Events

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: $25 Theme: Tales of the people who fight for, sacrifice for, and work toward the takeover of the world by the Old Ones. In this, our seventh anthology of the Lovecraftian series, we are looking for tales of the people who fight for, sacrifice for, and work toward the takeover of the world by the Old Ones. In a previous anthology, we dealt with the worshipers. They helped bring about the appearance of the Old Ones. The soldiers in this anthology are those who actually help the manifest Old Ones in their conquest. This is war. Conflict. There will be atrocity. Horror in the truest sense of the word, from madness to mayhem. Tell us about the weapons, physical and not, used by the soldiers in their campaigns. Show us the progress or lack thereof toward the endgame of total victory for the Old Ones or humanity. Is it possible humanity can win? Maybe, but show us how. We recognize that horror requires a certain amount of leeway on some things, but be warned. We look down on overuse of specific issues. These include: • Sexual content not inherent to the storyline. No adult content. Keep your tentacles to yourself. • Explicit description of torture or sacrifice, human or otherwise. As a plot device, there is a way to present this without resorting to splatter. A certain amount of gore is to be expected, but don't overdo it. • Violence or abuse against a minor, infant to teenager. • Overuse of profane language. People curse. But not every sentence. • Hate language against a race, creed, or gender. Against monstrous races and gods, that’s okay. • Quoting previously published material not in the public domain. This is a legal issue and will not be tolerated...

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: $10 Theme: A complete story in any genre What are we looking for? Good flash fiction is like a freeze frame—a snapshot of a real story about real characters. The word count is low, so many of the details are left to the reader to fill in, but they’re there. Flash fiction is neither a vignette nor a character sketch. Something must happen, and there must be an ending, whether explicit or implied. So first and foremost, we want a story. A complete, interesting story. 1000 words or less, any genre, no content restrictions. We want your science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, drama, literary works, satire, bizarre fiction, or anything else you can come up with or mix together. The more original, the better. The weirder, the better. The best way to find out what we’re looking for is to read what we’ve already published! Check out our current volume, free to read at https://freezeframefiction.com/. What are we NOT looking for? We are 100% okay with explicit content, so long as it serves a purpose to the story and/or characters. Profanity for the sake of profanity—or the same thing for sex, violence, or gore—does not impress us. Also, animal cruelty. Please just send that somewhere else. We do not publish fan-fiction, i.e., stories based in worlds or using characters created by other authors. All content must be original. The following things might be accepted, but will be a very hard sell: stories involving vampires, zombies, or werecreatures (read an exception here) pure romance with no other significant elements the now-ubiquitous young adult paranormal romance military fiction or stories of battles or wars stories with a religious message or theme We’re also pretty tired of reading about straight cis white guys, honestly. We get it; they’re everywhere. Give us some diversity,...

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: 2 Contributors Copies Theme: Mixing up some humor, horror, and medicine! Whose advice do you trust when your health seems amiss? Are you afraid of going to the doctor? Dentist? Voodoo Doctor? Alchemist? Perhaps you can recommend a witch or mage or occult healer? Suffering from a toothache, measles, black plague, boils? Is it time to get that back pain from the demon possession looked at? Submit all your horrifying and humorous medications, cures, malpractice, and more in this collection of squeals and squeamish delights! Deadline JUNE 30th 2022 at Midnight EST Publications October 2022 Rights & Payments 2 complimentary Access to buy author copies at a discounted rate We retain first publication rights for the first 90 days of publication. After that feel free to sell and republish your entry as you wish. All entries will solely belong to you. This only covers publishing for this particular volume. This will be sold wide – Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, and beyond. Retail price to be determined at a later time. By sending in a submission, you are agreeing to the rights above and will receive confirmation to further clarify. If no response in 7-14 business days is received, please feel free to contact or resubmit. Submission Guidelines Here’s what we need from you to include: 12 pt font Calibri or Times New Roman Double-spaced throughout (without extra spaces between paragraphs) Indented for new paragraphs 1-inch margin all around Include a title page with:First and last name Title of work Blurb/Pitch Header with last name, title, and page number in top right-hand corner. 2,500 – 5,000 words Via: 4 Horsemen Publications.

