Events

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Each story must have a Pagan, Heathen, Occult influence that has a spark of truth in regards to the connection with the masculine aspect of the divine. DREAMING THE GOD will be a collection of short stories between 2,500 and 20,000 words. Each story must have a Pagan, Heathen, Occult influence that has a spark of truth in regards to the connection with the  masculine aspect of the divine.  We are looking for stories that speak to the spiritual soul. It doesn’t matter in which aspect the Divine Masculine is portrayed–Son, Father, Horned One, Green Man, Hunter, Warrior, Gender Fluid etc., are all welcome. Uplifting stories, inspirational  stories, dark tales, fantastic, written with truth or complete fantasy are all welcome. We are open and inclusive to LGBTQ2+ stories that meet the parameters of our main theme - the Divine Masculine in all His aspects, which we believe includes LGBTQ2+ experiences. The main aspect is exhibit, in both fiction and nonfiction stories, the great breadth of how the Divine Masculine is portrayed across cultures and across interpersonal experiences. We welcome new authors and well experienced authors. Another goal for this anthology is to educate readers about the Divine Masculine, so including mythology, culture, politics, paganism, heathenism, Wicca, Witchcraft, geography etc., is important to the plot. If you pique your reader’s interest and get them looking up references to learn more about the Divine Masculine, you’ve done your job. The idea is for your reader to not only be entertained, but also to walk away from your story a little wiser and open than they were before. EDITOR BIO: Karen Dales is the Managing Editor of Dark Dragon Publishing. She lives in Toronto with her husband, son and five cats. When she is not writing or...

Deadline: April 1st, 2023 Payment: One cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) Theme: Fantastic Fiction You really NEED to read the description below. The Cafe Irreal is a quarterly webzine that presents a kind of fantastic fiction infrequently published in English. This fiction, which we would describe as irreal, resembles the work of writers such as Franz Kafka, Kobo Abe, Clarice Lispector and Jorge Luis Borges. As a type of fiction it rejects the tendency to portray people and places realistically and the need for a full resolution to the story; instead, it shows us a reality constantly being undermined. Therefore, we're interested in stories by writers who write about what they don't know, take us places we couldn't possibly go, and don't try to make us care about the characters. We would also suggest you take a look at the current issue, archives, and theory (especially the essay, "What is irrealism?") pages on this web site. We accept unsolicited fiction up to 2,000 words in length. Translations are welcome. There is no minimum length. We accept only electronic submissions via e-mail at [email protected]. We cannot, due to the various computer viruses and worms, accept attachments anymore, so please paste your story into the body of the e-mail. Also include your name, address, e-mail address, and a short bio in the text of the submission; please put the word "submission" in the subject heading of the e-mail to ensure that your submission doesn't get lost among all the spam. We pay an honorarium of one cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) to buy first-time internet rights (the story will then be archived). Payment is made upon publication. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DON'T ACCEPT SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS and are only interested in reprints in unusual cases (e.g., the story has appeared in print but...

Submission Window: February 1st - April 1st, 2023 Payment: US: $40 + author copy/non-US: $45 + ebook author copy Theme: Shakespeare Retellings (Ideally with a gothic twist though that is not a requirement.) Quill & Crow Publishing House is opening submissions for our second anthology of 2023, Violent Delights & Midsummer Dreams: An Anthology of Shakespeare Retellings. ​ For this collection, we are looking for Shakespeare retellings (5,000 - 8,000 words). We want stories that bring fresh new perspectives on the classic stories, bonus points for providing a Gothic twist. Give us Romeo & Juliet with zombies or the real story of the Wayward Sisters. Deconstruct tropes and bring unique voices to life. Things we are looking for: dark Shakespeare retellings gothic horror deconstructed tropes themes of death/darkness 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 Feb 1st - April 1st, 2023. Please submit all stories to [email protected] with the subject line: Violent Delights / Your Title / Genre. Emails sent to other emails 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...

Deadline: April 1st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Dark and speculative fiction WE ARE OPEN TO NOVELLA & NOVEL SUBMISSIONS FOR 2024 PUBLICATION Firstly, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for considering us to represent you and your work. Secondly, take the time to look through our site before contacting us. Make sure we are a good fit for your writing. We are a small press publishing company that specializes in dark and speculative fiction. Don't waste your valuable time and energy on pitching a book that doesn't meet the expectations of our readership. Although, We are not always open for submissions, Andrew still loves to hear pitches. Feel free to message him directly on social media or email us using this contact form.   WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Novellas and novels that fit under the umbrella of dark and speculative fiction. Our readers often want to be transported to a different world or reality where they can escape from their everyday lives. They may be looking for a sense of adventure, excitement, or thrills, and want to be taken on a journey that pushes the boundaries of their imagination. These readers often crave complex and well-developed characters and plot lines, and appreciate books that explore deep, thought-provoking themes. Additionally, readers of dark and speculative fiction often enjoy a level of uncertainty or unpredictability, and want to be surprised by twists and turns in the story. They may also appreciate a sense of darkness or edginess in the themes and tone of the book. If you think your work meets the expectations of our readers, submit your work using the guidelines below. OUR PEOPLE ARE OUR PASSION Being able to work well in a team environment is an important quality for authors to have. It means that they are able to collaborate...

Deadline: April 1st, 2023 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Dark Magic 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. (Vol 91.) Dark Magic: deadline 1st April 2023 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....

