Events

Submission Window: January 1st - 31st, 2025 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...

Submission Window: January 1 - 14 Members of marginalised groups only., January 15 - 31 General submissions. Payment: £0.02 per word for each piece accepted, with a minimum £20 payment. £50 for artwork Theme: Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. Note: Reprints Welcome What to submit Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. We are mainly interested in fiction, but we're open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements. Please see 'What We Like' below for some examples. Stories in English, between 500 and 2,500 words. Please send only one story at a time. Simultaneous submissions (when you send your story to more than one magazine at once) are welcome, please just let us know straight away by emailing us at ourinnerworldsprotonmail.com if your story is accepted elsewhere and you need to withdraw it. Reprints are welcome, as long as they're not already available somewhere free to read online.   When to submit Inner Worlds will publish four times a year, in February, May, August, and November, with four reading periods. The first two weeks of each reading period are reserved for members of marginalised groups, primarily BIPOC, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women and other marginalised genders, neurodivergent authors, Deaf and disabled authors, and authors with lived experience of mental health challenges or who identify as Mad. The second half of each reading period is for general submissions and is open to everyone. January 1 - 14 Members of marginalised groups only. January 15 - 31 General submissions. April 1 - 14 Members of marginalised groups only. April 15 - 30 General submissions. July 1 - 14 Members of marginalised groups only. July 15 - 31 General...

Submission Window: January 1st - 31st, 2025 Payment: $25 Theme: Horror in abandoned amusement parks, traveling carnivals, haunted attractions, chilling circuses and more! Amid the lights, games, and shows, in the shadows the bright lights don’t reach, are horrors of all kinds... We’re looking for stories of abandoned amusement parks, traveling carnivals, haunted attractions, chilling circuses and more! Get ready: the Carnival of Horror is coming to a horror bookshelf near you! Word Count: 750-3,000 Payment: $25 and a digital copy of the anthology. Call Open: January 1-31, 2025 Publication: April 2025 Simultaneous submissions are accepted. One submission per author. No reprints. No translations. Submit to: [email protected]. Please put CARNIVAL - - as the email subject. SUBMISSIONS MUST BE IN MODERN SHUNN FORMAT (info and templates here: https://www.shunn.net/format/story/ For templates, switch the font from Courier to Times New Roman) Please attach your submissions to your email as a .doc or .docx file titled - Call will be posted on: https://undertakerbooks.com/pages/submissions Via:

Deadline: January 31st, 2025 Payment: Contributor's Copy and 1 cent per word Theme: Death-related fiction that was published between January 1st 2024 through December 31st 2024 Afterlives: Year’s Best Death Stories, 2024 We want to read your death-related fiction! Psychopomp will be publishing Afterlives: The Year’s Best Death Stories 2024, curated by Sheree Renée Thomas. Please read the full guidelines before submitting so you can learn about: what we’re looking for how much we’re paying what rights we are buying and how to submit Submission link below the guidelines. What We’re Looking For: We’re looking for stories specifically that have been published on and between January 1st 2024 through December 31st 2024, with a word count between 1,000 words and 19,000 words (so: short stories and novelettes) that are about death. This could mean exploring what happens to us after we die, traveling to the Underworld, Death gods, Death personified, metaphors for death, grieving, funerals, graves, stories based on death myths from cultures across the world, death magic, ghosts, resurrection, and so on. We specifically are not interested in stories that are centered around:   the traditional Christian afterlife/pearly gates zombies Note: in our experience publishing The Deadlands, we know that a lot of people interpret “stories about death” to mean slasher/true crime/gore-y horror. We are not opposed to horror as a genre, but it should be ABOUT death, not just MURDERING PEOPLE. Stories should be previously published online, in print, in audio, or via email subscriber list, by a magazine or press (that you don’t own). Stories published via your own Patreon, blog, or tumblr are not eligible. If the story will be printed before 12/31/24, but has not yet appeared, you may submit the work as soon as you have the final edited version. We will be accepting submissions through January 31, 2025. We DO...

