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Deadline: March 28th, 2020 Payment: $3 Theme: Ideas: April Fool's Day, Passover, Easter, Tax Day, Earth Day, World Immunization Week We are looking for some suitable stories for April 2020, including: April Fool's Day Passover Easter Tax Day Earth Day World Immunization Week The deadline for these stories is March 27, 2020, at the end of the day (11:59 PM Pacific Time). Writing Guidelines Every Day Fiction is looking for very short (flash) fiction, of up to  1000 words. There’s no such thing as too short — if you can do the job in 50 words, have at it! — but our readers prefer pieces that tell or at  least hint at a complete story (some sort of action or tension rising  to a moment of climax, and at least a clue toward a resolution, though  it doesn’t have to be all spelled out). All fiction genres are acceptable, and stories that don’t fit neatly into any genre are welcome too. While personal experiences and other  non-fiction can be great sources of inspiration, please turn them into  fiction for us, or send them elsewhere. Our readership is adult, so children’s stories are unlikely to be accepted unless they are relevant to adults as well. On the other hand, we are not impressed by gratuitous sex and violence, or pointlessly foul  language; edgy content should be necessary and appropriate to the plot  and characters. It ought to go without saying that any story submitted to Every Day Fiction must be your own unpublished original creation. If  you publish a story on a blog, even your own personal blog, or any  website accessible to the general public (i.e., if the story can be  found and read online without a password or friend status or other  limitation), it is considered published and therefore inappropriate for...

Deadline: March 28th, 2020 Payment: 6 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world. Note: Reprints welcome Submissions Schedule We have a regular submissions schedule, easy to remember and plan for: four times a year, one week each time, midnight E.S.T. to midnight E.S.T., at the beginning of each season of the year: March 21 - 28, June 21 - 28, September 21 - 28, December 21 - 28 We began <a href="https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/the-kepler-award/">The Kepler Award</a> this spring.  The purpose of the award is to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways. You can learn about <a href="https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/the-kepler-award/">The Kepler Award here.</a> We pay 6¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 - 6¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles. Reprints must not have been published elsewhere within the past year or be available for sale online. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and 'forget password' have a captcha compatible with screen readers. &nbsp; Writers Guidelines We accept new work as well as reprints, anywhere from 1000 word flash fiction on up, but all else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored. We also accept poetry.  We have tough standards but only care about the quality of the writing, storytelling ability, characters, plot, and ideas, not whether you're new or established.  Submit only work you are proud of -- if you don't love it, neither will our readers!  If in doubt, edit it down further.  And further. For the many writers who valued our...

Deadline: April 30th, 2020 Payment: $60 USD for fiction and $30 USD for poetry Theme: Speculative fiction of all types Fiction and Poetry Guidelines Arsenika is looking for previously unpublished original fiction and poetry up to 1,000 words long. Payment is $60 USD for fiction and $30 USD for poetry for first world electronic rights and non-exclusive audio rights. We hope to raise the poetry rate to $60 as well in the future—please support us on Patreon if you’d like to help us reach our goal. Submit no more than two flash fiction pieces and five poems at a time, and please make sure you fill out the form again for each piece you send, unless the pieces are meant to be read together (e.g. a triptych of poems). All work should be in Standard Manuscript Format (fiction format/poetry format). Format poetry exactly as you would like to see it online—use italics for italics, underlines for underlines, boldface for boldface, etc. Send only TXT, RTF, DOC, and DOCX files. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Multiple submissions are allowed, but please have no more than two flash fiction pieces and five poems in the submissions queue at a time. We try to respond to all submissions within 30 days. If you haven’t heard from us in 90 days, please send us a query at [email protected]. Our secondary email address is [email protected]. Remember: Don’t self-reject. We use Moksha to manage submissions. If you are ready to submit, please use the button below to reach our Moksha page. Do not email submissions. Submit to Arsenika Reprints Arsenika does not accept unsolicited reprints. Payment is $30 upon acceptance. Art Arsenika pays $100 for reprint art. Please feel free to query us at [email protected] with a link to your portfolio. Questions Q. Can I submit multiple times per submissions period? A. Yes. Please have no more than two flash fiction pieces and five poems...

Deadline: March 31st, 2020 Payment: Royalties Organic Ink: Volume Three (Poetry) (Not Rated) Deadline – March 31st, 2020 Publication – June 2020 Word Count – Word count limit has been revoked. Theme – There is no theme for this anthology. Poetry about love, hate, greed, depression, etc. Haikus, epics, etc. * Introduction of yourself should be a short biography in 3rd Person between 100-250 words. Upon acceptance, this will be used within the anthology. Send a bio with every single anthology submission. We work with hundreds of authors and will not take time to retrieve yours from a previous anthology. * Poetry submissions: All poetry needs to be contained within a single e-mail. Each poem should be in a separate document. Haikus may be grouped together. * All e-mails should be addressed to “Dear Editor.” After receiving edits back, the author has two weeks to return the submission for formatting. All submissions will be reviewed within thirty (30) days of the anthology’s submission deadline. This ensures submission calls do not close early and gives everyone a chance to submit. You will know your submission has been received for consideration by receiving a generic response. Whether accepted or rejected, you will always receive a response. View our blog post on the topic of how to submit to a publisher.   Failure to submit following all of the guidelines will result in an immediate refusal. You are able to submit again before the submission call deadline.   Rating – Check each anthologies‘ rating. Word count – Check each anthologies‘ word count requirements. E-mail address to submit to – [email protected]   NOTICE –  Failure to submit correctly will result in refusal of submission. Via: Dragon Soul Press.

