Taking Submissions: Contrary Spring 2019 Issue
Deadline: March 1st, 2018 Payment: $20 “Turning words into art is unnatural. It begins with a contrary attitude. It says, I am unhappy with the way things are and desire to make things different. Rather than represent the world, I will make something wildly and savagely new. I will defy logic. I will invest in new perceptions. I will combine and recombine and fabricate and juggle until something that I have never experienced is experienced. The process is alchemical. The process is violent. It goes to the heart of creativity. It disrupts and shatters. It is splendid with provocation. It is an aggression against banality. It is sharp and loud like a janitor scraping frost from a window. The hectic bounce of steam on a street after a truck roars by. The anarchy of waters, the comedy of the face, dangerous feelings vented from a cage of skin.” ~ John Olson Poetry — We believe poetry is contrary by nature, always defying, always tonguing the tang of novelty. We look especially for plurality of meaning, for dual reverberation of beauty and concern. Contrary’s poetry in particular often mimics the effects of fiction or commentary. We find ourselves enamored of prose poems because they are naturally contrary toward form – they tug on the forces of exposition or narrative – but prose poems remain the minority of all the poetic forms we publish. Please consider that Contrary receives vast amounts of poetry and that we can publish only a small percentage of that work. Please submit no more than three poems per issue. Our poetry editor is Shaindel Beers. Fiction — We ask our fiction writers to imagine their readers navigating a story with one finger poised over a mouse button. Can your story stay that finger to the end? We have published long stories on the belief...
Taking Submissions: ”Family” Fantasy Anthology
Deadline: March 1st, 2019 Payment: $25+ though payment structure is TBD. Attention Authors! We are soliciting short stories by new and established authors in the fantasy genre, between 3,500 and 7,000 words in length. (Shorter or longer works will be considered in cases of exceptional merit.) The goal is to select at least ten entries for publication* in a short-story anthology. Payment structure for the authors has not yet been determined, but will be no less than $25 all things considered. We are still awaiting publication on a previous anthology, which will help us decide whether it is fairer to authors to be given a flat fee or a percentage of revenues. That decision will be made by January 2019 at the latest; sign up here if you want to be kept up to date. (Our first Call for Submissions, in the military-fiction genre, can be viewed here. The associated Kickstarter met its goal, resulting in the authors being paid $100 each; ultimately, the anthology was placed under contract by an independent publisher. Our second, fantasy anthology is being self-published, and we are eager to see which anthology does better.) Submission Rules How to submit: Email your manuscript (acceptable document formats: Word, PDF, Pages, TXT, RTF) to the following address: submissions at orenlitwin dot com. Begin the subject line with “”, and make sure to list your contact information in the email itself. (Also, please mention how you heard of this anthology!) Submission deadline: March 1, 2019. Genre: Fantasy, broadly defined. This includes traditional high fantasy, urban fantasy, or any other flavor that includes a magical or fantastical element. (If you are interested in other genres, please suggest them for our next project!) Theme: “Family.” Your story must include as a significant plot element a family tie between a character...
Taking Submissions: “Asteroids” Science-Fiction Anthology
Deadline: March 1st, 2019 Payment: $25+ though payment structure is TBD. Attention Authors! We are soliciting short stories by new and established authors in the science-fiction genre, between 3,500 and 7,000 words in length. (Shorter or longer works will be considered in cases of exceptional merit.) The goal is to select at least ten entries for publication* in a short-story anthology. Payment structure for the authors has not yet been determined, but will be no less than $25 all things considered. We are still awaiting publication on a previous anthology, which will help us decide whether it is fairer to authors to be given a flat fee or a percentage of revenues. That decision will be made by January 2019 at the latest; sign up here if you want to be kept up to date. (Our first Call for Submissions, in the military-fiction genre, can be viewed here. The associated Kickstarter met its goal, resulting in the authors being paid $100 each; ultimately, the anthology was placed under contract by an independent publisher. Our second, fantasy anthology is being self-published, and we are eager to see which anthology does better.) Submission Rules How to submit: Email your manuscript (acceptable document formats: Word, PDF, Pages, TXT, RTF) to the following address: submissions at orenlitwin dot com. Begin the subject line with “”, and make sure to list your contact information in the email itself. (Also, please mention how you heard of this anthology!) Submission deadline: March 1, 2019. Genre: Science fiction, broadly defined. This includes “hard” sci-fi, “twenty minutes in the future,” “space opera,” or any other flavor that includes an advanced technological element. (If you are interested in other genres, please suggest them for our next project!) Theme: “Asteroids.” Your story must include as a significant plot element an asteroid....
