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Deadline: August 31st, 2015 Payment: $.05 per word Geminid Press, LLC plans to publish a conspiracy and cover-up anthology tentatively entitled, Conspiracy Hour, in mid- to late 2015. The theme of this short story anthology revolves around the following: Freak us out with the most awesome conspiracy and cover-up tale you dare to divulge. Raise our suspicions and make us question reality! Your original short story should address and build upon this theme and have a word count between 1000 and 7500 words. See the Submission Guidelines page for more details. Contributors whose original stories are accepted for publication in this anthology will be paid $.05 per word. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you! - See more at: http://geminidpress.com/send_us_your_short_stories/conspiracy_hour/#sthash.HEUFvzlr.dpuf Be sure this story addresses the Conspiracy Hour anthology Short Story Submission Guidelines Word count requirement – 1000 or so to about 7500 words, give or take some. Please put your full contact details on the first page of the short story top left. Also, please include your word count total for us so we have an idea up front. Document format – We’re really big fans of MS Word docs, and RTFs too! Courier or Times New Roman set at 12pt. Italics as they will appear. Double spaced. In the Cover Letter section of this submission form, please include a paragraph-length or so author biography, a one-sentence tagline describing your story, and a two to three paragraph synopsis. Rights We purchase First Electronic Rights, First Print Rights, Anthology Rights, First North American Serial Rights, Nonexclusive Reprint Rights, Translation Rights and Archival Rights. Please remember that you can only sell your various “First” rights once. You will only be able to market your accepted story as a reprint, once we have published it, which may limit where you can submit it to in the future,...

Deadline: August 31st, 2015 Payment: 4% royalties after costs, plus a copy of the book Ever seen that episode of Buffy called ‘Beer Bad’, where the local beers have been enchanted to turn students into Neanderthals? Ever had a really bad night on the booze where you wake up with vague memories and feel like death warmed up? Ever wondered what they did to the beer? Well, wonder no more, because here is your chance to write it. Weird Ales, due for release 2016, featuring a fantastic cover by Luke Spooner, will be an anthology about ales, beer, wines or taverns of ill repute. Use your imagination but so long as there is a supernatural or horror theme to the story it will fit the guidelines. Guidelines Word count should be between 2,000 and 6,000 words, with an ideal length: 4,000-5,000 words. Please follow standard manuscript format and under no circumstances use the Tab key or the Space Bar to indent your paragraphs. Either do not indent at all or use MS Word’s built in features to do so. Submissions should be .doc, .docx, or .rtf format, typed in Courier or Times New Roman, size 12. Include your full name, address, email address and telephone number at the beginning of the manuscript. Send to [email protected] with the subject line “SURNAME/ALES/WORDCOUNT”. 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. Via: KnightWatch Press

Deadline: August 31, 2015 Payment: Royalty plus contributor e-book copy. Due to the success of our first horror anthology, Papa Bear Press plans to release a second volume, Creature Stew II, showcasing veteran writers and talented newcomers, alike. What we are looking for: Vampires, werewolves, zombies, demons, creatures from the deep, and all things hideous and terrifying in between! Monsters in exotic locales, monsters in space, monsters laying waste to entire cities, microscopic creatures wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. Use your imagination and scare us silly with your abominable creation. Graphic violence is acceptable if integral to the story. We are not interested in excessive profanity or erotica. Focus on crafting a well-written narrative with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Be sure to give plenty of thought to the following elements: setting, character, plot, conflict. No simultaneous submissions, multiple submissions, or reprints. We are only interested in original fiction. We do not discriminate on publication status. We are actively seeking emerging writers. Please use standard manuscript format for all submissions. See our Short Story Submissions Guide. Deadline: August 31, 2015 or until filled Length: 500-4500 words Payment: Royalty plus contributor e-book copy. Via: Papa Bear Press.

Deadline: August 31st, 2015 Payment: 1 cent USD per word and electronic contributor's copy Tacitus Publishing's 2015 anthology project is - HAUNTED BY THE PAST. We are looking for short fiction (1,500 to 5,000 words) that pays tribute to some of the past greats - M. R. James, Algernon Blackwood, Sheridan Le Fanu. The story should be a ghost story that carries the tone, stylistic language, and/or classic story structure. We are not interested in overwhelming gore or mature content. This should be an original piece of work. Submission process: There are two options, either using the submission form on the website or sending an email. For either choice, we ask that you attach the story as an rtf (rich text format) file. email: submission(at)tacituspublishing.com subject line should read: Haunted Anthology (This maybe pushing it based on the possibility of being overwhelmed, but we may offer quick critiques or suggestions to submitters in our responses. Tacitus Publishing wants to continue with its writer-friendly approach by offering any small amount of assistance we can.) Cover letter and quick biography: Please put the cover letter in the body of the form or email. The structuring of the letter should include - · your name · contact info - address, phone, email · title of the story · a one sentence summary of your story · word count · brief bio and quick list of published work Submission format: We are not concerned with the overall format of the body of your work but do ask for some page formatting to assist our reviewing process. Please add to each page - · top left - author's name · top right - title · bottom - page number Simultaneous and multiple submissions: We will not accept simultaneous submissions. We will accept multiple submissions if...

