Events

Deadline: October 20th, 2016 Payment: $25usd Seeking authors with a penchant for the Twilight Zone, X-Files, Dark Mirror, Alfred Hitchcock, Night Gallery, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Buy the ticket and step into the last Carnival you will ever attend! Authors, let your darkest ideas and fantasy unite at the Carnival of Madness. Psycho-thrillers invite their audience to be a part of the nightmare that you create! So….Wanna go for a ride? Participating Authors so far: Bill McCormick, Virginia Carraway Stark, Dutch Walden… 5k up to 7K Word Count per story. $25 contributor payout and a contributor copy of “Carnival of Madness.” Deadline for submission is October 20th with a release date in time for a dark and thankless Thanksgiving!! Please send submissions to: [email protected] [email protected] Via: Azoth Khem Publishing.

Deadline: October 21, 2016 Payment: A variety of prizes you can see below. Open your creative veins and enter the I CAN TASTE THE BLOOD FLASH FICTION CONTEST for a chance to win CASH PRIZES and have your submission PUBLISHED in I CAN TASTE THE BLOOD, the new anthology from Grey Matter Press. BACKGROUND I CAN TASTE THE BLOOD is the latest release from Grey Matter Press and features five disturbing visions from five diverse authors that include Josh Malerman, John F.D. Taff, Erik T. Johnson, J. Daniel Stone and Joe Schwartz. The authors’ sole inspiration for their work was the cryptic message scrawled on a graffiti-scarred bathroom wall that read, simply: “I can taste the blood.” Now it’s your chance to do the same and reap some awesome rewards. Enter the I CAN TASTE THE BLOOD FLASH FICTION CONTEST and three lucky winners will receive cash prizes and have their stories published alongside those of the contributors in all digital versions of I CAN TASTE THE BLOOD sold at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and digital booksellers worldwide. READERS HELP DETERMINE THE OUTCOME Readers will play a crucial role in selecting contest winners. Helping to influence the outcome, readers will vote for their favorite submissions. The three pieces receiving the most votes will be named the Reader’s Choices. Each of these submissions automatically advance and will receive one point in the overall judging, effectively making the voting public — your friends, your family and your colleagues — members of the juried panel. JUDGING SUBMISSIONS In addition to those pieces selected as Reader’s Choices, Grey Matter Press will assemble a jury to review all submissions. The members of this jury will included the contributors to I CAN TASTE THE BLOOD and Grey Matter Press editors. Each member of the jury...

Deadline: October 25th, 2016 Payment: Contributor's Copy Note: I apologize on the short call, just stumbled across this publisher. Hopefully someone has something socked away for it if interested. Note #2, reprints allowed Submission Period: September 25th-October 25th   Word Count:    100-25,000 Theme:      Due to the popularity of our Princess Fairy Tale Anthology, we are opening submissions for another fairy tale theme. For this anthology, we are looking for stories that focus on strong heroines. We want to see stories of damsels who save themselves instead of waiting for a man to do the job for them. We want Rapunzel to find her own way out of the tower, the little mermaid to shove that dagger into the prince's heart and win back her life, Snow White to shove that poisoned apple into the queen's face... you get the idea. All genres and styles are accepted as long as the story is based on an actual fariy tale. The fairy tale does not have to be well known; we love reading the obscure ones just as much as Snow White and Cinderella. We will not publish erotica in our normal monthly issues, but we do know that this is a very popular genre, which is why we are going to accept erotica submissions for anthology publication.  However, please do not send us: Incest (step relations are fine), underage, or necrophilia (exception being supernatural anthropomorphic creatures/undead). No excrement/urine play. THESE EXEMPTIONS GO FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS FOR EVERY ANTHOLOGY. NO EXCEPTIONS.   Response Time:  Please allow up to two weeks. After that, if you don't hear from us then feel free to give us a little nudge.   Payment: Compensation for the anthology will be one paperback print copy as well as a PDF. Editing: Yes, your story will be edited if we decide to accept it. After we go through and...

