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Deadline: February 15th, 2025 Prize: First prize winner receives a cash prize of 400 BGN. (Currently that’s 200 Euro or 223 USD, but conversion rates fluctuate.) Theme: Gothic Stories About Extremely Cold Weather Writing Contest Without AI Why no AI? In a world dominated by bots and fakes, I value authenticity. I want to  encourage real writing by real writers with real skills. Real readers deserve real stories. The Theme: “Extremely Cold Weather” Whether the story unflds during a peaceful winter journey or a ferocious blizzard, whether the characters are trudging across a glacier or huddling around a wood stove, whether the temperature is normal for the season or caused by climate change, what matters is that the cold weather plays a significant role in the plot, and that you let the readers feel the chill. Genre: Any – but with a Gothic touch Your story can be of any prose genre – Romance, Horror, Historical, Western, Steampunk, Noir, Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Humour,  Literary,  Mystery, Thriller...   as long as it has Gothic elements.  For ideas how to give your story a Gothic plot and atmosphere, see my blog post here. What does ‘NO AI’ mean? You may not use any Artificial Intelligence app, nor the AI tools of other apps, for any part of the story’s creation. Not for story prompts, not for plotting, not for structuring, not for writing, not for revising, not for editing. That’s the purpose of this contest: show how well you can craft a story. Not how well you can use AI. You may use a word processor and spellchecker. "But I like using AI for my writing!" Then enter contests for AI-assisted writing. "How do you know the story was not AI-generated?" As part of the submission process, each competitor has to formally...

Deadline: February 20th, 2025 Payment: $40 Theme: Cryptids! What stalks the shadows beyond our understanding? What ancient creatures still roam our modern world, defying explanation and documentation? "If I Die Before I Wake, Volume 10: Tales of Cryptid Chaos" delves into the terrifying realm of cryptozoological horror, where mysterious beings from global folklore emerge from myth into chilling reality.Join us for a collection of original tales that will make you question every unexplained footprint, every ripple in dark waters, and every unexplored corner of our world. These aren't just stories of sightings and encounters—they're nightmares that blur the line between legend and truth, leaving readers wondering what might really be watching from the darkness. ​ Please read submission Guidelines below. Submissions that do not follow guidelines will not be considered. What We're Looking For Step into the shadows where legend meets reality. We're seeking original horror stories featuring cryptids - those elusive creatures that lurk in the darkness of human imagination and perhaps... in reality. From the depths of murky lakes to the densest forests, from urban legends to ancient tribal warnings, we want your most terrifying takes on cryptid encounters. Theme Your story must feature a cryptid as a central element of the narrative. While well-known creatures like Bigfoot or the Mothman are welcome, we strongly encourage submissions featuring lesser-known cryptids from various cultures and folklores. The story must be firmly rooted in horror - we're looking for genuine terror, not just mysterious encounters. Guidelines- Word count: 4,000 - 10,000 words - Original, previously unpublished work only - See Submittable submission page for full guidelines What We Want- Fresh takes on cryptid mythology - Strong character development - Atmospheric horror that builds tension - Stories that blend folklore with modern settings - Cultural authenticity when dealing with traditional cryptids...

Submission Window: February 9th - 23rd, 2025 Payment: 1p a word to a maximum of £50 Theme: Folk-horror short stories Hiding Under the Leaves, to be published November 2025, will be an anthology of folk-horror short stories. Think curses and cunning folk; superstitions and the old ways; twisted rural landscapes and dark, creeping woodlands. Submissions will open 9th February 2025 and will close in the witching hour (midnight again!) 23rd February 2025. For both anthologies: Stories should aim to be 2-9000 words, and will be paid at 1p a word to a maximum of £50. Longer or shorter stories may be considered but will be a harder sell. FAQs: Please use standard manuscript formatting. Font TNR, Arial, Calibri, Garamond, or Calibri, 12 points. Double line spacing. Single spaces between words/following punctuation. Include page numbers in footers and name and title in headers. Also include a first page with name, title, word count. Use double quotation marks for speech. British English spelling preferred. Please send stories by email to donna at theslab dot press as an attachment. Include the word count, your name, and the title in the email too. Please include the anthology name and your name in the subject of the email. For example: Vivid Worlds STORY TITLE Joe Bloggs Reprints: No reprints from stories that have already been published in print in English, please, but stories translated into written English for the first time, or that have only been previously published in audio format are permitted. Simultaneous submissions and multiple submissions permitted. Via: The Slab Press.