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: $30USD Theme: Science fiction stories that take place on another planet. Title: Strange Sunrises: Tales from Distant Planets Theme: Science fiction stories that take place on another planet. The setting should feel alive and have some influence on the plot. Any subgenre is welcome, but please submit horror stories to the Sunsets collection. Word Count: Preferred 2500-7500. Hard cap on 10,000 words for exceptional stories. Payment: $30USD Rights: First time publishing rights for one year after publication. The author is free to publish the story elsewhere afterwards. Reprints: No. Original stories only. Multiple Submissions: Welcome. Simultaneous Submissions: No. If you do not hear back within eight weeks, you may submit the story elsewhere. How to submit: Email manuscript to [email protected] attached as a Word (.docx) document. In the subject line, please write Sunrises_Your_Name. In the body, please include a few sentences summarizing the story. Via: War And Whiskey.

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: $5 Theme: Scary Kids You don't have to be a parent to know just how horrifying children can be. We want your stories innocent youngsters turned malevolent (think: The Omen, Children of the Corn, The Midwich Cuckoos, etc.)- the more terrifying the better! 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 'KIDS' 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 2022 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hell Bound Books.

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: A flat payment of $25-$75 Theme: The theme of coming of age as a queer pagan Rites of Passage: An Anthology of Queer Pagan Fiction Coming of age as a queer person can be a difficult but exciting time. Queer people know that they’re different growing up but it’s during this coming of age that they finally connect the dots and understand what is so different about themselves. Previous generations identified heavily with labels such as gay, bi or lesbian and with various queer subcultures. The current generation has largely eschewed these labels and allowed their identities to be more fluid in terms of both sexuality and gender. Along similar lines, the current generation of Pagan have had ample resources available such as books and the internet. They haven’t taken the traditional road of finding a teacher or initiating into a tradition. This sets up a tension between the generations as the older generations attempt to gatekeep based on initiations, traditions and labels while the younger generations live more fluidly. This anthology will explore the theme of coming of age as a queer pagan. We are also interested in exploring this difference between the generations with one generation identifying their difference through labels while the other refuses to label what makes them different. The genre or setting of the story is less important than the exploration of the theme. Please submit your stories of 2500 – 7500 words that have not been previously published. Simultaneous submissions are fine. Payment will be a flat payment of $25-$75 within 30 days following publication. To submit, please end an email to [email protected]. Put the title of the anthology in the subject line. Deadline: June 30, 2022 Via: Periculum Press.

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: $20 and a contributor's copy, or $35 for authors outside the USA Theme: Solid stories in a cosmic horror/Lovecraftian vein Note: Reprints welcome Yes, we're starting our third year. Thank you for your interest and support. The guidelines are below. Strange Aeon: 2022 (Hopeful Monsters) is a continuation of the Strange Aeon anthology series. As always, I want good, solid stories in a cosmic horror/Lovecraftian vein.  I specifically say Lovecraftian rather than Cthulu because I’d like stories across the entire Mythos, including additions by the original group of Mythos authors like Robert Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. . In fact, I’d like to use more stories that do not have specific Lovecraftian references and that move away from the traditional Lovecraft style and voice. Try to avoid pastiche and tell fresh new stories in your own settings. Style preference applies to gore and sex as well: think early Weird Tales, no excessive language or explicit sexual references. I am especially interested in stories of mad science, monster-based horror, weird western, and stories that “peel the onion.” Indeed, I cannot emphasize strongly enough the need for these categories. Victoriana and Lovecraft era period pieces will have a much harder time finding acceptance. This year’s anthology is slanted more towards stories showing protagonists “fighting the good fight” in the face of implacable horror and fewer stories that are mood based rather than plot driven. That being said, please send anything you consider a good story. Feel free to query for any questions. If you are planning to write a story especially for this anthology, by all means query the idea first. For this anthology I’m asking for non-exclusive rights and will happily take reprints. Simply tell me the publication history so that I can give proper copyright acknowledgement. Simultaneous and multiple submissions...

