell all your friends to buy a copy and or subscribe, then we’ll have more moolah to throw at the next issue. We pay a flat rate of $100AU for any original colour artwork that makes the cover, and $25AU for any other artwork.  For commissioned work, payment is subject to negotiation with the individual artists. ​ For contributors with an Australian bank account, payments made via bank transfer are possible.  For international contributors, we prefer to pay via PayPal.  We do not pay via Western Union or similar services which charge payment fees.  WU charges $15 AU per transaction, and we just can't afford that. ​ Rufo's Dog will also provide a password and...

Crystal Lake Publishing Is Open For Novellas And Novels Through July

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: Royalties Theme: Dark Fiction, Horror, Suspense, Fantasy, or Thriller. We are now open to novel and novella subs for only the third time in our eight years of publishing. This submission window will be open throughout July. We only ask for a one to two page, detailed synopsis, an author bio, and the first three chapters (we will ask for the full manuscript if our interests are piqued). Accepted titles will be published throughout 2021 and early 2022. No reprints. Only one submission per author. Simultaneous subs allowed. Here are some more details on what we’re looking for: Length: 30,000 to 120,000 words Genre: Dark Fiction, Horror, Suspense, Fantasy, or Thriller. Subgenres/Tropes: We love them all, although we’re more interested in dark, suspenseful fiction than just outright horror. Our readers want to go on an emotional rollercoaster of fear, fright, sadness, joy, loss, and the beauty behind every character’s story. What we’re not looking for: Romance/Erotica (although they can certainly be used in subplots) Anthology pitches Short stories Short story collections Poetry Screenplays Young Adult Submission guidelines: Email your CV, synopsis, and sample to [email protected] The subject of your email should be ‘Open subs 2020’. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please inform us if you’ve subbed it elsewhere, and be sure to withdraw it in case it’s accepted elsewhere. Only one submission per author, so make it count. In the body of the email, be sure to mention the title of your book and the total word count of finished manuscript. A one sentence tagline that encapsulates your main plot. No reprints/previously published or previously self-published. Your novel/novella needs to be at least 80% finished when you submit your first three chapters. As attachments (or one attachment containing all the required info): a one...

Taking Submissions: Mysterion

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: 8 cents/word Theme: Speculative stories--science fiction, fantasy, horror--with Christian themes, characters, or cosmology. We are looking for speculative stories--science fiction, fantasy, horror--with Christian themes, characters, or cosmology, and for artwork for this site. Fiction Guidelines Technical details Stories can be up to 9000 words (thanks, Patreon supporters!). This is a hard limit--our submission system will enforce it. We pay 8 cents/word for original stories (or original translations of stories that have not previously appeared in English), and 4 cents/word for reprints (thanks again, Patreon!). Authors are paid once we've agreed on edits and signed a contract, prior to earliest publication (generally on our Patreon page). We are seeking 6 months' exclusive worldwide publication rights for original works (with exceptions for established Best of the Year anthologies), and non-exclusive worldwide print and electronic rights thereafter for both original works and reprints. We want to publish your story online in our webzine and keep it there indefinitely. We're also acquiring the right to offer ebook versions of the stories we publish, as Patreon rewards or for purchase; and to publish a print and ebook anthology of all the stories that appeared in the webzine over a given 1- or 2-year period. For original fiction, we want to be the only place publishing it for the first 6 months; after that, you're welcome to publish it anywhere else in any format you like. No multiple or simultaneous submissions. If multiple writers co-write a story, we consider each distinct group of writers a different submitter. In other words, if two people co-write a story, and they submit the co-written story, and each of them also submits a story written on their own, that would not violate our no multiple submissions policy. Submitting two stories co-written by the same two people would violate our no...