Events

Deadline: February 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Car Wars GameLit Fiction Genre: Car Wars GameLit Fiction Theme: Despite the grain blight, fuel shortages, and wasteland raiders, goods and supplies still need to get through. Ride along with the big rig wasteland road crews between cities, keeping civilization civilized one delivery at a time. Concept: We’re looking for stories about Land Trains, Truck Caravans, and the fast action responders running defense for these mega rigs traversing the wastelands from one city to the next. We want plenty of high-intensity action and carnage possible, backed by compelling character-driven stories. Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 (standard word count) Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: February 1, 2024 Email Submissions to: [email protected] with “Convoy Chaos” 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 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...

Deadline: February 1st, 2023 Payment: Fiction: 1¢ per word, Poetry: $10 flat fee, Artwork: $25 flat fee (Cover art is $50) Theme: Lies for Children NonBinary Review is open for submissions on the theme of "lies for children." “If you keep making that face, it’ll freeze that way.” “We found you under a cabbage leaf.” “If you drink coffee, it’ll stunt your growth.” “If you go to sleep with wet hair, you’ll catch pneumonia.” Adults tell children some outrageous lies. Think back to your own childhood and explanations your parents gave you for things you didn’t understand or superstitions they perpetuated. Why do adults feel that children need credulity-straining fictions rather than objective truths? What things do we find so uncomfortable that we can’t explain them to children? How do those lies affect our relationship with the children we lied to, or the adults who lied to us? Some of these lies are benevolent (although kind of weird), but some can be trauma-inducing. We want to hear the stories behind those lies, and the consequences they engendered. We’re NOT looking for fairy tales, re-tellings of children’s bedtime stories, tall tales, Santa Claus/Easter bunny/tooth fairy origin stories, or any other fictions that even children know are stories told for fun. Zoetic Press publishes the best in speculative lit - experimental, interstitial, luminous. We welcome submissions from EVERYONE. The only requirement is that they be in English, or translated into English (we love a translation). If your writing is outstanding, no matter who you are, we have a place for it. NonBinary Review, our award-winning themed lit journal is published quarterly. Each issue revolves around a specific theme, but we're asking contributors to go beyond the old familiar media tropes - we want speculative work that looks at our theme from unexpected angles....

Deadline: February 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Space soldiers during an assault Genre: Military Science Fiction Theme: Assault on the beachhead or LZ (landing zone) Concept: We’re looking for the vibe of the ODST from HALO or the men and women from Starship Troopers. These are the soldiers who’re riding flying coffins to the ground so they can make a beachhead for the main assault. Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 (standard word count) Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: JR Handley & Bayonet Books Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: February 1, 2024 Email Submissions to: [email protected] with “Contested Landing” 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 porn) (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 in ways that the reader may not expect when properly used, these...

Deadline: February 1st, 2024 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: Mr. Morton needed a new pair of shoes. We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests to help come up with new first lines, or we run fun, gimmicky competitions for free stuff, but the actual journal is not a contest in the traditional sense. Fiction: All stories must...

Submission Window: January 1st - February 1st, 2024 Payment: Short Story-2,500 words or less. $0.01 USD per word/$25 USD max, Poems-less than 200 words $10, Flash Fiction-less than a 1,000 words $0.01 USD per word/$10 USD max Theme: Poison Opens on Monday, January 1, 2024 12:00 AM PST (in 19 days) Last Girls Club Spring Issue Theme is Poison: Poison has an interesting history as a liberator, a political tool, and the perfect murder. It also could mean the poisoning of our air, our water, and our land. Take it where you want. Acceptances will be notified on Feb 15. No more than two fiction or flash fiction stories per author per submission period. Fiction is limited to 2,500 words or less. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($37.50 USD max). Flash fiction is limited to under 1,000 words. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($15 USD max). No more than three poems per poet. Poems are limited to 200 words or less for each poem. Poets are paid $10 USD upon acceptance. I prefer to use PayPal to pay authors, but will work with authors where PayPal is not available. Nonfiction columns will must be pitched to editor in chief before submission. Email your idea to [email protected] The Last Girls Club Magazine is a quarterly feminist horror magazine that publishes international short stories and poems from the female gaze. It is an homage to the scary comics and zines of the late 20th century. Please check on the website for the theme in detail. Submissions will be accepted from Jan 1-Feb 1, April 1-May 1, July 1-Aug 1, Oct 1-Nov 1. Final notifications will be Feb 15, May 15, Aug 15, Nov 15. Authors must be 18+. Submissions from underage authors will not be considered. No more than...

