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Submission Window: July 1st, 2024 – August 1st, 2024 Payment: $25.00 (USD) per piece Theme: Quiet Horror and Intimate-Scale Dystopian Fiction Accepting: Short Stories up to 3000 Words Flash and Micro Fiction up to 1200 Words Fiction-in-Verse up to 1200 Words Author Compensation: $25.00 (USD) per piece Rights: We request first worldwide and digital rights for four months following publication. Thereafter all rights revert to the author. All copyright remains with the author. Genre: Quiet Horror and Intimate-Scale Dystopian Fiction (see our updated FAQ page for more on how we define Quiet Horror and Intimate Dystopia). Publication: Digital Format (PDF) Submission Period: July 01, 2024 – August 01, 2024 Decisions By: September 30, 2024 Release Date: October 31, 2024 EMail Submissions To: [email protected] ~ Submission Guidelines ~ For all open calls, submit your work by email to [email protected] with the subject line formatted as such: “ ” (ex.“2024 – Vampires Of Mars – Emily Young – Adult”). Please submit your work as an email attachment in .doc/.docx format. Authors may submit up to two pieces per issue. We request that each piece be submitted via its own individual email. Annual issues of The Quiet Ones do not have a specific theme, but keep in mind that your submission should be within the realms of quiet horror and/or intimate dystopia. Ensure your document contains your story title, your name (or pen name), and an approximate word count. In the event that your story is selected for publication, we will need your legal name for the contract. Please include a header on each page of your document with your surname, title and page number. Your document should be formatted in Times New Roman, 12pt., with double line spacing and indented paragraphs (double line spacing does not apply to poetry). We presently do not accept works in translation, visual art, non-narrative poetry, or nonfiction. In case of acceptance, please also include a brief...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $10 for poetry, $25 for artwork, 1 cent per word for fiction Theme: False Memories Note: Reprints Welcome NonBinary Review is currently open for submissions on the theme of FALSE MEMORIES. False memories first came to public consciousness in the 1980s when a group of pre-schoolers at a California preschool were coached by well-meaning social workers and police investigators into "remembering" Satanic abuse that never happened. The fallout from that episode wasn't just the persecution of an innocent family, but a nationwide mass delusion now known as "the Satanic Panic," where authorities were warning the public about supposed widespread satanic cults committing heinous acts of abuse. Not a single one of these warnings were founded in fact, and it is now known that a large number of them were propaganda. But false memories aren't always bad. There is a common phenomenon wherein people hear stories of their early childhoods so often that those stories turn into "memories." It is common in dreams to have "memories" of things that happened to the dream self, but not to the real self. Or a person might believe that they took their regular medication, brought in the garbage bins, or picked up the mail when they haven't. We're looking for weird and wonderful stories of not just the memories themselves, but of their production, their repercussions, their wider meanings. We're looking for false memories that might have changed history, that led to remarkable discoveries, that impacted lives. We're NOT looking stories of recovered memories. Recovered memories are memories of real events that have been suppressed because they're traumatic, and are a widely disputed phenomenon. We would also like to avoid stories centering abuse, trauma, and violence. Zoetic Press publishes the best in speculative lit - experimental, interstitial, luminous. We welcome submissions from EVERYONE....

