Events

Deadline: September 16th, 2020 Payment: $0.06/word or $15/page Theme: A new way to use the themes of dragons without actually using a dragon In fantasy, dragons are more common than trees—even crossing lines into other genres—and yet, they fall short of obligatory. As dragons grow in popularity, they’re falling in the dangerous zone between staple and soulless stereotype. Therefore, Mythulu’s October 2020 issue will be entirely dedicated to challenging use of dragons in literature. Please confront the following question: "What do dragons contribute to a story? Is there a way to accomplish the same thing without using dragons at all?" Short Stories WITHOUT DRAGONS. Use other storytelling and worldbuilding mechanics to fulfill the story needs usually filled by dragons. All genres welcome. Cartoons Any size from single panel up to two-pages of spread. Our magazine is produced in standard letter size (8.5 x 11" with 1" margin). Cartoons and graphic shorts pay at twice the normal per-page rate. Non-Fiction Articles Insightful discussion of the theme, extraordinary storycraft, or business topics for artistic entreprenuers. Art For this issue, we are especially interested in monsters that have one dragon-like quality and are otherwise unique. If your drawing was inspired by Mythulu Cards, let us know. Advertisements $80 for a full page. Subject to approval. We only publish ads that we believe are in the best interest of our audience, and we limit ads to 4 slots/issue. Letters to the Editor CURRENT EVENTS TOPIC: Because of Covid, all conventions are currently online-only. Normally, in-person encounters build deep, personal relationships between authors and fans. What ideas do you have for making online-conventions an opportunity instead of a barrier? RATES: For the October 2020 issue, Mythulu eMagazine will pay an average of $0.06/word or $15/page. Non-fiction pays $0.08/word. Creative works earn $0.04/word, with short stories...

Deadline: September 20th, 2020 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence for each word for new stories and 6 cents/4 pence for reprints Theme: Ghastly castles, haunted mansions, shadowy forests and long, dark corridors Note: Reprints allowed Gothic Fantasy Short Stories Terrifying Ghosts Anthology Ghastly castles, haunted mansions, shadowy forests and long, dark corridors... This new addition to the Gothic Fantasy series will be packed with tales of terror, bringing together the new and the familiar, the unusual and the unexpected. Terrifying Ghosts Short Stories will deliver a satisfying read for anyone fascinated by glimpses of the beyond: master storytellers featured include A.C. Benson, E.F. Benson, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Marjorie Bowen, Francis Marion Crawford, Charles Dickens, Sheridan Le Fanu, William Hope Hodgson, Henry James, M.R. James, Bram Stoker and Edith Wharton. Formal Call for Submissions (2020) 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. Please submit in .doc, .docx or .rtf formats, double spaced, with your name and email address in the footer or header of each page. Submit stories by email to [email protected] Fees, Copyright and Other Terms We pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence for each word for new stories and 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. 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...

Deadline: September 21st, 2020 Payment: 8 cents a word Theme: Original horror and dark fantasy stories. All types of horror and dark fantasy are welcome. Nightmare is a horror & dark fantasy magazine edited by John Joseph Adams (current editor) & Wendy N. Wagner (incoming editor, starting Issue 101). All submissions from Aug. 2020 onward will be considered by Wagner for Issue 101 & beyond. GENERAL PROCEDURES Instructions for submitting to Nightmare follow. Please read everything on this page and read the magazine before submitting. NOTE: If Nightmare is currently closed to submissions, please do not query asking when we'll be opening again. When we know when we're opening, we'll make that information available on this page and spread it widely. Simultaneous and Multiple Submissions: We do not accept simultaneous submissions or multiple submissions. You may make one submission to The Horror Lab category (or in the case of poetry, a batch of  up to 5 poems in one document) and one submission to our Short Story category every seven days (i.e., after submitting a short story you must wait seven days before you can submit another, but you can submit a piece of flash fiction to the Horror Lab before those seven days are up). Instructions:  All fiction must be submitted through our Moksha online submission system. Please do not email your submissions. If one of the Submission Type options is grayed out, that means we are currently closed to that Submission Type. Questions/Problems: Email [email protected] for all submission-related inquiries, or if you have any trouble using our online submission system. Please do not email your submissions to this address. All submissions must be submitted via our Moksha online submission system. Rejections/Response Times: Be aware that we expect to receive several hundred submissions during our submissions periods. As such, we cannot offer personalized feedback on each story. If we say “send more” it means we...

