Events

Submission Window: June 15th - July 15th, 2025 Payment: $25 Theme: All subgenres of horror (dark fantasy, sci-fi, noir all accepted as long as horror plays a central role). SLUGGER is the creative effort of two horror writer pals. Send us:  In general, we are open to all subgenres of horror (dark fantasy, sci-fi, noir all accepted as long as horror plays a central role). Body horror tickles our fancy the most if we had to pick a subgenre, but SLUGGER will be open to all horror stories. We love subversive and transgressive fiction. Anything that fits the punk ethos is likely to get our attention. Stories can be speculative or not. Our guidelines may change over time, but we are open to the full spectrum of genre to literary fiction, conventional storytelling to experimental, and plot driven to vibes only. Do NOT send us: Bigotry (racism, sexism, genderism, ableism, fatphobia, homophobia, transphobia, you get the idea). It’s fine to explore these topics, especially when a horrible character gets what’s coming to them. But hate for the sake of hate will not be accepted. Exploitive sexual violence. Erotica/graphic sexual content. Classic tropes such as vampires, werewolves, etc. are not a hard sell, but the story needs to stand out. No fanfiction. The Details: Word count: 1,000-4,000 Simultaneous submissions: YES. If your piece is accepted elsewhere, please email us at [email protected] so that we can congratulate you and withdraw your story from consideration. Multiple submissions: NO. Please only submit one story per submission period. Reprints: NO. Original fiction only please. Use of artificial intelligence: ABSOLUTELY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Payment: $25 per accepted story. We hope to increase payment to writers depending upon the success of SLUGGER. Each story will have an original black and white illustration designed by a university student....

Submission Window: July 1st - 15th, 2025 Payment: Short Story-2,500 words or less. $0.015 USD per word/$37.50 USD max, Poems-less than 200 words $10, Flash Fiction-less than a 1,000 words $0.015 USD per word/$15 USD max Theme: Monkey's Paw/Answered Prayers 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. This season's theme is Monkey's Paw/Answered Prayers. You've got everything you ever wanted and it's awful. More tears have been shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones. Show us the folly of wishes. Terrify us with consequences. Keep us up at night dreading a knock on the door or an envelope in the mail. No more than two 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 1-15, April 1-15, July 1-15, Oct 1-15. Final...

Submission Window: Jun 16-30, 2025. Extended Period for authors who are BIPOC, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized communities, Jul 1-15 Payment: $50 advance on novellas, $75 advance on novels, 50% net royalties on all eBooks and 30% net royalties on paperback books Theme: Horror Novels and Novellas Submission are Open Jun 16-30, 2025 Extended Period for authors who are BIPOC, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized communities, Jul 1-15 What We Want Timber Ghost Press is looking to publish high-quality ​horror fiction to include cosmic horror, weird horror, sci-fi/horror, gothic, and contemporary. We especially love cosmic horror, wilderness horror, stories that fill you with creeping dread. We are looking for both new and seasoned authors. If you have never published before, we want to hear from you. If you're a seasoned spinner of dark tales, we want to hear from you. Basically, we want to hear from you. We would love to see more subs from marginalized communities including but not limited to, LGTBQIA+, BIPOC, First Nations, Asian/Pacific Islander, etc.  We are currently looking for novels/novellas that fall into the following horror categories (We are currently not seeking single-author collections or novelettes this time around): Hauntings Possession Cosmic Horror Weird Horror Sci-Fi/Horror Old West/Horror Wilderness Horror Survival Horror Strange/Liminal Spaces Timber Ghost Press is NOT looking for or interested in stories that contain: Child abuse/pedophilia Gore/extreme violence just for the shock factor We are not interested in fantasy or slashers Absolutely no AI-generated stories Novels must be over 50k+ words. Novellas must be between 25-50k words. If your manuscript falls a little outside of these limits, that is okay; just let us know in your submission email. Simultaneous submissions are okay, please just let us know if it is accepted elsewhere. We do not accept multiple submissions, nor do we...

Submission Window: July 1st - 15th, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Horror novels, novellas, short story collections Submissions are open from July 1st to July 15th, 2025. Submissions outside this window will be deleted unread. We want horror in all its forms—from literary to weird, Gothic to psychological, and (almost) everything in between. We’re looking for amazing stories from amazing authors, regardless of race, gender, religion—if you’ve got something good, we want it. (Please do not submit YA, romance, erotica, or religious fiction; we do not deal in those genres. Also note that anything involving vampires, werewolves, zombies, or serial killers will be a hard sell, currently.) Need a firm idea of what we’re looking for? Check out the JournalStone website. The title of your email subject line and file name should read: “--”. For example: King – Carrie – Novel. This should also be the title of your manuscript document. In the body of your email, please give us the word count, genre, and a brief synopsis (300-500 words) of the plot. Submissions without this information will be deleted unread. Please do not include your synopsis as an attachment. Submissions should be sent to [email protected]. Attach the full manuscript as a .doc, .docx or .rtf file (absolutely no PDFs). Do not paste your manuscript into the body of the email. For proper formatting of your manuscript, please follow the Shunn way, though it’s not necessary to include your address and phone number–we’ll ask for those if your manuscript is accepted. Do please include your email address. Ideal word count for novels and fiction collections: 50,000 – 90,000. Anything over about 100,000 words will be a hard sell unless it’s just outstanding.. Ideal word count for novellas: 20,000 – 35,000. We consider the quality of the editing in our review process. Please fully proofread and edit manuscripts prior to submission. Do...

