Events

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: $15 for stories over 5K words and $10 for stories 5K and less Theme: Winter Wonders THEME - "Winter Wonders" Do you like to cozy up next to a roaring fire during a snowstorm? Does winter bring out the best in you... or the worst? Do you have a story of narrowly escaping an abominable snow beast, or finding romance during a blizzard in an enchanted cabin? Are snow-covered mountains the scenery of fabulous fables... or nightmares? Living snowmen, magical solstices, ice-crusted alien planets, whatever floats your iceberg. We want your stories that include “winter wonders'': stories of survival, interstellar adventures, or magical nights. Sci-fi, fantasy, weird-fiction, and everything in between—as long as your story has “winter” and “wonder,” we want you to share it with us. The submission window for Skullgate Media Presents: Winter Wonders opens March 1, 2021 and closes May 1, 2021. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS A short story matching the theme of “winter wonders” between 3,000-15,000 words. Send your story to: [email protected] as an attachment (.docx, .rtf, or google doc files) by May 1st, 2021 10PM EST. We will respond to all submissions regarding whether your piece has been accepted by June 1st, 2021. If you have any questions before submitting, send them to [email protected]. agraph PAYMENTS & RIGHTS We will pay $15 for stories over 5K words and $10 for stories 5K and less. Rights include 6 months exclusive English language rights in all formats (eBook, print, and online). If your piece is accepted, you will be expected to work on revisions with an editor. We do not accept previously published material or “simultaneous submissions” (stories sent at the same time to another publisher). Skullgate Media Presents will consider material submitted by any writer, previously published or not. Via: Skullgate Media.

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: Advance and royalties Theme: Suspense/Thriller, Dark Fantasy and Crime/Noir Genres Grey Matter Press has been publishing exceptional dark psychological fiction for nearly a decade. Established in 2012 with a focus on producing only the highest quality volumes, work from our Chicago-based independent press has been embraced by readers and lauded by critics worldwide. Our submission windows are limited and do not open that frequently, but we’re thrilled to announce a few of our publishing needs for the remainder of the year. This submission window closes on May 1, 2021.   Seeking Fiction in the Suspense/Thriller, Dark Fantasy and Crime/Noir Genres In an effort to complete our publishing schedule for the remainder of 2021 and throughout of 2022, we are currently looking for submissions of exceptional long-format fiction in the novel and novella categories that comfortably fit within the suspense/thriller, dark fantasy and crime/noir genres. As a publisher that has established itself as a leader in the dark fiction category, we are not specifically looking for work in the horror genre, although your fiction may (but it’s absolutely not required) feature supernatural themes. We are only looking for work that has not been previously published anywhere via any venue whatsoever. We are unable to accept queries for reprints of any kind. Word count for novellas should ideally be within the 20,000-40,000 range, while word count for novels should be within the 60,000-90,000 range. We are not accepting short stories at this time. How to Submit Your Fiction Write a synopsis (500 words or less) that effectively outlines your novel/novella and provides us with a full grasp of your story’s plot from start to finish. Provide us with your publishing history (if any) that includes previous publications, recognitions or awards. Supply us with your complete manuscript in...

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: Poetry: £15 per poem upfront payment upon publication + 0.5% revenue share scheme., Flash Fiction: £50 upfront payment upon publication + 1% revenue share scheme., Short Fiction: £100 upfront payment upon publication + 2% revenue share scheme. Theme: Elevate us, and share thrilling stories of horror and romance, betrayal and bloodlust. Wherever you go regarding genre or form, we yearn to read what great works have yet to be read. Currently, we're in the process of establishing our first publication - The Needle Drops... Whilst we welcome all submissions, currently we are only moving forward with those within the horror genre, to be featured in Volume One releasing in the Summer / Fall of 2021. The preliminary end date for submissions is the 1st of May 2021. However, we especially encourage submissions at any time from BIPOC and those from LGBTQI+ community, as it is important to prioritise underrepresented voices and experiences, especially within the publishing industry - something which has been dominated by the white cis experience.   The Needle Drops... features an illustrated comic strip, original soundtrack, curated design by our in-house team and more. Dive into our blog for more information. One contributor will have the opportunity to work with our composer on an original soundtrack piece that will feature in the OST, available physically in the Limited Edition of The Needle Drops... as well as digitally via our Urhi Supporter scheme.   Once we receive your work, our editor will take it onboard, considering how it could be placed in our current roster, and whether it is the right fit for us. If we are ready to collaborate, we will then get in touch, detailing the next steps on the process of publication. In the spirit of collaboration, all of our...

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: $20 and a contributors copy Theme: Stories that feature assassin type characters that are also "extremely or utterly foolish or silly" or "of, relating to, or resembling an ass" Smart Rhino Publications is excited to announce that we’ll be publishing a new anthology, ASININE ASSASSINS. Publication is tentatively scheduled for late 2021/early 2022. The first two books in this series, UNCOMMON ASSASSINS and INSIDIOUS ASSASSINS, were well-received and reviewed. Most readers enjoyed the diversity of genres and styles in these books, and we’d like to continue that diversity with the new anthology. The graphic to the right is our early cover illustration by Austrian artist Georg Schultschik. The initial cover design was created by Ju Kim, who also handled the covers for Smart Rhino’s A Plague of Shadows and Green Tsunami. We hope you’ll consider submitting a story for our consideration. Deadline for submissions is May 1 or until the anthology is full. There is no guarantee of acceptance—we’re hoping for an abundance of submissions and competition is likely to be high. What We’re Looking For asinine adjective 1: extremely or utterly foolish or silly 2: of, relating to, or resembling an ass   Synonyms: absurd, balmy, brainless, bubbleheaded, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, fatuous, featherheaded, fool, foolish, half-baked, half-witted, harebrained, inept, insane, jerky, kooky, loony, lunatic, lunkheaded, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, senseless, silly, simpleminded, stupid, tomfool, unwise, wacky, weak-minded, witless   ASININE ASSASSINS seeks stories involving a character (e.g., assassin, gun for hire) with the above synonyms in mind. The "asinine" element must be critical in the plot—we particularly like dark humor, but we’ll also consider anything comedic, zany, or surreal. Stories can be any genre (although the focus is on suspense), but they must fit the anthology’s theme. We’re intentionally broad here. Stretch your imaginations and surprise us!   What We’re NOT Looking For While this is an R-rated anthology, please no stories involving graphic rape, child molestation, or animal torture. No gratuitous sex—if you include sexual content, make sure it is germane to the plot of your story....

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: £5 and a contributors copy Theme: food, hauntings, memory and consumption, both independently and combined. Please email all submissions to [email protected]. We accept fiction and creative non-fiction up to 1000 words on the topics of food, hauntings, memory and consumption, both independently and combined. Please do interpret our theme! We are also open for visual art submissions of all kinds! Please send up to five JPG or PNG files. We accept (and encourage) hybrid, experimental and creative-critical work. Unfortunately, we cannot publish poetry at this time. All accepted work will go through a brief, collaborative editorial stage. Please make sure your writing is double-spaced (where possible) and presented in a readable font. The email subject line should include your name and the type of submission, for example: – fiction. Writing should be sent as a word document and accompanied by a PDF if necessary. Tell us a bit about you in your cover letter, and include a brief bio of up to 50 words. Our submissions are open to everyone, and we particularly encourage marginalised and emerging writers to submit. We have reserved five spaces in our first issue for previously unpublished writers, so please let us know if you qualify! Upon publication, contributors will be sent £5 (via PayPal) and a print copy of the issue. Copyright remains with authors and artists, but we ask that you credit us if your work appears elsewhere. We only accept unpublished work. We encourage multiple (1–3) and simultaneous submissions, but do let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere so we can congratulate you! Our response time is currently less than a week, but please allow up to thirty days before querying. Plagiarism and hateful content will never be tolerated. Submissions close on May 1st. Thank you for your support! Via: The Hungry Ghost Project.

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: Fiction: $20. Flash fiction: $10. Poetry at $10 per poem. Full details below Theme: Mad Queens; mad, bad, and ready to murder Last Girls Club Summer Issue Theme is Bees: Mad Queens; mad, bad, and ready to murder. No more than two fiction or flash fiction stories per author per submission period. Fiction is limited to 2,500 words or less. Authors are paid $20 upon acceptance Flash fiction is limited to under 1,000 words. Authors are paid $10 upon acceptance. No more than three poems per poet. Poems are limited to 200 words or less for each poem. Poets are paid $10 upon acceptance. I prefer to use PayPal to pay authors, but will work with authors where PayPal is not available. Nonfiction columns will must be pitched to editor in chief before submission. Email your idea to [email protected] The Last Girls Club Magazine is a quarterly feminist horror magazine that publishes international short stories and poems from the female gaze. It is an homage to the scary comics and zines of the late 20th century. Please check on the website for the theme in detail. Submissions will be accepted from Jan 1-Feb 1, April 1-May 1, July 1-Aug 1, Oct 1-Nov 1. Final notifications will be Feb 15, May 15, Aug 15, Nov 15. No more than two fiction stories per author per submission period. Fiction is limited to 2,500 words or less. Flash fiction must be under 1,000 words, no more than two from an author. No more than three poems per poet. Poems are limited to 200 words or less for each poem. I prefer to use PayPal to pay authors, but will work with authors where PayPal is not available. Nonfiction columns will must be pitched to editor in chief before submission. Email your...

