Events

Deadline: December 31st, 2018 Payment: $10 Hello fellow travelers, We are now officially open for submissions for the third issue of Underbelly Magazine! If you're a writer looking for a place for your strange and disturbing fiction, check out our Submission Guidelines page and get in contact with us. If you're interested in seeing the kinds of things we're looking to publish, our first issue is available for free here. The deadline for submissions is December 31st (end of this year), so get writing and/or submitting! We look forward to exploring the Underbelly with you once more... What We Want: We are a quarterly zine interested in Extreme Horror, Splatterpunk, Bizarro, LGBTIQ+, adult content (yes, we made that up, but you know what we mean!), freaky fantasy worlds and futures, ridiculous mash-ups, or anything just plain weird. Dark, twisted, and disturbing stories that push the envelope and explore the far reaching limits of the unnerving side of humanity. The things that people won’t talk about in polite company. The things that we all think about but refuse to acknowledge. Bring it to the light, let us look at it directly in the eye, and if we like what we see, we want it. What We Don’t Want: Don’t mistake permissiveness for blithe acceptance. We don’t want your gross-out rape fantasies, sick fantasies unless there’s a good reason for it. We want art! And please don’t send us your boring-ass zombie stories. The world has enough of them. Length/Payment/Legal Stuff: We’re interested in a wide range of lengths, from 1,000 word flash pieces up to 7,500 words. We would also be willing to accept longer stories on a case-by-case basis. A token payment of $10 will be issued upon publication. Be aware if you publish with us that any future submission of...

Deadline: January 1st, 2019 Payment: $1 per 100 words. Note: Reprints Allowed Nexxis Fantasy has a twice a year publication. Our goal is to publish an exquisite science fiction anthology filled with the greatest works from across the galaxy. We are accepting short stories and flash fiction up to 15,000 words. We are also accepting Fantasy art and photography. If you’re looking to submit a novella or novel please use this form. This upcoming anthology’s theme will be “Lost". We’re also happy to announce that all profits from this anthology will be donated to Doctors Without Borders which provides aid to people threatened by violence, neglect, natural disasters, epidemics and health emergencies. Get Paid for your accepted submission. $1 per 100 words. Keep the rights to your work. You allow us non-exclusive rights to publish your work. Can be an awesome story you’ve already published before. Join other great authors and artists and reach thousands of fantasy fans. All profits from the book will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. Manuscripts should be finished. Submission deadline is January 1st, 2019. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. You can either submit your submission using the form to the right or by emailing us at [email protected]. Authors must be 18 years old or older to submit. Via: Nexxis Fantasy.

Deadline: January 1st, 2019 Payment: 3 cents (USD) per word We will accept submissions for the non-themed anthology Tales from the Lake Vol. 6 from November 1st, 2018 through January 1st, 2019. Compiled and edited by Mercedes M. Yardley and Eugene Johnson. Pays 3c a word (USD) upon publication. Don’t miss out! In previous volumes we’ve published Jack Ketchum, Joe R. Lansdale, Graham Masterton, Ramsey Campbell, Elizabeth Massie, Tim Curran, Edward Lee, Gene O’Neill, Tim Waggoner, Bev Vincent, Kealan Patrick Burke, and many more. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR: Create believable, three-dimensional characters just as real as your friends and neighbors. The world these characters inhabit should be equally authentic, hitting all the senses. We want stories that’ll haunt the readers for months to come. Stories should be between 500 and 5,000 words max, with 3k to 4k being the sweet spot. Originality is important—we don’t want your version of someone else’s story from yesteryear. Although our arms are wide open, we’re more interested in fiction that reflects the modern. Kelly Link, Karen Russell, Joe Hill, and Damien Angelica Walters are prime examples of current dark fiction writers encapsulating the above in their work. Quality of the work must be top notch! The authors mentioned above represent the high-water mark we’re looking for. WHAT WE’RE NOT LOOKING FOR: Stories sent before or after the submission window. These will not be read. Rape stories or sexual abuse or any explicit abuse toward children or animals is expressly forbidden. This can however be mentioned or remembered by your character, but be subtle. Stories that are not short horror stories. Novels or novellas. Stories with flat worlds. To avoid too many writers writing about lakes, please keep in mind this is a non-themed anthology. PAYMENT: For this anthology we are paying 3 cents (USD)...

