Events

Deadline: May 14th, 2017 Payment: 6 cents per word Stories should be the type generally referred to as "sword and sorcery" and must have a strong female protagonist whom the reader will care about. See Sword & Sorceress 22, Sword & Sorceress 23, Sword & Sorceress 24, Sword & Sorceress 25, Sword & Sorceress 26, Sword & Sorceress 27, Sword & Sorceress 28, Sword & Sorceress 29, and Sword & Sorceress 30, (or S&S 1-20) for examples. We do not want stories with explicit sex, gratuitous violence, or profanity. We are NOT a market for poetry. We are willing to consider stories set in modern times (urban fantasy), but we don't buy more than one or two of those for the anthology. We always want something short and funny for the last story. No reprints. No simultaneous submissions. With regard to multiple submissions, do not submit more than one story at a time. If we've rejected your first one, you may send one more, as long as it's before the deadline. We have occasionally bought someone's second submission. We have never bought a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth submission. If you send us two stories, and we don't hold either of them, wait until next year to try again. Please do not re-submit stories we have already rejected (including stories rejected in previous years). If you have not previously sold to Sword & Sorceress, please read "What is a Short Story?" and "Why Did my Story Get Rejected?" before submitting to us. Reading period: Monday, April 24 to Sunday, May 14, 2017. Stories received before or after this period will be deleted unread. Response time is expected to follow MZB's traditional standards: you should hear within a week if we're holding your story for the final line-up or...

Deadline: May 17th, 2017 Payment: Royalties Note: Reprints Allowed All Submissions should meet this criteria: Works: short stories, flash fiction Genre: Horror, Dark fiction Current Theme: Horrors of War – Disposable Heroes Deadline: May 17th – could close early if filled quickly Format: Attach the .RTF, .DOC, or .DOCX  Word Count 2k – 4k words approx. Multiple Submissions okay.  Submit a brief bio, we don’t care if you have no work history, give us a brief bio of yourself. Payment and Royalties Deadman’s Tome pays authors whose work is published in the magazine (whether digital or print) royalties calculated at 10% of net sales and a free digital copy. Deadman’s Tome offers authors whose work is published on the site exposure AND opportunities to earn cash through various contests such as Story of the Week. Payments are sent via PayPal. Send submission to [email protected] Via: Deadman's Tomb.

Deadline: May 25th​​, 2017 Payment: Contributor's Copy Note: Reprints Allowed See Through My Eyes Anthology Call: Ghost Mystery/Horror Anthology Submission Period: January-May 25th​​   Word Count:    1,500-15,000 Theme:      Horror anthology featuring chilling ghost mysteries. With this anthology, I want you to send chills up my spine and keep me guessing at every turn. Who is the real ghost? Do they know they are dead? Do you? Who killed them? Why? What do they want? For this anthology, we will not be accepting flash pieces as it is hard to convey the atmosphere and intricate mystery story line that we are looking for in so few words.   Response Time:  Please allow up to one month. 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. All authors will also get a Createspace discount code to purchase additional copies. Editing: Yes, your story will be edited if we decide to accept it. After we go through and edit your story, it will then be sent back to you for final approval. In some cases, we may ask for revisions to be made.  Reprints, Multiple & Simultaneous Submissions: Yes Expected Release: Summer/Fall 2017 Guidelines for Submissions:   All submissions are to be sent to [email protected]. In the subject line please type GHOST ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSION: . In the body of your email, please include your name and word count. If the story is under 2,000 words, please paste the text in the body of the email, otherwise please attach it.  We will list all published authors on our site. Once you have a story accepted for publication, we will post a little author bio up on our site with a list of all published pieces (published by FDM). Via: Fantasia Divinity Magazine.

Deadline: May 25th, 2017 Payment: Fiction: $5 per thousand words Poetry: $.35 a line with a $5 minimum payable upon publication Since the third issue of The Audient Void: A Journal of Weird Fiction and Dark Fantasy is now out we are opening submissions for issue #4. We are looking for quality works of poetry and short fiction. Poetry should be weird or darkly fantastical with strong imagery. We pay $.35 a line with a $5 minimum payable upon publication. For short fiction our tastes are broad and we will consider anything with a weird, horrific or fantastical element. We will consider any length work but will be much less likely to publish stories over 5,000 words. Our rate is $5 per thousand words payable upon publication. To submit please send you work as a .doc, .docx or .rtf file to [email protected]. The submission deadline is May 25th, please do not inquire about your submission before that deadline and understand that it may take a little time to follow up on all submissions after the deadline has passed. Via: The Audient Void's Facebook.