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $0.01 per word for new stories or $25 for reprints. Theme: Pirate Horror Editor: Austrian Spencer Note: Reprints Welcome In conjunction with the successful Kickstarter campaign for DarkLit Sails and the editor that brought you The Sadeiest, comes a new collection of piratical horror stories that are certain to plunge readers into the heart of darkness on the high seas, where cursed pirates and spectral ships reign with terror and betrayal, promising no soul safe passage through their nightmarish waters. THE ROUGHER THE SEAS, THE SMOOTHER WE SAIL Please read carefully. Submissions must meet the guidelines to be accepted. Submissions will be accepted up to August 1st, 2024. Please submit to [email protected] , ensuring In The Gallows Wake is in the subject line. What we are looking for: Diverse voices in pirate stories transform the high seas into a vibrant canvas of human experience, weaving a rich tapestry that blends historical accuracy with untold narratives, ensuring every wave and whisper carries the weight of authenticity and boundless imagination. This approach not only breathes life into the sails of traditional tales but also charts a course toward a more inclusive and multifaceted exploration of freedom, identity, and adventure. What we are NOT looking for: Please, do not submit stories that do not fit the theme. Submissions cannot contain graphic rape scenes. Please ensure any scenes of a sexual nature are necessary and non-exploitative. Submissions must be between 4,000 and 6,000 words. Title, Author’s name, pen name (if different), word count, and author's email address must be centered at the top of your submission. Submissions must be written in 12 pt. Times New Roman and double-spaced. We do not require exclusivity. You hold the copyright, licensing us for this publication. If your story is a reprint, please include its...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: "When she was eight, Alice Henderson briefly held the world record for filling her mouth with marbles." Fall: When she was eight, Alice Henderson briefly held the world record for filling her mouth with marbles. Due date: August 1, 2024 We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $100 Theme: Real World Based Zombie Horror WORKING TITLE: Zombies in the New Normal STORY QUANTITY  - 12 TO 15 WORD COUNT - 3000 TO 12,000 PAY - $100/Story GENRE - Real World Based Zombie Horror SUBMISSION DEADLINE - 1/August/2024 RELEASE DATE 1/October/2024 FORMAT - Word document. Un-indented. Single space with double spaces between paragraphs. Stories from editor's prompts have the best chance of acceptance. SUBMIT TO - [email protected] The stories in this anthology will be by individual writers, but each story will share a common thread of parameters as background. ANTHOLOGY PARAMETERS * No Zombie is just a Zombie. They were all once human and deep inside they still have aspects of their general and personal humanity. They know they have become Zombies, but that doesn't mean they all have to like it. They can't help what they have become. * All Zombies must eat human brains. There is something within human brain tissue that Zombies ingest in order to stay in their undead state. If they don't consume enough of this tissue, they will die-die. There is no coming back from this state of dead. * Zombies can't speak in the way humans do but they can communicate with other of their kind telepathically. This is a learned skill and the better one becomes, the more Zombies they can reach out to and communicate with at once. Most Zombies can only communicate with those they know, and for many there must be a direct line-of-site between them. When a Zombie tries to speak using their mouth, the only sounds they can make are monster-like gibberish, full of snarls and growls. * Just like Humans, any Zombie with a physical or mental handicap will have limitations based on that handicap. A Zombie with a damaged...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Car Wars GameLit Fiction Genre: Car Wars GameLit Fiction Theme: Have you ever looked at someone, and just know that they have one hell of a tale to tell? First-hand accounts from the road, told by the bounty hunters, highwaymen, and Federal Marshals out there in the mix. Concept: We’re looking for stories from those trying to make a difference out there in the wastes. No matter if they are upholding the law, or tending to their small flock of survivors, these are the stories that inspire others to get off their tail and get something done. We want plenty of high-intensity action and carnage possible, backed by compelling character-driven stories. Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 (standard word count) Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: August 1, 2024 Email Submissions to: [email protected] with “Broken Highways” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore porn) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press...

