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Deadline: November 30th, 2024 Payment: 10 cents per word for fiction and $2/line for poetry. Also, a contributor's copy Theme: Speculative short stories and poems that either include trains or aliens as their focal point The purpose of the SpeKulative Stories Anthology Series is to showcase provocative and powerful tales related to a single theme. Following the publication of our first theme anthology, Automobilia, in 2024, we are now seeking short stories and poems for the next two anthologies in the series. The titles are Train Tales and Aliens Among Us. Publication is set for early 2025. As each title suggests, a train or an alien (space aliens that is) should be such an integral part of your story or poem that if removed the story or poem collapses. We seek quality short stories and poems from every genre: fantasy, magical realism, science fiction, mystery, crime, romance, supernatural, horror, and mainstream; from drama to humor, but if you are submitting horror please avoid slasher or gore. ALL stories should avoid or minimize the use of foul language. We want to make these books acceptable to the widest range of readers. Guidelines: - All genres accepted. English language only. Stories from across the glove accepted. Previously published stories accepted. 7,500 words max for stories. Pays 10 cents per word for stories on acceptance. Negotiates higher rates for established authors. Poems accepted. 50 lines max. Pays $2 a line for poetry on acceptance. Buys first or reprint anthology rights. - Unpublished writers welcome. We provide feedback for new writers when time allows. - Submissions accepted as an e-mail attachment in Word or RTF. - E-mail to: [email protected]. Write "Train Anthology" or "Aliens Anthology" in the e-mail subject line to help us traffic manuscripts. Include a cover letter in the body of the...

Deadline: November 30th, 2024 Payment: $20 (CAD) or a physical copy of the magazine Theme: Tell us about your day-to-day darkness... After the release of our first publication "The Stygian Collection", there was demand to continue producing anthologies. To continue growing our community and keep the anthology spirit alive, The Stygian Society presents: The Stygian Zine! January's Theme: Slice of LifeTell us about your day-to-day darkness... Released: Every January and July!​ ​ Accepting: Poems Short stories Personal musings Visual art Comics ​ For selected works, you will receive a $20 (CAD) honorarium (OR physical copy of the zine), pdf copy of the zine, and the option to purchase print copies at cost + shipping.  ​ Works received between June 1 and November 30 will be considered for the January issue Works received between December 1 and May 31 will be considered for the July issue Specifications:  We will accept Word or PDF format for written works. Written works must not exceed 2500 words (poetry included). Name, contact information and work title must be included in your submitted document. Works must be in 12 helvetica or arial, double spaced. For artwork please send pdf or png, 300dpi minimum (Colour or black and white accepted). Comics must not exceed 5 pages. ​ *All submissions are kept on file for future consideration, so please be sure to withdraw if you receive publication elsewhere. **If your piece has been previously published, please inform us on submission, and specify where it was published. Email responses will be sent upon receipt, and acceptance only.  Please note that minor edits may be made to your work after acceptance as our editor will review for spelling and grammar. Submit Your Work mail to: [email protected] "The Stygian Zine: Contribution" Via: Stygian Society.

Deadline: November 30th, 2024 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2,500 words, AU$10.00 for anything above 2,500 words Theme: On The Farm ON THE FARM Living on a farm means waking up to the crow of roosters, spending days under wide-open skies tending to crops and livestock, and enjoying the simple pleasures of fresh, homegrown food straight from the fields. Whether it's a tale of triumph over adversity, a humorous anecdote from the barnyard, or a heartfelt reflection on the bond between farmers and the land, join us in celebrating the spirit of farming through storytelling. Please ensure that you read through the general guidelines and format your submission accordingly - poor formatting choices may result in your work not being read or considered. If you have any specific questions please contact us using the form on the home page or via the listed social media accounts. To help make sure that your submission gets to the correct place, please include the following in the subject line of your email: Colp - Farm - Story Title. Word count: 1,000 - 10,000 words Deadline: November 30 2024 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2,500 words AU$10.00 for anything above 2,500 words General Guidelines: Please no extreme erotica or stories that feature excessive violence or vulgarity (unless otherwise specified). We are all dog lovers here, so violence against animals is the quickest way to get your story rejected. All stories should be formatted appropriately. Please see here for more details. Ensure that your name, address, and email contact and word count are at the top of your manuscript. Double check your spelling and grammar before sending your work. Please submit all stories in .doc, .docx or .rtf formats. International submissions are accepted. No simultaneous submissions. Multiple submissions are encouraged. Where possible, we will provide feedback on request. No reprints. Please send all submissions...