Deadline: February 23rd, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Think crime taking place in space Space Malfeasance Edited by Spearman Burke Ten Percenters in space, the dirtbags, the malcontents: they’ll be out there, goldbricking like they’re getting paid to do it. Stories about the E-4 Mafia, the Sham Shielders, Airman Schmucketelli, the Lance Criminals. Some are heroes, some are complete idiots. Y’know, all the reasons your First Sergeant is on his second liver. If the aliens only knew what was coming, would they have surrendered so easily to mankind? Stories your commander reads every morning in the military police blotter...in spaaaaccceeee!  Don’t forget to do your homework! Opens: 12/21/24 Closes: 02/23/25 Contracts: 03/08/25 Publication: 04/04/25 Guidelines for all our anthologies (psst! this is important!): 5,000 to 8,000 words. Length and genre are negotiable, as long as the story fits the concept and is entertaining. Any submission must be in Times New Roman (preferred, but you can use Georgian or other readable font), 12PT, double-spaced, with your name, title of the story, and your email on it. Name the file as -—. Send it in a .docx format as an attachment—no links. Refer to the submission guideline graphic below for how to format your story—It has all the information you need! Feel free to download it for reference. Raconteur Press will hold the rights for one year after publication; after one year, the rights will revert to the author, but we continue to pay you as long as the anthology is selling. Authors receive an equal percentage share of the proceeds from the anthology, along with the Press, our editors, and administration. Yes, you read that right. We don’t take 80% off the top and split the 20% left over between all the authors. We’re all in this together. This is why our anthologies are...

Deadline: February 24th, 2025 Payment: Contributor's copy and $10 Theme: Trans-erotica horror OPEN CALL: WE CAN ALWAYS TELL a trans erotica horror anthology Submission Dates: Dec. 1st 2024 - Feb. 24th 2025 ​ Wordcount: Up to 8k for short fiction, 3 pages for poetry Compensation: $10 + Contributor's Copy ​ Please use Shunn / Standard Manuscript Format when submitting. ​ Please format your subject line as SUBMISSION - - - ​ Submit as .doc or .docX to uncrownedtheseries gmail ​ Please do not inquire about the status of your submission until the reading period has closed.   THE LAUGHING MAN HOUSE IS A PUBLISHER specializing in horror and dark fantasy fiction. Our mission is to curate and showcase spine-chilling stories with unapologetically queer characters and themes. We take pride in offering a platform for talented authors to unleash their creativity and share their unique perspectives with the world. We set down our roots in 2022, and since then we have been on an extraordinary journey, making giant strides in a short span of time. Via: The Laughing Man House.

Deadline: February 25th, 2025 Payment: .02 cents a word, $20 per accepted artwork Theme: Found diary/journal entries from vampire hunters through out history. VAMPIRE HUNTERS: An Incomplete Record of Personal Accounts Submissions Open January 15 - February 25 on Query Manager Vampire Hunters: An Incomplete Record of Personal Accounts will be a collection of found diary/journal entries from vampire hunters through out history. There would also be illustrations, charts, anatomy sketches and pieces of articles texts ect. interspersed throughout. https://QueryTracker.net/query/SpecPub To submit to the query manager you need your complete manuscript, formatted in standard Shunn Format, (double spaced, times new roman ect) We want: 1000 - 5000 word Diary/Journal Entry type stories from vampire hunters throughout history. These can be based off real people and characters or entirely made up but the history should be more or less sound. Be mindful of copy protected characters and material. Stories should be formatted like a journal or diary, with a date. There can be one or several telling a story. We would also prefer a line or two (up to a paragraph) of context that would head each story in the anthology as to why this entry is included in the incomplete record. For example: Louis Bernard was well known for his trumpet playing all over western Europe, but few were aware he also hunted vampires until he disappeared in 1897. This was the last entry into his journal. Payment is .02 cents a word. Also looking for original art. Sketches, paintings, photos that would appear in a vampire hunter’s journal, such as charts, weapons, maps, anatomy. $20 per piece. NO AI ART OR STORIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. PLEASE NOTE: We have revised our submission standards. IF SUBMISSIONS DO NOT FOLLOW ALL THE GUIDELINES THEY WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY REJECTED WITH NO RESPONSE....

Submission Window: January 1st - February 28th, 2025 Payment: $75 usd Theme: Horror stories that deal with science during the scientific revolution and must be historically accurate as well aside from the speculative element(s) Open January 1 to February 28, 2025 General Payment: $75 usd per story via PayPal Word Count: 5,000 (firm) to 10,000 words Submission Window: January 1 to February 28, 2025 Submit To: [email protected] Subject Line: Scientific Revolution Submission: Story Title Submit as: .docx Attachment (no links) Format: Standard Manuscript Format Include: Name or Pen Name in Email Include: Brief Synopsis (3-4 sentences will suffice) in Email Publication Date: 2025 Editor: Coy Hall (He/Him) Additional Story must be set between the years 1500 and 1700 ce Any category of science from the period welcome With setting and details, historical accuracy is vital All subgenres of horror welcome No Poetry Submissions No Reprints Stories that utilize AI in any capacity will be rejected Multiple Submissions Not Permitted Simultaneous Submissions Permitted Receipt of Submissions Will be Confirmed Acceptances and Rejections sent March 2 - April 30 Rights exclusive publication for one year after publication date non-exclusive publication after one year All Copyright belongs to the Author Via: The Scythian Wolf.

