Events

Taking Submissions: The Quiet Ones October 2022 issue (Early Listing)

  Submission Window: July 15th, 2022 – August 31st, 2022 Payment: $25 Theme: Nocturnal Animals The Quiet Ones is a tri-annual e-zine that centers LGBTQIAP+ and women’s voices in the subgenres of quiet horror and intimate dystopian fiction, both for YA and Adult audiences. New installments of The Quiet Ones are released on the last Thursdays of October, February, and June, and are available for download on our website. We are exploring other avenues for distribution and will update accordingly as The Quiet Ones becomes available by other means.   “Quiet Horror” applies to atmospheric, unsettling stories that rely more on mood and rhythm than on shock and gore. Examples of quiet horror include: classic ghost stories and shorts like The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, modern moody masterworks like The Walls Around Us by: Nova Ren Suma, and films such as The Exorcist III or Pontypool where so much of the horror is left to the viewer to imagine as opposed to horror films that bombard their audience with scenes of excessive gore and jump scares. “Intimate Dystopia” is all about scale. We’re looking to zoom that lens in – show us the personal, everyday impact of living under totalitarian regimes, or heavily restricted environments – anything from haunted houses to run-down clubs or playgrounds – anywhere upon which the larger trappings of dystopian visions apply. For post-apocalyptic stories, give us small, contained spaces which explore life in the ruined world. Examples of intimate dystopia include: Speech Sounds by Octavia Butler, Wool by Hugh Howey, and films such as Quarantine (or ), or Tale of A Vampire. Accepting: Short Stories up to 3000 Words Flash and Micro Fiction up to 1000 Words Poetry Author Compensation: $25.00 (USD) per piece Rights: We request first worldwide and digital rights for four months...

Ghost Orchid Press Is Open To Novels And Novellas

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: A small advance plus 50% of net royalties thereafter on both e-books and physical books. Also, 5 contributors copies. Theme: Horror, Gothic, and dark fantasy. OPEN JULY 1ST – AUGUST 31ST We are open from July 1st – August 31st 2022 to general submissions for novellas (roughly 20,000 – 40,000 words) and novels (roughly 40,000 – 100,000) aimed at an adult audience. What We’re Looking For: We’re looking primarily for horror, Gothic, and dark fantasy. We love genre mixing, works that stray from the well-trodden path, or that offer a fresh perspective on existing tropes. We’re particularly keen to see work from BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and non-Western authors, and stories with elements of the following genres: Horror-romance / erotic horror Historical and Gothic horror Folk horror Hauntings, supernatural, and the occult Sorry, but we’re NOT currently interested in: Science Fiction or high fantasy YA or childrens’ fiction Short story collections Series’ Rights and Compensation: We ask for exclusive first publishing and electronic rights for a set period of 2 years following publication. Thereafter, all rights revert to the author, although the contract can be extended if both parties are happy to do so. All copyright remains with the author. We offer a small advance plus 50% of net royalties thereafter on both e-books and physical books. Authors will also receive 5 free paperback copies of their book and the option to purchase further copies at cost price. Exact details of the contract will be negotiated with individual authors, but we are happy to send you a copy of our sample contract on request. What We Offer: We provide full developmental and copy-editing, formatting, cover design, and a marketing plan for your book using social media, newsletters, advance-release copies, and industry contacts. Our 2022 releases have appeared...

Taking Submissions: Elements Book Three: Water (Early Listing)

Submission Window: August 1st to 31st, 2022 Payment: ¢1 per word CAD Theme: Horror stories involving water Water: Elements Book 3. Open August 1 - 31. Stories of horror with the theme of 'water' - Rated R welcomed Water deities - Drowinings - Sea Accidents - Storms - Flooding - Draughts - Welcome to our four-book series, dedicated to horror from the elements.   Each quarter has been assigned an 'element'. Please review the elements and open submission windows below. Each quarter submission window is only one month, so please make sure to submit during that specific time period Patreon members will be allowed to submit one week early, and be given a one-week extension to each quarter call. Although there can be some fantasy elements tossed in there, the overall feel of the stories must remain in the horror genre. Aim to scare. ​ Each part will be approximately 70,000 words and have its own ebook and paperback. Once all four sections are complete we will release a 'collection' containing all four books in ebook, paperback and hardcover form.  ​​Word count: 1500 - 7000 firm. Payment: Flat rate payment ¢1 per word CAD after approved edits. Reprints? No ​ Multiple Submission? No 💀 Only one submission per author per theme/quarter. (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) ​ Formatting:  Please use 12 pt Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing, set auto-indent new paragraphs. Add the story title to the top of the manuscript. Do not include your name or email in the manuscript. These stories will be read "blind" by our reading team. Title your manuscript "Title of Story - Theme"  example "The Ruin - Earth" Please make sure the title of the story and the title on the manuscript match. ​ How to submit? Submit via the FORM - Which will open on the start of each quarter. (A button will...