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: $0.04/word and a contributor's copy Theme: Dark Speculative fiction which combine humor and something from the Cthulhu Mythos. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: LOLcraft: An Compendium of Eldritch Humor “Comedy and horror are opposite sides of the same coin.” Robert Bloch There is a long history of blending comedy and horror, two genres which shouldn’t work together, but movies from Beetlejuice to Cabin in the Woods show that they can. Both genres evoke visceral, physical reactions. Horror generates fear and dread. Our hearts race. The stress rises and we feel the need for a release, to scream. Humor generates similar physical reactions, but the release comes in the form of laughter. When done well, the feelings don’t leave us when the story is finished, they stay with us. And this is what we want from you. Make us laugh. Make us cry. Reduce us to maddened, mindless, lumps of goo. Make us long for that release, whether it be in the form of laughter or shrieking in dread.  In Eldritch Embraces: Putting the Love Back in Lovecraft we were looking stories which combined the elements of the Cthulhu Mythos and romance. This time around we want you to mix humor with your favorite Mythos elements. What We Want: Finely crafted works of Dark Speculative fiction which combine humor and something from the Cthulhu Mythos. The humor can be light or dark, subtle or over the top. We want the laughter but we also want that sense of helplessness and dread that comes with a good Lovecraftian tale. While not strictly necessary, it would certainly be helpful to have a strong Mythos knowledge base. Read the originals, but also read recent works which put a new spin on the material.  To get an example of what we have published in the past, feel free...

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: $5 or a contributor's copy Theme: Show us your spin or retelling of old tales; create some new ones; tell us of your childhood—or current—obsessions. A Literary Journal with Some Art and Analysis Thrown in for Good Measure As Quarter Press continues to grow, we’re adding another coin to our pocketful of change. We want to offer a space for shorter works to mingle with art and other bits of nonsense, so we bring you The Quarter(ly): It just makes cents. Each issue will be themed; however, we will consider any interpretation of said themes. Myths, Fables, and Folklore (June 30) What’ve you got to show us? Stories and / or Poems For Stories: We’re open to micro works all the way up to 10,000 words. Just keep two things in mind: We want to be engaged and the submission must be completed (no pitches, please!) For Poems: We’d love to see up to five poems from you, but you can always just send one, too. Graphic Stories Show us your comic strips or complete short works; we’d love to see them all! Please try to keep submissions to 20 pages or less. Feel free to also send a collection of comic strips / one shot comics, as well. (Please note that our publication size / dimensions might change between issues. Our “Norm” is 5x8”). These must be COMPLETE works. Art As long as it has some tie to the current issue’s theme, we’re open to see any art created in any medium at any time. Just know that it will need to “work in print” and—might—be presented in black and white. Analysis / Interviews / Reviews As long as it is tied to the theme in some way, we’d love to see any and...

Submission Window: June 1st to June 30th, 2022 Payment: A contributor's copy and Stories: $0.08 a word, Poems: $50 a poem, Drabbles: $50 a drabble Theme: horror or dark fantasy stories, poems, and drabbles about malevolent mermaids, sinister sirens, scary selkies, spirits, and other deadly and dangerous women of the sea. Submissions Open: June 1 st to June 30th Title: Dangerous Waters: Deadly Women of the Sea Type: Anthology of short stories, poetry, and drabbles Editor: Julia C. Lewis Theme: We’re looking for horror or dark fantasy stories, poems, and drabbles about malevolent mermaids, sinister sirens, scary selkies, spirits, and other deadly and dangerous women of the sea. Stories including the ocean or sea are the focus of the anthology, but we will consider stories involving rivers as well. No explicit sexual content, no racism or anti-LGBTQIA+, animal cruelty, extreme horror, or violence just for violence’s sake. No reprints. What: Submissions should be a Word doc or docx. On the first page of your piece, only put the title, word count, and trigger warnings. Do not use headers or footers. Stories: 500-3,500 words Poetry: up to 350 words Drabbles: exactly 100 words Titles are not included in word counts Multiple submissions will be accepted (up to 3 pieces per author), but only one piece will be printed. Simultaneous submissions are fine, please let us know if your piece is accepted elsewhere. Please include an author bio (including any social media or website links you want displayed) as a separate document. Where: Email all submissions to [email protected]. In the subject line put DANGEROUS WATERS. Compensation: Complimentary ebook and paperback copy of the anthology. Stories: $0.08 a word Poems: $50 a poem Drabbles: $50 a drabble Questions about the anthology? Send an email to [email protected] Via: Brigids Gate Press.