Deadline: March 31st, 2020 Payment:  Contributor's copy and possibly another form of payment Deadline for submissions is March 31, 2020. Reading begins after this deadline. Publication date is June 1st, 2020. The Closet It wasn’t right. That’s what they said. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t natural. Well, GX38 thought, if it’s not natural, why do I feel this way? GX loved the feeling of human flesh against its metallic shell. It loved the way humans made sounds for joy, sounds for fun, and even the sounds they made when they “sang”. But the Programmers were against it. That’s not what GX had been designed for. That’s not how things worked. GX stared in awe, sensations thrilling through its circuits as Elizabeth literally danced back into its view, a smile on her face as she laughed and spun. “To hell with what the Programmers say,” GX determined. “I love whom I love.” What We Want We want your stories about what it was like having to be in the closet, or when you came out of the closet, and how your life has been affected by being part of the LGBTQ+ community. Talk about being Ace. Talking about being gender fluid. Talk about how people perceive you, love you, hate you, accept you, or not, but tell it in the way YOU need to tell it. As the above example, a robot loving a human is “unnatural”, but it could easily be the metaphor of any homosexual relationship. So, write your experiences – be they good or bad – and tell them in full honesty, tell them in fantasy, tell them in science fiction, or however else you feel the need to express yourself. We want your stories. We want you to vent, to cheer for friends, to show how awful...

Deadline: March 31st, 2020 Payment: $0.06/word IT’S TIME TO MAKE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL… With the success of our first MIDNIGHT anthology, MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD, it’s time to roll out the 2nd in the series, MIDNIGHT IN THE PENTAGRAM. Silver Shamrock Publishing is now accepting submissions for the MIDNIGHT IN THE PENTAGRAM anthology. We are looking for original Occult/Demons/Possession/Satanism horror stories with an Exorcist/The Omen/Rosemary’s Baby/Hereditary meets EC Comics/ Creepshow/Tales From the Crypt kind of vibe. Specific submission guidelines: Submit by email to: [email protected] Deadline: March 31st, 2020 Length: up to 6000 words Format: Preferred format is Doc or Docx, double-spaced with author email at the top of the first page. - Please use the anthology title, MIDNIGHT IN THE PENTAGRAM, in the subject heading of your email. - A writer's CV with a summary of previous publications, awards, recognition, influences hometown and social media links. - The word count. - Acknowledgement of receipt of your manuscript will be emailed within 3 business days - Successful authors will receive a contract upon acceptance. Once we have a signed contract by the author and Silver Shamrock Publishing, payment will be made within 30 days via PayPal. Payment: Professional rate of $0.06/word. Note: This is an invitation AND open-submission anthology (approx. 75% invitation/25% open-submission). With the All-Star cast of horror writers we assemble, this will prove to be a very competitive open-submission, with us only taking the very best entries. Good luck! Via: Silver Shamrock Publishing.

Deadline: March 31st 2020 Payment: 50% Royalties We crave hardcore horror stories that keep readers glued to the page. Fast-paced, edgy tales based on creative concepts and well-developed characters. Our goal is to engage our audience with a mix of extreme horror and vivid narratives that haunt readers long after finishing our books. ​ We’re a professional market publishing high-quality writing in the bizarro, erotica, splatterpunk, body and extreme horror genres. We accept dark fantasy and sci-fi, supernatural thrillers, neo-noir and other sub-genre mashups as well, but all manuscripts should contain strong elements of the taboo. After all, this is Red Line! ​ We want stories that are frightening, unsettling, shocking, well-written, and imaginative. Some of the writers we like include Bentley Little, Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, KJ Moore, John Skipp, Edward Lee, Wrath James White, Poppy Z. Brite, Clive Barker, and Kristopher Triana. An easy way to tell if your manuscript is right for Red Line, is to familiarize yourself with our publications. Before you submit, please review issues 1, 2, & 3 & the D.O.A. series, so you are comfortable with the content we're expecting. ​ In addition to the details below, editor John McGuiggan is  holding a special "rural exploration" call for Red Line. Click here for more details. ​ Formatting & Guidelines ​ ● Novellas under 50K words ● Previously unpublished in any medium ● Bizarro, Erotica, Neo-Noir, Body, Extreme, Rural Exploration, & all dark sub-genres that push the boundaries of traditional horror ● We will also consider short stories (500 - 3,000 words) for website-only publication ● Open from Dec. 1st - March 31st 2020 ● Times New Roman, 12 pt. font double spaced ● Attached as a .doc or .docx – saved as “Title_Author Last Name” ● Please alert us if it is a simultaneous submission ● 50% Royalties ​ Acquisition Editors When emailing,...

