Events

Deadline: April 15th, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: horror, science fiction, and fantasy Note: Seeking Latinx authors FlowerSong Press is currently seeking outstanding and unique manuscripts from Latinx authors in the area of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Please review the following guidelines for authors. If you feel your manuscript meets our needs and is consistent with our mission, we welcome the chance to read it. Guidelines for Fiction We are seeking already finished, full-length novels from Latinx authors ranging from 75,000 to 150,000 words. We are not currently accepting short stories, novellas, or short story collections. If your novel is the first of a trilogy or series, be aware that we will not commit to publishing more than one book at a time. Stories should emphasize careful and thoughtful development of complex, three-dimensional and fallible characters, complicated relationships and conflicts, and strong, coherent plots with satisfying resolutions. We will consider historical (any time period or culture), traditional fantasy, horror, and science-fiction genre stories as long as they meet the criteria above. Although we prefer adult fiction, we will consider manuscripts aimed at a young adult audience, as long as the writing is intelligent and does not condescend to that age group. We are not considering juvenile fiction at this time. If your manuscript conforms to the above guidelines, send a query by electronic submission. Each query must include the following for consideration: A cover letter with a pitch, your story synopsis (500 words or less), the total word count of your manuscript, and an author bio. Your pitch should explain why your manuscript is perfect for FlowerSong Press. Your synopsis should describe the whole story, including the ending--we want a synopsis, not a teaser. Your bio should focus on your writing and/or publishing experience and credits and other background specifically...

Deadline: April 15th, 2023 Payment: $20 per story or artwork Theme: Electric Spec prefers science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. submissions at electricspec (dot) comPlease don't query us about your story submission. We don't have the manpower to answer such queries. An editor will email you back as soon as possible with the decision about your story. This can take a few days, or, up to three months. We make every effort to get back to authors in a timely manner but we get a lot of submissions so sometimes it's not possible. A note on our editorial policy: before publication we may work with the author to edit the story for length or readability. However, we always remain true to the spirit of the story and the author has final approval. Issues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. We reserve the right to shift publication date slightly, as necessary. We have reading periods for each issue, though we never close to submissions. February closes January 15 May closes April 15 August closes July 15 November closes October 15 Please do not submit the same story more than once, and please submit only one story at a time. We consider any story between 250 and 7000 words with speculative fiction elements. We prefer science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. We do not consider poetry, stories with over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction, or non-fiction. We don't accept multiple submissions; in other words, only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before submitting another. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know up...

Submission Window: April 1st-15th, 2023 Payment: 2 cents per word Theme: Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Length: 500 – 1,000 words. Firm. Author Compensation: 2c/word, paid via PayPal. (Rounded to nearest whole dollar) Publication: Dread Stone Press website (Dose of Dread). Reading Periods: January, April, July, and October; 1st to 15th. Any stories submitted outside of each reading period will not be read. Rights: First World Electronic Rights. Non-exclusive rights thereafter. No reprint restrictions after publication. Original stories ONLY. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but NO multiple submissions. You may submit again the next reading period if rejected. If your story is accepted, please sit out one reading period before submitting again. Please, for everyone’s sake, no rough drafts. Successful pieces will require little to no proofreading edits. Email your submission as a Word document attachment to dreadstonepress (at) gmail (dot) com with “DOSE – – ” in the subject line. Rejections for Dose of Dread submissions will be sent by the end of the month submitted. If you have not received a reply by then, feel free to follow-up. All rejections will be form rejections. It’s not personal, promise. Which also means please don’t respond to rejections. It’s unnecessary. Please see the General Submission Guidelines below for additional formatting information. Via: Dreadstone Press.

