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Submission Window: April 1st-15th, 2023 Payment: 2 cents per word Theme: Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Length: 500 – 1,000 words. Firm. Author Compensation: 2c/word, paid via PayPal. (Rounded to nearest whole dollar) Publication: Dread Stone Press website (Dose of Dread). Reading Periods: January, April, July, and October; 1st to 15th. Any stories submitted outside of each reading period will not be read. Rights: First World Electronic Rights. Non-exclusive rights thereafter. No reprint restrictions after publication. Original stories ONLY. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but NO multiple submissions. You may submit again the next reading period if rejected. If your story is accepted, please sit out one reading period before submitting again. Please, for everyone’s sake, no rough drafts. Successful pieces will require little to no proofreading edits. Email your submission as a Word document attachment to dreadstonepress (at) gmail (dot) com with “DOSE – – ” in the subject line. Rejections for Dose of Dread submissions will be sent by the end of the month submitted. If you have not received a reply by then, feel free to follow-up. All rejections will be form rejections. It’s not personal, promise. Which also means please don’t respond to rejections. It’s unnecessary. Please see the General Submission Guidelines below for additional formatting information. Via: Dreadstone Press.

Submission Window: March 15th, 2023 - April 15th, 2023 Payment: 3 cents per word Theme: Fun and Uplifting Speculative Fiction in the science fiction or fantasy variety NOTE: March 15th-21st reserved for writers of color, submissions for all open on March 22nd, 2023. We are open annually for submissions from March 15th through April 15th for our August issue, and from September 15th through October 15th for our February issue. The first week of submissions (March 15-21 and Sept 15-21) is reserved for writers of color. The remainder of the window will be for general submissions. If you’re a writer of color who submits during that first week and you hear back from us before the general window closes, you’re welcome to send a second submission during that time. WHAT TO SUBMIT The short version: We pay $0.03 per word with a minimum of $20 in exchange for first world electronic rights in English. We ask for an exclusivity period of 3 months from date of publication. Maximum 5,000 words. Your story must contain speculative elements: that means science fiction or fantasy. We do not accept nonfiction. No simultaneous submissions. Only one submission per writer per open period. Save your manuscript as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf and email it as an attachment to [email protected]. As far as manuscript formatting goes, use a readable 12-point font (we like Times New Roman and Courier just fine but we’re not unreasonably picky). Italicize your italics and please double-space; we’re reading on screens and a little white space goes a long way. You’re welcome to include a cover letter, but try to avoid summarizing your story. We don’t generally look at cover letters until after we’ve read the story. Also, please limit your writing credits to your top two or three. (No worries if you don’t have any! We love...

Deadline: April 15, 2023 Prizes: $250/100/50 USD for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place Theme: science fiction and speculative fiction. See regular flash guidelines below, but with the following exceptions: -MAXIMUM 500 words (hard limit) -you can send a total of 3 pieces, which can be all at once if you’d like (each piece must be 500 words or less) -open March 1, 2023 until April 15, 2023 (last place on Earth that it remains April 15) -$250/100/50 USD for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place (all published online, no honorable mentions and will also appear in print in Volume 4) -NO AI-GENERATED SUBMISSIONS (true always, just reiterating) GENERAL (i.e. non micro-fiction) GUIDELINES We are currently closed to GENERAL flash submissions (see above regarding micro-fiction contest). We will open sometime in the spring of 2023 for Volume 4. Please check back here for future updates. We want science fiction and speculative fiction. So long as it falls into one of these categories, we will happily read it. If other elements are present, that is fine, but it must include science or speculative fiction. No more than 1000 words. This is a firm limit. Please no queries about longer pieces. NO AI-GENERATED/ASSISTED STORIES Pay rate is professional - $0.08 US/word This is for marginalized members of the sci-fi/spec community—this includes people of color, the LGBTQ2S+ community, members of marginalized genders, and disabled and neurodiverse people. If you are not a person of color, LGBTQ2S+, neurodiverse, disabled, or of a marginalized gender, please DO NOT send us your work. Authors of all accepted pieces will have the option to include a short bio in the anthology. We understand the sensitive nature of gender identity and sexual orientation, so if you wish this status to remain unwritten and/or if you prefer to be anonymous, we will print...

