Events

Deadline: December 31, 2014 Payment: AUD4c/word and one contributor copy in each format released SNAFU II: Survival of the Fittest SNAFU brought the pain. SNAFU II will bring even more. For this anthology, we want survival horror featuring soldiers. Survival horror says it all. Resident Evil… Silent Hill… with soldiers. Straining to make that one clip of rounds last. Making sure not to waste a single bullet. Lost in the shadows, low on ammo, only edged weapons, and/or wounded, fighting to survive, the last remnants of the mission team trying to make sense of where they had gone wrong, and how to make it out alive with next-to-no resources. We still want military combat from any period, don’t get me wrong, but we also want fear… we want suspense and tension… we want originality in the monster/antagonist, and how they are finally overcome. To allow for this building of atmosphere and tension, we have upped the word limit to 10,000. And then, we want something jaw-droppingly amazing. We STRONGLY suggest you read the first and/or second SNAFU volume to see what it is we like. SNAFU – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LNXHLJG SNAFU: Heroes – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MSVEY2Y SNAFU II will hold novellas by some best-selling authors, with announcements to come soon. Edited by Geoff Brown and Amanda J Spedding Payment: AUD4c/word and one contributor copy in each format released Wordcount range: 1,000 – 10,000 words (query for shorter or longer) Submission window: October 1 – December 31, 2014 (anything submitted outside of this window will be deleted without being read) Projected publication date: Second Quarter 2015  Please follow these guidelines when submitting to us: 1. Please put your full contact details on the first page of the manuscript top left, with word count top right. 2. Standard submission format, with minimal document formatting. 3. Courier or Times New Roman set at 12pt. Italics as they...

Deadline: December, 31, 2014 Payment: 1¢ per word for the first 4,000 words Submissions start on: 2014-09-30 Deadline: December, 31, 2014 Theme: NA Accepted genres:Urban Fantasy Minimum number of words: 1000 Maximum Number of Words: 17500 Accepted types:Flash Fiction, Novelettes, Novellas, Short Stories Accepted languages:English Infinite Urban Fantasy One will be a collection of  urban fantasy short stories. We are looking for great UF that breaks away from the tired tropes of the genre. Think Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes or The Skyscraper Throne Trilogy by Tom Pollock. Sure, throw your vampires at us, but have you seen the sheer number of stories (good and bad) about them--they damn well be special if we're going to consider using them ourselves. Same goes for werewolves, witches, and little faeries living in Bon Temps. The following is a list (far from exhaustive) of things that'll get us excited about your submission: The mythology is of your own making, i.e. you're not borrowing from Bram Stoker You're not sending us Horror stories or SF stories (worry not, though; their time will come) You didn't forget the 'urban' part of urban fantasy, i.e. your characters evolve in contemporary settings. If your mythology isn't of your own making, it's at least something that moves away from the ordinary. Think Kitsunes (à la Teen Wolf) or some African monster/deity or if you're very well acquainted with Western mythology, delve deeper; show us something we haven't seen a dozen times. If you do decide to show us something we've seen a dozen times, you've approached it from a dazzling angle. There are more of course, but these will give you cookie points and will put a smile on our faces. Of course, nothing trumps story and great writing, and that's chiefly what we'll be looking for when we start processing...

Deadline: December 31st, 2014 Payment: 3 cents per word Call to action! Dark Recesses Press is now accepting short novella length submissions for A COLLECTION OF UNTIMELY HOURS. Between four to six stories will be selected for this themed anthology. The theme is time.  The genre is dark fiction. A broad spectrum, we know, but what we mean by this is truly the dark spectrum – from horror to supernatural, to slipstream  – and all points in between. That said, Splatterpunk and Bizarro fiction are probably not the right fit for this gathering. This is also not the venue for high fantasy or hard sci-fi, but if you have a shadowy urban fantasy or a dark tale that happens to take place upon a space freighter, that’s fine. Just make sure there’s no need to learn a new language in order to read the story. Seriously. The key here is to offer our readers a cool creep, a sense of dread, and the tension of time from which they can’t escape. It’s your world. Build it, and drag the reader through it with the seconds ticking at their heels. Of course we have the standard caveat of Gore for Gore’s sake and overused tropes are not going to fly.  But you’re professionals and you don’t see a need to resort to cheap parlor tricks, or taking the easy road to reach nirvana. One more important NO :  No Sexual Abuse of Children, direct or implied.  Period.  It’s not a flexible point.  If you’re unsure, query at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to clarify and save you time or frustration. Now for the nitty-gritties: Submission deadline: December 31st, 2014 Word count: 15,000 –  25,000 firm Pay:  3 cents / word Reprints:  No Rights: First North American Serial Rights (FNASR) and Electronic Rights to distribute the text in...

