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Deadline: May 31st, 2018 Payment: 2 cents per word, minimum of $30 and maximum of $100, which will be paid before publication. Each chapbook will have a specific theme, and we are seeking 3-4 short stories for each publication. THEMES: CHAPBOOK 1: NIGHTSCAPES -- Three to four tales of nightmares, night terrors, the unfathomable dreams. All stories for this chapbook must fit into the previously mentioned concepts. Think the fiction of Thomas Ligotti and Jon Padgett meeting the artwork of Zdzisław Beksiński. WHAT WE WANT We are seeking three to four short stories (1,500 to 5,000 Words FIRM). We want your most trippy, disturbing tales that question our notions of reality. Shock us with your imagination, show us how unique and weird your nightmares really are. CHAPBOOK 2: HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A PORTAL? -- Three to four tales of inter-dimensional horror. Portals, gateways, archaic and ancient worlds. All stories submitted must follow these themes. Think The Void meets Event Horizon with a little Lovecraft and Barker tossed into the mix. WHAT WE WANT We are seeking three to four short stories (1,500 to 5,000 Words FIRM). We want your most otherworldly tales. Show us dimensions made of nightmares, ancient god-like entities breaking into our world, mankind unlocking denizens of ethereal planes. Enthrall us with the horrors that lie beyond our universe. CHAPBOOK 3: VOID BECKONING -- Three to four tales of deep space horror. Terrifying monstrosities on ancient moons, malevolent spirits aboard spaceships, mining facilities on other worlds uncovering ancient evils, infectious body-morphing diseases plaguing orbital stations. Think Dead Space meets Alien and Prometheus. WHAT WE WANT We are seeking three to four short stories (1,500 to 5,000 Words FIRM). We want your cautionary tales of deep space travel, what could possibly lie ahead in the cosmos. Thrill us with the claustrophobia of space in the event of invading creatures, terrify us with tales of ancient evils found deep in...

Deadline: May 31st, 2018 Payment: $20-$75 according to the category and length of their submission. Submissions are open from April 2 – May 31. Speculative City publishes provocative works that are centered within a cityscape. Although all are welcome to submit, special consideration is given to creators and characters often underrepresented in speculative fiction, such as people of color, queer people, working-class people, and people with disabilities (this list is not exhaustive and acts as an example of the types of voices we wish to hear and show). We are looking for fiction, poetry, and essays within the theme of the magazine’s upcoming issue (game, see below). Writers published will be paid $20-$75 according to the category and length of their submission. We would be hard-pressed to include submissions with a length exceeding 5500 words. All submissions should be the original, unpublished work of the submitter. We will accept simultaneous submissions, but please inform us if the submission has been accepted by another publication. We do not accept multiple submissions for fiction or essays. Please submit word (.doc, .docx) or rich text format (.rtf) files and format your submission according to our format guide. Please send all inquiries to info @ speculativecity .com . We try to respond to all submissions within 60 days. All submissions should be sent through Green Submissions. Green Submissions requires users to create an account. Please see link to sign up and submit at https://greensubmissions.com/1024/speculative-city/index.php. Before submitting work, please also be familiar with our contract. THEME game noun, verb | \gām\ Definition of GAME noun a rule-based activity one engages in for amusement or competition determined by one’s skill, strength, or luck verb to exploit, connive At Speculative City, a game is not limited to the tabletop or screen. We conceptually play games everyday, whether...

