Events

Taking Submissions: Electric Spec May Issue 2018

Deadline: April 15th, 2018 Payment: $20 per story 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 We do not publish reprints, including anything that has appeared on a website.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 months....

Taking Submissions Iridium Magazine Spring Issue

Deadline: April 15th, 2018 Payment: Original English short stories of up to 5,000 words (hard limit, shorter preferred) at $0.03/word, Reprints of stories up to 15,000 words (5,000 words or under preferred) at $0.01/word, Art pieces at $50/piece (reprints accepted), Essays at $50/piece (reprints not accepted) Note: Reprints accepted. Original English short stories of up to 5,000 words (hard limit, shorter preferred) at $0.03/word Reprints of stories up to 15,000 words (5,000 words or under preferred) at $0.01/word Art pieces at $50/piece (reprints accepted) Essays at $50/piece (reprints not accepted) *We define reprints as any work that has been seen by the public before, whether in another journal or online on personal sites/blogs/etc. Please inform us if your work has been printed before so we can credit.   Rights The author grants Iridium Magazine for first world electronic rights (text and audio) and first print rights with 3 months exclusivity from date of publication and archiving.   Format Manuscripts and essays should be in standard manuscript format as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf WITHOUT identifying information. DO NOT put your name anywhere on the manuscript—any manuscripts with identifying information (incl. email or address) will be auto-rejected. The document should be labeled “Title (Genre)”.   Trigger Warnings Please warn for any potentially triggering content in the body of your email. This includes mentions of or on-screen sexual assault, suicide/suicidal ideation, child sexual abuse, child abuse, abuse, etc. Don’t try to surprise or shock us–that will only result in a rejection.   How to Submit Send submissions to [email protected] with the subject line “SUBMISSION: AUTHOR NAME – TITLE” and a 100-word, third-person bio. Unless solicited, any submissions sent directly to the editors or other email addresses will be ignored. Simultaneous Submissions: Yes. Inform us in your cover letter that it is a simultaneous submission and email us if your submission has been accepted...

Taking Submissions: TBA Scifi Asexual Romance

Deadline: April 15th, 2018 Payment: $25 Note: While many of Circlet's calls tend to fall into speculative fiction, we're still in a gray area on anything that would be erotica. However, this one doesn't have that push unline many of the publisher's titles so we thought you might want to take a look at something a little different. Possible Titles: The Romantic Ace; Acethetic Edited by Victoria Pond It seems like every romance movie, book, and song out there equates lust with love, and that means some of us are left out. Not everyone feels lust. Not everyone even wants romantic love. Here’s your chance to talk about romance for the characters uninterested in sex. Give me your space pilots in serious relationships with their sentient ships. Think about how an incubus would patiently court a demi-sexual. Maybe you have a regency fantasy where only a virgin can wield the talisman, and thank goodness we’ve got an adult countess who can step up. Let’s not define this by what it isn’t. Allosexuality dominates the rest of the media. Here’s a chance for ace pride to shine. Submit your stories from all over the spectra—from science fiction to fantasy, from sex-repulsed to demi-sexual, from romantic to platonic. This romance anthology celebrates asexuality in all its forms, in all its levels. Maybe your characters will take things to their allosexual conclusions, but maybe they won’t. And, as it ought to be in reality, that’s up to you. “Ace” puns highly encouraged. (You know: the dogfighting “flying ace” who has a closer-than-lovers arrangement with his mechanic.) Email your submissions to [email protected]. We do not publish poetry. Stories should generally be between 2500 and 8500 words (though we’re flexible for a great story). Originals only, no reprints. We purchase first rights for inclusion in the ebook...

Taking Submissions: Galileo’s Theme Park

Deadline: April 15th, 2018 Payment: 6 cents per word "Galileo's Theme Park" -   Space opera, SF, physics. The great Italian scientist is famous for standing up for science in the face of the Inquisition, doing his best work while under house arrest. He also brought us our first views of Jupiter's moons by combining a convex lens with a concave one to invent a high quality telescope. We invite you to take us on a journey to the lands beyond Earth revealed to us by Galileo and other space scientists. Suggested reading: "The Old Astronomer" by Sarah Williams (Art: Galileo during IUS burn. NASA. http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/images/artwork.html) Reading Period: March 1 - April 15, 2018 Writer Deadline: April 15, 2018 Publication Date: June 15, 2018 Third Flatiron Publishing is based in Boulder, Colorado, and Ayr, Scotland. We are looking for submissions to our (approximately) 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...

Taking Submissions: Visions Magazine

Deadline: April 15th, 2018 Payment: 4 to 5p (~6¢) per word Submission guidelines Submissions are currently opened for our first issue and will close on 15th April 2018. Please read and follow the guidelines below to ensure your piece can be processed promptly. The theme The first issue will centre on the concept of home in the broadest sense, from the physical structure to the social construct. For instance, we hope the stories will revisit what the notion of home is – a house, a planet, a device? – and what it means to feel at home or homesick. What do we mean by home? How does the concept of home adapts as the world around us changes at a radical pace? What we’re looking for We welcome a range of science fiction and speculative short stories, from micro fictions to 5000 word pieces. This is not a hard limit, but use your best judgement when it comes to sending something longer than that. We accept multiple submissions of micro and flash fictions totalling less than 5000 words. For longer texts, please only send the one that’s most relevant to the theme. We understand that authors sometimes send the same story to multiple outlets simulataneously but insist that you send withdrawal requests to the concerned parties if your piece is accepted. We’re generally not open to reprints and will not accept anything that is still available online or in print, regardless of time of publication. If you feel your piece is particularlyrelevant and is not available anymore, please get in touch. We tend to commission non-fiction but we do accept submissions (or pitches) if you have written or can write something that fits the theme. Process Please send your story in an editable format such as a Word document (.doc, .docx) or rich...