Deadline: January 1st, 2019 Payment: $20 and a contributor's copy. Note: Reprints Allowed For those interested in submitting, this anthology is animal horror themed. That means it can be any sort of horror involving animal attacks. Consider it like natural horror only minus the plants (and no Kaiju stories, for now; that might be a later anthology)--but we will accept insects--hybrids, too (including half-human/half-animal). Think books like The Rats, The Birds, Jaws, Watchers, Ursa Major, Ratman's Notebook, and of course, the works of Guy N. Smith. The word max is 10k, the deadline will be January 1st, and we are paying $20 upon acceptance and each contributor will get a physical copy of the book. We will accept reprints as long as you hold the publishing rights. To submit, email [email protected] and include ANIMAL HORROR in the subject line, along with the title of the tale. We look forward to reading your fine stories! Via: Nightmare Press's Facebook.

Deadline: January 1st, 2019 Payment: 1 cent per word Writer's Guidelines The Cafe Irreal is a quarterly webzine that presents a kind of fantastic fiction infrequently published in English. This fiction, which we would describe as irreal, resembles the work of writers such as Franz Kafka, Kobo Abe, Clarice Lispector and Jorge Luis Borges. As a type of fiction it rejects the tendency to portray people and places realistically and the need for a full resolution to the story; instead, it shows us a reality constantly being undermined. Therefore, we're interested in stories by writers who write about what they don't know, take us places we couldn't possibly go, and don't try to make us care about the characters. We would also suggest you take a look at the current issue, archives, and theory (especially the essay, "What is irrealism?") pages on this web site. We accept unsolicited fiction up to 2,000 words in length. Translations are welcome. There is no minimum length. We accept only electronic submissions via e-mail at [email protected]. We cannot, due to the various computer viruses and worms, accept attachments anymore, so please paste your story into the body of the e-mail. Also include your name, address, e-mail address, and a short bio in the text of the submission; please put the word "submission" in the subject heading of the e-mail to ensure that your submission doesn't get lost among all the spam. We pay an honorarium of one cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) to buy first-time internet rights (the story will then be archived). Payment is made upon publication. We don't accept simultaneous submissions and are only interested in reprints in unusual cases (e.g., the story has appeared in print but not on the internet). Therefore, if the story or translation has been published before, please...

Deadline: January 1st, 2019 Payment: $0.01 / word Submissions are currently open until about noon Mountain Time on January 1st, 2019. Link to the new submission system is below, in the hopes that you will actually read some of the submission guidelines. What I’m Looking For To steal a joke, StoryHack Magazine publishes both kinds of fiction – action and adventure. To be more clear, by action I mean that there should be characters actively engaged with an antagonist who represents imminent physical danger. Fistfights, car chases, vine swinging (alligators or spikes below), jungle insects, all that. But the protagonist must have an active role in the plot, rather than just having stuff happen at him/her. By adventure, I mean the character does awesome things (is proactive) in a exotic (not mundane) situation. Heroics often enter in. The protagonist can be in a cool time period, a fantasy world, or have a bizarre profession, something about his/her situation should transport me, the reader, out of the mundane world. After reading, I should be able to say a main character “had an adventure.” I’m open to any genre, as long as there’s action and adventure. And I’m serious when I say any genre. Space opera, spy thriller, sword & sorcery, lost world, high-seas swashbuckling, occult detective, treasure hunt / explorer, western, technothriller, you’re limited only by your imagination. As to style, think Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt, Leigh Brackett, Doc E. E. Smith, Kenneth Robinson. Think fun and energetic. I’m not partial to mopey emo fiction. You should know that StoryHack will not be publishing erotica or extreme gore. Also, I’m not likely to accept a story that has tons of cursing. A little humor is good, but I’m not looking for farce or screwball comedy. More Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, less Rowan...

