Events

Submission Window: March 1st-2nd, 2022 Payment: 8 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 8¢ 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...

Submission Window: March 1st-3rd 2022 Payment: $50 Theme: Weather. A new theme, weather, starts in January 2022. 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. Added March 3, 3021: Although it states below that only one work per author per submission, I am suddenly getting multiple poems at a time. Only one story or poem per submission, per author. (Kate Wolford, Editor-In-Chief.) And the theme for 2022? It’s “WEATHER.” (No more submissions are being accepted for publication in December of 2021). The following is relevant to all submissions for 2022, and the first submission window opens Jan. 1. More below.   Writing opportunities for 2022 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.   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 2022.   * Writers will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories/poems five times in 2022. Since we will be choosing eight to 10 works per publishing month, there are up to 50 slots to be filled in 2022. That’s a lot! And it does not...

Deadline: March 3rd 2022 Payment: Undeclared token payment, initially a pure donation anthology Theme: New Weird Horror Note: Sorry for the short notice, just hit my inbox. Note: Trans and Gender Non-Conforming creators only Extreme conditions demand extreme responses. This is perhaps not the most well-organized submissions call, but when has pragmatism ever stopped us? This one comes from the guts; we’ll figure out the rest as we go along. We are now accepting submissions for Your Body is Not Your Body: A New Weird Horror Anthology to combat Texas’ attempts to criminalize Trans youth. All proceeds from the sale of this anthology will go directly to Equality Texas (https://www.equalitytexas.org/). ***EDIT 02.24.22***: a multitude of generous Horror fans have begun contributing to a creator compensation fund, so this project WILL NOW be paying all accepted creators; we don’t want to speculate as to the amount, but it will be something. If you are interested in contributing to this creator compensation fund, donate here. Alright, so what do we want? *4,000 words maximum (no minimum) *Reprints are acceptable, but we need to know the original place of publication. No more than two submissions per creator, please. *Genre: New Weird Horror. What that means to us: the immediacy of classic Pulp Horror with a deeper dive into the human condition and an (un)healthy injection of Surrealism. We love Magical Realism, Body Horror, Optimistic Nihilism, Folk Horror, genre splicing of all stripes. Needless to say: feel free to let your political rage and righteous anger runneth over. Today is a day for Big Weird Sledgehammers, not subtlety (though we love quiet Weird Horror too!) *Trans and Gender Non-Conforming creators only, please. Alex and I are grateful beyond words that so many folks are standing up as allies alongside us, but for this project it...

Deadline: March 7th, 2022 Payment: €150 Theme: stories that look upon the world with a mind of winter and behold nothing that is not there and the nothing that is (paraphrasing The Snowman). Note: Apologies for the short window, this just hit my inbox! From Jan 25th to March 7th, we are open for short story submissions for our new collection, The Last Five Minutes of a Storm! We are looking for stories of all genres that respond to our title and/or cover art, and writers will receive a flat rate of €150 for accepted submissions. For our first anthology of 2022, we are taking inspiration from Wallace Stevens’ poetry, and asking for stories that look upon the world with a mind of winter and behold nothing that is not there and the nothing that is (paraphrasing The Snowman). For our prompt, we are looking for short stories that reflect our title: The Last Five Minutes of a Storm. As always, you can also take inspiration from the artwork we've chosen for the cover, created by artist Pedro Vó! We are looking for emotional responses to the title and/or the cover – stories that come from the specific place of mind they take you to. (if in doubt, make a cup of tea and read Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird). The Last Five Minutes of a Storm How does it feel to be in the eye of the hurricane? What does it mean to know that the storm will vanish very soon, if only you can hold on a second longer? Now that the monster is defeated, can the hero make it out of the maze? Do they still want to? We are not requesting any specific genres for this edition, so they are all welcome – sci-fi,...

