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Deadline: October 13th, 2022 Prize: $50 Theme: Using a quote from the image blow to craft a story Welcome to our annual Halloween Challenge! Brought to you by Mr. Jason Voorhees himself along with all of the other gruesome nasties we’ve paid homage to over the years. Below you will find a list of 16 movie quotes (okay, we made one up). Your challenge is to take one movie quote and turn it into a story any way you see fit. Of course, we don’t want a retelling of the movie the quote is from, we want an original from you, simply use the quote as a guide. You do not have to use the actual quote in your story, but it’s perfectly ok if you do! Please write at the top of your submission which quote you are using. $50 goes to the grand prize winner! Below the image you’ll find the quotes listed. We realize Mr. Voorhees has many talents, but communication may not be one of them. Unless he doesn’t like you, then he’s quite an effective communicator! Stories will be judged on two criteria: How well the story is fashioned around the chosen quote Story creativity, writing quality, and style Please scroll for standard challenge rules and we appreciate when you follow them. We look forward to reading your submissions! QUOTED ABOVE: Oh yes, there will be blood They’re here Fine, walk home then Sometimes, dead is better They’re coming to get you, Barbara When there is no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly It’s not the house that’s haunted, it’s your son It’s just the wind The last man on earth sat alone in a room....

  Deadline: October 13th, 2022 Payment: $10 Theme: Dark, eerie, speculative stories. Horror is not a necessary element, although fiction should contain some aspect of the weak, frail, changeable human condition. 8/25/22: We are now OPEN to story and poetry submissions for our Halloween 2022 issue to be published October 2022. We are also open to Halloween Challenge submissions. Deadline for regular submissions and the Halloween Challenge is October 13th, 2022. To track and see if we received your story, visit: Where’s My Story? Please note: If you do not want your story title added to the tracking page, let us know when you submit your work. (Author name is not listed, only story title). Tales from the Moonlit Path publishes dark, eerie, speculative stories. Horror is not a necessary element, although fiction should contain some aspect of the weak, frail, changeable human condition. Gore and explicit sex for the sake of visceral shock will not find a home here, though we are not opposed to it in general, if it belongs in the story. We are interested in character-driven stories more so than plot-driven, and we prefer dark fiction that makes us think, makes us feel, wraps us in its well-spun dream. Hard sci-fi and fantasy are a hard sell for us, but not impossible. Revenge and ironic stories are also a hard sell. Although we would love to publish fiction longer than 2,000 words, it is our experience that reading stories longer than that on a monitor can be tiresome and hard on the eyes. So please, fiction must be no longer than 2,000 words. Please include a short cover letter with your story, your name, email address, paypal information for payment, word count (please make sure an accurate word count is included in your short cover letter) and bio if...

Deadline: October 14th, 2022 Payment: $10 Theme: Crime Fiction Submissions for the print magazine OPEN September 1st at 1am EST. Submissions of under 1k words for the flash series also OPEN. See the flash guidelines for details. Please read the entirety of the guidelines before submitting as guidelines have changed. ​Submissions that do not follow the guidelines will deleted unread, without response to the submitter. Guilty publishes crime fiction. It is strongly suggested that you read an issue of the magazine to get a solid feel for what we are looking for. Crime fiction covers a wide range of potential topics, and we are interested in your take on it, but please note, we are looking for stories of criminals, from their perspective. There are still many ways that can be interpreted, but there are some things we will not consider: Cozies. Police procedurals. Anything with a speculative element. Anything that glories in violence for the sake of violence, particularly against women, children, minorities, or animals. Violence can be an element of many types of crime stories, but it must be an integral part of the story. Detective stories will be a hard sell, not because we don't like them, but because they are not typically crime stories, per se, but have more in common with the police procedural than with other types of crime story. We really are looking for stories from a criminal's perspective. Serial killers are also a hard sell, unless your take on them is truly unique. It shouldn't need to be said, but any type of hate-speech, whether homophobia, racism, anti-Semitism or any other type you can think of, will not be tolerated. Submissions including such will be deleted without response to the submitter. ​ For fiction for the magazine: Stories from 2,500 to 5,000 words will...

