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Taking Submissions: Extinct Worlds

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payent: Royalties Publication – October 2021 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – After killing Earth, humans have been launched into space exploration. Discovering aliens and new technologies, future generations are unrecognizable from the Earthlings that once were. There are a select few who want to go back to their roots, some who will prevent this at all costs, and others who don’t care. Where do your characters fit within the vast universe full of the unknown? * Introduction of yourself should be a short biography in 3rd Person between 100-200 words. Upon acceptance, this will be used within the anthology. Send a bio with every single anthology submission. We work with hundreds of authors and will not take time to retrieve yours from a previous anthology. * Poetry submissions: All poetry needs to be contained within a single e-mail. Each poem should be in a separate document. Haikus may be grouped together. * All e-mails should be addressed to “Dear Editor.” After receiving edits back, the author has two weeks to return the submission for formatting. All submissions will be reviewed within thirty (30) days of the anthology’s submission deadline. This ensures submission calls do not close early and gives everyone a chance to submit. You will know your submission has been received for consideration by receiving a generic response. Whether accepted or rejected, you will always receive a response. View our blog articles on how to submit to a publisher and how to write a proposal.   Failure to submit following all of the guidelines will result in an immediate refusal. You are able to submit again before the submission call deadline.   Rating – Check each anthologies‘ rating. Word count – Check each anthologies‘ word count requirements. E-mail address to submit to – [email protected]   NOTICE –  Failure to submit correctly will result in refusal of...

Taking Submissions: Merry Scary Christmas

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: Shared royalty pool of 30% of sales revenue Theme: Creepy Christmas stories, your Hanukkah horrors, your New Year’s Eve Evils, with a dose of speculative fiction tossed in. Fedowar Press is opening submissions for a holiday speculative-horror themed anthology. We want your creepy Christmas stories, your Hanukkah horrors, your New Year’s Eve Evils, with a dose of speculative fiction tossed in. This anthology is expected to release in late November 2021. Submissions will be accepted until June 30, 2021. Details Length: Between 7.5k and 15k words Genre: Horror plus any speculative genre. For example Horror/SciFi, Horror/Fantasy, Horror/Urban Fantasy/Romance Region: Can take place anywhere in the world Period: Any period, present, past, future Qualifying submissions must have never been published. Participating authors will share a royalty pool of 30% of sales revenue. Percentage per author will be based on the percentage contributed to the final word count. How to submit? Email us at [email protected], with the subject “Scary Christmas Submission“ Tell us a little bit about yourself. For example: Have we met? Remind us. Do you have any writing credits? What is your social media info? Do you like dogs? Include your genres, word count, and a brief synopsis. Paste your story into your email *attachments will not be opened. Please only use standard fonts for legibility. Stories will be reviewed after the close of the submission window. Please allow up to six weeks after the submission window closes for a response. After that, If you haven’t received a response, feel free to check-in for an update.   Still have questions? Please use our contact form, and someone will get back to you. Via: Fedowar Press.

Interstellar Flight Press Is Open To BIPOC Novellas

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalties, potentially an advance Theme: Speculative genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Weird, Mystery/Thrillers or any combination of the above. Hybrids or difficult to categorize novellas are welcome. Note: Authors must be BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) ​Interstellar Flight Press will open to novella submissions from BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) authors starting 2/15/21 through 6/30/21. ​ Our Guest Editor for this call is Premee Mohamed. Premee Mohamed is an Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is a Social Media Manager and Associate Editor for the short audio science fiction venue Escape Pod, and was a Capital City Press Featured Writer for 2019/2020 with the Edmonton Public Library. Her short fiction has appeared in both print and audio in a variety of venues, including Analog, Escape Pod, Augur, Nightmare Magazine, Shoreline of Infinity, and PodCastle. Solicited anthology and other project appearances include Drabblecast, A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods, Jo Walton’s New Decameron, and others. In 2017 she was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for her story “Willing” (Third Flatiron Press). Her debut novel, Beneath the Rising, is out now from Solaris Books, with the sequel A Broken Darkness due out in 2021. Her novellas being published in 2021 include These Lifeless Things (Solaris Books), And What Can We Offer You Tonight (Neon Hemlock), and The Annual Migration of Clouds (ECW Press). In her spare time, she also paints and occasionally does pen and ink illustration. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @premeesaurus and on her website at www.premeemohamed.com. We are looking for: Fiction Novellas 17,500–40,000 words. (Submissions within 5,000 words of this range are okay, but we may ask you to edit the work to fit this word range if it is accepted.) Speculative genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Weird, Mystery/Thrillers or any combination of the above. Hybrids or difficult to categorize novellas...