Deadline: October 29th, 2016 Prizes: The first place winner will receive $10 and e-publication of their story on Nosetouchpress.com and eventual contributor's copy. Nosetouch Press is starting an ongoing short fiction contest, starting with a ghoulish Halloween-themed short story request. Short stories (3,000 to 9,000 words) will be accepted until OCTOBER 29, 2016. We will choose two winners. The first place winner will receive $10 and e-publication of their story on Nosetouchpress.com. The runner-up will also have e-publication on the website. The stories will remain online until the next round of winners is announced. Winning stories will be part of the upcoming ASTERISK ANTHOLOGY, to be published in twelve months. No reprints, please. Prose only. A paperback contributor’s copy will be provided to the winning contributors once the book is published. A signed contract will be required for publication online and in the anthology. Email entries to [email protected] .doc or .rtf format • Please state “Asterisk 1-Round 1” in your subject line. One entry per person. Via: Nose Touch Press.

Deadline: November 1st, 2016. Payment: six cents a word for prose, twenty dollars a page for poetry, art minimum twenty-five dollars per piece Note: This call has been taken down at the request of the publisher due to too many submissions not following the guidelines. Submit original fiction, nonfiction or poetry as an RTF or DOC (or art, in any compact, web-ready format) to [email protected]. If you want to know what I’m looking for, read this: Or any of these. The short version: fiction preferably at least a tiny bit speculative, nonfiction preferably more creative than journalistic, poetry tending towards the narrative and preferably with some thematic heft, art your guess is as good as mine. But the heart of what I want is your searingly personal, visceral, idiosyncratic understanding of the world and the people in it as it has been, as it is, as it will be, as it could be, as a consequence of humanity’s relationship with the earth. I am actively seeking work from Indigenous writers and artists, writers and artists of color, queer and transgendered writers and artists, and anyone who has suffered the consequences, intended or otherwise, of dominant society’s systemic disconnect with and mistreatment of the natural world. And I am actively seeking new ways to reach all of the above. Seriously, if you know of a way I can do that, please share. Simultaneous submissions are ok. Multiple submissions I’d rather you didn’t. Length: 0 – 45,000 words, inclusive. Response time remains to be seen but I’ll work hard to keep it under two months. Payment is six cents a word for prose, twenty dollars a page for poetry, art minimum twenty-five dollars per piece. Arbitrary cutoff point for the first issue: November 1, 2016. (All of the above shall be subject hopefully not...

Deadline: October 31st, 2016 Payment: $10 and digital copy Following the rabbit down the hole is the easy part. Battling time is what will kill you. Whether you’re trying to get back home or struggling to survive in Wonderland, your stories MUST be horrifying. “You act as if time is on your side. He isn’t. He’s always on his own side.” At the most basic, your story must have a clock involved. Clockpunk, clock engineering, and steampunk with clock elements is encouraged as well as the thought of time as an entity. Be creative, turn Wonderland on its ear. Twist it, tweak it, punk it. Your story may star or co-star any of the characters in the original text by Lewis Carroll, as well as characters of your own creation. Feel free to “punk” any of the characters to fit your vision, but do not use any characters from other modern day Wonderland series. A word from the editor: I don’t care how well your story is written, if it’s not scary, or horrifying, it won’t make the cut. We are HorrorAddicts.net. Bring the horror. Manuscript Format: Font: either Courier or Times New Roman. Double spaced, font 12 point. Your manuscript must be in either DOC or RTF format. 1st page header to state: author name, mailing address, email address, and word count. Following pages header to state: author name, story name, and page number. In the body of the email: 100 words or less bio about you. One sentence explaining the story attached. Your elevator pitch. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram ids Your website or blog Subject of the email state: CLOCKWORK WONDERLAND/Author Name/Story Title Send to: [email protected] No previously printed work and no simultaneous submissions. Deadline: October 31st, 2016, 11:59pm PST Length: 2,000-5,000 words Payment: $10.00 USD + digital contributor...

Deadline: October 31st, 2016 Payment: Equal percentage of royalties and contributor's copy Intro   The residents of Hell are trapped after a plane crash takes out their only bridge into town, add to that a mystery surrounding the destruction of local phone lines and a no fly zone being enforced over the town and the outside World suddenly becomes a distant memory. The residents, safe in the knowledge that they are being looked after by the authorities continue with their lives and await their bridge to be rebuilt, but Hell has other plans.   The town has since dried up its golden fortune and has become home for some 5000 people who live out their lives as a moderate tourist town plus a small industrial estate to maintain a decent workforce.   Town History   Hell is an American town in Colorado seeped in the dark history of the gold rush. The town was initially founded during the rush allowing settlers to pan in the local river and mine into the surrounding mountains. However, the rivers proofed fruitful yet treacherous resulting in many lives being swept away in their pursuit for fortune The local mine became known as the ‘Mouth of Hell’ (hence the towns name) due to the amount of miners who entered its winding tunnels, never to return. Over the years, through fear and lack of gold, the mine now lies abandoned.   The town has since dried up its golden fortune and has become home for some 5000 people who live out their lives as a moderate tourist town plus a small industrial estate to maintain a decent workforce.     Where you come in The town of Hell is in its final 7 days of existence and I need your help to help plot its demise....

