Events

Taking Submissions: Taking Submissions: Allegory Volume 43

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...

Taking Submissions: 2022 Best Of Utopian Speculative Fiction Anthology

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...

AEA Press Is Open To Novels And Novellas

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: Horror Novels, Western Novellas and novels, Sci-fi Novels. Full details below. Genres: Horror: We are looking for fiction horror novel submissions, particularly those of the supernatural, "high concept," western, and creature sub-genres. All horror submissions will be equally considered, regardless of sub-genre. Western: Novel Opening: We are looking for fiction western novel submissions. All western sub-genres are welcome. All western submissions will be equally considered, regardless of sub-genre. If it is part of a series, please only submit the first part of the series. Sci-Fi: Novel Opening: We are looking for fiction science fiction novel submissions. All science fiction sub-genres are welcome. All science fiction submissions will be equally considered, regardless of sub-genre. If it is part of a series, please only submit the first part of the series. AEA Press is an independent hybrid publisher, based in the United States and established in 2012. With an eye on style and professional polish, AEA Press specializes in beautifully and expertly crafted books. Our teams focus on the details, creating lasting impressions that expand beyond story and deliver something truly recognizable and memorable. Content: We are looking for fiction Novel submissions in the following genres: ● Horror, including all sub–genres ● Westerns, including historical and modern ● Science Fiction, including soft and hard science sub–genres If you are unsure if your genre or content matches, please reach out to us at [email protected] and we will be happy to help. Audience: The intended audience is for adults, eighteen (18) and over. There are no specific restrictions but overtly graphic material may be reconsidered. Length: The intended submission length is for a Novel, and the suggested length is between 40,000 and 80,000 words. Longer Novella length, between 30,000 and 40,000 words may also be accepted. Format:...

Taking Submissions: Short Story Substack December 2022 Window (Early Listing)

Submission Window: December 1st-31st, 2022 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre, short story Changing the world, one story at a time Mission = Revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful. Payout = Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Wait, you mean if this substack gets thousands of subscribers, the winner would get thousands of dollars? Yes! The New Yorker pays roughly $7,500 per story and I sincerely hope to go way past that. What does the timeline look like? Submit stories by the end of the month, winner to be announced on the 15th. There is ONE story that wins and receives the full payout. Where do I send submissions? [email protected] What are the rules for submitting? 1. No Fees 2. Send in Microsoft Word or Google Doc form 3. Any genre 4. 6- 10,000 words. Yes, just 6 words, like Hemingway's famous 6-word story "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn." 5. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute. 6. Acknowledge Distribution Rights on this Substack - You can still sell your story elsewhere but we need to be able to save and publish it here. The goal is to create a library for subscribers. 7. Only the winner will be published and rights will only transfer for the winning story. What do I get for subscribing? One beautiful story every month. The complete library. The joy of supporting artists and doing something interesting. What if I can’t pay right now? That’s ok! If you publish a blurb about this site on your website, blog, or social media, I will send you one full story of your...

Taking Submissions: Die by the Sword! Volume 1

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: One cent per word and a contributor's copy Theme: Sword-and-sorcery Submission window: November 1, 2022-December 31, 2022 This fall DMR Books will open again for submissions. As DMR is the preeminent publisher of sword-and-sorcery fiction, it is only right that we should have an ongoing anthology series of new S&S stories. Now, we have that series—Die by the Sword! For clarification, sword-and-sorcery is a genre that combines swashbuckling adventure with supernatural elements (usually of a horrific nature) in a pre-industrial setting. The stories can be set in an invented world like Zothique or Nehwon, or in the past of the real world. Some of the best-known characters of the genre are Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Cimmerian, Michael Moorcock’s Elric, and Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. If you’re familiar with them, you should have a good idea of what we’re looking for. If you’re not, you probably shouldn’t submit a story to us. While there’s no specific theme to Die by the Sword, feel free to crank up the violence and make it live up to its title. What we’re not looking for: Urban fantasy or anything with a modern-day setting. Tolkien-style epic/high fantasy. Stories that read like a D&D session. No LitRPG, either. Anything with orcs in it. If your story has orcs, it will automatically be rejected. I’m not kidding. Badly written amazon warrior women. If your idea of a great female character is a typical Conan clone with different pronouns, don’t send me your story. Profanity. If a word would get censored on network TV, I’m probably not going to print it. Explicit sex. Keep it R-rated. I’m not a pornographer! Young adult/children’s stories. Keep it R-rated. Modern prose and dialogue. You don’t have to go all out with archaisms...

