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Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: Poetry - $10 USD, Flash - $15 USD, Short Fiction - $35 USD, Novelette - $75 USD Theme: Well-crafted stories and poems of cosmic horror in the same vein as Lucy A. Snyder, Laird Barron, Algernon Blackwood, Robert W. Chambers, Mary SanGiovanni, Victor LaValle, Betty Rocksteady, and Caitlin R. Kiernan. Note: All entries (either the author or the story) needs to have a Utah connection Timber Ghost Press is proud to present Dead Stars and Stone Arches: A Collection of Utah Horror. With the help of the Utah Horror Writers*, Timber Ghost Press is excited to be publishing the eighth collection of Utah horror. We are seeking well-crafted stories and poems of cosmic horror in the same vein as Lucy A. Snyder, Laird Barron, Algernon Blackwood, Robert W. Chambers, Mary SanGiovanni, Victor LaValle, Betty Rocksteady, and Caitlin R. Kiernan. For this anthology, all entries must have a Utah connection, either on the part of the author or the story itself (it is called Utah horror for a reason). The stories will be evaluated in a blind read by three judges and must receive at least two ”yes” votes to be accepted. Therefore, when submitting, please ensure that there is no identifying information in the story itself. We anticipate an April 2022 release. Accepted authors will receive payment according to the pay scale below, plus a contributor's copy of the anthology. (format?) Deadline: October 31st, 2021 The Following Categories are Open for Submission: Poetry Flash Fiction: 1000 words or less Short Fiction: 1001-5000 words Novelette: 5001-12,000 words (only one novelette will be accepted) Payment: Poetry - $10 USD Flash - $15 USD Short Fiction - $35 USD Novelette - $75 USD What We Do Not Want: Timber Ghost Press may outright reject stories that contain the following: ​​Pedophilia\Rape\Child...

Submission Window: September 1st - October 31st, 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: Survival Horror Negative Space 2: A Return to Survival Horror Compiled and Edited by Aric Sundquist Short Story Submission Call: September 1 - October 1, 2021 (opening soon...) Fiction Submission: Survival Horror. Word Count: 2,000 - 7,500 words. Payment: $50.00 + digital copy. Rights: We are seeking first time rights for 1 year after publication. After that time all rights revert back to the author. The publication will appear in both print and digital formats. Reprints: None. Previously unpublished only. Multiple Submissions: None. Simultaneous Submissions: None. Please wait until you hear back from us before submitting your piece to another market. File Format: Include your story as an attachment in MS Word (DOC or DOCX), LibreOffice, or Rich Text Format. Manuscript Format: Use the Modern Shunn Format. Include a short bio in the body of your email. Your subject line should read NS2 Submission: ("Title") by (Author's Name). For Example, NS2 Submission: "The Black Phone" by Joe Hill. Attach the story as a separate document. Response Time: 2 - 3 weeks after submissions close. Submission Period: All submissions must be received between September 1, 2021 and October 1, 2021 EST. Any story sent before or after will be deleted unread. Send Submissions to: darkpenpress (at) gmail (dot) com Influential Games/Series: Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Clock Tower, Fatal Frame, Dead Space, State of Decay, Rule of Rose, Siren, Parasite Eve, Amnesia, Haunting Ground, Obscure, Tomb Raider (2013 reboot), A Plague Tale, Eternal Darkness, Outlast, The Evil Within, Dino Crisis, The Last of Us, Alone in the Dark, Remothered, Darkwood, Alan Wake. Influential Novels & Novellas: The Mist by Stephen King, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, Off Season by Jack Ketchum, Bird Box by Josh Malerman, The Shadow Over Innsmouth by HP Lovecraft, The Terror by Dan Simmons, The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. Influential Movies: The Descent, The Thing, Alien(s), Cube, Predator, Night of the Living...

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: War BLACK HARE PRESS is—and has always been—an inclusive publisher. LGBTQ+ characters always acceptable. This call will be open for submissions until midnight 31st OCTOBER 2021 (last place on Earth).  Submissions received outside of this timeframe will not be read. Reading will start once the submission period has closed. Please allow 12 weeks after the call has closed before querying. THEME : War/conflict. Must be dark, any genre. Word count : 5,000+, excluding title. Please ensure your first chapter hooks the reader. Author eligibility : Open to all. Reprints : Not allowed. Simultaneous Submissions : Not allowed. Multiple Submissions : No. Publication : In a single anthology in print and digital formats. Author compensation : $50 USD, plus one digital copy. How to submit : See our website for submission guidelines and formatting. Send your story as a Word format attachment to [email protected]. All submissions are read double-blind, so please DO NOT put your name, email, street address, etc in your manuscript or in the document name. Your document name must be WAR-Story Title.doc/x. Please include the following in your email; Your real name, your pseudonym, a bio of up to 100 words, up to 4 links, a 40 word short blurb, and a synopsis of up to 500 words. Don’t worry too much about these wordcounts, they’re just for guidance. Please ensure you list your social media accounts in your email. Please ensure you sub the final, well-edited manuscript. Show, don’t tell. Use British spellings, double quotation marks, etc. If you need assistance with those, please use a writing tool like Grammarly or ProWritingAid (set to British spelling). Microsoft Word does not know British spellings, please don’t rely on it. Your email subject should be “WAR – – ” Via: Black Hare Press.

