Events

Deadline: December 26th, 2022 Payment: Contributors copy and $5 per page Theme: Poetry involving the fifth element & highest point of the pentacle: Spirit. #Spirit embodies the aether / the quintessence. White Stag Publishing is closing out the #ELEMENTSERIES with the fifth element & highest point of the pentacle: Spirit. #Spirit embodies the aether / the quintessence. It is the ethereal space & what dwells within it; divine beings, spirits & the Fae, even the supra natural. Humans attempt to access the Spirit through various mediums & divinatory practices: through clairvoyance & psychic awareness, lucid dreaming & astral projection, tarot & scrying (to name a few). Some also believe it can be accessed through prayer or only after death, when our souls leave our body to join the great expanse. It is engrained in all cultures, in various ways throughout the world; through magic & science, myth & fable. Spirit moves the pious, inspires artists & dreamers, brings magic to our terrestrial realm. For this anthology, we are looking for poetry that explores the ethereal realm through various mediums whether religious / spiritual, through clairvoyance / meditation, science, & the imagination. We want theology, mysticism & magick, alchemy, explore the ancient mysteries. We want work that goes beyond our sphere & into the void, translating the unknown. Send us your séances, your rituals, your communions with the gods, show us the creatures that lurk in the night (the ones we don’t already know about), tell us of your travels through space & time. We want poetry that is evocative of the otherworldly. Be bold & dare to go beyond. A GUIDE TO PROFFERING: Please send no more than 8 pages of poetry in a word doc or pdf to [email protected] with SPIRIT in the subject line. We highly recommend you...

Tentative Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: 40% royalties for net eBook sales and 20% on paperback sales Theme: Dark Fiction, Horror, Speculative Fiction, Suspense, Fantasy, or Thriller. The submission window will remain open until at least the end of 2022. Our goal is to remain open on a permanent basis, but we will close from time to time if too many projects are accepted. We don’t want authors to wait two or three years before their book is published. Our slush readers are standing by, and all we’ll require upon submission is: A one or two page, detailed synopsis (which includes any twists as well as the ending) An author bio The first three chapters of your novel or novella (no collections, short stories, or poetry at this time). Series welcome. Please use the modern Shunn format for your manuscript. Only one submission per author at a time. Simultaneous subs (to other publishers) are allowed, but please inform us of that upon submission. Be sure to let us know if and when your book is accepted for publication elsewhere. No previously published works. This includes self-published titles. Email your submissions to [email protected] (Karen Runge will manage the account and get back to you to confirm your submission) What we’re looking for: Length: 30,000 to 95,000 words Genre: Dark Fiction, Horror, Speculative Fiction, Suspense, Fantasy, or Thriller. Subgenres/Tropes: We love them all, although we’re more interested in dark, suspenseful fiction than just outright horror. Our readers want to go on an emotional rollercoaster of fear, fright, sadness, joy, loss, and the beauty behind every character’s story. What we’re not looking for: Romance/Erotica (although they can certainly be used in subplots) Anthology pitches Short stories Short story collections Poetry Screenplays Young Adult Submission guidelines: The subject of your email should be “Open subs 2022.” Again, we...

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: $10 Theme: A complete story in any genre What are we looking for? Good flash fiction is like a freeze frame—a snapshot of a real story about real characters. The word count is low, so many of the details are left to the reader to fill in, but they’re there. Flash fiction is neither a vignette nor a character sketch. Something must happen, and there must be an ending, whether explicit or implied. So first and foremost, we want a story. A complete, interesting story. 1000 words or less, any genre, no content restrictions. We want your science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, drama, literary works, satire, bizarre fiction, or anything else you can come up with or mix together. The more original, the better. The weirder, the better. The best way to find out what we’re looking for is to read what we’ve already published! Check out our current volume, free to read at https://freezeframefiction.com/. What are we NOT looking for? We are 100% okay with explicit content, so long as it serves a purpose to the story and/or characters. Profanity for the sake of profanity—or the same thing for sex, violence, or gore—does not impress us. Also, animal cruelty. Please just send that somewhere else. We do not publish fan-fiction, i.e., stories based in worlds or using characters created by other authors. All content must be original. The following things might be accepted, but will be a very hard sell: stories involving vampires, zombies, or werecreatures (read an exception here) pure romance with no other significant elements the now-ubiquitous young adult paranormal romance military fiction or stories of battles or wars stories with a religious message or theme We’re also pretty tired of reading about straight cis white guys, honestly. We get it; they’re everywhere. Give us some diversity,...

