Events

Deadline: September 30th, 2016 Payment: $15 USD Due to a lack of interest in maps (who would have thought!), we’ve extended the deadline for submissions to our annual anthology AND we are opening up submissions to everyone. Please forward wide and far. If you have a story featuring a map or maps, please consider submitting it to our anthology. Reprints welcomed! You Are Here Tales of Cartographic Wonders Maps, or graphical representations of spatial information, have shaped our world ever since people have put pen to paper, or stylus to a clay tablet, or chisel to stone. The focus of pirates searching for lost treasure or someone following a trail among the stars, maps in many guises have served humanity’s heroes and villains for a long time. What does the concept of maps inspire in you? GUIDELINES Authors are invited to submit a story with a map, or maps, playing a central or pivotal role. You are open to interpret ‘map’ however you see fit, but you can use the following definitions to rein in your imagination. A diagrammatic representation of an area of land or sea showing physical features, cities, roads, etc., a picture or chart that shows the different parts of something, something that represents with a clarity suggestive of a map (i.e. map of the mind), the arrangement of genes on a chromosome (i.e. genetic map), star charts, or the correspondence of elements in one set to elements in the same set or another set (as in mathematics). Stories must include some elements of science fiction or fantasy, but can be of any sub-genre. In addition, if you would like to submit an accompany map with your story, that is fine. But keep in mind that we may not use it. The resulting anthology may include a...

Deadline: September 30, 2016 Payment: Contributor's Copy It seems like 2016 is one of the more gruesome political seasons in recent history. It couldn’t possibly get worse, could it? You’re a horror writer, of course it could! We are looking for politically-themed horror stories revolving around the election season. Blood on the convention floor! Death on the campaign trail! Mindless hordes following a maniacal leader! Give us your take on the creeping horrors that invade our country every two to four years. Fill it with monsters. Make it subtle and existential. Surreal, hyperreal, your choice, just scare us! What we want: Strong characters. Diversity is a plus! Examine the issues facing everyday voters and marginalized communities. Research is your friend. What we’re not looking for: Overt political screeds. You’re not here to campaign on behalf of a candidate. We’d prefer you don’t name any living figures in today’s political scene. Dead ones? Sure, but tread carefully, because we don’t want to get sued! Manuscript format: Follow the standard Shunn guidelines: http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html Also, don’t forget to include your name, byline, and contact info in the manuscript. Editors: Eugene Johnson and Michael Paul Gonzalez Format: Trade Paperback, ebook NOTE: This is a charity anthology. A portion of the proceeds from sales of this book will be donated to the Hardship Fund of the Horror Writers Association. However, this book is not sponsored by or affiliated with the Horror Writers Association. Nothing in this book should be seen as an official view of the HWA, and the HWA had has no part in the selection or approval any of the stories or contributors appearing in this book. Word count: 4,000 words max (firm). We are looking for original stories and will consider reprints on a case-by-case basis. Please indicate in your submission letter if your story has...

Deadline: September 30th 2016 Payment: one penny/word for stories and essays up to five thousand words long, and twenty-five cents a line for poems up to 60 lines long We will be open to submissions from September 15th to September 30th for fiction, poetry, and essays. After September 30th, we will close in order to be able to read and digest whatever comes in during that time. We will reopen for submissions again at a later date. Before you hit ‘Send’ on your email, please read and if necessary, re-read the guidelines below, as they will vastly increase your chances of being read by Mark, Chris, and Jeff, and possibly published in a future issue of Skelos. What We Are Looking For Skelos is interested in original flash fiction, short fiction, poetry, and essays in the following genres: Weird Fiction, particularly any kind of updating on the classic “weird tale.” Dark Fantasy, whether high or low or somewhere in between. Horror, anything that turns convention on its head. Sword and Planet, especially an updating or reworking of the genre. New Weird, in that broad, dark, magical realism sense of the term. Slipstream, preferably flavored with one or more of the above genres. Skelos wants material that exemplifies the above genres, not typifies them. Genre subversion is always a good thing. Anything that surprises us will be welcome as we try to redefine the Weird Tale for the 21st century. Material can be graphic, as needed, but we are not interested in erotica, hardcore sex, or romance writing. Werewolves and vampires are fine, provided you do something new and radically different with those old chestnuts. Please do not send game fiction or fiction based on another intellectual property. If you have doubts, questions, or uncertainties about any of the above, please...

