Events

Deadline: May 30th, 2023 Payment: 2 contributors' copies Theme: Offices that have Supernatural Beings in them The Prompt: Sometimes we think our co-workers could be from another planet or our boss from another dimension, but what if that was true? What if the guy in the cubicle next door gets his work done quickly because he has two heads or four arms? Or maybe your boss can be anywhere in the office because he can walk through walls as a ghostly spirit? A fun and “horrific” collection of tales from the office where coffee breaks include drinking joe with the vampire accountant or working a weekend with your shape-shifting boss. Paranormal Incorporated: Office Memo 2 brings horror and humor together as the classic witch, ghost, demon, shifter and other horror stories readers love find themselves in the corporate environment of fax machines, office memos, and that never-ending smell from the fridge. Well, that might be a zombie co-worker in there! Your story could be part of this variety of paranormal fables, so enter your entry into our anthology contest today, and your story could be the latest offering of spine-tingling and belly-laughing literature from 4 Horsemen Publications! Deadline May 30th 2023 at Midnight EST Publication By End of 2023 Award 2 complimentary paper copies. US only. Access to buy author copies at a discounted rate. We retain first publication rights for the first 90 days of publication. After that feel free to sell and republish your entry as you wish. All entries will solely belong to you. Wide distribution. By sending in a submission, you are agreeing to the rights above and will receive confirmation to further information regarding contest. Contest Guidelines Here’s what we need from you to include: 12 pt font Calibri or Times New Roman Double-spaced throughout (without...

Deadline: May 30th, 2023 Payment: 2 contributors' copies Theme: Sentient life in the multiverse The Prompt: When last did you look to the night sky and wonder what might loom in the far reaches of the universe? Did you imagine meeting someone among the stars? These are the tales of sentient life in the multiverse… Of the strange and diverse sophonts, hive minds, anarcho-syndicalist collectives, and anyone—or anything—you can encounter among the star systems, galaxies, and universes that surround us. Some linger lovingly on the jagged edge of horror. Some offer immortality, others knowledge or hope or comfort beyond imagining. These tales dare to explore the endless diversity of intelligent life in the multiverse. Are you brave enough to come along for the ride? Discover and experience first-hand as these tales answer the question: Is there life out there? Is it intelligent? Can we talk to them? What do these sophonts look like, feel like? How do they smell and taste? Very importantly, Do They Party? These twelve short stories offer fully immersive science fiction that bring us into space and push us beyond a pale definition of sentient life. From the organic to the artificial to something in between—from the fully embodied to the fully simulated—so many aliens, so little time! Deadline May 30th 2023 at Midnight EST Publication By End of 2023 Award 2 complimentary paper copies. US only. Access to buy author copies at a discounted rate. We retain first publication rights for the first 90 days of publication. After that feel free to sell and republish your entry as you wish. All entries will solely belong to you. Wide distribution. By sending in a submission, you are agreeing to the rights above and will receive confirmation to further information regarding contest. Contest Guidelines Here’s what we need...

Deadline: May 30th, 2023 Payment: $0.08 CAD per word Theme: short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships in any genre (though they prefer uplifting so probably better for Scifi/Fantasy.) Note: Looking for at least 50% Canadian authors We're looking for short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. We don't want the blaze of new love or the obsession of a new friend. We want pieces that show that comfort that develops when people know each other for years. Give us deep space, dusty frontiers, or dreamy fantasy. We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. While we are primarily looking for stories with happy endings (yeah, yeah), we also want endings that are earned. If things get a little teary or gory, that's ok. We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules. Payment Payment is $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction (1,000-3,500 words) and $60 CAD flat per poem. We are purchasing first publication rights, to revert back to the author after one year. Canadian Writers Since Heartlines Spec is primarily a Canadian magazine, we're looking to feature writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. This includes expats, refugees and displaced people living in Canada, new immigrants, and people who refuse/resist Canadian Identity*. Heartlines welcomes submissions from writers of all identities. If you are comfortable, we encourage writers to indicate their intersections in their cover letter. Disclosure is not a requirement to submit, and we recognize that not all people are safe to disclose their identities. We are committed to addressing barriers and systemic discrimination faced by equity-deserving groups, which includes (but is not limited to): Racialized people People with disabilities LGBTQIA+ people Indigenous people Women Neurodivergent people Our goal for each issue...

