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Deadline: March 31st, 2017 Payment: 1 cent per word Note: Female Authors Only! 'Killing it Softly 2' — The 2017 follow-up to the terrifying Killing It Softly, with Managing Editor Suzie Lockhart returning to put together a second volume of Women in Horror. Officially opening February 1, 2017 in celebration of Women in Horror Month 2017. Publication target: October 2017. Submissions close: March 31, 2017 (subject to extensions as may be required). Answers on submissions can be anticipated at any time up to September 2017, and may be delayed until after the submission period closes in March due to short-listing. Welcome to Digital Horror Fiction. We are excited to announce a new open call for reprint short stories in the horror fiction genre - dedicated to stories by female* authors. These stories will be published as part of an anthology (Killing it Softly 2) of short stories under the Digital Horror Fiction imprint, by the publisher, Digital Fiction Publishing Corp. This open call is for horror reprint short stories of 3,000 to 7500 words in length only.) Submissions will be reviewed for inclusion upon receipt. Please submit only ONE story for consideration at a time; multiple entries will be rejected. Once your story is accepted or rejected you may submit another story for consideration - but just one at a time, please. We are looking for reprint short stories that have appeared in professional or semi-professional books, magazines, collections, or anthologies, and that are available to be re-licensed by Digital Horror Fiction and published through Amazon and elsewhere in an anthology of stories. We are not looking for (and will not license) self published stories (in any format/venue), stories that have been published and are available to download on-line (free or paid) as stand-alone stories (in collections and anthologies is fine), or stories that are available free on-line in any form (magazine, archive, blog etc, but podcasts that have not been made available in print...

Deadline: April 1st, 2017 Payment: $0.01 / word, $50 max Submissions are open until 12:01 AM, April 1, 2017. I recently started reading lots of short fiction. As I’ve picked up a few different magazine titles, I’ve noticed that there’s not really a lot getting published of the stuff I like to read best, which is pulpy action/adventure. A couple of genre-specific titles have come and gone, with one or two still having a go at it, but I’d like to see a place that specializes in action/adventure across genres. So that is what StoryHack Action & Adventure is intended to be. My end goal is to launch a professional-rates-paying magazine. Lofty indeed, I know. To this end, I’m going to fund an “Issue 0,” paying less-than-professional rates, as I’m not made of money. I’ll do a magazine-sized print layout, and I’ll also commission a cover and a bit of interior artwork. And then I’ll use the produced Issue 0 as a part of a crowdfunding campaign, to prove I have the skills to bring it all together. If the crowdfunding thing works, then I’ll see if I can get the magazine to be self sustaining. If it doesn’t crowdfund, then it will still- I’m just kidding, It’s going to work. I’m going to crowdfund the crap out of it. What I’m looking for To steal a joke, StoryHack Magazine will publish both kinds of fiction – action and adventure. I’m open to any genre, as long as there’s at least one good meaty action scene in there. Bonus points for extra adventure. And I’m serious when I say any genre. Sword & sorcery, lost world, occult detective, alien fighter pilot, western horror, you’re limited only by your imagination. Think Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Dashiell Hammett, Doc E....

Deadline: April 15th, 2017 Payment: 5% of the gross profit will be paid for each accepted story. These payments will be issued to you at quarterly intervals. Stories under 1,500 words will only receive 4% of the gross profit. o the office of the Prime Minister: As you have no doubt been made aware from previous correspondence, Mr. Gladstone, problems of an unusual nature still arise in the further reaches of Her Majesty’s empire. You remember the transport we lost in the Chinese seas, and manpower spent keeping it from the press. One of the officer’s wives, a Mrs. Kathleen Morland, was found drifting in the same waters. Yes, two years later. She wore strange finery, speaking in a language that we still haven’t placed, and only telling a broken story through far more broken English. She complains of voices from some long ago time, saying things she wishes she could forget. The ship which rescued was followed to port by strange lights. One exploratory party Africa reported total darkness for a period of 106 hours. No trace of the sun. Light suddenly returned around noon. When their guide returned the following day, he was nearly mad with grief. “The darkness now resides within us. Our light has faded.” Just as I was about to hand this to my secretary, one more report arrived. Trouble along the Indian border, as ever. Word is fragmentary, also as ever, but suggests something unhealthy and alive in the biting wind. While troubling, I don’t believe there is anything the foreign office can do at this time. We’ll continue to look into these on a case by case basis—but the difference in geography, actors, and dates seems to suggest we can do little but watch, record, and pray. Yours truly, What We Want Their...

Deadline: April 15th, 2017 Payment: $20 usd Please don't query us about your story submission. We don't have the manpower to answer such queries. An editor will email you back as soon as possible with the decision about your story. This can take a few days, or, up to three months. We make every effort to get back to authors in a timely manner but we get a lot of submissions so sometimes it's not possible. A note on our editorial policy: before publication we may edit the story for length or readability. However, we always remain true to the spirit of the story. Issues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. We reserve the right to shift publication date slightly, as necessary. We have reading periods for each issue, though we never close to submissions. February closes January 15 May closes April 15 August closes July 15 November closes October 15 Please do not submit the same story more than once, and please submit only one story at a time. We consider any story between 250 and 7000 words with speculative fiction elements. We prefer science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. We do not consider poetry, stories with over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction, or non-fiction. We don't accept multiple submissions; in other words, only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before submitting another. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know up front and tell us as soon as it's accepted elsewhere. We do not publish reprints, including anything that has appeared on a website. We pay $20 for each story we publish. We buy first-printing world exclusive rights for four...