Taking Submissions: Dates From Hell

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $5 Theme: Dates that have gone horrifically wrong We have all had dates we would much rather forget, but how many tragic souls have had the misfortune to swipe right on a serial killer, lycanthrope, one of the undead, a denizen fresh from hell itself, or any other manner of nefarious beings? We want your stories of dates gone horrofically wrong, seemingly innocent meetings that deliver death and terror instead of romance, of psychopathic stalkers who will stop at nothing to possess their love's still-beating heart... PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 4K-10K word count * Write 'DATES' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story 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: 30 June 2021 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Taking Submissions: The Rebel Diaries

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalty Split Theme: What happens when the villain wins? What happens when the villain wins? Sick of dashing debonairs? Fed up of being blinded by shining armor? Sometimes, all a girl wants is a villain for a hero. The Rebel Diaries is looking for stories starring characters with a dubious shade of morals. We want characters who aren’t afraid of getting what they want, causing a bit of chaos, dabbling in mischief and mayhem, and slathering on the sarcasm. We want stories that slip into the grey areas, that are bulging with villains, deviants and rebels. We’re after sassy tales littered with questionable morals and happy endings—for the villains anyway.   We are not looking for horror or gratuitous violence, but dark stories that are fun, light hearted explorations of the characters usually hidden in obscurity.  We actively encourage submissions from own voices, characters or authors with disabilities or from underrepresented backgrounds, LGBTQ+ etc. *** Submission deadline: June 30th, 2021 Word count: 2,500–7,500 words. Payment: royalty split via Draft2Digital (an account will be required but is free to set up) PLEASE NOTE: All stories will be read blind, names will be taken off stories before they’re read and a number assigned to ensure no bias. Stories slightly over or under the word count will be considered Stories must be saved as a Word document, PDFs will not be accepted Times New Roman Size 12 font 1.5 paragraph spacing You can use this template for submitting Place your name, the title of the anthology for which you are submitting, and your preferred contact email address in the header of the document Sex, violence, are accepted as long as they serve the story Creative swearing is encouraged ;p  No hate speech or fan fiction All works must be original and copyright held by the person submitting One submission per...

Taking Submissions: US/THEM

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $15.00 plus equal share of 50% of the anthology’s royalties for stories. Theme: Stories that revolve around the process of creating an US / THEM situation and what happens to both sides because of it. Propaganda. Dehumanizing those that you disagree with. Using labels to identify people as being evil. Only broadcasting the fringe and extremist activities—but saying everyone who supports something on that side of the divide is the same as the extremists. These tactics are very common in warfare and becoming more and more common in politics. They divide people, they can tear families, friends and countries apart. What we’re looking for are stories that revolve around the process of creating an US / THEM situation and what happens to both sides because of it. Stories can have a happy ending where both sides are to see past the differences that have been magnified to find the similarities that can join them. They can have tragic endings where one or both sides are destroyed by the hate mongering. (Think: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield from ST:TOS). Or, they can be somewhere in between Give me stories that present all sides and show the similarities even as those sides are demonizing the other sides and ignoring the extremists on their own (remember no one is ever perfect—especially in their hatred of others) 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...

Taking Submissions: Angela’s Recurring Nightmares

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: Contributor's copy Theme: Each story must contain a character named Angela and a penguin. What? More details below! Submission deadline is June 30, 2021. ANGELA’S RECURRING NIGHTMARES GUIDELINES Thank you for choosing to submit to the sixth annual Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers (GLAHW) mini-anthology. We are looking for horror fiction, between 2,000 and 5,000 words, along with the following requirements. 1. A feature character named Angela. She can be the protagonist, antagonist, monster, victim, friend, etc. As long as she (or, I suppose they, since gender fluidity is fine) plays a significant, if not pivotal role in the story. 2. The story must contain a penguin. How you use the penguin is up to you, be creative. I will be editing the stories, but I will not make any changes without first discussing them with you, the writer. I’m a writer, too, and I know what it’s like to have my story altered without my consent. I won’t do that to you. Having said that, however, I will try my best to make each of the stories in this anthology the best they can be. So, if I give you notes, I’d appreciate it if you’d consider them carefully. I’m not saying you have to agree with me (I’ve had plenty of writers argue with me, and sometimes, I see their point and concede the edit). Just that you listen. The cover art for Angela’s Recurring Nightmares will be handled by the talented Steve Bejma SUBMISSION Please submit all stories to [email protected]  The subject line should read Submission: Angela’s Recurring Nightmares. Stories should be submitted as an attachment in either MS Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf). Please follow proper manuscript format. If you don’t know what proper manuscript format is, please follow this link.  http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html. Include a short 100-150...