Submission Window: March 1st-8th 2022 Payment: $0.01 (one cent) per word Theme: Cozy fantasy Wyngraf is currently closed to submissions. Our next submission window opens March 1st, 2022 and ends March 8th, 2022. Wyngraf buys First North American Serial Rights to short stories of cozy fantasy from 4,000 to 10,000 words long. We currently pay $0.01 (one cent) per word. We know that’s not much, and we hope to increase our rate as soon as possible. Wyngraf Is Fantasy Often fantasy means the presence of magic, but not always—for example, Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint. Low-magic and no-magic stories are welcome at Wyngraf. Stories should have a pre-modern technology level. Wyngraf isn’t interested in science fiction or urban fantasy. (Well, we are, but not for this magazine.) Our cutoff is roundabout the early 19th century. Think Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. This is probably flexible. We want secondary worlds. Wyngraf doesn’t publish stories set on our Earth, either now or in the past (historical fantasy). We want our readers to be transported to the worlds of your imagination! We prefer high fantasy to fairy tales. This isn’t a hard rule, but we’d rather see creatures from high fantasy (elves, dwarves, halflings, etc.) than folk tales (werewolves, vampires, leprechauns, etc.). Things we’ve never seen before are even better. Human-only settings are welcome. Wyngraf Is Cozy We define cozy as a sense of comfort, hominess, welcoming, and friendship. Community. Relationships. You know: cozy. Setting is an essential part of coziness. We love all sorts of fantastical settings: bustling city, decrepit castle, sailing ship, welcoming inn, busy caravanserai, witch’s cottage, wizard’s tower, farming village, school for bards, adventurer’s guild hall… The setting should be somewhere the reader would like to be transported. Think of your first time discovering the Shire, or dreaming of your own Hogwarts acceptance letter. We invite you to spend a few extra...

Deadline: March 13th, 2022 Payment: US: $40 + author copy/non-US: $45 + ebook author copy Theme: Short horror stories that explore the "dark carnival" concept. Quill & Crow Publishing House is opening submissions for our second anthology for 2022, Carnival Macabre: An Anthology of Gothic Horror, due to be released in May. For this collection, we are looking for short horror stories (5,000 - 8,000 words) that explore the "dark carnival" concept. Think H.H. Holmes during Chicago's World Fair (Columbian Exposition), horror at a 1920s Boardwalk, or even an eerie Victorian tale.  This anthology will be more open to horror themes, but we're looking for substance over gore. As always, keep those Gothic undertones. Things we are looking for: carnival horror gothic horror historical horror literary horror gothic/macabre elements modern settings considered ONLY if they maintain a Gothic feel Things we are not looking for: young adult extreme horror/extreme erotica rape/child abuse heavy sci-fi overtly modern adaptations ​ Submission Requirements Please note: Submissions that do not follow requirements will not be considered. 1. We are accepting original works only. You must own the copyright to your submission. 2. Submissions period is from Dec 20th - March 13th, 2022. Please submit all stories to [email protected] with the subject line: Carnival Macabre / Your Title / Genre. Emails sent to other email addresses will not be considered. 2. All submissions must be in English and follow standard MLA formatting (double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font). Work must be polished and edited (to the best of your ability). Please submit as a .docx file and include your name, title, and word count on the front page. 3. Story length is 5,000 to 8,000 words. Submissions below 5,000 words and above 8,000 words will not be considered. 4. Accepted authors will receive compensation per contract agreement (US: $40 +...

Deadline: March 15th, 2022 Payment: US 3¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $3, maximum $25 Theme: Notional Ekphrasis Eye to the Telescope 44, Notional Ekphrasis, will be edited by F. J. Bergmann. Ekphrastic poetry consists of poems based on visual art; “Musée des Beaux Arts” by W. H. Auden is a classic example. The work does not necessarily need to be described in the poem, nor is it considered necessary to view the image in order to appreciate the resultant poem. Notional works of art are those that do not actually exist; fiction (and poetry) are replete with instances of these; another classic example is “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. Notional exphrastic poems, therefore, would be poems inspired by works of art that exist only in your own imagination (or that of others), from any period in time or space. We are eager to read what you send! Submission Guidelines SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Use the form at  to submit. Please submit 1–3 poems in English (ideally, attached as .docx or .txt) and include a short bio. Translations from other languages are acceptable with the permission of the original poet (unless public domain). Inquiries only to [email protected] with “ETTT” in the subject line. Deadline: March 15. The issue will appear on April 15, 2022. Payment and rights Accepted poems will be paid for at the following rate: US 3¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $3, maximum $25. Payment is on publication. The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association normally uses PayPal to pay poets, but can also send checks. Eye to the Telescope is an online publication. Therefore, First Electronic Rights (for original unpublished poems) are being sought. Who can submit? Anyone writing speculative poetry. What is Speculative Poetry? Speculative poetry is poetry which falls within the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural horror, plus some related genres such as magic realism,...

