Events

Taking Submissions: Longevity

Deadline: August 3rd, 2019 Payment: 8 cents per word Longevity -  Legends tell of people who lived a long time, like Methuselah. Some are just lucky (Lazarus Long), some have it thrust upon them (Lestat), some just naturally come by it (cats, bristlecone pines, megaliths), and some rightfully earn their immortality (Shakespeare, Sophocles). Is life extension possible via diets or genetic manipulation, and will there be side effects? Is ageism a real thing? Give us your speculative take (SF/F/H) on longevity and how it is achieved. Reading period: July 10 - August 3, 2019 (Note: shortened by a week so we can attend WorldCon) Writer deadline: August 3, 2019 Publication date: October 15, 2019 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...

Taking Submissions: The Other Stories Vol 45. Abandoned Places

The Other Stories

Deadline: August 5th, 2019 Payment: $5 UPCOMING THEMES FOR CONSIDERATION: (Vol 45.) Abandoned Places; deadline 5th August. SUBMIT YOUR STORIES TO [email protected] Add subject line 'Story submission - The Other Stories' Write for The Other Stories! If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week.   HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 Please include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story. Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document Stories must fit an upcoming theme You must be the original creator of the story We will consider entrants whose work has been entered and published elsewhere, however please ensure you state where and when on the document You will be allowed to place one call-to-action for your own work at the end of the episode. Be sure to include this in your document. Payment per accepted story is 5USD to be paid on the 1st of the month following publication via Paypal. All rights remain with the author.   SUBMIT YOUR STORIES TO...

Taking Submissions: Outlook Springs!

Deadline: August 15th, 2019 Payment: $10 per poem, $10 per flash piece (under 1,000 words), $25 for short fiction and essays (over 1,000 words). Send us stories we can’t put down. Our emphasis is literary fiction:  “the Bigfoot's heart in conflict with itself,” as Faulkner famously  said. But we aren’t biased against genre. To the contrary! Experimental,  science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, magical realism, minimalist,  maximalist, flash, etc., etc., are all welcome into our home, so long as  there is an emphasis on character and/or language rather than on  cleverness and conceit. Let us reiterate: character and language are  important. We want sentences radioactive with the bizarre, the  beautiful, the ugly—the world as only you see it. Surprise us. Break our  hearts. Humor is always a plus. Humor and heartbreak together? Oh, boy.  That’s a dream come true. Outlook Springs isn’t looking for merely competent stories—stories that are technically proficient but emotionally cold. Zap us with life. In short: send us your best work. We can't wait to read it! Hello from Outlook Springs! Send us your weird, wobbly wordwork: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. See genres for specific submission guidelines, but here's a quick rundown: - Please only one submission at a time. - Please submit only twice per Reading Period. - Of course simultaneous submissions are OK. They should always be OK. - Payment is $10 per poem, $10 per flash piece (under 1,000 words), $25 for short fiction and essays (over 1,000 words). Payment via PayPal or Venmo. - Double-spaced, Times New Roman is good, but hey, you do you! - Please don't hide any curses or hexes in your semi-colons (ahem, Dave) - See our site for some examples of what we publish (www.outlooksprings.com) - No counterfeit exclamation points or hyphens Questions? Email [email protected] Thanks for submitting. Thanks for reading. Thanks for...

Taking Submissions: LTUE Benefit/Charity Anthology #3 – Twilight Tales

Deadline: August 15th, 2019 Payment: Contributors Copy Note: Reprints welcome Since its beginnings in the early 1980s, the Life, the Universe, & Everything Symposium academic symposium has been a staple of the Utah and Intermountain West author and artist community. Many authors, artists, and editors found inspiration for their careers at the feet of scores of symposium guests. Influential professors and others have mentored those planning and running the symposium, but many of these mentors have passed on. The symposium helps students of all ages by providing greatly discounted student memberships. Hemelein Publications—in conjunction with LTUE Press—created a series of memorial benefit/charity anthologies to help the symposium continue to help these aspiring creators learn about their crafts at a reasonable cost. The third of these anthologies, Twilight Tales, is a light horror anthology, created in honor of Betty Pope. She was a librarian at the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University for many years. She established the science fiction and fantasy literature Special Collection section. She also hosted a reception at her home each year after LTUE for the guests and committee. This anthology will contain stories Betty would have loved. In summary: Light horror stories (think Twilight Zone or Goosebumps) any length up to 17,500 words Unpublished or reprint stories Up to two submissions per author This is a benefit/charity anthology, so stories are donated and author receives no monetary compensation Authors receive a print copy of the anthology and an electronic copy Meet the content guidelines described on the Submission Guidelines page Stories are due by August 15, 2019 If you have a story that meets these criteria, please submit it using our online form. Contracts will be sent by November 1, 2019 to those whose stories are accepted. The anthology will be released during the LTUE symposium in February 2021 in electronic and printed form. As this is...