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: Not listed, last post on this stated: Poetry: $25 per page. Prose: $10 per page ($250 maximum). Translations $15 per page ($250 maximum) Theme: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, reviews, visual art, and translations focused on the effects and realities of war and geopolitical violence SUBMISSIONS are welcome during the spring and fall reading periods: January 1—May 1 July 1—November 1 *Note: We no longer charge a submission fee CONSEQUENCE is an independent, non-profit journal, and a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that publishes new content online throughout each month and a bi-annual periodical. We are interested in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, reviews, visual art, and translations focused on the effects and realities of war and geopolitical violence. Each submission may be accepted for print and/or online publication. We’re pleased to announce we now compensate writers for their work. WRITERS whose work has appeared in the magazine include: David Abrams, Elliot Ackerman, Homero Aridjis, Peter Balakian, Jennifer Barber, Jerri Bell, Sven Birkerts, Kevin Bowen, Martha Collins, Martha Cooley, William Corbett, April Darcy, Stephen Dau, Jasmin Dzarnik, Ruth Edgett, Teresa Fazio, Max Frazier, Anne Germanacos, Jesse Goolsby, Tami Haaland, Lee Hancock, Bridey Heing, Jen Hinst-White, Fanny Howe, Daphne Kalotay, Mohammad Kazem Kazemi, Anne Korkeakivi, Phil Klay, Woody Lewis, Margaret Luongo, Christopher Lydon, Fred Marchant, Kai Maristed, Askold Melnyczuk, J. A. Moad II, Ruth Mukwana, Ed Ochester, Joyce Peseroff, Hilary Plum, Katey Schultz, Peter Dale Scott, Roy Scranton, Bob Shacochis, Tom Sleigh, Brian Turner, Barrett Warner, Julia Wendell, Afaa Michael Weaver, Nathan Webster, and Bruce Weigl. We no longer accept mailed or emailed submissions. Submitters whose work is accepted for online publication will be expected to provide a photo to illustrate the work. Fiction: Short story (up to 5,000 words), Flash (up tp 3 pieces or 1000 words), and Excerpts (up to 5,000 words) Nonfiction:...

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: Royalties Themes: Horror where "The key for us is suspension of disbelief. We want to be able to read your work, put it down and go “Did that just happen?”" Note: Only open to: Authors of Color, Authors who Identify as LGBTQ+, Authors with Disabilities, Current and Former Sex Workers Sinister Stoat Press is an imprint of Weasel Press. We’re the sly dogs of horror, unafraid to embrace the strange, the daunting, and mostly, the downright messed up world that encircles us. We’re a gang of strange travelers seeking out poets, fiction writers, and artists to help us form our new collective.  We look for stories that suspend disbelief. We want your unexplained phenomena, your aliens, your unknown creatures, blood-filled Halloween nights, and everything in between that keeps you up at night. We love things related to furry writing, secret government experiments gone wrong, found documentation of lost ghost adventurers, and much more!  We’re still gathering ourselves, and we have some submission calls listed below. In the meantime, check out our two publications we put out. The Haunted Traveler, and Dread: A Furry Horror Magazine. These projects will give you an idea of how twisted we are and how we started down this insidious journey of the unknown. Submission Guidelines Check our Facebook, Twitter for our updates.  Currently OPEN for submissions. We strongly recommend reading a Sinister Stoat book to get a better feel of what we want and look for in our authors. As of May 2020, Sinister Stoat Press is only seeking work from: Authors of Color Authors who Identify as LGBTQ+ Authors with Disabilities Current and Former Sex Workers In your submission, include a cover letter that addresses the following: The goal of your book Your target audience for your book A brief synopsis Possible...

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: 0.05¢ American per word Theme: A cryptid from legend or make one up, we want a strange, spooky, alluring, sweet, and/or funny story of emerging. Whether that's your cryptid coming out of hiding, a human being true to themselves, or a cryptid/human pairing falling in love, the heart of your tale is about rising, changing, growing. Cryptids Emerging: Tales of Dark Cheer Cryptids: they're sea monsters and tooth fairies, jackalopes and bigfoot. Cultures worldwide have stories of their own, from Ireland's fae to Puerto Rico's chupacabras, Scotland's Nessie to the Congo's Mokele-mbembe, cryptids are creatures from folklore, they're rumours, or in the case of this anthology…real. That's what our call for submissions is for: contemporary supernatural or historical fantasy about cryptids living with humans, or just at the edge of our vision, stories of what the world would look like if cryptids were real. What We Want Pick a cryptid from legend or make one up, we want a strange, spooky, alluring, sweet, and/or funny story of emerging. Whether that's your cryptid coming out of hiding, a human being true to themselves, or a cryptid/human pairing falling in love, the heart of your tale is about rising, changing, growing. We'd especially love LGBTQIA+, disabled, Black, Asian, neurodiverse, and other minority characters, as well as Own Voices, so if you're Latinx, for example, we'd adore a story set in Latin America. What We Don't Want Violence, pain, and misery. Yes there can be a whiff and whisper of those in your tale, but we don't want that front-and-center. We want just what the title says, dark cheer, which means creepy but kind, eerie but elegant, it means generally-positive stories of weird beings coming into their own. So we don't get four stories about Nessie, look at the links below for something...

Deadline: May 1st, 2021 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: "Lena was raised on violin lessons and minimal parental supervision." We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually three to four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests to help come up with new first lines, or we run fun, gimmicky competitions for free stuff, but the actual journal is not a contest in the traditional...

Deadline: May 2nd, 2021 Payment: £50 payment Theme: “One thing is certain. The high street landscape has now irrevocably changed and there is no point clinging on to a sentimental vision of the past.” Tales From The Cyber Salon Event #2 – The High Street Throughout 2021, Cybersalon will host ‘Tales of the Cybersalon’, a series of interdisciplinary technology and policy investigations through science-fiction storytelling. We want your stories and we want you. Help us imagine the future of our digital revolution in industry and society, and to identify and explore its emerging cultures. Each event will feature new speculative short stories purpose written for the exploration of Healthcare, The High Street, Social Communities and Political Representation. Each short story will interrogate where we are and where we might be going. The series kicks off on March 30th with the first event, New Normals in Health. And we’d like your submissions for the second of the four events. An open call for events three and four will follow. Selected writers will be expected to engage with the panel experts ahead of the event to finesse the technological aspects of their fiction. Each event will have three or four new short stories which will be released in advance to the audience on Cybersalon’s Medium page. The stories will be read on the night by their authors, followed by a panel discussion between the writers and the technologist domain experts who inspired them, with an open invite to audience questions to wrap up. We’re looking for submissions of approximately 1000 words that explore the future by extrapolating from the present. Please bear in mind that we are not looking for the post-apocalyptic or utopias on other planets; the stories need to be plausible enough for our experts and audience to engage with...

Deadline: May 2nd, 2021 Payment: 6 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints 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 6¢ 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, shorter pieces will be favored.   We have tough standards but only care about the quality of the writing, storytelling ability, characters, plot, and ideas, not whether you’re new or established.  Submit only work you are proud of —...

Deadline: May 2nd, 2021 Payment: $100 if for the magazine, $50 for online publication Theme: All genres, character driven fictional short stories Note: Only open for black women writers Deadline: May 2, 2021 at 11:59pm ET 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 new literary magazine 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 2021, 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: min. 1,500 words. Narrative essays: min. 1,200 words Please note:  Call for Submissions will be held on a rolling basis with deadlines three times per year: January 10th, May 2nd, and September 5th. 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 do pay for content. Information is available below. Fiction Guidelines General Fiction We are looking for previously unpublished, CHARACTER-DRIVEN fictional short...

Deadline: May 2nd, 2021 Payment: $100 if for the magazine, $50 for online publication Theme: Character-driven, speculative short stories such as science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, horror, utopian and dystopian fiction, fairytale fantasy, and supernatural fiction Note: Only open for black women writers We are looking for previously unpublished, character-driven, speculative short stories written by Black women writers Speculative fiction is a broad genre encompassing fiction with certain elements that do not exist in the real world, often in the context of supernatural, futuristic, or other imaginative themes. This includes, but is not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, horror, utopian and dystopian fiction, fairytale fantasy, and supernatural fiction. Please submit your short story no later than May 2, 2021. Stories must meet our minimum 1,500 word count requirement. Submissions should be submitted in proper short story manuscript format with your name, email address, and the story’s total word count on the first page. For our purposes, you do not need to include a mailing address or phone number. Click here for an example of proper short story manuscript format. All submissions will be considered for publication on a rolling basis on midnightandidigo.com or in our annual Speculative fiction special issue (online and/or print - October 2021). We offer $100 for Short Stories accepted for publication in our annual Speculative issue (eBook, print, and/or audiobook - October 2021) and $50 for Short Stories accepted for publication on midnightandindigo.com. We accept only previously unpublished work. Responses will be provided by July 25, 2021. ***** Optional Add ons We DO NOT charge a fee for submissions but do offer optional add-ons should you wish to participate. Again, these fees are optional - you are not required to pay to submit your work. Standard Submission ($0) You are not required to pay for submission. You will be notified of acceptance/decline by July 25, 2021. Expedited Reading option ($25) If you choose...

Deadline: May 2nd, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Atmospheric horror that is emphasizes disturbing and suggestive settings Submissions: OPEN (Inaugural Issue) • Submission deadline for our first issue: Sunday, May 2nd, 2021, 11:59p. • Editorial decisions: Sunday, June 6th, 2021. • Publication of inaugural issue: Friday, August 20th, 2021 Fiction Length: We prefer short, compressed stories that are nevertheless complete and cohesive narratives (1500 to 2500 words). These limits are firm. No more, no less. Fiction Style: We prefer atmospheric horror that is emphasizes disturbing and suggestive settings. We prefer renderings of supernatural horror to be artfully sketchy and sublime. Documentary descriptions of monstrosity rarely works for us. We generally prefer the first person perspective. We are open to experimental narrative techniques. Poetry Length and Form: Submit up to three short poems, no more than 500 words of verse total. We are open to both formal and free verse poetry. We have a soft spot for sonnets. Publication, payment, and rights: Issues will be published as .pdf files. If work is selected for publication in WITCH HOUSE, authors will (1) be paid an honorarium of $10 and (2) will be asked to provide, by contract, "First North American Serial Rights." In our opinion, this means that copyright is NOT transferred. All copyright stays with you, the writer; however, you will have sold/transferred a form of "exclusive use rights" called "First North American Serial Rights" (FNASR). This is the right to publish your unpublished work for the first time, and ONLY the first time, no more. The important thing to remember is that some professional publications may ask for FNASR upon acceptance of a specific work; you are not legally permitted to provide those for that specific work after publication in WITCH HOUSE, for you have already rendered their use to us....