Deadline: February 28th, 2025 Payment: Authors get 30% Royalties for first year from date of publication. Afterwards, 30% of all proceeds go to a charity chosen by the Publisher Theme: All mermaids (and their kin), kraken (sea monsters), underwater civilizations, etc. stories are welcome. All genres are accepted. LURED INTO THE DEEP (Rated R) Deadline – February 28th, 2025 Publication – May 2025 Word Count – 3,000-20,000 Theme – All mermaids (and their kin), kraken (sea monsters), underwater civilizations, etc. stories are welcome. All genres are accepted. CHECKLIST Introduction of author A brief history of your writing experience. Author Contact Information / Pen name MUST be included with real name. If real name is same as pen name, state so in email. Author Biography in Third Person in 100-150 words Mandatory minimum of 100. Submission Word Count Word count. Not line count. Submission Formatted in Times New Roman 12 PT Font. One-inch margins. No indentations. No double-spacing. No extra spacing between paragraphs. No chapters. Scene breaks signalled with three ### (see example image below). Only DOC and DOCX accepted. Format video: https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=ftjuYtJWIBI  Format image example at bottom of page. Summary/Query Letter Summarized outline of all major events within the story. All emails should be addressed as “Dear Editor” Email Subject Line must be as follows – “Story Title by  Author Name for (Name of) Anthology” File/Document Name must be as follows – “Story Title by Author Name for (Name of) Anthology” All of the author’s social media links, including website if applicable Author must have one social media account.  Note: Author Name @ Social Media is not a clickable link. Important information Maximum of two submissions per anthology per author. Authors can submit to all anthologies simultaneously. Reprints from Third Party sources accepted IF author currently holds full rights. We will not publish duplicate stories within...

Submission Window: January 1st -February 28th, 2025 Payment:3 cents/word with a minimum payment of $50, $50 for book reviews, $80 for artwork Theme: Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading past issues is the best way to know if your submission is a good fit for NewMyths.com.  We like to balance each quarterly issue between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. Our readers are not fixated on a single style or tone or genre, but prefer a quality sample of the field. Think tapas or dim sum. Maximum length is 10,000 words. Please keep submissions PG or cleaner. Submission Period New Myths considers submissions between January 1-February 28 and June 1-July 31.  Artwork, requests for book reviews, and other correspondence can be submitted at any time.  Book Reviews NewMyths publishes original book reviews. No reprints, please. Reviews should be between 500-1,000 words. We prefer reviews of novels published within the past year but also consider reviews of older works, and reviews of poetry collections, anthologies, and nonfiction works related to fantasy and science fiction. Pay is $50. Send inquiries to Candy at [email protected].   NewMyths publishes several book reviews per year, and we’d like to publish more. Unfortunately, with several thousand submissions per year, our hardworking editors don’t have a lot of time to review novels. If you are an author, agent or publisher, and have a novel or other work related to fantasy and science fiction that you would like to have reviewed, send an inquiry to Scott at [email protected]. If you don’t receive an answer, please assume that we simply don’t have the staff to review it. A solution might be to find someone who can write a review and submit it to us for consideration. Payment Payment is upon publication. NewMyths.com currently...

Submission Window: Feb. 1st – Feb. 28th, 2025 Payment: 5 cents per word for original fiction, 1 cent per word for reprints Theme: New horror related to the sub-genre of Mummies in horror Note: Extended submission window exclusively for BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, Disabled, Neurodiverse, and other underrepresented voices: March 1 – March 15, 2025 Note: Reprints Welcome Modern Mummies Anthology Open call submission window: Feb. 1 – Feb. 28, 2025 Extended submission window exclusively for BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, Disabled, Neurodiverse, and other underrepresented voices: March 1 – March 15, 2025 The Prompt Modern Mummies is a new horror anthology looking to update the “mummy genre.” The anthology’s title has several possible interpretations to help guide submissions. First and foremost, it means stories that take place in the reasonably understood present day. That means a world in which the internet, social media, industrialization, urbanization, etc. exist. Sure, some elements can be fictionalized to make a story work, but we don’t want period pieces that take place in the 1920s or in the far-flung past. “Modern mummies” has other meanings to us too. In the short story “Asleep on the Job” by Scott Parson, mummies were described as time travelers in a sense. Through the preservation of their bodies, these characters awaken to find all that they had known and loved gone, replaced by some modern-day other. While time is certainly a key element of the equation, we also want you to think about space. Mummies all over the world are likely to find themselves in radically different locales than where they were originally buried. With these ideas in mind, we’re curious what you think a mummy might have to say about modern-day living. What might they have to say about their new surroundings and the colonialism that brought them there? How might these...