Taking Submissions: Future Visions Volume 1

Deadline: April 15th, 2018 Payment: $150+ (Read below.) About The Future Visions Anthologies is a science fiction anthology series, aiming to deliver excellent and diverse short story collections on a quarterly basis. In the tradition of great television anthology series such as The Twilight Zone, and Black Mirror, the Future Visions Anthologies will broadly explore all genres and traditions of science fiction and speculative fiction, seeking in each story to explore deeply themes that are relevant to a modern audience. Themes What do you hope the future will bring? What are you afraid we may become? How do our visions of the future inform and give shape to the hopes and fears that we have today? These questions are what defines anthology series like The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. Rather than mandating a theme for each publication, (one publication for cyborgs, one for time travelers, etc...) I want authors to feel free to explore these larger questions using any and all of the popular science fiction tropes: new technology, exploration, nightmarish dystopians, alien species, baffling utopias, the list goes on... Diversity The Future Visions Anthologies seeks to bring diversity to all aspects of their publications, from the stories and authors we publish, to the themes and genres we explore. All authors may apply regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or political affiliation. Terms The Future Visions Anthologies seeks to engage authors with fair and equitable terms through participation in the anthologies. The anthologies will be enrolled in Kindle Unlimited for an initial six-month term, during which stories will be exclusive to the anthology. After this, anthologies will continue be available as an ebook (not in KU) for an additional six-month term. During this term, partial publication rights will return to the author to publish as an ebook, except for in KU. After one year, the ebook will be unpublished,...

Taking Submissions: Deadman’s Tome Conspiracy

Deadline: April 20th 2018 Payment: Royalties Announcing call for submissions for Deadman’s Tome Conspiracy  All Submissions should meet this criteria: Works: short stories Genre and theme: Horror, Dark fiction, bizarro framed around conspiracies whether it be UFOs, JFK, 9/11, or Las Vegas. All conspiracies are fair game. Have fun. Deadline: April 20th  Format: Attach the .RTF, .DOC, or .DOCX Word Count 5k – 7k words approx. Payment: 60% of net earnings divided evenly among the authors. Multiple Submissions okay. Submit a brief bio, we don’t care if you have no work history, give us a brief bio of yourself. Send submission to [email protected] Via: Deadman's Tome.

Taking Submissions: Haunted Are These Houses

Deadline: April 28th, 2018 Payment: 1¢/word Note: Reprints Allowed Haunted are These Houses is an anthology of Gothic fiction and poetry due out in September 2018, edited by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi and Eddie Generous. Submit original or reprints of short story submissions of horror, dark science fiction (light), dark fantasy, crime, thriller, and suspense. Typical Unnerving flavor requested, but Gothic in nature. Payment is 1¢/word. Non-exclusive print-on-demand rights for five years. Submit only one story at a time. Submit in .docx, .doc or .odt only. Double-spaced. No tabs. No extra spaces after periods. Please use common sense when formatting. Everything hard on the eyes will be rejected automatically. Allow for up to 6 months before querying. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Open to authors from any country. Payment by PayPal only within 30 days of publication. Only stories from 400-6,000 (FIRM!) words will be considered with preference leaning towards fewer than 4,000 words. Via: Unnerving Magazine's Submittable.

Taking Submissions: Schlock! Horror!

Deadline: April 30th, 2018 Payment: $10 An anthology of short stories based upon/inspired by and in loving homage to all of those great gorefest movies and books of the 1980's (doesn't need to be set in that era!), the golden age when horror well and truly came kicking, screaming and spraying blood, gore & body parts out from the shadows...   It was the dacade that brought us everything in the cinema and on VHS from the Italian 'nasties' to Elm Street, The Lost Boys, Hellraiser, The Thing, Day of the Dead, Reanimator, Return of the Living Dead, My Bloody Valentine, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Cannibal Holocaust….and superlative directors such as David Cronenburg, John Waters, Roger Corman and - of course - Clive Barker. All of this was, naturally, reflected in the books we devoured - Guy N Smith, Clive Barker'sBooks of Blood, James Herbert, Jack Ketchum, Gary Brandner and Richard Laymon, to name but a mere handfiul.   Your 80's themed/inspired tales of terror wil be adjudicated and compiled by one Mr Bret McCormick, himself a writer, producer and director of many a schlock classic, including Bio-Tech Warrior, Time Tracers, The Abomination, Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants and the inimitable Repligator.  Check out his formidable resume here on IMDB...   So, you get the picture - we want your darkest splatter, most horrific gruesomeness and stomach-churning detail, all wrapped up in a gripping story played out by the strongest of characters that will keep even the most hardiest of souls wide awake and trembling in the wee hours.   To submit, email your polished story to [email protected]   PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines... * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! *...

Taking Submissions: Temporal Fractures: [Mis]Adventures in Time

Deadline: April 30th, 2018 Payment: $20AU Note: Only open to Australian and NZ based authors Note: Reprints Allowed Submissions will be open to all Australian and NZ based authors starting November 30th and will continue to April 30th 2018. We are looking for short stories 5000 - 15000 words focused on tales of Time Travel, especially where there is some kind of mishap or mistake involved. No fan fiction or stories based on existing franchises (sorry, that means no TARDIS or no DeLorean). No erotica and, as always, no sparkly vampires. Reprints are welcome, provided you hold relevant rights. Author Compensation Successful authors will receive one free ebook copy of the anthology, $20AU token payment and the right to purchase as many author print copies as they want at the cost of printing. Submission Guidelines All submissions must be made via the form below. Please refer to Submission Specs listed on our Current Submissions page Via: Cobblestone Scribe.