Deadline: October, 31, 2016 Payment: $50/story plus a contributor’s copy Note: Read guidelines, not really a horror market but I felt it was right up many of your alleys! Copper Pen Press is currently seeking submissions of high-quality fiction for Freakshow: Freakishly Fascinating Tales of Mystery and Suspense, a forthcoming short story anthology set within the world of the traveling freak show. Writers can spin their yarns in the past, present, or future. We are looking for dark, twisted and unusual mysteries with dark, twisted and unusual characters. We want that “holy shit!” factor. No splatterpunk. No erotica. No fantasy. No horror – that is, not yet. We will be launching our horror imprint soon. Mmmmwwwwwahahahahaha. Payment: $50/story plus a contributor’s copy for non-exclusive rights. Submission Guidelines Submit only finished, non-published, original stories, between 2K and 7K words. We do not accept snail-mail submissions. Your submission package must be e-mailed [email protected]. This e-mail address should be used for no other purpose. Include the title of the story and author name in the Subject box. The manuscript should be attached, formatted as a .doc or .docx (Microsoft Word) on 8-1/2 x 11-inch paper, double spaced with one-inch margins. Use Times New Roman 12-point font. Number all pages, beginning to end, in the header. The header should also include the author’s name and title of the story. Do not type this information on each page. Use the header function of your software. Attach a second file with a short bio, your legal name, all pen names in use, your complete publishing history, and contact information including complete mailing address, e-mail, telephone and social media info. We will not take phone calls or emails regarding the status of your manuscript. We will respond to your submission once it has been read, whether we...

Deadline: October 31st, 2016 Payment: 1 cent USD per word Tacitus Publishing's 2016 anthology project is - SHATTERED SPACE.  We are looking for short fiction (1,500 to 5,000 words) that takes place in space and has a strong horror element.  This can include aliens, ghosts, or disturbing circumstance.  The key to success, as with all strong writing, is the human struggle and relatable characters.  There is a fine line drawn when writing science fiction, so please keep this in mind.  We are not interested in excessive gore, tech-driven plot lines, or Submission process: - There are two options to send your story, either using the submission form on this website or sending an email. - We ask that you attach the story as an RTF (rich text format) file.  All word processing programs offer this option, so please do. - Use Times New Roman / 12 for the font and have the lines double spaced.  Do not add extra spacing options. email:  submission(at)tacituspublishing.com subject line should read: Shattered Space 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 Page format: Please add to each page - · top left - author's name · top right - title · bottom - page number Simultaneous and multiple...

Deadline: October 31, 2016 Payment: $15 and contributor’s copy Theme: Not so long ago, human beings were cursed with fear. They clamored for hope in a world of boundless suffering and death. They called out to the heavens and summoned gods. They crafted religions that would serve as a candle against the howling night. That which alights must also burn. A zealot spits venomous words from his pulpit, his congregation listening and nodding, their disgust with their neighbors boiling into a riotous rage. A girl returns from Bible Camp nine-months pregnant with God’s child—images of a golden flame pressing on her chest, paralyzing her, flood her nightmares. Heaven replaces its angels with automata, dispensing salvation and damnation with callous efficiency. Book of Blasphemous Words is a weird fiction, horror, and speculative fiction anthology about humanity’s relationship with its gods. When we answer the call for salvation from the bondage of the material—when we believe in gods—we reach a hand into the unknown and risk losing it to something peckish. When we forget the power of the hearth, we risk a conflagration that can return civilization to the dirt whence it has come. Simultaneous Submissions: Sure, but please let us know immediately if it was accepted somewhere else. Multiple Submissions: Yes Reprints: Yes, but let us know where it has been previously printed and make sure you have the rights to have it reprinted. Word Count: Up to 10k words. Formatting: This is a very good guide if you have any questions. You can't really go wrong with it. But, if you don't feel like reading that, here's the down and dirty of it. Italicize italics. Do not underline Don't use spaces to lead paragraphs. Use tab or, even better, the formatting options to get the indent. For scene breaks, use either "#" or "***". Use an easy to...