Events

Deadline: May 5th, 2019 Payment: $15 Switchblade is an outlaw fiction print anthologyfeaturing authors writing in the hardboiled/noir genre, and nothing else. So think Richard Stark, Ross MacDonald, Jim Thompson, Don Winslow, Ken Bruen, James Ellroy, Lawrence Block, Iceberg Slim, Max Allan Collins, Christa Faust. (just to name a few) We don’t do cozies. We don’t do procedurals. We’re not a literary magazine, and we don’t do other genres. That said, we will consider noir/crime fiction ranging from the early twentieth century up to present day. Aside from that, we are a no limit hardboiled fiction journal—we publish the kind of stories no one else will consider. Back in the day there was a Nynex yellow pages ad campaign that went like this: if it’s out there, it’s in here—that’s how we feel. The world is filled with deviance, and good hardboiled fiction reflects that. We like strong characters, and good story telling, and we will not reject anyone based on mainstream morality. Amoral protagonists are encouraged. We will not however, publish masturbation fodder for masochistic pedophiles. We’re not interested in torture erotica. But if you’ve got a deplorable protagonist, and there’s a good story—we’ll print it. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES           **Submissions for 2019**            Our next reading period will be                  MARCH 10th to MAY 5th For the 2019 Cybrerpunk themed Special Issue ONLY             Switchblade: Tech Noir Content. Rural noir is fine (very popular right now) but we love urban noir too. Urban being the setting.(not a reference to the racial demographic--any racial demographic is fine) We do mob stories. And not just Russian mob stories. Got a tight piece of fiction about the Sicilian mob in Jersey—we’ll look at it. Anyone who thinks the Italian Mafia (LCN) in America evaporated into thin air after the John Gotti trial, hasn’t spent any time in Philadelphia. That said—if it reads like a Sopranosscript or Goodfellas fan fiction, it’s going right...

Deadline: May 15th, 2019 Payment: $100 for prose of six pages and under, $200 for prose of over six pages, and $20 per poem and 2 contributor's copies Bennington Review is published twice a year in print form, Summer and Winter. Submissions are customarily read every fall, winter, and spring. The next submissions period will be from November 1, 2018 to May 15, 2019. We aim to stake out a distinctive space for innovative, intelligent, and moving fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, film writing, and cross-genre work. In the spirit of poet Dean Young’s dictum that poets should be “making birds, not birdcages,” we are particularly taken with writing that is simultaneously graceful and reckless. We only accept unsolicited submissions through Submittable. There is, at present, no reading fee. We are unable to respond to paper submissions or unsolicited e-mail submissions, or to comment on individual pieces. We pay contributors $100 for prose of six pages and under, $200 for prose of over six pages, and $20 per poem, in addition to two copies of the issue the piece is published in and a copy of the subsequent issue. Work must be previously unpublished in print or online, including on personal blogs. Prose submissions must be double-spaced and paginated. Please include a cover letter with your submission. We welcome simultaneous submissions, as long as you notify us immediately when work has been accepted elsewhere. We do not accept unsolicited submissions from current or recent students, faculty, or staff of Bennington College. Undergraduate and graduate alumni, as well as past employees of Bennington, are asked to wait two years before submitting work to the magazine. We welcome submissions from established and emerging writers alike. We ask that writers who submit to the journal possess a familiarity with contemporary literature in the genre...