Deadline: December 31st 2014 Payment: 4% royalties per story published in ebook and paperback form and you will receive a contributor’s ebook copy Published by KnightWatch Press, Challenger Unbound will be an anthology of ACD’s Professor Challenger stories with a supernatural, cryptid or monstrous background. With permission to gather together an anthology by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate, we are looking for stories which are true to the eponymous hero. If you don’t know who Challenger is, you need not apply. All submissions should: Be between 2,000 and 6,000 words in Standard Manuscript Format (http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html). Be typed in Courier or Times New Roman 12 Include your full details (name/address/telephone number/email address) at the top of your document. Be sent to [email protected] as .doc or .rtf documents with the email subject header “SURNAME/ACD/WORDCOUNT”. Previously published stories WILL be considered for this anthology. Authors will retain copyright. Multiple submissions up to a maximum of two stories per author can be submitted. We will write to you within approximately four to eight weeks of the submission deadline to let you know if you have been successful. We will pay royalties per story published in ebook and paperback form and you will receive a contributor’s ebook copy only. Failure to comply will result in . . . total anhiliation. Via: Knightwatch Press.

Deadline: December 31st, 2014 Payment: 3 cents per word Another Dimension Magazine is the evolution of Wily Writers Speculative Fiction Podcast. It has a more focused theme, that of classic-style Horror and Dark Fantasy, as seen on the television shows Night Gallery and The Twilight Zone, produced and often written by Rod Serling. We are doing blatant homage to these wonderful contributions to these genres. We'll release issues quarterly in both text and audio formats. What We're Looking For We've identified elements that we're looking for in the stories we'll buy: An interesting and well-thought-out lead character, first and foremost. Supernatural elements or alternate reality/history. The genres of either Horror or Dark Fantasy. The various subgenres of Horror are perfectly acceptable, such as SciFi Horror. A commentary on the world we live in (however metaphorically). Say something with your story. A surprising climax. Take us by surprise, if you can. Impressive imagination -- show us a different culture or an alternate world. Submission Requirements Submissions need to follow the guidelines listed below. IMPORTANT: Name your file so that it makes sense. An impressive filename for a fiction submission is: (lastname)-(word from title).RTF Word count: 1000 - 3000 (Firm. Do not query). Use standard manuscript formatting. (more info) Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are okay. Do not submit more than once to the same issue. You may submit only one story to each issue. Gore, sex, and adult language okay, but make sure it improves the story. Use good grammar, double-check your punctuation, and run a spell-check. We prefer Chicago Manual of Style rules, and we will reject it if it's a mess, even if it's an amazing story. If you're bad at grammar and spelling, then hire an editor or bribe a friend with cookies to help you before you...

Deadline: December 31st Payment: 3 cents per word (or 1 cent per word for reprints), paid within 90 days after publication. Plus contributor copy of print and e-book Apotheosis – Stories of human survival and defiance in a world subjugated by the return of the Elder Gods. Humanity struggled to grow and evolve as a species for thousands of years forever caught in the shadow of a dread threat known only to a devoted few. When the stars are right, the Old Ones will return to claim utter dominion of the world.Lovecraft Mythos stories often climax at the moment of the fateful return of the Elder Gods and the audience is left to ponder what might happen next. This anthology features stories about humanity under the reign of the Elder Gods and ancient terrors. What do we mean by Lovecraft Mythos stories in relation to Apotheosis? We’re looking for stories inspired by the stories of H.P. Lovecraft and associated writers such as August Derleth, Clark Ashton Smit , Robert E. Howard , Robert Bloch , Henry Kuttner, and Frank Belknap Long.   We’re also interested in writers that inspired Lovecraft such as Edgar Allan Poe, Algernon Blackwood and Lord Dunsany. We’re interested in classic mythos gods and monsters and originals that have inspired by the mythos. Good Fiction Examples: “Boojum” by Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette “A Colder War” by Charlie Stross In the Hall of the Yellow King by Peter Rawlik What type of stories are we looking for? We’re looking for character-driven stories set during a time in the future where the ancient terrors that once ruled the Earth have claimed complete and utter dominion of the Earth. We’re less concerned about the strict interpretation of the Elder Gods than good stories that deal with real human concerns.  How do...

Deadline: December 31, 2014 Payment: 3 cents per word and one digital copy World-altering events. It should be the kind of thing everyone has a memory of. A time travel story or two may be okay under this theme. "I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times." Reading Period: November 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014   (Submissions are open now) Writer Deadline: December 31, 2014 Publication Date: March 1, 2015 Third Flatiron Publishing is an e-publishing venture based in Boulder, Colorado. We are looking for submissions to our quarterly themed online anthologies. Our focus is on science fiction and fantasy and anthropological fiction. We want tightly plotted tales in out-of-the-ordinary scenarios. Please send us short stories that revolve around age-old questions and have something illuminating to tell us as human beings. Fantastical situations and creatures, exciting dialog, irony, mild horror, and wry humor are all welcome. Stories should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Inquire if longer. Role models for the type of fiction we want include Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke, Dan Simmons, Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, and Ken Kesey. We want to showcase some of the best new shorts available today. See the "Submissions" tab for preferred formats, etc. For each anthology, we will also accept  a few very short humor pieces on the order of the "Shouts and Murmurs" feature in The New Yorker Magazine (600 words or so). These can be written from a first-person perspective or can be mini-essays that tell people what they ought to do, how to do something better, or explain why something is like it is, humorously. An SF/Fantasy bent is preferred.

