Events

Submission Window: September 15th - October 31st, 2024 Payment: $0.02 per word Theme: Science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between Note: Reprints Welcome We are open to submissions: Jan. 15 – Mar. 31 May 15 – Jul. 3 Sep. 15 – Oct. 31 Nov. 1 – Nov. 30 (Drabbles only) Before submitting, please read the writer’s guidelines below. Story Guidelines Flash Point Science Fiction wants speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 words in length. Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short. We here at FPSF are partial to flash fiction and want to see the flash market grow. So as much as it pains us, please take your 10,000 word tour de force elsewhere. We’re not looking for the next Brandon Sanderson. (Unless you are, in fact, Brandon Sanderson, in which case we’d be delighted!)   What we’re looking for: -Fantasy (all kinds—epic, adventure, contemporary, urban, grimdark, fairy tale, magical realism, myths and legends, etc.) -Science Fiction (all kinds—hard, space opera, military, near future, science fantasy, cyberpunk, dystopian, etc.) -Slipstream (make it as weird as you want, so long as it works) -Seasonal (we love stories with holiday and/or seasonal themes, but please submit AT LEAST 3 months in advance of the relevant occasion) -Anything that makes us laugh, cry, think, or smile. What we aren’t looking for: -Horror—it can be spooky or menacing, but we’re not a horror market, so the fright factor should not be the primary appeal. DARK fantasy and sci-fi, however, are welcome. -Literary fiction—this is a genre market, so there needs to be an SF&F element, however slight. -Gratuitous sex or violence—we’re big fans of Love Death + Robots, but don’t be that guy. -Fanfic—original concepts only, please. We know there was a lot going on in Hobbiton...

Submission Window: October 1st – 31st, 2024 Payment: 4 cents per word for original fiction and 1/2 cent per word for reprints Theme: Speculative fiction, speculative poetry, and related non-fiction Note: Reprints Welcome Trollbreath Magazine is a journal of speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, publishing electronic issues on a quarterly schedule. Our interests are as varied as the endless amount of genres, from dark fantasy to hope punk to surrealism, and everything in between. We have a particular fondness for slipstream and fabulism in all their delightful forms, but what motivates us most are great stories by wonderful authors eager to share their visions of the past, the future, the in between, and everything that lies outside the margins. Coloring beyond the lines encouraged. Examples of stories we particularly love (but there are too many to include): Bears Discover Fire, by Terry Bisson (England Underway as well) Last of the Winnebagos, by Connie Willis (Even the Queen; all her work!) Rabbit Test, by Samantha Mills A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Bride, Knife, Flaming Horse, by M.L. Krishnan Stories, poems and articles will be available at the beginning of the quarter for those with paid subscriptions to the magazine, either on the website or sent via email depending on membership level. Over the course of the quarter, a new story will be opened every Friday to the those without subscriptions, until all stories have been publicly released. We read for two issues at a time during our month-long submission periods. Submission periods for fiction/poetry are as follows: April 1st- 30th (for the September and December issues of the same year) October 1st – 31st (for the March and June issues of the following year) Note: we are open year-round for non-fiction pitches (see below poetry)....

Deadline: October 31st, 2024 Payment: 6 cents per word Theme: Workplace Horror Dread Mondays: A Whisper House Press Anthology of Workplace Horror Projected Pub Date: Oct. 31st 2025 Word count: Keep it under 4k words. Stories under 3k words will get preference over those approaching the higher boundary. Pay Rate: .06/wd Deadlines & Decisions: Submit by October 31st, 2024. Historically marginalized groups (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc.) may submit through Nov. 30th 2024. Decisions, unless they’re a clear pass, will not be sent out until January 1st 2025. Formatting & Dictionary: Use the Shunn modern manuscript format (link) and the American English dictionary. Cover Letter: No need for anything fancy! Say hello, give your story title and word count, and include an author bio (if you have one ready) below your note. If you’re submitting after the first deadline, please include an acknowledgment that you fit into one of those groups mentioned. (If you want help with an author bio, check out this post.) If you are affiliated with the HWA or another professional organization, please note it in your letter; if you’re not, don’t worry! We are excited to include new as well as established writers. No previously published (in any form, online / in print / audio format / etc.) work will be considered. Simultaneous submissions are a-okay, but do tell us immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere. No A.I.-produced or A.I.-assisted submissions. The legal contract you’ll sign upon acceptance will require that you agree to this stipulation, as well. Important notes: Submitters, please understand that Whisper House Press is a highly communicative, contributor-involved press. This means you’ll hear from me every step of the way and that I hope to have your buy-in for a full-court press on publicity. For our books to have any chance at success (defined here as “winning all of...

