Events

Deadline: June 24th, 2023 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Artificial intelligence 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 94) Artificial Intelligence II: deadline 24th June 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...

Deadline: July 12th, 2023 Payment: €150 Theme: Stories that respond to the name "Another Name for Darkness" that fits with the cover art provided From June 8 to July 12, we are reading short story submissions for our new collection, Another Name for Darkness! We are looking for stories of all genres that respond to our title and/or cover art, and selected writers will receive a flat rate of €150 for accepted submissions. The lion sleeps in the sun. Its nose is on its paws. It can kill a man. Wallace Stevens, Poetry is a Destructive Force The face in the mirror, the eyes gleaming in the night – are they friend or foe? Real or imagined? Or just your own reflection? And if you got close enough to see it for what it is, and hear what it has to say, would you ever feel the same? For our sixth anthology, we've decided to go looking in the shadows to meet what lurks out there! Maybe it's a monster, or maybe it's a hidden side of yourself (or maybe both are the same thing); maybe it's the unexpected, or what you've always known to be true. Another Name for Darkness is an anthology for stories that dare to face the dark, looking at it with honesty and seeing what it reveals. We want the real and the supernatural, joyful and melancholic, light and dark – as long as it's sincere. We are looking for stories inspired by our title – Another Name for Darkness – and the cover artwork below, created by artist WOLFSKULLJACK. All genres of writing are welcome, as long as they explore a story of facing the dark (which can be as real or as metaphorical as you see it)! More than any specific story or...

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: Paperback copy, percentage of Kickstarter, percentage of first year of royalties Theme: Weird and strange fiction set between 1901 and 1919 Tales of Edwardian Dread SUBMISSION PERIOD: 1 FEBRUARY 2023 – 30 JUNE 2023 inclusive. GMT. CORE CONCEPT: An anthology of new weird and strange fiction set between 1901 and 1919 – from the death of Queen Victoria to the immediate aftermath of the Great War and the Spanish Influenza epidemic. Weird fiction is a mode of writing which includes the subversion of many standard tropes, or more imaginative interpretations, and has a strong psychological component, so please bear that in mind. “There are millions and millions and millions… with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do. We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they well be taught it in fire and bloody and anguish.” An Inspector Calls, J B Priestley (set in 1912) SETTING: The broad Edwardian period was a time of huge changes in society, including developments in science, religion, psychiatry, suffrage, class roles, labour, and the nature of warfare. Consider desperate attempts to cling to outdated ‘Victorian’ values, or a blind rejection of change — even an eager embrace of new concepts, with worrying results. Consider the worm inside this last ‘summer’ apple of grand houses and disenfranchised masses in Britain; remember the industrialisation of Japan and the growing revolutions in Russia. Hint at war to come, if you wish, or explore the weird through a war which changed many societies forever (please note, though, this is NOT...

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 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: June 30th, 2023 Payment: $5 Theme: Holidays, with a pile of horror thrown in We all love the holidays, be it Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Hanukkah, Eid, the Solstices, Walpurgisnacht... the list is practically endless. We want your stories of of holidays (any holiday at all!) filled with terror and dread, blood and guts, ghosts, and demons most foul. Curated by the inimitable Theresa Scott-Matthews. PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 4K-10K word count * Write 'HELLIDAYS' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: 30 June 2023 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Deadline: June 30, 2023 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: Stories, poems, and scholarship inspired by and about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. Steel True, Blade Straight The Belanger Books Journal of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Inspired Stories, Poems, and Scholarship 2023 Annual Description: This anthology will have stories, poems, and scholarship inspired by and about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. While the anthology will contain new Sherlock Holmes stories, the intent would be for at least 25% of the material to be stories and poems inspired by the life and non-Sherlockian writing of Sir Arthur. Another 25% of material would be scholarship on Holmes and Doyle. All proceeds from the Anthology will be donated to The Beacon Society, a 501c(3) nonprofit scion society of The Baker Street Irregulars (BSI), that serves as a link to other scion societies, providing teachers, librarians, children museums, and children theaters with local resources to bring the magic of Sherlock Holmes to life. Guidelines: Stories - 3,000 - 10,000 word submissions that connect to the writing of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These can be Sherlock Holmes stories, or stories connected to Sir Arthur’s additional writings (far too many to list here). Poems - format and length are open. The poetry submission would have to somehow connect to the life or work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Scholarship - 1,000 - 3,000 word submissions. Essays must connect to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or his writing (Sherlock Holmes or other work). Multiple submissions in the same or more than one category are welcome. Payment: All authors will receive a paperback copy of the anthology. Rights: All authors shall retain the rights to their submitted work outside of the anthology and may reprint their submission one year after the anthology’s publication date....

