Events

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Top secret government projects Who doesn’t know the black projects that rolled out of the Skunk Works like the famous SR-71, U-2, or F-117 stealth fighter? What do you think they aren’t telling us about? This anthology dives into the concept of other black projects, their uses, and outcomes. Maybe the crazies are right. What If… the UFO’s are actually ours… Anything from discovery and design to use in application of the Aircraft, Heavy Weapons, Power Armor, Sea Vessels, and more are welcome. We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more. Genre: Speculative Fiction Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: January 1, 2025 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Skunk Wurks” 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...

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: 8 cents per word for original work, 2 cents per word for reprints Theme: Stories that express black joy written by women and non-binary folk who identify as Black, African, or of Afro-descendent heritage Note: Reprints welcome You are cordially invited to contribute to an anthology of speculative fiction that’s being published through Rosarium Publishing titled Planet Black Joy in Fall 2025. The collection will feature about 20 to 25 short stories by women and non-binary folk who identify as Black, African, or of Afro-descendent heritage exploring and celebrating Black joy and pleasure. What are we looking for? We want to showcase stories of Black joy in the fantastical and the mundane in the present, past, and the future. We’d like a variety of Black joy from catharsis to irreverence to clawing resilience out of the darkness. From Black Twitter after the Alabama Brawl to the kind of joy that has been constructed in the face of white supremacy and patriarchy. We want to know what Black joy means to you. We’d prefer original submissions in English, but we are open to translations and reprints. We’ll be paying professional rates of $0.08 (USD) per word, for original short stories between 3,000 and 7,000 words long and $0.02 (USD) per word for reprints. We’ll be asking your permission to include the work as part of the anthology in the following formats: print, digital, and Braille. Submissions will be open from June 15, 2024 to January 1, 2025. Please email your submissions as an attachment to [email protected]. Via: Rosarium Publishing.

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: 8 cents per word for original stories, 2 cents per word for reprints Theme: Speculative stories exploring and celebrating Black joy and pleasure. Note: Authors who are women and non-binary folk who identify as Black, African, or of Afro-descendent heritage Note: Reprints welcome Edited by Chinelo Onwualu, Susana M. Morris, and Bill Campbell You are cordially invited to contribute to an anthology of speculative fiction that’s being published through Rosarium Publishing titled Planet Black Joy in Fall 2025. The collection will feature about 20 to 25 short stories by women and non-binary folk who identify as Black, African, or of Afro-descendent heritage exploring and celebrating Black joy and pleasure. What are we looking for? We want to showcase stories of Black joy in the fantastical and the mundane in the present, past, and the future. We’d like a variety of Black joy from catharsis to irreverence to clawing resilience out of the darkness. From Black Twitter after the Alabama Brawl to the kind of joy that has been constructed in the face of white supremacy and patriarchy. We want to know what Black joy means to you. We’d prefer original submissions in English, but we are open to translations and reprints. We’ll be paying professional rates of $0.08 (USD) per word, for original short stories between 3,000 and 7,000 words long and $0.02 (USD) per word for reprints. We’ll be asking your permission to include the work as part of the anthology in the following formats: print, digital, and Braille. Submissions will be open from June 15, 2024 to January 1, 2025. Please email your submissions as an attachment to [email protected].   Via: Rosarium Publishing.

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Weird (Vol 106) WEIRD, 1st January 2025 Bring us the bizarre, the unexplainable, the surreally beautiful. Old weird. New weird. Bizarro. Whatever. Bear in mind — we still want good stories with satisfying endings. 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...