Deadline: May 31st, 2023 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2500 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2500 words Theme: After Midnight Thuggish Itch is our horror and sci-fi anthology collection. Home to your horror, sci-fi and speculative fiction stories. Current theme: AFTER MIDNIGHT Our favourite time of the day are those few hours between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am. After midnight is when all the fun starts, and when things will often go bump in the night. They don't call it the witching hour for nothing... For this collection, we are looking for stories that take place between the hours of midnight and 5:00am. Thuggish Itch is our horror, sci-fi and speculative fiction collection. Please make sure that your story falls within one of these genres. Be original. We also encourage new and unpublished writers to take the leap and get in touch. Please ensure that you read through the general guidelines and format your submission accordingly. If you have any specific questions please contact us using the form on the home page or via the listed social media accounts. To help make sure that your submission gets to the correct place, please include the following in the subject line of your email: Thuggish Itch - Midnight- Story Title. Word count: 1000 - 5000 words Deadline: May 31 2023 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2500 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2500 words   Submission Guidelines: Please no extreme erotica or stories that feature excessive violence or vulgarity (unless otherwise specified). We are all dog lovers here, so violence against animals is the quickest way to get your story rejected. All stories should be formatted appropriately. Please see here for more details. Ensure that your name, address, and email contact and word count are at the top of your manuscript. Double check your spelling and grammar before sending your work. Please...

Deadline: May 31, 2023 Payment: 7 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: Tales that explore queer tragic horror, and any other interpretation of the title theme Note: This anthology is only open to queer writers We’re looking for tales that explore queer tragic horror, and any other interpretation of the title theme. Show us what tragic queer love means to you. Horror is a genre with serrated edges—so make your characters bleed. We love queer stories of love but intermingle them with tragedy and horror. Give us characters who are angsty and complex, depraved and lecherous, and take us through their ecstasy of heartbreak and suffering. We want hauntings! Possessions! Lovers doomed to be separated for eternity! Mad scientists reviving their beloved wrong! Gays in hell! Sad Bly Manor gays! Don’t like the bury your gays trope? Curse ‘em with immortality and the indefinite madness that comes with it instead! Most of all, we are looking for compelling characters in stories that stick the landing. Their fates should ideally resonate with their emotional arc. We want feverish intensity, dread, and heartache. When asked, “yo, u good?” after reading your story, the answer should be “no”. This anthology is only open to queer writers. Those questioning whether or not they identify as queer are also encouraged to submit. We are particularly interested in work from underrepresented voices. Note that some writers have been invited to contribute. The anthology will consist of a mix of solicited and selected stories from the open call submission period. Length: 1k-6k words (ideal 2k-4k) Payment: $0.07 cents USD per word, plus one physical contributor’s copy Publication: E-book and print Multiple Submissions: No Simultaneous Submissions: Yes (Please notify us if accepted elsewhere) Reprints: No Deadline: May 31, 2023 Expected publication: April 2024, to launch at the Ghoulish Book Festival in San Antonio...

Deadline: May 31st, 2023 Payment: 5 cents CDN per word Theme: Through the Portal: Stories From a Hopeful Dystopia Note: International submissions are welcome, however, 90% of the authors must live in or have ties to Canada Through the Portal: Stories From a Hopeful Dystopia - open call for submissions of all-new works. Edited by: Lynn Hutchinson Lee and Nina Munteanu “Historically pandemics have forced humans to break with their past and imagine a world anew. This one is no different. It’s a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it dragging the carcasses of our prejudices, our hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies. Or we can walk through it lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.”– Arundhati Roy Inspired by Arundhati Roy’s vision, we’re looking for eco-fiction stories that celebrate the complexity of relationships and the emotional and physical journey from catastrophe. The emergence of the term eco-fiction as a brand of literature suggests that we are all awakening—authors and readers—to our changing environment. In eco-fiction, the environment—or a specific aspect of the environment—plays a major role in the story, either as premise or as a character with agency. Hopeful dystopias are much more than an apparent oxymoron; they are in some fundamental way the spearhead of the future––and ironically often a celebration of human spirit by shining a light through the darkness of disaster. Atwood argued that dystopias and cautionary tales ultimately embrace an element of hope, through a character’s experience. Dystopias can serve as a road map for individual or community endurance, resilience, and triumph through disaster. Storytelling about how the Earth takes care of us–and how we can take care of the...

