Events

Deadline: August 6th, 2021 Payment: $0.01 per word for each accepted short story, $10 for each accepted flash piece. Theme: All forms of dark speculative fiction, see below Starward Shadows Quarterly is an online dark speculative fiction magazine seeking stories between 500 and 8,000 words. We’re interested in exploring the wicked, strange places that walk the line between reality and nightmare—the alien, the absurd, and above all else, the weird. Short fiction, flash, and artwork submissions are currently OPEN! Genres We Accept: Cosmic Horror, Sword and Sorcery, Sword and Planet, High/Epic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos inspired tales, Gothic Horror, Space Opera, Dark Science Fiction, Science Fantasy, New Weird, Grimdark, Slipstream, and Cyberpunk. However, feel free to send us anything that falls under the incredibly broad umbrella of “speculative fiction.” Inspirational authors: H. P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, Michael Moorcock, J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Ruocchio, Tamsyn Muir, Robert E. Howard Things we love: Monsters, vampires, aliens, psychological horror, first-person unreliable narrators, eloquence, themes of neurodivergence, angst done right (think “Interview with the Vampire), death cults, weird religious undertones, wraiths, trickster kings, black metal, stories where the bad guys win, character-driven narratives, and stories that take place somewhere strange and far away where humanity isn’t even mentioned at all. Anything with a Dark Souls, Morrowind, or Oblivion vibe will have us foaming at the mouth. Also, one of the editors has also had a lifelong, questionable obsession with A Clockwork Orange and those old Johnny the Homicidal Maniac comics . . . Things we hate: Post-apocalyptic settings, dystopian fiction, parodies, rock-hard SF, zombies, mermaids, sirens, pandemic stories (we lived it and we’re sick of it), and political and/or moral soapboxes. If you’re going to send us anything falling into these categories, you’d better have completely and utterly reinvented it for it not to...

Deadline: August 7th, 2021 Payment: $20 and a contributor's copy Theme: Speculative poetry and short fiction with monstrous, mythical, or mechanical arthropods Do you have a story or poem featuring insects, crustaceans, arachnids, or myriapods? We want to publish it! We are looking for speculative poetry and short fiction with monstrous, mythical, or mechanical arthropods for our upcoming Arthropoda anthology! The call is open to original fiction and reprints, poetry and short fiction up to 45 lines and 7,500 words respectively. Please submit no more than two short stories. Shunn manuscript format, simultaneous submissions permitted. Deadline August 7, 2021. Arthropoda will be edited by JW Stebner (of Hexagon Magazine) and published by Perennial Press in mid-to-late 2022! All selected authors will be paid a $20 flat rate, and given either a print or PDF contributor copy. We will not accept submissions that contain any excessive profanity or explicit content. We will not tolerate submissions that support or suggest any form of racism, sexism, or any other kind of discrimination. About Perennial Perennial Press archives truths through fiction and poetry. We are committed to highlighting and uplifting voices & perspectives that have traditionally been underrepresented in literature. About Hexagon Hexagon is an online magazine created to take our readers to fantastic worlds and to meet incredible characters. We specialize in the weird, the wondrous, and the whimsical! Via: Perennial Press's Submittable.

Deadline: August 7th, 2021 Payment: 1st place : $100 2nd place: $50 3rd place: $25 Theme: Flash fiction (500 words or less) that can be classified as cosmic horror, dark science fiction, or weird. CHM wants to find the very best cosmic horror flash fiction. SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT. Submissions will be ongoing and open the first week of every month for that month’s contest. THREE stories will be chosen per month to be published the month after they were submitted. (If you submit a story on October 3rd and it is chosen, it will be published in November.) THE FIRST SUBMISSION PERIOD WILL BE THE FIRST WEEK OF AUGUST 2021 Submissions are open monthly from the 1st to the 7th. We are looking for flash fiction (500 words or less) that can be classified as cosmic horror, dark science fiction, or weird. If you are unsure if your work qualifies, submit it and let us be the judge! Payment 1st place : $100 2nd place: $50 3rd place: $25 Make all submissions to [email protected] with the writing pasted into the body of the email or attached as a word document (.docx). Thank you and best of luck! Via: Cosmic Horror Monthly.