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: 3 cents per word, minimum Theme: Speculative fiction, that includes a friend of the main character named Glen who has to die in the main story, and the words "crystal palace" must be mentioned as well in any context. All of us have that one person that we give crap to. They’re good people, we like them, we’re friends, and the way we communicate our love is by endlessly tormenting them. For some reason, they just become the butt of all the jokes—maybe because they have it coming, but probably because they’re the ones in the group strong enough to take it with good humor and still love us back. In short, every group has a Glen. This is not an anthology made in honor of Glen and those like him. Who wants to honor them, anyways? This is an anthology made to honor all such friendships, and those people who really need to see Glen die. Looking for short stories 2-5k words long. Stories must include the following elements: Any form of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, etc.). The words “crystal palace” must appear in the story at some point. Context is irrelevant. There must be a character named Glen that appears somewhere in the story. Glen must die in the course of the story. Please keep stories to PG-13 or tamer. Payment will be $.03/word pending a Kickstarter launch of the anthology. Benchmarks on the Kickstarter launch will be set to increase pay to pro rates ($.08/hr). Submit stories to Frog Jones at [email protected] no later than Jan 1, 2025. 2,000-5,000 words Manuscript format. If you don’t know what that is, HERE IS A LINK. .doc or .rtf files are acceptable. Google doc links and .pdfs will not be read. Via: Impulsive Walrus Books.

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: One cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) Theme: Fantastic Fiction You really NEED to read the description below. Why The Irreal Cafe? "When I enter a cafe, the first thing I perceive are implements. Not things, not raw matter, but utensils: tables, seats, mirrors, glasses and saucers... Taken as a whole, they belong to an obvious order. The meaning of this ordering is an end — an end that is myself, or rather, the man in me, the consumer that I am. Such is the surface appearance of the human world... Now let us describe the cafe topsyturvy. "...Here, for example, is a door. It is there before us, with its hinges, latch and lock. It is carefully bolted, as if protecting some treasure. I manage, after several attempts, to procure a key; I open it, only to find that behind it is a wall. I sit down and order a cup of coffee. The waiter makes me repeat the order three times and repeats it himself to avoid any possibility of error. He dashes off and repeats my order to a second waiter, who notes it down in a little book and transmits it to a third waiter. Finally, a fourth waiter comes back and, putting an inkwell on my table, says, 'There you are.' 'But,' I say, 'I ordered a cup of coffee.' 'That's right,' he says, as he walks off. "If the reader, while reading a story of this kind, thinks that the waiters are playing a joke or that they are involved in some collective psychosis, then we have lost the game. But if we have been able to give him the impression that we are talking about a world in which these absurd manifestations appear as normal behaviour, then he...

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: Fiction: 2c per word plus a paperback contributor copy, Poetry: $25 plus a paperback contributor copy Theme: Reprints of horror stories published in 2024 by authors who identify as trans or nonbinary Last week, just a few days after the election, I had a bit of a manic episode that ended with me dying my fading lavender hair black and posting the following on Bluesky: the incredible urge to launch an annual “best trans horror of the year” anthology series as a direct fuck-you to this state, this country, this world I had spent the whole day anxiously pacing around our bookstore attempting to figure out a way to control the various emotions bursting through my body. Rage, fear, depression. A general sense of hopelessness. You know, the usual cocktail. Usually, when I get like this, I throw myself at a new project without much consideration. It’s the way my brain operates. I crave creative outlets as both a distraction and a form of healing. At some point, the anthology idea hit me, and it wouldn’t leave. Believe me, I tried to forget about it. This is coming from someone who already decided to get out of the anthology game, and only focus on our magazine Ghoulish Tales going forward. Despite how much I love anthologies, they’re a lot of work, a lot of money, a lot of energy. The smart thing to do would be to forget about the idea. But is it the right thing to do? Immediately, upon conceiving the idea, I felt in my heart that this needed to happen, that I wanted to do it, that it was already in the process of becoming a thing. I live in Texas. I am surrounded by terrible, awful humans who thrive on hatred. There needs to be...