Deadline: January 4th, 2019 Payment: Contributor's Copy An Altered Fairytale Anthology Give us a different take on children’s fairytales. Think The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. Genres we want are fantasy, paranormal, dystopian and horror. Word Count: 2,000 – 7,500 (No stories over 7,500 or under 2,000 words will be accepted) Submissions Close: 4th January 2019 Response: You should get a response within 3 weeks after submissions close. Compensation: A Contributors Copy (eBook) Reprints Accepted: No Estimated Release Date: July/August 2019 For more information on how to submit, check the Submission Guidelines. All submissions are to be addressed as per the Submission Guidelines for the specific category or anthology call you are submitting to and emailed to: [email protected] Email subject lines should read in the following format: SUBMISSION: Submission Catergory, Title – Word Count Example: SUBMISSION: Short Story, Myth and Magic – 4186 Submission categories are as follows: Flash Fiction (500 words) Short Story (2,000 – 7,500 words) Single Author Collections (min 20,000 words – max 50,000) Anthology – up to 7,500 words (check open anthology call) A short cover letter is required. Please include your legal name, pen name (if you have one), contact information, recent publications/awards (if any), and a bio of up to 150 words, written in 3rd person. Please don’t be concerned if you don’t have previous publications or awards. New writers are welcome. Submissions should be attached in the email as a .doc or .docx All submissions should be formatted as per Shunn’s manuscript style. Via: Iron Faerie Pubishing.

Deadline: January 11th, 2019 Payment: The winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. Read on for more details. Rules for the 2019 St. Martin’s Minotaur/ Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition Sponsored by Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America (MWA) 1. The Competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, aged 18 or older, who has never been the author of any Published Novel (in any genre), as defined by the guidelines below, (except that authors of self-published works only may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work) and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a novel. Employees, and members of their immediate families living in the same household, of Minotaur Books or Mystery Writers of America (or a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of either of them) are not eligible to enter. Only one manuscript entry (the “Manuscript”) is permitted per writer. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Please read all of the rules and guidelines before submitting your entry. If you have questions or need further clarification after reading the following rules and guidelines, you may contact us at [email protected] 2. To enter, you must complete an online entry form and upload an electronic file of your Manuscript. The entry form will allow you to upload one electronic file. Only electronic submissions, uploaded through the online entry form, will be considered; do not mail or e-mail manuscript submissions to Minotaur Books. To be considered for the 2018 competition, all submissions must be received by 11:59pm EST on January 11, 2019. a) Manuscripts must be submitted as Microsoft Word documents or PDFs. All manuscripts must be double-spaced, with pages numbered consecutively from beginning to end. All manuscripts must be saved as “Manuscript Title_Entrant...

Deadline: January 13th, 2019 Payment: Royalties Grumpy Old Gods: Seeking We’re looking for stories about mythical Gods who are waning, reborn, retired, or otherwise AWOL from their assigned post. We invite you to re-imagine old myths, mine your local retirement home for things that tickle your fancy, and invite your Muse to go wild.  The only requirement is that the god or goddess in question (or whole pantheon if you so choose) must be retired, retiring, waning in power, or ignoring their responsibilities. Bonus points for good humor. Genre: Speculative Fiction. What is Speculative Fiction? Well, Wikipedia says… “It encompasses the genres of science fiction, fantasy, science fantasy, horror, alternative history, and magic realism.” Words: 3000-4000 Rating: PG13-PG17 Deadline for Submissions: January 13th, 2019 Submission Format: Word Doc or PDF (No Google Docs please, but we’re willing to work with you if you need to submit in a different format, just contact us!) Publication: March 2019 What rights are we asking for? We’re asking for the right to print the stories in the anthology, but the writers will retain everything else. Payment: All authors who participate in the collection will receive an equal portion of the profit, paid quarterly via paypal. None of the startup costs for the book (book cover, formatting, etc…) will be deducted from the proceeds.  Submit to: [email protected] Editors: Vanessa Wells and Juneta Key. Who we are: Juneta Key: You know her as the woman who puts together the Storytime Blog posts. The social media skills are strong with this one. Vanessa Wells: Self-professed short story junkie and editor of two previous anthologies Spirit and Trick or Treat. Via: June Takey.

Deadline: January 15th, 2019 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...