Submission Window: August 1st - August 7th 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Original fantasy and dark fantasy stories. All types of fantasy and dark fantasy are welcome. Note: This is an early listing to give you some time to plan ahead for next month or to remember to finish revising your story for the upcoming month! Note: We are trusting that the submission windows listed in the ongoing call are valid for this publisher. If they are not, please let us know and we'll look into revising accordingly. 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...

Deadline: August 7th, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word (USD), plus a pro-rata share of 50% of royalties. Theme: speculative stories on the theme of plants and growth, featuring queer characters Note: Apologies for the short window, just stumbled across this one. The basics Editors: Isabela Oliveira (she/her) and Jed Sabin (they/them) Deadline: Saturday, August 7th, at 9pm Pacific Length: We've set the upper limit at 10,000 words to allow for flexibility, but most acceptances are likely to be under 7,000 words. There is no minimum. Rate: We pay a minimum of 8 cents per word (USD), plus a pro-rata share of 50% of royalties. Simultaneous submissions: No, please do not submit an original (non-reprint) story anywhere else while we are considering it. Multiple submissions: Yes, you may submit up to 3 stories to us at once (filling out the submission form separately for each story). There is no limit on total number of submissions as long as there are not more than 3 under consideration at one time. Reprints: We will consider previously published stories, including those that have been self-published online, as long as previous publication is disclosed in the submission form. Reprints are paid at the same rate as originals. Audio rights must be available. Identity statements: We do not require or expect authors to disclose queer or other identities to us, and if authors do choose to share their identities, we will not disclose that information to others without permission. We aim to respond to every submission by the end of August. We encourage submissions from authors who have never submitted their fiction to a paid market before, and we've tried to develop these guidelines to be clear to those who aren't familiar with industry norms. Please don't hesitate to submit for fear of doing it wrong, and feel free to contact us here with questions or accessibility requests....

Submission Window: August 1st through 7th, 2021 Payment: $100 Theme: Anti-fascist splatterpunk stories Note: This extended period is for women and non-binary writers This summer, I’ll be editing ANTIFA SPLATTERPUNK, an anthology dedicated to–you guessed it–anti-fascist splatterpunk stories. In addition to pure splatterpunk, I’m also open to extreme horror with weird, bizarro, historical, or science fiction elements. Just keep it anti-fascist. The anthology is open to all writers, but I would especially like submissions from antifascist writers of marginalized groups. Note that some writers have specifically been invited to contribute. The anthology will be a mix of solicited stories and stories selected from the open call submission period. Stories should be between 2,000 and 4,500 words. Multiple submissions are not allowed. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but withdraw your submission immediately if it gets accepted elsewhere. No reprints. Open for submissions July 1st, 2021 – July 31st, 2021. I will announce accepted submissions by August 31st, 2021. Anthology will be published as both an electronic and print book in winter 2021. OTHER SUBMISSION CONSIDERATIONS If you’re retreading old ground and well-established tropes, make it fresh. I’m fine with horror that has erotic elements, but emphasis should be on the horror. Yes, make it anti-fascist, but don’t be moralizing. I want nuance. Stories that deal with bigotry are fine, but bigoted stories are not. I don’t want stories with graphic depictions of sexual violence. This is a splatterpunk anthology, so gore and extreme elements are encouraged, but make sure they serve story, character, and theme. FORMAT Use standard manuscript format. Send a doc/docx attachment. Do not copy-paste your story into the body of the email or submit it in any other format. We won’t read it if you do. Please send submission to [email protected]. Include your name, story title, and word count...

Deadline: August 8th, 2021 Payment: 3 cents per word Theme: Found Footage Horror Stories Andrew Cull and Gabino Iglesias present: Found: An Anthology of Found Footage Horror Stories Open submission call. We're looking for your best, original, found footage tales. Stories can be written in first person, third person, as a transcript, journal, radio play, poetry, as a script. Play with the format. Do something you haven't read before. Think Lake Mungo, [REC. Think stories that shouldn't be read. Videos found in flooded basements. Broadcasts heard in your dreams. 2K to 4K words. No longer please. No reprints on this occasion. Payment: $0.03 per word. Submissions open from 10th April until Midnight 8th August. Email: [email protected]. Please include submission title and story length in email. We strongly encourage LGBTQ+ and BIPOC submissions. This is a project we've both wanted to do for a long time. We couldn't be more excited to read your stories!