Taking Submissions: Reimagining Classics
Deadline: March 1st, 2019 Payment: $25 Left Hand Publishers is announcing their call for submissions for their next anthology. The working title is “Reimagining Classics.” It’s going to be a collection of short stories based on classics. Take a classic story, character, or theme of your choice (of any type) and reimagine it. The writer must make it easy for the reader to identify the character or storyline from the classic, but then take the reader in a different direction by reimagining the story – perhaps with humor where there wasn’t before, or maybe tragedy, or even mystery. Word count will be 4,000 to 10,000 words. Do not submit before the submission date stated in the call. Submissions begin: Friday, January 4th, 2019, 12:00 a.m. EST Submissions close: Friday, March 1st, 2019, 5:00 p.m. EST. Notice of acceptance or declination will be emailed approximately: Friday, March 29th, 2019 Submission URL: https://lefthandpublishers.com/reimagining-classics/ (available Jan. 4th) COPYRIGHTS The trick is to make the story or characters recognizable WITHOUT violating copyright law. For example, if you were reimagining the story of Superman, you need to find a creative way to do that without using any proper names such as “Clark,” or “Lois,” or “Superman.” HINT: Stories over 75 years old are rarely active in copyrights. If you submit a really good story but it dances all over copyright issues, we may send it back with a note regarding same. Left Hand Publishers reserves the right to decline any short story that could infringe on copyright law and have legal ramifications. TWIST OR MORAL All short stories submitted MUST have a twist or a moral somewhere in the story, preferably at the end. Good twists (and morals) will catch the reader off guard and surprise them with more than a touch of irony or shock. NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS No simultaneous submissions, please. We...
Taking Submissions: Glass & Gardens: Solarpunk Winters
Deadline: March 1st, 2019 Payment: $0.01 per word + contributor copy GLASS & GARDENS: SOLARPUNK WINTERS Anthologist: Sarena Ulibarri Open for Submissions: January 1 - March 1, 2019 Expected Publication: January 2020 Story Length: up to 8,000 words Payment: $0.01 per word + contributor copy Solarpunk is a type of eco-conscious science fiction that imagines an optimistic future founded on renewable energies. Often aiming for a balance of nature and technology, and always inclusive and diverse, solarpunk stories show the ways we have adapted to climate change, or the ways we overcome it. For this anthology, I want to see solarpunk stories that take place in winter. That might mean working together to survive extreme blizzards, or feeling the heat in places that no longer see snow. Which renewable tech works best during long winter nights? How do solarpunk societies celebrate the winter holidays? Keep it planet-based (Earth or other), and optimistic. Solarpunk worlds aren’t necessarily utopias, but they definitely aren’t dystopias. We're a northern hemisphere publisher, but southern hemisphere winters are also welcome! Need inspiration? Read New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson, the Ecopunk! anthology, or Glass & Gardens: Solarpunk Summers. For more on what the anthologist is looking for, as well as some writing prompts, see Sarena's blog, "Solarpunk Winters Writing Prompts." Submission Method: *After January 1, 2019,* Send your story as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf attachment to solarpunkworldweaverpresscom with Submission: in the subject line. Please include a brief cover letter, but DO NOT summarize your story in the cover letter. Submissions received before January 1st will be discarded. Simultaneous submissions: Yes, you may submit your story to other markets before you hear back from us. Please let us know ASAP if someone else accepts it. Multiple submissions: No, please only send us one story for...