Submission Window: July 1st - August 1st, 2024 Payment: Short Story-2,500 words or less. $0.01 USD per word/$25 USD max, Poems-less than 200 words $10, Flash Fiction-less than a 1,000 words $0.01 USD per word/$10 USD max Theme: Demagogues The Last Girls Club Magazine is a quarterly feminist horror magazine that publishes international short stories and poems from the female gaze. It is an homage to the scary comics and zines of the late 20th century. This season's theme is Demagogues. Demagogue is defined as a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using a rational argument. Some synonyms for a demagogue are fanatic, fomenter, hothead, incendiary, inciter, instigator, politician, rabble-rouser, radical, rebel, revolutionary, troublemaker. It's an election year in the US. Things are promising to get weird and/or violent. The rest of the world looks like their having the same fight coming to their doors. No more than two fiction stories per author per submission period. Fiction is limited to 2,500 words or less. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($37.50 USD max). Flash fiction is limited to under 1,000 words. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($15 USD max). No more than three poems per poet. Poems are limited to 200 words or less for each poem. Poets are paid $10 USD upon acceptance. I prefer to use PayPal to pay authors, but will work with authors where PayPal is not available. Nonfiction columns will must be pitched to editor in chief before submission. Email your idea to [email protected] The Last Girls Club Magazine is a quarterly feminist horror magazine that publishes international short stories and poems from the female gaze. It is an homage to the scary comics and zines of...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Tarot (Vol 102) THE TAROT, 1st August 2024 Pull a card; tell a story. If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. *** WHEN WILL I HEAR IF MY STORY HAS BEEN ACCEPTED OR NOT? We carefully review every single submission that comes through our door. If you’ve submitted a story to us, please be patient. We WILL let you know if your submission has or hasn’t been successful. Having said that, if you haven’t heard anything up to twelve weeks after the deadline has passed, feel free to ping us an email to check in on it. Submission Guidelines • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document • Stories must fit an upcoming theme • By submitting your story to us, you are confirming that you are the original creator of the story • We will consider entrants whose work has been entered and published elsewhere, however please ensure you state where and when your story has been used elsewhere on the document • You will be allowed to place one call-to-action for your own work at the end of the episode. Be sure to include this at the end of your document, underneath the log...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Space Coasties Genre: Speculative Fiction Theme: A collection of stories dealing with Space Coasties! Concept: We’re looking for a story that shows a modern Coast Guard in a speculative fiction setting. These can be set in any speculative fiction setting that you want, so long as the story covers a Coastie in action. Generally speaking, we want action stories, but we want your creativity to be the only limiting factor! Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 (standard word count) Edited by: JR Handley & Bayonet Books Opening Essay by: TBD Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: August 1, 2024 Email Submissions to: [email protected] with “Space Coasties!” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore porn) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press for submissions in this genre at tanglewoodromance (at) gmail.com Gratuitous Abuse/Violence: While we at Three Ravens Publishing understand that graphic situations can alter or otherwise move the plot forward in ways that the reader may not expect when properly used,...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $5 Theme: Splatter-friendly extreme horror stories We want solid, entertaining writing that evokes feelings. Carnage House is a splatter friendly web ’zine—so nothing against cozy, but cozy, we’re not. We’re looking for gore, extreme horror, splatterpunk, and horror with sexual elements to it. For a better understanding of what we’ll take, think of the Hot Blood book series or Love in Vein. Or, as a more practical proposition, read our back issues at carnagehouse.com. We invite LGBTQIA and BIPOC themes, and we encourage authors from diverse backgrounds to submit to us. Hard NOs: NO sex with children, NO sexualization of children, and NO child rape. If you’re writing a story about a child predator who gets what’s coming to him—great. But we don’t want to read about that predator violating his victims. We won’t publish anything supporting a racist, transphobic, or homophobic agenda, so don’t try it. No stories written by AI; all work must be 100 percent original. Our description includes the words “splatter” and “friendly” for a reason. We love splatter, and we’re super friendly. Carnage House is about supporting writers and entertaining readers, and we’re dedicated to both in equal measure. We look forward to reading your work in all its splattertastic glory. Submissions: We want solid entertaining writing. That has to be clearly stated because we are open to gore, extreme horror, splatterpunk, and horror with sexual elements to it. Sounds great? Like anything too good to be true, there is a catch. We have some hard “Nos.” Before you go off about the freedom of expression, remember, this is a web ‘zine, not a government. We donate our time to it and if we’re not getting joy from reading your story we’re not going to publish it. This website runs...