Deadline: May 26th, 2017 Payment: a percentage of profits after six months of anthology sales Reprints Allowed It took some time, but the time has come: we’re putting together an anthology of poetry and flash fiction about spirits, ghosts, seances, Ouija boards, famous hauntings, not-so-famous hauntings, possessions, and anything else relating to supernatural bumps in the night (or day, we aren’t fussy). Submissions are open from 31st March 2017 until 26th May 2017, and the book will be published in late summer (August). This anthology will be edited by Kate Garrett and Caroline Hardaker. As this is a centuries old vein of storytelling, originality is important – whether it’s a new angle on the themes, a very obscure bit of lore, ghosts in mythology, a different view of famous literary ghosts (e.g. Hamlet’s father, the spirits in A Christmas Carol, you get the idea), or a very specific ghost story (by ‘story’ of course we mean folklore: a haunted library or pub in your town, something along those lines, not a Susan Hill book…) not many know about, to name a few examples. It isn’t as hard as it sounds – it’s just what we don’t want is the plot of every ghostly horror film over and over again. So all of that being said: just send us your best work! Please submit: 1-5 poems (no line limit, within reason) 1-3 flash fictions (up to 1,000 words – we’ve increased the limit!) or a mix of the two not exceeding 5 pieces in total in a Word document (if submitting multiple pieces, send them in a single Word document please) or the body of an email (please NO PDFs) to [email protected]. Please mark your submission as ‘Ghosts and Hauntings – Your Name’ (e.g. mine would be Ghosts and Hauntings – Kate Garrett) in the...

Deadline: May 27th, 2017 Payment: Up to 10¢ per word Cicada YA/teen lit magazine seeks fiction, poetry, comics, and essays on the theme of Puppets & Dolls. Around the world, puppets and dolls serve many purposes—children’s toys, storytelling props, decoration, conduits for the supernatural. How do we pull one another’s strings to get what we want? How do we project our feelings onto one another? How can this harm a relationship? Respectful works exploring manipulation/toxic relationships: great. Exploitative, explicit, or abusive works: nope. Also encouraged: works about totally non-metaphorical dolls and magnificent puppetry performances. 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, Via: Cicada Magazine's Submittable.

Deadline: May 30, 2017 Payment: $10 and a contributor's copy Anthologist: Rhonda Parrish Open for Submissions: April 1, 2017 - May 30, 2017 Expected Publication: Winter 2017 Story Length: up to 10,000 words Payment: $10 + contributor copy For a long, long time Santa Claus has hogged the spotlight relegating his wife to the shadows, but no longer. Now it’s Mrs. Claus’ turn to shine! We’re looking for stories that let Mrs. Claus (or is it Ms. Claus?) take centre stage. Whether she more closely resembles Michelle Obama, Betty White, Shohreh Aghdashlooor or Maggie Smith, Mrs. Claus must be a developed, independent character and not simply an extension of her husband. She can help and support him—of course she can—but there needs to be more to her than only that. What’s her role on Christmas Eve? What about the other days of the year? Is she into sleek red snowmobiles or is she more of an old-fashioned magic sleigh kinda gal? Does she prefer baking cookies or kickboxing? Betting on the Reindeer Games or Avon parties with the elves? And what is her first name, anyway? Stories are encouraged to re-imagine the North Pole in new and interesting ways (steampunk? alien? magically relocated to the equator?) and to explore a variety of other settings as well. They can also take place in time frames both real and imagined—Christmas in 1940 Poland, Mars in 2050 or a rediscovered Atlantis in 2017 would all be welcome in this anthology. Note: This anthology is intended for an adult audience, please don’t submit children’s stories. Rights and compensation: Payment: $10 and a paperback copy of the anthology from World Weaver Press. We are looking for previously unpublished works in English. Seeking first world rights in English and nonexclusive right to continue to publish for...

