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Taking Submissions: Airship Adventures

Deadline: March 31st, 2022 Payment: £10 per story accepted. Theme: Steampunk adventure featuring lots of cogs, steam and airships Title: Airship Adventures ​Opens: 17th November 2021 Closes: 31st March 2022 Genre: Steampunk Fantasy ​ Reader Age Range: 12+ ​ Word Count: 4000 - 8000 10% wiggle room over. ​ Info: I will be looking for steampunk adventure featuring lots of cogs, steam and airships. Make it fun, make it steampunk and tell a story. ​ Reprints: Not allowed Simultaneous Submissions: Allowed, but please email if accepted elsewhere. Multiple Submissions: Up to 2 accepted per author Author Compensation: £10 per story accepted. Paid via Paypal only Via: Raven And Drake Publishing.

Taking Submissions: Snafu: Dead or Alive (Early Listing)

Submission Window: January 1st - March 31st, 2022 Payment: AU5c/word Theme: Weird Western action horror AU5c/word / 2k-10k words  Opens Jan 1st 2022/ Closes March 31st 2022 (in your time zone)  Fantasy, Horror, or Science Fiction  Theme – Weird Western action horror. WHAT WE WANT ACTION-BASED horror, themed within conflict in the wild, wild West. Think Bone Tomahawk, Ravenous, Westworld, Cowboys & Aliens and The Burrowers for films, and Dead in the West by Joe Lansdale, Deadlands: Ghostwalkers by Jonathan Maberry, Skin Medicine by Tim Curran, and The Crossings by Jack Ketchum for writings… anything that can be considered a high-action monster story set within an obviously Western theme. For level of unnatural creature we will give priority to, think Dog Soldiers or Aliens in oldie times. We want lots of monster goodness and lots of action. We will also be looking for soldiers/cavalry, bandit gangs (or bandidos, for south of the border), sheriffs, private security for gold claims. Hell, even a group of bodyguards protecting some arsehole business overlord in his desert property. Just ensure the action is central to the story, from start to finish, and don’t forget monsters! This volume is like the previous volumes squared. All action. We want extreme action, and it really should be in the style of military or paramilitary action, although we definitely see cowboys or a posse or bandit gang or demon hunters as suitable in this theme. And to say it again, full action. Nothing less. Hoo-rah! We actively encourage submissions from all cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, and identities. Storytelling is for everyone, and we are richer for it when all voices are heard. SOME GUIDANCE – IF YOU TAKE THIS PLOT PATH, IT BETTER BE DAMNED GOOD: Wendigo tales. These are the most common of things in weird westerns, and just like Highlander, there can be only one! Good cowboys versus bad First Nation People. This is an almost impossible sell....

Taking Submissions: Annus Horribilis

Deadline: March 31st 2022 Payment: £6.66 Theme: Original, unpublished stories of up to 2022 words (horror/dark/speculative fiction) on any topic, in any style set in 2022. I think we can all agree, a lot of 2021 has been rubbish. But what horrors might 2022 contain? Calling prophets, all soothsayers, all predictors of doom! We're seeking original, unpublished stories of up to 2022 words (horror/dark/speculative fiction) on any topic, in any style. (Word count does not include title.) The one rule, and here's the tricky part...your story should be set in 2022. We don't want one hundred stories all about coronavirus though, so think outside of the box! (Although, if you do have an exceptional story to tell us about the 'vid, please do submit it.) Elements of fantasy, sci-fi, and any other genre are fine, as long as the main theme is horror. We will pay £6.66 for each selected story. An anthology of selected stories will be published in print and as an e-book publication. See our 'Submission Guidelines' section for information on how to submit. Deadline: March 31st 2022 (midnight, last place on earth) or until full. Via: Bag Of Bones Press.

Meerkat Press Is Open To Novel Submissions

Deadline: March 31st, 21022 Payment: Royalty-based payments for novels, and in some cases, an advance against royalties. Theme: Speculative Fiction NO: Swords & Sorcery Fantasy / Epic Fantasy / Young Adult / Middle Grade Submissions for 2024 will open on January 1st, 2022 and close on March 31st, 2022.  We are currently booked through 2023 so we’re temporarily closed for submissions. Please read carefully as we have updated what we will be accepting in our next open submission period. We publish approximately four books per year. The odds of having a book accepted by Meerkat Press are very, very low just based on the number of submissions compared to the number of books we publish. We don’t just encourage, we insist on simultaneous submissions as we would hate for your hard work to be tied up here based on the time it takes us to get through submissions and that most books will be rejected. We are looking for original stories that make our brains engage, our breaths catch and our hearts thud. We want stories that keep us up all night reading and leave us begging for more. Stories we can’t shake long after reading. Give us fresh voices, unique/flawed characters, imaginative story lines, and diversity in characters and settings (and authors!) Our catalog does have a high percentage of speculative fiction and darker themes, but that’s not all we publish, so please read carefully: If you have a completed work that fits the description in one of the categories below, we hope you will submit it for consideration. We do not sign contracts for work that has not yet been written so as much as your pitch for unwritten work may be interesting, it will just clutter our inbox and we don’t respond to pitches that don’t have a completed...