Taking Submissions: A Dying Planet

Deadline: August 18th, 2019 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence for new work, and continue to pay 6 cents/4 pence for reprints A Dying Planet: Resources running low, the population exploding, the planet is in danger: are we masters of our own destruction, or have we been invaded by aliens bent on mass extinction? Is this a pattern across the entire universe, or just our small sector of cosmic life? New stories needed to explore themes of a dying planet. Formal Call for Submissions (2019) We are looking for new and recent short stories. We do not require exclusivity. You hold copyright, licensing us just for this publication. We don’t mind if your story has been previously published online or in print (though we do need to know publication and date). Simultaneous submissions are fine, but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology. Word length is most likely to be successful at 2000–4000, but we will still read stories slightly outside this range.  Submit stories for 'Detective Thrillers' and 'A Dying Planet' by email to [email protected] Fees, Copyright and Other Terms From these two titles onwards, we will pay 8 cents/6 pence for new work, and continue to pay 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. This will bring us into line with the new qualifying rates for SWFA. We would prefer to pay via PAYPAL because bank charges to the US and Canada in particular can be crippling for all concerned. Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that. Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel. Please submit in .doc, .docx or .rtf formats, double...

Taking Submissions: Detective Thrillers

Deadline: August 18th, 2019 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence for new work, and continue to pay 6 cents/4 pence for reprints Detective Thrillers: The thrill of the chase, the steely-eyed detective (either gentle or hard-boiled), the dark alleys and the double-cross, the unsolvable crime by a masterful criminal mind: we're looking for chills and double twists, unexpected turns and private investigators with an eye for the unusual. Formal Call for Submissions (2019) We are looking for new and recent short stories. We do not require exclusivity. You hold copyright, licensing us just for this publication. We don’t mind if your story has been previously published online or in print (though we do need to know publication and date). Simultaneous submissions are fine, but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology. Word length is most likely to be successful at 2000–4000, but we will still read stories slightly outside this range.  Submit stories for 'Detective Thrillers' and 'A Dying Planet' by email to [email protected] Fees, Copyright and Other Terms From these two titles onwards, we will pay 8 cents/6 pence for new work, and continue to pay 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. This will bring us into line with the new qualifying rates for SWFA. We would prefer to pay via PAYPAL because bank charges to the US and Canada in particular can be crippling for all concerned. Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that. Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel. Please submit in .doc, .docx or .rtf formats, double spaced, with your name and email address in the footer or header...

Taking Submissions: Colp: Solitude

Deadline: August 20th, 2019 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2500 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2500 words Colp is our 'anything goes' anthology collection. Expect to see a little bit of this and a little bit of that within each issue, so feel free to submit stories from any genre. Current theme: Solitude Sometimes, being alone is perfect. Other times, it can be truly horrible. Horrifying even. It all just depends on the situation... Whether it be the solo traveller alone on on a desert island, or the shift worker sitting by themselves in a late night diner, for this collection we would like you to send through your stories of solitude. Think isolation, loneliness and seclusion. Originality is the key here. Try to address the theme in a way that others may not. Not thinking outside the box may lead to your story not standing out from the crowd. Minimise the number of characters that you use in your tale. Colp is for everyone and therefore we are willing to read stories that fall into any genre. So, no matter whether your story is a horror, adventure, romance, sci-fi or historical fiction piece, please send it on through. Be original. We also encourage new and unpublished writers to take the leap and get in touch. Please ensure that you read through the general guidelines below and format your submission accordingly. If you have any specific questions please contact us using the form on the home page or via the listed social media accounts. To help make sure that your submission gets to the correct place, please include the following in the subject line of your email: Colp - Solitude - Story Title. Word count: 1000 - 4500 words Deadline: August 20 2019 Payment:  AU$5.00 for stories under 2500 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2500 words General guidelines:...

