Events

Deadline: January 5th, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: Mythology Extraordinary Mythology Deadline: 5 January, 2022 SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We consider stories for two types of publications: Website Anthologies (approximately 20 stories per anthology) Submissions: Open (check the deadlines mentioned above the images) Response Time: We will try our best to respond in four to eight weeks after the submission period ends. The first wave of rejections is usually quick (two weeks after the submission period ends) Word Count: 4,000–15,000 for website and anthologies; 500–2000 for flash fiction anthologies Submission Fee: None Rights: the copyright to the story remains yours. All we ask for are nonexclusive rights to publish your story Payment: Website: Currently, there is no payment for website publications because the blog is not yet monetized and we are in the beta phase (which may last for eight to twelve months). Once we get the numbers, we will come up with a model (probably token advance) that will allow us to pay our writers as well as fund the growth of TGVB (YouTube channel, audiobooks, story podcast, etc). It is an important goal for us to reach the stage when we can pay a decent sum to our authors. However, it will take time as these are some hard times for small presses. But we are sure we will get there if we keep working diligently. While monetary payment is not possible at the moment, we still want to offer some perks! Anthologies: Payment is 40% net profit divided equally among the contributors of that anthology. Net profit accounts for discounts, returns, and printing cost; we do not subtract any cover art, editing, formatting, or promotion costs. In other words, we pay 40% of the money vendors (such as Amazon) pay us. If the anthology doesn’t perform well, we will pay a one-time payment of 5 USD...

Deadline: January 5th, 2022 Prizes: 1st place: $0.03 per word, 2nd place: $0.02 a word, and third place $0.01 per word. Theme: No Way Out. Your January theme is... No theme at all. Since it's the holidays and we're already a third into the month, I don't want to put any unnecessary pressure on anyone. If you do need a theme or a bit of inspiration, let's go with   No Way Out. The word count is anything under 1,500 words, and the deadline January 5th. The winner will receive $0.03 per word, publication, and an Author Spotlight on our newsletter and Patreon page. Second place will receive $0.02 a word, and third place $0.01 per word. Submit your entry in the body of an email to [email protected]. The email subject line should be your story’s name and your author name / pseudonym Please take note… You do not need to be a Crystal Lake Patreon patron to enter. This is a contest and only the top three placing stories will receive payment. I'll personally read all the email submissions and post the best 10 to 20 stories on the Crystal Lake Publishing Patreon page (to our $5 a month and higher tiers). Our patrons will then read all the entries, posted one per day, and vote for a winner. Some editors/publishers may consider having your story posted on a subscription-based platform, like Patreon, as a first publication. If your story does not win, we will remove it upon request. Have fun! Via: Crystal Lake Publishing's Patreon.

Submission Window: January 1st-7th, 2022 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 fiction must be...

Submission Window: January 1st-7th, 2022 Prizes: 1st place: $100, 2nd place: $50, 3rd place: $25 Theme: 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.) Submissions are open monthly from the 1st to the 7th. Submission close at 12 am (midnight) eastern standard time. One entry per writer per month please! No simultaneous submissions. All stories accepted must be currently unpublished. Once a story has been submitted, please no resubmissions! 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]. Paste a cover letter with your information, publishing history, and word count into the body of the email. Attach the manuscript as a word document (.docx). Thank you and best of luck! Via: Cosmic Horror Monthly.

Deadline: January 9th, 2022 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints Theme: Compelling science fiction Note: Reprints Welcome Compelling Science Fiction About the theme: The Compelling Science Fiction Short Stories collection is looking for new tales which are on the more plausible end of the SF spectrum. Time can be stretched, other worlds discovered, aliens can be present and quantum realms can be explored, but preferably all with a strong spine of internal self-consistency and dose of real-world science. For Compelling Science Fiction submit your story to [email protected] Terms and Guidelines Terms: We do not require exclusivity and do accept reprints Multiple submissions are fine 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: 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 whether your story would be a reprint or is currently unpublished Please submit in .doc, .docx or .rtf formats, double spaced, with your name and email address in the footer or header of each page If submitting a story that has recently been submitted to us for consideration to another anthology, please state this in the submission email Deadline for submissions is Sunday 9th January 2022   The...

Deadline: January 9th, 2022 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints Theme: Compelling science fiction Note: Reprints Welcome Christmas Gothic Short Stories About the theme: The Christmas Gothic Short Stories collection (with thanks to author Marina Favila for the suggestion) is a seasonal celebration of the dark and moody, the ghastly, the ghostly and the magical Christmas short story. We're looking for new submissions to join the classic tales of Algernon Blackwood, James Joyce, E.F. Benson and Elizabeth Gaskell. For Christmas Gothic submit your story to [email protected] Terms and Guidelines Terms: We do not require exclusivity and do accept reprints Multiple submissions are fine 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: 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 whether your story would be a reprint or is currently unpublished Please submit in .doc, .docx or .rtf formats, double spaced, with your name and email address in the footer or header of each page If submitting a story that has recently been submitted to us for consideration to another anthology, please state this in the submission email Deadline for submissions is Sunday 9th January 2022   The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy,...