Deadline: May 2nd, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word for prose, and a flat fee of $10 for poetry Theme: Industrial Revolution NonBinary Review is a quarterly digital literary journal that joins poetry, fiction, essays, and art around each issue's theme. We invite  authors to explore each theme in any way that speaks to them: re-write a  familiar story from a new point of view, mash genres together, give us a personal essay about some aspect of our theme that has haunted you all  your life. We also invite art that will accompany the literature. All submissions must have a clear and obvious relationship to our theme. Submissions with no clear relationship to the theme will be rejected. We are open to submissions which relate to the idea of THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.   What we don't want: Henry Ford, cotton gins, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fires. Instead, think about things that might have been subject to the assembly line approach that weren't. Or how life may have changed for someone who did a job that wasn't made obsolete.  Or the story of a particularly Rube Goldberg or chindogu invention. PROSE, WHICH INCLUDES FICTION, CREATIVE NON-FICTION, AND FLASH NonBinary Review accepts fiction and creative non-fiction of up to 3,000  words in length, although shorter is probably better. Fiction should be double spaced, 12-point type, in Times New Roman in a  Word document or text file. We do not accept .pdfs. Authors may submit up to 5 pieces of flash fiction, no more than 1000  words each, in this category. Please upload each piece as a separate document on this submission. Flash (fiction or CNF) is the ONLY category where multiple pieces related to the same theme may be selected for  publication. POETRY NonBinary Review accepts poetry of up to 3 pages in length. Poetry should be single spaced,...

Deadline: May 3rd, 2021 Payment: $5 Theme: Space II If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily 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 69.) Space II; deadline 3rd May !!!NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS!!! SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If, this form isn’t working, then please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. But please let us know why as we’re hoping to use the form going forward. Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) It is important that your story complies with our Submission Guidelines. Any stories found not to be in compliance will be immediately discarded. Click HERE for details If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily 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. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: • 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 • Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982). Failure to do this...

Submission Window: May 1st-3rd 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk. Hi there! We’ll no doubt write more about this later in the next year, but for now, what follows below will tell you all you need to know. And the theme? It’s “Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk.” (No more submissions are being accepted for publication in December of 2020–but we will be publishing stories that have already been accepted.) The following is relevant to all submissions for 2021, and the first submission window opens Jan. 1. More below.   Writing opportunities for 2021 include:   New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are almost or entirely new or are just new takes on old tales are all welcome. Mashups of existing fairy tales are welcome as well. Submissions must follow the theme below to be considered.   Essays: Nonfiction articles about any aspect fairy tales and folklore are being sought. The term “essay” just means you’ll be writing about fairy-tale related matters in a nonfiction article.  Creative nonfiction is welcome. You do not have to stick to the theme, but you can.   Poetry: Poetry inspired by fairy tales and that follows the theme is also welcome.   Please read the following in its entirety before submitting.   Want to know what is likely to get published here? There are well over 10 years of stories, essays and art on this current site. It’s the best place to start if you want to be published here.   HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT AND FORMAT   Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at EC in 2021.   * Writers will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories/essays/poems 11 times this year. Since we will be choosing four works per publishing month, there are 44...

Deadline: May 7th, 2021 Payment: 3 pence per word for fiction and £30 per poem Theme: A broad spectrum of stories from every Science Fiction subgenre Issue #1 Submissions As we ready our Kickstarter campaign, we are seeking stories to feature in the very first issue. There is a tight deadline for issue #1 submissions as we want to have stories and writers in place for when the Kickstarter goes live. If you have a story ready or can get one ready or finished pretty swiftly, we have a deadline of 7th of May. Please ensure you read all the details on this page before submitting using the form below. What we want: We are looking for original works of fiction from 300 to 5000 words to feature in our magazine. We want to offer a broad spectrum of stories from every Science Fiction subgenre. So send us your robots and space cowboys. Send us your dystopian-alien-invasion-post-apocalyptic-cyberpunk tales. We like weird. We like adventure. We LOVE SCIFI!! We are also looking for Science Fiction poetry of up to 40 lines and articles on or about Science Fiction of up to 2500 words. Like all lit mags, we have high standards. In saying that, we know that writers often do not always appreciate their own work, so put your doubt aside and send us your most polished short story masterpiece. If your work is accepted for publishing, we may request certain edits. The occasional typo is perfectly normal, but we don’t want a story littered with them. If we require structural edits or a slight changes in the story itself, we will message you with our suggestions and leave the edits in your capable hands. All payments will be based on the final word count after edits.   Payment rates and schedule With a successful Kickstarter campaign, we will be able...

Submission Window: May 1st-7th, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Original fantasy and dark fantasy stories. All types of fantasy and dark fantasy are welcome. Note: This is an early listing to give you some time to plan ahead for next month or to remember to finish revising your story for the upcoming month! Note: We are trusting that the submission windows listed in the ongoing call are valid for this publisher. If they are not, please let us know and we'll look into revising accordingly. Instructions for submitting to Fantasy Magazine follow. Please read everything on this page and read the magazine before submitting. SUBMISSION PROCEDURES Submission Periods: Fantasy is open to submissions the first week of every month (1st-7th). Please do not query about submitting outside our open submission periods. Anonymous Submissions: Fantasy only accepts anonymous submissions. Do not include your name, address, phone number, or other similar identifiers on the manuscript. All original short fiction, flash fiction, and poetry submissions will be read anonymously on first read: moving out of slush depends on the merits of the story alone. Please make sure the title is on the manuscript. Simultaneous and Multiple Submissions: We do not accept simultaneous submissions or multiple submissions. Please do not submit more than one set of poems at a time, more than one piece of flash fiction at a time, or more than one story at a time. You may, however, submit a single entry in each category at the same time: you can submit one batch of poems, one flash fiction piece, and one short story all at the same (or overlapping) time, and each category will be considered a separate submission. If we are already considering work in any given category, please wait until you have received an acceptance or rejection before submitting again in that same category. Instructions: All fiction must be...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: $10.00 Theme: Horror stories with depth Pixie Forest Publishing is seeking horror stories for our upcoming anthology. Give us twists, terror, and excitement. Chill us to the bone. Give us nightmares. Don’t just scare us, create a plot and let us see your characters. We are not looking for stories with graphic rape or paedophilia scenes. Violence and gore just for the sake of being violent and gory is not what we are wanting. If it is essential to the plot, include it. If not, leave it for a longer story. Submissions are open until 11:59 EST on May 15th, 2021. Stories should be between 1500 and 3000 words. All submissions must be written in Shunn Format. Please remember to include the title, author’s name, word count, and contact information at the top of the first page. This is so the publisher can easily find you to contact you. Not including your email will guarantee no response. You may submit up to two stories, but we will only accept one per-author. We are currently offering $10 for each accepted story. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know right away if your story is accepted elsewhere. We are accepting reprints, as long as the story hasn’t been published within the past two years. This is to prevent our readers from seeing the same story they may have just read in a different anthology. Please tell us when and where your story was previously published. The author must hold all rights to their stories before publishing with Pixie Forest. If your story is available online, we ask that you take it down before submitting. We are going to read each submission as quickly as possible and make a judgement in one of the following ways: The...

