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Deadline: March 31, 2016 Payment: $5 and a contributor copy Kill Those Damn Cats – Cats of Ulthar Lovecraftian Anthology The First United Church of Cthulhu is looking for horror fantasy involving the titular creatures from H. P. Lovecraft's story The Cats of Ulthar. The original is set in the Dreamlands and is part of a series of short stories and novellas called the Dream Cycle. Everybody's got a story about those cats. You can (re)familiarize yourself with the Dream Cycle here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Cycle http://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php/Dreamlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underworld_(Dreamlands) Deadline: March 31, 2016 Length: 2,000 – 10,000 words Payment: $5 + contributor copy English only. Non-exclusive anthology rights. Reprints and multiple submissions are allowed. Author retains copyright. Payment is via Paypal. Guidelines: The cats are cats. 1. They do not have spoken lines. They do not have telepathy. They have no internal monologues.  They did communicate with Randolph Carter in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath so this is acceptable, but we do not want talking animal stories (i.e. Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, Bugs Bunny, etc). 2. They do not walk upright. They do not wear clothes. This is not Puss In Boots. 3. They are not werecats or shapeshifters of any kind. But other beings from the Cthulhu Mythos who do have shapeshifting abilities may be found among the cats. 4. Cats are already very intelligent, so they can act with a human level of intelligence. Just no driving cars, shooting guns, writing novels about themselves, etc. They're still cats. 5. They can have supernatural qualities. But they are not furry little wizards, so no fireballs or Expecto Patronum. 6. The majority of the story must take place in the Dreamlands. 7. The majority of the story must be about the cats of Ulthar. Do not tack on a companion cat...

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: $10 USD and digital copy of the issue Publication will be one year after reading period. Anything sent to us outside these reading periods will be deleted unread. Fiction We here at Bete Noire are looking for stories that are well written, character driven and have a dark bent to them.  We are open to most genres as long as they have a dark side.  This includes horror, dark sci-fi, dark fantasy, crime, mystery or dark humor.  However, vampires plus sparkle equals rejection. Please don't send us sword & sorcery or space operas.  Tolkien and Lucas have their place, but not here.  Also, we don't and can't accept "fan fiction" which includes anything based on a video game, book, movie or any other creator's work or conception unless you have written permission from the creator.  If you don't own the copyright to the characters in your story, we cannot publish your work.  By submitting to us, you, as the author of the work, accept responsibility for any possible copyright infringement. Please don't send us "Slash" or "Fem-Slash" or anything graphically describing sex.  Sex is okay as long as it's integral to the story but don't overdo it.  Please don't use gore for gore's sake.  Again gore is okay as long as it's integral to the story.  Though we cringe at the thought of violence toward children or pets, we understand that this type of violence does occur in real life, but we just don't want it in our magazine. Stories with acts of violence toward animals or children will not have a chance with us.  Any story that insinuates an act of sex or sexual violence between an adult and a child will be rejected.  This includes ALL children, alien, robotic or otherwise. If you think...

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: Comic scripts: $12.50 per page. Prose stories: $0.04 per word. ABOUT THE BOOK An epic sci-fi anthology of prose and comics All The King’s Men is a two-volume epic science fiction anthology edited by Shane W Smith, the author of The Lesser Evil, Peaceful Tomorrows, The Game, James Flamestar, and Undad. All The King’s Men takes a look at the lives of those on the periphery, ordinary people struggling to make sense of their lives and dreams in a galaxy torn apart by civil war. Each of them is fleeing something different, but they've all come to the same place. When their ship is marooned in deep space, they pass the time by sharing stories. Things that have happened to them, events they've witnessed, rumours they've heard... The anthology is seeking contributions from writers. Contributions may be in the form of prose short stories or short comic scripts. Submissions are open until 31 March, 2016. Please read the submission guidelines below for more information. SUPPORTED BY DEEPER MEANINGS PUBLISHING AND ARTSACT Funding has been received from artsACT, and in-principle acceptance from Deeper Meanings Publishing has been received. The delivery of this book is a sure thing. AN ACCLAIMED AND ESTABLISHED SCIENCE FICTION UNIVERSE All The King's Men takes place in the same universe as Shane W Smith's previously published works, including The Lesser Evil, and the Aurealis Award finalists Peaceful Tomorrows, and The Game. CONTRIBUTORS WILL BE PAID All contributors to All The King's Men will receive payment for their work. Click the links below for more information. JOIN THE MAILING LIST Sign up for news, updates and reminders about the submission deadline! SUBMISSION INFORMATION Submissions are open now, and close on 31 March, 2016! SUBMISSION GUIDELINES BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND CONTEXT CONTRIBUTORS, PAY RATES, AND...