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: 1c/word for accepted fiction. Half this for reprints, $100 (negotiable) for the cover illustration Theme: A sci-fi retelling of the first half of Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty), as it was told by the Grimm Bros. (Specific details below) Submissions are now open for Project Briar Rose (working title) from Manawaker Studio, edited by CB Droege. Project Briar Rose is an anthology focused on sci-fi stories about specific character traits. This volume will contain short stories only, though we will also accept submissions for cover art. Some details The book will be a sci-fi retelling of the first half of Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty), as it was told by the Grimm Bros. In Galilean Space, a Spincity administrator is bringing a new Android online. It is his plan that this android, codenamed Briar Rose and in a mechanical body resembling a young woman, will succeed him one day in running the city. He invites the most accomplished AI experts from 12 of the spincity’s 13 districts to a dinner party in celebration of Briar Rose; leaving out the expert from the 13th district because she is an unpleasant person. At the dinner, the experts, all women, each approach the android in turn, and program her with a personality trait that she will need to be a good person, and eventually also a good administrator of the city. As they do this, they each tell a story about a person who succeeded, thrived, or overcame adversity due to possessing this trait. When they are finished, the 13th expert shows up uninvited, imbues the android with one unpleasant trait, and tells a story in which such a trait would be needed. There will be a bit more, but that’s the context you’ll need to submit. The stories I want thirteen stories from thirteen different...

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: Writers based in the UK - Payment will be 20GBP regardless of story length, and a print copy of the anthology after the release date. Writers based elsewhere – Payment will be the equivalent of 25GBP. Theme: Short stories that combine metal music and horror The strong link between heavy music and horror has been well documented.  From the dark and often grotesque imagery used on album covers to the aggressive and visceral attitude the music genre produces.  Take a look at the artwork on the cover of most Cannibal Corpse albums or Iron Maiden’s monstrous mascot, Eddie.  The 1986 horror movie ‘Trick or Treat’ starred Gene Simmons and the prince of darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, and, speaking of Black Sabbath, how many more metal bands have taken their names from horror movies? What we want: For our debut anthology, ‘Heavy Metal Nightmares’, we are looking for original short stories, from 2K words to 7K words max, that combine metal music and horror.  As long as the heavy music theme is used, let your imagination do the rest. Works slightly under 2K words or slightly over 7K words may still be considered. We require five months exclusive print and digital rights and you will retain copyright ownership of your works. What we don’t want: We won’t accept reprints or simultaneous submissions. We don’t want stories about established bands or real people; it needs to be fully fictional, although mentioning band names here and there in your story is acceptable. We don’t want to read anything detailing animal cruelty, harm to children, gratuitous sex or any sort of prejudice. We won’t accept flash fiction or poetry. Format: The anthology will be released in paperback print and ebook formats and sold via Amazon. How to submit: Send your manuscript as an...

Submission Window: November 1st through December 31st 2022 Payment: $0.03 per word and a contributors copy Theme: Horror stories inspired by the music of the band Ghost Tales from the Clergy: Stories Inspired by Ghost “Tales from the Clergy” is a horror anthology of stories inspired by the music of the band Ghost to be release by our October Nights Press imprint. Forming in 2006, Ghost exploded onto the Swedish rock scene with their debut album, Opus Eponymous. Their follow-up albums: Infestissumam, Meliora, Prequelle, and Impera would all go on to produce numerous hit singles, awards, and metal/pop songs sung loud by adoring fans at their concerts, which they have dubbed rituals. Ghost is known for having an eccentric on-stage presence with group members concealing their identities with costumes and the lead singer adorning the vestments of a demonic anti-Pope. Ghost relies heavily on themes of horror movies from the 70s and 80s, while also embracing the satanic panic from the late 80s. Although a relatively new band, Ghost has a large catalog of songs to choose from. Creativity is key and I recommend exploring some of their lesser-known tracks. Submitting a story based on “Square Hammer” or “Cirice” may pit you amongst others who did the same, and I really want variety with this anthology. As such, only one story per song will be accepted. We are looking to accept 15 stories. Authors will be paid $0.03 per word, with a cap at 5,000 words. Stories should be 3,000 – 5,000 words in length. Payment will also include a copy of the e-book and one (1) paperback copy. Payment will be issued at least five (5) days after acceptance of the signed contract, and books distributed one (1) week after publication. This is a horror anthology, so all genres of horror are welcomed....

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: $500 first place, $300 second place, $200 third place. All three stories will also be published by Story Unlikely. Theme: Stories of any genre up to 4500 words OUR ANNUAL SHORT STORY CONTEST OPENS OCTOBER 1ST FOR SUBMISSIONS, WITH UPDATED GUIDELINES, INCLUDING DOUBLING THE PRIZE PACKAGE AND WORD LENGTH, AND YEAH, GETTING YOUR STORY PROFESSIONALLY ILLUSTRATED!! Contest guidelines below. READ CAREFULLY. Failure to do so may result in disqualification! Story Guidelines: The short story contest is open to everyone with a brain (this is more restrictive than you think). Don't be fooled by our promo illustration, there are no restrictions on genre: fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc - we don't care as long as it's a good story. The story itself cannot exceed 2,250 4,500 words. What do I win? A $500 $1,000 prize package will be divvied up like so: $500 first place, $300 second place, $200 third place. The winning story will be featured on Story Unlikely's website. All three placing stories will be published in the monthly issue, and all three will illustrated by our crackpot team of digital editors!Don't forget about the honorable mentions! That's right, you honorable little losers, you. Is that harsh? It's supposed to be a compliment. Anyway, we do NOT notify honorable mentions ahead of time, because we're lazy busy, so very, very lazy busy. Rather, we announce them in the monthly issue along with the winning story, which you need to sign up for in order to be eligible to enter. If your name appears on this list of honorables, you'll be prompted to contact us and we'll send you a fancy, shcmancy certificate for proof that you, indeed, almost won a writing contest. But not quite. When can I submit? The submission period runs from October 1st through December 31st. Our reading period is January through March. When will...