Submission Window: October 1st - 31st, 2024 Theme: Haunting, atmospheric and unsettling stories full of subtle menace and pervasive dread Payment: £0.07 per word Dust & Dark is a new quarterly magazine showcasing the best in original horror fiction. We will shortly be inviting submissions for our debut issue, scheduled for release in Spring 2025 following a Kickstarter campaign early next year. What we’re looking for We’re in the market for short, scary stories between 2,000 and 7,000 words in length. The majority of stories we publish are expected to be between 3,000 and 5,000 words. We’re looking for stylish, atmospheric horror fiction, and we take a broad view of what that means. We’re interested in clearly defined characters, evocative settings, tight pacing and compelling plots. But most of all, we’re looking for stories that leave a lingering sense of unease after we’ve read them. We’re much more interested in expertly rendered dread than straightforward shocks. We also see horror very much as part of the speculative fiction spectrum, and if your story has something to say, it’s likely to stand out in our submissions pile. Don’t just scare us: surprise us, intrigue us, open us up to new perspectives. We are particularly keen to feature writing from a diverse range of voices, and we especially welcome submissions from writers of colour, disabled authors, LGBTQ+ authors, neurodivergent authors and anyone from a background or community underrepresented in publishing. If our submissions process presents any accessibility obstacles for you, please contact us to discuss any necessary accommodations. Our debut issue will be dated Spring 2025, and while it isn’t a themed issue, stories with a particularly autumnal or wintery feel may not be the best fit. Please also note that we will be publishing in British English. We will amend non-British spelling (color,...

Submission Window: October 1st - 31st, 2024 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre, short story Mission = Revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful. Payout = Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Wait, you mean if this substack gets thousands of subscribers, the winner would get thousands of dollars? Yes! The New Yorker pays roughly $7,500 per story and I sincerely hope to go way past that. What does the timeline look like? Submit stories by the end of the month, winner to be announced on the 15th. There is ONE story that wins and receives the full payout. Where do I send submissions? [email protected] What are the rules for submitting? 1. No Fees 2. Send in Microsoft Word or Google Doc form 3. Any genre 4. 6- 10,000 words. Yes, just 6 words, like Hemingway's famous 6-word story "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn." 5. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute. 6. Acknowledge Distribution Rights on this Substack - You can still sell your story elsewhere but we need to be able to save and publish it here. The goal is to create a library for subscribers. 7. Only the winner will be published and rights will only transfer for the winning story. What do I get for subscribing? One beautiful story every month. The complete library. The joy of supporting artists and doing something interesting. What if I can’t pay right now? That’s ok! If you publish a blurb about this site on your website, blog, or social media, I will send you one full story of your choosing. Best of all, it is...

Deadline: October 31st, 2024 Payment: $5 Theme: Gore, extreme horror, splatterpunk, and horror with sexual elements to it. 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. We offer a token payment of $5 USD to support your drug habit, paid upon publication. However, you keep your rights –we don't want them. The Stuff We Don’t Want to Read: NO sex with children, NO sexualization of children, and NO child rape. 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 coming on his victims. We won’t publish anything supporting a racist, transphobic, or homophobic agenda, so don’t try it. Sex and sensuality are fine, but we publish horror. We won’t publish a story that’s 90 percent lesbian vampires having explicit sex and 10 percent them ripping their victims to pieces. Go 50/50 on that and you've got our attention. High-quality gory smut is fine. Like gore, sex has to serve a purpose. If you want to write a piece about a cowboy who discovers one of the prostitutes at the local brothel has a vagina that opens to another dimension filled with blood clot monsters and he can fit his entire body into it… Sure, that’s great. If you want to write a story...

Deadline: October 31st, 2024 Payment: Over 300 words: £0.015 per word, Under 300 words: £5 flat rate. Theme: Reverse Mermaid Note: This is only for audio rights Reverse Mermaid Under the moon's glow, I cast my line into dark, choppy waters, fishing for stories. Something stirs beneath—a ripple, a glint—something waits to be caught. Two eyes break the surface; its scales reflecting the moonlight. Is that a fish... or a man? It’s impossible to say. Reverse mermaids, strange and unsettling, haunt these depths. Unlike their traditional counterparts, they defy expectations, caught between two worlds in a form that exemplifies the absurd. They are symbols of transgression and transformation, urging us to embrace the parts of ourselves that don’t fit neatly into established categories. Stories are out there, waiting to be reeled in. With a bucket of maggot sandwiches and the patience to wait, we're ready for whatever surfaces —absurd scenarios, monstrous creatures in mundane lives, or vice versa, powerful transformations, quirky individuals, nightmares and hallucinations out in the daylight, worlds flipped upside down, and tales of two halves that proudly let our freak flag fly. The Catch of the Day includes stories, scripts, poems, flash fiction, and songs that champion the eccentric, unique, and unexpected, leaping from the surface level, and pulling us, kicking and screaming, down, down, down into the realm of the extraordinary. Current Deadline: October 30th, 2024 We seek writing that transports listeners beyond themselves, offering glimpses into uncharted emotions, compelling characters, and imaginative worlds. These stories should delight, disgust, or inspire awe. They should make our sides split with laughter, enthrall us with mystery, or evoke deep feelings that linger long after the episode ends – show us your unique universe; make us feel something! What are we looking for?​ Currently, we are working on our...