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: $10 for Flash fiction, $20 for short fiction, $20 for serial installments up to $100. Reprints are half of the above amounts. Reprints Allowed. This e-zine primarily publishes “scientific papers” by mad scientists. Or, at least, fiction that could be loosely considered such. They must be written in a first person perspective of some sort. It should also have something to do with “mad science.” We are willing to be flexible on the mad science part, but not the first person part. This can be an essay or newspaper article, but the presumed narrator is someone in the fictional world. We are willing to take almost any genre for this: humor, SF, fantasy, horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, pulp adventure. All we ask is that it be well written and fit within the needs of this e-zine. Gratuitous anything that doesn’t add to the story is discouraged. Reprints will be considered. We accept multiple submissions, but not simultaneous submissions. If your story is accepted, we ask that you provide a fictional identity as the source of the article, with bio. Authors will still be credited under their own name. We just want to maintain the atmosphere of “scientific journal.” So, for example, your story might be “An Examination into the Giant Albino Fire Moles” by Professor Higglepiggle, as provided by Joe M. Author. We currently are publishing a new short story every week on the site. We collect them on a quarterly basis into a book (print and digital) with exclusive content in the book. Flash Fiction These stories should be 500-2000 words and stand alone. They must be written in a first person perspective of some sort. If you have a recurring character you’d like to use in future submissions, that would be wonderful. Short Fiction...

Deadline: March 31, 2016 Payment: $100, two hardcovers, two softcovers, and an eBook Tayen Lane is currently reading submissions for our first annual Procyon Science Fiction Anthology. This collection will feature the works of writers from across the world and will span multiple sub-genres within the science fiction genre . Send us your best and most memorable stories. We want work that fascinates, provokes, intrigues. Writer guidelines: Submissions are open to writers from all countries; however, the submissions must be in English. The maximum word length of a submission is 7,000 words. Submissions must be unpublished. Please submit short stories as a Microsoft Word document (or PDF), double-spaced and in 12-pt font to [email protected]. Submissions will remain open until 11:59pm PST, Thursday, March 31, 2016. The anthology is edited by Jeanne Thornton and will be published in hardcover in FALL 2016 with subsequent softcover and eBook editions to follow. All chosen contributors will receive $100, two hardcovers, two softcovers, and an eBook. Writers will maintain ownership of all copyrighted material. We look forward to your submissions for our 2016 Science Fiction Anthology. Thank you for considering Tayen Lane Publishing. Via: Tayen Lane.

Deadline: April 1st, 2016 Payment: $5 per poem and a contributor's copy Apex is accepting poetry submissions for the following anthology: Apex Publications seeks submissions for Undead: A Poetry Anthology of Ghouls, Ghosts, and More. Editors Bianca Lynne Spriggs (Apex Magazine's poetry editor) and Katerina Stoykova-Klemer welcome your specters, apparitions, zombies, wraiths, phantoms, thought forms and anything (or anyone) animate but no longer living. Email 1-3 poems to [email protected] byApril 1st, 2016. Previously published work is eligible, as long as you own the rights. Payment is $5 per poem and one comp of the anthology. Via: Apex Publications.

Deadline: April 1st 2016 Payment: $10 What We Want: Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires will be a horror-themed Steampunk anthology of short stories, released as an ebook and as a paperback simultaneously. We are looking for Steampunk featuring the supernatural (ghosts, shapeshifters, demons, etc.)—as well as a beautifully crafted, original story. What We Don’t Want: Any stories that contain rape, and/or the abuse of minors. Violence and sex are acceptable but make them integral to the plot. Submissions: Submit your work to [email protected] with Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires Sub: Your Story Title_Your Last Name in the subject line. (for example: Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires Sub: Something Amiss Midship_Poe) Attach your story as a DOC or DOCX file. Submissions sent in the body of the email will not be read. We prefer to see submissions using something approaching Standard Manuscript Format, which can be found here: http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html The only exception is that italics MUST appear as they will be used; no underlining. Include a brief cover letter in the body of your email stating your name, pen name (if using one), story title with word count, address, website or blog, and any professional publication credits you think might interest us. We will accept works of 1,500-6,000 words. Please query first if you wish to submit outside of these guidelines. No simultaneous submissions, please. Don’t submit a story to us and to another market at the same time. Multiple submissions are acceptable. If sending more than one story, please send them in separate emails. We are not accepting reprints for this anthology. We will pay a flat $10 per story via Paypal only. Payment will be made within 45 days of publication. We are seeking Worldwide English Language rights for 12 months in print and digital formats. Authors from outside of the United States are welcome, but submissions must be in English. Please be aware...

