Events

Deadline: February 29, 2016 Payment: $20 Length:          2,000 to 4,000 words (exceptional stories can have fewer, or more, words than our suggested guidelines)   WHAT WE WANT: We’re looking for crisp, out-of-the-box, modern, and unique urban legends that’ll be told around campfires for the next century. Give us your ghosts, faeries, cryptids, killers, and creepy kids, but tread carefully around the trap of retelling an urban legend that’s already been told. Tales from the Lake: Volume 3 is not horror-specific whatsoever, but steer clear of romance and cutesy stories. Give us a new generation of beautifully crafted urban legends that’s diverse and meaningful; something we’ve never seen before, set in places we’ve only ever dreamt of going.   WHAT WE DON’T WANT: It’s simple, really: Don’t give us vampires and werewolves unless you’re Anne Rice, and don’t give us zombies unless you’re Jonathan Maberry. We’re not easily offended, but the unnecessary use of graphic violence and explicit sexual encounters should be avoided unless it’s crucial to the plot. That said, the slightest hint of animal cruelty gets you an automatic rejection letter, and no exceptions will be made in this regard. Profanity is okay, just don’t overdo it. Other than that; show us what you’re made of.   SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Stories should be formatted as doc or docx files. Further guidelines are as follows: Times New Roman, 12pt, single spaced, justified. 1" margins, 1/2" indent. No spaces between paragraphs, and use *** for scene breaks Contact information must be on the first page of document No headers, footers or page numbers Include a short (2-4 sentences) bio, written in third person at the end of your document. In the subject line of your email, please put: Tales from the Lake: Vol 3 Submission – “Title of Story” – Your Name....

Deadline: February 29, 2016 Payment: $25 plus a contributor’s copy BLOOD, SWEAT & FEARS: Horror Inspired by the 1970s The 1970s often seem like the dreaded hangover from the 1960s, representing a time of particular unease in American life. It was a time of painful, disconcerting transition, a time when old economic sureties imploded in light of rampant uncertainties, while rock music, polyester and paranoia ruled the day. It’s no accident that some of the most classic (and/or infamous) horror movies of the genre arose in the 1970s—Duel (1971), The Last House on the Left (1972), The Exorcist (1973), Black Christmas (1974), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Jaws (1975), The Omen (1976), Halloween (1978), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Magic (1978) and even Alien (1979)—all of these (and many more) tapped into the fear and unease that thrived in the 1970s. Nosetouch Press is bringing you Blood, Sweat & Fears: Horror Inspired by the 1970s to capture the essence of the horror of living in the weird 1970s. We welcome any horror, provided that it faithfully represents the oh-so-creepy, grit-under-the-fingernails vibe of the 1970s, and really captures the time period between 1970 through 1979 — we’re not looking for splattercore and excessive gore, so much as rampant paranoia and dread hanging like smog over everything. Put on your bellbottoms, your clogs and your satin shirts and write the best original 1970s-inspired horror story you can imagine, and send them our way. Beyond the grimy 1970s horror vibe, thematically, the stories can be wide open, but all submissions should radiate that discordant ‘70s vibe that gave us Son of Sam and other infamous serial killers, Three Mile Island, Jonestown, Watergate and CREEP, and many other things. No reprints, please. Submission Schedule Submissions Accepted: December 1, 2015 through February 29, 2016 Length:...

Deadline: February 29th, 2016 Payment: 2 cents per word. and digital copy Announcing open submissions for Triangulation: Beneath The Surface, Parsec Ink’s speculative fiction annual for 2016. We’re looking for outstanding speculative fiction from new and established writers. Impress us with your best interpretation of our theme. Be creative, be unique, show us what hides, lurks, or thrives…beneath the surface. Theme:  Beneath the Surface Submissions Open: December 1st 2015 Submissions Close: February 29th, 2016 Word Count: We will consider fiction up to 6,000 words. There is no minimum word count. Genre: We are a speculative fiction market.  We accept science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories.  Please do not send stories without any speculative element. Compensation: We pay 2 cents per word.  Authors will also receive an e-book and print version of the anthology and wholesale pricing for additional printed copies (typically 50% of cover price). Rights: We purchase North American Serial Rights, and Electronic Rights for downloadable version(s). All subsidiary rights released upon publication. Submissions: We do not accept reprints, multiple submissions, or simultaneous submissions.  If we reject a story before the end of the reading period, feel free to send another. We love creative interpretations of our themes, but we do require that stories fit the current theme. We will run mature content if we like the story and if the mature content is integral to the story. We will not accept fanfic, even if it’s of a fictional universe that has passed into public domain. How To Submit: Electronic submissions make our lives easier. Please upload your story via Submittable. If this is your first time submitting to a publication that utilizes Submittable, you will need to create an account with them. It’s free. SUBMIT YOUR STORY HERE!   Manuscript Format: Please use industry standard manuscript format. We’re not testing you to see if you can follow...