Taking Submissions: Switchblade Magazine Issues 9, 10, 11
Deadline: March 1st, 2019 Payment: $15 Switchblade is an outlaw fiction print anthology featuring authors writing in the hardboiled/noir genre, and nothing else. So think Richard Stark, Ross MacDonald, Jim Thompson, Don Winslow, Ken Bruen, James Ellroy, Lawrence Block, Iceberg Slim, Max Allan Collins, Christa Faust. (just to name a few) We don’t do cozies. We don’t do procedurals. We’re not a literary magazine, and we don’t do other genres. That said, we will consider noir/crime fiction ranging from the early twentieth century up to present day. Aside from that, we are a no limit hardboiled fiction journal—we publish the kind of stories no one else will consider. Back in the day there was a Nynex yellow pages ad campaign that went like this: if it’s out there, it’s in here—that’s how we feel. The world is filled with deviance, and good hardboiled fiction reflects that. We like strong characters, and good story telling, and we will not reject anyone based on mainstream morality. Amoral protagonists are encouraged. We will not however, publish masturbation fodder for masochistic pedophiles. We’re not interested in torture erotica. But if you’ve got a deplorable protagonist, and there’s a good story—we’ll print it. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES **Submissions for 2019** Our next reading period will be FEBRUARY 1ST to MARCH 1ST for all 2019 regular issues(9, 10, 11) Content. Rural noir is fine (very popular right now) but we love urban noir too. Urban being the setting.(not a reference to the racial demographic--any racial demographic is fine) We do mob stories. And not just Russian mob stories. Got a tight piece of fiction about the Sicilian mob in Jersey—we’ll look at it. Anyone who thinks the Italian Mafia (LCN) in America evaporated into thin air after the John Gotti trial, hasn’t spent any time in Philadelphia. That...
Taking Submissions: The Blue Route #22
Deadline: March 1st, 2019 Payment: $25 The deadline for submissions for Issue #22 is March 1, 2019. Prose – Submit 1-3 pieces of fiction or creative nonfiction totaling no more than 3000 words. Poetry – Submit up to 3 poems. We want good, highly imaginative writing about contemporary life as you see it. We’re not interested in genre writing (romance, detective, horror, sci-fi) unless it somehow rises above the conventions associated with those types of writing. If your writing is clichéd, inspired by TV, emphasizes end rhyme above all else, has flat characters, exhibits a general insensitivity to the beauties and subtleties of language, it will not find a place in this journal. No adult content. No racism. No sexism. If you’ve got to use profanity, remember a little goes a long, long way. We do not accept previously published work. However, we do accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere. Our response time is about three months. IMPORTANT: Undergraduate Students: Only previously unpublished work of current undergraduate writers will be considered. In order to verify your status as an undergraduate, we ask that with your submission you send along the email of a faculty member from your department. Until we gain confirmation of undergraduate status from this reference, we will not be able to publish your work. Note to Widener Students: At this time, work from Widener students will not be accepted. Widener students are invited to submit their work to Widener Ink, the university’s print journal. Frequency of Submission: If your work has been published in The Blue Route, we ask that you please wait at least one issue before submitting again. Terms: We pay twenty-five dollars upon publication. We acquire First North American Serial Rights, a one time, non-exclusive use...
