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Deadline: February 21st, 2023 Payment: 6 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: Speculative Fiction, details below NOW READING FOR ISSUE #17 SUBMISSIONS CLOSE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST Planet Scumm accepts submissions from writers across the world. (Our HQ is a roving meteor-sized space station—Earth’s borders mean nothing to us. We want to hear from writers of every race, nationality, and gender identity. WHAT TO SUBMIT Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, sci-fi that melts in your mouth-brain not your hand-brain Speculative fiction, weird fiction, slipstream Basically anything that pleases Scummy, our megaphone-toting slime buddy, will be considered for entry to the interstellar archive aboard Scummy’s saucer HOW TO SUBMIT Include submissions as a .doc or .docx attachment to [email protected] along with a brief cover letter in the email body. Please attach only your story (no images, do not put your story in the body text of the email). Stories, or collections of flash fiction, should be no more than 5,000 words in length, and submitted in standard manuscript format. Submit only one previously unpublished short story or flash collection. We do not accept multiple submissions from the same author in one reading period. Simultaneous submissions are okay, as long as you promptly withdraw a story accepted elsewhere. SCHEDULE, RIGHTS, AND PAYMENT Accepted authors receive 6 cents a word and one contributor copy. Our publication operates in print, e-book, and audiobook. Some accepted stories will also be published on our website. We purchase exclusive English language print, audio, and electronic publishing rights for six months, with non-exclusive rights thereafter. Authors will receive payment within 3 months of signing their contract. Via: Planet Scumm.

Deadline: February 25th, 2023 Payment: $20 for every story published Theme: Art, speculative fiction, and non-fiction from artists and writers from Africa and the African Diaspora. Submission to Omenana Magazine is open until February 25 2023. Please send us your speculative fiction! WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR: We want art, fiction, and non-fiction from artists and writers from Africa and the African Diaspora. If you are unsure whether that includes you, please read this definition by the African Speculative Fiction Society about who is African for clarity. Fiction and art must be speculative (Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror or Magical Realism) and must involve characters, settings or themes directly related to the African continent. All stories and art must be in English (translations welcome), must be original works (no fan fiction, sorry), and previously unpublished. We are very much interested in works that explore alternative futures for Africa and people of African descent. We would also like to see explorations of the past as well as new interpretations of myths, folklore and magic. Above all, we are looking for original ideas and excellent writing. Non-fiction can be essays or reviews but must deal with our interest in African speculative fiction. We do not accept poetry, drama or film scripts. We no longer accept simultaneous submissions. OUR REQUIREMENTS: All work must be submitted by e-mail to [email protected] as a single attachment in one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .odt. Include a cover letter in the body of your e-mail providing your contact details (name – not the pseudonym you write under – address, email and phone number), a brief publication history, a bio of no more than 100 words and a profile photo. Both fiction and non-fiction should please follow this Standard Manuscript Format. Short fiction should be no more than 5,000 words. Creative non-fiction and essays should be no more than 3,000 words. Flash fiction pieces...

Deadline: February 27th, 2023 Payment: $0.01 CAD per word Theme: Thrillers, that can have horror, see details below for full guidelines Engen Books Ltd. and Quadrangle are proud to be teaming up again after the positive reception to 'Acceptance: Stories at the Centre of Us!' Over the last six years, the Engen's has become one of the preeminent publishers of fiction anthologies in Atlantic Canada. We have been home to some amazing established talent and helped some new authors break through that have gone on to dominate their fields, becoming bestsellers in their own genres. The From the Rock series is going strong, and we're happy that our Quadrangle partnership is growing as well! Quadrangle’s mission is to create a community centre for 2SLGBTQAI+ individuals and organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador, a space that is a resource for building community resilience and connection, and that provides supports for existing initiatives of our 2SLGBTQAI+ community. As a registered charity, both working toward having a community centre, and taking up projects like this one contribute to Quad’s vision of contributing to sustainable, positive, community connections. All profits from this collection will go towards that goal. We are currently accepting submissions for the second anthology in our partnership series with Quadrangle. This collection will feature strong fiction by and about members of the 2SLBGTQIA+ community. We decided to pick a different genre and group under the 2SLGBTQIA+ banner with each collection to focus on, and to choose each pairing at random! The dice decided upon BISEXUAL THRILLER for this year's combination! ​ When is the deadline? February 27th, 2023. Expected for publication in Fall of 2023 What is a Thriller? It's a very broad term for a genre that gets your blood pumping, and is largely action-oriented. Action movies fall under thriller, as...