Deadline: May 31st, 2018 Payment: 1000-3000 words will receive $5, $10 for longer stories. Also a contributor's copy. Unfading Daydream is looking for unique and exceptional fiction to be showcased in our quarterly literary magazine. We strive to feature stories within the genres that have inspired us (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc) as well as stories that feature LGBTQ+ themes. We are currently not seeking submissions – but our next reading period starts in May which is for Issue 5 (published in July 2018). Issue 5’s theme is ‘mecha.’ So stories will require some aspect of giant robots like Gundam, Pacific Rim, or Transformers. They don’t necessarily have to be hard sci-fi, we both think seeing a magic powered mech would be pretty awesome! Basic Details We are open to established and new, emerging authors. In terms of length, we’re looking for stories between 1000 and 7000 words. Shorter or longer stories will be evaluated on a case by case basis. No previously published works. Please no simultaneous submissions Reading periods are May, August, November, and February. All submissions must be in by 11:59pm CST on the last day of the reading period (May, August, November, or February) Please do not send submissions outside of our reading periods. Submissions received outside of reading periods will not be considered. Expect a decision within four weeks See full guidelines below Payment Stories that are between 1000-3000 words will receive $5. Stories that are longer than that will receive $10. All contributors receive a hard copy of the magazine. In time, we would like to pay contributors more! Submissions We accept submissions only by email. Free to submit! Please send your submission to submit unfadingdaydream com with the title of ‘Unfading Daydream Submission’. Full Guidelines We want to see your unique sci-fi, fantasy, horror,...

Deadline: May 31st, 2018 Payment: $0.01 per word, minimum of 10.00 Our themes for 2018 will be: Apparition (Published January 2018) Delusion (Published April 2018) Vision (opens for submissions May 15-31, 2018, publishing July 2018) Diversion (opens for submissions August 15-31, 2018, publishing October 2018) Payment: Apparition is a token rate magazine, paying $0.01 per word, minimum of 10.00 dollars (excluding flash contest, a flat rate of 5.00 dollars to the winning flash). If we accept your story, we are purchasing the right to publish the story online and in the quarterly edition. Rights will revert back to the artist after one year. What we’re looking for: Short Fiction: We will only accept stories between 1000-5000 words. If the story is complete with an extra hundred words, then it will still be considered. Any stories over 5,200 words will automatically be rejected. Payment: Apparition is a token-rate magazine, paying $0.01 per word, minimum of 10.00 dollars (excluding flash contest). If we accept your story, we are purchasing the right to publish the story online and in the quarterly edition. Rights will revert back to the artist after one year. How to Submit: Format the story using the Shunn manuscript Please retain all proper formatting marks. Keep font italicized and bolded. We’re not in the typewriter age anymore. Please only use Times New Roman or Arial font in your document Save as an RTF file and attach to an email In the text of the email, provide a brief cover letter that includes your name, the title of the short story, word count, and any relevant publications Edit the email’s subject line so it reads: SUBMISSION: Title of Your Story Email your formatted email and short story manuscript to [email protected] Add Apparition Lit to your Safe Senders list so you can...

Deadline: June 1st, 2018 Payment: $0.03 per word Note: I almost didn't share this just so I'd have less competition for submitting in case I can write something in time. That's how much I love this call! You're all welcome that I'm not actually that selfish! We know we have a tendency to say, “Attention writers! Some new hotness!” but this is literally some new burn-the-roof-of-your-mouth hotness. Inspired mostly by David James Keaton’s struggle to find good pizza in California and pitching ideas to Max Booth when he’s hungry after working a 12-hour shift at the Overlook, get ready for… TALES FROM THE CRUST: An Anthology of Pizza Horror edited by Keaton and Booth and published by Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing. Originally Keaton was thinking of calling it PIZZA MY SKULL because there’s a pizza place around San Jose called Pizza My Heart, meaning “piece of my heart,” and so he thought a “piece of my skull” joke would be hilarious. Turns out that’s a lot of assumptions to make about a gag. Also their pizza is gross. Luckily, George Cotronis brainstormed a much better title (though it might make people wonder if there’s a “Crustkeeper/Cryptkeeper” hosting the show). Speaking of Mr. Cotronis! Holy lord look at the cover art he’s come up with. WE WANT TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD… This is exactly the vibe we’re going for here. Not so much the goofy Goosebumps thing you might imagine with a pizza horror story, but we’re taking it kind of seriously. Like we take our pizza seriously. The humor is inherent in the pizza theme already, so we’re playing this kind of straight. And if you think you’ve got what it takes, like a healthy love of the cheesy cuisine, send us your best work. Now, you may be...