Taking Submissions: Short Story Substack August 2022 Window (Early Listing)

Submission Window: August 1st - 31st, 2022 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre of short story Note: Reprints accepted Changing the world, one story at a time 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. Anything Else? Yes! Analytics will be published monthly in terms of subscribers, the number of submissions, and anything else that might be relevant. There is also...

Trembling With Fear – Summer Special 2022 Deadline Extended

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: Trembling With Fear was designed as a way to give back to Horror Tree. Since it’s inception we now offer an optional $5 payment on short stories to be paid by the time our yearly anthology which contains the story will be released. At this time, drabble are still considered donations to the site. Moving forward, as our Patreon levels grow, this will change for the better in both areas. Theme: Summer-themed horror Who wants summer to last longer? We do at the Horror Tree! This year, we've extended our Summer Specials submission period by an extra month so that we can collect even more hellishly hot and campfire creepy stories. Send us your tales of horror about backpacking, road trips, glamping, beach adventures, summer camp... anything summer-related goes! You may even want to write a drabble as a summer vacation postcard as a "wish you were here" . The submission window is open until August 31st to submit drabbles of 100 words and short stories up to 2500 words. Themed Calls Please note in your submission if it is for a specific theme and not a standard Trembling With Fear call. As a side note, going forward these will likely be collected in a secondary collection each year. Summer Holiday Special (to be published in August). Submit from February to end of July. Horror on the beach, at a B&B, on a cruise, backpacking, road trips, glamping, end of the pier. Why not even write a drabble as a holiday postcard: Wish you weren’t here? For special editions, we also do take longer work and Unholy Trinities. ‘Trembling With Fear’ is a new ongoing outlet for creatives that we’re trying out on Horror Tree. We’re going to be opening for submissions on drabbles and short...

Taking Submissions: Elegant Literature: Killer Instinct

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: 10 cents per word, $200 for artwork Theme: Killer Instinct Note: There is ALSO a contest with the same theme that pays $3,000 though that one is a pay-to-play scenario. Do you feel safe? Do you believe doors and locks will protect you? They won’t, but lies are necessary to distract us from the terrifying truth – killers are everywhere. Life is full of danger. The wilds are home to fearsome predators. Sharks smell blood, and other territorial animals will rend you with tooth and claw for the misfortune of crossing their path. But urban spaces might just kill you quicker. Humans have the propensity to kill one another six times higher than the average mammal. Born killers and those brought to it by chance and fate, the true predators of the world wear familiar faces. Sharp teeth lurk behind kind smiles and watchful eyes. History is full of atrocities and bloodshed, and stories of our future suggest more to come. Even good people suffer intrusive thoughts, visualizing horrendous acts for a split second before recoiling. Beware strangers, but keep a closer eye on friends. All new writers can submit work to the magazine. It’s free. We don’t believe publications should charge authors to be published. However, we have a specific submission process you must adhere to in order to have your work considered. Our submissions window opens on the first and closes at midnight on the final day of each month. Each issue of the magazine is themed according to our monthly prompt. The prompts are designed to inspire ideas but leave room for you to tell the story you want to tell. You can always write in any genre. This month’s prompt can be viewed here.  We do host a monthly contest using the...

Contest: Nemesis

  Deadline: August 31st, 2022 (reported on Facebook) Prizes: 1st place: $100 via Paypal Author Print Copy, Author Interview published on all WTP socials and website. , 2nd Place $50 via Paypal, Author Print copy, 3rd Place $20 via Paypal Author Print copy Theme: A story about a nemesis There is no fee to enter. All entries whether they place or not will be considered for publication. ​What is Nemesis? The inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall. A long-standing rival; an archenemy. A person’s undoing. Theme Trope: Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Allies, Enemies as Lovers/Friends 1st place: $100 via Paypal Author Print Copy Author Interview published on all WTP socials and website.  ​ 2nd Place $50 via Paypal Author Print copy ​ 3rd Place $20 via Paypal Author Print copy ​ Working Title: Nemesis ​ Premise: Sometimes great loves begin with great fury. These are such tales of passion and partnership that ignite somewhere closer to hate.  Warriors on opposite ends of a battlefield align to oppose a greater evil. Sworn enemies become bound brothers for the greater good. Whatever it is that puts them at odds, it's no match to the power of what binds them together.​ ​ Genres: Keep it speculative. Romance on some level is preferred, but not required—passion, emotion, fierce bonds are what we are looking for. We’re also hoping to see a lot more #OwnVoices pieces, female authors, LGBTQA+ stories, but all are welcome to submit!​ ​ Encouraged Tropes:  Enemies to Lovers Foe Romance Subtext (But skip the sub and make it TEXT!) Belligerent Sexual Tension The Only One Allowed to Defeat You ​ Pairing Examples:  Beauty and the Beast Buffy/Spike Rey/Kylo Negan/Maggie (Enemies to allies) Nina and Matthias (Six of Crows) Batman/Joker (In fanfiction) Grindelwald/Albus Dumbledore (In fanfiction) The Doctor/ The Master...

