Events

Contest: 50-Word Stories April 2022 (Early Listing)

Submission Window: 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 Stories that were not selected will not be published, will not roll over into the following month, and cannot be resubmitted in following months.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 all ages. Avoid...

Taking Submissions: The Other Stories #82: Octopuses

The Other Stories

Deadline: April 15th, 2022 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Octopuses 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 82.) Octopuses; deadline 15th April 2022 !!!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 are...

Taking Submissions: The Grey Rooms – Season 5

Deadline: April 17th, 2022 Payment: $25 Theme: Any genre, Rated R, your story’s main character must be killed at the end of the story The Grey Rooms – Season 5 Story Submission Guidelines We are excited to bring you another season of our horror anthology series. But we can’t do it without *you.* Please read the following submission guidelines below, as we’ve shaken them up a great deal for this season! Thanks for joining us in… the Grey Rooms! Submissions Begin: October 1st, 2021 Submissions Close: April 17th, 2022:  Midnight ET  Content Requirements 1.) Stories must be original submissions. To be considered for the Grey Rooms, stories may not have been published in a printed or ebook format, or produced as a podcast or radio drama narrative. 2.) Your story’s main character must be killed at the end of the story, or the narrative must heavily imply that the main character will die just after the story concludes. This is a cornerstone requirement of Grey Rooms stories, and any submissions without this as an element will be rejected. 3.) In general, content in Grey Rooms stories is similar to what you might find in a Rated R horror film, or an HBO series. Violent acts, psychodrama, confrontational ideas, torture, and pulpy demonic explosions are all welcome additions to the Grey Rooms. 4.) Sexual encounters with underage characters, of any kind, is not acceptable content for Grey Rooms stories. 5.) Rape or sexual assault of any kind is never acceptable content for Grey Rooms stories. 6.) Abuse or torture of children is never acceptable content for Grey Rooms stories. While horror may happen because of children, or around children, we are not looking to publish fictional depictions of children suffering. 7.) Racially charged violence for the sake of it is never...

Taking Submissions: Strange Weeds

Deadline: April 20th 2022 Payment: 10$ honorarium and a paperback contributor copy Theme: Weed-centered horror stories of any sub-genre Note: Reprints Welcome Note: I apologize, I just was linked this. Hopefully you've got a reprint to submit or can write fast! An estimated 40,000 people are currently incarcerated for non-violent, marijuana related offenses in the United States.  As many states begin to roll out decriminalization acts, medical licenses, and recreational stores, it is more important then ever that awareness is raised for folks that have been arrested, charged, or convicted for something that is widely no longer considered a crime in many parts of the country. With that being said, the submission period for the weed centered charity anthology, STRANGE WEEDS, is now OPEN. For this project, 100% of the proceeds will go to The Last Prisoner. We’re looking for weed-centered horror stories of any sub-genre.  How you interpret that, is honestly up to you. Any idea is welcomed as long as it is not demonizing the substance or its users.  Stories do not need an overt political or social message, but they won’t be turned away, either.  Please be careful with how you write “stoners.” If you’ve ever been in a dispensary before, you’ll find the plant finds a home with every culture, age group, and background.  We imagine this book will find its audience, so write something 420 friendly. Submission Details: Please attach a .doc, 12 point font, times new roman, double spaced to an email and send it to [email protected] with AUTHOR NAME_STORY TITLE in the subject line. Word count: 1500 – 4200 words Submission Window: January 3rd 2022 – April 20th 2022 Reprints are fine, author will retain all rights to the work. Payment: 10$ honorarium and a paperback contributor copy Stories will be read between 4/20/22 and 7/1/22...