Deadline: December 31st, 2014 Payment: 6 cents per word Diabolical Plots has been a publisher of non-fiction on the subject of speculative fiction since 2008. In 2013, Diabolical Plots launched the writer’s tool The Submission Grinder. In 2015, Diabolical Plots will begin publishing fiction. We will be open for fictions for the first time for the month of December 2014. We’ll only take one submission per author. Make it count. We plan to buy enough stories in the December submission window to publish one story per month for a year.   FICTION Overview Genres: science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have speculative element, even horror) Word count: 2000 words or less Pay rate: 6 cents per word (the professional rate as deemed by SFWA) Multiple submissions: No. And only one story per author in the submission window. Simultaneous submissions: No. Reprint submissions: No. Estimated Response Time: 30 days after end of submission window. IMPORTANT NOTE: We read submissions blind, with no author name. Be sure to remove all mentions of your name from the manuscript before submitting. What are we looking for? Speculative fiction. Everything should have a speculative element–that includes horror. Feel free to mix in other genres at will–a fantasy mystery or a science fiction romance. Things that we tend to really like: Weird ideas or combinations of ideas we haven’t seen before Sense of wonder Strong character and plot arcs Relatable protagonists (not necessarily likeable, not necessarily reliable) Strong worldbuilding, hinting at more to see around the edges of the story Philosophical food-for-thought Straightforward, easily readable style We want to see stories from any and all demographics of people and about any and all demographics of people. Women or men or transgender or genderqueer, people of color or Caucasian, straight or gay or bisexual or asexual, disabled...

Deadline: December 31, 2014 Payment: $5/story plus a share of royalties. Here are the guidelines for a Diverse Weird Western anthology (title to be announced), to be published by WolfSinger Publications (http://wolfsingerpubs.com/) and edited by Cynthia Ward (http://www.cynthiaward.com). Ah, the "Western frontier"!  I learned all about it as a child.  I learned it was full of brave white American pioneer men killing the native inhabitants, who didn't realize the land they'd occupied for millennia belonged to the newcomers.  I learned it was full of heroic white American gunmen shooting each other in high noon standoffs or over cattle.  Those few characters who didn't fit the above templates were generally helpless Mexican peasants; treacherous Mexican bandits; or the occasional rancher's wife, school marm, or  prostitute. Omitted from the history lessons and the movies and TV shows were--the whole wide world. For this anthology, we’re looking for stories about everyone else. We're looking for stories which reflect the complex historical realities and diversities of the North American "Western frontier." We're looking for stories about marginalized and under-represented groups. The Nitty Gritty: Payment Payment is $5/story plus a share of royalties. Submissions Reading Period We are opening for submissions on December 1, 2014, with a deadline of December 31, 2014.  Submissions sent outside this window will be returned unread.  DO NOT SUBMIT AT THIS TIME. Publication Date To Be Determined How to Format Your Submission Double spaced manuscript in Courier or Courier New. Use italics, not underlines. For other questions, follow the Standard Manuscript Format per William Shunn (I really mean it, too):  http://www.shunn. net/format/story.html. Have your contact information on the first page of the manuscript, including your e-mail address. Please be sure to send us a manuscript free from spelling/grammar errors, because we are unlikely to finish reading a story with much...

Deadline: December 31st, 2014 Payment: $20 per story regardless of length plus a print and ebook copy of the final product. "BLACK BEACON'S LIGHTHOUSES" GUIDELINES Open from October 3 to December 31, 2014 Genre: We want your tales about or strongly featuring lighthouses and beacons. Any genre is acceptable. Original and unpublished tales preferred, but previously published also considered. No simultaneous submissions. Length: 3,000 to 25,000 words Payment: $20 per story regardless of length plus a print and ebook copy of the final product. Inclusion in the anthology means that you give BBB Exclusive Worldwide English Language rights (this covers both electronic and print) and that you assure that your work has not been previously published and that you will not publish it elsewhere until 12 months after the official release of the anthology. Beyond that, BBB will no longer retain any rights to your work and will not publish it in any other publication without your permission. Deadline: 31st of December, 2014 Expected release date: TBA - probably late 2015 GENERAL GUIDELINES AND DETAILS How we sell: Each title is released, distributed, and sold differently. Most are released as both print and ebooks but some may be released as one or the other. Here at Black Beacon Books, we are particularly interested in promoting the traditional print format. Our print titles are often sold at independent bookshops and markets stall holders around Australia as well as online for a global readership. Our ebooks our generally sold via Smashwords. Editor contributions: Our editors and artists reserve the right to have their work included in the anthologies we publish. Some people do not like this practice, and we respect that point of view, however, we do not consider it a problem. There are very few Australian publishers releasing mystery and suspense...