Deadline: April 15th, 2017 Payment: 6 cents per word Third Flatiron Publishing is based in Boulder, Colorado, and Ayr, Scotland. We are looking for submissions to our quarterly themed anthologies. Our focus is on science fiction and fantasy and anthropological fiction. We want tightly plotted tales in out-of-the-ordinary scenarios. Light horror is acceptable, provided it fits the theme. Please send us short stories that revolve around age-old questions and have something illuminating to tell us as human beings. Fantastical situations and creatures, exciting dialog, irony, mild horror, and wry humor are all welcome. Stories should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Inquire if longer. Role models for the type of fiction we want include Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke, Dan Simmons, Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, and Ken Kesey. We want to showcase some of the best new shorts available today. For each anthology, we will also accept a few very short humor pieces on the order of the "Shouts and Murmurs" feature in The New Yorker Magazine (600 words or so). These can be written from a first-person perspective or can be mini-essays that tell people what they ought to do, how to do something better, or explain why something is like it is, humorously. An SF/Fantasy bent is preferred. Continuing with Third Flatiron's quarterly themed anthologies, we will be soliciting SF/Fantasy/Horror short stories with the following themes. Themes are designed to be open-ended, allowing authors considerable leeway. We appreciate short, imaginative tales, preferring those that work with the theme in some way. Short stories should be 3,000 words or less. Flash humor pieces (<=1,000 words) can be on any theme. We aim to be inclusive and encourage submissions from all creators. "Cat's Breakfast" - Science fiction/satire. Now at the 10th anniversary of his death, Wikipedia says Kurt Vonnegut was...

Deadline: April 15th, 2017 Payment: Varies on length, see below. Helios Quarterly Magazine aims to publish quality fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art that illuminates the darkness. HQM wants stories and poems that grab ahold of a reader from the opening lines all the way to the finish line. Works that push boundaries, are succinct, and well developed are smiled upon. CURRENT ISSUE Our potential to do good in this world is always held back by the propensity for humanity to fall back on vice and old mistakes. Science fiction acts as the test grounds for what the world could be, predicting dreamed dystopias coming into reality, and producing the ingredients for innovation. The horror genre wouldn’t be so frightening if not for the fact that humans often prove to be their own worst enemy. Fantasy literature pits the forces of good and evil against one another only to reveal a world painted in murky, muddled, shades of gray. Redux and Progression wants stories that address how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go. What stops us from unlocking a world in which everyone prospers? When the promised day arrives, why does nostalgia beckon us to an age that has passed away? Open to submit between April 1- April 15 11:59PM EST. FICTION, POETRY & NON-FICTION IDEAS We’d love to see the following but encourage you to not treat these as prompts: Social criticism with a political activist edge Stories, poems, and nonfiction narratives within the cyberpunk, solarpunk, dieselpunk, punk realm Characters struggling with the ramifications of utopia achieved. What were the costs left unspoken? Catastrophic events reshaping the natural order. How do we recover or move forward after returning to a post-Industrial Age? How can literature, science, etc. shape our future by learning from the triumphs and mistakes of the past? TWO GENRE EXAMPLES...

Deadline: April 27th, 2017 Payment: Up to 10¢ per word Cicada YA/teen lit magazine seeks fiction, poetry, comics, and essays on the theme of Aliens. Tell us a story of a stranger in a strange land, whether they be a three-headed visitor from the Andromeda Galaxy or just someone trying to navigate an unfamiliar place. Of course, feeling like an alien does not always have to do with physical location—sometimes you might feel like an alien in familiar spaces. We love works about extraterrestrials and outer space, but we also encourage authentic and diverse works about immigration, gentrification, and feelings of otherness and dissociation. Not welcome: cultural appropriation. General Information CICADA is a YA lit/comics magazine fascinated with the lyric and strange and committed to work that speaks to teens’ truths. We publish poetry, realistic and genre fic, essay, and comics by adults and teens. (We are also inordinately fond of Viking jokes.) Our readers are smart and curious; submissions are invited but not required to engage young adult themes. CICADA does not distribute theme lists for upcoming issues. Especially welcome: works by people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQAI+ folks, genderqueer folks, and other marginalized peoples. Not welcome: cultural appropriation. Fav writers, YA and otherwise: Sarah McCarry, Nnedi Okorafor, Sherman Alexie, David Levithan, Daniel Jose Older, Debbie Urbanski, Nalo Hopkinson, Kelly Link, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ntozake Shange, Anne Carson, Jacqueline Woodson, ZZ Packer, Angela Nissel, Sofia Samatar, Richard Siken, Malory Ortberg, Saeed Jones, Octavia Butler, Andrea Gibson, @cicadamagazine / cicadamagazine.tumblr.com Guidelines Before submitting, be sure to familiarize yourself with our magazines. (Sample copies are available for viewing at the Cricket Media Store, or you can order a current issue by calling 800-821-0115.) Issues are also available at many local libraries. Fiction Realism, SF/fantasy, historical fiction: Yes, yes, and yes Length: flash fic to novellas; up to 9,000 words   Nonfiction Narrative nonfic (especially...