Deadline: July 20th, 2025 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Theme: Love where time itself is conquered (time travel, time bending, etc) We’re seeking short stories for our brand-new Romantic Fantasy series, a paid market for new and established writers. We're looking for tales featuring strong-willed, independent women who are resilient, perhaps flawed or possess hidden powers, secrets or royal bloodlines. Such protagonists would not be defined solely by their love interests but grow through emotionally charged journeys. Friendships and love interests might be brooding, mysterious or dangerously alluring. Relationships might emphasize deep emotional connections, with lyrical, romantic scenes central to each character’s arc. Ideal submissions will weave emotional tension such as longing, betrayal and love into epic fantasy worlds depicting prophecies, injustice and conflict. We welcome stories that explore moral dilemmas or sacrifices tied to love and duty, and will look out for richly imagined settings, from fae realms and alternate worlds to magical kingdoms, complete with unique magic systems, mythical creatures, royal courts and epic quests. Romance should be integral to the plot, with other elements such as slow-burn attraction, enemies who become lovers, forbidden love or fated matches. If you’re ready to immerse readers in unforgettable adventures where love and fantasy collide, we’d love to read your story. Read on for more tips on the specific titles… A Breath of Time Lost loves, love discovered, love unreachable unless Time itself is conquered, these and many other time-bending, time traveling, time feasting themes can spark your imagination for stories of alternate history, of ancient forests returning to haunt the present and great adventures through dreams and timeless mountain tops, all with hearts beating to the rhythm of romance. Let's see where your stories take us! Please note: Without wishing to...

Deadline: July 20th, 2025 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Theme: Love stories between dragons and humans (Dragon lords, princesses, etc) We’re seeking short stories for our brand-new Romantic Fantasy series, a paid market for new and established writers. We're looking for tales featuring strong-willed, independent women who are resilient, perhaps flawed or possess hidden powers, secrets or royal bloodlines. Such protagonists would not be defined solely by their love interests but grow through emotionally charged journeys. Friendships and love interests might be brooding, mysterious or dangerously alluring. Relationships might emphasize deep emotional connections, with lyrical, romantic scenes central to each character’s arc. Ideal submissions will weave emotional tension such as longing, betrayal and love into epic fantasy worlds depicting prophecies, injustice and conflict. We welcome stories that explore moral dilemmas or sacrifices tied to love and duty, and will look out for richly imagined settings, from fae realms and alternate worlds to magical kingdoms, complete with unique magic systems, mythical creatures, royal courts and epic quests. Romance should be integral to the plot, with other elements such as slow-burn attraction, enemies who become lovers, forbidden love or fated matches. If you’re ready to immerse readers in unforgettable adventures where love and fantasy collide, we’d love to read your story. Read on for more tips on the specific titles… Of Love & Dragons Dragons may be fierce but they are symbols of great power, and the bond between human and dragon, once forged can never be broken. Or can it? Can romance deal a deathly trail of vows abandoned, or forgotten, can realms beyond our time conjure tales of Dragon Lords and warrior princesses, of great rivalries and oceans yearning with desire and determination, can you tempt the ancient ways into new meanings, and new stories....

Submission Window: July 7th-21st, 2025 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element, even horror). Submissions will be open from July 7-21, 2025! Please do not query about when our next submission window will be. When we know when our next submission window will be, the first place we mark it is here. So if it is not noted here, then we do not know yet. David Steffen is the editor, who you may also know from reading The Long List Anthology series or from the Submission Grinder, which you can use to find markets for your writing and track your submissions.  Diabolical Plots is a SFWA-qualifying market, so if you have a personal goal to join SFWA, making a sale here would help you toward that goal. If you have already read our guidelines and are ready to submit, you can SUBMIT HERE. FICTION Accessibility Note:  We recognize our submission form may not be accessible to all users. Please send us a message at our contact form or email editordiabolicalplotscom and we will make sure you can submit your story. Genres:  science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element, even horror). Word count:  3500 words or less.  This is a firm limit.  If you submit a longer story, it will be rejected unread and that will count as a submission.  Do not query to ask permission to submit something longer–the answer will be no. Pay rate: 10 cents per word.  Paying by PayPal is preferred by us, but we can mail a US bank check if you live in the US, and if you live somewhere where neither of these things are options, we are exploring other options.  We don’t want unavailability of payment apps for you to be a deterrent to you submitting! Multiple submissions:  No.  In the past, Diabolical Plots accepted...