Taking Submissions: Exploring Infinity

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $20.00 USD and a contributors copy Theme: Exploring the hotel in 'Escaping Infinity', details below Subs are now open for, Exploring Infinity, a new sci-fi/fantasy anthology based on the Dragon Award nominated novel, Escaping Infinity ( https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Infinity-Richard-Paolinelli/dp/1541392582 ). I am looking for 10-12 stories. Maximum word count is 10,000 words and the hard minimum word count is 5,000 words. Stories must be centered around the novel and can range from other people in the hotel (i.e. the person Liz led to that certain door who failed to solve the mystery as Peter did), a part of the hotel not explored, a person at any point in time that encountered the Infinity but did not enter the hotel (remember, once inside there is no exiting), or life on Earth AFTER Peter leads them out of the Infinity. You can go all the way up until Peter and Liz depart Earth looking for the Manager’s home world, but as the final chapter of Escaping Infinity and the upcoming sequel, Expanding Infinity, will pick up the story from there, please do not wander that far into the future. Payment will be $20.00 USD plus a free print copy of the book to each author. Submissions must be in Word doc or docx format. Times New Roman, 12 pt and double-spaced with a return e-mail address and your name, mailing address and other info in the top left corner. An apprx. word count in the top right corner. Submission deadline is June 30, 2021. Submission e-mail: [email protected]. The anthology will be released in the late fall of 2021, around the time that the sequel is released. If you have any questions, e-mail me at the address above or PM me here. If you have not yet read the original novel and...

Taking Submissions: Flying Saucers in Space

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: % of royalties, exact % not stated in call. Theme: Sci-fi stories with a slathering of comedy ROYALTY SHARE PAID CALL Submission opens: 1st April 2021 Submission Deadline: 30th June 2021 Title: Flying Saucers in Space (working title) ​ Theme: We want sci-fi stories with a slathering of comedy. Think Galaxy Quest, Barbarella, Red Dwarf, Space Milkshake, The Orville. Must be primarily based in Space and full of comedy. ​ Genre: Sci-Fi Comedy Word Count: 5000 - 10000 ​ Author eligibility: Open to all. ​ Reprints: None. ​ Simultaneous Submissions: Not allowed. This means, don't send your story elsewhere while we are considering it. ​ Multiple Submissions: Up to two acceptances per author allowed. ​ Publication: A single anthology in print (paperback and hardback) and digital. ​ Author Compensation: Free digital copy of the book and a % of royalties. ​ Please email all submissions to [email protected] ​ Via: Raven And Drake Publishing.

Taking Submissions: The Dire Circle

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $25 Theme: A horror anthology that takes a look at the real black zodiac. Open submissions being accepted for “The Dire Circle.”              Open 5/3/21 - Close 6/30/21 D&T Publishing proudly presents The Dire Circle. A horror anthology that takes a look at the real black zodiac.  Most people know of the black zodiac as portrayed in the movie, Thirteen Ghosts. But, did you know that there is an actual black zodiac? The evil side of the zodiac circle we are so accustomed to. The evil side of the human creature. Within these pages, we will explore what evil lurks on the other side of the wheel, and what that could mean for those that tend to spend a little more time on the dark side.  Specific information: - If you’ve worked with us on some of our prior anthologies, then you will be familiar. Send us a one paragraph story, about one of the sides in the black zodiac. I will post a link below, that will help you find more information. https://aminoapps.com/c/horror/page/blog/the-real-black-zodiac-not-13-ghost/7evF_Pua33KgRMKR8xrpz4DKrjNBQR6 - One paragraph, typed into the body of an email. No attachments. **If it is over one paragraph, it will not be read.** Send to [email protected] - A confirmation email will be sent to you within 24 hours of receipt of your submission. Please make sure that your name is on your submission.  - Acceptance emails will be sent out no later than 7/4/21.  - For your email, please use The Dire Circle, as the subject.  - If you receive an acceptance email, a link will be provided to you for a Facebook group and all other information will be provided to you at that time, as well as assignments of which story you will write. You...