Deadline: August 31st, 2015 Payment: $10(US)/piece + a hard copy of the issue your piece appears in, OR two hard copies of the issue your piece appears in (author’s choice). Despumation Journal Before you do anything, read this. To get a good idea as to what we’re looking for, click here. We’re really looking for stories based on specific metal songs. The Guidelines: -No wacky fonts. The editor prefers Baskerville or Georgia. 12pt min. 1.5 line space. Use italics, not underlining. We expect professional submissions–do not send us your first, unread, unproofed draft. -Word count: 3000-5000. We’re generally looking for short stories. We will take a look at flash fiction and poetry. Note: We get a lot of pieces that hover between flash and the 3K-word min for short stories–we really don’t prefer that. -Please include page numbers. Also, your name, title of the piece, approx. word count, and contact info on the title page. -Please indicate, in the body of the email, what song the story was inspired by and the band who performs/wrote the song. -Docx or doc only, thank you. -Simultaneous submissions are okay (just let us know if a piece has been accepted elsewhere), but please nothing that has been published previously. –Send to: [email protected] (electronic subs only) -Subject line: Fiction Sub, or Non-Fiction Sub Deadlines: Issue #2: Full, due out March 2015 Issue #3: Jan 1st, 2015 – April 30th, 2015 Issue #4: May1st, 2015 – August 31st, 2015 Issue #5: Sept 1st, 2015 – Dec 31st, 2015 Payment: $10(US)/piece + a hard copy of the issue your piece appears in, OR two hard copies of the issue your piece appears in (author’s choice). Via: Despumation Press.

Deadline: August 31st, 2015 Payment: 5¢ a word Before submitting to SpeckLit, please read the submission details below carefully, then fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page to let us know a bit about yourself. Do not send us your submissions directly. We want to get to you know you first. Include your pen name, website, Twitter, and a link to your most recently published work (if you have one) in your initial contact. Fiction:  We are suckers for plot. If it ain’t got plot, it ain’t a story. We want each piece to have the feeling of a beginning, a middle, and an end (or inciting incident, attempt(s) to fix it, and climax). All fiction must be original. There are lots of places for fanfic – this isn’t one of them. And finally, of course, it also has to be speculative – fantasy, science fiction, myth fairy tale, dark fantasy, etc… – but no erotica and no gore. A well-placed swear word, the recognition that we are sexual beings, and off-camera violence are all okay, but within limits, eh? Besides, with the focus on plot, there’s no time to get all graphic. Titles do not count as part of the 100 words, and after your drabble, add a bit of an explanation of how you got there from the topic (but remember to keep it short!). Non-fiction: We also publish drabble-length reviews of spec-fic containing media – books, movies, video games, comics, TV shows (or even specific outstanding episodes of TV shows), etc… Make sure your reviews are non-nasty (negative reviews are fine, but be nice!), and of course, spoiler free. Again, you don’t have much space, so get to the point. Your hundred words do not need to include the title, author, director, stars,...

Deadline: August 31, 2015. Payment: 6 cents per word against a pro rata share of royalties We are currently accepting submissions for our first anthology of short fiction, Futuristica Volume 1. The last day to submit your manuscript for consideration is August 31, 2015. All submissions received by 10:35 PM EST on May 25th, 2015 should have received a “Submission Received” email by now. If you haven’t received an email, something went wrong and we don’t have your story on file yet. We are currently reviewing stories submitted between May 17th and May 19th. Submissions Guidelines & Payment Information We pay 6 cents per word against a pro rata share of royalties. We buy first rights and exclusive eBook rights for 6 months after the date of publication. We do not purchase reprints. We accept simultaneous submissions. Manuscripts should be in standard manuscript format. Manuscripts should be between 3,000 and 10,000 words. No prior publishing experience is required. Story Criteria Story content must be original. We do not accept fan fiction or derivative works. We prize diversity, specifically stories that include multicultural backgrounds or lead characters of atypical ethnic origins. Basically, while we have nothing against heterosexual white American males, we feel they are already adequately represented in science fiction and we want stories about the rest of humanity. We are interested in character-oriented fiction. Women Positive We want stories with awesome female protagonists. Zoë Washburn? YES! Princess Leia? Definitely! That blonde girl from The Temple of Doom? No! Bella? Hahahaha. No. Sex Positive Can the story contain sexual content? Absolutely! However, the sexual content should be integral to the story, but not the whole story. Does there have to be sex in the story? Nope. No demeaning sex acts. No rape. Period. Science Positive Stories should explore science fiction, scientific fantasy, space opera, emerging technologies, etc… We have a preference for...

