Events

Deadline: February 1st, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word for prose, and a flat fee of $10 for poetry Theme: The Apocalyps NonBinary Review is a quarterly digital literary journal that joins poetry, fiction, essays, and art around each issue's theme. We invite  authors to explore each theme in any way that speaks to them: re-write a  familiar story from a new point of view, mash genres together, give us a personal essay about some aspect of our theme that has haunted you all  your life. We also invite art that will accompany the literature. All submissions must have a clear and obvious relationship to our theme. Submissions with no clear relationship to the theme will be rejected. We are open to submissions which relate to the idea of APOCALYPSE.   What we don't want: mushroom clouds, zombies, dystopian futures, or anything else we've already seen in countless books, movies, and television shows. PROSE, WHICH INCLUDES FICTION, CREATIVE NON-FICTION, AND FLASH NonBinary Review accepts fiction and creative non-fiction of up to 3,000  words in length, although shorter is probably better. Fiction should be double spaced, 12-point type, in Times New Roman in a  Word document or text file. We do not accept .pdfs. Authors may submit up to 5 pieces of flash fiction, no more than 1000  words each, in this category. Please upload each piece as a separate document on this submission. Flash (fiction or CNF) is the ONLY category where multiple pieces related to the same theme may be selected for  publication. POETRY NonBinary Review accepts poetry of up to 3 pages in length. Poetry should be single spaced, 12-point type, in Times New Roman in a Word document or text file. We do not accept .pdfs. You may submit up to five files with this submission, but each poem must be...

Deadline: February 1st, 2021 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: "Darryl slid three quarters into the vending machine and weighed his options." We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually three to four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests to help come up with new first lines, or we run fun, gimmicky competitions for free stuff, but the actual journal is not a contest in...

Deadline: February 1st, 2021 Payment: $100 plus a one-year subscription to the magazine Theme: Stars Note: My apologies for the short notice, I was just informed this was open. Sexy Fantastic Magazine features the absolute highest quality of fiction, comics, book and movie reviews, articles, photos of sexy fantastic heroines, and other cultural delights by top professionals and award-winning authors and artists. We are currently accepting prose fiction submissions for issue 3. CURRENT ISSUE GUIDELINES The theme of Issue 3 (March) is Stars. We are currently looking for stories that loosely relate to that theme. What We Want The absolute best literature possible in the field of fantastic stories. The greatest emphasis of this magazine is the quality of writing. Whether an orthodox narrative tale, a dreamlike vignette, or a poetical prose scene, a story should be comprehensible on some level, stay truthful to the literary world that the author has created, and be pleasing or satisfying. Any type of story with fantastic elements is acceptable, such as a metaphysical or surreal modern tale, magic realism, a dark fantasy thriller, science fiction satire, historical legend, an imaginary world fantasy adventure, etc. The fantastic element may be blatant or only perceived or hinted at. We hope for stories that are either fantastic with at least a hint of eroticism or erotic stories that have at least a hint of the fantastic. In terms of quality and style, some examples would be stories by Jorge Luis Borges, Fritz Leiber, Catherine Lucille Moore, Gore Vidal, Lawrence Durrell, John Fowles, Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Michael Moorcock, Jody Scott, Robert Heinlein, Carlos Fuentes, Anne Rice, Robert Aickman, Jack Vance, Conrad Aiken, Italo Calvino, Giovanni Boccaccio, Chaucer, Voltaire and Shirley Jackson. Comics would be work by creators such Moebius, Manara, or Esteban Maroto.  In TV or...

Deadline: February 7th, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Original fantasy and dark fantasy stories. All types of fantasy and dark fantasy are welcome. Fantasy is a digital short fiction magazine edited by Christie Yant and Arley Sorg. Instructions for submitting to Fantasy Magazine follow. Please read everything on this page and read the magazine before submitting. SUBMISSION PROCEDURES Submission Periods: Fantasy is open to submissions the first week of every month (1st-7th). Please do not query about submitting outside our open submission periods. Anonymous Submissions: Fantasy only accepts anonymous submissions. Do not include your name, address, phone number, or other similar identifiers on the manuscript. All original short fiction, flash fiction, and poetry submissions will be read anonymously on first read: moving out of slush depends on the merits of the story alone. Please make sure the title is on the manuscript. Simultaneous and Multiple Submissions: We do not accept simultaneous submissions or multiple submissions. Please do not submit more than one set of poems at a time, more than one piece of flash fiction at a time, or more than one story at a time. You may, however, submit a single entry in each category at the same time: you can submit one batch of poems, one flash fiction piece, and one short story all at the same (or overlapping) time, and each category will be considered a separate submission. If we are already considering work in any given category, please wait until you have received an acceptance or rejection before submitting again in that same category. 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...