Taking Submissions: Taking Submissions: Allegory Volume 40/67

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $15 Theme: Speculative fiction, primarily horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Note: Reprints welcome Formatting Guidelines This is proving to be a recurring problem, so we're putting it up front. Please, for all our sakes, read this next part carefully. All submissions should be sent by e-mail (no letters or telephone calls please) to [email protected]. Below are some formatting rules to help us process your submission more quickly. EMAIL AND COVER LETTERS Email is accepted in both text and HTML formats. When submitting, please put this in the subject line: Submission: (Title) - (First and Last name) Include the following in the body of the email and in the attached submission: Your name Name to use on the story (byline), if different Your preferred email address Your mailing address The story's title The story's word count You may also include a cover letter in the body of the email. We get a lot of strange stuff in cover letters, so if you're unsure of what goes in them (and especially what doesn't) please refer to these cover letter tips: How to write a cover letter | What not to put in a cover letter by Jed Hartman SUBMISSION FORMATTING We ONLY accept submissions as attachments! All stories submitted as an attachment must follow standard manuscript formatting. We will no longer read any story not properly formatted. (And we much prefer Courier New to Times New Roman) For explanations and tips on what SMF is and how to do it with word processing programs, please see this article. Please send your submission as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Test Format (.rtf) only. Other formats, such as Works, WordPerfect, Open Office, etc., have proven difficult to open. Please note that we no longer accept "inline" submssions; that is, submissions with the stories pasted...

Taking Submissions: Navigating Ruins

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $30, a contributor's copy, potential royalties Theme: Navigating Ruins WriteHive has grown so much since it's started. We are excited to announce this new projects as another step toward Writing the Future We Need. In a collaboration with Inked in Gray we will be hosting our first ever anthology collection! As we come out of this last year and seek for ways to grow better and stronger, we felt that this theme would be a good first foray to showcase our writing community. More specifically the topic of navigating ruins. This open call opens May 1st, 2021 and closes on June 30, 2021. Writing the Future We Need: Navigating Ruins Theme: Navigating Ruins. There is no limitation to how you incorporate this theme into your work as long as the story falls within the Sci-Fi, Horror, or Fantasy genre. We encourage you to take the theme and show its manifestation beyond the physical, showing us something unique and engaging. Submission Period: May 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021 Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 10K words per piece, not including addition information below Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi Submission Details: Previously unpublished works You may submit up to 2 pieces, but each work must be a separate submission Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please let us know if the work is accepted elsewhere Include story as attached .doc (or .doc compatible format) please for ease of visual accessibility You will be asked to copy a short query with bio and mission criteria into our form submission Work must not have been previously published elsewhere What to Include with Your Submission: *Please read carefully* A 3 – 5 sentence bio with any relevant social media links (Social media is not required to participate) A short snippet (1 – 3 sentences)...

Taking Submissions: Nightmare: An Anthology of Ecological Horror (Early Listing)

Submission Window: June 1st – June 30th, 2021 Payment: 3 cents/word Theme: Ecological Horror Field Notes from a Nightmare will be a print and e-book anthology about environmental and ecological horrors. Though some still try, there is no denying that humans have and continue to drastically alter the earth and its environment. Climate change, pollution, suburban sprawl, deforestation, etc. Give me your tales and observations on these impacts. What horrors have/will we see as a result? How will Mother Nature fight back in a struggle for survival? As long as it’s nature/environmental/ecological and horror, it’s good. Submission Period: June 1 – June 30. Do not send before June 1. Length: 1,000 – 4,000 words. Firm. Author Compensation: 3 cents/word, paid via PayPal upon acceptance. Publication: Print and ebook (target publication Winter 2021-22). Rights: Exclusive First Worldwide Publication and Electronic Rights for three months, and non-exclusive rights thereafter. Original stories ONLY. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your story immediately if accepted elsewhere. NO multiple submissions. Email your submission as a Word document attachment to [email protected] with “FIELD NOTES – – – ” in the subject line. OTHER SUBMISSION CONSIDERATIONS: Dark weird fiction and horror-adjacent sci-fi is also welcome. Please no fantasy or hard sci-fi. This is anthology about our earth, so to a large degree your story should be rooted in our reality. Meaning, stories with dystopian elements are expected, but full-on dystopian stories will be a hard sell. Happy endings are also a hard sell, but don’t be afraid to try a glimmer of hope. Tropes aren’t bad, but preference will given to unique usage and/or subversion of well-established tropes. Yes, we are pro-environment, but don’t be overly moralizing. Nuance is key. Stories that deal with bigotry are fine, but bigoted stories are not. Splatterpunk is fine, but gore and extreme elements should serve story, character,...