Deadline: April 15th, 2023 Payment: $25 CND for poems and between $50 and $75 CND per short story Theme: Artificial Intelligence Our Call for Submissions to the House of Zolo’s Journal of Speculative Literature, Volume 4 is now OPEN. The theme for this volume is Artificial Intelligence. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2023; word count: up to 5,000 words. While many presses have been forbidding content created with AI, we are open to work that has used new technologies in the composition. However, we’re not interested in material straight from by ChatGPT (We will know!) Your story or poem has to fit the criteria outlined below. If you have used AI programs in writing your story or poem, please describe your process. SUBMIT to House of Zolo on Moksha What we look for in Fiction – HOZ is looking for literature that explores possibilities for the future. We want challenging short stories that are character driven, that reimagine the world and our place in it. We are looking for: BIPOC authors, feminist authors, LGBTQ2S authors, radical authors, authors who experiment. Concepts that thrill us: transhumanism, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, new systems, resistance, activism, queer perspectives, feminist perspectives, nature. We are not interested in stories that concern the reinvention of empire, rehashing of old narratives, or excessive violence. We entertain all genre based stories so long as they concern the future and relate to our current theme. That said, we are looking for the best speculative fiction stories, so if you think you have something we might want, please consider sending it. What we look for in Poetry HOZ are looking for works of speculative poetry that imagine the future of the world, the future of nature, technology, and/or the human being. Any form of poetry is welcomed. Like our call for fiction...

Deadline: April 19th, 2023 Payment: 4k-6k word story - $30 (USD), 6k-8k word story - $40 (USD), 8k-10k word story - $50 (USD) Theme: Tales of Halloween Horror Volume 8 of the popular Better Off Dead series will be themed around Halloween Horror. Submissions open until the deadline listed above. SUBMISSION INFO Submissions must be between 4,000 and 10,000 words (Word counts are firm) Title, submitter's name, pen name (if different), story word count and author email address must be centered at the top of your submission Submissions must be written using American English spelling and terminology Submissions cannot be written by AI (Artificial Intelligence.) Any author that submits work that is not written by them will be disqualified from submitting to SSP in the future. Believe us when we say that we can spot an AI written story a mile away. Don't waste our time or yours. Submissions must be written in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1" margins, double spaced with a special first line indention of 0.3" Submissions must not contain headers, footers or page numbers All scene breaks must be three asterisks, centered on the page, with no spaces in between (***) Submissions must be in .Docx or .Doc format Submissions should be clean and edited to the best of author's ability Submissions must contain elements of horror centered around the Halloween holiday. The editors are looking for originality. Many tropes have been recreated over and over. We'd love to see stories that are fresh and jaw-dropping. Extreme horror is okay for this publication, however submissions need not be extreme Submissions must not have been published elsewhere before in any medium Authors may submit as many stories as they want for review, however, there will be a limit of one published story per author Simultaneous submissions are...

Deadline: April 29th, 2023 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Cryptids If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 150k+ monthly 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 92) Cryptids: deadline 29th April 2023 SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If this form isn’t working, please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. Title your email with the following syntax: “SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT”  (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) Submission Guidelines • 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 confirming that you are the original creator of the story • We will consider entrants whose work has been entered and published elsewhere, however please ensure you state where and when your story has been used elsewhere on the document • You will be allowed to place one call-to-action for your own work at the end of the episode. Be sure to include this at the end of your document, underneath the log line • Payment per accepted story is 15GBP • 2x entries per theme permitted   When will I hear if my story has been accepted or not? We carefully review every single submission that comes through our door. If you’ve...