Taking Submissions: Deranged
Deadline: March 1st, 2019 Payment: $25 Got some sick, twisted suppressed sexual desire you’ve been dying to write about? Well, that crazy Welsh writer David Owain Hughes and I might be able to help you release your pent-up tension. Check out our new open call for Deranged, an anthology celebrating taboos. Horror, splatterpunk, horrotica, bizarro, and black comedy are the chosen genres, so get your gimp masks on, you deranged people, and jump on board! Deranged Anthology Open Call Facebook Group Page Most of us have sexual fantasies. For those of us who do, these fantasies are harmless enough, and we have no problem sharing them with our partners in the hope they’ll indulge us. Maybe your fantasy is seeing a female in a good pair of black stockings, a nice pair of high-heels and a short skirt? Or possibly a muscleman dressed as a fireman? Perhaps the fantasy involves being tied up, or having your bits locked away in a chastity device? Whipped? Beaten? Ridiculed? Maybe you border more on the extreme edge: adult toys or sticking a dick in a Hoover until it bleeds, cannibalism, torture? Or maybe your carnal desires are deemed illegal in your neck of the woods? Whatever it is, we need it. Repressing it would be futile—unless it’s a killer kink or perversion that’s going to land you in hot water up to you neck if left unchecked . . . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GENRES: Horror, Horrotica, Splatterpunk, Bizarro, Black Comedy We are looking for original, well-layered stories with strong character development. Your tale should feature a woman as the key protagonist/antagonist and should...
Taking Submissions: Movie Monsters
Deadline: March 1st, 2019 Payment: Contributor's Copy Note: Reprints Welcome Thurston Howl Publications is now accepting submissions for its second volume of its HOWLERS series, Movie Monsters. Deadline: March 1, 2019 Word count: 2,500-8,000; a little above and a little below will be acceptable Wolfman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Blob...All of these are examples of the classic movie monster. They are big, they are bad, and they are often mindless in their pursuits of the terrified protagonists. We want to see a collection of monster horror at its finest. For this editor, movie monster horror is best defined as literature that centers its conflict around a monster that is supernatural in origin. This genre typically does not have the suspenseful finesse of the slasher but instead focuses on sensory details and grotesque description to make readers terrified through the specificity of your creation. You are free to make a parody or spin-off of famous movie monsters, or you can create your own! We will NOT accept: Racism, sexism, or discrimination presented in a positive light. Pedophilia or sex with characters under the age of 18 presented in a positive light. Rape, torture, dubious consent, forced seduction presented in a positive light. Snuff or Necrophilia presented in a positive light If you are in doubt, ASK. Better to ask then to get a straight up rejection! If you are unsure, just shoot me an email at [email protected]. (restrictions borrowed from Voice: https://t.co/MWykJ6RY36) You can submit up to three stories, but we will only accept one per author (if any). Reprints are fine, but you have to own full permission of the work in order for us to consider it. We will not accept simultaneous submissions. Payment: Authors will receive a free copy of the print book. Send submissions...
Taking Submissions: Creatures
March 4th, 2019 Payment: 500 to 1000 words (flash fiction): $5, 1000 to 3000 words (microfiction or short stories): $10, 3000 to 5000 words (short stories): $25, 7000 to 10,000 words (novelettes): $50 We are looking for short stories about any kind of creatures you want: animals, insects, arachnids (all giant or otherwise), dinosaurs, aliens, monsters, cryptids, legends, mythical, mythological, whatever strikes your fancy. We really want you to go outside of the usual box that we see in fiction. Sure, you can have classic vampires or aliens, werewolves or unicorns, but the story needs to be new and fresh, something that hasn't been thought of before or hasn't been worked with a lot. The story should fit in any of the the genres of fantasy, horror, mystery, and science-fiction. The submission period is January 4 through March 4, 2019. Short stories should be 500 to 5000 words, no more. PLEASE DON'T ASK ABOUT MORE WORDS. This is due to bandwidth and limits on our website. (If you have a story you think will fit that is over the word limit, see if you can edit your story down to fit the word count.) All stories will be published electronically only both on our website and as Kindle anthologies on May 23, 2019. We are also looking for novelettes. We will be picking ONE novelette as the final story for each genre anthology. Novelettes should be between 7000 and 10,000 words. Your novelette should be something that really catches us, perhaps that touches our hearts, horrifies us in a new way, has a profound vision of technology or the future, or baffles us with a twist or shocking revelation. PAYMENT: 500 to 1000 words (flash fiction): $5 1000 to 3000 words (microfiction or short stories): $10 3000 to 5000 words...