Deadline: May 15th 2021 Payment: 4 cents per word Theme: Stories inspired by Gothic moods, subtexts and themes Note: Authors should be Women (trans, cis, femme-identifying, all are welcome) After the raving success that was their Green Inferno project, Tenebrous Press have decided to team up with me (Alex Woodroe, hi, how are you?) for their next caper. What’s it gonna be? A collection of fiction exploring the grand traditions and tropes of Gothic Horror, reimagined and contemporized for this generation and beyond. We are seeking Women—trans, cis, femme-identifying, all are welcome—to pay tribute to our Gothic Mothers (Gothmothers?) through transgressive, shocking, emotional, weird stories. We’re not interested in rewrites of the classics; rather, stories inspired by Gothic moods, subtexts and themes. Take your breast-beating, ghost-plagued protagonists out of the Victorian manor and inject them into outer space; the plague-soaked, paranoiac world outside your window; under the sea; into a splatterpunk meta-fiction; or better yet, surprise us! The most important thing is for your stories to stand in that delectable meeting point between the old world Gothic doom, dread, and death; and the new world fun, creativity, and excitement. What we’re looking for: Fresh, modern Gothic Horrors stories between 1.000 and 15.000 words. Keep in mind that we have limited space, so the longer the story, the stronger it would have to be in order to fit in as cornerstone content. We would likely only accept one story of max length. Cutting mercilessly will be to your own advantage. We will consider poetry, especially if it comes with a strong horror narrative. What we’re not looking for: Submissions from anyone who doesn’t identify as a woman. (whereas trans women, cis women, NB Femme, and anyone who is in any way comfortable with that identifier is welcome). Anything that isn’t horror. Sci-Fi and Fantasy angles welcome, but remember...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: $5 USD Theme: "Most" Speculative fiction, read below for specifics. Note: Open only for women-identified authors.   Criteria Luna Station Quarterly publishes speculative fiction written by women-identified authors. We think women write awesome characters and really cool stories and we want to show it to the world. We will consider stories submitted by any woman writer, regardless of experience or writing resume. If you consider yourself on the woman end of the gender spectrum in any significant capacity, you’re welcome here! Stuff we want: Fantasy Science Fiction Space Opera New Fairy Tales (not retellings) Some creepiness Stories that explore the nooks and crannies of an original world Big events from the everyman perspective Unique settings and storytelling forms Well written stories with strong characters Stuff we don’t want: Anything biased toward any religion, race or moral preference Extreme gore or sexual content, in particular no explicit rape or sexual assault. (everything in moderation) Bizarro fiction Poetry Fan Fiction (original stories only, please) Bad grammar/punctuation (please proofread and watch your sentence structure!) Plagiarism A further note about sex and violence in submissions. Science fiction has a long-standing tradition of pushing boundaries and asking difficult questions. It is meant to challenge us and ask us to look at ourselves and how we treat each other and the world around us. That said, LSQ is centered on uplift and so any story that contains explicit sexual situations or violence especially toward women will be considered more carefully than other stories and the content must be justified within the story’s plot. Format and Details Stories should be 500 to 7000 words in length. We may publish longer or shorter works, but the greater your story is above or below limit, the less likely we are to publish it. No poetry...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Monsters adapting to the 31st century Weird Little Worlds Press is looking for contributors to its inaugural Kickstarter science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthology. Bring your weird and help us tell the best monster stories you’ve ever imagined. SUBMISSION DETAILS Monsters are losing their place in a world flooded with technology and false movie representation. Their hunting grounds are diminishing in an “always-on” world. These are the stories of how monsters are adapting to the 21st century and fighting back to regain their place of power. Bring us your tired tropes reimagined for the new world. Tell us the story that no one has told from the monster that we all think we know. Funny, smart, sad…but always scary. The Details: Deadline: May 15th Length: 1000 – 3500 words Pay: .05 per word (.06 if we can unlock our stretch goal) Rights: We retain full rights of the story for 12 months at which they revert back to you. This includes audio and reprint permissions. Note: This is a Kickstarter project, so everything in contingent on us reaching our goal of $6,547. Once we hit over $8,000, we’ll be able to pay everyone .06 per word and give all authors a cool swag packages. You can take a look at the page here: https://weirdlittleworlds.com/humans-are-the-problem-a-monsters-anthology/ What we want:  Something creative and fresh Monster tropes that are turned inside out and upside down Funny, scary, and/or plotty Big stories that are told in a small way Crisp writing with all the fat cut away Diverse voices of all backgrounds, nationalities, gender identifications, sexual orientations, races, religions, and cultures What we don’t want:  Anything that reminds us of “Bright” or “Onward” Fan fiction Previously published stories Boring monsters doing boring stuff Excessive gore, sex, or...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: $5 USD Theme: "Most" Speculative fiction, read below for specifics. Note: Open only for women-identified authors. Simply follow the schedule below to be notified when we close and open for submissions. Criteria Luna Station Quarterly publishes speculative fiction written by women-identified authors. We think women write awesome characters and really cool stories and we want to show it to the world. We will consider stories submitted by any woman writer, regardless of experience or writing resume. If you consider yourself on the woman end of the gender spectrum in any significant capacity, you’re welcome here! Stuff we want: Fantasy Science Fiction Space Opera New Fairy Tales (not retellings) Some creepiness Stories that explore the nooks and crannies of an original world Big events from the everyman perspective Unique settings and storytelling forms Well written stories with strong characters Stuff we don’t want: Anything biased toward any religion, race or moral preference Extreme gore or sexual content, in particular no explicit rape or sexual assault. (everything in moderation) Bizarro fiction Poetry Fan Fiction (original stories only, please) Bad grammar/punctuation (please proofread and watch your sentence structure!) Plagiarism A further note about sex and violence in submissions. Science fiction has a long-standing tradition of pushing boundaries and asking difficult questions. It is meant to challenge us and ask us to look at ourselves and how we treat each other and the world around us. That said, LSQ is centered on uplift and so any story that contains explicit sexual situations or violence especially toward women will be considered more carefully than other stories and the content must be justified within the story’s arch. Format and Details Stories should be 500 to 7000 words in length. We may publish longer or shorter works, but the greater your story is...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: $125 and a contributors copy Theme: Crime stories with Femmes Fatales/Dangerous Women From Maxim Jakubowski: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Mango Publishing in the USA (who were recently highlighted in Publishers Weekly as the fastest growing publisher in America) have commissioned a sixth volume in my series of thematic crime anthologies. Previous ones have been Historical, Private Eyes, Impossible Crimes and two new Holmes stories collections. I am now seeking brand new stories on the theme of Femmes Fatales/Dangerous Women; stories to range between 4,500 and 7.500 words; delivery by 15 May 2021 for February 2022 publication; rights sought: non-exclusive World English language anthology rights only; payment £100/$125 on publication, plus a copy of the book. Please send your submissions to [email protected] Feel free to share and disseminate this call, the more the merrier...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: 3¢ per word, $150.00 max, Reprints: 1¢ per word Theme: Dark speculative fiction, read below for specifics. Note: Reprints accepted. We are a literary magazine of dark fiction, both short stories and flash fiction. We want your best. But then, doesn’t everyone? No specific sub-genres or themes, just good stories. For inspiration, we suggest “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits”, and LampLight, Vol1 Issue 1 which is free. We go for stories that are dark, literary; we are looking for the creepy, the weird and the unsettling. We do not accept stories with the following: vampires, zombies, werewolves, serial killers, hitmen, excessive gore or sex, excessive abuse against women, revenge fantasies, cannibals, high fantasy. Writers We have published writers of all backgrounds from all over the world in LampLight, but not everywhere, nor all shapes and sizes of writers. Help us to shine a light on greater diverse writing and keep LampLight a showcase of the best dark fiction out there by submitting and encouraging others to as well. Edition and Rights The quarterly is published as print and ebook, and at the end of the year all the quarterlies are bound together in an annual collection. We are asking for non-exclusive, worldwide, serial rights to your work for both electronic and print. We want to publish it, we don’t want to own it. We will take reprints, provided you have the rights we are asking for. We will not consider reprints that are currently available for free online. If you have already been in LampLight, we ask you wait until the next volume to submit again. Payment We accept originals and reprints up to 7,000 words (firm). Payment in USD. Unpublished Fiction: 3¢ per word, $150.00 max Reprints: 1¢ per word Please note: works published to a Patreon or...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: Stories dedicated to the queerness of monsters Note: Contributors must be LGBTQIA2S+. Editors David Ly (Mythical Man) and Daniel Zomparelli (Everything Is Awful and You’re a Terrible Person) are looking for submissions of poetry and short fiction for a new anthology dedicated to the queerness of monsters, to be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in fall 2022. Monsters in pop culture have become LGBTQIA2S+ icons over time, and queer writers have long infused them into their work. The Babadook, Pennywise, Ursula, Freddy Krueger, King Kong, Medusa, witches, demons, and more have been queered to different degrees since their inception, and this anthology aims to showcase this and all things monsters. Daniel and David are looking for poems and short stories that subvert the horror gaze, allowing writers and readers to celebrate monsters that have once been feared, and even question who the real monsters are and what makes something horrific or monstrous. They want writing that explores the impact and meaning of monsters to you. Submissions don’t need to revolve around or be about a famous monster. Poems can be funny, poignant, or scary, or odes to your favourite monster (or ones we may not know about!). Stories can be about real or imagined monsters, demons, and/or witches with a queer bent. Contributors will receive an honorarium and a copy of the book. Guidelines: Poetry: up to three poems, or three pages of poetry (whichever comes first) Fiction: stories between 1,000 and 5,000 words. No fan fiction. Contributors must be LGBTQIA2S+. Send submissions to [email protected], with a subject line of either POETRY or FICTION. Please ensure documents are sent as Word attachments (no PDFs, please). We can’t wait to read your monstrous stories and poems! DEADLINE: May 15, 2021 About the Editors: David Ly is the...

Submission Window: May 1st-15th, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Submissions OPEN (Monthly, 1st – 15th). Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Length: 500 – 1,000 words. Firm. Author Compensation: $10, paid via PayPal. Publication: Dread Stone Press website (Dose of Dread). Reading Periods: Monthly, 1st to 15th. Any stories submitted outside of each reading period will not be read. Two (2) stories will be selected out of each reading period for publication the following month. Rights: First World Electronic Rights. Non-exclusive rights thereafter. No reprint restrictions after publication. Original stories ONLY. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but NO multiple submissions. You may submit again the next month if rejected. If your story is accepted, please sit out one reading period before submitting again. Please, for everyone’s sake, no rough drafts. Successful pieces will require little to no proofreading edits. Email your submission as a Word document attachment to [email protected] with “DOSE – – ” in the subject line. Please see the General Submission Guidelines below for additional formatting information. General Submission Guidelines Rejections for Dose of Dread submissions will be sent by the end of the month submitted. If you have not received a reply by then, feel free to follow-up. All rejections will be form rejections. It’s not personal, promise. Which also means please don’t respond to rejections. It’s unnecessary. For Dose of Dread submissions, please send your work by email to [email protected] with the subject line format: “DOSE – – ”. Address your email to “Editor” or “Alex”. Please provide a brief cover letter in the body of the email (title, word count, relevant info, etc). Do not stress over or overthink this. Please include an author bio of 100 words or less, written in third person, plus any links (e.g. to a website / Twitter) if you wish to...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: $20 for original fiction, $5 for reprints Theme: Horror stories that take place in the height of summer Note: Reprints Welcome Days of Summer For our next anthology, we're looking for horror stories that take place in the height of summer, when the days are stifling and the full moon brings out the terrors of the night. When the afternoon sun beats you down and the brief night provides little relief. Give us stories of summer break and the monsters lurking in the woods or the psychopath living next door. Give us stories about summer love, heartbreak, and death. We want stories about the summer where everything changed. Deadline: 5/15/21 (We will close early if we reach the word count for the anthology before the deadline) Payment: $20 plus electronic contributor copy. $5 plus electronic contributor copy for reprints. Word count: 2,000 - 12,000 (A little over or under is fine)   Important Bits · Include a bio or greeting with your email. We don't need a lot, but at least let us know who you are. · Please send all submissions as a .docx or .rtf attachment with the subject line of your email as: DBND - Days of Summer - Story Title.  · Stories sent after the submission deadline will be rejected unread. · Multiple submissions welcome. · Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know if your submission is picked up elsewhere. · Reprints will be considered.   Send submissions to: [email protected] Via: DBND Publishing.

Deadline: May 17th, 2021 Payment: $5 Theme: Post-Apocalypse If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily 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 70.) Post-Apocalypse II; deadline 17th May !!!NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS!!! SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If, this form isn’t working, then please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. But please let us know why as we’re hoping to use the form going forward. Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) It is important that your story complies with our Submission Guidelines. Any stories found not to be in compliance will be immediately discarded. Click HERE for details If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily 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. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: • 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 • Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982). Failure to do this may...