Submission Window: February 15th-March 15th, 2022 Payment: $0.08 per word Theme: Human Monsters, Horror A new horror anthology edited by Sadie Hartmann and Ashley Saywers of Night Worms. “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” -Stephen King Dark Matter Magazine is proud to announce our first foray into trade publishing with a new horror anthology edited by Sadie Hartmann and Ashley Saywers of Night Worms. The anthology will include at least 80,000 words of new horror fiction curated by Sadie and Ashley, and the book will be included in a future Night Worms book box. The tentative publish date for the anthology is October 2022. Submission Guidelines From Sadie and Ashley: We are looking for stories centered around one of our favorite sub-genres, Human Monsters. We enjoy twisty-turny, dark, psychological, thrilling, dangerous, menacing, gothic, strange, ugly, murderous, messed-up tales of people doing awful, no-good, very bad things to one another. We are not looking for anything cosmic, paranormal, science fiction, cryptid/creature, or supernatural at this time. Just monsters in human skin, please. Tell us what they do. Genre: Horror Sub Genre: Human Monsters Word Limit: 2000-4000 words, no exceptions Language: English and English translations Reprints: No. Unpublished works only. Pay Rate: $0.08/word, paid at least 30 days prior to publication, or before October 1, 2022 Rights: Dark Matter Magazine, LLC is buying first English language rights for print, electronic, and web. We are asking for exclusive rights for a period of six (6) months after publication. Multiple Submissions: Yes, but our submission system will only allow for one submission from you at a time. If your story is rejected, please feel free to submit again right away. Simultaneous Submissions: Sure! But please notify us or withdraw your story from consideration at Dark Matter if it is accepted elsewhere before we render our own decision. NOTE: Other publishers have their own...

Deadline: March 15th, 2022 Payment: 2.5 cents per word Theme: South Asian speculative fiction Tasavvur is now open for short story submissions! Send your South Asian speculative fiction our way! Please submit your stories before 15th March 2022 using the form below or send to [email protected] Submission Guidelines Give us your dreamscapes and nightmares, your soaring fantasies, your futuristic miasmas. Give us also your unstructured ramblings, where a story exists at the edges, dripping with lush, brilliant prose. We are not sticklers for the usual 3-act, 5-act structures, because great storytelling is so much more than that. So send us your lores written in reverse, written in verses, written in the form of email exchanges across multiverses, or haphazard POVs. Which is not to say we won’t accept a story with a usual structure. A good hero’s journey is a good hero’s journey. But if you’re doing that, take chances, and twist it! There’s no topic that’s strictly taboo for us, but anything that contains the following is a hard pass from us. Needless animal cruelty Violence against minorities Gratuitous violence and sex. Guidelines Set in Stone Stories should follow proper manuscript format (Please follow this Example) PDF or Doc/Docx only please (Don’t send your story in the body of the email) Please add your name in your file name, e.g. Sultana’s Dream by Begum Rokeya Maximum of 5,000 words. Minimum of 1,000 words. 12 Pt. Font, Double Spaced, any font which is easily readable. Eg. Times New Roman, Arial, Cambria etc. Original content (Never published before, even on personal blogs) Author Compensation Tasavvur pays 2.5 cents per word, up to a maximum of 5,000 words. Stories slightly more than 5,000 words may sometimes be accepted on editor’s discretion. Payment will be made at the time of publication (To submit, click the link below:) Via: Tasavvur...

Deadline: March 15th, 2022 Payment: Complimentary copy of the magazine. Short stories are $0.08 (eight cents a word) USD. Drabbles and poems are $50 (fifty dollars) USD. Theme: Medusa Title: Tempered Tales: Medusa Type: Magazine (horror/fantasy/dark fantasy/mystery) Theme: Medusa. The work can be set in any time period, including now or the future. It can rely heavily on her mythology or just give it a nod. It should be her story, good or bad. Horror, fantasy, dark fantasy, mystery, or any combination of mash up welcome. How and What to Submit: Submissions should be as a Word doc Stories: 500-1,500 words Poems: up to 350 words Drabbles: 100 words exactly Titles not included in the word count. Include your full name, title of your submission, word count, trigger warnings, email address, author bio, and social media handles with your submission. Email all submissions to [email protected] Use MEDUSA as the subject of your email. No graphic or explicit content. No reprints. Multiple submissions will be accepted (up to 3 works per writer), but only one work chosen per writer. Submissions will open on March 1 to March 15th 2022 Payment: Complimentary copy of the magazine. Short stories are $0.08 (eight cents a word) USD. Drabbles and poems are $50 (fifty dollars) USD. Questions about the anthology? Send an email to [email protected] . Author notifications will be emailed by April 30, 2022. IF WE EMAILED YOU AN ACCEPTANCE ALREADY, YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESUBMIT. YOUR WORK IS STILL ON FILE AND WILL APPEAR IN THE MAGAZINE. Via: Brigids Gate Press.