Deadline: October 31st, 2024 Payment: $10 USD (plus 1 paperback copy for stories over 4,000 words) per story accepted. Theme: Erotic Horror Dive into the chilling night and the forbidden allure in our open call for Erotic Horror tales. Explore human desire intertwined with the macabre, where fear and passion collide. Whether it’s vampires seducing prey or eerie encounters, we seek boundary-pushing stories that ignite the senses. Let your imagination soar, crafting narratives that leave readers spellbound and trembling. Submissions can be as spicy as you dare. Join us in exploring the darker side of desire. Wordcount : We are looking for stories of 500 to 5,000 words for publication in February 2025. Author eligibility : Open to all. Reprints : Allowed. Slots available : 25. We will read in batches until full. Simultaneous Submissions : Not allowed. Multiple Submissions : Five can be submitted, two acceptances allowed. Co-authored Submissions : Allowed. Publication : Paperback, hard cover, and digital, plus 3 will be chosen for our online magazine. Author compensation : $10 USD (plus 1 paperback copy for stories over 4,000 words) per story accepted. Submit to : [email protected] BLACK HARE PRESS is—and has always been—an inclusive publisher. LGBTQ+ characters always welcome. All our calls are for dark speculative fiction or weird/horror. No co-authored projects, please, unless the call specifically says they are allowed. Submission Guidelines: Whilst we are open to all genres and styles of writing, ultimately we reserve the right to reject topics that are not suitable for our publications. Please read the individual submission call information for guidance. Word count requirements, deadline dates and author compensation are detailed against each submission call. Hyphenated words will be counted as one word. Paragraph breaks are not included in word counts. All submissions must be in English. Our stance on; Bestiality – Unless your character is in the fantasy world (ie...

Deadline: October 31st, 2024 Payment: $0.01 CAD per word Theme: tories should include an unlikely, but likeable, amateur sleuth pursuing a mystery in a cozy setting. Note: Will firstly feature authors from writers Newfoundland and Labrador, however, they are open to writers across Canada and international authors Engen Books is now accepting submissions to the latest From the Rock anthology, for release in 2025. Editors Ellen Curtis and Erin Vance are accepting submissions for short fiction under 10,000 words that fit into the cozy mystery genre. ​Appropriate stories should include an unlikely, but likeable, amateur sleuth pursuing a mystery in a cozy setting. Some settings popularized by the genre include bakeries, craft shops, cafés, bookstores, libraries, and small towns. Some cozy mysteries also include an element of the supernatural, with characters like witches, vampires, werewolves, and ghosts rounding out the cast of characters. Authors may also wish to include an element of romance in their story, however this is not necessary. Authors should note that any violence or sexual content should appear off-screen. As always, the From the Rock collections are intended to highlight the fantastic, varied writers Newfoundland and Labrador has fostered. When submitting, we request that authors indicate if they are current or former residents of the province, and if their story is linked to the province in any way (though it need not be). While we will accept submissions from across Canada and internationally, authors with a connection to the province are given preference for this series, and this information will be given to editors during the jurying process. As with all content at Engen Books, misogynistic, racist, ethnocentric, homophobic, or transphobic messaging will result in the submission being rejected and may result in the author being barred from future submissions. Authors should take care to avoid...

Deadline: October 31st, 2024 Payment: $250 advance (USD) and 50/50 royalty split Theme: Horror/ Dark Fiction Note: Female or non binary author What Nefarious Bat Press wants: 1) This call is open to female and non-binary authors. We strongly encourage writers from the LGBTQIA+BIPOC communities to submit. (Whilst we are a queer press – you don’t have to be.) 2) We’re looking for a novella with a word count between 25- 40k. 3) The genre must be horror/dark fiction. We’re not specifying a theme – that’s your call. 4) No reprints. One submission per author. Simultaneous submissions are fine with us. What Nefarious Bat Press is offering you 1) $250 advance, paid via PayPal 2) Three-year contract 3) 50/50 royalty split What Nefarious Bat Press does not want: AI-generated text, of any kind. We hate it, and we actively oppose it; it’s plagiaristic, ethically untenable, ecologically destructive, and using it demonstrates a frankly embarrassing lack of imagination on the user’s part. Send an AI-generated monstrosity our way, and you can guarantee we’ll never read anything you write Formatting Guidelines: 1) Double spaced, 12pt, any legible font. 2)  Word format (.docx) 3) Please send as an attachment; don’t include your submission in the body of the email. Submission Window / Submission Guidance: 1) Window will be open September 16, 2024 to October 31, 2024. 2) Please send your submissions to [email protected] 3) Subject Line: Novella Sub – Author name – Novella Title 4) In the body of your email, please include a short author bio and a brief synopsis of your story.     *PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU’VE READ THE ABOVE BEFORE SUBMITTING* Via: Nefarious Bat Press.