Deadline: August 15th, 2021 Payment: 2 contributors copies and 3 cents per word Theme: stories should include horror in addition to speculative/sci-fi themes NOW READING FOR OUR WINTER HORROR ISSUE SUBMISSIONS CLOSE AUGUST 15TH It’s baaaaaaaaaaaack… Rising from the grave like an unstoppable masked slasher, it’s the Planet Scumm Winter Horror Issue. Autumn may be the more traditional time for things creepy and crawly, but we think horror, like revenge, is best served cold. (We also think revenge is best served à la carte, and that revenge pairs well with a nice stout. Maybe some cider.) Here’s how it works: all of our normal submission guidelines apply (see below), with the additional caveat that stories should include horror in addition to speculative/sci-fi themes. We’d also love to see submissions that work in wintery content—snowstorms, isolation, ritual, family, and so on. Come winter, it won’t just be the cold causing shivers—it’ll be your terrifying tale of terror in the Planet Scumm Winter Horror Issue! Brrrr, spooky!  Planet Scumm accepts submissions from writers across the world. (Our HQ is a roving meteor-sized space station—Earth’s borders mean nothing to us. We want to hear from writers of every race, nationality, and gender identity. WHAT TO SUBMIT Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, sci-fi that melts in your mouth-brain not your hand-brain Speculative fiction, weird fiction, slipstream Basically anything that pleases Scummy, our megaphone-toting slime buddy, will be considered for entry to the interstellar archive aboard Scummy’s saucer HOW TO SUBMIT Include submissions as a .doc attachment sent to [email protected] along with a brief cover letter in the email body. Please attach only your story (no images, do not put your story in the body text of the email). Stories, or collections of flash fiction, should be 2000 – 6000 words in length, and submitted in...

Deadline: August 15th, 2021 Payment: £50 payment Theme: A Sense of Community Tales From The Cyber Salon Event #3 – A Sense of Community Throughout 2021, Cybersalon will host ‘Tales of the Cybersalon’, a series of interdisciplinary technology and policy investigations through science-fiction storytelling. We want your stories and we want you. Help us imagine the future of our digital revolution in industry and society, and to identify and explore its emerging cultures. Each event will feature new speculative short stories purpose written for the exploration of The High Street, Social Communities and Political Representation. Each short story will interrogate where we are and where we might be going. And we’d like your submissions. Selected writers will be expected to engage with the panel experts ahead of the event to finesse the technological aspects of their fiction. Each event will have three or four new short stories which will be released in advance to the audience on Cybersalon’s Medium page. The stories will be read on the night by their authors, followed by a panel discussion between the writers and the technologist domain experts who inspired them, with an open invite to audience questions to wrap up. We’re looking for submissions of approximately 1000 words that explore the future by extrapolating from the present. Please bear in mind that we are not looking for the post-apocalyptic or utopias on other planets; the stories need to be plausible enough for our experts and audience to engage with them meaningfully. If you want to get a feel for Cybersalon you can view the first two ‘Tales from the Cyber Salon’ events on Health and the High Street & browse our video archive https://www.youtube.com/c/CybrSalon/videos. Submissions close at 11:59pm (BST) on 15 August 2021. Theme: The Internet’s role as a force for rapidly changing our experience of community was provided...

Deadline: August 15th, 2021 Payment: $15 and a contributor's copy Theme: Mother Nature is pissed Mother Nature is pissed and earth is striking back. Give us the dark side of nature, of Gaia. This is a very open concept, but at the end of the day we want to see nature fight back in some way. 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. Submissions to be sent to [email protected] with the name of the anthology in the subject line  Publication and Payment Submissions closed August 15, 2021 Announcements on accepted stories to be sent by Sept 15, 2021, a memorandum to be sent for signing at this time October 2021 release date A one-time payment of $15 plus author copy per acceptance Additional author copies available at cost 13 stories to be accepted Via: Macabre Ladies Publishing.