Events

Submissions Window: June 15th to July 31st, 2020 Payment: A royalty percentage of ebook, print, audio, and merchandise profits. The exact numbers will be available when the call opens on the 15th. Theme: Dark Fantasy Note: I would usually wait to schedule until all payment details are available but ER has a good track record and if anyone was close to finishing a novella or novel in this style I wanted to give you extra time to prepare. Open Submission Window June 15 - July 31, 2020 What are we looking for? DARK FANTASY We are seeking high-quality stand alone novels and a potential novella series in the dark fantasy genre. At this time we are not interested in short story collections, full erotica, strictly religious fiction, or poetry. We want unique, well-crafted worlds with compelling plots, exciting adventures, entertaining characters, and new dark fantasy concepts. We are drawn to the fantasy worlds with a grim heartwrenching twist. The perfect story would balance the light and the dark storyline with humour alongside the emotional twists and turns. In essence, if you can envoke a gambit of emotion throughout the story we will be hard-pressed to say no. Manuscripts should be written in good taste and be aimed for a mature audience that enjoys the darker side of fantasy. As this is dark fantasy, we encourage a step toward some of the darker and horror tones within the storyline, and we won't shy away from some use of violence and gore. However, we will not be accepting any manuscripts with detailed rape scenes, pedophilia, or untoward behaviours to animals of any kind. (you know what I mean) Submissions of novels should be between 60,000 and 120,000 words. Submissions of novellas should be approximately 25,000 - 50,000 words with a series potential...

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: $50 Theme: Stories that are "scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad" What We Publish At 34 Orchard, we like dark, intense pieces that speak to a deeper truth. We’re not genre-specific; we just like scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad. We like things we can’t put down and things that make us go “wow” when we’ve finished. But our main goal here at 34 Orchard is to publish the stuff we like to read, and you’re not in our heads. So don’t over think it. Just submit. *Update: There has been some question floating around social media in some writing circles as to whether or not writing about the world’s recent pandemic is appropriate, as in, is it “too soon?” At 34 Orchard, we do not think it is too soon. Some of the best art emerges from the darkest tragedies, and often during or immediately afterward. If you have a dark, emotional piece about the pandemic—any aspect of it—we are more than happy to consider it when we are open again for submissions.* Word Counts Short fiction from 1000 to 7500 words Poetry any style or length When We Publish We publish two issues per year, one in the spring (April) and one in the fall (November). Issues are hosted on this site as PDFs. Reading Period Our reading period for the Spring Issue is January 1-January 31. Our reading period for the Fall Issue is July 1-July 31. We only accept submissions, therefore, during January and July. Anything submitted to us outside those months will be deleted unread, and no response will be sent. Simultaneous Submissions Yes, we welcome and encourage them! Just notify us at [email protected] if it’s been accepted elsewhere as soon as you know. Multiple Submissions No. We only consider one piece of fiction per writer at a time. Poetry: you may send up...

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: $25 AU Theme: Wierd stories - multi-eyed heads in jars, things from swamps, or killer robots-anything really-except copy-and-pasted wolves or lightning. We're looking for fantastic fantasy, super-duper science fiction,  Wonderfulliy Weird, and Macabre. ​ Think classic outer-worldly.  Think swashbuckling adventure.  Think stuff that would give Lovecraft the shivers.  Mad professors, demons of the dark, heroes, monsters, giant robots...  We could could go all day.  You get the idea. ​ New, unpublished writers are welcome! ​ Think you've got the chops?  Here are the rules: Under 18? No problem. Just send a note from your teacher or guardian with your submission, telling us it's ok for you to write for us. No gratuitous sex or excessive profanity.  No nasty sex of any kind unless it's inherent to the story, and not glorified.  Gore is fine if it's written well.  Hate speech, or material we might find offensive is not. ​ We pay a flat rate of $25 AU per original piece of fiction.  That’s low right now, but Rufo’s Dog is still a pup.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to pay more soon.  The best way for that to happen is for you to you tell all your friends to buy a copy and or subscribe, then we’ll have more moolah to throw at the next issue. We pay a flat rate of $100AU for any original colour artwork that makes the cover, and $25AU for any other artwork.  For commissioned work, payment is subject to negotiation with the individual artists. ​ For contributors with an Australian bank account, payments made via bank transfer are possible.  For international contributors, we prefer to pay via PayPal.  We do not pay via Western Union or similar services which charge payment fees.  WU charges $15 AU per transaction, and we just can't afford that. ​ Rufo's Dog will also provide a password and...

