Events

Taking Submissions: Whispers from the Abyss

Deadline: May 30th, 2013 Payment: A penny per word up to 2500 words A HP Lovecraft inspired flash fiction anthology. OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS PAY RATE: A penny per word up to 2500 words. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR: What we are looking for is flash fiction, meaning short stories no more than 2500 words. We want authors hungry to play in the twisted universe envisioned by H.P. Lovecraft, or write tales that are in the spirit of his mythos. Like Lovecraft’s own work, the horror in this anthology aims to be subtle and subjective. The mind and its inner working are a far more terrifying place than the actual corridors of R’lyeh or the Mountains of Madness. Ideally this anthology should hit readers like a really good mix tape (or iMix for those of you too young to remember what a cassette is). We want a variety of styles, themes, and moods that hook the readers fast, creep the hell out of them, and leave them wanting more. Experimentation is highly encouraged –especially unconventional narrative styles, meta-fiction, genre mash-ups, even sick humor. Of course, don’t be afraid to stick with the tried and true “ravings of a madman,” if that’s your jones. Multiple submissions are fine. WHAT WE’RE NOT LOOKING FOR: Consider this anthology to have a hard R rating. That said, please no stories involving graphic rape or child molestation. Excessive gore is fine, but must function to further the story. Here is a list of themes and elements that will get your story instantly rejected: 1. Cthulhu taking center stage. The big cheese can appear in dreams, statues, visions, etc. Characters can even come across the aftermath of someplace Cthulhu has destroyed. Just as long as we never “see” old squid face we’re happy. 2. No story that...

Taking Submissions: Caledonia Dreamin’

Deadline: May 31st 2013 Payment: Fixed-rate token payment, equal shares for each contributor, £15-20 per story. Edited by Chris Kelso and Hal Duncan "Glaikit, mockit, droukit, drouthy, couthy, scunner, thrawn – the Scots language is rich with words too gallus not to glory in, dialect terms that deserve better than to be boxed away as precious oddities. For us, those words aren't quaint parochialisms of a past preserved in amber; they're wild wee beauties, straight razors slashing keen to the quick of meaning. We want stories that wield them as weapons for today, for tomorrow. We want you to pick up one of these words and flick it open to gleam in the light of the 21st century. Play with it, work with it, give us a story that riffs on it with relish – the sound, the sense. Run wild with it, ye ramstouger rannigants, and send us the result." Submission deadline is 31 May 2013. Click here for the full guidelines in RTF or PDF format. note: where to submit is located in the guidelines above

Taking Submissions: Penumbra July 2013: Japanese Mythology

Deadline: May 31st 2013 Payment: 5 cents per word Penumbra is looking for original, unpublished stories of 3500 words or less. We prefer that writers use Standard Manuscript Format for submissions. (You can read this article by Chuck Rothman on the SFWA site on preparing a manuscript for submission if you are unfamiliar with SMF.) Please send your stories as file attachments in .rtf or .doc formats only. Please include a cover letter in the body of your email, with the manuscript title, you pen name if applicable, the exact word count of the story not including title and byline, and a publication history if applicable. Penumbra is a professional rates paying publisher, paying 5 cents per word. We will evaluate poetry submissions for each issue. We will also consider previously published stories with rights reverted to the author. Penumbra has multiple issue calls open at the same time, therefore it is imperative that you include the issue theme in the subject line of your email. Submissions that do not include this information risk getting lost in our queue and not read before the deadline. Penumbra uses Musa Publishing's house style guide, which relies upon the Chicago Manual of Style. All accepted stories will be edited to reflect Musa house style. If you have never been published before, please tell us. Penumbra likes publishing new authors as much as we like publishing experienced authors. Every month, we select one of the best stories from an author with little or no publishing experience and feature that story and author as our Rising Talent recipient for the month. The Rising Talent author's story, biography, and a non-fiction essay will be featured on our website for a full year, as well as spotlighted in the Penumbra issue for that month. We absolutely do...

Taking Submissions: The Sirens Call: The Bug Issue!