Deadline: January 14th. 2022 Payment: 3 cents per word for original fiction. 5k words = $150, 1 cent per word for reprints. Theme: Cosmic Horror, Lovecraftian, Weird stories, original and reprints. Note: Reprints Welcome Submission Period *SUBMISSIONS OPEN SOON!* – Submission periods are twice yearly from January 1st – January 14th and July 1st – July 14th. January stories accepted will appear in issues from the following July – December July stories accepted will appear in issues from the following January – June SUBMISSION PROCEDURES Instructions: All fiction must be submitted via email to [email protected]. When submitting, include a little background information about yourself in the body and attach the story in the form of a Microsoft Word file. Please include a word count and a brief synopsis of the work. For artwork, please put a link to the gallery/pieces in the body of the email along with any relevant background information. You may also attach example work. Acceptable file formats for attachments are DOCX, JPG, PNG. Guidelines Cosmic Horror Monthly is seeking Cosmic Horror, Lovecraftian, Weird stories, original and reprints. If you aren’t sure if your work qualifies, submit it and we can decide. No subject is off-limits and we do encourage writers to try and push the status quo. Please only submit a single story once and only submit one story per email. Multiple submissions are strongly discouraged. Every email will be checked! Simultaneous submissions are allowed. At this time, we are strongly favoring stories with a contemporary narrative style. Lovecraftian themes and mythos works are welcomed but try to avoid Lovecraft pastiche and styles mimicking that of his writer circle from the early 20th century. Word Count: We are open to stories of 1000-7500 words. Stories in the range of 3000-5000 words are preferred. Art If you are...

Deadline: January 14th, 2022 Payment: $10 for stories over 2k Theme: A sub-genre of speculative fiction, brings readers dystopian, violent worlds with amoral or morally questionable protagonists. OPEN NOW (See Theme: GRIMDARK for close details) Word count : up to 3,000 words (10% leeway) Author eligibility : Open to all Reprints : Not allowed Simultaneous Submissions : Not allowed Multiple Submissions : TWO. Can be submitted at the same time in separate emails. Maximum acceptances : ONE per pen name Publication : In digital and print, launching 2022 Author compensation : One digital copy, plus print discounts, and $10 USD for all stories published over 2k (after edits) Submit to : [email protected] Grimdark, a sub-genre of speculative fiction, brings readers dystopian, violent worlds with amoral or morally questionable protagonists. The tone is always grim and dark—from whence the name comes—and valourises the protagonist’s struggles as they choose between good and evil. Some reading examples; A Song of Fire and Ice—George R.R. Martin The Gaslight Dogs—Karin Lowachee Certain Dark Things—Silvia Moreno-Garcia The Poppy War—R.K. Kuang Lord Foul’s Bane—Stephen Donaldson Gardens of the Moon—Steven Erikson The Court of Broken Knives—Anna Smith Spark Your characters might be human or speculative fiction—vampires, werewolves, androids, aliens, fae. Can include romance elements and comedy, but, as always, err on the very dark side. Submit to : [email protected]   Via: Black Hare Press.

Submission Window: December 1st, 2021 - January 15th, 2021 Payment: $25 Theme: Cryptids! Sasquatch, Chupacabra, Jersey Devil. All these things are deemed by Cryptozoologists as creatures that may exist out in the wild, but are dismissed by mainstream media science. Scientists will say it’s all just pseudoscience. Mumbo-jumbo, if you will. They’ll will even go as far as to say it’s all just claims based on fairytales, that there really is no actual scientific research to back up cryptozoology’s assertion that these creatures exist. But what if mainstream scientists are wrong. What if these creatures are out there, lurking in the darkest reaches of our planet. Prepare yourself for Cryptid Carnage! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bxpamj7I9A Open call for Splatter Ink Publishing's Cryptid Carnage starts on Dec. 1st, and we close our doors for submissions on Jan. 15th. We are looking for stories from 2,000 - 10,000 words and we do not want reprints. Simultaneous Submission are okay, as long as you tell us it is a Simultaneous Submission and if it gets picked up elsewhere. We will have exclusive rights to your story for a year, then it switches over to non-exclusive rights after that. Send your stories to [email protected] and we'll get to them as soon as we can! Payout for accepted stories is $25

Deadline: January 15th, 2022 Payment: $20 per story Theme: Electric Spec prefers science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. submissions at electricspec (dot) comPlease don't query us about your story submission. We don't have the manpower to answer such queries. An editor will email you back as soon as possible with the decision about your story. This can take a few days, or, up to three months. We make every effort to get back to authors in a timely manner but we get a lot of submissions so sometimes it's not possible. A note on our editorial policy: before publication we may work with the author to edit the story for length or readability. However, we always remain true to the spirit of the story and the author has final approval. Issues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. We reserve the right to shift publication date slightly, as necessary. We have reading periods for each issue, though we never close to submissions. February closes January 15 May closes April 15 August closes July 15 November closes October 15 Please do not submit the same story more than once, and please submit only one story at a time. We consider any story between 250 and 7000 words with speculative fiction elements. We prefer science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. We do not consider poetry, stories with over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction, or non-fiction. We don't accept multiple submissions; in other words, only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before submitting another. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know up front and...