Deadline: February 8th, 2021 Payment: $5 Theme: Newly Discovered Creatures 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. (Vol 66.) Newly Discovered Creatures; deadline 8th February !!!NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS!!! SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If, this form isn’t working, then please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. But please let us know why as we’re hoping to use the form going forward. Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) It is important that your story complies with our Submission Guidelines. Any stories found not to be in compliance will be immediately discarded. Click HERE for details 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 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982). Failure to...

Deadline: February 13th, 2021. Payment: $6.00 CAD or a contributor's copy Theme: A WIDE range of speculative fiction What we do want: (from About page) – The range of story types sought is broad: classic, gothic, supernatural, quiet, and psychological horror, near-future dystopian tales, other speculative fiction, realistic terror (extreme weather, danger in nature, being lost – to name a few), dark folklore and fairytale, dark fantasy, dark literary fiction, and more. What we don’t want: Do not send material that is offensive, promotes or describes hate, torture, or abuse, is excessively gory or violent; no slasher. No religious, sexual, explicitly adult situations, or politics. No space opera. No fan fiction. No ‘formula’ stories. No media tie-ins. For more insight into what Frost Zone Zine is looking for, read this interview with the editor. Please read this page thoroughly. There are updates applicable to issue #3 submissions. Near the bottom of this page is a link to more helpful information which should be read before submitting your work. PLEASE ONLY SEND SUBMISSIONS DURING OPEN SUBMISSION WINDOWS. Any submissions sent at other times will be deleted, unread. Submission Guidelines: Submissions open Jan03 – Feb13, 2021 Fiction: Original, unpublished Short Stories: 600 – 3000 words preferred – longer work may be considered – as long as there is a reason for the length (no filler, extraneous words, tangents…etc). Keep in mind that only one or two longer pieces will be published per issue, and the maximum considered word count is 5000. Longer pieces, if accepted, will have a preview shown on the website, with the full story published in the eBook and print issues. Previews-only may be shown online of any fiction or poetry – with full versions published in eBook and Print issues. Please send one or two stories for consideration. Send in the plain text...

Deadline: February 14th, 2021 Payment: £50.00 plus a contributor's copy Theme: SF from residents living in the UK or British ex-pats Best of British Science Fiction 2020 is now open to submissions. Series editor Donna Scott is seeking the very best short stories written by British authors that were first published during 2020. For our purposes, 'British' means authors who are resident in the UK or British ex-pats who currently live elsewhere. Please bear in mind that this is a reprint market and we are not interested in original stories in this instance; nor do we wish to see self-published stories. Also, we are looking specifically for Science Fiction with this one; fantasy and other flavours of genre will not be considered. There is no specific limit on a story's length, though anything over 10,000 words will be a tough sell. This is a paying market, with successful authors receiving payment of 1p a word up to a maximum of £50.00 plus a contributor's copy of each edition of the book. Submissions will close on February 14th 2021. Submissions should be sent to: [email protected] Send us your very best. We look forward to seeing your work, and Good Luck! Via: Newcon Press.