Taking Submissions: Troopers (Early Listing)

Submission Window: August 15th - 31st, 2022 Payment: .01 per word and .005 per word for reprints Theme: Flash fiction featuring military and law enforcement science fiction Note: Reprints Welcome Troopers is a magazine of flash fiction featuring military and law enforcement science fiction. All stories in Troopers must feature a fictional military, paramilitary, or law enforcement entity in some meaningful way. Your main character doesn’t need to be a soldier, pilot, or future cop necessarily, but there must be elements of military or law enforcement present in the story. Your character doesn’t need to be human either, sentient space ships, robots, aliens, and the like are more than welcome. Paramilitary characters or groups are also welcome, such as mercenaries, space pirates, cartels, organized corporations with private militaries and/or guards, and other similar entities. We like stories with cool tech and that pack an emotional punch. We have a preference for stories that have a dark and gritty atmosphere and tone as well. We’re looking to push the boundaries of military sci-fi in the flash category and we can’t wait to see what you come up with! Submissions will be open August 15th-31st. See below guidelines for details. Submission Guidelines Troopers publishes flash fiction stories of 1,000 words or less. We publish science fiction. Every subgenre of science fiction is acceptable but the science fiction element must be present. We will have set reading periods each year. Submissions will only be read in those reading periods. Stories sent outside of the reading periods will not be read unless they were specifically solicited by the editor. We pay .01 per word for original fiction, paid on publication of the selected work. Reprints are accepted and paid at .005 per word, half that of original fiction. We accept simultaneous submissions. Just please let us...

Taking Submissions: Two-thousand Word Terrors (Early Listing)

Submission Window: August 1 – Aug 31, 2022 Payment: $0.01/word Theme: Horror of all types One new short, published on Mondays, for at least 45 weeks of the next year. We are hoping to begin posting these short stories on February 6th, 2023. “Two-thousand Word Terrors” will be the name of the featured column hosting these stories. Because this call is not specific to Strangehouse Books, all writers are welcome to submit. The theme should be, simply, Horror. What kind of Horror is up to you. Go nuts. One submission per author. Payment: $0.01/word. NO multiple submissions NO simultaneous submissions NO reprints. Submission Length: approx. 2,000 words (a little under is OK but do not exceed 2000) The submission window will be open from August 1 – Aug 31, 2022. Submissions sent outside of this time frame will be deleted. Responses should take no longer than 3 months. Due to the anticipated volume of submissions, there will not be individualized feedback on declined stories. Send submissions to: [email protected] with name and story title in the subject line. Don’t stress about the cover letter! Just get those stories attached and sent. Please do not send PDFs. Emails with PDFs attached will be deleted immediately. Manuscript formatting should follow the Shunn style, which can be found HERE (or you can copy/paste this link: https://www.shunn.net/format/story.html) We will try to notify everyone of acceptances and rejections by December 1st, 2022. Accepted stories/authors will be announced in January 2023. A QUICK WORD REGARDING REJECTIONS: Rejections are not personal. Under no circumstance will we be opening/reading responses to rejection notices. Responses to rejection notices will be deleted, unread. Thanks in advance for your understanding. Best of luck to everyone who submits a story! We look forward to reading. Via: Rooster Republic Press.

Taking Submissions: Madame Gray’s Poe-Pourri Of Terror

Deadline: September 1st, 2022 Payment: $5 Theme: Stories that pay homage to Edgar Allan Poe fan Lifelong Edgar Allan Poe fan, Madame Gray, is in search of horror tales that pay homage to one of the greats of the genre. Whether you gravitate toward The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, Murders in the Rue Morgue, or the Masque of the Red Death, she wants to read your story... Compiled and edited by Gerri R. Gray (Madame Gray's Creep Show, Blood & Blasphemy, Vault of Gore) and published by Hellbound Books, this anthology is open to undiscovered writers and established voices alike. Contributors are invited to send a bio (up to 250 words) with their submission. Multiple and simultaneous submissions are okay. PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 3K - 8K word count * Write 'MADAME GRAY POE' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: September 1st, 2022 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment: $5.00 for First Rights Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hell Bound Books Publishing.