Deadline: February 28th, 2023 Payment: New stories: $50 for 2.5-5k words, $75 for 5-10K words; $100 for 10-15K; Reprints accepted at half the new story rate Theme: Near future hopepunk Note: Reprints Welcome Open for Submissions: November 1st 2022 – February 28th, 2023 Story Length: 2.5-15K Genre: Near future hopepunk Characters: All welcomed. Diversity (race, sexuality, gender, ability) welcomed Payment: One-time flat fee. New stories: $50 for 2.5-5k words, $75 for 5-10K words; $100 for 10-15K; Reprints accepted at half the new story rate Include: Word file (.doc or .docx, see below), short submission letter with story title, word count, problem addressed in the story, solution/adaptation, and if this is a reprint. Submit to: Editor J. Scott Coatsworth, [email protected] Other Submission Notes: One story per author, please, no simultaneous submissions. Submit Your Story The way we do things now as a society is unsustainable. Garbage is piling up in our landfills and oceans, income inequality is getting worse, and our governments are often paralyzed when it comes to seeking solutions. For the third anthology in the Writers Save the World series, “Transform the World,” we’re focusing on new ways of living and of structuring societies. Stories should be near future (in the next 100 years or so) science fiction with a hopeful tone. Stories do not need to be hard sci fi, but the chosen solution/adaptation should be plausible, given what we know about human nature and society today. That said, we have accepted a few whimsical stories that tickled our fancy in the past. Diversity (race, gender, orientation, ability, mental spectrum etc) encouraged. Submit Your Story Examples: A new colony on Mars is run entirely on a barter/exchange system, with expansion credits for hard work that allow the recipients to start sub colonies of their own. A new city is built on the ocean, where people live in a sustainable way with...

Deadline: February 28th, 2023 Payment: $5 Theme: Burn This F*cker Down A Literary Journal with Some Art and Analysis Thrown in for Good Measure As Quarter Press continues to grow, we’re adding another coin to our pocketful of change. We want to offer a space for shorter works to mingle with art and other bits of nonsense, so we bring you The Quarter(ly): It just makes cents. Issues are themed; however, we consider all interpretations. "~ Burn This F*cker Down - Feb. 28 - What needs to be destroyed? Why? Send us your destructive works that hope to bring in the new and build something better." Stories and / or Poems For Stories: We’re open to micro works all the way up to 10,000 words. Just keep two things in mind: We want to be engaged and the submission must be completed (no pitches, please!) We Want: Works with fantastical elements: scary, happy, creepy, heartbreaking, bizarre, hilarious, whatever. While you can see our “Loves” lower on the page, we’re pretty open to anything that’s worth picking up. We (Probably) Won’t: Pick up works not tied to or containing fantastical elements. It’s kinda our thing. (However, some themes may lean more heavily on a specific genre or reality. Interpret accordingly.) Where to Tread Lightly: We’re pretty open-minded and okay with just about anything, but there better be a reason for it to be in the work. The darker, more explicit you go, the more we’ll really need to see its necessity to the work. We don’t want shock / horror / violence for its own sake. Definitely Will Not Publish: Any work that is hateful towards any race, creed, religion, gender, or identity. This aims to be an inclusive space. Other Good Things to Know Your work must be ORIGINAL. Excluding...

Submission Window: January 1st, 2023 to February 28th, 2023 Payment: Contributors copy and $20 USD for original stories and $5 for reprints Theme: Folk Horror, Psychological Horror, Gothic Horror, Weird Fiction / Lovecraftian, Post-Apocalyptic Note: Reprints Welcome Our next submissions window will be for "The Black Beacon Book of Horror". The submissions window will be from the 1st of January to the 28th of February, 2023. Patreon patrons are invited to submit effective immediately.   Oh, the horror! But what kind of horror do we want? We want your very best horror stories in keeping with the themes and styles that make Black Beacon Books stand out from the pack. If you don't know what that means, you probably haven't read any of our previous titles...we strongly suggest you do so. In short, our passion is for great plots, evocative settings, suspense and atmosphere, and clever twists. We want that creeping feeling of unease that grows to a spine-chilling climax. In terms of horror subgenres, these are what are most likely to tickle our fancies: - Folk Horror (Black Beacon Books is based in Brittany and your editor loves all things Celtic and mystical, so folk horror from all around the world is likely to attract his attention) - Psychological Horror (We are the monsters)   - Gothic Horror (Can you channel Shelley, Poe, Stoker, Gaskell or Le Fanu?) - Weird Fiction / Lovecraftian (But it had better be original) - Post-Apocalyptic (Make us fear the future)   We regularly post news on our Facebook page. You can also get a feel for what we like by buying our previously published titles. Publishing quality fiction is an expensive passion, so the more we sell, the more we can publish. It's that simple. Our cherished Patreon patrons also provide us with the means to keep producing quality books. # Rates: We...

Submission Window: February 1st, 2023 - February 28th, 2023. Payment: $0.03 per word Theme: Story that takes place at the beginning of the apocalypse in a short period of time, see below for specifics At the moment the earth ended, a little over eight billion human souls clung to its surface. That’s eight billion stories. Nobody knows how many remain. But if you’re reading this, you are one of them. Good job! We want that story. It doesn’t matter how this thing started, what caused it, or where it came from. That’s not what we’re after. We want the experiences, the points of view, the wild, weird, disgusting, disturbing, beautiful, heartbreaking things that happened at the very beginning of the end of the world. Guidelines: This is an open submission call for a fiction anthology. Open call submission window open February 1, 2023 - February 28, 2023. Extended submission window exclusively for writers from marginalized communities March 1, 2023 - March 7, 2023. The anthology will be a mix of solicited stories and stories selected from the open call submission period. What are we looking for? Short horror, weird, dark fiction between 1500 and 4000 words (firm limit) that deal with a fictional apocalypse. The story must take place within a short period of time (less than a day) at the beginning of a fictional apocalypse. The story shouldn’t be the inception point or the origin of the apocalyptic event. It shouldn’t even be about the event itself. Rather, it should be about when it all started for the POV character(s). Make it personal. Make it weird. Make it disturbing. Make it beautiful. We’re gonna get a lot of zombies, so points for originality. This anthology is open to all writers, but we strongly encourage writers from the LGBTQIA+, BIPOC,...