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: Royalties Theme: Dark Fiction, Horror, Suspense, Fantasy, or Thriller. We are now open to novel and novella subs for only the third time in our eight years of publishing. This submission window will be open throughout July. We only ask for a one to two page, detailed synopsis, an author bio, and the first three chapters (we will ask for the full manuscript if our interests are piqued). Accepted titles will be published throughout 2021 and early 2022. No reprints. Only one submission per author. Simultaneous subs allowed. Here are some more details on what we’re looking for: Length: 30,000 to 120,000 words Genre: Dark Fiction, Horror, Suspense, Fantasy, or Thriller. Subgenres/Tropes: We love them all, although we’re more interested in dark, suspenseful fiction than just outright horror. Our readers want to go on an emotional rollercoaster of fear, fright, sadness, joy, loss, and the beauty behind every character’s story. What we’re not looking for: Romance/Erotica (although they can certainly be used in subplots) Anthology pitches Short stories Short story collections Poetry Screenplays Young Adult Submission guidelines: Email your CV, synopsis, and sample to [email protected] The subject of your email should be ‘Open subs 2020’. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please inform us if you’ve subbed it elsewhere, and be sure to withdraw it in case it’s accepted elsewhere. Only one submission per author, so make it count. In the body of the email, be sure to mention the title of your book and the total word count of finished manuscript. A one sentence tagline that encapsulates your main plot. No reprints/previously published or previously self-published. Your novel/novella needs to be at least 80% finished when you submit your first three chapters. As attachments (or one attachment containing all the required info): a one...

Deadline: July 31st, 2020 Payment: 8 cents/word Theme: Speculative stories--science fiction, fantasy, horror--with Christian themes, characters, or cosmology. We are looking for speculative stories--science fiction, fantasy, horror--with Christian themes, characters, or cosmology, and for artwork for this site. Fiction Guidelines Technical details Stories can be up to 9000 words (thanks, Patreon supporters!). This is a hard limit--our submission system will enforce it. We pay 8 cents/word for original stories (or original translations of stories that have not previously appeared in English), and 4 cents/word for reprints (thanks again, Patreon!). Authors are paid once we've agreed on edits and signed a contract, prior to earliest publication (generally on our Patreon page). We are seeking 6 months' exclusive worldwide publication rights for original works (with exceptions for established Best of the Year anthologies), and non-exclusive worldwide print and electronic rights thereafter for both original works and reprints. We want to publish your story online in our webzine and keep it there indefinitely. We're also acquiring the right to offer ebook versions of the stories we publish, as Patreon rewards or for purchase; and to publish a print and ebook anthology of all the stories that appeared in the webzine over a given 1- or 2-year period. For original fiction, we want to be the only place publishing it for the first 6 months; after that, you're welcome to publish it anywhere else in any format you like. No multiple or simultaneous submissions. If multiple writers co-write a story, we consider each distinct group of writers a different submitter. In other words, if two people co-write a story, and they submit the co-written story, and each of them also submits a story written on their own, that would not violate our no multiple submissions policy. Submitting two stories co-written by the same two people would violate our no...

Deadline: August 1st, 2020 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Your personal local lore/oddities We’re currently looking for previously unpublished horror stories, 3-6k words, for a themed anthology to be released in September 2020. The theme is: your personal local lore/oddities. Write something dark into a setting you’ve experienced — it could be a place you’ve lived, or even just somewhere you’ve visited on a vacation. Is there a landmark in your town or city that you can write a nightmare scenario into? Have you ever legend tripped somewhere and thought, well, that cave/mausoleum/torture tree was neat, but I wish there was more to the story? If so, you’re welcome to send us (1) submission at [email protected] in DOC or RTF form. Deadline August 1, 2020. Paying .05/word per accepted submission for First Rights Publishing, asking that you don’t republish your story until August 1, 2021. In our fifth year of publishing we’re looking to expand our reach into 21st Century folklore, urban legends, and the space between creepypasta and literary horror. For examples of what we’re looking for, see Other Voices, Other Tombs; At the Cemetery Gates: Year One and Volume 2; or Corpse Cold: New American Folklore -Joe Sullivan, Editor Via: Cemetery Gates.