Taking Submissions: Apex Magazine December 2022 Window (Early Listing)

Submission Window: December 7th - 31st, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Genre short stories filled with marrow and passion, works that are twisted, strange, and beautiful. Our magazine is an SFWA-certified professional market. Co-editor-in-chief: Jason Sizemore Co-editor-in-chief: Lesley Conner Special Fiction Editor & Reprints: Maurice Broaddus Nonfiction Editor: ZZ Claybourne Flash Fiction Editor: Rebecca Schibler ORIGINAL SHORT FICTION GUIDELINES 1) Submit your work in Shunn Standard Manuscript Format (Modern or Classic). Your manuscript should be in DOC, DOCX, RTF, or ODT file format. Inclusion of mailing address and phone number is not required. 2) Maximum word length is a firm 7,500 words. Anything more will be auto-rejected. 3) Payment for original fiction is $.08 per word up to 7,500 words. Minimum of $50. 4) If we podcast your story, additional payment is $.01 per word up to 7,500 words. 5) If the work you are submitting is an English translation, please include the translator name and email address either in your cover letter or within your manuscript. By submitting, you are verifying in good faith that you have the right to have your translated work published in Apex Magazine. 6) Apex Magazine welcomes and encourages submissions from writers of all races, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, and military status. We want diverse voices. We value diverse voices. Saying that, please be aware that we do not collect any information that might clue our editors to any of these attributes other than your name, email, address, and cover letter before any decisions are made regarding your submission. 7) Ready to submit your work? Head over to our Moksha account and upload your story! https://apexbookcompany.moksha.io/ Stories submitted by email or sent via the postal service will be disposed of unread. ORIGINAL FLASH FICTION GUIDELINES 1) Submit your work in Shunn Standard Manuscript Format (Modern or Classic). Your manuscript should be in DOC, DOCX, RTF, or ODT file...

Taking Submissions: A Flight of Dragons

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: £10 and a contributors copy Theme: Dragons must form a significant element of the submission piece Submissions are open for A Flight of Dragons! We are now accepting submissions for our anthology, A Flight of Dragons. Here is a quick overview of what we're looking for. * Short stories of up to 5,000 words *Poetry of any length *Dragons must form a significant element of the submission piece *Each individual is allowed to submit up to three pieces for consideration *The closing date for submissions is 31/12/2022 at 11.59PM GMT Submissions should be emailed to [email protected] before the deadline. You will need to include your name, your address, and any links to published works. Submissions should be sent as Word documents, Times New Roman font, 14pt and 1.5 line spacing. Successful writers will receive a one off payment of £10 and an author copy of the anthology (paperback). Writers will retain all copyrights for their submission/s. Via: West Avenue Publishing.