Taking Submissions: Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mystery 1882

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a contributor's copy Theme: Sherlock Holmes mysteries taking place in 1882 Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mystery 1882 “When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years '82 and '90, I am faced by so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know which to choose and which to leave.” - Dr. Watson Synopsis: Watson mentions that 1882 is one of the years with strange and interesting cases, yet the canon contains not a single adventure from this year. What happened during Holmes and Watson’s second year in Baker Street? What thrilling mysteries did they solve? Find out in Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1882. This collection contains a dozen cases, one for each month of the year, from January to December. Submission Guidelines: Stories must be canonical in nature. Holmes and Watson should be young and still getting to know each other. Authors interested in participating should first send a synopsis of their adventure and the month of the year they wish it to take place. If your story does not need a specific month (i.e. it takes place in autumn and could be in September, October, or November) please let us know that as well. Once your synopsis has been accepted, you should begin drafting the story. Submission length: 5,000 – 10,0000 words (it is okay to go over some). Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology. Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the...

Taking Submissions: Curiosities Weird/Occult Detective Edition

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: 5 cents per word original, 1 cent per word reprint, min $50 Theme: Weird/Occult Detective stories, RETRO-TECH/VINTAGE/ALT-HIST SETTINGS STRONGLY PREFERRED Note: Reprints welcome Special Session: 1-30 June 2021 Weird/Occult Detective stories ONLY* *RETRO-TECH/VINTAGE/ALT-HIST SETTINGS STRONGLY PREFERRED Hello! This project is a comfortable two-headed beast at play in the curious and often dark corners of retropunk fiction. That means steampunk, dieselpunk, dreadpunk, bronzepunk, others that haven’t even been invented yet punk … but not atompunk. Sorry, space fans, we draw our line at Sputnik. About 2/3 of rejections are for “bad fit.” We buy nonexclusive rights for fiction, cover & interior art, music & sound effects usage, and narration services. What we do: Curiosities, a short story anthology series published two or three times a year, which is available in digital and print on demand formats, and The Gallery of Curiosities, a podcast which features stories from the publication. Not every story we buy will make it to an audio podcast release, but we do make good effort to get it there before our rights expire. We started out as a podcast, and went to print later.  Audio production is incredibly time intensive. Short version: 5 cents per word original, 1 cent per word reprint, min $50 Length up to 7500 words We read blind. Anonymize your manuscript before sending it as a doc, docx, or rtf. Use the format SUBMISSION: Story Title in the title bar of your email or it gets lost. Multiple? No more than 3 at a time. Always send in separate emails. Simultaneous? Yes. Please be prompt with a withdrawal if sold If accepted, your story will be published in ebook and print-on-demand formats If accepted, your story may possibly be produced for podcast send to [email protected] Long version: What we’re looking for: As an audio venue, we want...

Taking Submissions: Abyss: Stories of Depth, Time and Infinity

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: 0.5p per word (£5 per 1000 words) and 2 contributors copies Theme: Fiction that explores "Depth, Time and Infinity" in any way you choose. Note: My apologies on the short deadline, this recently hit my inbox. Abyss: Stories of Depth, Time and Infinity Exciting news! Following the success of our first anthology, Vast, Orchid’s Lantern is opening its doors once more. Abyss: Stories of Depth, Time and Infinity will be our second anthology, and this time we’re seeking fiction that explores these metaphysical topics in any way you choose. We want high-impact experimental pieces, streams of consciousness, unusual perspectives and fictional accounts of altered states. We want extrapolations and interpretations of our present reality, or visions of drastic changes. We want the literary and the speculative. The entertaining will be juxtaposed, or combined, with the philosophical. We do not want highly fantastical settings unless they explicitly link back to the theme. We want complete stories, not chapters of something bigger. Please do not send us: Stories of a racist, sexist or bigoted nature Stories promoting particular religions or political stances Vampires, werewolves, superheroes or magic Erotica We like: Maniac, Russian Doll, The OA, Mr Robot, Black Mirror, The Matrix, Philip K Dick, Mark Z. Danielewski, Franz Kafka, Clarice Lispector, Sylvia Plath, Hermann Hesse, Jean-Paul Satre, Kurt Vonnegut, Anna Kavan, Robert Anton Wilson, Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts and Terence McKenna. Guidelines: All submissions should have fewer than 7,500 words. There is no lower limit because we are fans of flash fiction, so long as it is strong and impactful. We aim to have a variety of lengths in the finished publication. The initial deadline is 30th June 2021, but we reserve the right to extend this should we not receive enough quality submissions by this date. We will...