Events

Deadline: December 31, 2014 Payment: 3 cents per word and one digital copy World-altering events. It should be the kind of thing everyone has a memory of. A time travel story or two may be okay under this theme. "I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times." Reading Period: November 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014   (Submissions are open now) Writer Deadline: December 31, 2014 Publication Date: March 1, 2015 Third Flatiron Publishing is an e-publishing venture based in Boulder, Colorado. We are looking for submissions to our quarterly themed online anthologies. Our focus is on science fiction and fantasy and anthropological fiction. We want tightly plotted tales in out-of-the-ordinary scenarios. Please send us short stories that revolve around age-old questions and have something illuminating to tell us as human beings. Fantastical situations and creatures, exciting dialog, irony, mild horror, and wry humor are all welcome. Stories should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Inquire if longer. Role models for the type of fiction we want include Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke, Dan Simmons, Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, and Ken Kesey. We want to showcase some of the best new shorts available today. See the "Submissions" tab for preferred formats, etc. For each anthology, we will also accept  a few very short humor pieces on the order of the "Shouts and Murmurs" feature in The New Yorker Magazine (600 words or so). These can be written from a first-person perspective or can be mini-essays that tell people what they ought to do, how to do something better, or explain why something is like it is, humorously. An SF/Fantasy bent is preferred.

Deadline: December 31st, 2014 Payment: 6 cents per word Diabolical Plots has been a publisher of non-fiction on the subject of speculative fiction since 2008. In 2013, Diabolical Plots launched the writer’s tool The Submission Grinder. In 2015, Diabolical Plots will begin publishing fiction. We will be open for fictions for the first time for the month of December 2014. We’ll only take one submission per author. Make it count. We plan to buy enough stories in the December submission window to publish one story per month for a year.   FICTION Overview Genres: science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have speculative element, even horror) Word count: 2000 words or less Pay rate: 6 cents per word (the professional rate as deemed by SFWA) Multiple submissions: No. And only one story per author in the submission window. Simultaneous submissions: No. Reprint submissions: No. Estimated Response Time: 30 days after end of submission window. IMPORTANT NOTE: We read submissions blind, with no author name. Be sure to remove all mentions of your name from the manuscript before submitting. What are we looking for? Speculative fiction. Everything should have a speculative element–that includes horror. Feel free to mix in other genres at will–a fantasy mystery or a science fiction romance. Things that we tend to really like: Weird ideas or combinations of ideas we haven’t seen before Sense of wonder Strong character and plot arcs Relatable protagonists (not necessarily likeable, not necessarily reliable) Strong worldbuilding, hinting at more to see around the edges of the story Philosophical food-for-thought Straightforward, easily readable style We want to see stories from any and all demographics of people and about any and all demographics of people. Women or men or transgender or genderqueer, people of color or Caucasian, straight or gay or bisexual or asexual, disabled...

Deadline: December 31, 2014 Payment: $5/story plus a share of royalties. Here are the guidelines for a Diverse Weird Western anthology (title to be announced), to be published by WolfSinger Publications (http://wolfsingerpubs.com/) and edited by Cynthia Ward (http://www.cynthiaward.com). Ah, the "Western frontier"!  I learned all about it as a child.  I learned it was full of brave white American pioneer men killing the native inhabitants, who didn't realize the land they'd occupied for millennia belonged to the newcomers.  I learned it was full of heroic white American gunmen shooting each other in high noon standoffs or over cattle.  Those few characters who didn't fit the above templates were generally helpless Mexican peasants; treacherous Mexican bandits; or the occasional rancher's wife, school marm, or  prostitute. Omitted from the history lessons and the movies and TV shows were--the whole wide world. For this anthology, we’re looking for stories about everyone else. We're looking for stories which reflect the complex historical realities and diversities of the North American "Western frontier." We're looking for stories about marginalized and under-represented groups. The Nitty Gritty: Payment Payment is $5/story plus a share of royalties. Submissions Reading Period We are opening for submissions on December 1, 2014, with a deadline of December 31, 2014.  Submissions sent outside this window will be returned unread.  DO NOT SUBMIT AT THIS TIME. Publication Date To Be Determined How to Format Your Submission Double spaced manuscript in Courier or Courier New. Use italics, not underlines. For other questions, follow the Standard Manuscript Format per William Shunn (I really mean it, too):  http://www.shunn. net/format/story.html. Have your contact information on the first page of the manuscript, including your e-mail address. Please be sure to send us a manuscript free from spelling/grammar errors, because we are unlikely to finish reading a story with much...

