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Taking Submissions: Crack in the Code: Cybernated Stories of Rebellion

Deadline: September 30th, 2022 Payment: .08 per word Theme: Science fiction and fantasy stories where the androids, robots, and/or cyborgs have been naughty, going off programming, cracking their internal code, etc. Anthology: Crack in the Code: Cybernated Stories of Rebellion edited by Venessa Giunta and Nicole Givens Kurtz Deadline: September 30th, 2022 Publication Release Date: February 2023 Payment: .08 per word Since 2010, Mocha Memoirs Press’s mission is to amplify marginalized voices in the areas of speculative fiction (science fiction, horror, and fantasy). Crack in the Code will follow the steps of our previous published bestseller anthologies An Improbable Truth: The Paranormal Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire, and Avast, Ye Airships! What we are looking for: Science fiction and fantasy stories where the androids, robots, and/or cyborgs have been naughty, going off programming, cracking their internal code, etc. Give us dramatic stories, mischievous stories, stories that stun, but not offend us. This call is seeking unpublished short stories where the artificial lives become alive and share their stories. If you can take the story out of westernized culture, we’d love to see those, too! We want stories that speak of inclusivity. So, if your robot/cyborg/android is disabled or suffers from an ailment, send those stories too. LGBTQ+ stories are also encouraged. To point, we want stories from everyone. If you do not follow the guidelines, your submission will be deleted unread. Seriously, read the guidelines. Follow them. Upon results of a successful crowdfunding campaign, we will pay SFWA pro-rates of .08 per word for publication for First World Rights. Still interested? Here are the guidelines. • Stories for this anthology must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, we accept microfiction and flash, and must satisfy the theme of the anthology, meaning the protagonist...

Taking Submissions: Unspeakable Horror 3: Dark Rainbow Rising

Deadline: September 30th, 2022 Payment: $0.10 (ten cents) per word Theme: Original short stories up to 6,000 words that explore this idea of great terror growing from the LGBTQIA community’s great strides forward. Note: Stories must have a strong, central gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer focus/slant/theme Unspeakable Horror 3: Dark Rainbow Rising Edited by: Vince A. Liaguno When the pendulum of civil rights and social change initiatives swings toward progress, the LGBTQIA community often holds its collective breath in anticipation of the inevitable backlash when the pendulum swings back. Even with these gains, we are constantly looking over our shoulder—waiting for the next shoe to drop, for the next attack on our personhood. The community’s enemies see progress as a perceived danger to their own heteronormative bubbles—and any advancement threatens to burst those fragile bubbles. Even as we hoist the rainbow flag in celebration, a dark rainbow rises on the horizon… For this third volume of the award-winning Unspeakable Horror series, we are seeking original short stories up to 6,000 words that explore this idea of great terror growing from the LGBTQIA community’s great strides forward. We want your terrifying interpretations and extensions of this theme—not a literal reading. Questions to explore: Does the unspeakable horror manifest in a subtle, growing sense of unease that our enemies must surely be plotting to thwart our efforts—or does it present in outward paranoia? Do we settle into a false sense of security and not see the unspeakable terror that rises behind us? Do we turn on each other now that our external enemies are (seemingly) defeated? Do we leave part of our community behind in some misguided act of self-preservation? Stories can be set in any time period, as long as the narrative includes some historical LGBTQ+ civil rights/social movement/moment as a direct or indirect...

Taking Submissions: Dead and Bloated – Extreme Horror Anthology

Submission Window: August 1st, 2022 — October 1st, 2022 Payment: 3 cents per word + 1 paperback contributor copy Theme: Water, Extreme Horror, Splatterpunk, Dark Humor Title: DEAD & BLOATED - Extreme Horror Anthology Editor: K. Trap Jones Theme: Water, Extreme Horror, Splatterpunk, Dark Humor Formats: Paperback, ebook Short story MAX 3,000 WORD COUNT No reprints No simultaneous subs No multiple subs Nothing involving children and I’m not a fan of heavy religious or political plots. Manuscript: 12pt font, double-spaced and as .DOC or .DOCX Send as Attachment, not in body of email PAYMENT: 3 cents per word + 1 paperback contributor copy with ability to purchase more at wholesale cost + shipping RIGHTS: 1 year Exclusive English rights Send stories to [email protected] with subject line: BLOATED SUB: (story title) by (author name) SUBMISSION PERIOD: August 1, 2022 — October 1, 2022 Responses usually within a month, but could be longer depending on size of sub pile. Publish Date: Q1 2023 Anything sent before or after submission period will be ripped to shreds and flushed down the toilet. NOTE: BE CREATIVE! Don’t just write about someone drowning.  Via: The Evil Cookie.

