Events

Deadline: March 15th, 2018 Payment: $30 for stories under 3,000 words, $55 for those over 3,000 words Greetings from the Valley of Hinnom, With the amazing success of Hinnom Magazine during the year of 2017, we have decided to move onward with this publication and to make several big changes that will not only widen our reach to the darker side of literature, but will also benefit the authors. The issues will release bi-monthly, on the last day of every other month, starting in February 2018. We seek authors who have a unique voice, interesting writing styles, and unparalleled storytelling talents. We also encourage prospective authors to read one of our previous publications to get a feel of the atmosphere and themes we favor. We know a lot of publishers say this, but there is good reason for it. FICTION SUBMISSION DETAILS: Whereas last year’s issues of Hinnom Magazine were a bit more lenient, the 2018 volume is going to be much more specific in our themes since we have found our voice as a publication. Below, you will find the genres and subgenres that we adore. Again, if you read our previous releases, you will likely develop a solid understanding of what Hinnom Magazine represents in dark fiction. We are looking for stories that fit the themes of Weird Fiction and Cosmic Horror. Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy are all welcomed, as long as they fit in the realms of Weird and Cosmic. All stories must also be speculative in some way. What we mean by this is that we don’t want stories based in realism. While many great horror stories are plausible in modern reality, these stories are not for Hinnom Magazine. Thus, all horror MUST BE otherworldly or supernatural in some way. Science Fiction MUST BE dark and speculative. Fantasy MUST BE morally ambiguous and grim. Any combination of the above genres is fine. In fact, we encourage it. ...

Deadline: March 19th, 2018 Payment: $1 for every 500 word (maximum stipulations listed below.) The Strange Edge Presents THE MODERN MONARCHIST, a semi-regular and thoroughly modern zine for the postmodern zinester. This is a free ezine available in several modern DIGITAL® formats which can be transmitted via the emails or downloadified. We are OPEN to unsolicited subs. DEADLINE: Currently, we are expecting to release our first issue in April. To have a chance to get into that issue, send us your submission by March 19th. That’s 19th March for all you non-Americans. SUBMISSION Guidelines: We are seeking only the finest FLASH FICTION, PROSE-POEMS, or ABSURD ARTICLES 1500 words or less. If we receive a submission that is over 1500 words, we will not only delete the submission unread, we will also delete the author from the spacetime continuum, forcing her or him to seek existence in an alternate Mandela. We are seeking a very specific brand of weird/bizarro literature that shares commonalities with the likes of Franz Kafka, Donald Barthelme, Mark Leyner, Russel Edson, Daniil Kharms, Barry Yourgrau, William S. Burroughs, Eugène Ionesco, David Lynch, Charlie Kaufman, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Quentin Dupieux, Yorgos Lanthimos, Guy Maddin, Remedios Varo, and Salvador Dali (I hope I don’t need a link to jog your memory about this guy). So whatever you send us is likely to get rejected, not because of quality but because of the very specific style we are seeking. Please don’t take any rejection personally. Also, the issues are short, quick-reads with only a few pieces selected for each. Reprints are fine, just let us know where the piece has been previously published, and make sure you have the electronic rights before submitting. Multiple Subs: You may submit multiple pieces at the same time—up to 3, provided each piece is less than 1500 words. It is not likely that more than one piece will be featured in any given...

Deadline: March 19th, 2018 Payment: $50 In our fund drive last year, one of our stretch goals was a special issue focused on the work of writers who are black, indigenous, and/or people of color from the Southeastern USA, which is a region that we think tends to be underserved and underrepresented in speculative fiction. We raised part of that stretch goal at the time and made up the remainder through our recently concluded prize draw, so this issue is going to happen! We're planning it for Monday, July 30 2018. As our special issues usually do, it will feature original fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. We're very happy to announce that this special issue's fiction will be co-edited by one of the most acclaimed editors in shortform speculative fiction, the multiple World Fantasy Award-winning Sheree Renée Thomas! (Jennifer Marie Brissett interviewed Sheree for us in 2009, talking about her celebrated Dark Matter anthology series.) 2018 will feature Sheree in an editorial role in multiple projects, including the Trouble the Waters anthology from Rosarium Publishing and a special issue of Apex Magazine. We're very happy to see Sheree's editorial work getting more prominence and recognition in the field, as emerging writers and new contributors in her Dark Matter anthologies went on to become a National Book Award Finalist, a Pulitzer Prize Winner, and Tiptree, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy Award Winners as well. But in a way this is also indicative of a problem we'd already recognized in designing this special issue: the list of names that come to mind when looking for an editor is always narrower than it should be. Partly this is because the field is usually not good at recognizing the talent that's already there; 2018 being a jubilee year of Sheree Renée Thomas is unfortunately the exception, not the rule. And partly because it's difficult for...