Deadline: February 29th 2016 Payment: $5 advance and an equal share of fifty percent of the royalties received from sale of the anthology. BEFORE READING FURTHER, PLEASE TAKE NOTE.  We are seeking short fiction in the Speculative Fiction genre (by which we mean to be the umbrella term for the wide and varied range of Science Fiction and Fantasy subgenres).  The stories are to be inspired by (by which we mean drawn from, informed by, derived from) the author's personal experiences of being Jewish.  What does this mean to us?  More to the point, what does this mean to YOU?  We feel that the Jewish tent is a big tent, and want this collection to reflect that belief.  These stories can be explicitly about the Jewish Experience (past, present or future), but they can also be stories that take place on a spaceship, a distant planet, under the ocean, in the afterlife or in another dimension.  As long as it is Speculative Fiction, and something about the story was inspired or influenced by your Jewish Experience, it is a story we'd like to consider for our collection. Another note:  If your story has Nazis in it, please don't bother submitting.  No exceptions. The Jewish Experience is ripe for stories that express one, or both, of two of the primary themes to be found in Speculative Fiction.  The idea of The Other; Someone or something that is apart or different from the supposed mainstream.  And the idea of the Not Other; The exploration of what it means to realize our potential as humans, asmenschen.  But don't feel limited to these; one of the great things about Spec-Fic is that the possibilities are literally endless. Word count and Deadline:  Between 500 and 10,000 words.  These are guidelines, not laws; if you have a great story that runs a few...

Deadline: Feb 29th, 2016 Payment: $5 + contributor copy Reprints Allowed Note: From our limited experience with them, this publisher seems to truly care about writer concerns in a way we fully support! The First United Church of Cthulhu is looking for modern, urban fiction set within the world of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. If we get a high number of quality submissions early on then submission acceptance will be cut off before the deadline.     Deadline: Feb 29, 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 Modern, urban setting in the world of the Cthulhu Mythos. Setting does not have to be a gritty Times Square locale, just no isolated mansions in the middle of nowhere or cabin in the woods type of cliches. Do not overuse the monsters in the sewers and subways cliche. It can be part of the story but should not be the main focus/location. This is not a Godzilla anthology. Cthulhu is not going to wake up and destroy Tokyo while getting hit with nukes. English only. Non-exclusive anthology rights. Reprints and multiple submissions are allowed.  Author retains copyright. Payment is via Paypal. Pictures can be printed with the story (they will be black and white). Images should be .jpg or .png and 300 dpi is recommended but not necessary. Make sure you have clearance to use the image(s) and send with any necessary copyright information that would need to be listed. Email your story as an attached .doc file to bitter_venus yahoo.com with Urban Temples of Cthulhu as the subject. Via: First United Church Of Cthuluhu.

Deadline: February 29th, 2016 Payment: $0.04 a word to a maximum payment of $300.00 Note: They aren't looking for horror but some of the SF themes here cross over so I felt you'd want the option! Science Fiction is our conversation with the future. But what if that conversation went on forever? Bundoran Press Publishing House will open for submissions from December 21st, 2015 to February 29th, 2016 for a new anthology of science fiction stories to be edited by Michael Rimar and Hayden Trenholm. Publication is planned for October 2016. Lazarus Risen will seek SF (no fantasy or horror, please) short stories that explore the economic, political, social and psychological consequences of life extension, human cloning, the hard upload and other forms of the biological singularity. Dreams of immortality and eternal youth are almost as old as human culture itself. But what would the world look like if everyone could live and be young forever? What would it look like if only some of us had that privilege? These are only some of the questions your story might try to answer. Surprise us, shock us, illuminate us but most of all tell us a great story. Payment for first world English rights (print and digital) will be $0.04 a word to a maximum payment of $300.00 (all figures Canadian dollars). Our preferred length is 3500 to 6500 words. We will accept stories of any length to 10,000 words (longer than 10,000 WILL NOT BE READ) but the maximum payment will remain $300.00. Stories will be accepted from around the world but we are not interested in reprints. Payment on publication. Please submit in .rtf, .doc or .docx format. In the title line of e-mail put: SUBMISSION LR:"Title of your story." Include a brief cover letter in the body of...

Deadline: February 29, 2016 Payment: $0.02 per word + contributor copy. Note: Reprints Only I’ll be publishing an anthology of reprint stories in the summer of 2016 titled FUNNY FANTASY. It will follow on the heels of FUNNY SCIENCE FICTION, my 2015 reprint anthology. For this book I’m seeking stories that are: Funny. Fantasy. 500 – 7500 words in length Were originally printed in the last ten years (2005-present) Were printed in curated venues paying at least $0.01 per word – for this book please don’t send material from token and non-paying venues, self-published, posted on your blog, published in magazine/anthology you yourself edited, previously unpublished, etc. Please do not send stories you previously submitted to any volume ofUnidentified Funny Objects or Coffee anthologies. Payment: $0.02 per word + contributor copy. Rights sought: Non-exclusive print and electronic rights (aka I’d like to include your story in paper and e-book editions of FUNNY FANTASY and keep it in print for as long as I’d like. All other rights remain with the author.) How to submit: E-mail submissions as an RTF, DOC, or DOCX attachment to: ufoeditors @ gmail dot com Format the subject line as follows: FF: <Story Title> by <Author> (Approx. Length) Example: FF: Dreidel of Dread by Alex Shvartsman (800 words) In the body of the email please specify where and when the story was originally published. If this info isn’t included I will assume the story breaks one of the guidelines above and send a form rejection. Response times: I will try to reply within a week or two with either a rejection or a bump notice. Final decisions will be made in the Spring. Since these are reprints and I require no exclusivity, feel free to submit them elsewhere at the same time. Please send one story...