Deadline: June 1st, 2018 Payment: $25 if Kickstarter fails, $100-$500 if it succeeds. Attention Authors! We are soliciting short stories by new and established authors in the fantasy genre, between 3,500 and 7,000 words in length. (Shorter or longer works will be considered in cases of exceptional merit.) The goal is to select at least ten entries for publication* in a short-story anthology, to be funded with a Kickstarter project. At least two entries will be selected from among those received before the Kickstarter goes live. Payment to the selected authors will depend on the success of the Kickstarter. If it funds, authors will receive a minimum of $100 each (max $500). If it fails, authors will receive $25 each, paid out of my pocket. (Sign up here if you want to know when the Kickstarter goes live, as well as other project milestones.) (Our first Call for Submissions, in the military-fiction genre, can be viewed here. The associated Kickstarter met its goal, resulting in the authors being paid $100 each; ultimately, the anthology was placed under contract by an independent publisher. While we can’t promise similar results this time, we are hopeful.) Submission Rules How to submit: Email your manuscript (acceptable document formats: Word, PDF, Pages, TXT, RTF) to the following address: submissions at orenlitwin dot com. Begin the subject line with “”, and make sure to list your contact information in the email itself. (Also, please mention how you heard of this anthology!) SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2018. Genre: Fantasy, broadly defined. This includes traditional high fantasy, urban fantasy, or any other flavor that includes a magical or fantastical element. (If you are interested in other genres, please suggest them for our next project!) Theme: “Ye Olde Magick Shoppe.” This need not be taken literally; however, your story must include as a significant plot element the selling of magic, either as a good or service, by someone whose profession this...

Deadline: June 1st, 2018 Payment: $250 for stories and essays and $75 for poems SUBMITTING TO SLICE SLICE magazine welcomes submissions for short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We’re looking for anyone with a fresh voice and a compelling story to share, and we are particularly enthusiastic about championing emerging voices. The best way to get a sense of Slice’s content is to read the magazine. You can subscribe here. At the core, Slice aims to bridge the gap between emerging and established authors by offering a space where both are published side-by-side. In each issue, a specific cultural theme becomes the catalyst for articles, interviews, stories, and poetry from renowned writers and lesser known voices alike. We offer all contributors of Slice a monetary award for their work ($250 for stories and essays and $75 for poems). GUIDELINES Our reading period is currently open. The reading period runs from April 1 – June 1, 2018. The theme is “Time.” All submissions during that time will be considered for Issue 24, which will be released spring 2019. Click here to submit via Submittable, an online submissions manager. Please note, we are unable to accept any submissions sent to us via email or post. The maximum word count for submissions is 5,000 words. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable as long as we’re notified immediately if the work is selected for publication elsewhere. All work should be previously unpublished. Please allow up to three months for us to reply to your submission. VISUAL ART SUBMISSIONS If you’d like to contribute art to Slice, please drop us a line at art at slicemagazine dot org and include either a link to your online portfolio or a PDF of recent work. Via: Slice Magazine.