Taking Submissions: Nihilist Poet Militia: West Summer 2022 Call

Deadline: October 1st, 2022 Payment: $5 Theme: Poetry: liminal; K-mart realism; post-apocalypse; anti-authoritarian Words are dangerous. So are blank spaces. This zine is arbitrary, without clear function, and prone to injury. Welcome to the secret lair of poets, anarchists, spelunkers, and scofflaws. You are welcome to leave at any time. General strategy: Poetry, anti-poetry, or sub-poetry. Very short stories; memories; surrealism. Also: photos of abandoned lots and/or junkyards. Organizing principle: Collectivist Decision-making protocol: Consensus and/or sporadic bursts of wild individualism Mascots: The badger, the marmot, the petrel ​ Editor: Justin Bendell. Justin is a writer, podcast host, musician & professor. He was a founder/editor of Manzano Mountain Review. (justinbendell.com) Submit poems (less than 20 lines) or prose (less than 300 words) to [email protected] ​ Initial Submission Deadline: October 1 Melt our faces off. Evocate. Seduce. Catch us off guard with your authenticity or compelling artifice. General strategy: Poetry, anti-poetry, or sub-poetry. Very short stories; memories; surrealism. Jargon: liminal; K-mart realism; post-apocalypse; anti-authoritarian I will pay you $5 on paypal if I publish your work.  It will be published online & also in a zine that I will poorly & hastily distribute in greater Albuquerque, NM   Via:

Taking Submissions: The Cafe Irreal Fall Window 2022

Deadline: October 1st, 2022 Payment: One cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) Theme: Fantastic Fiction You really NEED to read the description below. The Cafe Irreal is a quarterly webzine that presents a kind of fantastic fiction infrequently published in English. This fiction, which we would describe as irreal, resembles the work of writers such as Franz Kafka, Kobo Abe, Clarice Lispector and Jorge Luis Borges. As a type of fiction it rejects the tendency to portray people and places realistically and the need for a full resolution to the story; instead, it shows us a reality constantly being undermined. Therefore, we're interested in stories by writers who write about what they don't know, take us places we couldn't possibly go, and don't try to make us care about the characters. We would also suggest you take a look at the current issue, archives, and theory (especially the essay, "What is irrealism?") pages on this web site. We accept unsolicited fiction up to 2,000 words in length. Translations are welcome. There is no minimum length. We accept only electronic submissions via e-mail at [email protected]. We cannot, due to the various computer viruses and worms, accept attachments anymore, so please paste your story into the body of the e-mail. Also include your name, address, e-mail address, and a short bio in the text of the submission; please put the word "submission" in the subject heading of the e-mail to ensure that your submission doesn't get lost among all the spam. We pay an honorarium of one cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) to buy first-time internet rights (the story will then be archived). Payment is made upon publication. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DON'T ACCEPT SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS and are only interested in reprints in unusual cases (e.g., the story has appeared in print but...