Submission Window: January 1st - 31st, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Unpublished speculative Fiction novels, ideally with series potential. We are currently closed for submissions. However, we will open for one month next year to fill in the gaps in our 2026 schedule. So polish your manuscript and follow the directions below. We can’t wait to explore what you create during January of 2025. (If you send in a manuscript before January 1, 2025, it will be automatically rejected.) Manuscript Submission Guidelines – January 1-31, 2025 When we reopen for submissions in January 2025, we’re looking for complete, previously unpublished manuscripts in the speculative fiction genre that have series potential. Speculative fiction encompasses horror, fantasy, and science fiction—and all the niche categories under those large umbrellas. Requirements: Full-length novels between 40K and 100K. If it’s shorter or longer, please don’t send it to us No middle grade No picture books Spice is perfectly acceptable Must be formatted in standard manuscript format https://www.shunn.net/format/story.html Email queries to [email protected] with a subject of “{Specific Genre} – {Author Name}” For instance, “Epic Fantasy – Brandon Sanderson” or “Space Opera – Kevin J. Anderson” query letter in the body of the email first three chapters attached as a .doc or .docx file synopsis attached January will be here quicker than we imagine. So get to those manuscripts. We can’t wait to work with you in the future! Via: Cursed Dragon Ship.

Deadline: January 31st, 2025 Payment: $50 per story and a contributor's copy Theme: Space Opera with one of the following 4 sub-themes: First Contact, Alien Invasion, Generation Ship, Colony World Here's a new project I'll be launching early next year, 2025. And I'd like to invite you to submit a story for consideration! Feel free to share the link to this page with others. New Sci-Fi Anthology Series 24 Space Opera Short Stories Wanted Sub Window Open: January 1-31, 2025 Genre: Space Opera   Four Volumes of Six Stories Each Each Volume Will Feature a Specific Theme:   First Contact Alien Invasion Generation Ship Colony World   Deets: * Send 2 stories maximum (each story with a different theme) * Mainly wanting brand new stories; simultaneous submissions okay * Reprints considered, query first (basically, no longer widely available and older than 2020) * 6,000 to 8,000 words; use standard manuscript format, American quotation marks; American or British spelling okay More Info:  * Launching via Kickstarter, Spring 2025 * Payment is $50 per story (upon successful Kickstarter campaign); additional one-time payment possible; plus contributor paperback and ebook copy * Eventually published on Amazon and beyond; ebook, audio, and paperbacks * Will have non-AI illustrated covers (artists and graphic designers, contact me!) * Author retains copyright - asking for 9 month exclusive use; no royalty share Send submissions to Lyndon Perry at tulefogpress @ gmail . com with last name and volume theme in subject line (e.g., Perry, First Contact) starting Jan 1, 2025. Space Opera Stories Edited by Lyndon Perry Published by Tule Fog Press Via Kickstarter, Spring 2025 Via: Residential Aliens.

Deadline: January 31st, 2025 Payment: $0.01 USD per word and a contributors copy Theme: Eco-horror Note: BIPOC authors only Z. K. Abraham (she/her) is a writer and psychiatrist. She has been published in Clarkesworld, The Rumpus, Fantasy Magazine, FIYAH Magazine, JMWW, and more. She will be a Royal Literary Fund Reading Round lector for 2024-2025. She is represented by Carleen Geisler at ArtHouse Literary Agency. Read Abraham's interview here! Eco-horror explores the idea of nature becoming the source of terror; in an article for MUBI, Danielle Burgos describes eco-horror as “nature becomes uncanny and maliciously turned against man.” In a Teen Vogue article “Ecosexuals are Queering Environmentalism,” musician Peaches describes Mother Earth as a lover. “Sex-ecologist” Annie Sprinkle amusingly reflects on how “all this wood here is very sensual.” Ecosexuality might include, “masturbating with water pressure, using eco-friendly lubricant, or literally having sex with a tree.” Nature as setting or character contains so much possibility for the sensual and horrifying. Nature is inherently physical and erotic; we are stripped down to our most grounded, raw selves in nature. We can experience the tactile and sensual when we touch plants, bark, earth, when we smell flowers, when we feel the shift in temperature or moisture in the air. However, nature contains decay as well as growth. Shadows move between distant trees, while legends and folktales come to life in forests and valleys and deserts. In nature’s beauty, there is a sense of power beyond our grasp, an awe-inspiring terror, as well as a delicate intimacy. With this anthology, we are looking for stories between 1500 to 4000 words (firm) that explore eco-horror with a sexy or erotic spin. Please note that for this call, we will only be considering submissions from BIPOC authors. Additionally, while a portion of the anthology will be from...