Deadline: August 1st, 2020 Payment: $50.00 Theme: Giallo/Slasher, Sci-fi Horror, 80's Splatter, Japanese Body Horror, 50's B-Movie Creature Feature, Southern Gothic, Satanic Cult, Lost World, Lost Tribe. Other sub-genres could apply as well, but must have a strong horror connection, including: Carsploitation, Blacksploitation, Spaghetti Western, Women in Prison, Vigilante, etc. Our second fiction anthology, Violent Vixens, will focus on Grindhouse horror films, made famous by movies such as Night of the Living Dead, Death Proof, and Suspiria. Since this genre encompasses so many different styles and mashups, we have decided to focus solely on Grindhouse horror stories featuring a strong female lead. The lead may be the protagonist or the antagonist. In 2007, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez set out to revitalize this genre with their excellent double-feature, Grindhouse. Although it was met with critical success, it ultimately failed at the box office. However, in recent years, the genre has gone through a resuscitation of sorts, and a new era of filmmakers are now creating homage-style exploitation films using the borrowed aesthetics of the 70s and 80s--successful films like House of the Devil, Turbo Kid, and Mandy. This is exactly what we are looking for in your stories; we want to see your particular homage to this style of storytelling in narrative form. We are looking to publish around twelve pieces of original fiction for this anthology. Overall, we tend to lean more toward fun, action-oriented stories like Army of Darkness, Planet Terror, and Blood Drive over anything too serious and brooding. Genre mashups are HIGHLY encouraged. All stories and characters must be original works. Fiction Submissions: Giallo/Slasher, Sci-fi Horror, 80's Splatter, Japanese Body Horror, 50's B-Movie Creature Feature, Southern Gothic, Satanic Cult, Lost World, Lost Tribe. Other sub-genres could apply as well, but must have a strong horror connection, including: Carsploitation, Blacksploitation, Spaghetti Western, Women in Prison, Vigilante, etc. Word Count: 2,000 -...

Deadline: August 1st, 2020 Payment: $30 Theme: Super heroes! Super-powered pulp heroes. Supers with a single power who fight crime or villains. Good folks versus bad folks, no gray areas, no amorality, no Byronic heroes. And no non-powered heroes. So think of characters like Doc Savage, the Rocketeer, Zorro, The Phantom, and Flash Gordon, but with powers and ideals like Superman and Wonder Woman (in their earlier renditions). Sorry, this means no Punisher, Logan, or even The Batman. It also means no Superman or Wonder Woman with those surplus of powers. Blatantly heroic original-to-the-author-only characters with no ambiguity in their pursuit of stopping villainous behavior. Super Beings & Wondrous Entities only.   Current or alternate or future world settings. No rules on how superpowers exist (they can be the result of science, magic, disease, aliens, mutation, etc.) or on how they are employed (inherent, learned, bequeathed, device-driven, etc.). 11 week submission period. We will be accepting 13-15 stories, and stories should be 2k-9k words in length. Nothing shorter will be read, and our sweet spot is in the 5k-7k range. Publication is intended for Christmas 2020. Payment of $30 flat per story shall be rendered after publication. Authors will receive electronic copies and permanent discount on print purchases from RBE. You can submit at Rogue Blades' Submittable. Via: Rogue Blades.

Deadline: August 1st, 2020 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: The Simmons public library was a melting pot of the haves and have-nots, a mixture of homeless people and the wealthy older residents of the nearby neighborhood. We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually three to four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests to help come up with new first lines, or we run fun, gimmicky competitions for free stuff, but the actual journal is...

Deadline: August 1, 2020 Payment: $25.00 CAD Theme: Elemental magic Submission Open: April 1, 2020 Submission Close: August 1, 2020 Publishing timeline: December 2020 OPEN DARK FANTASY Rated R Stories welcome ​ Theme: Elemental Magic - Earth, wind, fire, water and spirit. Dark versus light. We are giving a lot of leeway for story building, but magic must play an integral part in your world and there must be a dark fantasy element. Create a fantasy world for this to all play out in, or build something in ours. The choice is yours. The only requirement is that you must feature elemental magic. Fae and other realms, magic and witches, dragons or orcs, all magical and fantastic creatures are welcome. This one has opportunities for a lot of world-building so the call out is for larger stories. We will only be accepting a limited number of stories for this project, but volume II is under consideration. Stand-alone stories only, no to be continued. ​ Word Count is 5000 - 15000 we are looking for longer stories and small novella's. ​ Compensation: $25.00 CAD. Digital copy & discounted author copies ​ Formatting guidelines: See our Submission Format guide below ​ How to submit: Access submission form here, or use the submit button ​ Multiple Submission: Yes - We will be happy to read up to two stories per author, but note we will only be accepting one story per book. Please send each story in a separate form. Reprints: Yes we are accepting a small number of reprints. ​ Things that are a hard pass: any animal erotica and all forms of rape Via: Eerie River Publishing.