Events

Deadline: November 14th, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: Adventures among the stars Edited by Tracy Cooper-Posey Stories Rule Press (SRP) is now seeking submissions for Space Opera Digest 2021: Have Ship, Will Travel, the second anthology in this series.  The anthology will be published on January 27, 2022. Deadline: November 14, 2021 Length: 2,000 to 7,500 words Payment: Revenue share Genre This is an anthology of short space opera stories. Please note: We are severely limiting the number of military SF stories to be included in the anthology. Theme The theme is “adventures among the stars.” Please see the retail book description, below, for more on this. The story should conform to space opera subgenre expectations, which generally provoke a sense of wonder. We are looking for a range of stories which explore the anthology theme from different angles. The retail book description This is the description that will appear on the back of the book, and on retail sites. (Please note: the actual number of stories to be included in the anthology is to be finalized during the reading period.) ========Retail Book Description============ Adventures among the stars need a ship to get you there. Stories Rule Press presents Space Opera Digest 2022: Have Ship, Will Travel Space Opera heroes and heroines explore the stars and discover cool new places in ships which range from beat-up rust-buckets to sleek technologically advance craft that are the envy of the galaxy. Space ships are quintessential for the adventures and challenges our favourite characters face. Come and explore a dozen worlds of wonder and the ships our heroes fly with Stories Rule Press’ 2022 edition of Space Opera Digest. Space Opera Digest 2022: Have Ship, Will Travel is the second volume in a quarterly collection of genre fiction anthologies presented by Stories Rule Press. Space Opera Science Fiction Anthology __ Stories Rule Press...

Deadline: November 14th, 2021 Payment: $500 and 25 contributors copies Theme: literary fiction Submission Periods: January 15th - May 31st | October 4th - November 14th What kinds of stories is One Story looking for? One Story is seeking literary fiction. Because of our format, we can only accept stories between 3,000 and 8,000 words. They can be any style and on any subject as long as they are good. We are looking for stories that leave readers feeling satisfied and are strong enough to stand alone. Does One Story pay? Yes. One Story pays $500 and 25 contributors copies for First Serial North American rights. All rights will revert to the author following publication. Does One Story accept previously published material? No. One Story is looking for previously unpublished material. However, if a story has been published in print outside of North America, it will be considered. Stories previously published online—on blogs, personal websites, online literary magazines, or forums—will not be accepted. Does One Story accept simultaneous submissions? Yes, but please withdraw your submission immediately if your submission is accepted for publication elsewhere. What file types can I submit? We accept DOC, DOCX, PDF, and RTF files. Please include the story title and all writer contact info on the first page of the submitted file. Will you send me comments on my story? No. One Story receives close to 200 submissions each week. Please understand that we do not have time to comment on individual stories. Can I change the story I submitted with an updated draft? We strongly prefer that you only send us final drafts, but if you must upload a new version, please withdraw your submission through Submittable and resubmit. Can I send a revision of a story that was previously rejected? No. Please send us new work. Revisions of previously rejected stories will not be considered and will be automatically declined. Do you consider...

Deadline: November 14th, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Horror We are very excited to announce a new call for submissions which is now open! Please read through the details for submissions carefully before submitting your stories and make sure to include the project name in the subject of your email. Close to Midnight A New Collection of Horror Stories We are very excited to open submissions for this new anthology, edited by Mark Morris ("...one of the finest horror writers at work today" – Clive Barker)! Close to Midnight is the third book in the Flame Tree Book of Horror series, and follows Beyond the Veil, which is out now! Mark has once again approached an impressive range of authors but we've reserved space for four new stories from the online submissions. This is a prestigious anthology and will be published worldwide in hardcover and paperback. The first book in the series, After Sundown, was recently nominated for both Shirley Jackson and British Fantasy awards, so we’re looking forward to finding more unthemed horror stories for this third collection. Fees, Copyright and Other Terms: We pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence for each word for new stories. We will not accept reprints for consideration to this anthology. We would prefer to pay for the selected stories via PAYPAL because bank charges to the US and Canada, in particular, can be crippling for all concerned. Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that. Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel. Please submit in .doc, .docx or .rtf formats, double spaced, with your...

