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Deadline: December 1st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Fantasy Love a great fantasy story? Well so do we. Then you may want to submit to Magic and Mischief. We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories of Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, and Sword & Sorcery that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more from the authors. How can you go wrong when heroes have to deal with magic gone awry? Genre: Epic/High Fantasy/ Sword and Sorcery Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: R.J. Ladon Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: 12/1/2023 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Magic and Mischief” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore adult content) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press for submissions in this genre at tanglewoodromance (at) gmail.com Gratuitous Abuse/Violence: While we at Three Ravens Publishing understand that graphic situations can alter or otherwise move the plot forward...

Deadline: December 1st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Speculative fiction that involves a "what if" element of something being different from our world This collection of Speculative fiction short stories will without a doubt take you on an adventure and cause the synapses to fire. The what if series is just that, what if something happened differently? What if Vikings were inhabiting the East Coast of America when Columbus arrived? What if Kennedy survived the assassination attempt? What If… It’s thought-provoking and starts the mind down random rabbit holes of possibilities. This is the first edition of a planned annual series. We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more. Genre: Speculative Fiction Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening by: TBD Edited by: Jenny E. Wren / William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: December 1, 2023 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “WJR Presents What If…” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore adult content) (Please, we know that there is...

Deadline: December 1st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: All ages to PG-13 romance on the LBGTQ+ spectrum in any genre There are tons of boy meets girl stories that we see, all the time, from the moment we can start paying attention. From famous novels and movies to TV shows and commercials. And for the people those stories are applicable to, they are “lessons” or templates for those kinds of interactions, for how the boy and girl can or should or could interact, even when fictitious and obviously untrue. But for the rest of us who do not fall easily into the boy/girl combination, there are very few examples of “How do I meet them?” “What do I say?” “How can I tell if they like me, or even if they are like me?” “How do I deal with…?” And those are tough questions for anyone, let alone people who don’t have good examples to learn from, who don’t have easy guidelines to follow, who don’t have any experience to build upon. I would like to put together an anthology of those kinds of stories: first time meetings, of people who fall somewhere on the all-inclusive LBGTQ+ spectrum, that lead to healthy relationships. I would prefer these were romantic stories of meeting and falling in love, though I recognize that may not apply to everyone, or may not apply in the same way. And that’s part of the issue. Not everything does apply to everyone. And for those trying to find their way, a good story about that particular path may mean everything to them. And I hope we can help provide that. I realize we are talking about representation here, but I want to normalize it. I want stories, that show a reader they are “not alone” in who they...

Submission Window: October 1st - December 1st, 2023 Payment: $0.10 CAD per word Theme: horror/dark fiction anthology in the vein of previous anthologies of Canadian speculative fiction Note: Canadian Authors Only “Deep silence fell about the little camp, planted there so audaciously in the jaws of the wilderness. The lake gleamed like a sheet of black glass beneath the stars. The cold air pricked. In the draughts of night that poured their silent tide from the depths of the forest, with messages from distant ridges and from lakes just beginning to freeze, there lay already the faint, bleak odors of coming winter.” — Algernon Blackwood, The Wendigo “Canadians are fond of a good disaster, especially if it has ice, water, or snow in it. You thought the national flag was about a leaf, didn’t you? Look harder. It’s where someone got axed in the snow.” — Margaret Atwood, Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature Northern Nights is a proposed horror/dark fiction anthology in the vein of previous anthologies of Canadian speculative fiction — Northern Stars (Hartwell & Grant, eds.); Northern Suns (Hartwell & Grant, eds.) — and the 5 volume Northern Frights series (Don Hutchison, ed). Black glassy lakes. Dark woods. Ancient pines and maples. Abandoned highways. Ghost towns. Preternatural light. The Midnight Sun. Uncanny valleys. An indigo sky spiked with bright white stars. The darkening garden. The sting of the whooshing north wind. The killing cold. A cry in the dark. It’s another night in the Canadian north. Night and all its torments.  OPENS: Oct. 1, 2023  CLOSES: Dec. 1, 2023  Anticipated publication date: Fall 2024  Who Can Submit Canadian citizens / permanent residents / those residing within lands claimed by Canada / expats. What We Want Looking for horror and horror-adjacent dark weird fiction, ideally set in Canada and incorporating a motif of night /...

Submission Window: September 1st - December 1st, 2023 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: Horror of all genres Ghostlight: The Magazine of Terror is a magazine devoted to horror fiction, art, and poetry. It is published once a year (Spring) by the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. Unlike Erie Tales, Ghostlight: The Magazine of Terror is open to all writers, poets, and artists. It is edited by our very own Nicole e. Castle. We specialize in horror in all its guises, particularly for adult audiences. We’re open to most settings and themes, from historical, modern, supernatural, and even the future. We want our writers to push the boundaries of horror. We need writing that will challenge, scare and surprise our readers; stories and poetry that will make us gasp at the end and haunt us for a long time afterward. Thrill and fright are what our readers want! If you have any questions not covered in the guidelines, please feel free to contact Nicole at: [email protected] Submissions are open from September 1 to December 1. READING PERIOD September 1 – December 1 Ghostlight: The Magazine of Terror may also send out special calls for themed or charity issues throughout the year. Any submissions sent outside these reading periods will be deleted unread. FICTION We at the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers (GLAHW) are looking for stories that are well written and character-driven, but any well-written story with a dark side has a chance with us. All stories need to be Horror—added elements of Dark Sci-Fi, Satire, and/or Dark Fantasy are welcomed. We specialize in horror in all its guises, particularly for adult audiences. We’re open to most settings and themes, from historical, modern, supernatural, and even the future. We want our writers to push the boundaries of horror. We need...