Deadline: July 21st, 2025 Payment: $1,000 Theme: Speculative Fiction, Soilpunk YOUR FICTION, OUR FUTURE. We are looking for original written and graphic works that have actionable soil-based technologies as their premise. For our upcoming issues, we’re specifically seeking stories celebrating decay and rot, ice and snow (the frozen earth), the ocean and soil under water, fashion and style, soil as tech, soil as the origin of life and anti-apocalyptic futures. Literal or abstract, near term or on distant horizons: worlds can take inspiration from innovations or alternative practices in earth and material science, regenerative agriculture, food, microbiology, and more. A perfect Tractor Beam story gets readers thinking: “What if this really could happen?” “What’s the soil science behind it?” “What do I need to learn to be a part of a thriving planet?” Think optimism! Think cross-genre submissions. A soilpunk romance, spy thriller, coming of age story. Interrogate what it would actually mean for us to successfully take on the climate crisis. What would that world look like? What technology would have to exist? We’d love to see people look at the latest soil science and dream. Deadline to submit for Issue 3 is July 21st. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: We prefer submissions under 6,000 words for writing or 16 panels for graphic novellas. Times New Roman, 12pt, double-spaced Word format only Include your full name, email, and story title at the top of the document Submission file name should follow the following format: "AUTHOR FULL NAME_STORY TITLE" Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but please notify us immediately if your piece was accepted elsewhere so we can withdraw it and congratulate you! To submit, click the Via link below: Via: Tractor Beam's Submission Form.

Deadline: July 25th, 2025 Prize: A publishing contract with Penguin Michael Joseph, with a £10,000 advance, and representation by Bell Lomax Moreton Agency. Theme: Horror novels by under-represented UK horror authors Penguin Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Books, is a leading publisher of commercial fiction and non-fiction. We are proud to be entering our third year of The Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers' Prize to find new authors from underrepresented backgrounds who we can bring to the widest possible readership. Last year, we asked for submissions in the romance genre and were thrilled to announce Brandon Purves, whose debut novel Do Not Kiss Nicholas Prince publishes Summer 2026, as our second Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers Prize winner. This year we want something scary! If you’re an aspiring horror author, we want to hear from you. We’re looking for the best horror novels that have a strong hook and even stronger atmosphere. What's the prize? The winner of the Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers' Prize will receive a publishing contract with Penguin Michael Joseph, with a £10,000 advance, and representation by Bell Lomax Moreton Agency. Two runner-up writers will also receive one-to-one editorial feedback and guidance from an editor or agent. Who are the judges? Jorgie Bain Jorgie Bain has worked in the industry for nearly 4 years but has had a lifelong passion for storytelling in all its forms, birthed from an overactive imagination and a tendency to watch horror films while eating breakfast. Jorgie has worked on some incredible authors such as Raven Kennedy, Frances White, Stacia Stark, Danielle L. Jenson, Kate Dramis, Josh Winning and Simone St. James, to name a few, and is a champion for conversation-starting books C.J. Tudor C. J. Tudor’s love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young. When her...

Submission Window: July 1st - July 25th, 2025 Payment: $5 Theme: Dark fiction, Serialized dark fiction, Creative non-fiction At the Stygian Lepus Magazine, we are passionate about sharing the unique voices and stories of our contributors. As a boutique publisher, we are a small team working hard to bring these projects to life. We are proud to provide a complimentary digital copy of the published magazine to all our contributors. Additionally, we now offer a small token payment of $5 USD for each accepted submission. As a growing press, we rely heavily on sales to fund our operations and improve what we can offer contributors in the future. While we are unable to provide discounted print copies at this time due to the additional manual workload, we deeply value every story we publish and the trust our authors place in us to bring their work to readers. Thank you for being part of our journey. Your creativity and collaboration mean everything to us, and we look forward to building something meaningful together. We are looking for:  **note: our bunny leans to the dark side, so please remember this when submitting. Stories: Any wordcount and genre Dark fiction Serialized dark fiction Creative non-fiction Poems: Any wordcount and genre Articles: Any wordcount. Must be writing related. Share your experiences: advice for new authors, what worked for you in marketing, book reviews. Art: Any genre, must be high resolution, 300 dpi, in order to be considered Please email before submitting anything over 4,000 words. We only have capacity to read 2 each month. If accepted, your submission will be published online, and also in the digital/print magazine. If your story is chosen for a serialization, it will also have its own supplemental publication – you’ll received a free print copy. Send submissions to [email protected] Submission window...