Taking Submissions: Monster Fight At the O.K. Corral

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: Contributors Copy and $40 for their 3,000 to 5,000 word story (Payment dependent on Kickstarter) Theme: Action-packed Western horror with enough chills to give the skeletons in your closet the shivers. Cryptids & Chaos  •  Monsters & Mayhem  • An Anthology of the Weird Wild West Edited by Lyndon Perry Writers’ Guidelines Title and Publisher: Monster Fight at the O.K. Corral published by Tule Fog Press Fundraising Platform and Target Date: Kickstarter Campaign and Publication: March, 2023 Theme of Antho: Action-packed Western horror with enough chills to give the skeletons in your closet the shivers. All kinds of monsters, aliens, cryptids, and creatures of the dark welcome. I’m going for darker themes (PG-16+) and a bit disturbing (but no torture, erotica, or excessive gore).  Storytelling: Your story should go somewhere. I’m looking for solid plotting, intriguing characters, and weird but accessible settings/scenarios. Avoid purple prose or esoterica. I want a complete story with a firm ending in about 4,000 words (range: 3k to 5k words). Exceptions possible. Acceptable Tropes: I’m looking for a variety of creative tales from the horror genre – but set in the Old West. Or Modern West. Surprise me. Trope examples include classic ghost or campfire stories, an ancient evil, the abandoned building, the stalking monster, ‘cult of doom’ or pacts with the devil, cowboys vs dinosaurs, outlaw vs sheriff, hero seeks vengeance, tech goes wrong (Westworld-ish), even pastiches of public domain characters. Sky’s the limit. Story Style: I like tried and true storytelling, with a focus on characters and plot. So…pulpy? But try not to simply retell a classic monster story. Attempt something different or slightly off – i.e., if the storytelling is accessible and entertaining. Not open to socially/politically agenda-driven stories. Please limit vulgarities (no blasphemy or f-bombs). Table...

Taking Submissions: Ooze

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: $10 Theme: Body horror Submission Call Details Ooze is an anthology of body horror of all types. Each story should be around 2,000 words or less. Payment is $10 per story and an electronic copy of the book. There are four invited authors: Judith Sonnet Rowland Bercy Jr. Lor Gislason Cat Voleur Submissions are open to any author, published or unpublished. The requirements are as follows. - Around 2,000 words or less - Double-spaced, reasonable font, name and contact info on the first page, word count included - Please avoid stories of sexual assault. They will result in a pass. - Sexual horror in general is a hard sell but not totally excluded. - No reprints. - In general, I am looking for fun, unique horror that will make people cheer, gag, cry, or otherwise keep turning pages. - Everyone is welcome regardless of ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, or anything else. Submit to: [email protected] Subject: Ooze Submission Questions may be sent to the above address, but please read requirements carefully first. Deadline: December 31 All submissions will receive a response by the end of January. Via: Ruth Anna Evans.

Taking Submissions: Love Me, Love Me Not Drabbles

Black Hare Press

Deadline: December 31st, 2022 Payment: $1 Theme: Drabbles Valentine’s Day / Love / Couples. NB: Doesn’t have to be about Valentine’s Day specifically. $1 USD per acceptance. Up to 10 acceptances per pen name. First three to 10 get a $10 Amazon voucher. First to 10 also gets a paperback copy of the final product. One email, one drabble. We won’t look at submissions with more than one drabble, as we don’t have time to extrapolate them into the read process. Blind submissions for the actual manuscript, please. Reprints are OK, but we’ll have no space for “First Published” acknowledgements, so please check your obligations with previous publishers first (if your first publisher is BHP, then you automatically have permission, as long as it wasn’t published in the last 12 months). No simultaneous submissions, please. Include a bio of no more than 15 words, plus one link << this is really important. Don’t include links to retailers (ie Amazon) as the books get rejected when they have retailer links. If you want to include one, we suggest you set up something like linktr.ee (here’s ours: linktr.ee/blackharepress) or bio.site (here’s ours:  bio.site/blackharepress) Theme: Valentine’s Day / Love / Couples. NB: Doesn’t have to be about Valentine’s Day specifically. Genre: Must be dark, but any genre, including (not an exhaustive list): horror, science fiction, LGBTQ+, romance/ steamy/erotic horror, cosmic, speculative, fantasy. NB: No more “human hearts as gifts in chocolate boxes” tropes, please. Submit to: [email protected]. Will be available in: Paperback, hardcover (black & white and colour editions), and digital. Publication Date: circa February 2023 Via: Black Hare Press.