Deadline: May 25th, 2021 Payment: US: $40 + author copy/non-US: $45 + ebook author copy Theme: Stories that contain witches/magical elements. Creative twists are encouraged - extra points for maintaining a gothic feel. “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. Cool it with a baboon's blood, Then the charm is firm and good.” ​ Quill & Crow Publishing House is teaming up with Jazz House Publications to bring you an autumn anthology full of witchy delights! This marks our second collaboration with our sister press, and we are on the hunt for gothic horror stories that revive tired witchy tropes. For this anthology, we are looking for short stories (5,000 - 8,000 words) that contain witches/magical elements. Creative twists are encouraged - extra points for maintaining a gothic feel. Things we are looking for: stories about witches gothic horror historical horror themes of magic gothic/macabre elements modern adaptations considered if they maintain a gothic feel Things we are not looking for: young adult extreme horror rape/child abuse high fantasy heavy sci-fi Submission Requirements Please note: Submissions that do not follow requirements will not be considered. 1. We are accepting original works only. You must own the copyright to your submission. 2. Submissions period is from April 13th - May 25th, 2021. Please submit all stories to [email protected] with the subject line: The Witches Ball / Your Title / Genre. 2. All submissions must be in English and follow standard MLA formatting (double...

Deadline: May 25th, 2021 Payment: $3 Theme: Aliens, use the image linked below as inspiration May 2021 "The truth is out ...WHAT?!" THE IMAGE YOU NEED TO REFERENCE CAN BE FOUND HERE: http://www.withpaintedwords.com/current.php. submissions now open, close on the 25th Submissions Please make sure to read ALL the instructions on this page (especially the sections on 'Copyright' and 'Compensation' before submitting a piece of writing or artwork. We take a submission to With Painted Words as your permission for us to publish your work and do not send out other formal contracts. Thank you. Piece of Writing We accept works of fiction - and poetry - of up to one thousand (1000) words, at most, in length. This is the maximum amount - if you can tell a compelling story in as little as fifty words, for example, then you are more than welcome to do so. All submissions must be inspired by the current section Key to fiction types: Flash Fiction 501-1000 words Micro Fiction up to 501 words Poetry   Please make sure to include your full name/s, e-mail address, and bio (including a link to your personal site/blog) with your submission and, if you so choose, the thought process behind your story. Please send your submissions by the deadline stated in the current section .  Pieces received after the deadline cannot be considered for publication. 'With Painted Words' reserve the right to reject any submission without explanation. Deadline:- This will usually be the 25th of the month, each and every month - any exceptions will be clearly notified.     Piece of Artwork 'With Painted Words' is always open to artwork submissions - they are the heart and soul of the site and inspire the stories! We prefer .jpeg files for artwork submissions. Please don't upload files larger than...

Submission Window: May 15th — May 29th, 2021 Payment: 2 cents per word Theme: An Anthology on the Lengths One Might Go To. An Anthology on the Lengths One Might Go To.  Edited by Scott J. Moses  (Published in ebook and paperback formats) “What one wouldn’t do for…what?  Power?  Safety?  Love?  Revenge? I’m looking for sacrifices, risky wagers, high stakes, and especially—if you’re familiar with my own writing—the unintended consequences and fallout of said things. I’m interested in the lengths characters would go to “fill-in-the-blank-here.” I’m open to anything in the dark speculative fiction realm. I think blending genres/sub-genres around this theme could make for something special. Here’s to the lengths one might go to for anything, everything.  GUIDELINES— *Stories should be between 1,000 and 4,500 words. *Multiple submissions are prohibited, though simultaneous submissions are allowed AS LONG AS you withdraw your submission immediately if it gets accepted elsewhere. *Original stories only please, no reprints. *Submissions open May 15th — May 29th your time zone *Responses will be sent no later than July 7th. *Anthology will be published in Fall 2021. Additional Information— *There’s a difference between writing “bigoted characters” and “bigoted stories.” I’ve no use for the latter. *For the sake of disclosure, one person has been invited to contribute and I will have a story included as well, but the rest of the entries will come from this open call. Please know that while rejection sucks—sending rejections isn’t something I’m looking forward to—it’s anything but personal. My goal is to gather the best stories that form a cohesive manuscript when paired with the others. That’s just the nature of the beast. Have I mentioned I’m not looking forward to sending rejections? FORMAT— *Use standard manuscript format and send as a doc / docx attachment. For the love of hell and...

Deadline: May 30th, 2021 Payment: 7 cents a word Theme: Dark, scary stories featuring a classic monster or monsters. Note: This does NOT open until April 8th 2021 but the competition will be FIERCE so I'm trying to give you as much time as possible I am editing the CLASSIC MONSTERS UNLEASHED anthology for Black Spot Books and Crystal Lake Publishing. KICKSTARTER IS LIVE! We’re looking for dark, scary stories featuring a classic monster or monsters (think famous creatures from pre-1960 horror movies). While we prefer new angles that subvert or re-imagine the monster, we are also interested in really good traditional monster stories. Stories can also star secondary characters, such as a well-known sidekick, assistant or love interest, from the classic monster universe. ​ We are NOT looking for general monster types, such as a Cyclops, Bigfoot or Dragon. We are NOT necessarily looking for mythological monsters or old monsters. Check out the list below for possible characters. ​ GUIDELINES: Payment: 7 cents a word (but could increase) Length: 1000 to 5000 words Submission Period: April 8 to May 30, 2021 (don't send before April 8) Expected Release Date: December 2021 Kickstarter Launch: March 8, 2021 No reprints, multiple subs or simultaneous subs Note: A Kickstarter campaign to fund the anthology launches in March, after which we’ll open to submissions. (Of course, the campaign has to fund successfully, but we're confident it will.) This is an invitation and open-submissions anthology (with about 75% invited and 25% open). With the top-notch lineup of writers we’ve already signed, send only your very best. ​ Use classic Shunn formatting. Send as an attachment in doc or docx. In the subject line, put "Classic Monsters," the name of your story, and author name. Example: Classic Monsters – Story Title – Author Name. ​ Email story submissions to [email protected] We want to publish your first...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: Royalties Themes: Stories about slashers, animals, cannibals, torture, gore and violence | Stories about psychological horror | Stories about monsters Trail 2: The Death Trail – This trail is all about killers. Your story should be about slashers, animals, splatterpunk, cannibals, torture, gore and violence. Go ahead and let your imagination run wild; we are giving you a free rein. Trail 3: The Twisted Trail – This trail is all about psychological horror. Your stories should be about madness, paranoia, phobia… Trail 4: Trail of Terror – All your favourite monster stories go here. Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires, Daayans, Chudels, Chupacabras, Oni, Penanggalan… you catch the drift, don't you? Rules: You can submit one story per trail. Word limit: 3000 to 5000 words. Please stay within the word limit. Any story exceeding the word limit will be summarily rejected. Last date for submission: 31/05/2021 midnight Q: What are you looking for? A: Fantastically horrific stories that blows our minds away. Q: Will you edit our stories? A: No. Other than general spell-checks and punctuation-checks, we will not touch your story. So, make sure you get your stories beta-read and edited properly. We are looking for the best story you can give us. If possible, get your stories edited professionally. Even a mind-blowing story might be rejected if it needs heavy editing. Q: Is there a fee for submissions? A: Are you kidding? No, The Hive is not a vanity publishing entity, and nor will we ever be one. Q: If I submit my story, what are the chances of it getting picked? A: No guarantees. We will subject your stories to a minimum of the two-level stringent selection process and only those stories that pass muster will be published as a part of Project#8. Q: Will I get feedback for my story? A: Unfortunately,...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word ($10 for every 1,000 words prorated, $50 for every 5,000 words prorated, and so on) + E-book and Audio format anthology copies Theme: Short horror stories that focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales Scare Street is now accepting submissions for its Night Terrors anthology. We’re looking for unpublished short horror stories that focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales. We want dark, creepy, weird, and unsettling fiction that are expertly told. Give us character-driven narratives with clever but logical twists at the end, creative and fresh takes on common horror tropes, terrifying monsters, and suspenseful tales. Gore and violence are fine as long as it follows our guidelines and it’s not just for shock value. Length: 3,000-7,000 words (we will consider stories that are slightly outside the word count range) Reprints: No Deadline: May 31, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word ($10 for every 1,000 words prorated, $50 for every 5,000 words prorated, and so on) + E-book and Audio format anthology copies Read the full submission guidelines here: https://scarestreet.com/submissions Via: Scare Street.

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Mythology II If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily 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 71.) Mythology II; deadline 31st May !!!NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS!!! SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If, this form isn’t working, then please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. But please let us know why as we’re hoping to use the form going forward. Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) It is important that your story complies with our Submission Guidelines. Any stories found not to be in compliance will be immediately discarded. Click HERE for details If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily 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. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: • 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...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: 0.01 USD per word Theme: Body horror stories by women Since the earliest creation myths, womens’ bodies have been a site of conflict, venerated and feared in equal measure. We’re looking for body horror stories by women writers that explore, celebrate and dissect (perhaps literally!) femininity and the female experience. There are no limits on content: gore and sexual content is fine. However, don’t feel your story has to be extreme. We always enjoy reading unexpected takes on our prompts, so feel free to interpret it as you wish. We would love to include as diverse a range of voices in this anthology as possible, and as such would like to encourage LGBTQ, BIPOC, disabled and writers of other marginalised backgrounds to submit. Length: Anything between 1,000 – 6,000 words. Publication: E-book and print. Deadline: 31st May 2021 Author Compensation: 0.01 USD per word, plus an electronic contributor’s copy. Rights: We request first worldwide and electronic rights for 3 months after the date of publication, after which rights revert to the author. All copyright remains with the author. We accept simultaneous submissions but no reprints please. Multiple submissions not accepted. Email your submission as a Word document to [email protected] with “Blood & Bone – ” in the subject line. Please see our Submission Guidelines for more information on formatting. Via: Ghost Orchid Press.