Deadline: November 15th, 2021 Payment: $5 USD Theme: "Most" Speculative fiction, read below for specifics. Note: Open only for women-identified authors. Simply follow the schedule below to be notified when we close and open for submissions. Criteria Luna Station Quarterly publishes speculative fiction written by women-identified authors. We think women write awesome characters and really cool stories and we want to show it to the world. We will consider stories submitted by any woman writer, regardless of experience or writing resume. If you consider yourself on the woman end of the gender spectrum in any significant capacity, you’re welcome here! Stuff we want: Fantasy Science Fiction Space Opera New Fairy Tales (not retellings) Some creepiness Stories that explore the nooks and crannies of an original world Big events from the everyman perspective Unique settings and storytelling forms Well written stories with strong characters Stuff we don’t want: Anything biased toward any religion, race or moral preference Extreme gore or sexual content, in particular no explicit rape or sexual assault. (everything in moderation) Bizarro fiction Poetry Fan Fiction (original stories only, please) Bad grammar/punctuation (please proofread and watch your sentence structure!) Plagiarism A further note about sex and violence in submissions. Science fiction has a long-standing tradition of pushing boundaries and asking difficult questions. It is meant to challenge us and ask us to look at ourselves and how we treat each other and the world around us. That said, LSQ is centered on uplift and so any story that contains explicit sexual situations or violence especially toward women will be considered more carefully than other stories and the content must be justified within the story’s arch. Format and Details Stories should be 500 to 7000 words in length. We may publish longer or shorter works, but the greater your story is...

Deadline: November 15th, 2021 Payment: $20 Theme: True ghost stories, unexplained occurrences, and weird encounters with the paranormal or supernatural. Out of Time: True Paranormal Encounters Timber Ghost is proud to present, Out of Time: True Paranormal Encounters. We are seeking true ghost stories, unexplained occurrences, and weird encounters with the paranormal or supernatural. If you have such a tale, please send it to us, and if it is creepy enough, it just might end up in this anthology (bonus if you have pictures that go along with the story). We anticipate a late 2021 or early 2022 release of the book. Authors accepted will receive a $20 payment. If the author has photos that go along with the story, they will be paid an extra $5. Deadline: November 15th, 2021. Guidelines: Stories must be 5k words or less Stories must be true events (no fiction) Authors must own the rights to the story as well as the rights to any photographs submitted Reprints are fine (just let us know in the submission that it is a reprint and that you own the rights) Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you let us know as soon as it gets picked up elsewhere No multiple submissions ​ Submission Format: Please submit your manuscript using the form below in either .docx, .doc, or .rtf following Shunn format ​Please direct any questions to Cody Langille at [email protected] Via: Timber Ghost Press.

Deadline: November 15th, 2021 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Cults If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. (Vol 74.) Cults II; deadline 15th November 2021 !!!NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS!!! SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If, this form isn’t working, then please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. But please let us know why as we’re hoping to use the form going forward. Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) It is important that your story complies with our Submission Guidelines. Any stories found not to be in compliance will be immediately discarded. Click HERE for details If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document • Stories must fit an upcoming theme • By submitting your story to us, you...

Deadline: November 15th, 2021 Prizes: (1st prize, $75) which can come from any category and then a $50 “prompt prize” for each of these three categories. Theme: Stories to help keep Christmas weird! (prompts below) The unbearable heat of August reminds me that it’s time to announce the FOURTH ANNUAL WEIRD CHRISTMAS FLASH FICTION CONTEST! I want your stories to help keep Christmas weird! We’re in our fourth year of the contest. Last year’s results are here. The thing keeps growing every year, and each year we ramp up the weird and the creepy and the funny by at least three exponential elves. I expect the bottled up anxiety and rage of a covid year should make this contest’s stories even more upsetting. Perfect for Christmas cheer! New for this year!!! I’m making three “Prompt Categories.” This is just to shake things up, so I’m giving you three ways to enter this year. This is probably overly complicated, but what the hell. You’ve got three ways to submit a story and four ways to win a prize: “Stocking Stuffer” – In this category, just write whatever the hell you want. Anything goes as long as it fits the rules and general guidelines down below. “There was a man dwelt by a churchyard” – The king of Christmas ghost stories, M.R. James, wrote a story with that as a title because in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, someone starts a ghost story with that line but never gets further. I’m sure you guys can do better than M.R. James, a master storyteller who set the standards for all ghost stories to come. It’s a low bar. You can do it! Just write a story with that as the first line, and fame and fortune will be yours. (And, yes, those 8 words count for your total.) Thanks to Benito Cereno (@benito_cereno on Twitter)...

