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Deadline: March 1st, 2021 Payment: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10 Theme: A Postcard from the Past ALL SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, POEMS, PHOTOGRAPHS and ART MUST RELATE TO ONE OF THE PREMISES SPECIFIED ABOVE. NOTE: Previously published pieces are welcome, provided that the submission fits the theme and that the author owns the copyright. The premise (target theme) must be an integral part of the plot, not necessarily the central theme but not merely incidental. Fewer than 20 double-spaced typewritten pages preferred. Indicate premise (target theme) on title page. Be sure to Indicate target theme in cover letter or on first page of manuscript. Include self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with each submission. Rejected manuscripts unaccompanied by an SASE will not be returned. Response time: 3 months after premise deadline.  NO READER'S FEE. Mail to: THEMA, Box 8747, Metairie, LA 70011-8747. Outside the US: email [email protected] On acceptance for publication, we will pay the following amount: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10; artwork, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Copyright reverts to author after publication. THEMA isn't for everyone. To find out why, click here. New to submitting manuscripts to journals? Click here to download a PDF file of a few basic guidelines. Unlike many publishers, we prefer works submitted by the authors themselves, without the involvement of an agent. Be sure to indicate premise and include SASE for each submission.  BE SURE to include a separate SASE for each premise. No handwritten manuscripts will be considered. NOTE: We do not accept e-mailed submissions EXCEPT from authors who live outside the U.S. For those living outside the U.S., submit manuscript as an email attachment (readable by MSWord ― either as a DOC file or an RTF file), and include the following information on the title page: target theme, title of work, name of...

Deadline: March 1st, 2021 Payment: 2 cents a word and Royalties Theme: This book will explore protests with stories, essays and poems. We want to see the people, the protest, the issues that make this something that puts people on the streets. B Cubed Press is pleased to announce an open call for The Protest Diaries.  2020 is not the first year of protests.  The American Revolution started with protests.  India used protest to free themselves from British rule. I could go on, the protestant reformation, the storming of the Bastille.  Protests seldom feel like the birth of freedom and a new era at the time.  At the time, it is anger, resentment, and a fundamental need for change. But the past four years have re-introduced America to the protest, whether in the name of the BLM movement, the Pussy Hats, even the Back the Blue rallies.  No political ideology has a lock on protests. This book will explore protests with stories, essays and poems.  We want to see the people, the protest, the issues that make this something that puts people on the streets.  When we read your story, poem, or essay, we want to know what makes it necessary to take to the streets. So be prepared to look hard at this topic, its rituals, its layers.    We don’t want just the darkness.  B Cubed publishes satire, humor and laugh out loud.  These stories define us, so don’t be afraid to bring it.  Laughter is part of our humanity. This book will be edited by Nathan Ockerman and Vanessa Cozzo. And don’t be afraid to reach.  Past present and future are all within the scope of what we will consider stories for. Story length for our books average about 2200 words but have ranged from 100 to 7500...

Deadline: March 1st, 2021 Payment: $200/story + royalties Theme: Urban Fantasy only (no Science Fiction or Horror, although horror elements may be present in the story) that involves Cryptids We are currently accepting submissions for We Cryptids. The guidelines are as follows: Word limit: 3000-6000 words. Pay rate: $200/story + royalties Genre: Urban Fantasy only (no Science Fiction or Horror, although horror elements may be present in the story). Other forms of fantasy (epic fantasy, Historical Fantasy, or Steampunk, for example) will not be accepted. If the cryptid you choose to write about was sighted in a timeframe earlier than 2020, you are welcome to write within that time frame, but the more modern the story, the better. Language: English (translations are welcome). Submissions open: October 31, 2020 Submissions close: March 1, 2021 Rights: We claim first world English rights (no reprints). For an excellent break down of what this means, please see Neil Clarke’s post here. Cryptids have long haunted our imaginations and folklore. Bigfoot, the chupacabra, Nessie, the Jersey Devil, vampires, the fae, kraken, the mothman, werewolves, and more all feature in the stories we tell ourselves to inspire wonder and mystery. By living on the borders of society, at the edges of the map marked "here be dragons", cryptids exist in the liminal spaces between fact and fiction. We Cryptids invites you to consider what would happen if cryptids existed and lived among us. Would they be our neighbors, or would their children be barred from our schools? Would they be disproportionately stopped by police just because of what they were and what they looked like? Would their children be taken from them to be raised by "approved parents" to uphold other people's values. Would they be allowed to fight for the country, but not allowed to...