Deadline: December 31st, 2014 Payment: $20 per story regardless of length plus a print and ebook copy of the final product. "BLACK BEACON'S LIGHTHOUSES" GUIDELINES Open from October 3 to December 31, 2014 Genre: We want your tales about or strongly featuring lighthouses and beacons. Any genre is acceptable. Original and unpublished tales preferred, but previously published also considered. No simultaneous submissions. Length: 3,000 to 25,000 words Payment: $20 per story regardless of length plus a print and ebook copy of the final product. Inclusion in the anthology means that you give BBB Exclusive Worldwide English Language rights (this covers both electronic and print) and that you assure that your work has not been previously published and that you will not publish it elsewhere until 12 months after the official release of the anthology. Beyond that, BBB will no longer retain any rights to your work and will not publish it in any other publication without your permission. Deadline: 31st of December, 2014 Expected release date: TBA - probably late 2015 GENERAL GUIDELINES AND DETAILS How we sell: Each title is released, distributed, and sold differently. Most are released as both print and ebooks but some may be released as one or the other. Here at Black Beacon Books, we are particularly interested in promoting the traditional print format. Our print titles are often sold at independent bookshops and markets stall holders around Australia as well as online for a global readership. Our ebooks our generally sold via Smashwords. Editor contributions: Our editors and artists reserve the right to have their work included in the anthologies we publish. Some people do not like this practice, and we respect that point of view, however, we do not consider it a problem. There are very few Australian publishers releasing mystery and suspense...

Deadline: January 1st, 2015 Payment: Royalty Split and contributor copy As part of the State of Horror Anthologies, Charon Coin Press, with editor Jerry E. Benns, will begin accepting stories based in the state of California on October 1st.  State of Horror: California was previously released under Rymfire Books as a creation of Dying Days author, Armand Rosamilia. This re-release will be revised and expanded to include a total of thirteen stories. State of Horror: Californiawill also be released with new cover art. Submitted stories meeting the guidelines below will have an opportunity to be included into the upcoming release of this popular anthology series. Before we get to the guidelines, let’s take a look at the featured state for this release. The Beach Boys and Katy Perry tout the appeal of California Girls, which is true, unless they are attempting to kill you. California has everything anyone could ever want for a really good horrifying story.  With its mesh of people and cultures, California is like a unique world unto itself, vastly different depending on the region you happen to be in at the time. In the northern, rugged region of California, you find a wilderness which can be daunting to even the most skilled survivalist.  Mountains, animals with fangs and claws, wildfires and unpredictable weather can all contribute to the backdrop of a terrifying story.  Or if an urban area is more to your liking, consider using San Francisco. San Francisco with its fog and chill, street cars, bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz Island has so much to draw from for a horror story.  Even the people of San Francisco share a culture unique onto themselves as they survive their daily lives—all rich material to pull from for a good story. Other regions like Napa Valley...

Deadline: January 12th 2015 Payment: pro rata share of royalties and subsidiary rights revenue paid quarterly. Note: Reprints allowed APOCALYPSE TODAY: Love Among the Ruins (Deadline 1/12/15). It's the End of the World and you're looking for Love, simple as that. The world could have ended in nuclear disaster, environmental chaos, vampire/zombie apocalypse, Mayan prophecy predictions, Ebola outbreak, it’s your call. You can give us those old science fiction sex troupes - everyone has to have sex to re-populate the world (A Girl and Her Pussy, so to speak). This should be a lot of fun, and a wild ride. Be bold and go where NO MAN has ever gone before (because these stories are mainly for women readers). And please give me at least one all M/M future and one F/F world view. Stories should run between 2000 and 5000 words. Payment will be a pro rata share of royalties and subsidiary rights revenue paid quarterly. First time world rights, reprints OK. To be published by RAB as both ebook and trade paperback in 2015. Send submissions as a word doc attachment to [email protected], titles Apocalypse Today. Submissions should have your real name, pen name (if any), email address, and phone number, as well as a brief author bio. All submissions should be Times Roman 12 point, double spaced. Via: Riverdale Ave Books.