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: £50 Theme: Stories that involve the supernatural in connection with railroads, railways, or any aspect of rail travel or location. I hope to publish this anthology of supernatural fiction in the summer of 2021.   Submissions are invited. The closing date will be 31 May 2021.   WHAT I WANT: I'm looking for 10 outstanding stories of between 2.000 and 10.000 words that involve the supernatural in connection with railroads, railways, or any aspect of rail travel or location. The stories should be set at any point in the past and be historically accurate where appropriate.         WHAT I DON'T WANT: Badly written and constructed stories. To me, spelling and grammar are important. That doesn’t mean you can’t push the boundaries, but remember that you have to know the rules before you can break them.   Slasherfests that rely on violence and cliché to propel the stories.   Poor, badly constructed characterization whose only function is to drive the plot towards an unconvincing, or contrived conclusion.   Waffle that bears no relationship to the plot, but only serves to slow down or unnecessarily bulk out the story.   Excessive strong language that does not help to shape characters or events. If it’s necessary & appropriate: no problem.       CONDITIONS: The deadline is currently the end of May 2021 but may be extended if I require more submissions. I'm looking for stories of between 2.000 to 10.000 words. Word limits outside of this will be considered if the work is, in my opinion, exceptional. Please do not send simultaneous submissions. Send one story at a time.   No multiple submissions, please.     Payment for First British print and electronic anthology rights will be £50 for original, previously unpublished stories, payable upon...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: LitRPG genre. Playing Virtual Reality games is a favorite pastime, but getting trapped in them due to a glitch is another story. It’s a true fight for survival now and the only way out is to finish the game. Deadline – May 31st, 2021 Publication – August 2021 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – LitRPG genre. Playing Virtual Reality games is a favorite pastime, but getting trapped in them due to a glitch is another story. It’s a true fight for survival now and the only way out is to finish the game. * 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...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $10 per printed (or printed-out) page for accepted prose, and $20 per page for accepted poetry, up to a maximum of $150 and 2 contributors copies Theme: This has to be literature. They don't print genre work but you can borrow from genre work for your story. Essentials to remember Reading period September 1st - May 31st Response time Two to four months Submission methods Electronic and postal Simultaneous submissions Accepted Word limit No hard-and-fast length limit We look for writing that catches experience before the crusts of habit form—poetry and prose that resist ideas about what a certain kind of writing “should do.” We seek out writers who tell their truths in their own words and convince us as we read that we’ve found something no one else could have written. When to submit AGNI welcomes manuscripts between September 1st and May 31st. Submissions mailed in June, July, or August will be returned unread, provided sufficient return postage is included. Things to know when submitting Nearly everything we publish is unsolicited. We encourage submissions from writers of all identities, living anywhere, published and unpublished. We will not consider writing that has already been published in English, whether in a book, magazine, newspaper, or on an app, a website, a social media feed, or a publicly accessible online community. We consider only work written in English or translated into English. We have no word limits, though space is at a premium and length sometimes affects our decisions. We do not publish genre romance, horror, mystery, or science fiction; however, we are open to writing that borrows elements from any of these. We will consider excerpts if they read as if they were meant to stand alone. We are interested in personal essays, think-pieces, memoir, prose...

Submission Window: May 1st-May 31st, 2021 Payment: An advance and royalties Theme: Novel and Novellas that are literary; incorporating the fabulist, the uncanny, the dark, the weird, the horrific, the numinous, the surreal, the gnostic, the esoteric, and the avant-garde. Strange tales for strange times. It’s that liminal area where genre and literary fiction meet. WE WILL BE OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS FROM MAY 1, 2021 TO MAY 31, 2021 FOR NOVELS AND NOVELLAS ONLY. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Note - Manuscripts must be original and previously unpublished anywhere, in any format, on any platform. Please do not query about reprints. We are unable to return manuscripts. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please inform us if you place the manuscript elsewhere. Translated work is welcome as long as you are offering first English-language rights. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Undertow Publications only publishes a few books a year. Regrettably, then, we have to turn down good work. We publish in hardcover, trade paperback, and eBook, though not all projects will be published in all formats. So as to not waste your time and our time, please make yourself familiar with our books. Our aesthetic is literary; incorporating the fabulist, the uncanny, the dark, the weird, the horrific, the numinous, the surreal, the gnostic, the esoteric, and the avant-garde. Strange tales for strange times. It’s that liminal area where genre and literary fiction meet. We accept submissions from anyone—regardless of race, gender, or sexuality—and think it is imperative to promote new writing from a diverse cross-section of society. Agented and non-agented submissions are welcome. WHAT WE WANT: We currently have 2 open slots in our 2022 publishing schedule. NOVELLAS We are seeking previously unpublished standalone novellas, in English. Word count should be between 17,500 - 42,000 words. We offer a small advance against royalties. NOVELS...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: CAD 1/2 CENT per word for originals; 50% for reprints (i.e. CAD 1/4 CENT per word) Theme: Christmas horror with a dark and subversive theme that doesn't include Krampus Note: Reprints Welcome Note: Relisted due to deadline extension Wight Christmas is an anthology of holiday horror, and in particular stories that subvert Christmas tropes and seasonal clichés. We are seeking dark reinterpretations of seasonal traditions, and stories that reimagine holiday characters as ghosts, demons, spirits, supernatural entities, or other paranormal phenomena. Fantasy and science fiction genres are both okay, but in all cases, submissions are more likely to be successful if they are dark and subversive. No Krampus. Details: Length: up to 5000 words Genre: Christmas/horror Pay: CAD 1/2 CENT per word for originals; 50% for reprints (i.e. CAD 1/4 CENT per word) Reprints allowed: Yes (paid at 50% the rate of originals) Multiple submission allowed: No, send your best shot Simultaneous submissions: Yes, just please tell us if it is accepted elsewhere Rights sought: worldwide print and digital rights, exclusive for three months for originals, non-exclusive for reprints Poetry allowed: Yes, paid at a rate of CAD 1 cent / word for originals; reprints are paid at 50% the rate of originals. Submission Window: submissions will be open for a limited window of one week. Submissions open Monday March 15th at 12AM. Submissions close on Sunday March 21st at 11:59PM. How to Submit: we accept submissions through our submission form. Additional Information: Q: Does it have to be typical white North American Christian Christmas tropes? Are other traditions okay? A: Other traditions are okay, but these are much more likely to be successful if you are an #ownvoices writer. Subverting tropes of the dominant/majority culture is great because it’s punching up; subverting tropes of minority cultures is something we’d prefer to leave to people from those cultures. For this...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Science fiction set in the far future in space with aliens (not on Earth.) Submissions are now open for the July 2021 release of Alien Dimensions – Space Fiction Short Stories #20. Submissions Deadline is 31st May 2021. Submissions will be read in June 2021. Alien Dimensions is now part of the Maldek House department ‘Space Fiction Books‘ and will only be publishing short stories set in deep space from now on. To get an idea of what kind of stories are likely to be accepted for Alien Dimensions in the future, please check out Space Fiction Collection 1. What is Space Fiction? Nothing set on Earth. Or, if there is a part of your story on Earth, it should be so futuristic that we don’t recognise it. If so, you can name the planet something else! Aliens. Mandatory! Real aliens, with tusks, tentacles and blobby, leafy, electric, silicon bits! Avoid humanoid aliens. If you’re stuck, play Pokemon Go for a while and get some ideas! Space, with extrapolated science. I want to read explanations of how your spaceship drive works. I want to imagine how the engineering of your future operates. I want to hear the impossible details of the alien planets your characters visit. Adventurous and fun.   Write for Alien Dimensions Thank you for your interest in submitting to Alien Dimensions Submissions Read further for what stories I’m now looking for. Lots of detail below so that it saves us both time, and there’s less chance of a rejection! In summary: 3,500-4,500 words only. “Set it in space, in the far future, and include some friendly non-humanoid aliens helping to solve a pseudo-scientific problem. More cerebral than stomach! Space Fiction! Written in the restrictive third person.” US$10 flat rate. Rights retained for 2 years. First...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $0.08 per word and contributors copies Theme: Identity, security, and community are inexorably entwined DARKNESS BLOOMS Identity, security, and community are inexorably entwined. For our anthology, Darkness Blooms, we’re looking for stories touching on at least one of these themes. We want you to explore the boundaries of who we are, what makes us feel safe (and at what cost), with whom we choose to surround ourselves, and our darkest secrets. Let’s explore how they influence us and our perception of reality. IDENTITY Identity is formed by not only things like race, culture, and class but also by the relationships we cultivate, the opinions and moral codes we adopt, and our choices. What secrets lie in the dark expanses between where we came from, who we think we are, and how we want others to perceive us? SECURITY Security—stability, order, dependency, structure—is an innate human need. In practice, security tends to be an illusion designed to make us feel more in control over our surroundings. What makes us feel safe, and what are we willing to sacrifice to feel that way? What happens when safety nets aren’t there to catch us when we fall? What dreadful secrets are we willing to keep to preserve the status quo? COMMUNITY Humans often seek security through community. We align ourselves with others who share our interests, culture and religion, geographic location, and workplaces. How well do you really know your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers, your family? How do we build these communities? What erodes a community, makes it crumble? SUBMISSION GUIDELINES + All submissions must inspire dread. Genre definitions tend to be subjective, so we encourage you to become familiar with the stories we’ve published here to get an idea of what sort of content we’re seeking. +...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $15.00 flat rate plus equal share of 50% of the anthology’s royalties. Theme: FIERCE Dragons! Note: Do not submit prior to January 15th, 2021 Everyone loves Dragon Stories – especially the ones where the heroic knight rescues the damsel in distress from the evil dragon and they go off to live happily ever after. Yeah right! Have you seen a dragon – they are truly badass m*****f*****s. Armor plated, huge, breathe fire, huge teeth and claws. Yeah, right, a single knight with a sword is going to defeat that. -- What we are looking for are stories that feature really badass dragons – they can be evil or good – or somewhere in between. The point is they need to live up to the power and strength we picture when we imagine a dragon. If your dragon is able to be defeated by a human knight – it should be because…well, I’m not sure what it should be because of – but it needs to be believable to someone who knows beyond all doubt dragons are the biggest, baddest predators out there. Show us why you should never meddle in the affairs of dragons as they may consider you crunchy and taste good with ketchup. 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...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: 2 cents USD per word Theme: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries Die Laughing: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries This summer we will be publishing our first hardcover anthology. We're looking for original 1k-8k word stories with off-beat characters, bungling detectives, or funny premises. Be creative, but make it about a mystery/crime, and make us laugh! Payment is 2 cents USD per word, B&W comics $25 USD. Submit using the form below before June 1, 2021 If your story is accepted, a digital agreement must be signed and payment will be sent by PayPal to the email address you specify below. We are a Mystery Writers of America approved publisher. Details can be found below: Via: Mystery Weekly Magazine.