Deadline: September 22nd, 2020 Payment: eight cents a word for prose, thirty dollars a page for poetry Theme: Creative writing about environmental justice We’re currently reading for Reckoning 5! Please refer to the specific calls from poetry editor Leah Bobet and fiction/nonfiction editor Cécile Cristofari! To understand what we’re looking for, try reading Reckoning 3, Reckoning 2, Reckoning 1, the interviews, the Reckoning twitter, or LCRW 33. The short version: creative writing about environmental justice. Fiction preferably at least a tiny bit speculative, nonfiction preferably more creative than journalistic, poetry tending towards the narrative and preferably with some thematic heft, art leaning away from the pulpy heavily towards the political. But the heart of what we want is your searingly personal, visceral, idiosyncratic understanding of the world and the people in it as it has been, as it is, as it will be, as it could be, as a consequence of humanity’s relationship with the earth. We are actively seeking work from Indigenous writers and artists, writers and artists of color, queer and transgender writers and artists, and anyone who has suffered the consequences, intended or otherwise, of dominant society’s systemic disconnect with and mistreatment of the natural world. And we’re actively seeking new ways to reach all of the above. Seriously, if you know of a way we can do that, please share. We’d love to publish work in translation! We’re currently open to considering writing in Spanish, French or Swedish for potential translation, and work already translated into English, for which we pay the same rate to both author and translator. We don’t publish work we perceive to be prejudiced in any form, including sexism, racism, ableism, ageism. We reserve the right to point it out—respectfully—when we see it, though we’re as prone to mistakes and misunderstanding as anyone else. We’re no longer accepting submissions by email; queries are ok. Simultaneous submissions...

Deadline: September 25th, 2020 Payment: $3 Theme: Halloween Holiday Horror Book 5 - Halloween Well, we've done Christmas, Valentines, Summer Solstice and have Celebration in progress, so it's about time we had a Halloween to add to the awesome holiday horror collection ;) Short submission window, so don't miss out! - Word count is between 100-500 words - Submissions must be edited to the best of your ability - Limited to five acceptances per author, seven submissions allowed. - Google docs or Word, no weird fonts or formatting. - Include your real name, author name, and title on your submission - Pay is $2 per accepting story and authors may purchase paperback copies at cost All Submissions must be sent to [email protected] to be considered. Submissions close September 25th in anticipation of a very early October release. Cover reveal coming soon. xx The Macabre Ladies Eleanor Merry and Cassandra Angler

Deadline: September 28th, 2020 Payment: Short Fiction (4,001-8,000 Words) – $5 Theme: Horror, thriller, and science fiction SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FORMAT: All submissions should follow proper manuscript format. Please attach all submissions in .doc or .docx format. We will not accept submissions embedded in the body of an email. Please adhere to standard manuscript guidelines (12-point font, Times New Roman, double spaced, etc). EMAIL: Please send your submissions to [email protected] Include what book your submitting for, your name, and your story title. WHAT WE WANT: We are primarily interested in Flash Fiction or Short Fiction submissions but are open to novellas and novels. We currently want short fiction work for our upcoming digest series. PAYMENT: Please understand that LDB is a very small publishing brand but because of that we put greater consideration into the stories submitted. Flash Fiction (1,500-4,000 Words) – FREE DIGITAL COPY Short Fiction (4,001-8,000 Words) – $5 + FREE DIGITAL COPY Anything larger than the Short Fiction format will be handled on a case-by-case basis. All contributors will receive a free digital or physical copy of their choosing for the books their work is featured in. RIGHTS: Little Demon Books will retain first publishing rights to short stories but the original creative copyright will remain with the author. The author is allowed to reprint their original work six months after first printing. Via: Little Demon Books.

Deadline: September 29th, 2020 Payment: $40.00 and contributors copy Theme: Stories must feature nightmare creatures and must be written in the horror genre. Do you want your story to appear in the next volume of the Better Off Dead Series? IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE: Volume 4 Submission Guidelines ​ Please read carefully. Submissions that don't meet the guidelines will be automatically rejected. ​ All submissions will be reviewed after the submission deadline and chosen stories will be published in IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE- TALES OF NIGHTMARE CREATURES - The Better Off Dead Series Volume 4, which will be released in the Spring of 2021 Submissions must be between 5,000 and 10,000 words Title, submitter's name, pen name (if different), word count and email address must be centered at the top of your submission Submissions must be 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double spaced with special first-line indentation of 0.5" Submissions must be in .Docx format with 1" margins all around Submissions should be clean and edited Submissions must feature nightmare creatures and must be written in the horror genre. Creatures can be classic creatures, like werewolves, vampires, or mummies, or can be entirely unique or fresh/new. Submissions cannot contain graphic sexual or rape scenes Submissions must not have been published elsewhere before in any medium The number of stories published will depend on word count of the chosen stories, but will be no less than ten stories and no more than twenty Authors may submit as many stories as they want for review, however, there will be a limit of one published story per author Simultaneous submissions are okay The deadline for submission is September 29th, 2020 Authors will be notified by October 31st, 2020 if their story was selected DON'T END UP IN THE SLUSH PILE! You worked...