Deadline: April 1st, 2023 Payment: $30 and a Contributors Copy Theme: Video Game Horror Subject – Video Game Horror Word Count – 5,000 minimum, 7,500 maximum Submission Date – December 1st marks the opening, April 1st marks the deadline Payment $30 and a Contributors Copy Author Copies available upon request What we are looking for? What we want to see are stories related to gaming experiences. These can range, and we want you to open that mind and show us the horror of what could happen when you maybe play a game too long. Maybe the VR set fuses to your mind, with your body. Haunted arcades; mysterious systems; game developers inserting something diabolical into their programs. Think about the worlds from your favorite games and twist these into your own nightmarish arenas where pixelated blood flows. Gaming peripherals that control more than games. Get creative and reduce our minds to embers. Gore is welcomed; drench the stories in all shades of blood. Send your stories to [email protected] with the subject title ‘No Lives Left Story Submission’ and then the title of your story. Make sure to apply an author bio if you have one, and attach a story synopsis to your submission email. Also, you can use video games as references by italicizing them, but do not infringe on a video game’s rights. For instance; You can write a story about an Italian plumber that eats shrooms and fights a turtle dragon, but as soon as you call him Mario, you’re infringing on that video game’s rights. We are excited to see what you come up with and we cannot wait to read your Video Games themed horror stories. Via: Splatter Ink Publishing.

Deadline: April 1st, 2023 Award: First Place Prize: A trophy, $250.00 and have their story bought (at the magazine’s prevailing rate) by Galaxy’s Edge. Second place winner $100 and the third place a prize of $50. Theme: New science fiction short story by a new author This is an annual award sponsored by Galaxy's Edge magazine (published by Arc Manor) and Dragon Con that celebrates new authors. As well as publishing hundreds of books as author and editor, Mike Resnick was known for his "Writer Children"—paying it forward by helping new writers start their careers. This award was created to honor his memory and continue on his legacy by spotlighting the wonderful new voices in the writing world. ​ For more information on eligibility and how to submit, Submissions Guidelines can be found on this page underneath the winner announcement for the 2022 award! WINNER OF THE 2022 AWARD Galaxy’s Edge magazine and Dragon Con have the pleasure of announcing the 2022 winner for THE MIKE RESNICK MEMORIAL AWARD for Best Science Fiction Short Story by a New Author: ​ WINNER "What Would You Pay for a Second Chance?" by Chris Kulp ​ FIRST RUNNER-UP "Seedpod" by Ellen Parent ​ SECOND RUNNER-UP "On the Left" by Sandra Sigienski Congratulations to our winner and finalists, and thank you to all the talented authors who submitted entries for award consideration! Mike Resnick would have so loved to have been here to witness this achievement! ​ SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR 2023! Short Story (definition): A story up to 7,499 words, as defined by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). ​ New Author (definition): An author who has not had any work published (including short stories, novelettes, novellas, and novels in paper, digital or audio form) that has been paid a per-word rate of 6 cents a...

Submission Window: April 1st-2nd, 2023 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints, For artwork: $10 for the non-exclusive right to use each image, for as long as the site is online.  If we publish a print collection we will pay a pro-rata share for each image used. 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...

Deadline: April 2nd, 2023 Payment: $20 CAD Theme: Speculative poetry, short fiction, and visual art The Sprawl Mag is accepting submissions of speculative poetry, short fiction, and visual art for Volume 1.2. Whether it is utopic, dystopic, magical, or sci-fi, we look forward to seeing your work. We pay contributors $20 CAD per published piece. ​ We encourage submissions from QTBIPOC, women, nonbinary, queer, and disabled writers. ​ We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your piece is picked up elsewhere so we can congratulate you! :) ​ We do not accept work that has been previously published. ​ Please include a brief, third-person, 100-word biography with your submission. ​ Please title your documents: firstnamelastname_genre (eg. andrenorton_shortfic) Poetry: - Poetry submissions should be in a legible, size 12-14pt font (eg. Times New Roman) - Poetry submissions should not exceed 40 lines per piece - Poetry submissions may contain 1-4 poems - Please submit your work as a DOC, DOCX, or ODT file Short Fiction: - Short fiction submissions should be in a legible, size 12-14pt font (eg. Times New Roman) - Short fiction submissions should not exceed 1000 words per piece - Short fiction submissions may contain 1-2 pieces - Please submit your work as a DOC, DOCX, or ODT file Visual Art:  - Visual art submissions may contain 1-4 pieces - Please include a short description for each of your pieces (100-300 words) ​- Please submit your work as a JPG, PNG, or PDF SUBMIT Please submit all work to [email protected]. ​ Please, for the love of Mars, only send us work that is speculative (sci-fi & fantasy). Via: The Sprawl Mag.

Deadline: April 3rd, 2023 Payment: $20 Theme: Horror that takes place in a bathroom Submissions Call: Think back to all the horror content you’ve ever absorbed. Movies, books, and games. Can you think back to your favorite bathroom scene? From Silent Hill’s PT to Thirteen Ghosts, horror is FULL of scenes captured in a bathroom. Just a brief moment of terror in a room we are at times, our most vulnerable. For this submission, I am looking for a horror short that tells a complete story in a bathroom scene.  If the cracked tiled walls could scream, what would they say? Requirements: 1,500 - 4,000 words Can’t be published Deadline April 3rd Must be formatted as DOC $20 For an accepted story Submissions: Please submit via email with the following in the subject line: Anthology Submission: Title: Word Count Send all submissions to: [email protected] Please note, that while the theme for this call is ‘bathroom scenes’, I’d like to avoid horror comedies or potty horror. The bathroom is merely the scene in which the horror takes place. DM me with any questions! Via: This Tweet.