Submission Window: March 15th, 2023 - April 15th, 2023 Payment: 3 cents per word Theme: Fun and Uplifting Speculative Fiction in the science fiction or fantasy variety NOTE: March 15th-21st reserved for writers of color, submissions for all open on March 22nd, 2023. We are open annually for submissions from March 15th through April 15th for our August issue, and from September 15th through October 15th for our February issue. The first week of submissions (March 15-21 and Sept 15-21) is reserved for writers of color. The remainder of the window will be for general submissions. If you’re a writer of color who submits during that first week and you hear back from us before the general window closes, you’re welcome to send a second submission during that time. WHAT TO SUBMIT The short version: We pay $0.03 per word with a minimum of $20 in exchange for first world electronic rights in English. We ask for an exclusivity period of 3 months from date of publication. Maximum 5,000 words. Your story must contain speculative elements: that means science fiction or fantasy. We do not accept nonfiction. No simultaneous submissions. Only one submission per writer per open period. Save your manuscript as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf and email it as an attachment to [email protected]. As far as manuscript formatting goes, use a readable 12-point font (we like Times New Roman and Courier just fine but we’re not unreasonably picky). Italicize your italics and please double-space; we’re reading on screens and a little white space goes a long way. You’re welcome to include a cover letter, but try to avoid summarizing your story. We don’t generally look at cover letters until after we’ve read the story. Also, please limit your writing credits to your top two or three. (No worries if you don’t have any! We love...

Deadline: April 15, 2023 Prizes: $250/100/50 USD for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place Theme: science fiction and speculative fiction. See regular flash guidelines below, but with the following exceptions: -MAXIMUM 500 words (hard limit) -you can send a total of 3 pieces, which can be all at once if you’d like (each piece must be 500 words or less) -open March 1, 2023 until April 15, 2023 (last place on Earth that it remains April 15) -$250/100/50 USD for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place (all published online, no honorable mentions and will also appear in print in Volume 4) -NO AI-GENERATED SUBMISSIONS (true always, just reiterating) GENERAL (i.e. non micro-fiction) GUIDELINES We are currently closed to GENERAL flash submissions (see above regarding micro-fiction contest). We will open sometime in the spring of 2023 for Volume 4. Please check back here for future updates. We want science fiction and speculative fiction. So long as it falls into one of these categories, we will happily read it. If other elements are present, that is fine, but it must include science or speculative fiction. No more than 1000 words. This is a firm limit. Please no queries about longer pieces. NO AI-GENERATED/ASSISTED STORIES Pay rate is professional - $0.08 US/word This is for marginalized members of the sci-fi/spec community—this includes people of color, the LGBTQ2S+ community, members of marginalized genders, and disabled and neurodiverse people. If you are not a person of color, LGBTQ2S+, neurodiverse, disabled, or of a marginalized gender, please DO NOT send us your work. Authors of all accepted pieces will have the option to include a short bio in the anthology. We understand the sensitive nature of gender identity and sexual orientation, so if you wish this status to remain unwritten and/or if you prefer to be anonymous, we will print...

Deadline: April 15th, 2023 Payment: $25 CND for poems and between $50 and $75 CND per short story Theme: Artificial Intelligence Our Call for Submissions to the House of Zolo’s Journal of Speculative Literature, Volume 4 is now OPEN. The theme for this volume is Artificial Intelligence. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2023; word count: up to 5,000 words. While many presses have been forbidding content created with AI, we are open to work that has used new technologies in the composition. However, we’re not interested in material straight from by ChatGPT (We will know!) Your story or poem has to fit the criteria outlined below. If you have used AI programs in writing your story or poem, please describe your process. SUBMIT to House of Zolo on Moksha What we look for in Fiction – HOZ is looking for literature that explores possibilities for the future. We want challenging short stories that are character driven, that reimagine the world and our place in it. We are looking for: BIPOC authors, feminist authors, LGBTQ2S authors, radical authors, authors who experiment. Concepts that thrill us: transhumanism, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, new systems, resistance, activism, queer perspectives, feminist perspectives, nature. We are not interested in stories that concern the reinvention of empire, rehashing of old narratives, or excessive violence. We entertain all genre based stories so long as they concern the future and relate to our current theme. That said, we are looking for the best speculative fiction stories, so if you think you have something we might want, please consider sending it. What we look for in Poetry HOZ are looking for works of speculative poetry that imagine the future of the world, the future of nature, technology, and/or the human being. Any form of poetry is welcomed. Like our call for fiction...