Deadline: February 1st, 2024 Payment: $5 Theme: Splatter/Gore-friendly horror We want solid, entertaining writing that evokes feelings. Carnage House is a splatter friendly web ’zine—so nothing against cozy, but cozy, we’re not. We’re looking for gore, extreme horror, splatterpunk, and horror with sexual elements to it. For a better understanding of what we’ll take, think of the Hot Blood book series or Love in Vein. Or, as a more practical proposition, read our first issue at carnagehouse.com. We invite LGBTQIA and BIPOC themes, and we encourage authors from diverse backgrounds to submit to us. Hard NOs: Nothing with children in an adult manner. If you’re writing a story about a child predator who gets what’s coming to him—great. But we don’t want to read about that predator violating his victims. We won’t publish anything supporting a racist, transphobic, or homophobic agenda, so don’t try it. Our description includes the words “splatter” and “friendly” for a reason. We love splatter, and we’re super friendly. Carnage House is about supporting writers and entertaining readers, and we’re dedicated to both in equal measure. We look forward to reading your work in all its splattertastic glory. The Editors [email protected] Submissions: We want solid entertaining writing. That has to be clearly stated because we are open to gore, extreme horror, splatterpunk, and horror with sexual elements to it. Sounds great? Like anything too good to be true, there is a catch. We have some hard “Nos.” Before you go off about the freedom of expression, remember, this is a web ‘zine, not a government. We donate our time to it and if we’re not getting joy from reading your story we’re not going to publish it. This website runs on our love of horror. Starting Vol 2 (this submission call), we offer a token payment of $5...

Submission Window: February 1st - 2nd, 2024 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: February 4th, 2024 (Extended from original post!) Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints Theme: Stories Featuring Odin Note: Reprints Welcome Discover the mythology of humankind through its heroes, characters, gods and immortal figures. Myths, Gods & Immortals brings together the new and the ancient, familiar stories with a fresh and imaginative twist. Each book brings back to life a classic mythological or folkloric figure, with completely new stories alongside the original tales. New and emerging writers from open submissions, reveal hidden themes, casting fresh perspectives on well-known stories, alongside specially commissioned text on the origins and the cultural background of the mythology. The first three books will focus respectively on Odin, Anansi and Medusa. Odin Everyone knows about Odin, the All-father, the one-eyed, all-seeing, powerful King of the Gods, presiding over his great hall Valhalla, surveying the nine realms and the billions of souls. He bears the pain of Ragnarok, the joy of travelling in disguise through Midgard and shapeshifting in the dusk joins his ravens in their flights across the mythic landscape. Featuring new stories from open submissions this enthralling book reveals the larger-than-life stories of Odin and his kin, their adventures in the ancient and the modern world, with the gods, the giants, the valkyrie and the creatures of the epic Norse literature. Stories submitted for consideration need to explore new angles to the character: have him follow alternative paths, present different viewpoints, imagine new futures, or perhaps pursue story lines that are hinted at in the original tales. Submissions to: [email protected]   Terms: Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails. Simultaneous submissions are fine but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology. For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)...

Deadline: February 4th, 2024 (Extended from original post!) Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Theme: Stories about Anansi, a creator god, a trickster folk hero, a wily spider and a heroic symbol of resistance Discover the mythology of humankind through its heroes, characters, gods and immortal figures. Myths, Gods & Immortals brings together the new and the ancient, familiar stories with a fresh and imaginative twist. Each book brings back to life a classic mythological or folkloric figure, with completely new stories alongside the original tales. New and emerging writers from open submissions, reveal hidden themes, casting fresh perspectives on well-known stories, alongside specially commissioned text on the origins and the cultural background of the mythology. The first three books will focus respectively on Odin, Anansi and Medusa. Anansi Anansi is at once a creator god, a trickster folk hero, a wily spider and a heroic symbol of resistance. From his origins in West African folklore, to his lauded status in Jamaica, Anansi is a versatile immortal whose many stories reflect the early world of his origins, and the potential for re-imagination. Sometimes dark and chilling, occasionally light-hearted, but always lively and clever, Anansi appears in the lives of everyday folk, pricks the pomposity of the mighty and in this collection of new stories, appears in the modern and the ancient world, a symbol still of individuality and resilience, adapting to City life, with the undertow of ancient lore ever-present. Stories submitted for consideration need to explore new angles to the character: have him follow alternative paths, present different viewpoints, imagine new futures, or perhaps pursue story lines that are hinted at in the original tales. Submissions to: [email protected]   Terms: Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails. Simultaneous submissions are fine but you...

Deadline: February 4th, 2024 (Extended from original post!) Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Theme: Stories about Medusa Note: Reprints Welcome Discover the mythology of humankind through its heroes, characters, gods and immortal figures. Myths, Gods & Immortals brings together the new and the ancient, familiar stories with a fresh and imaginative twist. Each book brings back to life a classic mythological or folkloric figure, with completely new stories alongside the original tales. New and emerging writers from open submissions, reveal hidden themes, casting fresh perspectives on well-known stories, alongside specially commissioned text on the origins and the cultural background of the mythology. The first three books will focus respectively on Odin, Anansi and Medusa. Medusa Variously described as a fiend, a monster, a charming seductress who was felled by the righteous might of Perseus, son of Zeus, Medusa is perhaps the most misunderstood of mythological women. Described by male historians and epic writers such as Virgil and Ovid there are many aspects of her imagined life which find resonance in the struggles of the outsider, the cursed and those used in the service of another's vision of the world around them. This fascinating collection brings together new stories and ancient origins, offering a wider perspective on the whole life of the powerful, wonderful Medusa. Stories submitted for consideration need to explore new angles to the character: have her follow alternative paths, present different viewpoints, counter the patriarchal narrative and male gaze, or perhaps pursue story lines that are hinted at in the original tales. Submissions to: [email protected]   Terms: Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails. Simultaneous submissions are fine but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology. For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy...