Events

Deadline: March 1st, 2021 Payment: $10 and a contributors copy Theme: A circus and carnival themed collection of horror stories. Popcorn and candy apples, games and rides, laughter and fun, the carnival is all about good times, isn't it? Dark Carnival is a circus and carnival themed collection of horror stories. Submission Guidelines: ​​ Must be clean and edited to the best of your ability Submissions cannot be published elsewhere. Simultaneous submissions okay (but please let us know if yours is accepted elsewhere) 3000-8000 words Submissions must be 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double spaced with special first-line indentation of 0.5" Submissions must be in .Docx or .Doc format with 1" margins all around No child abuse, please. We will not be accepting graphic sexual scenes however use your discretion on what fits the story. Publication and Payment Submissions closed March 10th Announcements on accepted stories to be sent by April 1 2021, a memorandum to be sent for signing at this time May 1st 2021 planned release date A one time payment of $10 plus author copy per acceptance Additional author copies available at cost Minimum of 8, max of 15 stories Via: Macabre Ladies.

Deadline: March 2nd, 2021 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 new submissions schedule as of June 1, 2020: The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. Only one submission per person. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. 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. For new poetry, we pay $1 a line, reprints would be 50¢ a line, up to 40 lines. We’ll look at longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 6¢ per word. We began The Kepler Award 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 The Kepler Award here. You can read a copy of our standard contract here.   It can be varied as needed to include the rights of translators, voice actors, etc. Writers Guidelines We accept new work as well as reprints, prose and poetry, anywhere from 1000 word flash fiction on up, but all else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored.   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 —...

Deadline: March 1st-3rd 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk. Hi there! We’ll no doubt write more about this later in the next year, but for now, what follows below will tell you all you need to know. And the theme? It’s “Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk.” (No more submissions are being accepted for publication in December of 2020–but we will be publishing stories that have already been accepted.) The following is relevant to all submissions for 2021, and the first submission window opens Jan. 1. More below.   Writing opportunities for 2021 include:   New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are almost or entirely new or are just new takes on old tales are all welcome. Mashups of existing fairy tales are welcome as well. Submissions must follow the theme below to be considered.   Essays: Nonfiction articles about any aspect fairy tales and folklore are being sought. The term “essay” just means you’ll be writing about fairy-tale related matters in a nonfiction article.  Creative nonfiction is welcome. You do not have to stick to the theme, but you can.   Poetry: Poetry inspired by fairy tales and that follows the theme is also welcome.   Please read the following in its entirety before submitting.   Want to know what is likely to get published here? There are well over 10 years of stories, essays and art on this current site. It’s the best place to start if you want to be published here.   HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT AND FORMAT   Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at EC in 2021.   * Writers will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories/essays/poems 11 times this year. Since we will be choosing four works per publishing month, there are 44 slots...

Deadline: March 1st-7th 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Original fantasy and dark fantasy stories. All types of fantasy and dark fantasy are welcome. 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 do not email your submissions to this address. All submissions must be submitted...

Deadline: March 14th, 2021 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints Theme: The darker side of crime: the cold cases, the grim murders, the desperate villains, and the race against time to solve the crime Note: Reprints Welcome About the theme: We've looked at cosy crime and detective thrillers, now it's time to turn to the darker side: the cold cases, the grim murders, the desperate villains, and the race against time to solve the crime. We're seeking up to 20 new stories to join our powerful collection of Chilling Crime Short Stories, new and classic tales reaching back into ancient, medieval, Elizabethan and Victorian fiction. From Oedipus Rex and Medea to Thomas More's story of the Princes in the Tower, Scheherazade's 'The Three Apples' and the chilling crime fiction of Dickens, Poe, Henry James, Baroness Orczy and Wilkie Collins. Terms: We do not require exclusivity and do accept reprints Simultaneous submissions are fine but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months of the submission deadline 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 Guidelines: Submit your story to [email protected] Word length is most likely to be successful at 2000-4000 words, but we will still read stories slightly outside this range Let us know in your submission email if your story is a reprint Please submit in .doc, .docx...

Deadline: March 15th, 2021 Payment: $15 Theme: Lost at Sea Note: My apologies for the short turnaround, this just hit our inbox Volume I, Issue IV ​ Theme: Lost at Sea ​ For this issue, we want tales of maritime disaster. Of shipwrecks and oil spills. Of bones left to decompose on the ocean floor. Of those left behind on land, never to know what's become of their loved ones. Of lighthouse keepers forced to stand by and witness tragedy unfold. ​ Elements of the supernatural are welcome, as are stories that utilize elements of horror and science-fiction. ​ Deadline: March 15th, 2021 Word Limit: 6,000 words ​ Compensation: flat $15 fee upon publication, plus a digital copy of the magazine (which you're free to share). ​ Format: We will accept short-form fiction any way you want to write it. This can include poetry, flash fiction or short stories. We're particularly interested in the subversion of form. We don't care about hard and fast rules, so don't worry too much about formatting. If you feel its good, chances are that shines through in the writing. And we want to read it. ​ Genre: Anything that's dark, creepy, weird and just a little off-kilter. We're open to genre fiction, particularly anything related to horror, science-fiction, speculative fiction or weird fiction. But we're also interested in anything that twists or subverts these genres in some unexpected way. ​ Simultaneous submissions: We will accept simultaneous submissions, but please inform us if this applies to you. If a story may be pulled away from us at the last minute, we want to know as this may affect our decision on acceptance. ​ Multiple Submissions: We do not accept multiple submissions. ​ Reprints: We do not accept reprints. We will accept stories that have already been published if they've been dramatically altered in...