Deadline: May 15th, 2019 Payment: Contributor's Copy As the name suggests, submissions to Oklahoma Pagan Quarterly have a quarterly window. Deadline is February 15th for Submissions for Spring Quarter (Ostara and Beltane) Deadline is May 15th for Submissions for Summer Quarter (Litha and Lugnhasadh) Deadline is August 15th for Submission for Autumn Quarter (Mabon and Samhain) Deadline is November 15th for Submission for Winter Quarter (Yule and Imbolc)   General Submissions Guidelines: Please send your submission in an email where the subject line is Submission: Title, where Title is the name of your article or piece, to [email protected]. Note that our submissions can often become backed up due to the number of people on staff, so please allow up to four weeks for us to respond. If queries or submissions have been unanswered after six weeks, please send us an email with ‘QUERY’ in the subject line. Please indicate which prospective issue your piece is being submitted for. What We Are Looking For: Oklahoma Pagan Quarterly is looking for fiction and non-fiction submissions for our quarterly publication. OPQ is a quarterly magazine dedicated to folk religion, spirituality, and paganism of all paths and stripes. Whether your article is over Witchcraft, Fey Work, Reiki, Heathenry, or other equally important paths, we would love to feature the independent voices of our community. Though we are located in Oklahoma and as a result are focused on our local community, we also want to hear from those in other states, locations, and countries. Part of the appeal of Paganism and other nontraditional paths is the diversity of thought and culture inherent in our worship and way of life. To that end, we will not accept work that is derogatory, violent, or condemnatory of other ways, walks, or paths in life. We will not judge...

Deadline: May 15th, 2019 Payment: 3¢ per word, $150.00 max, 1¢ per word for reprints Note: Reprints accepted We are a literary magazine of dark fiction, both short stories and flash fiction. We want your best. But then, doesn’t everyone? No specific sub-genres or themes, just good stories. For inspiration, we suggest “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits”, and LampLight, Vol1 Issue 1 which is free. We go for stories that are dark, literary; we are looking for the creepy, the weird and the unsettling. We do not accept stories with the following: vampires, zombies, werewolves, serial killers, hitmen, excessive gore or sex, excessive abuse against women, revenge fantasies, cannibals, high fantasy. Writers We have published writers of all backgrounds from all over the world in LampLight, but not everywhere, nor all shapes and sizes of writers. Help us to shine a light on greater diverse writing and keep LampLight a showcase of the best dark fiction out there by submitting and encouraging others to as well. Edition and Rights The quarterly is published as print and ebook, and at the end of the year all the quarterlies are bound together in an annual collection. We are asking for non-exclusive, worldwide, serial rights to your work for both electronic and print. We want to publish it, we don’t want to own it. We will take reprints, provided you have the rights we are asking for. We will not consider reprints that are currently available for free online. If you have already been in LampLight, we ask you wait until the next volume to submit again. Payment We accept originals and reprints up to 7,000 words (firm). Payment in USD. Unpublished Fiction: 3¢ per word, $150.00 max Reprints: 1¢ per word Please note: works published to a Patreon or similar site are considered reprints Simultaneous and...

Deadline: May 15th, 2019 Payment: Contributor's Copy (Charity Anthology.) Seeking short fiction, short non-fiction, poems, experimental works and anything Bizarro related for a charitable anthology. We at the British Bizarro Community are seeking to celebrate the weird and wonderful Bizarro writers we have in the UK and to make the world a more caring and safer place. The Charity we have chosen to support is the UK based Mermaids. Mermaids supports children and young people up to 20 years old who are transgender and/or gender diverse, and their families, and professionals involved in their care. If you wish to know more please visit their website at; https://www.mermaidsuk.org.uk/about-mermaids.html GUIDELINES All submissions must be sent to: [email protected] Must be Bizarro related, weird, crazy, bonkers stuff. If you want a quick intro to the genre email us or contact us on face book, we have a group! Submissions must come from the UK or from people born in the UK. Short fiction/ non-fiction 1500-3000 words. Poetry would preferably be short versed preferably under ten stanzas. Anything else weird 3000 max word limit. If you're unsure about anything please message us on our facebook page or at : [email protected] SUBMISSIONS OPEN FROM MARCH 10TH UNTIL MAY 15TH!!!! As this is a CHARITY anthology we will not be able to pay anyone but you will receive a contributors copy and 100% of the proceeds will go to the charity. So if you believe in the cause, Bizarro fiction and us as a group of utterly whacked out nutters please consider submitting. Thank you for reading this far and we all look forward to reading your work!! Via: The British Bizarro Community on Facebook.