Deadline: March 30th, 2018 Payment: $.03 per word and 2 contributor's copies Corpus Press is now accepting submissions for a new Halloween-themed horror anthology. Submissions will be accepted according to our publishing needs, regardless of author publication history or status. Submissions should appeal to a wide audience (late teen to adult).   What we are looking for: Not previously published short stories of 4,500-8,500 words that have a central theme associated with Halloween and can be characterized within the broad realm of “horror” fiction. Successful submissions will be highly original, well written and cleanly edited. Stories can be frightening, thought-provoking, atmospheric, humorous or satirical (or any combination thereof), but MUST contain a complete tale.   What we are NOT looking for: Stories that have been hastily retrofitted with a coating of “Halloween” references to fit the submission guidelines. These are easily spotted and will be immediately rejected. Stories that contain excessively explicit language, sexuality and violence, or that have a main goal of shocking the audience with poor taste (language, sexuality and violence is acceptable, however, if it is essential to the story and is handled in a tasteful manner). This IS NOT an “extreme horror” or “Splatterpunk” anthology. Abstract mood pieces, vignettes, and highly experimental approaches to literature are discouraged. Stories featuring exaggerated dialects, colloquialisms or excessive references to pop culture or current fads are discouraged. We will not be accepting epistolary fiction for this anthology.   Document Requirements: Submissions must be in an editable format. No PDFs or scanned documents sent as image files will be accepted. Preference is for author name, email address and word count information to be placed at the end of the document to assist in blind review process.   Submission window: October 29, 2017 – March 30, 2018. No multiple submissions. Simultaneous submissions are okay,...

Deadline: March 31st, 2018 Payment: 7c p/w up to 7K – 5c p/w for stories longer than 7K Edited by Lynne Jamneck Publisher: Dark Regions Press   What are we doing? Where are we going? What will we find? Though some among us have realised the importance of sustainable living, in the broad sense of everyday life, we still demand too much. Our capitalist dispositions have driven a wedge between ourselves and nature; we have become transfixed by the shine of chrome, the luxury of packaged lives, no longer seemingly aware of the solid earth beneath our feet. At an ever-advancing tipping point, humanity persists in its war against the natural world. Running a trail of extinction and cutting down vast swathes of oxygen-producing forests, we breed at an alarming pace, overpopulating a planet we seem hell-bent on reigning in – but at what cost? It seems we’re playing a cruel joke on the system that sparked our existence, and which has sustained us ever since. Or could the joke be on us? There is something inherently weird in our behaviour toward Nature. Two distinct energies, two conscious mentalities, humanity and the natural world find themselves at loggerheads. Can we be held accountable if – as part of nature ourselves – we are driven by the need for survival, the way all species are? And if the answer is no, should we not anticipate that Nature will do the same? Force of Nature (working title) will be an anthology of original short fiction that explores the physical and metaphysical boundaries between humanity and the natural world. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Story length: 2500 to 10 000 words Payment: 7c p/w up to 7K – 5c p/w for stories longer than 7K Send submissions to: forceofnaturesubs AT gmail DOT com Please send files in...

Deadline: March 31st, 2018 Payment: $0.005 (that's half a cent) per word at publication as well as residual NET royalties based on a percentage of overall content (meaning if your story is 5% of the book, you get 5% of the allotted royalty) and a contributor's copy. $5 per poem Note: Female Authors Only Our current call is for original short fiction (up to 10,000 words) written by those who identify as a woman.  Poetry as well. We are NOT accepting novels at this point. We're not stickler for submission guidelines as long as you use common sense. A few things will get you rejected without being read: - using the space bar to indent paragraphs - placing a hard return at the end of each line of text - sending your manuscript in a format other than docx or doc. Our style manual of preference is the Chicago Manual of Style (if that helps you). Sorry, no fan fiction. Contact Information should include: Real/Legal Name – for publishing contract Email address Street address – for delivery of contributor copy/royaltie   “I walked up on the edge of no escape and laughed, I’ve lost control.” - Joy Division, 'She Lost Control' Are we ever really in control? This is what our first all-female anthology, SHE’S LOST CONTROL, will try to answer. We want your thrills, your kills, the dark thoughts going through your head at the brink. Will you step back from the edge? Will you jump? If you identify as a woman, submit your short stories (up to 10,000 words) or poems about losing control. If you DON'T identify as a woman, GTFO. New and emerging authors are encouraged to submit. Accepted authors of short fiction will receive $0.005 (that's half a cent) per word at publication as well as residual NET royalties based on a...

Deadline: March 31st, 2018 Payment: 6c/word for original fiction; 3c/word for reprints. By Pantheon Magazine, edited by Sarah Read   Submissions open Jan 1, 2018. Publication in summer of 2018. What we want: Weird, dark fiction; slipstream; magical realism; horror. Fiction with a touch of mythic quality. We want themes based around transformations—things that are shapeshifting, things that are emerging. Make Ovid’s Metamorphoses contemporary and weird and scary. We want a wide scope of voices, cultures, and perspectives. We don’t want: A lot of assaulted women turning into trees, pretty people turning into flowers, things written in Ovid’s voice. Lots of folks in togas. We don’t want splatter or pulp, though some body horror is fine and comes naturally with this theme.   Details: This is a flash fiction anthology. We’re looking for stories that hover around the 1k-word mark, with 2k being the maximum allowed for consideration. Standard manuscript format. 6c/word for original fiction; 3c/word for reprints. Please give us 30 days of exclusive submission. If you haven’t heard from us by then, feel free to submit simultaneously elsewhere—just be sure to withdraw your piece from us immediately if it is accepted by another publication. Please put your title, byline, and word count in your cover letter, as well as a brief note about how your story fits the theme. Submissions are processed through Submittable. Please let us know if Submittable is inaccessible to you and we will be happy to make other submission arrangements. We want print/digital rights exclusive for six months after publication, then all rights revert to contributors. Please email us at [email protected] if you have further questions or concerns. Via: Pantheon Magazine.