Taking Submissions: Death in the Deep

Deadline: April 28th, 2022 Payment: $10 Theme: Colourful, weird aquatic horror that takes place on shore Rampage on the Reefs (coming June 2022): the third anthology will bring us to the surface. We’re looking for colourful, weird aquatic horror; monsters in the shallows, coral formations hiding eerie beasts… psychedelic, high-thrills horror that proves it’s not always safe closer to the shore. Submissions close April 28th. From 1st November 2021, we’re taking submissions for the first three anthologies in the Dead Seas collection. All three anthologies will have slightly different themes, but for all three we’re looking for aquatic or nautical horror stories - supernatural, realistic or altogether otherworldly - between 1,000-6,000 words (upper limit flexible). 100% of the profits from these anthologies will be going to The Shark Trust, supporting the protection and conservation of sharks and sea life. For more information, please visit https://www.sharktrust.org/ Our submissions process is 50% invite and 50% open, meaning there are 5-6 slots available through open submission for each anthology. But don’t fear! If you submit to one anthology and we like your story, but feel it could be a better fit for another (whether that’s another of these three, or one later in the year), then we’ll email you and see if you’d consider that slot instead. All accepted authors will receive a $10 fee upon the publication date of the volume featuring their work. We know this isn’t a lot, but we’d like to say thank you for helping us support the cause. Submissions Guidelines Please ensure you follow these guidelines for all submissions. Any stories not following these guidelines may, unfortunately, be rejected. Refer to individual submissions calls for an outline of the theme we’re looking for, but bear in mind that we will be releasing a lot of aquatic horror...

Taking Submissions: Rampage on the Reefs

Deadline: April 28th, 2022 Payment: $10 Theme: Oceanic horror brought 'to the surface' Rampage on the Reefs (coming June 2022): the third anthology will bring us to the surface. We’re looking for colourful, weird aquatic horror; monsters in the shallows, coral formations hiding eerie beasts… psychedelic, high-thrills horror that proves it’s not always safe closer to the shore. Submissions close April 28th. From 1st November 2021, we’re taking submissions for the first three anthologies in the Dead Seas collection. All three anthologies will have slightly different themes, but for all three we’re looking for aquatic or nautical horror stories - supernatural, realistic or altogether otherworldly - between 1,000-6,000 words (upper limit flexible). 100% of the profits from these anthologies will be going to The Shark Trust, supporting the protection and conservation of sharks and sea life. For more information, please visit https://www.sharktrust.org/ Our submissions process is 50% invite and 50% open, meaning there are 5-6 slots available through open submission for each anthology. But don’t fear! If you submit to one anthology and we like your story, but feel it could be a better fit for another (whether that’s another of these three, or one later in the year), then we’ll email you and see if you’d consider that slot instead. All accepted authors will receive a $10 fee upon the publication date of the volume featuring their work. We know this isn’t a lot, but we’d like to say thank you for helping us support the cause. Submissions Guidelines Please ensure you follow these guidelines for all submissions. Any stories not following these guidelines may, unfortunately, be rejected. Refer to individual submissions calls for an outline of the theme we’re looking for, but bear in mind that we will be releasing a lot of aquatic horror anthologies - so...

Taking Submissions: Science Write Now #7 (AU Only)

Deadline: April 29th, 2022 Payment: $0.30/word up to $390 for new writing, $70 for a single poem or $180 for three poems, $40 for reprint stories or essays, and $20 for reprint poems. Theme: Science, Humour and the Absurd Note: Australian writers or by writers living in Australia Only *At This Time* Note: Reprints Welcome We welcome submissions anytime! Please submit your new or previously published poems, short stories, book reviews, or literary or personal essays related to science, technology, engineering, or maths. Current call for submissions: Our seventh issue is based on the theme ‘Science, Humour and the Absurd’. This edition of Science Write Now will explore how humour and the absurd shape cultural ideas of science and, in turn, how the world of science influences comic performance in popular culture, art and literature. Mark Twain wrote, “Humour is tragedy plus time”. So can comedy help us make sense of the scientific and political entanglements of climate change? If laughter is the best medicine, can it also help us manage chronic illness? Existential crisis? How does science explore the absurdities of our age? And how does the science of humour actually work? We welcome new and previously-published craft or creative essays, fiction, memoir, and poetry related to these themes, with a view to publishing in June 2022. Submit here. We pay $0.30/word up to $390 for new writing, $70 for a single poem or $180 for three poems, $40 for reprint stories or essays, and $20 for reprint poems. Please note—due to current funding arrangements, we can only pay for pieces by Australian writers or by writers living in Australia. We’re hoping to expand internationally soon! Submit now Via: Science Write Now.