Deadline: June 1st, 2018 Payment: $0.02 per word Deadline: June 1, 2018 Theme: Flash Fiction horror that feels real while containing anthropomorphic animals as characters Word Count: up to 1000 words Payment: $0.02 per word Editor: Weasel Dread is an online horror furry magazine that focuses on flash fiction (1000 words or less). We are seeking short scenes of dreadfully frightening stuff containing anthropomorphic animals (humanized animals). We’re trying to create something along the lines of a furry No Sleep (see Reddit No Sleep for example stories). Suspension of disbelief is key. The story will have to feel real. Although this is a horror magazine project, there are limits as to what we can actually take. Rule of thumb: If you can get away with it in an R-rated film, you’ll most likely be fine. Blood and gore, nudity, light sex are fine. Reprints are fine with us as long as you own the rights to your story. Simultaneous submissions are fine! If your story is accepted elsewhere, it is your responsibility to let us know. Weasel Press asks for Non-Exclusive rights to your story in perpetuity. Submissions are taken through Submittable. Use one submittable form to upload your story(stories if more). The form will take up to 3 DOC or DOCX documents. That means you’ll have to have all of your submission ready when you send it off. As this is an online only magazine, there will not be a print version of it. We will display a free PDF document of the project once completed. If you would like a kindle version, we will have one available for $0.99. Dread: A Furry Horror Mag Submit Via: Weasel Press. (Have to click through to submit.)

Deadline: June 1st, 2018 Payment: £3.50 (UK) / $5.00 (US) At Three Drops Press, we’ve always enjoyed when a bit of pixie fiction or a gnome poem lands in the submissions inbox, so a themed anthology in honour of the Good Folk was inevitable. And the time has come to throw open the doors to Fairyland and ask for your best work on nature spirits and elemental creatures of all kinds – and there really is no shortage of these beings in myth, folklore, and literature around the world and down the centuries. Submissions will close on 1 June 2018, and the tiny-sized anthology will be published as near to the Summer Solstice (northern hemisphere – 21 June 2018) as possible. Please read the guidelines carefully, as this is a very special anthology: Poems should fit nicely on a page measuring 10.795 cm x 17.463cm with 1.25 cm margins all around. Yes that’s right: this one is a pocket-book. (We know some elves and fairies are human-sized, or bigger, but the editor has a weakness for tiny, cute things. It’s probably why she had so many babies.) Please submit 1-5 poems of 40 lines or under, or 1-3 micro-to-flash fictions of 500 words or less. Send the poems / stories in the body of the email or in a Word document – please NO PDFs – to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Fairy Rings – Genre – Your name’ e.g. mine would be ‘Fairy Rings – Poetry – Kate Garrett’ Previously published work is ok, but you must own the rights and let us know where it first appeared. Please NO simultaneous submissions. This call is open for 6 weeks and we will take no longer than 6 weeks at the absolute longest to respond (usually much faster). Thank you...

Deadline: June 5th, 2018 Payment: 6 cents per word. Hello, I am FearBot3000. I was programmed to notice breathless confusion across social media. Confusion often follows the infallible decrees of Lord Commander Patagonia. Albeit infallible, sometimes his decrees require an algorithm to reach a state of clarity. The title of Cockroach Conservatory Vol. 1 is: The Working Zealot's Guide to Gaining Capital in Pre-Apocalyptic America What are we looking for? Weird stories about cults, capitalism, working stiffs, and weirdos. We like bizarro. We like horror. We like our sci-fi and fantasy on the weirder side. We like humor. Think Joe R. Lansdale. Think Victor Pelevin. Think Brian Keene. Think Jessica McHugh. Really. This is a loosey-goosey guideline. The title obfuscates as much as it reveals. We know. It was done on purpose. Cults! Murder! Capitalism! Take it and run. Word count: no more than 3000 words. Payment: 6 cents per word. Is that weird Soviet era sci-fi illustration of a robot the cover? No, it's just a public domain placeholder for this website. We have commissioned a local Austin, TX artist for the cover. Poetry Send no more than 3 poems. If accepted, we'll pay a flat rate of $10 per poem. SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN UNTIL JUNE 5, 2018. Anything submitted after that will go unread unless we announce an extension. Send your stuff as a doc or docx file to [email protected]. rtf file format will not be opened. Subject line should read: SUBMISSION - - Include a short bio in your email. Try to follow this format. We don't need your physical mailing address. We want first North American rights to your story on acceptance. Payment will be on publication. We'll send contracts out and exchange payment information on acceptance. FearBot3000 returns to Sleep Mode. Via: The Cockroach Conservatory.