Deadline: March 1st, 2021 Payment: $20 Theme: We ask our fiction writers to imagine their readers navigating a story with one finger poised over a mouse button. Can your story stay that finger to the end? “Turning words into art is unnatural. It begins with a contrary attitude. It says, I am unhappy with the way things are and desire to make things different. Rather than represent the world, I will make something wildly and savagely new. I will defy logic. I will invest in new perceptions. I will combine and recombine and fabricate and juggle until something that I have never experienced is experienced. The process is alchemical. The process is violent. It goes to the heart of creativity. It disrupts and shatters. It is splendid with provocation. It is an aggression against banality. It is sharp and loud like a janitor scraping frost from a window. The hectic bounce of steam on a street after a truck roars by. The anarchy of waters, the comedy of the face, dangerous feelings vented from a cage of skin.” ~ John Olson Poetry — We believe poetry is contrary by nature, always defying, always tonguing the tang of novelty. We look especially for plurality of meaning, for dual reverberation of beauty and concern. Contrary’s poetry in particular often mimics the effects of fiction or commentary. We find ourselves enamored of prose poems because they are naturally contrary toward form – they tug on the forces of exposition or narrative – but prose poems remain the minority of all the poetic forms we publish. Please consider that Contrary receives vast amounts of poetry and that we can publish only a small percentage of that work. Please submit no more than three poems per issue. Our poetry editor is Shaindel Beers. Fiction — We ask our fiction writers to imagine...

Deadline: March 1st, 2021 Payment: $900 and potential royalties Theme: Stories written by queer YA authors, about queer teen protagonists Note: THERE ARE ONLY 2 OPEN SLOTS so send in your best work I’m so excited to announce that I am holding open submissions for the third and final OUT anthology, OUT THERE: Into the Queer New Yonder! Coming May 2022 from Inkyard Press, and me, your humble editor! OUT THERE will feature stories written by queer YA authors, about queer teen protagonists! Set in the future (1 day, 1 million years, who knows?!) , these stories will explore the last (or next, as the case may be) moment in time. If selected, your story will join stories by Leah Johnson, Kalynn Bayron, Alex London, Nita Tyndall, Abdi Nazemian, Alechia Dow, Kayla Ancrum, Naomi Kanakia, Adam Sass, Mason Deaver, Claire Kann, Zabé Ellor, Emma K. Ohland, Jim McCarthy and Z Brewer in this fantastic, futuristic collection! This is an open call to fill TWO slots in OUT THERE. Black, Indigenous and Authors of Color are strongly encouraged to apply. Authors may be published or unpublished, agented or unagented. Your submissions will be considered by the review panel, featuring Saundra Mitchell, and and award-winning authors Tehlor Kay Mejia and Julian Winters. Mejia appeared in ALL OUT, and Winters appeared in OUT NOW. The story requirements are simple: 4-8 thousand words YA fiction set in the future (any genre) Queer author, queer protagonist The story you wish you had when you were 16 Does not have to be #ownvoices Does not have to contain romantic elements What you get if selected: Publication in OUT THERE: Into the Queer New Yonder anthology, edited by Saundra Mitchell; published by Inkyard Press. $900 (US) plus a pro-rated share of any royalties received on the sale of the anthology. We ask for exclusive rights...

Deadline: March 1st, 2021 (Doesn't open until February 1st.) Payment: 3 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: This is an open theme, though you'll likely want to include quite a bit of gore! GOREFEST: The title says it all. We at The Evil Cookie Publishing prefer our horror with a heavy hitting dosage of gore and carnage. First, we gave you BREWTALITY, then BLUDGEON TOOLS. There’s no better way to celebrate our first year of publishing horror than with a festival of gore. THIS IS AN OPEN THEMED ANTHOLOGY. SUBMISSION CALL DETAILS: Short story MAX 3,000 word count. No reprints No simultaneous subs No multiple subs Nothing involving children (not even implied) or religious plots Payment: 3 cents per word + 1 paperback contributor copy Manuscripts: 12pt font, double-spaced and as .DOC or .DOCX Do not send story in body of email. Responses usually within a month, but could be longer depending on size of sub pile. Send stories to: [email protected] Subject line: Gore Sub: (story title) by (author name) Include brief bio, if I don’t already know you, just to break the ice. OPENS: February 1, 2021 (anything sent before will be deleted) DEADLINE: March 1, 2021 Via: The Evil Cookie.