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: £25 Theme: Stories inspired by Nicolas Cage Submission guidelines “I am not a demon. I am a lizard, a shark, a heat-seeking panther. I want to be Bob Denver on acid playing the accordion.” Nicolas Cage, has lived a life blended with myth, madness and mystery. His performances imbued with other worldly energy and that requires tribute, want in?  Ex-Parrot Press wants your Nicolas Cage inspired short fiction stories. Guidelines are as follows:  Each successful Submission will receive £25 to be paid via Paypal and a copy of the anthology.  2000-3000 words per story.  Please make sure to edit and format your stories properly before submission.( I’ll post a link in the comments with some tips on what you can do for this.)  Simultaneous submissions, yes. Reprints, no. Although we will only publish one story from each writer.  Email submissions to: [email protected] Submissions close October 31st 2021. Contributions should be double-spaced and written in English. Use black, 12-point, Times New Roman as the font. Use the U.S standard page size of 8.5 x 11 inches and set your margins to 1 inch on all sides. Use a single space after periods.  

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: $25 Theme: Cosmic horror The Hunger of Old Stars is a cosmic horror anthology that is looking for YOUR Eldritch tales of terror! S.I.P. will be looking for Cosmic Horror Stories for their upcoming anthology ‘The Hunger of Old Stars’. In this anthology, we want tales of eldritch horrors that will drive our readers to lunacy! We are paying $25 per story and we are looking for stories that are around 3,000 - 10,000 words long. Also, NO REPRINTS... Also, no, it does not need to be strictly Lovecraftian to be considered for this anthology! So, we here at S.I.P. hope you will consider sending us your cosmic horror stories! We cannot wait to see what you all bring to the table!

Deadline: October 31, 2021 Payment: $200 Theme: The color of my vote Submission Guidelines Stories can be in any crime sub-genre. If a crime is central to the plot, it's suitable for this anthology. Your story must match the anthology theme: the color of my vote: Maybe your vote is pink where only blue votes matter. Maybe your vote is pro-democracy in a power structure bent on maintaining minority rule. Maybe your vote isn't green (delivered with a $2 million dollar dark money donation...) You are free to interpret the theme as literally or metaphorically as you wish. Story length must be between 2,500 to10,000 words. Any time period or location is acceptable for this anthology.  In Volume I, many authors experimented with form and voice. Please feel free to experiment! Narrative non-fiction will also be considered. DEADLINE: October 31, 2021. Volume III is meant to be bigger, louder, and more diverse than Volumes I and II, because the attacks against basic democratic processes are bigger and louder and laser focused on minority rule.  Pay is $200 per story, payable on acceptance, plus three author copies. We wish it could be more. Is your story ready? Email lowdowndirtyvote AT gmail DOT com and attach your Word or Markdown document before Nov 1, 2021! You'll receive an acknowledgement within seven days of submission. Via: Low Down Dirty Vote.

Deadline: October 31, 2021. Payment: $5 USD per 1000 words Theme: Megastructures Note: This is below what I'd usually want to list pay-wise but I personally know 2 people with stories that would fit this that have been collecting dust so wanted to share it. Ringworlds, Dyson spheres, arcologies, planet cities, space elevators, skyscrapers with populations of entire countries; we're looking for your speculative stories set in or about megastructures, gigastructures, TERASTRUCTURES! NOTE: We are currently only accepting short stories for the anthologies and cannot accept full-length novel manuscripts at this time. ** Please put the anthology you're submitting to in the subject line of the email!** Payment for stories will be $5 USD per 1000 words for all current anthologies (excepting contests). We're looking for speculative fiction across all anthologies (unless otherwise specified). That includes everything from high fantasy to hard scifi and anything in between. We do accept reprints, simultaneous submissions, and multiple submissions, though these will slow down our response time. Story lengths should be anywhere from flash-length to about 15k words, but we have at times made exceptions. We know a story is complete when it's complete, and arbitrary word count requirements are not always helpful. If you have an amazing story that exceeds 15k words, let us know. We may be able to make special accommodations. :) With regard to copyright, we request the non-exclusive right to publish your story in the anthology to which it was accepted. You retain the rights to your individual story to do with as you wish. Please let us know if you have any questions. Note: We do have long lead times with our anthologies, because we want to ensure quality work gets included. Thanks for your understanding on this. Check here for open calls for stories.   FORMATTING INFORMATION...