Deadline: October 1st, 2016 Payment: 15 cents a word for the first 2,500 words and 6 cents a word after Bestselling author Hy Bender (BookProposal.net; 16 books including 5 Dummies books, a Complete Idiot's Guide, and The Sandman Companion; The New York Times, Mad Magazine) and book developer Will Paoletto (Enterprise Cometh; My Bad Parent) are putting together a short story fiction anthology titled Ghosts on Drugs. And we're inviting you to send us a story so great that we can't resist saying "yes" to it. The only rule is that a tale include some version of at least one ghost who's on some version of at least one drug. And both key terms are broadly defined—e.g., a ghostwriter hooked on cough syrup could fit, and a dead ancient god with an inhumanly intense craving to be worshipped again could too. Also, a story can run anywhere from 2 pages to 30 pages, so a short-short tale that's a solid fit for the collection will definitely be considered. We expect many of the stories will be a mix of comedy and fantasy. However, the book is also open to horror, SF, adventure, drama, etc., as well as any combination of genres. Whatever the category, we're seeking stories that are extremely entertaining, appeal to a wide-ranging audience (high concepts are especially appreciated), and provide an emotionally satisfying ending (smartly crafted character arcs/transformations are especially appreciated). We're aiming to include some of the world's top comedians, a bunch of superb writers, and one or two celebrities who happen to be drug fans. Some of the advantages of being in this anthology: Getting a credit for a book that's likely to receive substantial attention because of its cool high concept, wildly inventive range of ideas, and exceptionally fine writing. Having your name alongside...

Deadline: October 1st, 2016. Payment: ½¢ per word upon publication and a contributor’s copy FurPlanet Productions is announcing its next original short story anthology: The Dogs of War; an anthology of furry military-themed stories. Deadline:  October 1st, 2016. Wanted:  original short stories (no reprints) featuring furries in military situations, preferably of 4,000 to 20,000 words.  Lesser will be accepted.  Longer … let’s discuss it. These can range from actual warfare to peacetime training-camp scenarios (which may be humorous) to recruiting; from large division operations to small commando actions.  They can range from funny-animal multispecies armies to armies of one species versus another; from fighting in animal civilizations to uplifted animal soldiers fighting in human wars. The emphasis should be on military action, not politics; but as Clausewitz defined war as “the continuation of politics by other means”, a story may be heavily political as long as military action is at least threatened. Despite the title, which is a Shakespeare reference (to Julius Caesar), we want stories with a variety of anthropomorphic animals; not just dogs. Authors who want to contribute are urged to check with me (Fred Patten) first to make sure that story ideas are not too close to others already approved. Payment:  ½¢ per word upon publication and a contributor’s copy of The Dogs of War, a $19.95 anthology.  Contributors may buy additional copies at a 30% discount. Send submissions to [email protected]. Via: Anthro Aquatic.

Deadline: October 1st, 2016 Payment: Contributor's Copy The Women in Horror Annual is an anthology publication that showcases female voices in horror culture and entertainment. The anthology is a collection of fiction and nonfiction works that represent and reflect women’s contributions to and scholarship in the genre. As a literary genre, horror was primarily written for and read by women. As a cinematic genre, horror has always drawn a large female audience. And yet, in popular media and culture, horror is often branded male. The Women in Horror Annual is an anthology of horror fiction and nonfiction authored by female writers. The goal is to showcase female creative writing and scholarship in horror literature, culture, and entertainment. The WHA is a passion project led by two genre fans, Christine Makepeace and Rachel Katz. Christine is a former editor at Paracinema Magazine. Rachel is a former contributor to Paracinema Magazine. We are seeking submissions for fiction and nonfiction writing for the second issue. Submissions should be original works, and not have been previously published. Although we celebrate all veins of horror lit, we do not accept fanfic. Fiction 10,000 words maximum Nonfiction 15,000 words maximum research papers should include citations and a bibliography where necessary, in APA format articles do not have to include references, but sources should be noted in the text Send your submissions to [email protected]. Submission deadline is October 1, 2016. All submissions should be in .doc or .pdf format. Please include a short bio with your submission. Via: Human in Horror Annual.