Deadline: March 1st, 2021 Payment: $25 Theme: Extreme Horror Theme: Extreme Horror No Reprints Stories must be from 2,000-7,000 words Submissions Deadline: March 1st Payment: $25 What We Want We want Extreme horror stories! Think Wrath James White, Edward Lee, Shane McKenzie, or J.F. Gonzalez. If you can write a story that will churn our stomachs or make us fear what's behind the shower curtain, send it in and we'll read it and decide if it is Extreme enough for our anthology. We are looking for 8-10 horror stories in the same vein as the aforementioned authors above. Email us at [email protected] with your submission. Your submission must be 12 point font, new times roman, double spaced and sent as doc or docx. When you send out the email, make sure to put "no anesthetic" submission, title of your story, and your author name in subject line. Links to our website and social media Website: https://authornicholasgray.wixsite.com/sipublishing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SplatterInkPublishing Instagram: Splatter Ink Publishing (@splatter_ink_publishing) We don't want to promise a specific time we'll contact you back regarding your submission, but depending on how many emails we receive, allow us at least four to eight weeks to contact you back with a decision letter.

Deadline: March 1st, 2021 Payment: $10 and a contributors copy Theme: A circus and carnival themed collection of horror stories. Popcorn and candy apples, games and rides, laughter and fun, the carnival is all about good times, isn't it? Dark Carnival is a circus and carnival themed collection of horror stories. Submission Guidelines: ​​ Must be clean and edited to the best of your ability Submissions cannot be published elsewhere. Simultaneous submissions okay (but please let us know if yours is accepted elsewhere) 3000-8000 words Submissions must be 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double spaced with special first-line indentation of 0.5" Submissions must be in .Docx or .Doc format with 1" margins all around No child abuse, please. We will not be accepting graphic sexual scenes however use your discretion on what fits the story. Publication and Payment Submissions closed March 10th Announcements on accepted stories to be sent by April 1 2021, a memorandum to be sent for signing at this time May 1st 2021 planned release date A one time payment of $10 plus author copy per acceptance Additional author copies available at cost Minimum of 8, max of 15 stories Via: Macabre Ladies.

Deadline: March 2nd, 2021 Payment: 6 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world. Note: Reprints welcome     Submissions Schedule We have a new submissions schedule as of June 1, 2020: The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. Only one submission per person. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. We pay 6¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 6¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles. For new poetry, we pay $1 a line, reprints would be 50¢ a line, up to 40 lines. We’ll look at longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 6¢ per word. We began The Kepler Award to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways. You can learn about The Kepler Award here. You can read a copy of our standard contract here.   It can be varied as needed to include the rights of translators, voice actors, etc. Writers Guidelines We accept new work as well as reprints, prose and poetry, anywhere from 1000 word flash fiction on up, but all else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored.   We have tough standards but only care about the quality of the writing, storytelling ability, characters, plot, and ideas, not whether you’re new or established.  Submit only work you are proud of —...

Deadline: March 1st-3rd 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk. Hi there! We’ll no doubt write more about this later in the next year, but for now, what follows below will tell you all you need to know. And the theme? It’s “Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk.” (No more submissions are being accepted for publication in December of 2020–but we will be publishing stories that have already been accepted.) The following is relevant to all submissions for 2021, and the first submission window opens Jan. 1. More below.   Writing opportunities for 2021 include:   New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are almost or entirely new or are just new takes on old tales are all welcome. Mashups of existing fairy tales are welcome as well. Submissions must follow the theme below to be considered.   Essays: Nonfiction articles about any aspect fairy tales and folklore are being sought. The term “essay” just means you’ll be writing about fairy-tale related matters in a nonfiction article.  Creative nonfiction is welcome. You do not have to stick to the theme, but you can.   Poetry: Poetry inspired by fairy tales and that follows the theme is also welcome.   Please read the following in its entirety before submitting.   Want to know what is likely to get published here? There are well over 10 years of stories, essays and art on this current site. It’s the best place to start if you want to be published here.   HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT AND FORMAT   Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at EC in 2021.   * Writers will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories/essays/poems 11 times this year. Since we will be choosing four works per publishing month, there are 44 slots...