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: $20 and a contributors copy Theme: Monsters that live next door! The reading period is now open for our next anthology, THE MONSTERS NEXT DOOR. Theme: Exactly what the title indicates. The setting is real world, suburbia, inner city, farm country -- with the exception that there are monsters next door. We are open to horror, science fiction, comedy, tragedy, whatever your story needs to get it told, so long as it fits the theme of the anthology. Did Dracula move into the apartment next to yours? Does Cthulhu have a summer house in the country? Are there zombies on the cul-de-sac now? Word length: 2,000 min / 10,000 max Rights: First serial print and e-book Pay: Upon publication, $20 plus author copy. Authors can order additional copies at base printing cost. Deadline: June 30, 2023 Date of Publication: Sept 2023 Submissions should be sent in MS-Word format to [email protected]. If you use the William Shunn Manuscript format, you will have a much better chance of getting read. Via: Critical Blast.

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: $.03 per word and a contributors copy Theme: Short stories based around the theme of “mad science.” For Greater Than His Nature, I’m looking for short stories based around the theme of “mad science.” Cackling Victorian scientists, giant atomic monsters, and Cronenbergian body horror are all fair game. I’m even open to the right piece of nonfiction for this one. I’m especially interested to include stories from disabled and chronically ill writers. You don’t need to self-identify if you don’t want to or give me any information you don’t feel comfortable with; just know that, if you’ve got some medical trauma you need to work through with monsters and mayhem, I’m here for you. The Specifics pulp, bizarro, and transgressive writing are all a-okay; anything that could be a right-wing talking point is emphatically not to be clear, I’m saying that misogyny, sexism, racism, ableism, and/or homophobic and transphobic bullshit will not be tolerated pro-capitalism, pro-cop stances are also going to be a (very) hard sell no AI-generated anything up to 10,000 words, but between 2K – 6K is the sweet spot simultaneous submissions are cool, but please only send me one story per anthology at a time; if you’re rejected, feel free to try again submissions for both Greater Than His Nature and Open All Night will be open until June 30, 2023; I’ll try to respond to all stories within a month of receipt payment for accepted stories is $.03 per word and a paperback of the anthology you’re in the pay-rate will go up if we hit the stretch goals for our Kickstarter by submitting, you’re acknowledging acceptance of the above Kickstarter contingencies send your story as an attachment to electricalsweater gmail com, with the subject line Submission, questions and queries go to carnivalatomic gmail com Via: Atomic Carnival Books.

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: 3 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: Horror and fantasy that deals with the theme of "Open All Night" For Open All Night, I want horror and fantasy (and all and any assorted sub- and cross-genres) based around the theme of “open all night.” While not strictly necessary, I’ll definitely be looking for retail and service industry-based stories. Give me graveyard shifts, overnight inventories gone bad, and haunted diners, shit so sordid and spooky that even the most seasoned of waitresses can’t handle what’s happening. No nonfiction here, but if you want to deviate from the above genres, a little or a lot, that’s cool with me. I’m never going to turn down Clerks set in the commissary of a spaceship. Just make sure it sticks to the theme. The Specifics pulp, bizarro, and transgressive writing are all a-okay; anything that could be a right-wing talking point is emphatically not to be clear, I’m saying that misogyny, sexism, racism, ableism, and/or homophobic and transphobic bullshit will not be tolerated pro-capitalism, pro-cop stances are also going to be a (very) hard sell no AI-generated anything up to 10,000 words, but between 2K – 6K is the sweet spot simultaneous submissions are cool, but please only send me one story per anthology at a time; if you’re rejected, feel free to try again submissions for both Greater Than His Nature and Open All Night will be open until June 30, 2023; I’ll try to respond to all stories within a month of receipt payment for accepted stories is $.03 per word and a paperback of the anthology you’re in the pay-rate will go up if we hit the stretch goals for our Kickstarter by submitting, you’re acknowledging acceptance of the above Kickstarter contingencies send your story as an attachment to electricalsweater gmail com, with the subject line Submission, questions...

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: £10 Theme: witches, or a witch All submissions must include witches, or a witch, as the main theme of the piece. Each author may submit up to three pieces for consideration. We accept short stories of up to 5,000 words and poetry of any length. Please email your submission as a Word document to [email protected] Submissions will close at midnight GMT on the 30th of June 2023. The list of successful authors will be published on our website no later than 31st of July 2023, so please do keep an eye out. Successful writers will receive a one off payment of £10. Writers will retain all copyrights for their submission/s.   Via: West Avenue Publishing.