Submission Window: September 29th, 2024 - November 30th, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Tales from non-military adventures set in a world of space marines and more Space Marines, void commandos, orbital drop troops: humanity’s finest. They are exemplars of soldierly comportment in intergalactic conflict. Throughout human space, grunts in power armor get all the glory. Even in conventional armed forces, however, only 15% or so of those are infantry. We want stories about the other 85%. What are their adventures? The truck drivers, the bulk fuelers, supply sergeants, pay clerks, airframe mechanics, the guy who fixed the soft-serve ice cream machine on Seti-Alpha-Five (God bless that guy). Welcome to Pogue One. Opens: 9/29/24 Closes: 11/30/24 Contracts: 12/14/24 Publication: 01/10/25 5,000 to 8,000 words. Length and genre are negotiable, as long as the story fits the concept, and is entertaining. Any submission must be in Times New Roman (preferred, but you can use Georgian or other readable font), 12PT, double spaced, with your name, title of the story, and your email on it. Name the file as -—. Send it in a .docx format as an attachment—no links. Refer to the submission guideline graphic below for how to format your story—It has all the information you need! Feel free to download it for reference. Raconteur Press will hold the rights for one year after publication, after one year the rights will revert to the author, but we continue to pay you as long as the anthology is selling. Authors receive an equal percentage share of the proceeds from the anthology, along with the Press, our editors, and administration. Yes, you read that right. We don’t take 80% off the top and split the 20% left over between all the authors. We’re all in this together. This is why our anthologies are limited to ten...

Deadline: November 30th, 2024 Payment: $20 or royalties Theme: Detectives, Sleuths, and Nosy Neighbors: Dying for an Answer Submission Period: September 1, 2024 to November 31, 2024 Theme: Detectives, Sleuths, and Nosy Neighbors: Dying for an Answer We’re searching for the murder mysteries, detectives noir, cozy, or humorous. This is our mystery anthology and if you think it comes close to the genre, give us a shot. There is no restriction as to how you incorporate the theme into your story. However, we’ll be impressed if you can work within Sci-Fi or Fantasy, but they won’t be the bulk of the accepted submissions. We encourage you to weave the theme into an engaging story with well-developed characters and deep emotion. Suspense and thrillers are encouraged over horror for this anthology, but a great horror story may rise to the top. Stories that contain infanticide, rape, or gratuitous gore will not be accepted. Submission Period: September 1, 2024 to November 31, 2024 Submissions: No AI, 1 per author; no reprints, no simultaneous submissions; Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 2,000 to 8,000 words Submission Guidelines: Anonymous submission with no author name in document; 12 pt Times or Arial; .Doc or .Docx; double-space; first line indent; no tabs used. Genres: Mystery with accepted sub-genres of Fantasy, Sci-Fi as well Anticipated Pay: Option: Royalty share of D2D sales, or $20.00 If D2D royalty share selected, then each story will receive a share, as will the publisher, from the sales on the D2D platform. This does not include Kickstarter funds unless detailed in the Stretch goals, wholesale to authors, or retail outlets. Timeline Projections: Submissions close: November 2024 Review: December 2024 Acceptance / Rejection: January 2025 Edits: February 2025 Production: March 2025 Published: April 2025 Upon acceptance, the author is expected to work with the editor on...