Submission Window: September 15th - November 15th, 2021 Payment: 6¢ (USD) per word Theme: dark, quiet horror Note: You must be able to say “If accepted, this would be my first pro-sale.” Note: SFWA considers 8 cents per word as pro, HWA is 6 cents per word Special Call: New Writers “If accepted, this would be my first pro-sale.” For the reading period of 15 September – 15 November 2021, we are having a special call—writers who have not yet had a professional sale. In your cover letter, please add the following statement: “If accepted, this would be my first pro-sale.” See this blog post for more information and a FAQ We have published writers of all backgrounds from all over the world in LampLight, but not everywhere, nor all shapes and sizes of writers. Help us to shine a light on greater diverse writing and keep LampLight a showcase of the best dark fiction out there by submitting and encouraging others to as well. We go for stories that are dark, literary; we are looking for the creepy, the weird and the unsettling. For inspiration, we suggest “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits”, and LampLight, Vol1 Issue 1 which is free. We do not accept stories with the following: vampires, zombies, werewolves, serial killers, hitmen, excessive gore or sex, excessive abuse against women, revenge fantasies, cannibals, high fantasy. Edition and Rights The quarterly is published as print and ebook, and at the end of the year all the quarterlies are bound together in an annual collection. We are asking for non-exclusive, worldwide, serial rights to your work for both electronic and print. We want to publish it, we don’t want to own it. Payment 6¢ (USD) per word 5100 words MAX (firm) Note: we will not be accepting reprints for...

Deadline: November 15th, 2021 Payment: $25 US Theme: 80's slasher heavy in nostalgia. Please read carefully. Submissions that don’t meet the guidelines may be rejected. Submissions will be accepted until November 15th, 2021. Please submit to [email protected], ensuring ’Hex on the Beach’ is in the subject line. What we are looking for: Horrifying short stories, interviews and editorials matching the theme as it relates to all mediums of the horror genre including books, comics, music, movies, art and television 1,000 to 10,000 words in length. We also encourage writers to include good representation of POC, LGBTQ+, and women. If you run a small press, podcast, blog, YouTube channel or any other platform that is focused on amplifying underrepresented voices in the horror community, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! We will have several placeholders to advertise at no cost. Space will be limited so take a moment to let us know what you do to lift other's up in the community. Please include submitter’s name, pen name (if different), word count, and author email address. Submissions must be written in 12 pt. Times New Roman and double spaced. We do not require exclusivity. You hold copyright, licensing us just for this publication. If your story is a reprint, please include its original publication details in your submission email. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but you must have the right to license your story in a publication. Notify us by email at [email protected] if you need to withdraw your submission. The deadline for submissions is November 15th, 2021.

Submission Window: November 1st-15th, 2021 Payment: 1 winner each month will win $10 Canadian Theme: A story at exactly 50-words If you’d like to have a 50-word story that you wrote featured on FiftyWordStories.com, first make sure that you understand exactly what a 50-word story is, and then read the submission requirements below closely. Submissions System Each month, submissions will be open between days 1 and 15 of that month. Any stories received on days 16 to 31 of a month will be deleted, but can be resubmitted the following month. You may only submit one story per month. From the stories received in those 15 days, the best stories will be selected to be published that same month. Only enough stories will be selected to publish two stories per weekday. There is no payment associated with stories. However, each month a “Story of the Month” is selected, and receives a prize of $10 Canadian. Stories that were not selected will not be published, will not roll over into the following month, and cannot be resubmitted in following months. Authors will be notified whether their story has been selected or not once all stories from the month’s submissions have been reviewed. How to Submit Please email your submission to [email protected]. Paste the story into the body of the email. Please include a title, your name, and a brief third-person bio. Feel free to include a link to your website! If you are submitting a story related to a specific date or holiday, please include that information in the Subject line of your submission. You can also send your story in using the form at the bottom of this page. Tips and Guides Looking for help with writing microfiction? Check out Bob Thurber’s Anatomy of a Microfiction page. Terms and Conditions Please keep the content of your submissions appropriate for...