Payment: 5% of the gross profit will be paid for each accepted story. These payments will be issued to you at quarterly intervals. Stories under 1,500 words will only receive 4% of the gross profit. Deadline: April 2nd, 2016 Note: Reprints Allowed Anthology curated by Nicole Petit King Arthur is dead. Camelot has fallen. Britain drowns in Saxons. These are the stories of what come after. After Avalon is seeking stories based on the premise, “What happened to these people and relics after Camelot fell?” What do the knights do when there is no more Brittan to defend? Did Sarras fall, or did the nation surviving knights built stand the test of time? Who wears the Green Knight’s girdle, now, and where does the Lady in the Lake reside? Is Merlin still trapped inside his tree? Who else has gone to Avalon? Were Galahad, the Holy Grail, and the Spear of Destiny really assumed into Heaven? Or did bards invent that story, an easy solution to explain where Camelot’s greatest knight was on the day Camlann killed them all? What’s become of the Questing Beast and the White Stag? Gawain’s mother and half-brother have destroyed Camelot, what does he do now? Does Pellinore still chase the Beast? Has Arthur already returned? Stories can take place anywhere between Arthur’s death and the present day. Stories set in the future may or may not prove to be a harder sell. We encourage historically accurate stories set in a variety of times and places. Don’t be afraid to set your story during the crusades, or the Victorian era. Beware that the curator and her assistants are extreme history buffs, and they will notice anything inaccurate. Do your homework. We’ll say no, thank you to excessively dark stories or stories that insult the Arthurian...

Deadline: April 4th, 2016 Payment: $25.00, plus digital and 1 trade paperback copy upon distribution Elven, Dwarven, Orc or Mage. Fae and Seelie leap off the page. Poems, sagas, epics too, this is what we ask of you. With parchment and quill in hand, take us to your mythic land. Build a world ethereal and fair, bring it to us so we can share. An anthology for us to build, helping us, the lily gild. Please do not use or reference stories, characters etc that are already established and/or property of someone else. No copyright infringements please.  We are looking for original work with original characters and the plot should be original as well. Please, NO fan fiction. Characters must be your own, originally created, and not a version or fan fiction of an existing character. Do not use the names or personalities of existing trademarked characters. No references should be made to characters from well-known sources. Please keep stories relatively clean as we are looking to make this available to all ages. Therefore in keeping with the Codes of Chivalry, profanity, gratuitous violence, sexual themes and the like will be deemed as unsuitable for this work. Only submit unpublished, original stories, and characters. Story length, between 2,500 minimum and 8,000 maximum words. This is going to call for a high level of skill to keep your story fast paced and interesting without falling back on those particular crutches to carry the plot along. We are looking forward to some high quality, entertaining reading. We are looking for short stories between 2500 and 8000 words. Please spend time reviewing the guidelines, this will ensure that your best work is submitted free of editorial issues, such as spelling, formatting, and grammar. Any submission with EXCESSIVE formatting, spelling, grammatical or editing issues...

Deadline: April 15th, 2016 Payment: $20 A note on our editorial policy: before publication we may edit the story for length or readability. However, we always remain true to the spirit of the story. Issues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. 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 front and tell us as soon as it's accepted elsewhere. We do not publish reprints, including anything that has appeared on a website. We pay $20 for each story we publish. We buy first-printing world exclusive rights for four months. Payment will be made shortly after publication using PayPal. We encourage our authors to establish a PayPal account if they don't already have one. We prefer to read submissions in traditional manuscript format. This means indented paragraphs instead of left justification, and Courier or Times New Roman font in 12 pt, double-spaced. Also, please include the title, your name, address, and word length on the first page of your story. To submit your story to Electric Spec, e-mail it as...