Deadline: September 30th, 2020 Payment: Contributor's copy and an original book cover Note: I think I got to this call before it was fully formatted as some of the language in it is a bit awkward, unlike their previous call. Why are we doing this Anthology? My father used to say Well said, O, Toothless One as one of those typical dad jokes. When my dad for the second time with I knew I wanted to put something out into the world to celebrate my father. My dad is dyslexic like I am but he always supported me in my writing. I'm hoping he will get to see a few of these in the time he has left. Those judging the entries will be my sister who is my editor and my mother who along with being my Alpha reader is also a writer herself. I will also be part of the judging process and along with my sister will edit the anthology. When to submit? Submissions are open from now to the 3oth of September 2020. on 11th November 2020. What are we looking for? The genre is loose but Science fiction or Fantasy would fit fine with what I'm looking for but I will accept other genres as long as it fits in with the tone of the Anthology. The theme for 2019 is westerns. in a typical wild west setting or in a new frontier. If you can fit a nice guy winning and diversity those are things that appeal to me. It will be my family who will the stories as we want to pick stories that either reflects our father or something that would amuse him. So dad jokes allowed. jokes encouraged. Humour after in your piece. Keep it PG 13. Swearing and sex can but ....

Deadline: September 30th, 2020 Payment: $5 Theme: Well-written, spine-tingling tales of horror infused with black humor The ultimate creep fest! Compiled and edited by Gerri R. Gray (Graveyard Girls, Blood & Blasphemy), and published by Hellbound Books Publishing, this anthology is looking for well-written, spine-tingling tales of horror infused with black humor (gallows humor). We are open to all categories of horror: gore, psychological, killers, monsters, and occult/paranormal. Twisted and tacky is a plus. Undiscovered writers, as well as established voices, are welcome to submit their work. If you can creep us out and give us a laugh at the same time, we want to hear from you! Contributors are invited to send a bio (up to 250 words) with their submission. Multiple and simultaneous submissions are okay. PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 2.5K - 8K word count * Write 'MADAME GRAY' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: September 30th, 2020 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment: $5.00 for First Rights Capped at 120K words in total. Via: HellBound Books Publishing.

Deadline: September 30th, 2020 Payment: Based on word count: 5,000-8,000 – $75, 8,000-12,000 – $100, 12,000-15000: $125 Theme: How to fix our broken world The world is broken. Fires, hurricanes, famine and disease haunt the and. We all need a little hope. For this anthology, we’re looking for stories that depict a (near) future Earth that’s somehow better than this one, Show us a world post-climate change, where we made peace with the planet. Or a world where we moved past racism and into a broader understanding of the connectedness of all the races of humanity. How about one where gender no longer matters? Or where borders are no more. We’re not looking for preachy. We want realistic depictions of the Earth that could be, even it it’s not perfect. Whatever fix you choose does not have to be the main plot – in fact, it’s probably better if it isn’t. But it should be very clear in the story – how we got from here to there. The Details: Length: Minimum 5,000, Maximum 15,000 words Payment: Flat Fee: 5,000-8,000 – $75 8,000-12,000 – $100 12,000-15000: $125 Rights: 12 months exclusive print rights; additional 24 months non-exclusive. Sunsets at 36 months and all rights revert to author. Due Date: Closes September 30th, 2020 Publication Date: Winter 2020-21 Format: Please use standard manuscript formatting: 1 Inch Margins Font: Times New Roman 12 Point Double spaced Half inch indent at start of each paragraph (please do not use tabs for this) Otherwise we’re not all that picky. No cover letter is needed. Please include a short one paragraph summary of what your “fix” is. Please, no simultaneous submissions. Send your submissions to [email protected] with the subject line: Submission: Fix the World If you have any questions, email us at the link above. Via: Other Worlds Ink.