Deadline: February 15th, 2021 Payment: $130, and 2 print copies Theme: Non-fiction, true crime accounts featuring lawbreaking couples who have joined forces to commit crime I’m seeking original true crime stories for the fourth volume in my true crime franchise. What I’m looking for: Non-fiction, true crime accounts featuring lawbreaking couples who have joined forces to commit crime. These couples can be married, domestic partners, or lovers. Stories can take place anywhere in the world and be from any time period. I’m interested in material covering a wide range of criminal activity. First-person accounts are especially welcome from writers with a connection to their cases. Add something new to the story, a different viewpoint or angle. What makes these people tick? Material must be meticulously fact-checked before submission, including dates, names, locations, etc. This is a non-fiction book, so it’s imperative that everything is 100% correct. To get an idea of the quality and variety of material I accept, please refer to the previous books in The Best New True Crime Stories series. Criminal subjects already covered in these volumes cannot be considered. New material only; no reprints or fiction. Important: Writers should contact me in the first instance with a brief pitch for their story idea. I select material on an on-going basis; those who submit work in advance of the deadline usually have better chance of acceptance. Word count: 4,000-7,000 words One-time payment per story: USD $130, and 2 print copies of the book. Contributor fees paid approximately one month following publication. (Preferred payment method: PayPal.) For: Non-exclusive rights, with one-year’s exclusivity from date of publication. Deadline for submissions: February 15, 2021 Email: TheBestNewTrueCrimeStories @ gmail.com (not case-sensitive) Submission requirements: Format: double-spaced Arial 12-point Word document (sent as attachment). Do not indent paragraphs; instead enter one space between them. No irregular spacing between words or sentences. Absolutely no footnotes or endnotes....

Deadline: February 15th, 2021 Payment: $5 USD Theme: "Most" Speculative fiction, read below for specifics. Note: Open only for women-identified authors. Note: Reprints considered if at least 3 years old Simply follow the schedule below to be notified when we close and open for submissions. Criteria Luna Station Quarterly publishes speculative fiction written by women-identified authors. We think women write awesome characters and really cool stories and we want to show it to the world. We will consider stories submitted by any woman writer, regardless of experience or writing resume. If you consider yourself on the woman end of the gender spectrum in any significant capacity, you’re welcome here! Stuff we want: Fantasy Science Fiction Space Opera New Fairy Tales (not retellings) Some creepiness Stories that explore the nooks and crannies of an original world Big events from the everyman perspective Unique settings and storytelling forms Well written stories with strong characters Stuff we don’t want: Anything biased toward any religion, race or moral preference Extreme gore or sexual content, in particular no explicit rape or sexual assault. (everything in moderation) Bizarro fiction Poetry Fan Fiction (original stories only, please) Bad grammar/punctuation (please proofread and watch your sentence structure!) Plagiarism A further note about sex and violence in submissions. Science fiction has a long-standing tradition of pushing boundaries and asking difficult questions. It is meant to challenge us and ask us to look at ourselves and how we treat each other and the world around us. That said, LSQ is centered on uplift and so any story that contains explicit sexual situations or violence especially toward women will be considered more carefully than other stories and the content must be justified within the story’s arch. Format and Details Stories should be 500 to 7000 words in length. We may publish longer...

Deadline: February 20th, 2021 Payment: £40 Theme: Stories featuring queerness in a broad sense. This includes perspectives from LGBTQIA+ characters, but also queering of gender and sexuality in a more abstract sense. Current call for submissions: queer Gothic short stories (open until February 20th, 2021) What we’re looking for Nyx Publishing is seeking queer Gothic short stories for a sequel to our Unspeakable anthology. We are seeking short stories between 100 and 8,000 words. (We won’t delete your submission if your story is 8,010 words, but do please try to keep to the target length.) We welcome submissions featuring queerness in a broad sense. This includes perspectives from LGBTQIA+ characters, but also queering of gender and sexuality in a more abstract sense. Our anthologies are explicitly trans-inclusive. We do not require our authors to out themselves or disclose their gender or sexuality to us or anyone else. Pen names or anonymous credits are fine (although we do need your information to sign the contract – which we will not share with anyone). We love tried-and-true Gothic tropes such as crumbling castles, sketchy families, superstition, confusion over what is real or not, occultism, blurring between life and death. We also love fresh interpretations of the Gothic. Send us your gloomy retellings, genre-mash-ups, or experimental writing. Vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural beasties are welcome. We highly recommend looking through Unspeakable to see what kind of stories we publish. If you are interested in submitting a story, please do get in touch, and we will send you a PDF of Unspeakable free of cost (no further evidence is needed). Erotic content is fine, but we don’t seek erotica for this call. The fine print Nyx Publishing is pursuing world-wide publishing rights of your short story in English for a limited time, for print, digital, and audiobook. We offer a flat rate of £40 for a...