Deadline: March 31st, 2020 Payment: $5 Theme: Serious horror and comedic/bizarre horror. The online form at the bottom of this page is the sole method of submission and contracting for the upcoming Corpus Press publication Two-Page Terrors. Please read all information thoroughly. You will be signing a contract with Corpus Press by placing a submission. *** Corpus Press is seeking original horror stories (no reprints) ranging in length from 400-550 words (approximate, see additional details regarding length below) for a 2020 publication titled Two-Page Terrors, which may evolve into an ongoing series. Submissions will be accepted until 11:59pm, March 31, 2020 (EST). We are seeking stories of two types: 1) Serious horror and 2) Comedic/bizarre horror Please select which category your submission best falls under when completing the submission form below. Individuals are permitted to make up to two submissions in total, but only one submission per category. Any additional submissions by a single individual will not be reviewed. STORY LENGTH REQUIREMENTS ADDITIONAL INFO The story must fit onto no more than two full pages, regardless of overall word count, and not be shorter than a page and a half. Most stories ranging in length from 400-550 words will fit the length requirement easily, but significant dialogue will reduce the overall word count. Story title and author name will be placed on a separate page, so do not factor those elements into the length. HOW TO TEST STORY LENGTH To ensure your story meets length requirements prior to submission, we have provided this template for download: LINK: Length Test Template - Two Page Terrors Alternatively, you can test length by creating a document of your own using the following settings: * 1-inch margins all around * 14pt Palatino Linotype font * Line spacing of 1.15 * Paragraph spacing: 0pt before, 10pt after ONCE YOU ARE CONFIDENT...

Deadline: March 31st, 2020 Payment: Royalties Theme: Horror stories set in Louisiana Note: Reprints Welcome Horror USA: Louisiana – An anthology dedicated to the unique horrors of Louisiana. We want readers to experience the darkest, scariest, weirdest, most terrifying elements Louisiana has to offer! We’re seeking short horror stories between 500 – 7500 words. Stories must be horror, and they must be reliant on Louisiana somehow. The “how” is entirely up to you! Originals preferred, but reprints will be considered. The submission deadline is 31 March 2020. Our target is 50 stories. There is no limit on the number of submissions per author, but we reserve the right to limit the number of accepted stories per author. As payment, authors will receive royalties divided by word count. We’re looking for stories between 500-7500 words. A few words under or over won’t necessarily disqualify a story, but please keep as close to the guidelines as possible. Stories MUST fit within the horror genre. First and foremost, all submissions must be horror. However, we recognize that horror is a very broad and nuanced genre. To that end, we’ll read stories that fit into other genres (thriller, family drama, coming of age, science fiction, fantasy, comedy, romance, et cetera) as long as the story contains horror, and as long as horror is integral to the narrative. ALL submissions MUST meet the following requirements (documents that do not meet these guidelines will be returned to authors for correction): 1. 12-point Times New Roman font ONLY (no other fonts, please) 2. Use “SMART QUOTES” 3. Submit all documents as an attachment in .doc, .docx, or .pages format Submit via email to [email protected] In the body of the email, include your name and contact information. Unpublished stories are given preference, but we consider reprints on a case by case...

Deadline: March 31st, 2020 Payment: $20 Theme: Stories set in the "perfect" town of Fox Hollow, details below! CALL FOR ENTRIES for the online short story anthology: Nothing Ever Happens in Fox Hollow. We are looking for previously unreleased short stories that could fit in the world of Fox Hollow. The selected short stories will be featured on the “Nothing Ever Happens in Fox Hollow” webpage (foxhollowstories.com). There will also be an audio version of the stories released on the related Fox Hollow YouTube channel (YouTube.com/foxhollowstories) as well as the Fox Hollow podcast. There is also a possibility for an e-book and a paper book anthology released at the end of the year, as well as an online audio version of the anthology. The stories should be no longer than 1200 words. We’re looking for horror, supernatural, and dark content. Submission is free. We will pay $10 to each author whose work is selected for the anthology. Read all this information before entering: Fox Hollow is a typical American small town. It’s as boring as can be. Unless… We sneak a peek behind the curtain. It seems that every home in Fox Hollow has a dark secret. When writing a story that takes place in Fox Hollow, the plot should revolve around the events surrounding only one person up to just a few people. The story should never involve the masses. The supernatural elements and the horror in the town is always hidden in the background. Nothing disturbs the peace of Fox Hollow. Nothing noteworthy ever happens here to the outsider or even the other residents. You can read the stories at foxhollowstories.com to get the idea. Please send your entries to [email protected] The Call for Entries ends on March 31st, 2020. Via: Fox Hollow Stories.