Canceled Taking Submissions: Midnight in the Stagecoach

Deadline: April 30th, 2022 Payment: $ 0.06/word Theme: Horror set in the 1800s Old West Evil awaits you on the dusty trail… With the success of our first three MIDNIGHT anthologies (Midnight In The Graveyard, Midnight In The Pentagram, and Midnight From Beyond The Stars), it’s time to roll out the 4th in our ever growing series - MIDNIGHT IN THE STAGECOACH! Silver Shamrock Publishing is announcing the Open Call for the MIDNIGHT IN THE STAGECOACH anthology. We’re looking for original splatterpunk western short stories set in the late 1800s Old West. Any horror trope is fair game. You can do a straight up killer cowboy tale, vampires, werewolves, aliens, a Cthulhu sighting, zombies, cryptids, ghosts, ANYTHING! Just as long as it’s horror and you’re not bashful with red stuff. But, we caution, gore doesn’t replace story. If the story isn’t there, it doesn’t matter how much you’ve painted the pages crimson, it won’t make the cut. So put on your 10-gallon thinking cap and give us a story we can’t refuse! Specific submission guidelines: The deadline for receiving submissions is April 30th, 2022. (anything received after this date will not be considered). Submit by email to: [email protected] Length: 2,500 - 6,000 words. Format: preferred format is Doc or Docx, double-spaced with author email at the top of the first page. - Please use the anthology title, MIDNIGHT IN THE STAGECOACH, in the subject heading of your email. - A writer’s CV with a summary of previous publications, awards, recognition, influences, hometown and social media links. - The word count. - Acknowledgement of receipt of your manuscript will be emailed within 3 business days. - Successful authors will receive a contract upon acceptance. Once we have a signed contract by the author and Silver Shamrock Publishing, payment will be made...

Taking Submissions: Camp Slasher Lake

Deadline: April 30th, 2022 Payment: $.01 per word Theme: Unstoppable killers of the slasher variety. Call for submissions! Fedowar Press is opening submissions for a Horror/Slasher Anthology. This is a tribute to the glorious slasher movies of the 1980s. We want the unstoppable killers, the claustrophobic sense of no escape, and of course, the blood. This anthology is expected to release in late 2022. Submissions will be accepted until April 30, 2022. Details Suggested Length: Between 7.5k and 15k words Genre: Horror, but other speculative genres may be added. For example Horror/SciFi, Horror/Fantasy, Region: Can take place anywhere in the world Period: Any period, present, past, future Qualifying submissions must have never been published. Pay and Exclusivity Participating authors will be paid $.01 per word. This equates to $100 for a 10k word story, or $10 per 1k words. Participating authors will grant Fedowar Press exclusive rights to the work for 1 year after publication. How to submit? Use our Submission form with the subject “Slasher” in the Submission Type field. Tell us a little bit about yourself in your query letter. For example: Have we met? Remind us. Do you have any writing credits? What is your social media info? Do you like dogs? Include your genres, word count Attach your story to the form. Make sure it is in standard manuscript format. Stories will be reviewed after the close of the submission window. Please allow up to six weeks after the submission window closes for a response. After that, If you haven’t received a response, feel free to check-in for an update. Via: Fedowar Press.

Taking Submissions: Steel True, Blade Straight

Deadline: April 30th, 2022 Payment: Contributor's copy Theme: New material inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work (Sherlock Holmes AND not.) Steel True, Blade Straight The Belanger Books Anthology of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Inspired Stories, Poems, and Scholarship 2022 Annual Description: This anthology will have stories, poems, and scholarship inspired by and about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. While the anthology will contain new Sherlock Holmes stories, the intent would be for at least 25% of the material to be stories and poems inspired by the life and non-Sherlockian writing of Sir Arthur. Another 25% of material would be scholarship on Holmes and Doyle. All proceeds from the Anthology will be donated to The Beacon Society, a 501c(3) nonprofit scion society of The Baker Street Irregulars (BSI), that serves as a link to other scion societies, providing teachers, librarians, children museums, and children theaters with local resources to bring the magic of Sherlock Holmes to life. Guidelines: Stories - 3,000 - 10,000 word submissions that connect to the writing of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These can be Sherlock Holmes stories, or stories connected to Sir Arthur’s additional writings (far too many to list here). Poems - format and length are open. The poetry submission would have to somehow connect to the life or work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Scholarship - 1,000 - 3,000 word submissions. Essays must connect to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or his writing (Sherlock Holmes or other work). Multiple submissions in the same or more than one category are welcome. Payment: All authors will receive a paperback copy of the anthology. Rights: All authors shall retain the rights to their submitted work outside of the anthology and may reprint their submission one year after the anthology’s publication date. Submission: Email...