Taking Submissions: Signal Horizon

Deadline: August 21st, 2019 Payment: .03 cents a word for work up to 3000 words Signal Horizon is a horror and science fiction media conglomerate. We’re looking for horror: or science fiction with a dark or weird edge. We are not interested in parsing through what exactly that means we are very open to whatever.  If your story uses older horror tropes or concepts our expectation is that you will offer a unique perspective on them.  We want something different. There is a audio aspect to what we publish so authors should pay close attention to what your story sounds like. Black comedy is fun.  We are down for that.  However it's difficult to be funny.  Be aware.  If you offer smart and nuanced takes chances are you will appeal to us much more.  Bring us your literary horror works, and we will read them.  We also want to read the wide range and diverse members of the horror world.  Women, people of color, and LGBTQ authors are particularly welcome.  The Submission window for the rest of 2019 will open June 4 and will stay open until August 21, 2019.  See below for questions regarding communication Come Get Paid We pay up .03 cents a word for work up to 3000 words.  We will read submissions up to 5000 words but payment will be capped at 90.00.  Please no reprints. Original fiction sales to Signal Horizon count towards Affiliate or Active membership in HWA. Signal Horizon buys nonexclusive audio and text rights, and nonexclusive electronic rights to distribute the audio and text file under a Creative Commons license.  Sample contracts are available. NO Reprints, and Only One Submission Per Author.  We will not read your second entry. Format and Cover Letter Prepare your manuscript in something approximating Standard Manuscript Format formatted in .rtf, .doc, .docx, and .odt....

Taking Submissions: Classics ReMixed II

Deadline: August 30th, 2019 Payment: $25 Left Hand Publishers is announcing their call for submissions for their next anthology: “Classics ReMixed II.” It’s going to be a collection of short stories based on classics. This is a second volume of our popular Classics ReMixed anthology. Take a classic story, character, or theme of your choice (of any type) and reimagine it. The writer must make it easy for the reader to identify the character or storyline from the classic, but then take the reader in a different direction by reimagining the story – perhaps with humor where there wasn’t before, or maybe tragedy, or even mystery. PLEASE identify the classic you have reimagined either on the submission form or on the first page of your manuscript. Word count is 4,000 to 10,000 words. Submissions begin: Friday, July 26th, 2019, 12:00 a.m. EST Submissions close: Friday, August 30th, 2019, 5:00 p.m. EST. Notice of acceptance or declination will be emailed approximately: Friday, September 27th, 2019 COPYRIGHTS The trick is to make the story or characters recognizable WITHOUT violating copyright law. For example, if you were reimagining the story of Superman, you need to find a creative way to do that without using any proper names such as “Clark,” or “Lois,” or “Superman.” HINT: Stories over 75 years old are rarely active in copyrights. If you submit a really good story but it dances all over copyright issues, we may send it back with a note regarding same. Left Hand Publishers reserves the right to decline any short story that could infringe on copyright law and have legal ramifications. TWIST OR MORAL All short stories submitted MUST have a twist or a moral somewhere in the story, preferably at the end. Good twists (and morals) will catch the reader off guard and surprise them with more than a touch of irony or...

Taking Submissions: Haunted Playthings: 13 Tales of Terror Based on True Stories…or are they?

Deadline: August 31st, 2019 Payment: $10 and a contributor's copy We are currently accepting submissions for Haunted Playthings: 13 Tales of Terror Based on True Stories…or are they? It will follow the same format as our first anthology, Shadow People and Cursed Objects: 13 Tales of Terror Based on True Stories…or are they? In case you’re not familiar with our first anthology, it included a mixture of short stories about shadow people and cursed objects. Some were based on real events or objects. Others were inventions of the author’s imagination. The fun was for the reader to decide which was based on fact, and which was made up. All was revealed in the Truth or Fiction section. We’re going to do it again this time. What We Want As the title suggests, Haunted Playthings will contain thirteen short stories about just that…haunted playthings. Including (but not limited to): Ouija boards Haunted dolls Haunted video games or electronic toys Possessed rocking horses Haunted tricycles Spooky swing sets or playgrounds Whatever other kind of haunted plaything you want to write about! Yoyos, hula hoops, Slinkys, stuffed animals, fidget spinners, puzzles, action figures, dress up clothes, Slip and Slides, coloring books…there are loads of possibilities really. Your story can be based on a true account of a haunted plaything (think Robert the Doll, Annabelle the Haunted Doll, or even Lake Shawnee Amusement Park). Or your story can be a total invention of your imagination. Your choice. Get creative and have fun! Length Story: 1,000 to 5,000 words Truth or Fiction explanation: up to 500 words Other Story Requirements No previously published stories. However, feel free to submit as many original stories as you want. Simultaneous submissions are okay, but if it gets accepted elsewhere please tell us so that we can take it out of consideration for our...