Submission Window: For Black, Asian, Latin, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors: October 1st-14th, For All authors: October 8th-14th Payment: Science Fiction and Fantasy short stories Theme: $0.08/word for original fiction Cossmass Infinities is open for submissions on the following dates: For Black, Asian, Latin, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors: February 1st-14th October 1st-14th For All authors: February 8th-14th October 8th-14th i.e. Open during the first week of February and October for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors then opening to general submission for the second week. Submission windows may close early if there is a high number of submissions. This is to allow us to meet our response deadlines. Submission windows open and close at midnight UTC. Submissions made outside of these times will be automatically rejected. Cossmass Infinities is a Science Fiction and Fantasy short story magazine edited by Paul Campbell. We are looking for original science fiction and fantasy short stories. We are NOT looking for reprints at this time. We are actively interested in stories from Black, Asian, Latin, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors. We encourage new authors to submit. We are looking for short stories (1000-7,500 words). We pay $0.08/word for original fiction. We can only accept manuscripts in these formats: docx, doc, html, htm, rtf, odt, txt, azw, mobi. The rights we wish to obtain are listed in the sample contract for original fiction. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Multiple submissions are not accepted. Held submissions do not count against you. Payment is through Paypal. Submit only complete stories. Please allow 3 months for a decision, then feel free to reply to your notification email to enquire as to the status of your story. An email confirming receipt of your submission will be sent within 20 minutes of us receiving it. Note that your submission is sent to us...

Deadline: October 15th, 2022 Payment: $100 or $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is greater) and a contributor's copy Theme: Stories that team up Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown Edited by David Marcum Description: In 1910, the first story of Father Brown, the East Anglican Roman Catholic priest and detective was published. Sometimes called the counter to Sherlock Holmes and the world’s second greatest detective, the plain mild-mannered Brown used intuition with his logic to solve cases. This anthology will feature stories where the two great detectives, the cold and calculating Holmes and the kind and meek Brown, team up to solve mysteries. Guidelines: Submissions should be between 5,000-10,000 words in length (okay to go over the word limit) and should feature the traditional Holmes of the canon and G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown. No stories based on TV/ film versions of the detectives. Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology. Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication. Authors are welcome to submit more than one story for the anthology. Email submissions in a word document to David Marcum at [email protected] with the subject line: ATTN: SUBMISSION FOR THE DETECTIVE AND THE CLERGYMAN Submission Deadline: October 15, 2022. Publication Date: Spring 2023 Via: Derrick Belanger's Facebook.

Deadline: October 15th, 2022 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Possession If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 150k+ monthly listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we’ll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. !!!!!!!!!!!! PROMPT HERE !!!!!!!!!!!! SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If this form isn’t working, please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. Title your email with the following syntax: “SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT”  (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) Submission Guidelines • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document • Stories must fit an upcoming theme • By submitting your story to us, you are confirming that you are the original creator of the story • We will consider entrants whose work has been entered and published elsewhere, however please ensure you state where and when your story has been used elsewhere on the document • You will be allowed to place one call-to-action for your own work at the end of the episode. Be sure to include this at the end of your document, underneath the log line • Payment per accepted story is 15GBP • 2x entries per theme permitted   When will I hear if my story has been accepted or not? We carefully review every single submission that comes through our door. If you’ve submitted a story...

Deadline: October 15th, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: The Loch Ness Monster vs. Ghosts in Atlantis Title: The Loch Ness Monster vs. Ghosts in Atlantis Opens: 10 May 2022 Closes: 15 October 2022 11:59 pm EST Theme: How did the Loch Ness Monster end up landlocked in Scotland, becoming one of the great paranormal mysteries of our time? Is she a myth, a hoax, a trick of the eye? Or perhaps she is simply lurking there until her enemies forget, waiting for the right time to return to her home in the waters around the fabled Atlantis, where she can be reunited with her family, and take her revenge? Little does she realize that the ghosts who banished her hundreds of years ago, along with those who have joined their ghostly order since, still keep guard over the lost city. They have dedicated themselves to the protection of Atlantis, and will stop any deemed a threat, by whatever means necessary. Who is the villain? Who is the hero? What caused the rift all those years ago, and does it still matter to any of them? Only you know the answer... No idea is too out there! We want stories from all sides, tales that contradict one another, unreliable narrators, and MCs who we can both love and hate. The ghosts don't have to be FROM Atlantis, but they do need to be guarding it now. Let's get WEIRD y'all. Word Limit: 3-8k words, excluding title Author Eligibility: Open to All Reprints: Not allowed Simultaneous Submissions: Not allowed Multiple Submissions: Max of 2 (two) acceptance per author Author Compensation: One (1) digital copy and word count based royalty split. Send your story and up to a 100-word author bio with 2 (two) links as a Word doc attachment to: [email protected] Please include the Anthology Title, Story Title, and Author name in your email...

Deadline: October 15th, 2022 Payment: $20 per story or artwork 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...

Deadline: October 15th, 2022 Payment: $5 Theme: The Sun The Icarus Writing Collective, a mythic magazine, was founded in 2022 by Elizabeth Zarb and Kyle Ross. The two met as undergraduates at Emerson College in 2017, finding a combined interest in classic literature and mythology. After a flash fiction workshop course in their senior year, both Elizabeth and Kyle fell in love with the short form and took that passion one step further to establish this collective. In contrast to the Icarus myth, this magazine encourages writers to go beyond their limits and get close to the sun. While hubris can be a downfall, The Icarus Writing Collective strives to create a community where there’s a balance between hubris and humility— together, we’re able to make something beautiful. We call ourselves a “collective” because we aim to create a space where lovers of antiquity can dabble, experiment, and work together to form a new canon of stories, not just the ones picked up by the big publishers. Despite the Greek influences on the aesthetics of the zine, we heavily encourage writers to adapt from their own cultures and favorite mythologies. There is no limit to the stories that can be retold. Writers from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to submit. Issue 01: "The Sun" WRITING SUBMISSIONS OPEN: 08/15 to 10/15 The Icarus Writing Collective currently uses Google Forms to collect submissions! Anything submitted through email will not be considered. We accept simultaneous submissions, as long as you notify us that your piece has been accepted elsewhere. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept previously published works. You’re welcome to submit once to each category. We are able to award writers a $5 honorarium, paid through Venmo or PayPal. Writers retain all rights to their work after publication. The magazine acquires first...

Submission Window: October 1st-15th, 2022 Payment:2 cents per word Theme: Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. **STARTING IN 2022, SUBMISSIONS OPEN JANUARY, APRIL, JULY, AND OCTOBER (1-15th of each month)** Submissions OPEN. Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Length: 500 – 1,000 words. Firm. Author Compensation: 2c/word, paid via PayPal. (Rounded to nearest whole dollar) Publication: Dread Stone Press website (Dose of Dread). Reading Periods: January, April, July, and October; 1st to 15th. Any stories submitted outside of each reading period will not be read. Rights: First World Electronic Rights. Non-exclusive rights thereafter. No reprint restrictions after publication. Original stories ONLY. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but NO multiple submissions. You may submit again the next reading period if rejected. If your story is accepted, please sit out one reading period before submitting again. Please, for everyone’s sake, no rough drafts. Successful pieces will require little to no proofreading edits. Email your submission as a Word document attachment to [email protected] with “DOSE – – ” in the subject line. Rejections for Dose of Dread submissions will be sent by the end of the month submitted. If you have not received a reply by then, feel free to follow-up. All rejections will be form rejections. It’s not personal, promise. Which also means please don’t respond to rejections. It’s unnecessary. Please see the General Submission Guidelines below for additional formatting information. Via: Dreadstone press.