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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 in ways that the reader may not expect when properly used, these elements should not, however, be the primary focus of the story. (i.e. torture adult content). Discrimination: Again, whether racial, religious, social, etc., when used properly as a plot device can become a powerful tool in the authors arsenal, but should in no way become the focus of the story unless you’re writing something along the lines of “Schindler’s List”, “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. And we do understand that to be perfectly accurate, period pieces will contain such things because historically, that is what happened. It’s sad, but it’s the truth. Message Fiction: While we understand that everyone has their own stance on a myriad of subjects that can become very emotional and heated, we will not publish...

Deadline: March 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Stories inspired by the music of Jethro Tull. Note: Reprints Welcome Love Story Jethro Tull has an amazing discography. Spanning everything from folk music to heavy metal over 50 years - and yes, the flute is indeed a heavy metal instrument! - their music has inspired generations of artists of all types. Including authors! Songs in the Key of Tull is an anthology of fiction that pays tribute to that inspiration. Just as the music of Jethro Tull spans genres, so does out call for stories. While we have a preference for science fiction, fantasy, and horror, any genre - western, romance, MilSF, you name it - is welcome. We are currently planning on two potential volumes, depending on response:  Volume I: Minstrels in the Galaxy (SF focus) Volume II: Tales from the Wood (Fantasy focus) Dot Com Our goal, first and foremost, is to entertain our readers. That's the primary criteria we will use to judge a story. We're looking for stories of between 5k-8k words, though length (shorter or longer) is negotiable for a solid story. Reprints are acceptable, but we prefer new stories. If you submit a reprint, please note that in your submission email. Submissions close at midnight, March 1st, 2024. We hope to have an initial read-through of submissions and final acceptance notices sent by April 1st, 2024. Estimated publication date is third quarter of 2024 (with a target date of August 10th, 2024). If your story is accepted, we will ask you to provide an introductory paragraph (up to 100 words) for your story, describing how a particular Jethro Tull song or songs inspired you. We will also ask you to provide an author's biography (up to 100 words) for inclusion in our end matter, along with a link (Amazon...

Deadline: March 1st, 2024 Payment: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10, artwork, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Theme: Bookmarks The Missing Piece of the Puzzle (November 1, 2023) ALL SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, POEMS, PHOTOGRAPHS and ART MUST RELATE TO ONE OF THE PREMISES SPECIFIED ABOVE. NOTE: Previously published pieces are welcome, provided that the submission fits the theme and that the author owns the copyright. The premise (target theme) must be an integral part of the plot, not necessarily the central theme but not merely incidental. NOTE: Stories longer than 20 double-spaced typewritten pages will not be considered. Indicate premise (target theme) on title page. Be sure to Indicate target theme in cover letter or on first page of manuscript. Include self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with each submission. Rejected manuscripts unaccompanied by an SASE will not be returned. Response time: 3 months after premise deadline.  NO READER'S FEE. Mail to: THEMA, Box 8747, Metairie, LA 70011-8747. Outside the US: email [email protected] On acceptance for publication, we will pay the following amount: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10; artwork, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Copyright reverts to author after publication. THEMA isn't for everyone. To find out why, click here. New to submitting manuscripts to journals? Click here to download a PDF file of a few basic guidelines. Unlike many publishers, we prefer works submitted by the authors themselves, without the involvement of an agent. Be sure to indicate premise and include SASE for each submission.  BE SURE to include a separate SASE for each premise. No handwritten manuscripts will be considered. NOTE: We do not accept e-mailed submissions EXCEPT from authors who live outside the U.S. For those living outside the U.S., submit manuscript as an email attachment (readable by MSWord ― either as a DOC file or an...