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: £10 Theme: Revenge R is for Revenge – Submissions open November 1st. Deadline December 31st Revenge can come in many forms so we are looking for clever and unusual stories. Anything goes, so long as the story falls into the horror genre (whether that be human or non-human monsters). We are currently calling for submissions for a series of horror anthologies – The A-Z of Horror. The series will be based on a variety of themes and will consist of twenty-six books in total. We are looking for short horror stories, between 4000 and 8000 words, on each of the themes listed below. You may submit to more than one book, but we will only include a maximum of one story from each author, in each book. Being accepted into one book does not guarantee acceptance into one of the others. The story must be your own work, to which you hold the rights. The story must not be available elsewhere and, if accepted, we will hold the rights to it for three months from the date of publication. After that time, you may use the story however you wish. Any sub-genre of horror is suitable, even extreme, so long as the story fits the theme of that book and does not include anything which may unnecessarily cause offence (glorification of any kind of assault.). Payment for the story will be £10, to be paid via PayPal, as well as a contributor’s e-book of the finished book. Please send submissions in a Word document (ideally Times New Roman 12pt, single spaced) to [email protected] with the title of the book you are submitting to in the subject line. Please ensure you have included your name on the Word document. If you have any queries, feel free to...

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: $15 Theme: Speculative fiction, primarily horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Note: Reprints welcome Formatting Guidelines This is proving to be a recurring problem, so we're putting it up front. Please, for all our sakes, read this next part carefully. All submissions should be sent by e-mail (no letters or telephone calls please) to [email protected]. Below are some formatting rules to help us process your submission more quickly. EMAIL AND COVER LETTERS Email is accepted in both text and HTML formats. When submitting, please put this in the subject line: Submission: (Title) - (First and Last name) Include the following in the body of the email and in the attached submission: Your name Name to use on the story (byline), if different Your preferred email address Your mailing address The story's title The story's word count You may also include a cover letter in the body of the email. We get a lot of strange stuff in cover letters, so if you're unsure of what goes in them (and especially what doesn't) please refer to these cover letter tips: How to write a cover letter | What not to put in a cover letter by Jed Hartman SUBMISSION FORMATTING We ONLY accept submissions as attachments! All stories submitted as an attachment must follow standard manuscript formatting. We will no longer read any story not properly formatted. (And we much prefer Courier New to Times New Roman) For explanations and tips on what SMF is and how to do it with word processing programs, please see this article. Please send your submission as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Test Format (.rtf) only. Other formats, such as Works, WordPerfect, Open Office, etc., have proven difficult to open. Please note that we no longer accept "inline" submssions; that is, submissions with the stories pasted...

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: $0.01 (USD) per word + contributor copy Theme: Hopeful-themed speculative fiction that was released initially in 2022 Note: Reprints only Story Length: up to 19,000 words (flash fiction, short stories, and novelettes) Payment: $0.01 (USD) per word + contributor copy Submission Deadline: December 31, 2022 Expected Publication: Spring or Summer 2023 ​ Reprints only (stories must have been previously published in 2022. Self-published is okay. See submission guidelines below for more information.) Multiple submissions? YES, you can submit any and all stories you had published in 2022, so long as they meet the other criteria listed below. ​ Simultaneous submissions? YES ​ What Qualifies as Utopian Speculative Fiction? Accepted stories will meet most if not all of the following four criteria: ​​ NOT dystopian: envisions, builds, and sets stories in worlds in which humanity, technology, and nature coexist in harmony rather than in conflict; and/or depict future communities that are decidedly not dystopian, are clearly better than the real world of today, and in which those communities are actively struggling to build a just and equitable utopian world, even if they haven't yet fully reached that goal. Hopeful: uplifting, leaves the reader with a sense of inspiration, aspiration, and optimism even when that hope is rooted in struggle. Solutions: stories with a focus on solutions to climate change and the effects of climate change on the planet, ecosystems, and communities, as well as works that focus on solutions to other global social problems and envision futures with new, democratic, participatory, and collaborative political and economic systems. Speculative: stories can be any from any SciFi/Fantasy type genre, it can be set in the future or in the past or an alternative present as long as it contains a central speculative element and meets the other three criteria. For example, a horror story could...