Deadline: May 15th, 2019 Payment: 4 to 5p (~6¢) per word and a contributor's copy The submissions for Visions Issue Two are open until 15/05/2019. Read the guidelines below and submit your story. What we’re looking for The theme for the second issue is humanity. Much like in the first issue, we’re not looking to precisely define the subject but rather show the variety of perspectives that surrounds it. This goes from pieces about what makes us human now and in the future, to ones highlighting how little we might differ from computers or animals. Stories about robots and artificial intelligence are welcome but so are the ones about DNA manipulation, eugenics, death and human behaviour in society at large. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of topics you can draw from (stories don’t have to cover any of these topics as long as they relate to humanity): DNA manipulation, Anthropocene, anthropocentrism, art, beauty, climate change, cloning, creativity, death, elderly care, evolution, humour, immortality, laughter, music, religion, robots, sleep, written communication. Format We welcome a range of science fiction and speculative short stories, from micro fictions to 3000-word pieces. This is not a hard limit, but we won't consider pieces which are much longer. There are many definitions of science fiction but please note, we're not looking for paranormal, supernatural or fantasy stories. We’re more inclined to favour pieces that emphasise the literary and reflective aspects of science fiction. We accept multiple submissions of micro and flash fictions totalling less than 3000 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 simultaneously 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...

Deadline: May 15th, 2019 Payment: $75 and 2 contributor's copies Title: Once Upon An Enchanted Forest: An Anthology of Romantic Witchcraft Stories Word count: 7K-15K Submission Window: February 5 - May 15 Payment: $75 paid upon publication + 2 paperback copies + 25 electronic copies for distribution to readers/giveaways Anthology Release Date: 9.23.2019, the autumnal equinox.  Prompt and Theme: The autumnal equinox marks the shift into darkness which completes on Samhain. Warmth is behind us, cold lies ahead. This is a time of Thanksgiving and kinship. However, in our stories, we also want to consider the theme of The Enchanted Forest. How can you place romance, sorcery, witchcraft, an enchanted wood, cottage, village, or castle into this theme? How can you play up the impending knowledge that everything is changing from light to dark? How can you take your characters from a time of celebration into a world of romance, magical intrigue, and sorcery? What would lurk in your enchanted forest? The autumnal equinox, magical/witchcraft elements, and romance must be includedin some manner, but remember that you have a ton of material to pull from. From the Celtic Connection: Druids call this time of year Mabon, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest. Various other names for this Wiccan Sabbat are The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega, Italian), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans from the Sabbat to Oct. 15th, or Winter's Night, known as the Norse New Year. (“Information Categories.” What Is Wicca?, wicca.com/celtic/akasha/mabon.htm.)  For modern stories, the autumnal equinox is still celebrated across the world. Every culture recognizes or has recognized this turning of the season, so do a little research. So many ideas await! Things to note:  We love diversity in all its forms. We love strong women with...

Deadline: May 18th, 2019 Payment: $15 per piece. In our stories, we crave the wild, weird, wonderful, and witty. Make us laugh, make us cry, surprise and shock us. Make us feel something. After all, isn’t that what writing is for? Our next reading period will run from January 5, 2019 to May 18, 2019 for Summer Solstice, Volume 1 exclusively featuring writers between the ages of 13-20. All rights revert to the author upon publication. Pieces and bios accepted for publication will receive light copyedits if needed. We do not charge submission fees. We currently offer a flat rate of $15 per piece. Multiple submissions are allowed, but they must be in different genres. For example, you may not submit two fiction pieces, but you may submit a piece of fiction and a poem. If you are submitting more than one piece, please send each document in separate emails. Details for genres are listed below. We allow simultaneous submissions. Please inform us if your piece is accepted elsewhere. Work must be your own and not previously published, including on personal blogs. TO SUBMIT Email all submissions to [email protected] in docx format. For visual art and cartoon submissions, send in jpeg, jpg, png, or pdf. Put your name, title of piece, and category in the email subject line. Submissions will be read blindly, so please make sure your name does not appear anywhere on the document. Include your short bio in the body of the email. We do not accept mailed submissions. We will do our best to respond within 90 days. CATEGORIES FOR SUBMISSION Fiction & Young Adult Submit one short story, maximum of 6,000 words or three flash fiction pieces in separate documents. We accept literary and genre fiction, including fantasy, horror, sci-fi, mystery, etc. We do not...