Deadline: May 31st: 2021 Payment: $5 and a contributors copy Theme: Poetry about body horror Note: Open to all poets who are women (cis and trans) and non-binary femmes. To celebrate National Poetry Month, Black Spot Books will be publishing its inaugural Women in Horror Poetry Collection in April 2022: UNDER HER SKIN. This collection is open to all poets who are women (cis and trans) and non-binary femmes. Submissions open March 2021 and will close May 30, 2021, with decisions made on a rolling basis. Poems to be included in the collection will be chosen by Black Spot Book's editorial staff and guest judges. The theme of the inaugural collection is body horror. This is a broad spectrum and poets are welcome to interpret the prompt in their own vision--so long as it's dark, unsettling, an on-theme. The showcase will feature a cover with hand-drawn illustration by respected horror artist Lynne Hansen and will be distributed in both print and ebook. Poems must be previously unpublished, though published poets are, of course, welcome. We accept submissions of poems up to fifty lines. Free verse preferred (please, no forced rhyme or clichés). We accept up to three poems per poet. Submissions should be submitted along with a brief bio. Each poem chosen for publication will be paid $5 and each poet will receive a copy of the collection upon publication. Poet will retain rights to any accepted poem, with first right of publication by Black Spot Books. Showcase Judges: For the 2022 collection the judges will be Black Spot Books president and award-winning author/editor, Lindy Ryan, and Toni Miller, a founding member of the Ladies of Horror Fiction (LOHF). Lindy Ryan is the president and publisher of Black Spot Books, an imprint of Vesuvian Media Group. She is an award-winning and bestselling author and editor....

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $10 and a contributor's copy Theme: Dark science fiction stories related to the military and war. Note: Must be a reprint Pole to Pole Publishing is seeking short, re-print fiction for the Re-Enlist anthology to be published in late 2021. Re-Enlist will join our previous submission calls (now closed) for Re-Launch, Re-Enchant, Re-Quest and Re-Terrify and others in the Re-Imagined Series of anthologies. Re-Enlist requires dark science fiction stories related to the military and war. Send us military science fiction stories, ones you’ve had published before, for which full rights have already reverted back to you. We have open minds about what constitutes “military” and “science fiction” but we’re insisting on good stories told well. For this anthology, we want stories with engaging characters, thrilling action, rational plot lines, a compelling writing style, and meaningful themes. Our preference is for hard science fiction. We’re okay if you bend the laws of physics for the sake of the story, but don’t break them completely. It’s unlikely we’ll accept fantasy stories with magic elements. In keeping with the common element of Pole to Pole Publishing’s other reprint anthologies, Re-Enlist seeks stories that are dark in tone, but not strictly horror tales. Give us fear, death, and the disturbing side of your characters’ natures, but be mindful of the restrictions listed below under “Hard Sells” and, especially, “What We Don’t Want.” 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. (If you do not have a PayPal account, please do not submit your work.) Right Purchased: – The non-exclusive right to collect the stories into an anthology, published in 2021 and sold thereafter. Re-Enlist may be included in book bundles with the other books in the series. – The non-exclusive right to publish the story to the Pole to Pole...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: £10 Theme: J is for Jack-o’-Lantern J is for Jack-o’-Lantern – Submissions open April 1st. Deadline May 31st.  Halloween in theme for these stories but the Jack-o’-Lantern must play a key role. We are currently calling for submissions for a series of horror anthologies – The A-Z of Horror. The series will be based on a variety of themes and will consist of twenty-six books in total. We are looking for short horror stories, between 4000 and 8000 words, on each of the themes listed below. You may submit to more than one book, but we will only include a maximum of one story from each author, in each book. Being accepted into one book does not guarantee acceptance into one of the others. The story must be your own work, to which you hold the rights. The story must not be available elsewhere and, if accepted, we will hold the rights to it for three months from the date of publication. After that time, you may use the story however you wish. Any sub-genre of horror is suitable, even extreme, so long as the story fits the theme of that book and does not include anything which may unnecessarily cause offence Payment for the story will be £10, to be paid by PayPal, as well as a contributor’s e-book of the finished book. Please send submissions in a Word document (ideally Times New Roman 12pt, single spaced) to [email protected] with the title of the book you are submitting to in the subject line. Please ensure you have included your name on the Word document. If you have any queries, feel free to get in touch using the Contact page. We aim to respond to submissions within 2 weeks of the deadline, but feel free to get in...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: AU$100 Theme: Speculative Fiction Note: Australian writers (residents and citizens) only A cicerone is a guide who shows and explains the curiosities of a place to strangers. We want you to lead us to interesting and unseen places, and help us to understand these places. We want you to be just as curious as we are. Tell us something unusual. Show us an old thing in a new light. Point out something we never noticed. Take us to a side street, dark alley, or hidden trail. Cicerone Journal is currently OPEN for submissions for Issue 5: Curious Worlds, our first Speculative Fiction showcase. For our current issue, please send a maximum of two pieces of short fiction to [email protected]. For our Curious Worlds issue, we will be accepting short fiction of 1000-5000 words from any speculative fiction genre. This is a paid opportunity: we will pay AU$100 for each piece that is published. Genres accepted include, but are not limited to: Fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy Dystopian and utopian fiction (including apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic) Climate fiction (cli-fi) Magic realism Historical fantasy Supernatural fiction Superhero fiction Indigenous futurisms Afrofuturism Punk subgenres, such as steampunk, cyberpunk, solarpunk, silkpunk, capepunk, biopunk, etc. Unsure if your piece counts as speculative fiction? Contact us via email at [email protected] or follow us on facebook at Cicerone Journal where we will be discussing some of our favourite speculative fiction genres throughout the submission period. Send your submissions to [email protected] with the subject line – . Submissions close midnight AEST 31 May 2021. If your piece is topical or time-sensitive, we are open to altering our publication schedules to accommodate it. Please include ‘TIMELY’ or ‘URGENT’ (or some equally galvanising word) in the subject line of your email submission if the piece you are submitting is time-sensitive. We will try to...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 (Original call had windows that has been modified to this date) Payment:CAD 2c/word for originals; 50% rate for reprints Theme: Speculative Fiction of Spirituality, Belief, and Practice Note: Reprints welcome As a special way to accommodate people developing stories for Strange Wars or Strange Religion, authors have the option of requesting to make late submissions. This is intended for authors who expect not to be able to finish writing and polishing their submission before the close of our submission window. If you think you will need any additional time, you can request to make a late submission here. Strange Religion: Speculative Fiction of Spirituality, Belief, and Practice Strange Religion thoughtfully and respectfully explores religious traditions and ideas through speculative fiction.  These are stories about the rituals, theology, and spirituality of aliens, AI, and the denizens of fantastic worlds depicted by scripture and religious folklore. How do Muslims on other planets pray and perform the hajj? How would AI worship or read scripture? How would interreligious dialogue change if shamanic magic turned out to be real? What would the Bible be like if it were written by elves? How would the Buddha get by today? Suppose the remains of Krishna were found—what then? What if prophets didn't only see the future but were from the future? These stories depict religion with the complexity it has in the real world, where gods aren’t just plot devices to create political tension or to give characters magical powers. They delve into the struggles of adherents of tomorrow’s religions and religions that might have been. Strange Religion fills a lacuna in the field of speculative short fiction, which often does not treat religion with sufficient depth and thoughtfulness. These stories reconsider theological topics—incarnation, reincarnation, revelation, miracles, and the like—through the lens of science fiction and fantasy.  They put...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 (Original call had windows that has been modified to this date) Payment:CAD 2c/word for originals; 50% rate for reprints Theme: Speculative Fiction of Coalitions in Conflict Note: Reprints welcome As a special way to accommodate people developing stories for Strange Wars or Strange Religion, authors have the option of requesting to make late submissions. This is intended for authors who expect not to be able to finish writing and polishing their submission before the close of our submission window. If you think you will need any additional time, you can request to make a late submission here. Strange Wars: Speculative Fiction of Coalitions in Conflict Strange Wars explores military conflict through speculative fiction. These are stories with an original take on organized aggression. For science fiction stories about war: What will warfare look like in a hundred years? How will technology reshape war? Will they still be fought on traditional battlefields, or will completely new frontiers open? Will the major parties to conflict change? Will wars between nation states be replaced by corporate wars, proxy wars, and insurgent conflicts? We are interested in stories that explore military implications of: drones, Lunar and Martian colonies (or expansion into space generally), cryptocurrency, privatized military forces, non-state actors in military conflict, 3D-printing, hacking, environmental catastrophe, renewable energy sources, artificial intelligence, and other themes. For fantasy war stories about war: How can magic, gods, parallel worlds, or otherworldly societies reshape our conception of war? Are other forms of organized conflict possible? Can such fantastic visions serve as thought experiments and expand our understanding of conflict? What kind of magic could make a world without war possible? If it's not possible, why not? If it is, at what cost? These fantasy stories explore war through speculative world-building, inventing fantastic premises and revealing their consequences through...