Taking Submissions: Lucky Stars

Deadline: October 1st, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: Reasons to count your lucky stars! Title: Lucky Stars Opens: July 1st, 2022 Submission Deadline: October 1st, 2022, 11:59 EST or Until Full Theme: Life can be full of ups and downs for the folks of Bones Hollow, but it’s always good to give thanks. When the spells go just right, when the blood is hot, when the night is clear and the moon is full, there’s a lot to be thankful for. And when you’re in love, even more so. Thanksgiving is a time for reflecting on the things that make you grateful, whether it’s a long-lasting relationship, an opportunity for new love, a harmonious house or the chaos of creation. Life, love and magic are all gifts. What do the denizens of Bones Hollow have to be thankful for this year? A Bones Hollow anthology celebrates love for all kinds, shapes, sizes, and orientations based in the fictional Vermont town where the supernatural and Hallmark collide. Heat Level: G; Sweet Word Count: 2,000-8,000 words, excluding title Author Eligibility: Open to all Reprints: Not allowed Simultaneous Submissions: Not allowed Multiple Submissions: Maximum of 2 (two) allowed Publication: Expected to release Thanksgiving 2022 Author Compensation: One digital copy; royalty split among authors How to Submit: See www.ParamourInk.com for further information Send your story and up to a 100-word author bio with 2 (two) links as a Word doc attachment to: [email protected] Please include the Anthology Title, Story Title, and Author name in your email subject line, with your document file name as: Author Name - Story Title. Via: Black Ink Fiction.

Taking Submissions: Rituals & Grimoires: Gothic Tales of Dark Magic & Wizardry

Deadline: October 1st, 2022 Payment: US: $40 + author copy/non-US: $45 Theme: Dark fiction that invoke the nefarious spirit of the dark wizard Quill & Crow Publishing House is pleased to open submissions for another surprise anthology for 2022, Rituals & Grimoires: Gothic Tales of Dark Magic & Wizardry. For this collection, we are looking for short stories (5,000 - 8,000 words) of dark fiction that invoke the nefarious spirit of the dark wizard. We'd love to see diverse characters, male witches, and stories that turn tired tropes right on their heads. Give us haunted corridors, wayward spellcasters, and secret societies. Give us tales that explore the mortal grays in witchcraft. ​ Also, we are well aware of a certain YA book series that this theme may bring to mind. As a proudly inclusive publishing house that fully supports the trans community, we understand if this anthology brings to mind the betrayal many of us experienced with a childhood favorite. Part of our mission is to preserve the quality of independent literature/storytelling, but it's also to take back things often ruined by bigotries and act as a voice for those who have been oppressed. We'd be honored if you'd help us take back these themes and make them into something better.  Notes: We will be open to explorations of dark academia, but this is an adult fiction anthology. If you do choose to write a dark fiction story with dark academia vibes, please keep the prose and themes mature.  ​ ​ Things we are looking for:  dark fiction dark magical fantasy magical horror historical horror dark themes Gothic elements literary horror fantasy/horror blends dark academia (see above) Things we ARE NOT looking for: ​​ young adult stories extreme horror/extreme erotica  rape/child abuse sci-fi  overtly modern stories ​​ Submission Requirements  Please note: Submissions that...

Taking Submissions: riddlebird September 2022 Window

Deadline: October 1st, 2022 Payment: $100 Theme: Literary fiction, personal essays, or Well-written genre-writing, especially mysteries, sci-fi and westerns. Submission Guidelines: We are happy to publish work that celebrates the joy of reading and writing across different reading preferences. The marketplace can divide us based on our reading tastes, but riddlebird can strive to make a space for more diversity (of interest, of authorship, of meaning).  Please carefully read what we are looking for below, and follow the submission guidelines. We are interested in three categories. Literary Fiction — Our favorite writers include authors like George Saunders, Souvankham Thammavongsa, and E.C. Osondu. Personal Essays — We like a memoirist’s essay that has achieved some distance and allows us to share a newfound insight. Think of Vivian Gornick’s idea of “the situation and the story.” Literary Genre Fiction — Our mission is to include a place for well-written genre-writing, especially mysteries, sci-fi and westerns. To take westerns as an example, think of Charles Portis. Riddlebird is not interested in publishing work that is demeaning. Racist, homophobic, or xenophobic prose will be promptly rejected. We will publish 6 pieces online twice a year (Jan and July) and compensate authors $100. We publish a hardcopy of all pieces once a year. We will select 6 pieces a year to submit on your behalf to the Pushcart Prize. We do accept simultaneous submissions; please inform us if (happily!) your work is accepted somewhere else. Information will be posted shortly to submit on Duotrope. Please include your name, including contact information, and your title. Include a very brief cover letter in the body of the e-mail. Include a short bio in third person, and do not send previously published work. Our goal is to celebrate your work. Please follow us on Twitter and Instagram @riddlebirdmag. We...