Deadline: March 16th, 2021 Payment: $30 Theme: Ideally, lyrical poetry Note: At the time of scheduling the submissions page states closed but the submittable is open. We consider any style of poetry, although we confess our bias toward the lyrical. We look for natural-world, and especially arboreal, elements in the poems we receive. Send us poems through which we can rediscover that we are nature—poems that slip in under our skin and change the light in the room. Requirements: up to 4 poems per submission in a single document no longer than 100 lines per poem (we prefer shorter pieces) original and unpublished no multiple submissions simultaneous submissions are okay (to withdraw individual poems from your submission, leave us a note in the Submittable) Payment: We pay $30/poem. Via: Bracken Magazine.

Deadline: March 28th, 2021 Payment: $20 (for 2,000–5,000 words) // $30 (for 5,000–7,500 words) Theme: Horror that explores the prophetic nature of omens Where the carrion lay, the ravens will circle… The world has its messengers, its harbingers of bad tidings. Ravens, vultures, and untold creatures that roam between the many layers of reality. The air thickens with the danger of the thundering storm, and the world holds its breath, waiting for your next move. “The Omens Call” is an horror anthology exploring the prophetic nature of omens. Bad omens, nightmarish superstitions, ghastly premonitions, we want stories that speak the language that we cannot understand. We’re after atmospheric, moody, grim, dark tales of wonder, woe, death, and the inexplainable. Dare you heed the call? Submission deadline: Sunday 28th March, 2021 Word count: 2,500–7,500 words. Payment: $20 (for 2,000–5,000 words) // $30 (for 5,000–7,500 words) Submission Guidelines A submission Word template is available for download HERE. Stories slightly over or under the word count will be considered Stories must be saved as a Word document, PDFs will not be accepted Times New Roman Size 12 font 1.5 paragraph spacing Place your name, the title of the anthology for which you are submitting, and your preferred contact email address in the header of the document Sex, violence, and coarse language are accepted as long as they serve the story No hate speech or fan fiction One submission per author only, multiple submissions will lead to disqualification of all submitted stories.= Reprints will be considered Payment for accepted stories will be made within 7 working days of confirmation of entry Accepted stories to be held in a 2-year non-exclusive agreement with Devil’s Rock Publishing, Ltd. Failure to adhere to submission guidelines will result in immediate rejection from the anthology. Submit Your Story Via:...

Deadline: March 28th, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Pulp sword and sorcery stories. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS / WHETSTONE / Issue 3 (Spring 2021) Tuesday, December 16, 2020 WHETSTONE is an amateur magazine that seeks to discover, inspire, and publish emerging authors who are enthusiastic about the tradition of "pulp sword and sorcery." Writers in this tradition include (but are not limited to) the following: Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner, David C. Smith, and many more. "Pulp sword and sorcery" emphasizes active protagonists, supernatural menaces, and preindustrial (mostly ancient and medieval) settings. Some "pulp sword and sorcery" straddles the line between historical and fantasy fiction; at WHETSTONE, however, we prefer "secondary world settings," other worlds liberated from the necessity of historical accuracy. Want to learn more about our aesthetic? Issues 1 and 2 are available as free PDFs on our webpage: whetstonemag.blogspot.com About the editor: Dr. Jason Ray Carney is a lecturer in the Department of English at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. He is the co-editor of the academic journal The Dark Man: Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies and is the area chair of the "Pulp Studies" section of the Popular Culture Association. He is the author of WEIRD TALES OF MODERNITY (McFarland) and RAKEFIRE AND OTHER STORIES (Pulp Hero Press) and the editor of SAVAGE SCROLLS (Pulp Hero Press). About the associate editor: Chuck E. Clark lives in Southern Wisconsin with his wife and four children. He graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Political Science degree, apprenticed as a jeweler, joined the navy, and now fixes laser microscopes. He has been published in WHETSTONE and The August Derleth Society's newsletter, SAGE OF SAC PRAIRIE. He loves collecting rocks, books, and whiskey. Length: We prefer compressed stories that are nevertheless cohesive...

Deadline: March 28th, 2021 Payment: €10 Theme: Stories about what makes heart beats faster Submissions are currently open for our second edition, Because That’s Where Your Heart Is, from February 14th to March 28th. For our new collection, we are looking for stories that respond to the prompt Because That’s Where Your Heart Is, and to the artwork selected for the cover. We want stories about what makes heart beats faster – it can be about romantic love, but also about friendship, dogs, cats, or a profound unexplained passion for paragliding! What we care about it the passion! You can also take inspiration from the artwork we’ve chosen to illustrate the cover, created by artist Pedro Vizioli, and write your piece as a response to the emotions brought on by the his work: We are not requesting any specific genres for this edition, so they are all welcome – sci-fi, literary, fantasy, romance, horror, noir, non-fiction – as long as they shine the brightness of passion on what might have gone unnoticed. THE RULES Any submissions have to be your own original work, in English, previously unpublished in both print and digital media; Applicants can submit up to 2 short stories, no longer than 4,000 words each. There is no minimum word count. Please attach each story in a separate file, with the title as the name. Make sure your name is not anywhere on the submission file; Stories must be typed, in Times New Roman 12, and submitted as .doc or .pdf with numbered pages and the title on the header; In the body of your email or in a separate file, send your name (and/or pen name), email, contact number, story title and a short bio (up to 150 words). This information will be removed so all readings are anonymous; Include the word Submission in your email...