Submission Window: October 1st - November 30th, 2024 Payment: Fiction: $25.00 for original stories, $7.00 for reprints, $6.00 for each poem, $20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. $7.00 for reviews and interviews. Theme: Paranormal - this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores. Submissions are accepted Feb 1 – Mar 31, Jun 1 – Jul 31, Oct 1 – Nov 30. Anything submitted outside those periods will be deleted unread. We no longer accept simultaneous or multiple submissions. ​ No matter how far we move forward as humans, we are still bound by the instincts and ancestral memories of our animalistic past. None of these are so strong as the fight or flight response. However, there are times when we seem to be perfectly safe, completely at ease and comfortable, when that urge to run from something sneaks up on us. What causes these sensations? Is there something lurking in the darkness? Why is that man giving you the creeps, he’s not even looking at you? And yet, there is something odd. Something instinctual, something you know without fully understanding. We may have moved on, we may have forgotten and left behind those old stories and legends of beasts, voracious monsters, and dark spirits... But they have not forgotten or left us... What We Want The subject matter of parABnormal Magazine is, yes, the paranormal. For us, this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores. PLEASE NOTE: CREATURES LIKE VAMPIRES, GHOULS, WEREWOLVES, AND ZOMBIES ARE NOT PARANORMAL. Shapeshifters, for the purpose of this magazine, refer to the spiritual shift, not the physical. Think Native American shaman. Paranormal activity centers around the human, not the creature. We do not want...

Submission Window: October 1st - November 30th, 2024 Payment: 8 cents CAD/word Theme: The horrors that occur when reproductive choices are threatened or taken away Note: People of marginalized genders to explore these horrors through fiction Few things are more horrifying than having your bodily autonomy stripped away. Unfortunately, for people of marginalized genders, this is a common experience. Our autonomy and choices, especially those around reproduction, are challenged every day. In many places, making our own choices has become illegal – or was never legal in the first place. Choices: An Anthology of Reproductive Horror aims to create a space for people of marginalized genders to explore these horrors through fiction. We hope this exploration will provide catharsis for both the writers and the readers. What We Want We are looking for stories of up to 6000 words about the horrors that occur when reproductive choices are threatened or taken away, written by people of marginalized genders. This submissions call is open from October 1st to November 30th. Payment for accepted submissions will be 8 cents CAD/word. Some examples of reproductive horror stories we’d love to see are: A botched back-alley abortion A horrific birth at the end of a forced pregnancy A story about someone being trapped in an abusive relationship or environment through pregnancy A person being forced to incubate an inhuman creature A person who has been denied the right to choose hunting the people who took that right away Note that these are just examples. You can use them as prompts or submit stories that already match one of these frameworks, but there’s no need to limit yourself to stories based on these ideas. Any story where the horror is created by a lack of reproductive choice, or a threat to someone’s reproductive choices, is welcome....

Submission Window: November 1st - 30th, 2024 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre, short story Mission = Revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful. Payout = Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Wait, you mean if this substack gets thousands of subscribers, the winner would get thousands of dollars? Yes! The New Yorker pays roughly $7,500 per story and I sincerely hope to go way past that. What does the timeline look like? Submit stories by the end of the month, winner to be announced on the 15th. There is ONE story that wins and receives the full payout. Where do I send submissions? [email protected] What are the rules for submitting? 1. No Fees 2. Send in Microsoft Word or Google Doc form 3. Any genre 4. 6- 10,000 words. Yes, just 6 words, like Hemingway's famous 6-word story "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn." 5. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute. 6. Acknowledge Distribution Rights on this Substack - You can still sell your story elsewhere but we need to be able to save and publish it here. The goal is to create a library for subscribers. 7. Only the winner will be published and rights will only transfer for the winning story. What do I get for subscribing? One beautiful story every month. The complete library. The joy of supporting artists and doing something interesting. What if I can’t pay right now? That’s ok! If you publish a blurb about this site on your website, blog, or social media, I will send you one full story of your choosing. Best of all, it is...