Deadline: May 20th, 2019 Payment: $5 Deadline: May 20, 2019 Payment: $5 flat fee per story (author must have a valid PayPal address as that will be used for payment) We will be creating an anthology titled Strange Girls. It will be a collection of fictional short stories in which the protagonist will either be a girl or the short story will feature a girl. We’re aiming for the horror genre. Short stories should focus on a certain strange trait in a girl, whether the trait is physical (ex. Deformity), mental (ex. Demonic possession, telekinesis), creature-like (ex. Vampire, shapeshifter, mythological creature, mermaid, etc.), or supernatural (ex. Ghosts, banshees, wraith, etc.) or aliens. The author submitting MUST BE FEMALE. The author must retain full rights to the work intended for our consideration and that the work itself is complete and not published anywhere else (including personal websites or social media). Having been previously published isn’t a requirement, if you have a compelling story, send it to us! Publisher: Twisted Wing Productions Requirements: Stories must NOT exceed 8,000 words. Format: Word doc, 12 font, double space Arial or Times New Roman. Not a reprint. We are asking for exclusive first worldwide electronic and print rights for 18 months and the right to keep the story in print, and nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology. We do not place any limits on what the author does with the story after the exclusivity period. We are not looking for poetry or screenplays. Bonus: Characters in stories are own voices, POC, or LGBTQ Submission method: Please send story as an attachment (.doc or docx. Only) to azzurranoxyahoo.com Please include the following with your submission: Author (Legal Name) Pen name (if applicable) Email Story Title Word Count Third person biography Acceptance letters will be sent out by June 1....

Deadline: May 20th, 2019 Payment: $10 Submissions now OPEN UNTIL MAY 20 for the JUNE Issue Theme: WATER Enchanted Conversation is looking for stories and sequential art (aka comics) that use the theme of water in some way. The idea of water can be the ocean, lakes, streams, a pond, rain, a puddle, a backyard pool, or anything else you can dream up, just as long as some version of water plays a part or operates as a catalyst to the story in a fairy tale, folktale, or myth. Work can either be re-tellings of established stories or use original characters as long as they are set within the fairy tale, folktale, or mythic templates. WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR "selkie" stories, (we already have one for the issue) or re-tellings of "The Little Mermaid" tale, as EC has already published many versions of that story. Be bold, traditional, lyrical, or experimental in your storytelling, and enchant us with your original stories set in a variety of locations around the world and time periods from ancient to modern. Examples of "water" stories previously published in EC. The Kappa by Kelly Evans The Pearl by Sabrina N. Balmick Wishing Well by Sonni de Soto What the Water Takes by Katherine Kendig The Salt Pool by Angie Dickinson Made for Their Hands by G.D. Watry   WE'RE LOOKING FOR   STORIES between 700-2000 words with our sweet spot being around 1,200 words. PAYMENT FOR STORIES: $10.00 U.S. dollars only The upper limit 2,000 word count is FIRM. Stories over 2,000 words will not be considered. SEQUENTIAL ART/COMICS: 1 to 5 pages in length. PAYMENT FLAT RATE $10.00 U.S. dollars only. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE THROUGH PAYPAL ONLY. At the time of contract, authors will have the option of donating the token payment...