Deadline: March 1, 2016 Payment: 3 cents a word Comet Press is seeking short stories for an erotic horror anthology to be published in the summer of 2016. We are looking for the most gruesome, twisted, disturbing, erotic stories that push the boundaries of sex and horror and we don't have any content restrictions (except for kiddie content, of course). Reading period: From September 28, 2015--March 1, 2016 (or until filled). Word length: up to 9,000 words. Multiple submissions: Up to two stories per author can be submitted. Please send as separate emails. PAYMENT We have a funding campaign on Kickstarter for this anthology. Payment is 3 cents a word, unless we meet our funding campaign on Kickstarter, then payment will be bumped up to 6 cents.We really want to pay authors the professional rate and that is the whole purpose of the crowdfunder. Help us fund this book on Kickstarter! Payment will be made upon publication.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cometpress/stiff-things-an-erotic-horror-anthology Reprints: No reprints. Response Time: 3–4 weeks. Rejections will be sent as soon as possible. Stories that make the first cut will be kept until the end of the reading period. Authors will be notified right away if their story makes the first cut, then the final stories will be selected at the end of the reading period. We will send a confirmation that we received your story within 2 days. If you do not get this confirmation, please feel free to inquire or resubmit. WHAT TO SEND: In the body of the email please include: your name, pen name if any, address and email address, and bio. Include a brief blurb summing up the story and word count. Attach the story in a standard formatted .rtf or word document Put “STIFF THNGS SUBMISSION: TITLE OF YOUR STORY” in the subject of the...

Deadline: 3/1/16 Payment: $5-$20 depending on length "We are not afraid." Body Parts Magazine is an online literary magazine of horror, erotica, speculative fiction, essays and art. Each themed issue honors Eros and Thanatos, the Greek gods of libido and mortido—life and death. We celebrate the vast and various expressions of dreams and darkness, our primitive desires and urges, and seek to encounter—and embrace—those shadowy monsters who dwell in the dimly lit corners of human experience. Submission Guidelines Upcoming Themes Submissions for each issue are accepted through the last day of each reading period (if specified). You are welcome to submit material for any issue--simply indicate which issue you would like your work to be considered for. Issue #6: Grave Robbing (Spring/Summer 2016) Disinterment. Theft. Exhumation and ossuaries. Unspeakable crimes. Corpses of the past (events, relationships, ideas, cultures and cities). What inappropriate, grim and morbid things or people do we long for when they are gone? What incites one to dig up the dead, reanimate the deceased or dig through decayed remains in search of some treasured item, memory or ideal? In what horrific ways do we serve as the archaeologists of our own fates and futures? ​Submission deadline: 3/01/16 Fiction Body Parts accepts well-written, thoughtfully structured horror, erotic horror, speculative fiction, dark fantasy (including fairy tales and mythology), exceptional stories about ghosts, ghouls, monsters and wretched creatures, Gothic fiction, and all combinations of the above. Our boundaries are few and far between. Flash Fiction: 1,000 words or fewer. Short Stories: up to 8,000 words. Serialized Long Fiction: query us with total word count. Art/Photography We accept your original artwork and photography reflective of an issue’s theme. Email a link to your art online (web, Dropbox, Google album, etc.) Essays & Interviews We accept short essays and interviews (up to 1200 words) about topics that...

Deadline: March 1st, 2016 Payment: 1 cent per word (negotiable). You know the songs. They’re etched into every punk’s brain. Not just because they’re catchy, but because there’s something else there. Glenn Danzig’s lyrics evoke intense imagery. Beautiful, dark, monstery imagery. There’s poetry between the whoa-oh-ohs. There are stories in those songs. They just need to be told. Hybrid Moments will be a collection of short stories inspired by the songs of The Misfits. Edited by MP Johnson and Sam Richard, Hybrid Moments will be published in Fall of 2016 by Weirdpunk Books. Your stories are needed. Choose a song by The Misfits (Danzig-era only) and let it inspire you to create a story. Maintain the tone of the song, but be original. A story about a man hacking the heads off little girls and putting them on his wall is not going to cut it for this book. A story told from the point of view of one of the skulls on the wall is more likely to get our attention. Get crazy. Stories should only be based on songs that were not inspired by movies. We are not looking for novelizations of “Night of the Living Dead.” (Information on the inspiration behind various songs) Stories should not feature members of The Misfits. However, creativity trumps all rules. A good example of a creative way to break the rules that would get our attention would be to rewrite Lewis’s Bloodfeast starring the members of The Misfits (seriously, somebody do this). Stories must not contain the Crimson Ghost due to copyright issues. All submissions must include the name of the song that inspired it and a brief description of how the story ties to the song. Do not name your story after the song that inspired it. Follow standard manuscript...