Deadline: April 30th, 2023 Payment: An advance against royalties of $750, as well as 25% of net net receipts Theme: speculative fiction or literary novellas Psychopomp.com publishes otherworldly novellas about death, multiverses, time travel, and other strange lands. Open Call For Novellas We are currently open to otherworldly novella submissions. Please read the guidelines thoroughly before submitting. What We’re Looking For: We are looking for speculative fiction or literary novellas between 20,000 to 40,000 words that fall under one (or some!) of the following themes: stories where grief or loss play a leading role stories that feature the afterlife or the underworld stories that involve the journey through death/the journey of the dead stories that involve death personified (Death!) stories that take place in, or utilize a multiverse stories that involve time travel (esp. those that involve time travel + a previously mentioned theme) origin stories (especially as they relate to previously mentioned themes) stories where the characters slowly lose their sense of reality goth space, but make it goth stories where things that are not usually personified ARE personified (planets? galaxies? time? …bones?) creepy meta-horror amazingly original ghost stories We are ABSOLUTELY not interested in the following themes: conventional horror story tropes (zombies, werewolves, vampires, etc.) slashy, gory horror stereotypical christian afterlife stories of angels, devils, pearly gates, etc. stories that are heavy on the humor (Douglas Adams type of humor is a bad fit; dark, smart, black humor is more likely to land but will STILL be a hard sell) hard sci-fi military sci-fi sword and sorcery fantasy (we want nothing to do with goblins, orcs, etc.) the fae mermaids/selkies Submission Details: We are looking to acquire original, unpublished novellas. If your story has been published in any way (including self published or published on your Patreon) please...

Deadline: April 30th, 2023 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: horror/dark fiction Breakdown of content:   8 fiction pieces (approximate word lengths) – 1x 5000, 1x 3000, 1x 2500, 2x 1500, 3x 500 3-5 non-fiction pieces – 1 article, 1-2 briefs, 1-2 interviews and/or review – Fiction:   We are looking for horror/dark fiction pieces between 500-5000 words firm. Genre mashing is absolutely allowed. We do not accept stories that involve the sexual abuse/exploitation of minors direct or implied. Common sense when submitting please. We are not looking for pure shock value. All components of your story should have merit. Gore for gore’s sake is not what we are looking for. While not a requirement, we strongly suggest you pick up a copy of the digital magazine to help better understand the types of work we’re looking for.   Our pay rates 5 cents per word All payments are made in US funds via PayPal. We accept submissions during the following reading periods , with an expected response time of up to 16 weeks. This way we are able to accommodate all the submissions we receive. If you have not heard back from us after 16 weeks, please feel free to send us an update query.   WINTER ISSUE: August 01 – October 31   SPRING ISSUE: November 01 – January 31   SUMMER ISSUE: February 01 – April 30   FALL ISSUE: May 01 – July 31 All submissions must be sent via e-mail to: [email protected] as an attached word document or .rtf with the word “Fiction Submission – STORY TITLE” in the subject line. In the body of the email include a word count. A short bio is welcome, but not mandatory. Please also include if you wish your story considered for both the quarterly print and the website publication. Note compensation rates are different for website so be certain.   ***VERY...

Submission Window: March 16th, 2023 - April 30th, 2023 Payment: 3 cents per word (potentially higher depending on Kickstarter) and a contributors copy Theme: Hauntings Note: women military veterans only A horror anthology written by women military veterans. Submissions will open March 16th for those who identify as a woman and have served in the military. Closing date is April 30, 2023. Do not send submissions early. THEME: Hauntings/to be haunted/to haunt. We’re not looking for service-related stories, only that haunting be the central theme. Hauntings of a classic horror nature, as well as other types such as psychological, haunted by trauma, life choices, and similar that take the reader into a dark, horror tale. The goal is to highlight excellent talent from women military veterans who are horror writers, not for stories to be focused on the military, although you may include the military in your story if you wish. Submission Guidelines: File: .docx or .doc Format: Modern Shunn https://www.shunn.net/format/story/ Length: Short stories 2,000 to 4,000 words. Poems may be up to 60 lines with no special indenting or other unusual formatting requirements. Email to: info at tundraswanpress dot com Submission Subject Line: HauntedZone_StoryTitle File Name: Please name your manuscript like this: HAUNTED ZONE_StoryTitle_AuthorName Author Bio: Provide a brief third-person bio—no more than 300 words. Include your author website link if you have one. Include 1-2 sentences about your military service, branch, dates served, etc. Simultaneous/Multiple/Reprint Submissions? You may submit simultaneously to other markets, but please notify us right away if the story is accepted elsewhere. You may send up to two submissions, but only one per category (one short story, one poem). Original, unpublished stories only. No reprints. Payment & Rights Pay: **$0.03/word per accepted submission (minimum). Each author will also receive a contributor copy. Exclusivity/Reversion of rights: We distribute our anthologies in both paper and eBook formats across multiple retailers. We ask for...