Deadline: January 31st, 2025 Payment: $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction (500-3,500 words) and $60 CAD flat per poem Theme: Speculative fiction focused on long-term friendships and relationships. We're looking for short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. We don't want the blaze of new love or the obsession of a new friend. We want pieces that show that comfort that develops when people know each other for years. Give us deep space, dusty frontiers, or dreamy fantasy. We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. While we are primarily looking for stories with happy endings (yeah, yeah), we also want endings that are earned. If things get a little teary or gory, that's ok. We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules. Payment Payment is $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction (500-3,500 words) and $60 CAD flat per poem. We are purchasing first publication rights, to revert back to the author after one year. Canadian Writers Since Heartlines Spec is primarily a Canadian magazine, we're looking to feature writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. This includes expats, refugees and displaced people living in Canada, new immigrants, and people who refuse/resist Canadian Identity. Heartlines welcomes submissions from writers of all identities. If you are comfortable, we encourage writers to indicate their intersections in their cover letter. Disclosure is not a requirement to submit, and we recognize that not all people are safe to disclose their identities. We are committed to addressing barriers and systemic discrimination faced by equity-deserving groups, which includes (but is not limited to): Racialized people People with disabilities LGBTQIA+ people Indigenous people Women Neurodivergent people Our goal for each issue is to publish at least 50% Canadian content. Submission...

Deadline: January 31st, 2025 Payment: $10 for flash, $25 for shorts Theme: Stories that mix horror and humor We will be accepting submissions for Issues 3 and 4 via the submission form (linked at the bottom of the page), from January 15-31. Please don’t email submissions to us, but if you have questions you can email us: [email protected] with “Query” in the subject line. What we want: That sweet spot of horror comedy that is genuinely funny but also genuinely scary. Can be as goofy, gory, or smutty as you like! Work that punches up, not down. (“If the person on the gallows makes a grim joke, that’s gallows humor. If someone in the crowd makes a joke, that’s part of the execution.” – Alexandra Erin, Twitter.) Do not self reject! (Unless your story has one of the below unfunny things, in which case feel free to self reject.) For cover art submissions, see the Cover Submission Guidelines. What isn’t funny? Overall, bigotry (racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, antisemitism, fatphobia, etc, etc) has no place here. (Laughing AT bigots is fine, BEING bigoted is not – as Ria’s mom once said, making fun of fascists is a Mitzvah.) Sexual assault as a punchline or Holocaust jokes will have your story yeeted into the sun faster than you can say “you just don’t understand my comedic genius!” Mel Brooks says comedy is tragedy plus time, but we prefer to avoid specific and true tragedies when it comes to humorous horror. Related, please avoid sending stories that feature real people. When is Die Laughing accepting submissions? We will be accepting submissions for Issues 3 and 4 from January 15-31, 2025. Anticipated date of publication is April 2025 for Issue 3 and July 2025 for Issue 4. When submissions open again, the link will be at the bottom of the...

Deadline: February 1st, 2025 Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $10 per poem, $25 for interior art, $50 for cover art Theme: Mistaken Identity Note: Reprints Welcome NonBinary Review is currently open for submissions on the theme of MISTAKEN IDENTITY. How often have you waved to a friend across a room, only to realize the person you waved to isn't who you thought they were? These benign little episodes of mistaken identity can be laughed off, but there are so many times and so many ways mistaken identity can be humiliating, criminal, traumatic, life-altering, transforming. Whether you are the one who made the mistake or the one who is being mistaken for someone else, there are so many ways it can happen, and so many ways to respond. We want your weird, wonderful, bizarre, impossible stories of mistaken identity. We don't want "I accidentally met the love of my life because I mistook them for my friend" stories. More like "I accidentally stopped the Earth from being blown to bits because I mistook the alien invaders for mosquitos and sprayed them with bug spray." We want to be captivated by the unlikeliness of a story that probably could never really happen. IMPORTANT NOTICE Zoetic Press does not accept AI generated content. If our editors judge that your content is AI-generated, it will be declined. All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme, and be double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman or they will be rejected. NonBinary Review  pays 1¢ per word for prose with a limit of 3000 words. If your work was accepted for Issue #37: False Memories or Issue #38: Rituals, we're sorry, but we cannot accept your work at this time (see our general guidelines.) We have different teams evaluating poetry, prose, and art. If you submit to...