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: A contributors Copy and: 10,000 words - $200; 7,500 words - $150; 5,000 words - $100; 2,500 words - $50; 1,500 words - $30.00. Theme: Texas Horror By: Texas Writers HellBound Books Publishing is excited to announce that it’s now accepting submissions for Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers, Vol. 6. Author Madison Estes will be editing the latest incarnation of the series, and she’s looking for original horror stories 1,500-10,000 words in length. The stories must be written and submitted by Texas authors and they must take place (or be based) here--hence the title. Two cents per word and contributing writers will receive one free copy and a 50% discounted wholesale price on any copies of the book that he or she purchases to carry and sell on their own. The scale for writer stipends will look something like this: 10,000 words - $200; 7,500 words - $150; 5,000 words - $100; 2,500 words - $50; 1,500 words - $30.00. All payments will be made upon official acceptance, and when acceptance is communicated each author will need to send a short bio. HellBound will be requesting two-year non-exclusive rights. This means we will use your story in this anthology and we can print excerpts of it online and otherwise (for promotional purposes, etc.), but two years down the road you can do with it what you like. The DEADLINE to turn in stories is June 1, 2021 and our intent is to have the book printed and available by October 1, 2021, in plenty of time for Halloween. PLEASE SEND SUBMISSIONS to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Via: Hellbound...

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: $100 scholarship Theme: YA topics Note: Only for writers in the age group of 15-19 years old. Submission call for Generation Dread edited by Gabino Iglesias. Cemetery Gates, Death’s Head Press, and Night Worms are putting together a YA horror anthology with stories written by teenage writers to shine a light on the next generation of horror writers. Here are your guidelines: -Word Count 1500 to 3000 words -Deadline: June 1, 2021 -Payment: $100 scholarship -Rules: Only topics featured in YA books, no racial slurs. -Ages: All writers between 15-19 years of age are encouraged to submit. -Stories and questions can be sent to [email protected] -A parent or guardian will have to co-sign the acceptance contract if the writer is under 18. -No poetry, art , or nonfiction. -We strongly encourage LGBTQ+, disabled, and young writers of color to submit. Via: Cemetery Gates Media.

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: $0.01 per word and a contributor's copy Theme: Stories must include menopause as the main plot point Sliced Up Press is looking for short stories involving menopause for its latest horror fiction anthology, Bodies Full of Burning: An Anthology of Menopause-Themed Horror, edited by Nicole M. Wolverton. Menopause can be hell – so show us your demons, your darkest dreams, bloodiest crimes or scariest transformations. It’s called the change of life, but transitions can be deadly. What we’re looking for: Stories must include menopause as the main plot point We welcome and encourage stories from women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors, as we’re looking for a range of experiences to be represented All submissions must be in the horror genre, though we don’t want anything involving rape, etc. All submissions must be original. We will not accept reprints, or stories published elsewhere including on blogs, social media etc. Submit your best work in standard manuscript format, as an MS Word .doc or .docx attachment. Anything sent in a different format will be deleted without reply. Authors may submit one story maximum for consideration. Do not re-send rejected stories (including those rejected for previous calls to Sliced Up Press anthologies) No simultaneous submissions please. We are not looking for artwork submissions at this time. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & TERMS: Please email submissions to [email protected] using the following format in the email subject line: Submission for Bodies Full of Burning: – – . (so your email should look like this: Submission for Bodies Full of Burning: My Name – My Story – 1,500 words) In the body of your email, please include a brief author bio of 3-4 sentences maximum along with any social media links. Payment: $0.01 per word, plus 1 x paperback and ebook contributor copy. Length: Minimum 1,000 words, up to 4,000 words...

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: $20 Theme: We ask our fiction writers to imagine their readers navigating a story with one finger poised over a mouse button. Can your story stay that finger to the end? “Turning words into art is unnatural. It begins with a contrary attitude. It says, I am unhappy with the way things are and desire to make things different. Rather than represent the world, I will make something wildly and savagely new. I will defy logic. I will invest in new perceptions. I will combine and recombine and fabricate and juggle until something that I have never experienced is experienced. The process is alchemical. The process is violent. It goes to the heart of creativity. It disrupts and shatters. It is splendid with provocation. It is an aggression against banality. It is sharp and loud like a janitor scraping frost from a window. The hectic bounce of steam on a street after a truck roars by. The anarchy of waters, the comedy of the face, dangerous feelings vented from a cage of skin.” ~ John Olson Poetry — We believe poetry is contrary by nature, always defying, always tonguing the tang of novelty. We look especially for plurality of meaning, for dual reverberation of beauty and concern. Contrary’s poetry in particular often mimics the effects of fiction or commentary. We find ourselves enamored of prose poems because they are naturally contrary toward form – they tug on the forces of exposition or narrative – but prose poems remain the minority of all the poetic forms we publish. Please consider that Contrary receives vast amounts of poetry and that we can publish only a small percentage of that work. Please submit no more than three poems per issue. Our poetry editor is Shaindel Beers. Fiction — We ask our fiction writers to imagine...

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: Flat rates $5-$30 depending on length and type (listed below.) Theme: Genre, literary, poetry, and beyond! Sadly, not spelled out directly below but they do have an area for genre fiction. NOTE: Due to the current pandemic and its attendant stresses, we will strive to keep things light until further notice. ​ Please hold your darker submissions until the current ​crisis passes.​ Page & Spine is a paying site (paid via PayPal or company check in USD only).  Because of the large number of submissions, we will no longer accept work that does not comply with our requirements.  Emails containing attachments will be deleted unopened and without notice. Please research our site for appropriate style and content of submissions.  Our readers like what we publish. Page & Spine considers only unpublished work conforming to the requirements listed below."Published" is defined as any piece that has been on public view anytime, anywhere.  Members only critique sites where work is viewed only by paying members is not a publication venue.  Reprints will not be considered. Because we have bulging pending files in our short story and poems categories,    submissions will be accepted only between October 1 and June 1 in these categories and may take 8 months to be vetted. Simultaneous submissions will not be considered.  Please plan your submissions accordingly. If you haven't heard from us after eight months, please check back with us.  Sometimes the volume of submissions causes further delays, but be assured we're not ignoring you.  Author generated photography will not be paid, but may be published at the editor's discretion with the understanding that Page & Spine can neither control dissemination nor protect copyrights and will not be held responsible for theft or misuse. Do not send photos to which you do not hold the copyright.(If you did not...

Submission Window: June 1st-3rd 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk. Hi there! We’ll no doubt write more about this later in the next year, but for now, what follows below will tell you all you need to know. And the theme? It’s “Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk.” (No more submissions are being accepted for publication in December of 2020–but we will be publishing stories that have already been accepted.) The following is relevant to all submissions for 2021, and the first submission window opens Jan. 1. More below.   Writing opportunities for 2021 include:   New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are almost or entirely new or are just new takes on old tales are all welcome. Mashups of existing fairy tales are welcome as well. Submissions must follow the theme below to be considered.   Essays: Nonfiction articles about any aspect fairy tales and folklore are being sought. The term “essay” just means you’ll be writing about fairy-tale related matters in a nonfiction article.  Creative nonfiction is welcome. You do not have to stick to the theme, but you can.   Poetry: Poetry inspired by fairy tales and that follows the theme is also welcome.   Please read the following in its entirety before submitting.   Want to know what is likely to get published here? There are well over 10 years of stories, essays and art on this current site. It’s the best place to start if you want to be published here.   HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT AND FORMAT   Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at EC in 2021.   * Writers will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories/essays/poems 11 times this year. Since we will be choosing four works per publishing month, there are 44...

Deadline: June 5th, 2021 Payment: $25 Theme: Pandemic Skywatcher Press is excited to launch our themed biannual anthology series UNLEASHED featuring top notch fiction by new and established authors.  We are seeking stories across the wide possibilities of the horror landscape. Our goal is to terrify readers, make their skin crawl, and keep them on the edge of their seats.    This anthology series is released biannually, so if your story doesn't get chosen, keep trying! Stories can be up to 10,000 words, and we will make exceptions for longer.  Once selected, pay will be $25 per story. We are eagerly awaiting your most twisted, nightmarish creations!  2021 Summer Release! Seeking stories with themes surrounding PANDEMIC. Submission DEADLINE is JUNE 5, 2021 HOW TO SUBMIT For consideration, please send submissions in .doc format to [email protected] All submissions must be original works of fiction, and we are seeking First Print Rights. If you have any doubt about professional manuscript formatting, here is a handy dandy guide to manuscript formatting: Via: Skywatcher Press.

Deadline: June 6th, 2021 Payment: 2 contributors copies Theme: Current/former prisoners may submit work on any topic. Prison volunteers, family, friends, and staff should submit only work on memories, perspectives, or insights related to mass incarceration. Note: This call is for current/former prisoners, current/former prison volunteers, family and friends of prisoners, and current/former prison staff Call For Submissions Submission Guidelines (Link to website) We are currently accepting submissions of short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, one-act plays, cartoons/comics, graphic stories, and art for Issue 6. Submission Deadline: June 06, 2021 Who Can Submit  We welcome submissions from current/former prisoners, current/former prison volunteers, family and friends of prisoners, and current/former prison staff. Current/former prisoners may submit work on any topic. Prison volunteers, family, friends, and staff should submit only work on memories, perspectives, or insights related to mass incarceration. How to Submit  To accommodate prisoners who do not have computer and/or internet access, we accept both electronic and mail-in submissions. Additionally, we accept both typed and handwritten work. There is no submission fee. Please see the guidelines below for each category. Please use the attached coversheet and include your entire submission in a single email or envelope. Manuscripts and art will be returned only with a self-addressed and stamped envelope or mailing tube. We prefer to receive digital images (jpg, png, pdf) of the original art rather than the art itself, but we will accept either. *In order to be considered for publication, cover letter/consent form must be completed in its entirety (Included in Submittable Electronic Form). If you do not have access to a copy of the cover sheet, please include a handwritten/typed letter with title, genre, consent to proofreading and/or structure edits, and incarceration status.  Payment/Gift for Accepted Work  Two contributor copies, prison policy permitting. *Arizona State Prison policy prohibits gifting or paying...