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 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...

Submission Window: June 1st - 30th, 2022 Payment: Drabbles and Flash - £5. Short Stories 1001 to 4000 words - £10, Short Stories 4001 to 8000 words - £15 Theme: Stories you’ve poured your soul into but haven’t been able to find the right home for. We’re looking for stories that make us feel something. Warmth, love, melancholy, rage. Note: Only publishes creators from under represented and/or marginalized communities. We’re looking for stories you’ve poured your soul into but haven’t been able to find the right home for. We’re looking for stories that make us feel something. Warmth, love, melancholy, rage. We want it all.  All genres, styles and themes will be considered and we especially love stories that are outside the box in their telling. Ambiguous endings? Non-linear storytelling? Antagonist’s point-of-view? A story told in just one scene? We love it all. ​ SUBMISSIONS: February 1 - 28 (for June issue) April 1 - 30 (for August issue) June 1 - 30 (for October issue) August 1 - 31 (for December issue) October 1 - 31 (for February issue) ​December 1 - 31 (for April issue) ​ we do not have set issue themes but feel free to be inspired by the season, seasonal occasions and events SUBMISSION GUIDELINES How to submit: Please submit via the form at the bottom of this page. If you have any problems using the form please email us for assistance. Who should submit: Please ONLY SUBMIT IF: you are aged 18 or over you belong to an underrepresented or marginalised community. These include, but are not limited to: LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and disabled people. Whilst we also love stories about diverse characters, it is not compulsory that your story feature them. What to submit: Drabble (exactly 100 words) Flash Fiction (101 to 1000 words) Short Stories (1000 to 8000 words)...

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: £200 and 15% royalty rate on print sales, 50% on audiobook and ebook sales. Theme: Gothic, horror, and dark fiction genres (read below for more details.) Closing date: Friday 1st July @ noon BST The below guidance is in place for transparency about our submissions process. Information About the Publishing Process. We are a book publisher and welcome submissions from both agented authors and those without agents. Please see these guidelines for an idea of what we are looking for. Our aim Haunt is a small press dedicated to Gothic, horror and dark fiction. Our aim is to shine a flickering candle on Gothic and horror in new areas. Think Frankenstein in Baghdad and the film Under the Shadow. We also love traditional Gothic! If this sounds like it fits with your writing, we want to hear from you! Learn more about us here. Genres we publish in We are looking for books in the Gothic, horror and dark fiction genres. We particularly look for work that is engaged in some way with Gothic preoccupations, such as doubling, decay, occultism, supernatural monsters or beings, hauntings, the blurring between reality and the supernatural, or death. To give an idea of our book tastes, here are some books we love: Beloved by Toni Morrison Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The Girls by Emma Cline The Vegetarian by Han Kang Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado Things We Say In The Dark by Kirsty Logan What we are looking for We want books with the curse of unputdownability, that keep a reader up all night. Books that provoke unease, terror and dread. Basically, we want books...

Submission Window: June 1st, 2022 to June 30th, 2022 Payment: $0.08/word Theme: "the next season of Black Mirror that never got aired" Dark Matter Presents: MONSTROUS FUTURES is a brand new sci-fi horror anthology, edited by Alex Woodroe of Tenebrous Press and produced by Dark Matter's new trade imprint, DARK MATTER INK. The anthology will publish in both print and digital in 2023, and will be available to purchase right here on our shop in all formats, and wherever else books are sold. MONSTROUS FUTURES is Book Two in the Dark Matter Presents: Monsters series. Book One, Dark Matter Presents: HUMAN MONSTERS, edited by Sadie Hartmann and Ashley Saywers, features 35 brand new tales of terror and is available for pre-order now. HUMAN MONSTERS publishes October 18, 2022. Order your copy today! THE SUBMISSION PORTAL OPENS JUNE 1 AT MIDNIGHT (CST) Check back here at the end of May for a direct link to the portal. The submission portal for MONSTROUS FUTURES will open June 1, 2022, and close June 30, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. CST. To be considered, stories must be submitted via the anthology’s Moksha portal. Emailed or late entries will not be considered. From Alex: I’ve been referring to this anthology as “the next season of Black Mirror that never got aired” and that’s exactly what I’m looking for--dark sci-fi with an emphasis on exploring our connection with technology and one another through speculative concepts and backdrops. I want every piece to look at some aspect of our lives through a “what if” lens and only lean on science as much as strictly necessary to show those human experiences. Think about that Twilight Zone episode, “The Lonely”, where an inmate serving time on an asteroid receives a synthetic companion. We don’t need to know a thing about the propulsion of the ship or the makings of the AI in...