Deadline: May 31st 2013 Payment: Digital Copy The Bug Issue - Issue #09 It's an infestation! No, really - the June 2013 issue of The Sirens Call eZine will be infested with nothing but BUG stories because that's all we're accepting this time! Since creepy crawlies come in many shapes and sizes, make sure your story has at least six legs to stand on. Horrify us but don't imagine the bug; your story must revolve around an insect of minuscule or mutated proportions that could be found in nature. Deadline: May 31, 2013 Sirens Call Publications is currently accepting submissions for our bi-monthly e-zine, focusing on edgy & dark fiction including Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Suspense genres. All contributors will receive a free PDF copy of the issue that their work is featured in. We welcome short stories (1000 - 2500 words), flash fiction (300 - 500 words), and dark poetry. Artwork, photography and literary reviews are also accepted. Interviews with both up and coming or established authors will also be featured. Take advantage of this superb opportunity to gain exposure for your work and email [email protected] with your submissions, or contacting [email protected] with any queries. We ask for one time publication rights only; stories that are previously published elsewhere are accepted provided that you hold the rights to them.

Taking Submissions for a Zombie Themed Anthology

Deadline: June 1st 2013 Payment: Contributor's Copy Source Point Press is very happy to announce it will be publishing a zombie themed anthology. From now until June 1, 2013 we will be accepting short stories, flash fiction, poems, and even black & white artwork for the anthology set to be released in time for Halloween 2013. The only rule is that the submissions cannot contain the "z" word in them. Each contributor will receive a copy of the anthology. Please email your submission to [email protected]

Taking Submissions: Stamps, Vamps, and Tramps

Deadline: June 1st 2013 Payment: $20 USD and a copy of the anthology Love writing short stories? We’ll be releasing three anthologies this year under our series line entitled, Three Little Words. Yep, you guessed it, each story in the respective collection must use the three little words in the title. Cute, huh? Stories between 5-15,000 words will be considered. Stamps, Vamps, and Tramps – Have you always wanted to know what tattoos were used for in Roman times? What if a vampire was the one giving them out? How would a vampire prostitute handle her own with Jack the Ripper in foggy London while the local tattoo artist watched? We are looking for stories that include the history of tattoos (any time period), vampires (your preferred mythos), and tramps (whatever your definition of a tramp is). Human main characters are fine but vampires have to be in the story. There are 15 openings for this anthology. Submission deadline June 1, 2013. Please use the form at the right to submit your story for consideration. One submission per anthology will be accepted. Payment for anthology stories is $20 USD and a copy of the anthology. In return, you give us exclusive rights for one year from the date of publication, after that you are free to submit the story to other publications as long as you acknowledge us as first publisher.

Taking Submissions: Fires of Liberty (Volume One): A Speculative Fiction Celebration of Freedom

Deadline: June 1st 2013 Payment: The anthology is planned for release in print and eBook formats in the Fall of 2013. A royalty pool will be generated on print and eBook sales, with the royalty pool divided equally among the contributors and editors. Royalties for print are 10% of gross receipts received by SSP on sales retail and wholesale up to 1,000 copies, with an increase to 12 1/2% for every copy thereafter. eBook royalties are set at 50% of gross receipts received by SSP for sales of the digital version. Royalty statements and payments will be made bi-annually. All contributors will receive a complimentary trade paperback copy of the anthology. A Speculative Fiction Anthology from Seventh Star Press Edited by: David J. Guyton and Stephen Zimmer A struggle has always existed between those who wish to coerce others into following a certain way, and those who wish to liberate the full potential of the human being. It is the clash between those who wish to impose their will, feeling they know what is best for others, and those who wish to live and let live, as long as no fraud or violence is being done to another. To one side is a world filled with controls, barriers, and punishments, to conform individuals to an order determined by an elite few, and to the other is a world where all individuals pursue their dreams and interact with each other in an environment of mutual consent. The hunger within the human spirit for freedom has been demonstrated all across history, in every age and land. Even in the darkest, most tyrannical of environments, the fires of liberty have ignited within the hearts of individuals, leading to some of the most inspiring and transformational events in history. Fires of Liberty (Volume One)...

