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Deadline: May 24th, 2022 Payment: $10 and a contributor's copy Theme: Tell us what really happened during the dancing plague of 1518 (full details below) The Dancing Plague: Our 4th Collection of Utter Speculation Tentative Deadline: May 24, 2022 October 2022 Release Pay: $10 payment and a contributors copy 10k words or less (less words will have a better chance of being included) In the summer of 1518, in the free city of Strasbourg, Frau Troffea stepped into the street and started to dance. Unable to stop, she danced until she collapsed from exhaustion. Then she got up and danced some more. Soon other citizens of Strasbourg joined her. At the peak of this bizarre mania, up to four hundred people danced, against their will, for months on end, until, just as mysteriously as it began, the dancing plague began to taper down. What happened in Strasbourg was not the only case of the dancing plague, but it was the most carefully documented. So, what happened? Wizards? Ergot? Brainwashing? That is what we want you to tell us. Send us your stories of utter speculation on the cause of the dancing plague, for our fourth collection. 10k words or less (less is more) How to submit: Name your file: Title – Dancing sub Include your title in both your submission email and on your piece. No cover letter necessary. Do not include your name on the work. All files will be downloaded into a folder and read blind to ensure fairness. Again, make sure you include the title of your piece in your email so that we can match them up later. Email submissions to: [email protected] Some tips for what we’re looking for First of all, we want stories that speculate, not speculations that are forced into a story. If...

Deadline: July 31st, 2022 Payment: $0.03 CAD per word, higher if crowdfunding is more successful. Theme: You - we are looking for your stories. Whether that's a deeply personal memoir, a fantastic tale close to your heart, or just something as ridiculous and silly as you are, we want to hear, share, and celebrate you, however you define it. Poetry will also be considered. Reprints are allowed if they have only been published in non-paying markets (e.g. personal blog, school newspaper, Wattpad, etc.). Note: Stories by trans youth It is rather inadequate to say times are tough for trans people right now. We want to show our support and spread awareness and understanding of transgender folks by assembling an anthology of stories by trans youths and recently transitioned people. The theme for this anthology is you - we are looking for your stories. Whether that's a deeply personal memoir, a fantastic tale close to your heart, or just something as ridiculous and silly as you are, we want to hear, share, and celebrate you, however you define it. Poetry will also be considered. Reprints are allowed if they have only been published in non-paying markets (e.g. personal blog, school newspaper, Wattpad, etc.). Brain Lag is a speculative fiction publisher, therefore priority will be given to new science fiction/fantasy short stories by trans youths (21 or younger). However, please don't self-reject! If you have an amazing literary, crime, or other genre piece you want to submit, we want to read it. Length: Up to 6,000 words. Restrictions: We are only looking for stories/poetry written by transgender youths (25 years old or younger) or recently transitioned/transitioning people of any age (2018 or later). Genre: No fanfiction. Erotica and/or gore will be a hard sell, but otherwise anything goes. Payment: A minimum of $0.03 CAD per word, to be...