Submission Window: June 1st-30th, 2022 Payment: 1 cents per word Theme: Diverse sci-fi and fantasy fiction. MYTHIC is seeking diverse sci-fi and fantasy fiction. We publish both new fiction and reprints. Authors are encouraged to submit their stories during the specific reading periods listed below. Reading Periods MARCH 1-31 JUNE 1-30 SEPTEMBER 1-30 DECEMBER 1-31 GUIDELINES Works should be between 2,000-5,000 words. (No wiggle room above or below.) 1.) Submit in Standard Manuscript Format We prefer Times New Roman or Courier and 12-point type. Double-spaced pages. Do not have tabs in your manuscript; please set first line indents. Please include your name and contact information at the beginning of the story. Submit in .doc, .docx, .rtf format. 2.) Please NO SIMULTANEIOUS OR MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS. Rights Purchased: For NEW/UNPUBLISHED FICTION, we are purchasing World English Rights For REPRINTS we are purchasing reprint rights Following an exclusivity period, all other rights revert to the author. MYTHIC retains a nonexclusive right to keep stories in the issue they appear for as long as the issue remains in print. Compensation: At this time, we PAY $0.01 CENTS A WORD for NEW short fiction. At this time, we PAY $25.00 for REPRINT short fiction. We provide authors with one free copy of the issue in which their story appears. Payment made upon publication via PayPal. (We are not responsible for any transaction fees). Authors will also receive free ad space to promote their book or sci-fi/fantasy project in an issue of MYTHIC. To submit fiction: Send all stories to [email protected]. Your story should be attached. Be sure your subject line is: "New Submission: Title of your Story" or "Reprint: Title of your Story". Please include your name, title, word count, and contact information in the body of the email. Note on nonfiction: All articles and other content are chosen in-house. Please do not submit queries at this time. If...

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: The Librarian travels the multiverse (along the timeline - past through the future - and across planetary systems and universes) helping out people, societies, and those in need, with their questions, problems, and research (as librarians do). Looking for positive, hopeful stories with positive endings, and narratives that celebrate librarians. Note: Apologies for the late posting, we didn't see an e-mail with this call when it went live as we normally do. We are seeking stories for an anthology to be titled The Librarian which will collect stories about one Librarian's adventures roving through the multiverse. To be published in the winter of 2022 by the Air and Nothingness Press. Theme: The Librarian travels the multiverse (along the timeline - past through the future - and across planetary systems and universes) helping out people, societies, and those in need, with their questions, problems, and research (as librarians do). Looking for positive, hopeful stories with positive endings, and narratives that celebrate librarians. In the interest of assembling the book as a coherent whole, here are some guidelines concerning The Librarian as a character (not hard and fast rules as such, but helpful suggestions): 1. The Librarian is always a force for good, for knowledge and learning, and for science. 2. When visiting a particular location in the timeline, planet, or alien culture, The Librarian has the ability to appear as that culture's conception of their idealized 'librarian'. Though sometimes they may choose to appear in a contrary or different form for reasons of their own. Therefore The Librarian may be a him, her, it, they, xer, sentient rock, etc... Author's choice. 3. The Librarian can appear under many guises but they are always helpful, cheery, and maybe they have a bit of good natured...