Deadline: October 1st, 2016 Payment: Contributor's Copy and royalty split Stories about life under Trump Submission period:  August 1st through September 15th Target publication date:  October 1st Darkhouse Books is looking for light-hearted, satirical stories envisioning life under President Trump. Length: 2500 to 5000 (exceptions will be considered) Graphic stories will be considered, as well as paranormal. Please Note: This is a quick turn-around project. We will begin selecting stories before submissions close, best not to wait until the last day. We are not looking for political diatribes, and such will be rejected regardless of the quality or cause. Sorry, but Trump can only appear as an ancillary character, and we’d prefer he not appear at all. UPDATE – Okay, we’ll let in some stories with Trump as a character, darn it! We will accept for consideration stories in most any genre. We like stories told well, with openings that draw the reader in, and endings that make the reader sit back and say, ‘yes, that’s how this story should end’. We will not be accepting erotica, no matter how well written. Nor will we accept ultra violent stories. We are expecting to select between twelve and twenty-four stories, with a total length of around eighty thousand words for the full volume. Authors will share equally in fifty percent of the royalties. Authors will also receive a paperback copy. Distribution of paperbacks will be POD via CreateSpace (Amazon) and Ingram/Spark. Ebook editions will be available for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo. Please follow standard manuscript formatting. Here are some tips. Guidelines are available here. When ready, send your submission to: [email protected]. Via: Dark House Books.

Deadline: October 1st, 2016 Payment: $25 and contributor's copy Note: This just hit my inbox so I apologize about the short notice! Hell is for Children is a horror anthology and it’s all about terrifying stories involving children. Whether they are ghost stories, tales of possession, or simply being about children who are bad seeds, we are looking for stories that will terrify and linger with you long after you've finished reading. We want dark, original stories with strong character development that embraces the theme of the anthology but still manage to push its boundaries as well. Gory, haunting, twisted or dark, if it's fresh and original we want to read it. Here are the guidelines: Short Fiction (3,000 to 6,000 words) for  Hell is for Children We are currently seeking short stories for our first horror themed anthology, Hell is for Children. Submission Deadline 10/1/16 Submission Guidelines: Include an email containing word count, brief bio, and contact information Please confirm that your story has not been published before Attach your complete story in .doc, .docx, .rtf format. We are not accepting reprints Simultaneous submissions for short stories are allowed but we ask that you contact us immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere Send to [email protected], with subject line: Hell is for Children – Title – Author Payment: We pay $25 per accepted submission and a digital and print copy of the anthology Via: Off The Beaten Path Press.

Deadline: October 1st, 2016 Payment: Royalty Split Floppy Shoes Apocalypse III: Cream Pie Facials An Anthology of Erotic Clown Horror from Nocturnicorn Books. Edited by Alex S. Johnson and Chris Thompson. 1. Subs are open now and close October 1st. 2. All submissions must be original and contain erotic, dark, viscous matter involving clowns. You need not include cream pies. You know where I'm going with this. Make it hot! 3. Any length for poetry. 4. Short stories 2-10k. 5. Please send all submissions as an attached word file only to [email protected] with the subject header YOUR NAME/YOUR STORY OR POEM/CREAM PIE FACIALS. 6. Contributors will receive a pdf copy of the print anthology, a straight royalty cut and my publisher's discount. 7. Taboos: absolutely no erotic/sexual material involving minor children. Rape is acceptable if presented in a non-prurient way.

Deadline: October 3rd, 2016. Payment: $4 USD per 1000 words Due to high demand, we are putting together a steampunk-themed anthology. We're looking for more than just the goggles-and-gears accoutrements of what we think of as steampunk. The era of the steam engine affected much more than Victorian England, so let yourself be inspired by everything the new and amazing inventions might have touched, from the stratified class systems to the various places colonized, and then allow your imaginations to soar into worlds beyond our own. Submissions deadline, October 3rd. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Formatting a manuscript for submission is a pain. Every publication has its own rules--headers, spacing, font, file format, required information, and so on and so forth. The truth is, it's just a means of separating those authors who are genuinely serious from those who are just inundating publications with their as-yet unappreciated epic. We want to make it simple. Our submission guidelines are:   Send a short query describing your work to: [email protected]   If we like what we read, we'll ask for more info. If we don't, we won't.   Just keep the following in mind: Make it clear. You're a writer, so that's the easy part, right? :) Include your name. (You'd be surprised how many forget.) A "short query" is probably fewer than 500 words, but use your best judgment. A full plot summary (including the ending) is helpful. Please don't send marketing copy. Word count is also helpful. We won't/can't read anything in a format we can't open or a language we can't read.   Microsoft Word doc files are always a safe bet, and Apple's Pages is also good. If you're an Open Office user, please save as a Rich Text File or similar. We reserve the right to reject a manuscript or...