Deadline: March 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Horror and dark romance novellas and novellas, series or stand alone Eerie is and has always been an inclusive publishing house. We would love to read manuscripts from all walks of life including BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA and marginalized humans. If you have a horror story, we want to read it. Eerie River Publishing only publishes a handful of novels a year. Regrettably, this means we will have to pass on some fantastic writing. We wish we could publish them all but the truth is we wouldn't be able to put the resources needed behind each project to make them a success. And that is what we are here to do.  ​ We are an inclusive company that accepts submission from anyone regardless of race, gender or sexuality. We accept agented and non-agented submissions during our submission window. What are we looking for?HORROR & DARK FANTASY We are seeking high-quality, novel and novella series in horror and dark fantasy. The series should be two or more books within the same world or following the same characters throughout. At this time we are not interested in short story collections, erotica, strictly religious fiction, YA Fiction, or poetry. ​ We want unique, well-crafted stories with compelling plots, terrifying twists, and entertaining characters, for mature audiences. Give us your grim, heart-wrenching twist. The perfect story would balance the light and the dark pieces of the storyline with humour, alongside the emotional twists and turns. In essence, if you can evoke a gambit of emotion throughout the story then we will be hard-pressed to say no.  ​ Manuscripts should be written in good taste, and be aimed for a mature audience. As this is horror we expect the scary and horrible, and we encourage a step toward darker, more horrific tones...

Deadline: March 1st, 2024 Payment: $30 Theme: Quiet horror Note: Apologies on the short deadline, this just hit our inbox Submission Call! Read veeery carefully. There's a lot of information here. GASPS is an anthology of Quiet Horror ... from splatter authors. Proving our versatility and skill ... this collection sets out to unnerve and chill. No theme other than the requirement that it fit into the "Quiet" category. Meaning no graphic gore or gross out content. Other than that ... you write whatever you want! I want a variety of creative and unique stories, rather than stories that blur together with an overarching theme. Also, of note, just because we're writing more subtle stories doesn't mean I want authors to avoid mature or dark themes. This is going to be a book marketed to adult readers, not children. If you are not familiar with Quiet Horror, seek out the works of authors like Charles L. Grant, Ramsey Campbell, and T.M. Wright. If you're struggling with the definition, the easiest way to describe it is that quiet horror is the exact opposite of extreme horror. Submissions open January 20th and close on March 1st. I'm hoping to have a finished book released by July, but I'm still working on dates. As I've learned from SCRAPS ... anything can happen. 3k to 6k words. Six open spots! Absolutely NO tabs key indents. Size 12, Times New Roman, Double Spaced paragraphs. Double lined too. Anything that doesn't meet these requirements is automatically rejected. Title your emails AND word documents GASPS SUBMISSION. In all caps. If you do not use this title for your email or word document, it will be automatically rejected. Emails must be sent to [email protected]! Invited authors are all splatterpunks, but YOU don't have to be an established or...

Deadline: March 1st, 2024 Prize: Audio narration and $50 Theme: Secret Societies They thrive in the shadowed corridors of history, shrouded in mystery and clandestine pursuits. Unlike cults, secret societies are not defined by coercive ideologies or charismatic leaders, but rather by the allure of exclusive knowledge, shared rituals and covert influence. These clandestine organizations operate beyond the prying eyes of the mainstream, their members bound by oaths of secrecy. Within their hidden chambers, ancient rites and esoteric wisdom are passed down through generations, shaping destiny and the world as we know it. Contest Rules The story must have horror elements and relate to the theme of Secret Societies. Secret societies are distinct from cults in that they don’t operate based on a specific dogma and focus on manipulating outcomes to further their own nefarious agendas. Other than this distinction, how you choose to interpret that theme is up to you, but it must be central to the story. The image included on this page is for interest purposes only and not intended as a prompt. Deadline to submit is March 1, 2024 (11:59pm CST) It must be previously unpublished. Submissions must be in English, but authors from anywhere in the world are welcome to submit. A minimum of ONE winner will be announced on or before May 1, 2024. The top flash piece will be produced for audio narration on Tales to Terrify and receive $50 (USD). Up to four runners up may also be considered for production. Authors retain the rights to their submitted stories. Submission Format up to 1,000 words Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format Double spaced 12 pt. Courier New or Times New Roman font Please include author, title and word count on first page. Stories pasted into the body of an email will be rejected without being read.  ...

Submission Window: March 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, shorter pieces...