Taking Submissions: Valravn Anthology 2022 Spring Window

Deadline: March 31st, 2022 Payment: $0.10 USD per word Theme: Fantasy Horror, Espionage/Thriller, Science Fiction WHAT WE WANT We love fiction from diverse, under-represented perspectives and cultures, well-researched and written by fresh and exciting voices. Speculative fiction in the following genres  Fantasy Horror Espionage/Thriller Science Fiction Up to 80,000 words, minimum of 15,000 words (novellas) Submitted to our submission email (submissions AT ravencanticlepress DOT com) Only one submission per quarter, no simultaneous submissions, no submissions of previously rejected material without prior approval. Please wait until the next quarter (January 1st, April 1st,  July 1st, October 1st) before submitting anything again. Please only send RTF, DOC or DOCX files, and must adhere best practices in manuscript formats: https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/ We’re open to previously published fiction in short story collections or other formats. Please provide a detailed list of previous publication (if necessary). WHAT WE OFFER   An advance based on the size of the work, as well as other factors. Ongoing royalties (author friendly) for single author works:  15% net on retail sales, with increases based on copies sold up to 25%. In this case, net means the cost of printing is counted against the profits, but nothing else is (such as editing, layout, etc. which is all carried by Raven Canticle Press.) 50% net price of all ebook and electronic formats. Generally net price is less any payment processing fees or platform fees. Whatever we get here, you get half of. Anthologies or products with multiple authors have different terms (generally a lesser commitment in terms of publishing rights and a one-time fee). WHAT WE DON’T WANT We want horror, dark or gothic themes to carry the stories. If the story doesn’t have those, we likely aren’t the best fit for it. We also don’t want partial, incomplete, or short stories (an exception...

Taking Submissions: Grandpa’s Deep-Space Diner

Digital Generated Image Deadline: March 31st, 2022. Payment: $5 USD per 1000 words Theme: Speculative fiction food stories! My grandpa had a drive-in diner in Rupert, Idaho in the 60s called Chuck's In-and-Out. It was well known and all the kids went there. My aunt served the burgers (sans roller-skates—Grandma put a stop to that notion! ) and Grandma made the best french fry sauce in the galaxy. Grandpa taught me that food, from the production to the preparation to the partaking, could be a simple personal pleasure or a means of bringing groups together in a shared meal. This book is dedicated to him. Miss you, Grampsy. Whether you're growing your produce in a magical garden, storing your rations in your lunar bunker, or enjoying a delightful picnic in the outer rings of Saturn, we want your speculative fiction food stories! Submissions deadline: March 31, 2022. NOTE: We are currently only accepting short stories for the anthologies and cannot accept full-length novel manuscripts at this time. ** Please put the anthology you're submitting to in the subject line of the email!** Payment for stories will be $5 USD per 1000 words for all current anthologies (excepting contests). We're looking for speculative fiction across all anthologies (unless otherwise specified). That includes everything from high fantasy to hard scifi and anything in between. We do accept reprints, simultaneous submissions, and multiple submissions, though these will slow down our response time. Story lengths should be anywhere from flash-length to about 15k words, but we have at times made exceptions. We know a story is complete when it's complete, and arbitrary word count requirements are not always helpful. If you have an amazing story that exceeds 15k words, let us know. We may be able to make special accommodations. :) With regard to copyright, we...

Taking Submissions: Troubadours and Space Princesses

Deadline: March 31st, 2022 Payment: Contributor's Copy (charity anthology) Theme: Stories of troubadours, minstrels, and bards teaming up with princesses feisty and bold. Scifi or Fantasy Since its beginnings in the early 1980s, the Life, the Universe, & Everything Symposium has been a staple of the Utah and Intermountain West author and artist community. Many authors, artists, and editors have found inspiration for their careers at the feet of scores of symposium guests. Influential professors and others have mentored those planning and running the symposium, but many of these mentors have passed on. The symposium helps students of all ages by providing greatly discounted student memberships. Hemelein Publications—in conjunction with LTUE Press—created a series of memorial benefit/charity anthologies to help the symposium continue to help these aspiring creators learn about their crafts at a reasonable cost. Author, artist, and editor royalty proceeds from the anthology go to LTUE to help students attend for a very low cost. The sixth of these anthologies, Troubadours and Space Princesses, is a science fiction and fantasy adventure anthology, created in honor of Dave Wolverton. Best known under his pseudonym David Farland, Dave passed away in January 2022. He was a fixture at LTUE from the beginning. He mentored many, many writers and artists through his workshops, his work with Writers and Illustrators of the Future, conferences and conventions, and just personally. He was always kind and generous with his time and knowledge. Theme At heart, Dave was a storyteller, a spinner of yarns fantastic. To honor his memory and connection with LTUE, we want stories of troubadours, minstrels, and bards teaming up with princesses feisty and bold. We want them to save the kingdom or the spaceship, or maybe only the tavern or spaceport bar, or even just the cat. We want tales of adventure and mischief. But most of all, we want...

Taking Submissions: Shredded: A Sports and Fitness Body Horror Anthology (Early Listing)

Submission Window: March 1st, 2022 – March 31st, 2022 Payment: $.03 USD per word Theme: Body horror in sports and fitness Note: Extended submission period for women and non-binary writers is April 1st – 7th, 2022. This fiction anthology from Eric Raglin (writer of NIGHTMARE YEARNINGS, editor of ANTIFA SPLATTERPUNK) will feature stories of body horror in sports and fitness. Submit your most grotesque, strange, frightening, and thought-provoking stories—ones with complex characters, unapologetic weirdness, and horror that takes bold narrative risks. *Before reading the rest of the submission guidelines, note that the existence of this project is contingent on the success of its Kickstarter campaign. Consider donating a few bucks or sharing the campaign link.* Submissions are open to all writers, but I especially encourage submissions from writers of marginalized groups. Note that some writers have specifically been invited to contribute. The anthology will be a mix of solicited stories and stories selected from the open call submission period. Stories should be between 2,000 and 4,500 words. Multiple submissions are not allowed. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but withdraw your submission immediately if it gets accepted elsewhere. No reprints. Open for submissions March 1st, 2022 – March 31st, 2022. The extended submission period for women and non-binary writers is April 1st – 7th, 2022. I will announce accepted submissions by April 15th, 2022. Anthology will be published as both an electronic and print book in July 2022.   OTHER SUBMISSION CONSIDERATIONS If you’re retreading old ground and well-established tropes, make it fresh. I’m fine with horror that has erotic elements, but emphasis should be on the horror. Don’t be moralizing. I want nuance. Stories that deal with bigotry are fine, but bigoted stories are not. I don’t want stories with graphic depictions of sexual violence. It’s a body horror anthology, so I’m fine with gore...

Taking Submissions: Abandoned – An Anthology of Vacant Spaces

Deadline: March 31st, 2022 Payment: $50 Theme: You must include some sort of abandonment, whether real or virtual, that concludes by the end of the story to meet the theme requirements. Legion of Dorks Presents: Abandoned – An Anthology of Vacant Spaces is searching for short stories no more than 7000 words exploring the phenomenon of full spaces gone empty. Submissions are open from January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022. Your story must be an original, never-before-published creation that centers around this theme. You must include some sort of abandonment, whether real or virtual, that concludes by the end of the story to meet the theme requirements. You cannot write in anyone else’s world. Otherwise, have fun and let your imagination dominate. A videographer meets a ghost in a haunted house. A lone explorer finds an abandoned spaceship. An old base on the bottom of the ocean offers treasures to a deep-sea scientist. But who built it? The ideas are endless. We are offering $50 per accepted story. Fifty percent of all revenue after cost of production will be donated to Toys for Tots in conjunction with the Legion of Dorks December fundraiser. Email all submissions to [email protected] in standard short story format with the subject “Submission for Abandoned (last name).” One story per email please and no more than three submissions total. If you’re curious about the stories we like, check out the others in the series: Laundered – An Anthology of Monster Messes and Horizons – An Anthology of Epic Journeys. Manuscript Submission Guidelines: We are accepting submissions of complete, previously unpublished manuscripts in the speculative fiction genre that have series potential. Speculative fiction encompasses horror, fantasy, and science fiction—and all of the niche categories under those large umbrellas. We’re only considering full length novels between 40K and 100K words. If it’s...