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: $30 CAD Theme: Poetry, non-fiction, experimental fiction, fan fiction, and more that deal with the idea of "The Future" (Think Sci-fi and utopian/dystopian.)  In The Mood Magazine is a pop culture journal about the things we like to watch. Published triannually, we delve into film, TV, music videos, and celebrity culture through essays, conversations, and unconventional forms of criticism like film diaries, poetry, and comics. Our focus is on the viewer, their viewing habits, highs, and hang-ups. Why can't we stop thinking about the exact shade of pink of Suki’s car in 2 Fast 2 Furious? Or the look on Marnie’s face after she’s fired the shotgun? Tell us what you're obsessed with, we want to hear all about it. But you should know that we’re terrible at keeping secrets. So… are you in the mood? Magazine: Submissions are currently OPEN. Theme: The Future Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Our last issue was out of the past… now we’re heading into the future. From sci-fi (A.I. Artificial Intelligence) to utopian/dystopian (Born in Flames), in places near (Her) or far (Solaris), for our 12th issue we’re looking for experimental criticism on any films, TV, or music videos set in or that engage with the future ✨ If you need some inspiration, check out this comprehensive list! 💡 Some topics and films we’d love to see pitches for: - Focus on specific sci-fi fashion, food, technology, and/or architecture - Films set in the future (Robocop, High Life, Strange Days, Gattaca) or near future (The Purge, Ghost in the Shell, Moon) - Apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic (The Happening, Children of Men, The Terminator, The Falls (1980), I Am Legend) - Climate change/“cli-fi” themes (The Day After Tomorrow, Silent Running, Beasts of the Southern Wild) - Arthouse/experimental/video art (Planet Heaven (2022), Liquid Sky, Ryan Trecartin, Hito Steyerl) - Retrofuturism (Heart of the World, Metropolis, Death Race 2000) - Film technology...

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Theme: Robots Past & Future Note: Reprints Welcome We're delighted to announce a new call for submissions which is now open! The theme is Robots Past & Future Short Stories. Please read through the submission details carefully as we’ve changed some of our guidelines and it could result in your submission not being acknowledged if you do not follow them. Robots Past & Future Short Stories We enjoyed our Robots and AI book so much that we’re following up by splitting these topics in two, particularly because in the new world of Generative AI, Robots and Artificial Intelligence are moving rapidly in new directions. For this theme, we’re looking for submissions that delve into the fascinating evolution of robots — from the mechanical marvels of the past to the imaginative possibilities of the future. Whether exploring the nostalgia of retro robotics, envisioning futuristic automatons, or crafting unique stories that bridge the two, we invite you to bring your vision of robots to life in this exciting collection. Submit to: [email protected]   Terms: Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails. Simultaneous submissions are fine but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology. For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months of the submission deadline. Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that. Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read...

Deadline: January 1st, 2025 Payment: 1 cent per word and a contributor's copy Theme: Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? SUBMISSIONS FOR ISSUE 3 ARE OPEN FROM NOV. 1ST – JAN. 1ST!   WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? Oxymoron? We don’t think so. One place you can start your exploration of this idea is an article from Nightmare Magazine penned by one of our co-founders. But perhaps the easiest way to understand what we mean is to read stories by some of the old masters we love: Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Roald Dahl. Watch classic episodes of Thriller, The Twilight Zone, and Night Gallery. Read old horror comics. Listen to radio dramas like Suspense, Quiet, Please, and Inner Sanctum Mysteries. Consume enough vintage horror, and you’ll probably begin to get an idea of the type of thing that’s likely to appeal to us. In short, we’re looking to provide a space for a type of storytelling that has largely gone out of style – dark and scary, but playful and approachable with an emphasis on plot. For a concrete example of the kind of thing we’re likely to love, grab a copy of one of our issues. To clarify further, here’s a list of things we want and things we don’t, which may help you hit the sweet spot. THINGS WE LOVE: Stories with a moral core. It need not happen in every tale, but we like to see good prevail (or at least evil punished). Ironic justice, in which cleverly nasty things happen to bad people, as in old EC comics, makes us chuckle with ghoulish delight. Well-earned twist endings. There’s nothing we love more than a really good surprise or a clever way to subvert our expectations. Pull...