Deadline: April 30th, 2017 Payment: Unknown at this time but paying, will update asap oir at the Salad Bar, Culinary Tales with a Bite This anthology of short crime fiction will focus on culinary stories seasoned with murder and mayhem. Submission Guidelines for Noir at the Salad Bar, Culinary Tales with a Bite: Stories must feature food or drink, restaurants, bars or the culinary arts in some way. We seek crime stories in the following genres: mystery, thriller, suspense, caper, and horror, from any time period (historical, modern day, future, etc.). Authors from any geographic area are welcome to submit stories to Level Best Books, and stories may be set anywhere in the world. Culinary professionals are encouraged to submit, ensuring their stories adhere to the overall theme. Stories must not exceed 5,000 words Stories must be previously unpublished in print or electronically, including self-published works (to include author websites). Stories from both published and unpublished authors are welcome. The Level Best editors will consider up to two stories from the same author per anthology. We will not consider stories that feature graphic scenes of torture or sex Submissions will be accepted from December 1, 2016 through April 30, 2017 How To Submit: Please email your submission to [email protected] Type Short Story Submission in the subject line of your email (without it attachments will not be opened) Include your name, address, phone number, email, story title, word count, and a brief summary of your publishing experience (if any) in the body of the email Please paginate your story (format page numbers in either the header or footer of the document) Send your story as a Word attachment, double-spaced Please either type ### or “The End” to indicate the ending of your story Submissions will be read blindly by the judges. Your...

Deadline: April 30th, 2017 Payment: AUD4c/word and one contributor copy in each format released Post-apocalyptic military horror. The end of the world as we know it. What we want: Invading space aliens, demonic invasion as in Doom, DNA-grafted dinosaurs taking over the planet, manmade viral infections that nearly wipe out humanity, or artificial intelligence like in Terminator… anything you can think of that would bring about the end of the world. And SOLDIERS! Tell us about what happens during the worst of the fall of humanity or afterwards. No zombies. That’s already taken care of. Full action. Nothing less. Hoo-rah! Edited by Amanda J Spedding and Geoff Brown Payment: AUD4c/word and one contributor copy in each format released. Wordcount range: 2,000 – 10,000 words (query for shorter or longer) SUBMISSIONS OPEN FEBRUARY 1 2017. Closing date is April 30th 2017 (anything submitted outside this period will be deleted without being read or replied to). No selections will be made until after the period closes. Projected publication date: Late 2017 We will have some solicited authors alongside the open call, with the first being Jonathan Maberry. Please follow these guidelines when submitting to us: Please put your full contact details on the first page of the manuscript top left, with word count top right. Standard submission format, with minimal document formatting. Courier or Times New Roman set at 12pt. Italics as they will appear. No underlining. Double spaced. Please don’t use TAB or space bar to indent lines. Use ‘styles’ only. If unsure or using a program that has no styles, DO NOT indent at all. That’s still cool. NO SPACE between paragraphs unless a line-break is required. ONE SPACE after full stops. Please put full contact details on the first page of the manuscript (yes, I said this twice… it’s...

Deadline: April 30th, 2017 Payment: $10 Topic: Last Shot Fired Imagine a war going so long that every last resource has been used up in the fight for survival, or a world that has taken extreme measures to end warfare and violence. In this anthology we want to explore what the idea “Last Shot Fired” means to you. This could be about a spouse that has finally reached their breaking point and said that one thing that cascades the relationship into total chaos, or being against the wall against overwhelming odds with almost no resources or backup, what imagery is brought to your mind by this phrase? We are looking for a wide variety of stories from almost every genre.   Limitations: Keep it PG-13. Not too much gore, nothing sexually explicit, and keep the cursing down. Word count: 2,000-6,000 words Due Date: 30 April, 2017 Payment: We will pay $10 for each story that is accepted, send you a free ebook copy, and you will receive a 40% discount code for paperbacks which you can sell at full price. You will also be invited to a private forum just for anthology members. Contract Details: We are asking for Exclusive (for 6 months from publication) First Anthology Rights. Formatting: Use a standard font (Times New Roman, Courier new), 12 point, double spaced. Indent the first line of each paragraph WITHOUT using tabs. You will be expected to work with our editor to polish your story. About the Author: Please include a short biography (1-2 paragraphs) about the author at the end of your story (after the words THE END). This biography will be used in the anthology if your story is accepted. How to submit: Email your story as a .doc or .docx to moc.yteicoSsretirWthgindiM@snoissimbuS. You WILL receive conformation of receipt within seven days. Via:...