Deadline: May 30th, 2016 Payment: 6 cents per word. Note: Only female authors. Announcing an open call for submissions for Broad Knowledge: 35 Women Up To No Good, an anthology of dark and speculative fiction in the Women Up To No Good book series, co-edited by H.L. Nelson and Joanne Merriam, to be published by Upper Rubber Boot Books. Authors must identify as female, non-binary, or a marginalized sex or gender identity. This anthology will be themed around the idea of knowledge (learning/science/education/training/etc). Stories may be funny or serious, set anywhere on or off the world, in any time period, but must feature female protagonists whose knowledge is integral to the plot/conflict. Word/page count: Up to 5,000 words/story. Payment: six cents per word. Genres: Dark and speculative fiction encompasses horror, science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism, and we welcome all of these genres. Publication history: Original stories only. Reprints may be submitted by invitation only. Multiple submissions: No. Simultaneous submissions: No. Deadline: 30 May 2017. We plan to reply within one to two months from the deadline. To submit: Send to joanne at upperrubberboot dot com: (a) your complete manuscript as a .RTF, (b) a bio of 100 words or fewer, and (c) make sure you provide the following information: legal name (if different from the name you write under), mailing address, and word count. Put “WOMEN UP TO NO GOOD” in the subject line. If the work is a translation, please also provide a statement from the rightsholder that you are authorized to translate and submit it (both author and translator will receive full payment). We encourage and welcome stories from voices underrepresented in speculative fiction, including (but not limited to) writers of color, LGBTQ writers, writers with disabilities, and writers in translation. Via: Upper Rubber Boot.

Deadline: May 31st, 2017. Payment: 5 cents per word Chiral Mad 4 is officially open for submissions! The anthology is scheduled for publication in the first or second quarter of 2018 by Written Backwards, an imprint of Dark Regions Press, to be edited by Bram Stoker Award winning editor Michael Bailey. Much like Chiral Mad 3 and The Library of the Dead, this latest installment will be published in trade paperback, eBook, and deluxe hardback editions. Unlike past Written Backwards projects, this fourth volume in the critically-acclaimed series of anthologies will be a completely collaborative effort of originality, collecting 4 short stories, 4 novelettes, 4 novellas, and 4 graphic adaptations (to celebrate this 4th book), all co-authored and/or co-created. The anthology itself may even possibly be co-edited. We’re also seeking individuals willing to write a co-introduction for the book. Email [email protected] if interested in either of these opportunities. The goal of Chiral Mad 4 is to help bring our creative community together, to make us stronger, to strengthen relationships already in place, and to help create new relationships entirely. It’s time for all of us to play nice, to get along, and to do what we do best: create somethings out of nothings… and we’re going to create these beautiful somethings together. Have a specific writer/artist you’ve always admired? Well, now’s your chance. Reach out. Ask! That’s all it takes to get started. Find a partner, or two, or three, and start collaborating! The more unique the collaboration, the better the chances you have of making it into Chiral Mad 4. The more diverse the collaborations, the better the chances you have of making it into Chiral Mad 4. Now, here’s the hard part: knowing whether or not someone is already collaborating… Email [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns about this. While half the anthology will be filled with commissioned works (the book is...

Deadline: May 31st, 2017 Payment: Novella (17,501 to 40,000 words) — $150 + two print courtesy copies Novelette (7,501 to 17,500 words) — $100+ two print courtesy copies Short Story (2,501 to 7,500 words) — $50 + one courtesy copy Poetry (one or more poems; 100 lines total) — $25 + one courtesy copy; additional $25 for each 100 lines Micro Story (less than 2,500 words) — $10 + one courtesy copy Anthologies are a great way to get your stories noticed. Caffeinated Press sponsors an annual house anthology titled “Brewed Awakenings,” with a new volume released every autumn. The first volume, released on March 2, 2015, contains the work of eight invited authors from West Michigan who penned stories under the loose theme of “all goes dark.” The second volume shipped in September 2016; subsequent volumes will follow each October. The anthology ships in print format (vol. 1); print and ebook (vol. 2); print, ebook and audio book (vol. 3 and subsequent). We are currently in the reading window for vol. 3. The window closes 5/31/17. We recommend that you read the Q&A that follows, then visit our Query page to read our formal house editorial guidelines. The submission form for proposed Brewed Awakenings content is at the bottom of the Query page. It will be to your advantage to read both of these documents in their entirety before you consider whether you should submit to us. Q&A When can I submit stories? What’s the deadline? We accept stories year-round. The cutoff for each autumn’s volume is May 31. Submit before then, you’re in consideration for that year’s copy; submit after that, and you’re in the pile for the following year. You obtain neither benefit nor disability from submitting well in advance of the cutoff, but technical errors in the submission...