Events

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...

Deadline: October 31st, 2016 Payment: 3 contributor's copies and $15 USD Submissions for the 2016 World Unknown Review (Volume III) are now OPEN! This is an exciting new literary review with a strong focus on independent authors, though anyone is welcome. If you are interested, please consider the following regulations before submitting. We look forward to seeing what wonderful, inspired pieces start flooding in for consideration! Applicants selected to be featured in the Review will be awarded three (3) contributor copies of the publication as well as $15 (USD) via check or PayPal or $30 (USD) for the novella competition. Any international writers (outside the US) will be paid via PayPal only. There is no entry fee, and applicants may submit as many stories as they would like. All we ask is that these simple rules be followed: 1. Entries must be submitted via email to [email protected]. Please send entries with the subject “World Unknown Review Submission.” Send submissions as an ATTACHMENT in .doc, .docx, or .rft formats. Please, no PDFs. 2. All entries must be submitted before the deadline, October 31st, 2016.Responses will follow a few weeks after the deadline, usually November 15th. 3. For short stories and poetry, there is no limit on word count, though moderately sized stories stand a better chance. Novella entries must be 17,5000 words or more, broken up into several chapters. 4. Final decisions are purely on the opinion of the editor of the collection, L.S. Engler. We strive for variety above all else and welcome all genres. 5. Please include a small blurb about yourself for the eventual publication. 6. Spread the word! Okay, technically, this is not a rule, but please spread the news around that World Unknown Review is looking for submissions. It’s a great opportunity to be a part...

Deadline: October 31st, 2016 Payment: $5 for flash (up to 1,000 words) and $10 for a short 'Robbed of Sleep' publishes twice each year, in Summer and the early Winter months of the year. We are always looking for a sampling of the strangely dark, the darkly humorous, the starkly beautiful, and the hauntingly deranged to feature in its pages. Submission Schedule Feb 15 - April 30 - OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR SUMMER ISSUE Aug 15 - Oct. 31 - OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR WINTER ISSUE June, 2015 - Volume III December, 2015 - Volume IV June, 2016 - Volume V December, 2016 - Volume VI If you are interested in submitting, send your very best work to: [email protected] Subject Line: 'SUBMISSION (Robbed of Sleep, Vol. X.) - , ' An example subject line is as follows: 'SUBMISSION (Robbed of Sleep, Vol 2.) - THE DAY THE EARTH TURNED INTO A WOOLY SCREWDRIVER, 2,500' Failure to follow subject line guidelines is an instant poor first impression. You are strongly encouraged to track your submission with our DuoTrope listing. Guidelines: We are looking for stories anywhere from 100-1,000 word flash pieces, up through 2,000-4,000 word larger pieces. Something falling in between 1,000-2,000 words will be considered, especially if it's great. I am willing to look at pieces above 4,000, but not very. This means that if you are sending me something super long, it better be twice as good as it is long to even stand a chance at inclusion. You are much more likely to get something within the guidelines accepted. Please submit pieces in .docx or .doc format. I'll accept .rtf, but I'll frown a little when I get it. Pieces must be submitted in proper manuscript formatting. If you don't already use this formatting, I suggest you learn about...

Deadline: October 31st, 2016. Payment: 2¢(AUD) per word. Deadline: October 31st, 2016. We're offering payment of: 2¢ per word (AUD), plus contributor’s electronic copy. Providing we cover costs with the first run, contributors will receive one (1) copy of the paperback gratis, plus theoption to buy up to five (5) additional copies at publisher's cost. Hardbacks will be produced if demand allows. What's HOT: Oz Horror Con is seeking original thriller, suspense, dark fantasy or supernatural tales 3,000-5,000 words to be published in our forthcoming 'Between the Tracks' anthology, intended publication Q1 2017. "Between the Tracks" should give you some inspiration, but please be imaginative. We don't want reprints (unless they're amazing!) or cliched tropes, re-writes of movies plots or other published works. Don't limit yourself to train tracks either. Think outside the tracks to deliver us something between the tracks. Stories should be dark, and include a train or something similar - a tram, a cart, some other kind of vehicle that requires a track. Perhaps metaphorical tracks. Whatever track your mind takes, but it must be integral to the story. This will be targeted at a mature audience, but we're not looking for sex fantasies... unless pivotal to the plot of course! For an example of the kind of story we love, read any of the stories from the editor Steve Dillon, at The Refuge Collection www.RefugeCollection.com. What's NOT: We're not after excessive gore, torture , rape, racial or other bigotry or misogyny. You can be explicit with themes and language if required for the story to work, for as long as it's required. We prefer supernatural horror, creepy tales and suspenseful thrillers than a reliance on visceral horror. Edition and Rights: Between the Tracks will be published in electronic and paperback form in English - If there's enough...