Taking Submissions: Where the Wild Things Went

Deadline: July 1st 2013 Payment: 20% of the total profit will be paid for each accepted story (at quarterly intervals; if more than five stories are accepted, they will be placed in another anthology in this series. We’d dislike reducing your pay) The glories are gone. No-one remembers the madman who stitched a new man together, corpse by corpse by corpse, into a living symbol. No-one remembers the sage of Baker Street, who solved the entire universe between puffs of his cherrywood. No-one remembers the metal men who punched evil whilst only wearing pajamas. They are forgotten. Not forgotten in the way one forgets about Athanasius Kircher, but forgotten in the malacious way that finds Watson’s memiors rebound as fiction and TV shows chronicling our modern legends spring up like the weeds afront an abandoned house. Each legend is forgotten in their own way, by a force that would like the world to remain mundane and hidden. They are the conspiracy. And they would much rather the world continues to be quiet here. Write a story telling how some fictional object, character, or what-have-you ended up in the hands of the global conspiracy responsible for keeping the magic of the world secret. Think of the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but all extensive—every bit of magic and the exceptional in the world is collected, filed away, and either locked up or used for the expansion of the conspiracy’s activities. In this anthology, you’re encouraged (nay, required) to use characters from other fictional works in order to tell your story. It’s part of the charm. You may NOT break copyright in your story. You’re very welcome to tell the story of how a mysterious and perhaps magical wardrobe came into the conspiracy’s possession; but you may not tell a...

Taking Submissions: Strangely Funny

Deadline: June 10th 2013 Payment: Contributor's Copy An anthology of humorous paranormal stories. All stories must contain paranormal elements (ghosts, psychic abilities, vampires, etc.) and be funny. Think Addams Family, Zombieland, or Love at First Bite. They should not contain gratuitous violence, gratuitous sex, or excessive foul language. We're seeking stories that are 2000 - 5000 words in length (firm). We will also accept cartoons if submitted in electronic format. No reprints. We will accept multiple submissions, but not simultaneous submissions. Open submission period: March 1 - June 10th, 2013. All contributors will receive a free trade paperback copy of the book. Contributors will also be able to purchase more print copies at a 40% discount on the cover price. We're seeking first world rights in English to publish in print and electronic format for 12 months, beginning on the date of publication. All rights revert back to the author after that time. Please see our Basic Guidelines (above) for further information on the rights we ask for and their implications. Publisher's note: Mystery and Horror is a market that welcomes LBGTQ, multiethnic,multinational, nontraditional, and unusual fiction. We are concerned with well-written stories involving well-developed characters.

Taking Submissions: Raus! Untoten!

Deadline: June 10th 2013 Payment: 5% royalties after cost per story published Fringeworks is always trying to find appealing stories that subvert traditional genres. We are currently seeking submissions for an anthology entitled ‘Raus! Untoten’. The story will be published under our KnightWatch Press imprint. Submission deadline for this anthology is midnight on Monday, 10th June 2013. As the title suggests, we are looking for stories which involve some combination of Nazis and the undead. Raus! Untoten! is specifically geared to attracting Science Fiction (SF) stories between 2,500 and 6,000 words in length. Stories can be Steampunk, Diesel Punk or straight alternative-history science fiction. They should involve Nazis and Undead, this is not specifically limited to Nazis or the classic undead ‘race’ of Zombies. We are looking for new and original twists on this theme with surprising elements. Be fun but most of all be unique.We expect this anthology will appeal to writers of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, alternative history and horror. Raus! Untoten will be edited by father of two, Matthew Sylvester, who has been reading and writing fantasy and SF since he first read the Hobbit at the age of 7. He is author of the critically acclaimed ‘Practical Taekwondo: Back to the Roots’, and has been features editor, technical consultant and a regular columnist for ‘Fighters’, ‘Combat’, ‘TKD & Korean Martial Arts’ and ‘Traditional Karate’, the four leading UK martial arts magazines. Matthew is currently working on the worlds of Shattered Lands and Faraway, adult steamfantasy and child’s steamfantasy. He is also working on a co-operative project with his eldest daughter. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] as word documents or rtf files. Your email subject header should read ‘SURNAME/RAUS/WORD COUNT (include word count) All submissions should; Be 2,500 to 6,000 words (max) Be typed in Courier...