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: $0.02 per word and 3 contributor's copy Theme: An anthology where unabashedly queer villains, anti-heroes, and outlaws reign supreme. Note: This anthology is open to all writers who identify as LGBTQ+ I’m of the opinion that all the best ideas are born by chance. Something you perceive might strike you and, akin to the feeling of deja vu, you double-take and it haunts you.  That is how The Book of Queer Saints was conceived: A Twitter conversation between myself, Sam Richard of WeirdPunkBooks, and Eric Raglin of Cursed Morsels, about queer representation in horror lit and how public opinion shapes (or tries to shape) how we write our queer characters.  Most in the horror community are aware of the practice of review bombing, and have witnessed it occurring as a reaction to what folks have marked “trauma adult content” in queer horror stories. While most of these review bombers seem to be outsiders to the horror community, the effect it has on the queer writer can be disheartening, discouraging, and alienating. Assumptions made about the sexual and gender identity of the writer and unfair ratings based on hearsay are pervasive. The Book of Queer Saints is a reaction to this discourse, a statement about the complexity and nuance of queer folks and their stories.  It is an anthology where unabashedly queer villains, anti-heroes, and outlaws reign supreme.  SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: This anthology is open to all writers who identify as LGBTQ+ No simultaneous submissions. Only one submission per person. Submission period: August 2, 2021 - October 31, 2021 Word count requirements: 2,000 - 6,000 words Accepted submissions will be announced on December 1, 2021 Anthology will be published in print and e-book format in February 2022. PAYMENT:  Writers with accepted stories will be paid $0.02 per word and receive 3 contributor copies...

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Secrets that are darker than others We all have secrets. We all have dark stories and hidden truths we hide from others. But some secrets are darker than others. Join Madhouse Books in this upcoming anthology of short, horror stories of sinister secrets and hidden evil. We are seeking stories of the evil of mankind. We are not seeking stories with paranormal elements. Think serial killers, secret identities, and hidden pasts. Please note, we will not consider stories containing rape scenes or any form of pedophilia. Deadline: October 31, 2021 Word count : 3,500 – 7,000 words Author eligibility : All authors aged 18+ are welcome Author Compensation: Free digital copy & $10.00 USD Reprints : Not allowed Simultaneous Submissions : Not allowed How to submit : Follow classic shunn formatting guidelines -Send your story as a Word (.doc) format attachment to [email protected] -Your document name must include the anthology name, your pen name, and the story title. -Your email subject should be “ – – ” -The body of the email must contain the name of the anthology, the word count, the author’s real name, and the author’s pen name -Please include a 100-150 word bio   PLEASE NOTE: If you are submitting a story to Madhouse Books, please note our intention to produce top-quality books. We intend to showcase your work in its best form, and so each story accepted for publication through us will receive in-depth editing prior to publication. Our editing process will preserve the heart of your story while ironing out grammatical errors and increasing the story’s clarity and tension. Final edits are always sent to the author beforehand for approval before publication. Via: Madhouse Books.

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: .01 per word after approved edits up to $60 CAD, $15 CAD for reprints Theme: What can give you nightmares (see below for expanded description) "It Calls From the Veil" Submission Open: September 1, 2021 Submission Close:  October 31, 2021 Publishing timeline:  2022 HORROR - May have elements of Dark Fantasy, Dark Fiction and Cosmic horror. But must have the intention to scare the readers.   Theme: Give me your nightmares. Ghosts, demon possessions, poltergeist, haunted houses, séances gone wrong. These stories should take place in our reality with a supernatural twist. Think evil entities, movies like Sinister, Poltergeist, Blair Witch Project, Insidious, Amityville Horror and Marianne (Netflix).   We are looking for horror. Give us elements of surprise, twists and turns, scare me with your words and your imagery. I am fine with gore, but it should not take over the plot. Give me your nightmares. These stories should take place in our reality with a supernatural twist. Think evil entities in our reality (not a fantasy world).   Word count: 2000 - 6000 Some wiggle room allowed above the limit, not below.   Compensation: .01 per word after approved edits up to $60 CAD for first rights original stories $15.00 for reprints   Formatting guidelines: Please read carefully   We are reading these stories blind, so please refrain from adding your name or any identifying information on the story itself. All fiction manuscripts should be in a standard manuscript format with 12 pt Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing, set auto-indent new paragraphs. Please make sure the title is on the first page, but no other identifying details in the manuscript itself.   Title your manuscript with the story title -"(the actual story title) - VEIL" - again no identifying names on the title of the document.   The form...