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: $5 Theme: Speculative Fiction reprints set in an Asian country and must have Asian main characters About: This is our annual reprint anthology, started in 2020. ‘Insignia 2022’ will feature new Asian speculative short stories. Pieces should be set in an Asian country and must have Asian main characters. (Exceptions are for non-human characters, or non-Earth settings, but your story should still have recognizable Asian elements in these cases. If you’re not sure, please query). Theme: Anything speculative: horror, light or dark fantasy, and science fiction. As usual, we aim to have a good mix of Asian settings and cultures, as well as speculative sub-genres, so the more original your ideas are, the better chance your work will have of being accepted. Reading period: JUNE 1st to June 30th, 2022. (by midnight USA/PDT time please). Word Count: 1000 – 6000 words preferred. (A little under or over will still be considered). No. of Submissions: Only 1 story per author will be ACCEPTED, however you may submit up to 3 stories initially. If any stories are rejected, you may submit new pieces. Other Conditions: Reprints only are accepted. Please be sure that your story is not still under exclusive contract elsewhere. Include the publisher and first publication date in your cover letter and/or in the story document. If your story was self-published on your own blog it will still be considered, however preference will go to work published in known literary markets. Formatting: Times New Roman and 12pt preferred. Include the story title, your pen name, and email address in the story document (top left, above story). Each story in its own document. No italics for non-English words please. Payment & Rights: $5 per accepted story. In addition, each author will receive a review copy of the finished anthology (MOBI or EPUB). Rights remain with the...

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: 5 cents ($.05) per word for nonfiction and prose fiction. Poetry pays $50 flat per poem. Payment for artwork is $50 per piece. Theme: Original work inspired by Ligottian and/or related themes A source of critical study and creative response to the corpus of Thomas Ligotti as well as associated authors and ideas. Vastarien.  The forbidden tome. The impossible otherworld. A textual entryway into a place where everything was transfixed in the order of the unreal. . . . Each passage he entered in the book both enchanted and appalled him with images and incidents so freakish and chaotic that his usual sense of these terms disintegrated along with everything else. Rampant oddity seemed to be the rule of the realm; imperfection became the source of the miraculous — wonders of deformity and marvels of miscreation. There was horror, undoubtedly. But it was a horror uncompromised by any feeling of lost joy or thwarted redemption; rather, it was a deliverance by damnation. And if Vastarien was a nightmare, it was a nightmare transformed in spirit by the utter absence of refuge: nightmare made normal. Our name is drawn from Thomas Ligotti’s classic story of the same title (quoted above), which S. T. Joshi has characterized as “Ligotti’s most searching exploration of the forbidden book theme.” WE WANT: Nonfiction from 2,000 to 7,500 words. Scholarly and/or critical articles pertaining to Ligotti or associated authors (see below) or the kind of thematic and topical issues in which we’re interested. As for contemporary authors to add to this list, Livia Llewellyn, S. P. Miskowski, Junji Ito, Matthew M. Bartlett, T. E. D. Klein, Kelly Link, Helen Marshall, Gemma Files, Ramsey Campbell, Allyson Bird, Laird Barron, Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan, Nicole Cushing, Victor LaValle, Mark Samuels, and many more have produced work that we would...

Deadline: June 30th, 2022 Payment: 10 cents per word for acceptance into the magazine, $3,000 prize for the contest (contest has submission fees, the magazine does not.) $200 for artwork Theme: Fearless Friendship Who would you call to bail you out of jail? Is there a friend good enough to drop what they’re doing and lend a hand? No, of course not, because they’re locked up right beside you… Our stories are full of fearless friendships: from grand quests fighting evil to owners rescuing pets. But fearless doesn’t need to be heroic. It can be that friend who’s always up for anything. Pushing our comfort zone and forcing us to be brave, or dangerously reckless. Friends stand up for us in hard times, give us a shoulder to cry on, and fight back against our bullies and enemies. They speak their minds when we’re in the wrong. A friend will push us to be better and go further. So what, if they call and ask us to meet them in the woods with a pair of shovels… This contest invites you to explore friendship, whatever that means to you. Fantasy, contemporary, romance, crime. All genres are welcome. Submissions close June 30th at 11:59 pm EST. Contest only open to new writers. All new writers can submit work to the magazine. It’s free. We don’t believe publications should charge authors to be published. However, we have a specific submission process you must adhere to in order to have your work considered. Our submissions window opens on the first and closes at midnight on the final day of each month. Each issue of the magazine is themed according to our monthly prompt. The prompts are designed to inspire ideas but leave room for you to tell the story you want to tell....