Deadline: January 15th, 2015 Payment: 1 paperback copy of the anthology, and be paid at the rate of 1/2 a cent per word, which equates to a maximum of US$40 This anthology is open to fiction (any genre), non-fiction, and poetry. If you submit a memoir piece, and choose to use real names, please make sure you have permission from those mentioned before submitting. In the context of this anthology, non-traditional relationships means any romantic/sexual in nature relationship that deviates from society’s stereotype of “normal.” Interracial couples, LGBT+, polyamorous and other open relationship styles, asexual, and so on. Relationships that have in the past and/or are presently deemed “unacceptable” to the majority of society, though that does not need to be the subject of the piece(s) you submit. We want all kinds of submissions about these relationships, both depressing and uplifting and anything in between, but will not publish submissions that clearly discriminate thematically against them. As with the editor’s previous publication, diversity is important. The final submissions selected for publication will reflect that, and so it will hopefully include as many types of non-traditional relationships as possible. It would also be excellent to see submissions set all over the world. If possible, we would particularly like to include submissions written by people from/living in, or submissions set in locations within the continents of Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, but will not be limited to these regions. Submissions should not include a lot of gratuitous sex (this is not an erotica anthology), but some sex is acceptable if it is relevant to the story. A special note form the editor on submissions with interracial couples: whilst I am not against publishing stories where one half of the couple is a white man, I find it very hard to...

Deadline: January 15th, 2015 Payment: $0.02 a word to a maximum payment of $130.00 Science Fiction is our conversation with the future. But what if we're talking with alien voices? Bundoran Press Publishing House will open for submissions from September 15th, 2014 to January 15th, 2015 for a new anthology of science fiction stories to be edited by Mike Rimar and Hayden Trenholm. Second Contacts seeks stories which explore what happens fifty years after first contact, for us, for them, for our shared future. The possibilities are endless — conquest, collaboration, assimilation, or, even abandonment. On Earth, in space, or on alien planets, what will happen to individuals and societies after two generations or more of staring into alien eyes? Payment for first world English rights (print and digital) will be $0.02 a word to a maximum payment of $130.00 (all figures Canadian dollars). Our preferred length is 3500 to 6500 words. We will accept stories of any length to 10,000 words but the maximum payment will remain $130.00. A limited number of reprints (please query before submitting) may be purchased at a flat rate of $50. Payment on publication. Please submit in .rtf, .doc or .docx format. Email your attached rtf document to [email protected] Via: Bundoran Press.

Deadline: January 15, 2015 Payment: $20 for each story we publish A note on our editorial policy: before publication we may edit the story for length or readability. However, we always remain true to the spirit of the story. Issues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. We have reading periods for each issue, though we never close to submissions. February closes January 15 May closes April 15 August closes July 15 November closes October 15 Please do not submit the same story more than once, and please submit only one story at a time. We consider any story between 250 and 7000 words with speculative fiction elements. We prefer science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. We do not consider poetry, stories with over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction, or non-fiction. We don't accept multiple submissions; in other words, only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before submitting another. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know up front and tell us as soon as it's accepted elsewhere. We do not publish reprints, including anything that has appeared on a website. We pay $20 for each story we publish. We buy first-printing world exclusive rights for four months. Payment will be made shortly after publication using PayPal. We encourage our authors to establish a PayPal account if they don't already have one. We prefer to read submissions in traditional manuscript format. This means indented paragraphs instead of left justification, and Courier or Times New Roman font in 12 pt, double-spaced. Also, please include the title, your name, address, and word length on the first page of your story. To submit your story to...

Deadline: January 15th, 2015 Payment: 1 cent per word We at Plasma Frequency are diving into new waters: special issues! Each special issue will be devoted to a theme or genre. For our first special issue, our editor-in-chief has handed editorial control over to Alexis A. Hunter and Molly N. Moss. They’ve chosen to go with the theme: ANTI-APOCALYPSE Now, we hear some of you asking “What does that mean?” It’s simple, really. Dark fiction is currently in vogue. With the popularity of The Walking Dead, post-apocalypse storytelling is especially widespread. Being the contrary lot that we are, the editorial staff at PFM are rebelling against the apocalypse. We invite you to join us … and get published and paid to do so. Show us a future that is bright, not bleak. At first blush, this may sound like a theme that excludes fantasy and horror. Not so, we assure you. What would a bright future look like to ancient Rome, or to a tribe of goblins? Can a society’s utopia be a threat to others, or what nightmare might threaten the blessed civilization’s existence? This is what speculative fiction is all about. We know you can do it. Now prove us right! Just remember that conflict is the soul of a thrilling story. Seek out the conflicts that can occur in an anti-apocalypse setting. Trust us, seek and ye shall find. We are prepared to accept one novelette of 7500-10,000 words, in addition to pieces in our usual 1-7500 range. Most of the stories we accept for this issue will be under 5k, per our usual preferences. Guidelines Word Limit: Up to 10k. Pay Rate: 1 cent per word Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror Simultaneous Submissions: No Multiple Submissions: No (You can still submit a separate story to our...