Deadline: March 31st, 2018 Payment: 1.5p per word. That works out as £15 per 1,000 words WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS OF SHORT STORIES, UNTIL 31 MARCH 2018. PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES BELOW BEFORE SUBMITTING.  FICTION We will be opening for FICTION SUBMISSIONS for the entirety of March 2018. Note: we are open all the time for non-fiction for the website, but the fiction submissions period will open on 1st March and end at midnight on 31st March 2018. Here are some basic guidelines: We are a bi-annual journal of weird and eerie fiction. Do not send us your Western romance (in space). Do not send us your drug addiction memoir. Do not send us your shopping list (unless you're buying some really weird things). Weird. Eerie. Fiction. Please. If you want an idea of what we mean by weird and eerie, then read The Shadow Booth: Vol. 1. This is the best way to find out what we like! The ebook is only £5, and like all independent publications, we need your support to keep going. (Paperbacks, ebooks and subscriptions are available here. Okay, rant over...) If you want further pointers, why not read editor Dan Coxon's article on the Ginger Nuts of Horror website: Face the Strange. Submissions should be 2,000 - 8,000 words long. We won't quibble over a word or two, but otherwise those limits are fixed. We would particularly like to read stories by BAME writers, and by women writing within the weird/eerie horror scene. In our experience, these tend to be underrepresented within the genre. Having said that, if you fall into neither of these groups, we want to read your work too - all stories will be considered on an equal basis once they have been submitted. Please only submit one story during the submissions period. Any...

Deadline: March 31st, 2018 Payment: 2 cents/word Special Call for Submissions: Battling in All Her Finery We are creating an anthology titled Battling in All Her Finery: Historical Accounts of Otherworldly Women Leaders. It will be a collection of speculative fiction stories about women leaders in any field. We use an inclusive definition of “woman” and “female,” and we welcome stories about anyone who identifies as a woman on some level. For this anthology, our pay will be 2 cents/word. We are particularly looking for stories from authors who are underrepresented in fiction: people of color, LGBTQ, non-Western religions and cultures. Each story is written from the perspective of someone who has been or been around the woman leader in question. Like our regular magazine, this narrator will also have a bio. Be certain that your story meets these requirements: First person 500-8,000 words in length Focuses on a woman leader Contains a speculative element Not a reprint Not a simultaneous submission Here are some ideas that we pitched when we made our Kickstarter, but this is meant to be inspirational and not definitive. A general leading her dragon armada into battle. A CEO defending her megacorp from a hostile takeover. A woman-led, vampire-hunting biker gang. A senator in an intergalactic republic. DO NOT send us poetry or screenplays. Submissions should be in Standard Manuscript Format and submitted through our Moksha portal. As with our regular submissions, we are asking for exclusive first worldwide electronic and print rights for one year. Questions? Queries can be sent to [email protected]. Via: Mad Scientist Journal.

Deadline: March 31st, 2018 Payment: $10 for one thousand words or less. One cent a word for stories 1,000 words to 3,000 words in length. POLAR BOREALIS is currently open to poetry and short story submissions. For issue #7 (to be published summer 2018) on any suitable theme (see below). Poetry and short story submissions will be accepted till further notice. Contributors must be Canadian, or at least resident in Canada. I prefer Science Fiction over Fantasy, though of course SF can include fantasy elements, so I’m flexible. Weird Fantasy would intrigue me. Also interested in Horror with SF aspects. Have a weakness for Lovecraftian Horror. Nothing obscene or ultra-violent. Idea-driven combined with character-driven would be ideal. Particularly interested in beginning writers who haven’t made a sale yet. The primary purpose of this zine is to encourage beginning writers. I welcome experienced authors but will judge unpublished writers as a separate category so they won’t have to compete with pros. Ideally at least two to three first-sale stories will be in in every issue. Be sure to mention whether you have been published or not so I’ll be sure to place you in the proper category. SPECIFICS: I offer First Publication English Language World Serial Online (PDF) Internet Rights with a post-publication exclusivity period of just one week, after which the author/artist is free to sell as a reprint to anyone anywhere. The exclusivity period is unusually short because I have no financial stake in holding on to rights and am more than willing to encourage the author to sell again ASAP. Note that reprints are less desirable to most publishers and are more difficult to place. On the other hand, my payment rates are so low you might even make more money selling your work as a reprint than you did selling it to...