Taking Submissions: Weird Horror Magazine March 2022 Window (Early Listing)

Deadline: March 31st, 2022 Payment: 1.5¢ per word (one and one-half cent), with a $25 (U.S.) minimum (paid via PayPal) and 2 contributor's copies Theme: Weird Horror WEIRD HORROR SUBMISSIONS WILL OPEN IN MARCH Weird Horror has two reading periods each year - March and September. FICTION GUIDELINES OPENS: March 1, 2022 CLOSES: March 31, 2022 Fiction must be in English, and previously unpublished in English anywhere, in any format, on any platform. Please do not query about reprints. We will consider works translated to English, as long as you are offering first English-language publication rights. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please inform us if your story is accepted elsewhere. No multiple submissions. Please send 1 story only per reading period. We are seeking horror and weird fiction from 500 to 6,000 words. (Please respect our word counts. Query first for longer pieces.) We are not interested in extreme horror. We receive 600 to 800 manuscripts each period, and accept less than 2% of submissions. Do not be discouraged by a form rejection. Payment is (U.S.) 1.5¢ per word (one and one-half cent), with a $25 (U.S.) minimum (paid via PayPal) for first worldwide English-language rights, for use in the print, eBook, and online edition. Contributors also receive 2 copies of the print edition. We ask for a 6-month exclusivity. Copyright remains with the author, and a contract will be provided. Submit stories in Standard Manuscript Format as a Word document or PDF, and e-mail as an attachment to: WeirdHorrorMag gmail com NOTE - There is no need to provide a mailing address on your manuscript. Format the subject line of your e-mail thusly: Submission - Story Title - Author Name We are not currently seeking any art or non-fiction submissions. Please query if you have any questions. -Michael Kelly Via:...

Taking Submissions: Listen: The Sound of Fear

Deadline: March 31st, 2022 Payment: "Split proceeds among all contributing authors." Theme: A gothic horror story collection centered around sound Note: Open to all trans and nonbinary authors LISTEN: The Sound of Fear Things that go bump in the night, real or imagined; that certain song or sound that threatens madness; the warnings we heed…or don’t heed… NineStar Press is seeking submissions to LISTEN, a gothic horror story collection centered around sound, featuring trans and nonbinary authors from our community. While we want a terrifying tale, it must have gothic elements. Rather than relying on gore for scares, give us the fear that lives within. Anthology theme: terrifying tales with gothic elements with “sound” as an important detail Examples of story themes you might include (but are not limited to): psychological fear, doomed romance, family curses, homes haunted either by actual ghosts or ghosts of the past, your other great idea! Submission deadline: March 31, 2022 Requirement: open to all trans and nonbinary authors Story length: up to 15K Heat: from sweet to erotic; fade to black to explicit Content: the story must feature an LGBTQA+ character; any romantic pairing; HEA, HFN, or unhappy ending Genre: all (contemporary, fantasy, PNR, literary fiction; with gothic horror elements) What to do: Send an email to [email protected] with the following: Subject line:  LISTEN ANTHOLOGY: , In the email body (include as a bullet list): Category (romance fiction or literary story) Genre (contemporary, fantasy, PNR) Pairing (ie: MM, FF, trans, NB, ace, genderfluid, etc.) Length Previously published (Yes / No) A short description of the story (one paragraph) Previous author credits, if any Manuscript requirements: Attachments: All attachments should be in .docx, .doc, or .rtf format Manuscripts should be complete and edited to the best of your ability. Please use the following formats when preparing your manuscript for...

Taking Submissions: Bioluminescent: A Lunarpunk Anthology

March 31st, 2022 Payment: $.08 per word + contributor copy Theme: Lunarpunk Story Length: 500 to 7,500 words Story Payment: at least $.08 per word + contributor copy Poem Length: 5 poems or 5 pages Poetry Payment: $30 per poem + contributor copy Submissions Open: March 1 - 31, 2022 Expected Publication: 2023 Editor: Justine Norton-Kertson ​ This will arguably be the first Lunarpunk anthology to be produced. As such, it is an opportunity for you, as an author, to help guide and define a relatively new science fiction subgenre. Please read the full guidelines before submitting. The submission link is at the end of these guidelines ​ ​ What is Luarpunk? Lunarpunk is a relatively new subgenre of science fiction and fantasy that is closely related to and is an offshoot of Solarpunk. Like it’s sibling subgenre, Lunarpunk tells optimistic and hopeful stories about future societies led by genuinely diverse communities and powered by renewable energy, where nature and technology coexist in harmony rather than in conflict. It’s is a subgenre that’s about restoring the web of life that connects us all. It’s about a desire to protect all life, not just human life. It’s about the drive to embrace and empower life, and restore the planet. ​ Lunarpunk futures aren’t usually “perfect” utopias. Such a thing will never actually exist. But even when lunarpunk communities come close to that ideal, they are still never without conflict and challenges. One thing is certain though, lunarpunk societies are absolutely not dystopias. ​ If lunarpunk and solarpunk societies haven’t yet reached some sort of utopian ideal, then the communities in these stories have still either solved, or are at least in the process of optimistically working together to solve or adapt to the climate crisis and other global challenges. They are consciously...