Deadline: August 31st, 2015 Payment: $0.01 per word up to $150 and a split of the profit if the anthology makes one. Here at Wicked Tales we believe an author should write their stories the way they want to. It doesn’t matter what font you use, how big or small the print is, but please use .RTF,  .DOC, .DOCX or .OTD files when submitting to us. Please remember NOT to use strange formatting. Ensure you have a return or enter keyed in at the end of each paragraph, not each line. Avoid using the “Tab” in your document. Send your submission to our parent company at [email protected] with the subject “Short Story Submission – Muffled Scream”. What we are looking for Short Stories – The life blood of an author, short stories can fuel the imagination with so few words. Ranging from 3,000 to 20,000 words, your writing could easily be the pivotal story of our anthology series. The theme for the first Muffled Screams is “Corner of the Eye”. Submissions for the first Muffled Screams opens June 1st and closes August 31st. How to submit to us Submitting to us is easy. You only need two things – Your short story and a small two paragraph bio of yourself. This should be supplied with your manuscript. Attach both to an email entitled “Short Story Submission – Muffled Scream” indicating which anthology you are submitting to and send it to our submissions email address. This email address is set to delete emails with no attachments. If you have a question, please use the contact us form. This is very important. Don’t run the risk of not having your short story published. Please remember to include your bio. Several short stories were received without one, and your submission will be returned if one is not included. We are starting to get busy! Once...

Deadline: August 31t, 2015 Payment: $50 Robot Cowgirl wants you to write a squamous tale of those ancient, unnameable evils which lie in the outer dark, those cephalopodic nightmares which come for us in the night. Cthulhu calls, but he’s not looking for the same old, same old—give us a fresh catch. “And with strange aeons even death may die,” but most of the copyrights for Lovecraft’s genre-defining canon have passed into the great beyond. Yet the enduring power of these tales persists. From Lovecraft’s 1919 Dagon to 1943’s Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Lovecraft managed to create worlds which existed in the specific places and times of the writer’s experience, but which also transcended those times, invoking mysteries as old as the universe itself which might dwell in madness until the end of time. Following our general submission guidelines, tell us a Lovecraftian tale which summons the ancient evils and heinous otherworldliness of the Cthulhu mythos, but which updates Lovecraft for a new generation, or which spins the context of his tales in entirely new directions. Write well, write with a firm grounding in the mythos, but surprise us. Submissions are due 31 August 2015. Stories should be between 3,000 and 8,000 words. Unlike our previous calls from the lost city of R’lyeh for submissions, this one does build on an existing canon. We will be double-checking, for your protection and ours, that anything you reference in your story is outside copyrights. That said, most everything Lovecraft is fair game. Preference will be given to tales which imbue the Lovecraftian mystique with diversity, humanism, and complexity. On acceptance, payment will be US$50 per story. Via: Robot Cowgirll.

Deadline: August 31st 2015 Payment: $0.03 per word up to $225 Betwixt is open to submissions as of midnight eastern time on July 1. Issue 9 will be guest edited by Jensen Toperzer and Bethany Zaiatz. FICTION Genres and Content: Betwixt publishes speculative fiction of all sorts—fantasy, science fiction, speculative horror, slipstream, weird fiction, steam/diesel/cyber/etc.punk, you name it. We particularly like stories that smash genre boundaries to smithereens, but we also love fresh takes on established genres and in-depth explorations of ultraspecific niches. Experiments in form and style are welcomed enthusiastically—but a straightforward narrative with tight, crisp language is just as beautiful. When it comes down to it, we want stories that will amaze us, astound us, provoke our thoughts, and boggle our minds. Betwixt supports diversity in speculative fiction and welcomes stories by and about individuals of all ages, classes, disabilities, ethnicities, genders, nationalities, races, religions, and sexual orientations. Please don’t send multiple or simultaneous submissions, stories that have been published (including self-published) previously, or poetry. We are not seeking unsolicited nonfiction at this time. We strongly encourage writers to read at least one issue of the magazine before submitting. Our current issue is located here, and back issues can be found here. Length: Stories of 4,000 to 7,000 words are ideal, but we will consider a range from 1,000 to 30,000 words. Rights: Betwixt purchases first worldwide English-language serial, electronic, and print rights. Each story we acquire will be published on betwixtmagazine.com, in an electronic and print-on-demand quarterly issue, and in an electronic and print-on-demand yearly anthology. We may also excerpt stories for promotional purposes. The author retains all other rights. We do not publish unsolicited reprints, and we ask that stories we publish not appear anywhere else for three months after publication. For example, if a story is...