Submission Window: January 17th - February 28th, 2023 Payment: $10 Theme: Dark genre-bending works in the realms of horror, sci-fi, the weird, the macabre, fantasy, and magical realism. WHAT WE LOOK FOR: We are most interested in dark genre-bending works in the realms of horror, sci-fi, the weird, the macabre, fantasy, and magical realism. We want stories that grab us by the throat and ask questions about what it means to be human. Make us feel something long after we are done reading. The Editor is particularly fond of stories in the vein of The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, and Creep Show. When it comes to literary inspiration, think of Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, and Mary Shelley. The Editor also enjoys almost anything produced by A24. Think of Pyre as a bonfire — a place of storytelling and sacrifice. Take a seat near the fire and listen or spin a yarn of your own. Here at Pyre, we worship at the altar of storytelling done well. We love genre work that tells us something about the human condition. Pyre is personally funded and maintained by the Editor. he asks you are patient with him as he gets back to submissions. PYRE WILL CONSIDER MATERIAL BY ANY WRITER AND ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN AMPLIFYING UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES.  SUBMISSION PERIODS: Pyre Magazine is a biannual publication. Issues are released Spring/Summer & Fall/Winter. Our submission periods are as follows: SUMMER/SPRING ISSUE (CURRENT ISSUE) SUBMISSIONS OPEN: JAN 17 - FEB 28 ISSUE RELEASE: APRIL WINTER/FALL ISSUE SUBMISSIONS OPEN: AUG 17 - SEP 18 ISSUE RELEASE: NOV 16 FICTION GUIDELINES:  Submissions of fiction should be no longer than 3,500 words Please submit only one piece per submission period. Send submissions as attachments to: [email protected] with the subject line: fiction submission_yourname. Please include your name (or pen name), the title of the story,...

Submission Window: January 1st - February 28th, 20-23 Payment: 3 cents/word with a minimum payment of $50 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry. We purchase book reviews for $50. We purchase art for $80. Theme: Science Fiction and fantasy Reading past issues is the best way to know if your submission is a good fit for NewMyths.com. We like to balance each quarterly issue between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. Our readers are not fixated on a single style or tone or genre, but prefer a quality sample of the field. Think tapas or dim sum. Submission Period New Myths considers submissions between January 1-February 28 and June 1-July 31. Artwork, requests for book reviews, and other correspondence can be submitted at any time. Payment Payment is upon publication. NewMyths.com currently pays 3 cents/word with a minimum payment of $50 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry. We purchase book reviews for $50. We purchase art for $80. Rights NewMyths.com acquires first publication rights only (we are not interested in stories that have already been published elsewhere). Authors retain their copyright on all works after first publication on the NewMyths.com website. By submitting content to NewMyths.com you agree that, should the content be accepted, you grant NewMyths.com a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right and license to digitally archive and display the content (aka Digital Archive Rights). In the case that we later desire to include your content in any other format (e.g. print, anthology, etc.), those rights will be separately negotiated at that time. Simultaneous Submissions: No problem. We ask that you please indicate in your submission that your story is a simultaneous submission, and notify us as soon as possible...

Deadline: February 28th, 2023 Payment: 3¢ per word for fiction, 25 cents per line for poetry Theme: Outstanding fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, and speculative horror that takes a look at a world where everything is automated and a labor force no longer exists Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend – Call for Submissions and Guidelines Beginning December 1, 2022, the annual Triangulation anthology will accept submissions for its 20th collection in the series, Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend. Automation simplifies our lives, to the point where a production facility is so automated it makes no sense wasting energy to run lights. These “dark factories” are currently present in the auto industry, the electronics industry, and even the robotics industry itself. What does the world look like when jobs are automated to the point that the labor force is non-existent? We’re looking for outstanding fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, and speculative horror—from both new and established writers. Editors: Storm Walden, Co-editor, Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend. Greg Clumpner, Co-editor, Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend. Humanity craves efficiency, subconsciously forming habits to make each portion of our day more comfortable, allowing us the time and ability to expand our horizons. From Neanderthals learning migration patterns for hunting food to coding scripts to streamline processes to the dream of roads filled with fully autonomous vehicles, we push boundaries to make our lives easier. What happens when our lives become as easy as they can be? What are the sustainability implications? How does excess free time affect our social structure? What personal habits develop when we’ve already made our work lives as efficient as possible? Are we going to rise above working long hours in drudgery? Will a seven-day weekend be hopeful, lightening the communal load for all to experience joy and freedom every day? What is the cost of that freedom? Will automation take over...