Events

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.

Deadline: September 30th, 2020 Payment: $10 Theme: A "strange mystery" about a holiday of your choice! It's tentatively titled "Strange Holiday Mysteries." Like most of our "Strange Mysteries" series, it will contain some 20 stories, each 3000 words. Submissions are open July, August and September, ending September 30. We hope to publish the book in October. What's different about this "Strange Mysteries" collection is that you writers choose which holiday on which you wish to base your story. As Associate Editor Arthur Sanchez says, "It doesn't have to be a major holiday. If your favorite is National Taco Day, go with it!" Send your submissions to [email protected]. . Be sure to include your email address and 50-100 word bio on your submission. We are paying (the usual) $10 per story. We can't consider submissions without a return email address. Happy writing! We offer here a selection from our Whortleberry Press Stylebook: (A stylebook is a collection of information setting out how a variety of language choices should be made in this publication.) Manuscript Submission: Please send manuscripts to [email protected]. Please put your email address at the upper left corner of your manuscript. Please put your name on your manuscript. Word count: 3000 words. (Yes, it used to be 5000, but we find readers like shorter stories.) Please re-read your story before sending it. You would be surprised at the number of stories rejected because of too many typos, indicating they were not read before being sent. Please do not use double spacing. Single is satisfactory. Please add your 50-100 word bio at the end of your story. Numerals: We spell out one through ten; after that, all are numerals. Thanks for reading our stylebook. We will now read your story with our best attention.. --Jean and Arthur Via: Whortleberry Press.

Deadline: September 30th, 2020 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: The future of the East Asia region in an optimistic, positive way. We’re currently open to fiction submissions ONLY in the following categories: Open themed submissions call – open to all authors. For this call we’re seeking science fiction stories that envision the future of the East Asia region in an optimistic, positive way. No dystopias, please. You can interpret this widely, but the theme has to be at the core of the story. It isn’t enough that the story be merely set in the region. This call is open to all authors, other than that please follow all the guidelines below. Please mark the submissions as an “East Asia issue submission” in email subject line or cover letter. Deadline: September 30, 2020 We consider fiction of 500-10,000 words (under 5,000 words strongly preferred.) Translated fiction. Author or authorized translator may submit fiction  that has been previously published in source language but not in English. Fiction written by authors for whom English is not their first language and who reside outside of the following primarily English-speaking countries: – United States – United Kingdom – Canada – Australia – New Zealand – Ireland Please include the author’s primary language/country of residence and/or original publication info for translations in the cover letter. Submissions that do not include this information will not be read. We’re currently CLOSED to other unsolicited fiction submissions, but will eventually open to those as well. Please do not query regarding this; we will post an update here when a general reading window opens. We seek science fiction stories (no horror, fantasy, fan fiction, or erotica) of up to 10,000 words. Stories must not have appeared anywhere in English, including your personal blog, social media, or Patreon page. We acquire first world rights in the...

Deadline: September 30th, 2020 Payment: $5 Theme: Erotic Halloween with a happily ever after Halloween at home. Curled up on the couch with the lights down low. Mini horror movie marathons. Sexting with your partner(s) instead of Netflix and chill. It’s all going to look a little different this year. Too early, you say? Never. Halloween is every day for this editor. So in the spirit of getting a jump on things – pun intended – I’m putting out the 2020 Circlet Press Halloween Microfictions call for submissions a little early this year. The same rules apply with one little twist. Since everything is a hell fire this year let’s try and keep things positive. That means every submission needs to have either a HEA (Happily Ever After), or at least hint at an HEA. But they must still fit into the theme of Halloween/Autumn/October/Horror, and also be erotic as well as story/character driven. If you are unfamiliar with Circlet Press please have a look around our website to get a sense of what we do. As always, I especially encourage marginalized voices to send a submission. BIPOC, disabled, neurodivergent, and LGBTQ+ folks especially, though all are welcome to submit. Word count limit is 1,500. No fan fiction. No reprints. All characters must be of legal age to consent and consent must be clear within the story. Multiple submissions are okay. Please send as a Word doc or RTF (or in the body of the email) and follow standard manuscript formatting guidelines. The deadline is September 30th. Payment will be $5 and the author retains all rights. Please include a short bio with your submission. Send submissions to [email protected] Via: Circlet Press.

Deadline: September 30th, 2020 Payment: Roughly $25 for stories under 1,000 words, $50 for stories between 1,000 and 5,000 words, $75 for stories between 5,000 and 7,500 words and $100, for stories of 7,500 words and over. Theme: sword and sorcery Heroic Fantasy Quarterly will be OPEN for submissions in September, 2020! Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is generally open to fiction and poetry submissions four months per year. The months you can submit are: March June September  December  If you submit fiction or poetry in any other month, you will receive an auto-response and your tale will not be reviewed. * * * As its name suggests, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is a quarterly ezine dedicated to publishing heroic fantasy — in both prose and poetry. We are unrepentant in our goal of elevating unapologetic sword and sorcery to a rightful high place. We pay $100 for stories and $25 for poems, upon publication.  (Scroll down for info on art submissions.) We purchase first world English language electronic rights, electronic rights for 90 days, archival rights for twelve months, and excerpt rights. Our fiction word limit is a soft 10,000 words, although we are willing to serialize at a maximum of 50,000 words over four issues. You may submit up to three poems, with a cumulative maximum of 30 pages.   No simultaneous submissions, please. While we don’t have iron-clad rules regarding our fiction payment, we roughly pay $25 for stories under 1,000 words, $50 for stories between 1,000 and 5,000 words, $75 for stories between 5,000 and 7,500 words and $100, for stories of 7,500 words and over. Tolkienesque (as in really long) poetry epics/sagas/vedas will most likely be treated — and paid — like fiction. Similarly, prose pieces of fewer than 1,000 words will be paid at poetry’s standard rate of $25. Art: HFQ is looking for quality...