Submission Window: November 1st - 30th, 2024 Payment: $0.02 per word Theme: Science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between that are exactly 100 words Note: Reprints Welcome Story Guidelines Flash Point Science Fiction wants speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 words in length (For Drabbles: Exactly 100-words!). Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short. We here at FPSF are partial to flash fiction and want to see the flash market grow. So as much as it pains us, please take your 10,000 word tour de force elsewhere. We’re not looking for the next Brandon Sanderson. (Unless you are, in fact, Brandon Sanderson, in which case we’d be delighted!)   What we’re looking for: -Fantasy (all kinds—epic, adventure, contemporary, urban, grimdark, fairy tale, magical realism, myths and legends, etc.) -Science Fiction (all kinds—hard, space opera, military, near future, science fantasy, cyberpunk, dystopian, etc.) -Slipstream (make it as weird as you want, so long as it works) -Seasonal (we love stories with holiday and/or seasonal themes, but please submit AT LEAST 3 months in advance of the relevant occasion) -Anything that makes us laugh, cry, think, or smile. What we aren’t looking for: -Horror—it can be spooky or menacing, but we’re not a horror market, so the fright factor should not be the primary appeal. DARK fantasy and sci-fi, however, are welcome. -Literary fiction—this is a genre market, so there needs to be an SF&F element, however slight. -Gratuitous sex or violence—we’re big fans of Love Death + Robots, but don’t be that guy. -Fanfic—original concepts only, please. We know there was a lot going on in Hobbiton while Frodo was away, but that’s not our property and it’s not yours either. -Stories previously published in a different language. Submission Specs In terms...

Submission Window: November 1st - 30th, 2024 Payment: $25 and a contributors copy Theme: Stories of pirates, sea monsters, deserted islands, the Bermuda Triangle, and anything else taking place on or in the world’s oceans. Undertaker Books is putting out the call for horror tales from the high seas! We’re looking for stories of pirates, sea monsters, deserted islands, the Bermuda Triangle, and anything else taking place on or in the world’s oceans. From the ice floes of the Arctic to the nuclear wasteland of Bikini Atoll, the seven seas are your canvas for amazing horror! This collection of stories is part of our Stories to Take To Your Grave series, and we’ve made some changes to how we’re doing it. Individual stories will be released once a month, then be compiled into an anthology at the end of the year! Theme: Horror Stories of all subgenres that take place on the High Seas. Word Count: 2,000-4,000 Editor: D.L. Winchester Simultaneous submissions are accepted. One submission per writer. No reprints. No translations. Payment: $25 and a paperback copy of the anthology. Submission: By email to [email protected]. Please submit as a .doc or .docx file, and make the subject of your email HIGH SEAS – (Story Title) – (Author Last Name). Modern Shunn format is encouraged, but not required. Call Open: November 1-30, 2024 Publication: One story published each month in 2025, then compiled into an anthology published in January 2026. Via: Undertaker Books.

Deadline: November 30th, 2024 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Stories in the dystopian sci-fi genre with a Black Mirror or Twilight Zone vibe. Authors are encouraged to explore themes of the near-to-far future of states, whether set here on Earth, in space, or in other dimensions. Future States of Stars is set to be a captivating sci-fi/dystopian fiction anthology tailored for the Upper YA (18+), New Adult, and Adult audiences. Following the success of our previous and soon-to-be-published anthology, Monsters In Masquerade, which featured the works of three New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors, along with a blend of established voices and fresh talent, we are thrilled to continue with the second installment of The Darkset Chronicles. With our dedicated in-house team of creatives, including some of the best editors and content awareness readers in the business, as well as talented graphic designers and readers, we are crafting a collection that will bring you thrilling new stories from the most beloved subgenres of science fiction. We are excited to once again offer YOU, our incredible community members, the chance to have your work featured alongside acclaimed bestselling authors in this eagerly anticipated anthology! Requirements and Theme Suggestions Submissions for Future States should be complete at 8.5k words or less and fall within the New Adult to Adult age range. We are specifically seeking stories in the dystopian sci-fi genre with a Black Mirror or Twilight Zone vibe. Authors are encouraged to explore themes of the near-to-far future of states, whether set here on Earth, in space, or in other dimensions. Consider exploring dystopian themes such as authoritarian regimes, environmental collapse, surveillance societies, loss of individual freedoms, or the impact of advanced technology on humanity. Writers must be the age of majority in their country to submit, and we welcome submissions from authors globally. How To Submit If...