Submission Window: March 1st – 7th, 2024 Payment: Drabbles and Flash – £5, Short Stories 1001 to 4000 words – £10, Short Stories 4001 to 8000 words – £15 Theme: Stories you’ve poured your soul into but haven’t been able to find the right home for. We’re looking for stories that make us feel something. Note: Only publishes creators from under represented and/or marginalized communities. WE ONLY PUBLISH CREATORS FROM UNDER REPRESENTED AND/OR MARGINALISED BACKGROUNDS AND/OR COMMUNITIES We don’t ask for any proof, we take this on trust with the expectation that anyone not from a marginalised background or underrepresented community wouldn’t take up the space of someone who is. We ask you to consider this before submitting. We’re looking for stories you’ve poured your soul into but haven’t been able to find the right home for. We’re looking for stories that make us feel something. Warmth, love, melancholy, rage. We want it all. All genres, styles and themes will be considered and we especially love stories that are outside the box in their telling. Ambiguous endings? Non-linear storytelling? Antagonist’s point-of-view? A story told in just one scene? We love it all. PLEASE NOTE: We will close submissions early if our cut off point is reached Quarterly Online Anthology Submission Schedule: March 1st – 7th (Summer Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions June 1st – 7th (Autumn Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions September 1st – 7th (Winter Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions December 1st – 7th (Spring Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions ​we do not have set issue themes but feel free to be inspired by the season, seasonal occasions and events. We are unlikely to publish stories with seasonal events out of season – for example a story set in the Winter...

Submission Window: February 15-28 for all authors and March 1-7 for BIPOC creators only Payment: Fiction: $0.05 per word, a minimum of $50.00 USD, Poetry: $50 per poem Theme: MERCURIAL Apparition Lit is a speculative fiction magazine that publishes themed issues four times a year. We publish poems and stories between 1k-5k words in January, April, July, and October. We also hold monthly flash fiction contests between the 1st and 15th of each month. Flash stories must be under 1000 words and be inspired or based on the chosen theme. Read our submission guidelines and submit your work through our Moksha portal. Payment Apparition is a semi-pro rate magazine, paying $0.05 per word, minimum of $50.00 dollars for short stories and a flat fee of $50 per poem. If we accept your story, we are purchasing the right to publish the story online and in the quarterly edition. Rights will revert back to the artist after one year. Equity Initiative As Apparition Lit works to create a more equitable publishing community, we recognize that our open submission period is concurrent with some other really great literary magazines where marginalized writers also like to submit. Voices should be heard and we want to help increase that opportunity. Our submission window will remain open for an additional week each quarter for writers who identify as BIPOC and self-identify in their cover letter.  We will also accept simultaneous submissions from writers who identify as Disabled, BIPOC, or LGBTQIA+. Please just note how you identify in your cover letter, that it is a simultaneous submission, and see further details in the menu below on how to submit for each category. Past Contributors Once you are published by Apparition Lit, you join our tiny but mighty family. We love our alumni and will always do what we can to support their...

Deadline: March 7th, 2024 Payment: Royalty Split Theme: Valkyries, mythical female figures from Norse mythology. Submissions should prominently feature valkyries and explore their roles, adventures or interactions with other mythological creatures. Deadline – 7th March 2024 Publication – 30th March 2024 Word Count – 500 words exactly not including title/author details Theme – Valkyries, mythical female figures from Norse mythology. Submissions should prominently feature valkyries and explore their roles, adventures or interactions with other mythological creatures. Genre – Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Horror Compensation – 30% of royalties split between all authors within the anthology for one year from the date of publication.  Reprints – No Simultaneous Submissions – No When submitting to Iron Faerie Publishing please remember the Submission Guidelines. Each submission should include a brief and polite introduction addressed to the Editor. Please make sure to include the following: Your name, legal name and pen name (if you use one). The title of your submission. The submission’s word count. The title of the anthology that you are submitting to. Author Bio written in 3rd person (150 words or less). Up to three (3) links. No amazon author page links. The following formatting is more or less industry standard, and our preference. Your submission should be in Shunn Short Story Format, and in Times New Roman 12 point font. No tabs. .doc and .docx. only. When sending your submission, please remember the following: All submissions should be sent to: [email protected] All submissions close at midnight of the specified date according to Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00), unless filled early. Email subject lines should read in the following format: ANTHOLOGY NAME – Title – Author Name (eg. HAWTHORN & ASH – Brid’s Lament – A.N. Author) Responses to submissions will be sent no later than 28 days after the SUBMISSION CALL has CLOSED. We always respond to each and every submission. At this...