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Submission Window: December 1st 2023 - January 8th, 2024 Payment: $15 per poem, $0.01 per word ($40 minimum) for short stories, and $50 per art piece via PayPal Theme: Gothic stories, no set genre Opens on Friday, December 1, 2023 12:00 AM UTC (in 24 days) From December 1st - January 8th, Diet Milk Magazine will be accepting submissions for its Spring/Summer issue. We will be open to poetry, prose, and visual art of all kinds. While the most detailed information can be found on our website, here's a quick rundown of what potential contributors need to know! GENERAL GUIDELINES: All submissions must fall under the Gothic umbrella, but aren't required to be a specific genre No reprints or multiple submissions Simultaneous submissions permitted, though we ask to be informed promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere! Poetry/Prose submissions should be .doc, .docx, or .pdf // Art submissions should be .jpeg or .png If you receive a rejection, you may submit again (with new work) immediately P O E T R Y : Poets may submit up to three poems at a time. No single poem should exceed five pages in length. P R O S E : Authors may submit one short story at a time, up to 5000 words. This doesn't have to be on the dot, but stories exceeding 5025 words will be rejected automatically. A R T : Artists may submit up to two pieces at a time. We'll consider any type of visual art. If you're unsure whether or not your work falls into this category, query us first. Reach out to [email protected] using the subject line "QUERY: YourName ". We'll let you know within 24 hours if your preferred medium is eligible. Responses, Rights, & Payment Please allow up to three weeks for a response. After that, send a gentle nudge via email Diet Milk Magazine asks for first serial rights....

Submission Window: January 1st - 14th, 2023 Payment: Fiction: 1500-7500 words ($.08 per word, $100 minimum), Poetry: up to 5 poems or 5 pages of poems, whichever is shorter. ($40 per poem), Nonfiction: 1000-2000 words ($75 per essay or article, Cover Art: $100 for reprints, $200 for original unpublished, Interior Art: $50 for reprints, $100 for original unpublished Theme: Solarpunk is a prefigurative, utopian artistic movement that envisions what the future might look like if humanity solved major modern challenges like climate change, and created more sustainable and balanced societies. As a genre and cultural aesthetic, it encompasses literature, visual art, fashion, video games, architecture, and more. Solarpunk carries many aspects of punk ideologies such as rebelliousness, humanitarianism, egalitarianism, animal rights, decolonization, anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, and anti-consumerism. Similar to the cyberpunk genre, the big difference between the two is that in solarpunk technology and nature are in harmony with one another rather than in conflict. Submissions are closed for the rest of 2023. Our 2024 submission window schedule will be published by the end of September. (At the moment, our nonfiction department is current and always open for submissions. If the fiction portal is closed and you submit fiction through the open nonfiction portal, your submission will be rejected.) All submissions to Solarpunk Magazine are done via Moksha. Any submissions received via email will be deleted without a response. Please don’t email us to describe your story and ask if it’s something we’d be interested in before submitting. We appreciate the consideration, but its easier if you just submit the story through Moksha. Please read the full submission guidelines on down below or on our Moksha page before submitting your work. All submission periods end at 11:59 pm PST on the 14th of their given month. 2024 Submission Window Schedule: January 1-14 April 1-14*...

Deadline: January 14th, 2024 Payment: $10 Theme: Space Opera Length: We prefer short, compressed stories that are nevertheless complete and cohesive narratives (1500 to 2500 words). These limits are firm. No more, no less. Stories over or under the limit will not be read. We mean it, friends! This limit serves two functions: (1) the limit is an artistic challenge. It takes skill to tell a compressed, punchy story. (2) We are an amateur publication and only pay a token honorarium, so save your longer works for better paying markets. Style: We prefer "dialog light, action heavy" fiction with vivid imagery that is unselfconsciously literary but nevertheless takes joy in an occasional technical word or pseudo-scientific jargon that immerses the reader in a sci-fi imaginary setting. Please eschew typographical emphasis and variation--e.g. bolding, italicizing, underlining (there are more artful ways of rendering verbal timbre). Questions? E-mail us at [email protected] Publication, payment, and rights: Issues will be published as .pdf files. If work is selected for publication in WAYSTATION, authors will (1) be paid an honorarium of $10 and (2) will be asked to provide, by contract, "First North American Serial Rights." In our opinion, this means that copyright is NOT transferred. All copyright stays with you, the writer; however, you will have sold/transferred a form of "exclusive use rights" called "First North American Serial Rights" (FNASR). This is the right to publish your unpublished work for the first time, and ONLY the first time, no more. The important thing to remember is that some professional publications may ask for FNASR upon acceptance of a specific work; you are not legally permitted to provide those for that specific work after publication in WAYSTATION, for you have already rendered their use to us. In other words, once you publish a work in WAYSTATION, that works' associated...

Deadline: January 15th, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word and a contributors copy Theme: short stories to novelettes that are about death Note: Reprints from 2023 ONLY We want to read your death-related fiction! Psychopomp will be publishing Afterlives: The Year’s Best Death Stories 2023, curated by Vajra Chandrasekera Please read the full guidelines before submitting so you can learn about: what we’re looking for how much we’re paying what rights we are buying and how to submit Submission link below the guidelines. What We’re Looking For: We’re looking for stories specifically that have been published on and between January 1st 2023 through December 31st 2023, with a word count between 1,000 words and 19,000 words (so: short stories and novelettes) that are about death. This could mean exploring what happens to us after we die, traveling to the Underworld, Death gods, Death personified, metaphors for death, grieving, funerals, graves, stories based on death myths from cultures across the world, death magic, ghosts, resurrection, and so on. We specifically are not interested in stories that are centered around: the traditional Christian afterlife/pearly gates zombies Note: in our experience publishing The Deadlands, we know that a lot of people interpret “stories about death” to mean slasher/true crime/gore-y horror. We are not opposed to horror as a genre, but it should be ABOUT death, not just MURDERING PEOPLE. Stories should be previously published online, in print, in audio, or via email subscriber list, by an independent magazine or press. Stories published via your own Patreon, blog, or tumblr are not eligible. If the story will be printed before 12/31/23, but has not yet appeared, you may submit the work as soon as you have the final edited version. We will be accepting submissions through January 15, 2024. We DO encourage authors of historically marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds to...

Deadline: January 15th, 2023 Payment: $20 per story or artwork Theme: Electric Spec prefers science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. submissions at electricspec (dot) comPlease don't query us about your story submission. We don't have the manpower to answer such queries. An editor will email you back as soon as possible with the decision about your story. This can take a few days, or, up to three months. We make every effort to get back to authors in a timely manner but we get a lot of submissions so sometimes it's not possible. A note on our editorial policy: before publication we may work with the author to edit the story for length or readability. However, we always remain true to the spirit of the story and the author has final approval. Issues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. We reserve the right to shift publication date slightly, as necessary. We have reading periods for each issue, though we never close to submissions. February closes January 15 May closes April 15 August closes July 15 November closes October 15 Please do not submit the same story more than once, and please submit only one story at a time. We consider any story between 250 and 7000 words with speculative fiction elements. We prefer science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. We do not consider poetry, stories with over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction, or non-fiction. We don't accept multiple submissions; in other words, only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before submitting another. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know up...

Deadline: January 15th, 2024 Payment: $30 and a contributors copy Theme: 80's and 90s nostalgia horror set in Connecticut 80s and 90s horror...Coming of age, kids on bikes Imagine It, Stand by Me, Stranger Things, Dark, Good Omens, set in Connecticut. Welcome to Horror Over the Handlebars! This is the first in a series of Connecticut-based anthologies--Yankee Scares. All stories must be set in Connecticut. Preference will be given to writers who: Live in Connecticut -- Have some connection to Connecticut -- Live in New England. Other writers may apply and will be offered space as available. For this first anthology, we are looking for 80's and 90s nostalgia horror--the "kids on bikes" coming of age genre, although children riding bicycles aren't required. Look at the kids in the above examples. Open to stories 1,000 to 8,000 words, in English. Query for longer stories. We are not considering stories written, or co-written, by AI at this time. Payment $30 for first publication rights, plus a hard copy and PDFs of all future Yankee Scares anthologies. Query for reprints. Submissions close January 15, 2024 Publication target: August 2024 Submit your manuscript in docx to https://forms.gle/Bag4ZzveRv3gATXC6. Use SHUNN manuscript formatting. Please give us a month to respond. Please follow Bert for updates on Facebook Editors: Gevera Bert Piedmont Author of the Mickey Crow paranormal series and creator of the Quetzalcoatl Ascending world. Member HWA/HWA-CT, NEHW, CAPA John Opalenik Author of The Primeval duology, The Blue Beneath the Mountain, and Among the Willows. Member of HWA/HWA-CT Publisher: Transformations by Obsidian Butterfly, LLC Publication format: Paperback and Kindle Rights:  revert to author one year after publication About this Project This is the first Yankee Scares anthology, a project planned by and for Connecticut horror writers, about Connecticut. Since Connecticut is small, we realize we may have to let other writers play...

Deadline: January 15th, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Feminist horror novel, novella, and story collections for adult readers PsychoToxin PINK will be open for full-length manuscript submissions from Jan. 1-15, with the imprint considering feminist horror novel, novella, and story collections for adult readers. Sorry; no YA, MG, poetry, or nonfiction. Please send query email, including a synopsis and a short biography, to Rebecca Cuthbert, EIC, at [email protected], and attach the first 20 pages of your manuscript. Any questions can be sent to the same email address. Pay is a share of royalties. No reprints/renewals of out-of-print books. Novellas 25-40k words, novels and story collections 55-80k. We're looking for feminist/pink horror, but genre blends are welcome, with strong female and nonbinary characters (heroes or villains!). And it should go without saying, but let's add it just in case: No AI submissions! Any submissions sent after the sub period will not be considered. Any questions, email [email protected]. Via: Pyschotoxin Press.

Submission Window: December 21st to January 21st, 2024 Payment: $50 Theme: Stories about how we seek out, discover, and grasp onto connection. At Astrolabe, we’re looking for work about how we seek out, discover, and grasp onto connection. Into the woods. Across a line. Beneath the ocean. Along a seam. Into the branches of an alternate present or the crevasse of an alternate future. Across the rifts between one another. And then, once we find one other, the myths we make. We’re excited to see as many interpretations of this broad theme as there are stars in the night sky. We’re open to work of all genres, with a particular fondness for anything that moves beyond realism in form or content or spirit. Read about Astrolabe for details on our mission and what we’re doing with the Universe. The details Astrolabe is open for submissions year-round. We pay a $50 honorarium upon publication of one or more pieces from your submission. To help fund those payments, we alternate between free and paid submission periods throughout the year. Our free periods begin the day we publish new work—on the spring equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox, and winter solstice—and stay open for a month. Some additional details: We currently accept three types of work: fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography & art. See below for genre-specific instructions. We’re not a market for lineated poetry at the moment. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your work was accepted for publication elsewhere—we’ll be thrilled for your good news! No multiple submissions—and if we don’t accept your work, please wait until our next submission period before trying again unless we specifically ask for more work. We consider only unpublished work. We ask for first North American serial rights and non-exclusive print/anthology rights. All copyrights remain yours. Read more about the rights...

Deadline: January 21st, 2024 Payment: $100 per story Theme: 500-1000 word speculative fiction stories Hello fellow writers and readers, this is Rebecca Halsey, the new publisher for Flash Fiction Online. We are coming into 2024 with a decently sized queue of literary stories and reprints. Therefore, for our January 2024 reading period, we will only be accepting original speculative fiction. We will consider fantasy, science fiction, horror, and all the fabulous cross-sub-genre goodness within that lot. As is our custom, we will be open until the 21st of the month unless the 425 submissions cap is reached. We look forward to reading your stories! SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We are looking for complete 500- to 1000-word stories with crisp prose, well-developed characters, compelling plots, and satisfying resolutions. We want stories that engage our minds and emotions. We publish across many genres, including speculative (science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and horror) and literary fiction. For more information on the type of stories we enjoy, please read a few issues and check out our "What We're Looking For" page. Please note, that for January 2024, we will be accepting speculative fiction stories only. SUBMISSION WINDOW: We will be open to submissions on January 1st, and until January 21st, or until our 425 submission cap is reached, whichever comes first. FORMATTING: Please format your submission in a double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman or other serif-type font (NO Courier), with standard 1" margins and black font on an unadorned, white background. No PDF submissions.  No Images and no graphics. ANONYMOUS SUBMISSIONS: Do not include your name, address, email, or other identifying information on your manuscript (header, byline, file name, etc). SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: For the January 2024 reading period, we will accept simultaneous submissions. MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: You may submit only one original story to the January 2024 reading period. AI-GENERATED SUBMISSIONS: We are committed to publishing stories written and edited by humans. We reserve the right to...

Deadline: January 21st, 2024 Prizes: First place is 35 USD, for second place is 25 USD, and for third place is 15 USD, to be distributed via PayPal Theme: Hope Flash Fiction Contest: Hope Since our magazine’s founding, we have noticed a trend in our submissions of works that harken to the darkening of the spirit, the decay of our planet, and our accumulating sense of hopelessness. Can we blame them? We have felt this malaise in our own spirits. As such, we have decided to hold a flash fiction contest in the name of hope. Hope is not the lack of darkness but a defiance of it. It is the mote of light we fix our gazes on as we struggle through the twisting world of our reality and what’s within our psyches. We would like to see the kinds of stories that hook us in the gut but keep us on the reel—that keep us searching for that tiny spark of defiance. The award for first place is 35 USD, for second place is 25 USD, and for third place is 15 USD, to be distributed via PayPal. All three will be published to our website. The first place winner will be given an opportunity to discuss their work in a special feature. The deadline to submit for this special contest is January 21st, 2024. Below are the rules for qualification: Please send us your best interpretation of this theme, in the form of a work of fiction no longer than 1,000 words. Only one submission to this contest is allowed per author. All submissions should honor our magazine’s core theming. We prefer works in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, paranormalism, surrealism, and magical realism. Please include your preferred name for publication, your personal pronouns, and a short author bio...