Deadline: December 1st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Military Science Fiction about common soldiers protecting their ship from an invasion. Genre: Military Science Fiction Theme: Uncommon courage was a common virtue that day. These are a collection of stories about the common soldier rising to the occasion and defending their ship against enemy hordes. Or they can be those same heroes capturing the enemy ship, but regardless of which side of the boarding party they’re on, courage is the underlying theme. Concept: We’re looking for stories about intense boarding actions in a science fiction setting. We want plenty of high-intensity action and all the pews that were capable of pew-ing! Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 (standard word count) Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: JR Handley & Bayonet Books Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: December 1, 2023 Email Submissions to: [email protected] with “Assault Team” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore porn) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for...

Deadline: December 1st, 2023 Payment: $25 Theme: Writing that attempts to salvage something pure from the collision of warmth and cold, that says what it can about the world it finds itself in. Schedule We publish two issues a year, September 1 and March 1. We accept general submissions for poetry, nonfiction, and fiction between two reading periods, and the first 300 submissions to each are free. We also run a collaborative writing contest in August. We also accept visual art all year. General Submissions: March 1 – May 1 General Submissions: October 1 – December 1 Collaboration Contest: July 15 –  August 31 Payment We are thrilled to finally be able to say that, starting with issue 17, we will be able to offer our contributors a small payment of $25 upon publication. Hopefully, with time it will be more. A Note on Our Aesthetic We believe there is beauty in scars on smooth skin, in the small fissures where things begin to break apart. Sundogs are not the sun itself but phantom stars appearing on the horizon, illusions produced by the play of the sun’s heat with crystals of ice. They shed their light all the same. Many are tinged with color. We look for this same quality in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. We want writing that attempts to salvage something pure from the collision of warmth and cold, that says what it can about the world it finds itself in. We seek a diversity of voices speaking from visceral, lived experience. We like truth we can stare at until our eyes water, words so carefully chosen we want to reread them as soon as we have finished. Practical Matters We are grateful to be a part of a literary community that is taking action against systemic racism. We will also...

Deadline: December 1st, 2023 Payment: A contributor's copy Theme: A non-fiction guide that is looking for 300-word proposals for articles on writing military-themed genre stories Note: This is a little different than usual but I felt it would be an interesting exercise for some of our non-fiction writing authors. Middle West Press LLC, an independent micro-publisher of military-themed and -adjacent literary projects, has issued a call for 300-word proposals regarding craft essays on the writing of Military-themed Science-Fiction and Other Genres. Editors there write: In 2019, we published "Why We Write: Craft Essays on Writing War," a 250-page anthology featuring tips, techniques, and insights from more than 60 established and emerging authors, each of whom tell stories involving military themes and topics. With this newly proposed project, we are aiming at similar targets, but viewed through a specific scope: how military-writers write and publish creative, genre, and speculative fiction. For the purposes of this project, "Military-themed Science-Fiction and Other Genres" can be defined to include, but be not limited to: MilSciFi and related/adjacent sub-genres such as Space Opera, Space Marines, Alien Invasion, Space Noir, Post-Apocalyptic, Galactic Empire, Colonization ... Military Sci-Fantasy (Wizards, Warlocks, Airships, Dragons, etc.) Military Thriller and Espionage Military Romance Military Horror Historical Fiction and/or Alternative Histories Speculative Fiction and/or "Slipstream" Military Memoir, Creative Non-fiction, or other Non-fiction Military Humor While the editorial make-up of the anthology is not yet determined, editors anticipate concentrations in at least three types of approaches: Tactics, Topics & Technologies: What do today's military-focused writers need to know about tomorrow's infantry, armor, ships, robots, drones, climate change, AI, genetics, Space Force, etc.? Examples: "The Kill Chain vs. Blockchain: Release the BitDoges of War"; "Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics as Applied to the Law of War"; "What We Write About When We Write About 'Star Wars'" How-to-Write Techniques: Must-have tropes, taxonomies and mini-histories of given genres/sub-genres, insights on character- and world-building, collaborative techniques such as co-authoring and world-sharing, etc. Examples: "Military Humor:...

Submission Window: December 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,...

Deadline: December 4th, 2023 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: War Poems about Emerging & Future Tech Middle West Press LLC, an independent micro-publisher of military-themed and -adjacent literary projects, has issued a call for human-generated poems engaging with  “Giant Robot” technology themes. This is a "speculative poetry" market.   What is a "Giant Robot" theme? For this project, the term "Giant Robots" can include examples of technologies in timelines both real and imagined, and of any size or (even formless) form. Living Ships. Loitering Drones. Taxi-cab AI. Robot Tanks. Virtual Soldiers. Space Explorers. Mecha-suits. In short, any vessel for exploring themes of human-electro-mechanical-cyber interaction, connection, and competition. The working title of this project is Giant Robot Poems: Poetry About Mecha-Human Science, Culture & War. Editors of the project write: Our intent with this project is to have fun, but also to illuminate, interrogate, and challenge (via the still-human domain of poetry!!!) the ways people think about emerging and future technologies such as robots and drones, Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybernetic enhancements, etc. We are looking for terrain-shifting, mind's-eye-bending, firmament-rending expressions of new and future realities. Be provocative. Be poignant. Be human. Even if you write like a Giant Robot. Ideally, many of the works submitted will engage such questions as: How does technology potentially change human behavior / culture / society? How does technology potentially change human behavior ethics / values? How does technology potentially change the ways humans fight / love / think / feel? Many examples of "Giant Robot-ness" exist in today's news and culture. As a starting point or prompt, our editors offer a list of examples and inspirations. In creating and crafting their own, original concepts and works, poets might consider various modes of commenting, observing, or even inhabiting technologies, mythologies, or stories depicted in these and other...