Deadline: May 31st, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: The best 1,000-9,000 word dark fiction published in semipro and token paying markets in 2022. Horror Tree is pleased to announce the first Shadowed Realms: The 2022 Indie Dark Fiction Anthology.  Here at Horror Tree, we believe there is excellent fiction being published at semipro and token-paying publications, and we’d like to celebrate and highlight these authors and their stories. This anthology will be a collection of reprints, featuring the best dark fiction published in semipro and token-paying markets in 2022. What we’re looking for: Dark-leaning speculative fiction that was published for semipro or token payment in 2022. In order to submit to us, you must either have, or be able to retain non-exclusive rights to the story. Please do not submit stories that you do not have the rights to; we will not be able to publish them.  Stories between 1,000 – 8,000 words.  Stories need not be horror but should be dark in tone. Only stories published in semipro or token-paying markets (less than 5 cents/word USD). We are specifically looking to highlight semipro authors and publications.  What we’re not looking for: Stories published at professional paying markets. (There are other anthologies who do this, and do it well!) Stories you do not have the rights to. Self-published stories. Drabbles, novelettes, or novellas. Hate speech, including racist, misogynistic, homophobic (or any other “phobic”) content Fan Fiction Heavy use of vulgar language Graphic depictions of torture, sexual violence, and gore for gore’s sake Pedophilia Anything inappropriate with animals Submission Guidelines: We will only consider material published in 2022.  Authors: Please send the story formatted in Shunn Modern using our submission form. We prefer word docs where possible. If not, then we will accept PDFs.  No multiple submissions, so please...

Submission Window: May 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: 8 cents a word Theme: Speculative fiction that 'reclaims' the view of Sapphic Villains instead of the predatorial tropes that they've fallen into Submissions Open: May 1, 2023 – May 31, 2023 Title: Scissor Sisters: Sapphic Villains Anthology Type: Anthology of short stories and flash fiction Editors: Rae Knowles & April Yates Theme: We're reclaiming the predatory lesbian trope, think Mrs Danvers in Rebecca or Roxy in Basic Instinct, so we’re looking for stories of sapphic villains. Because we’re looking to reclaim this trope and not reinforce it, we don’t just want sapphic villains. Sapphic characters can also be heroes and anti-heroes. We’d like to see a diversity of queer identities in a multitude of roles. We’d especially love to see stories of feminine rage, erotic horror, genderbent retellings and reclamations of power by queer femmes. Must Haves:  Diverse LGBTQ+ representation Time period: anytime in the past or present Location: anywhere on Earth Won't Accept: Racism Anti-LGBTQIA+ Rape revenge stories Reprints Manuscripts that don't follow the guidelines Not interested in sci-fi, dystopian, or futuristic settings Guidelines:  We’re interested in representing authors around the globe. Authors outside the US are strongly encouraged to submit as are writers whose first language isn't English Subgenres: Erotic horror Gothic horror Quiet horror Body horror New and experienced authors are welcome Short Stories between 1,500 to 4,000 words Please note that #ownvoices is important to the editors, but this call is open to everyone. In Cover Letter include:                  - Brief bio, word count, and if you are a new or previously published author              -Story title Manuscript:                  - First page should have your penname, content warnings, email address, word count, and title of story - Double...

Submission Window: May 15th - 31st, 2023 Payment: $0.05 per word for fiction, $50 per poem Theme: Creature Apparition Lit is a speculative fiction magazine that publishes themed issues four times a year. We publish poems and stories between 1k-5k words in January, April, July, and October. We also hold monthly flash fiction contests between the 1st and 15th of each month. Flash stories must be under 1000 words and be inspired or based on the chosen theme. Read our submission guidelines and submit your work through our Moksha portal. Payment Apparition is a semi-pro rate magazine, paying $0.05 per word, minimum of $50.00 dollars for short stories and a flat fee of $50 per poem. If we accept your story, we are purchasing the right to publish the story online and in the quarterly edition. Rights will revert back to the artist after one year. Equity Initiative As Apparition Lit works to create a more equitable publishing community, we recognize that our open submission period is concurrent with some other really great literary magazines where marginalized writers also like to submit. Voices should be heard and we want to help increase that opportunity. Our submission window will remain open for an additional week each quarter for writers who identify as BIPOC and self-identify in their cover letter.  We will also accept simultaneous submissions from writers who identify as BIPOC or LGBTQIA+. Please just note how you identify in your cover letter, that it is a simultaneous submission, and see further details in the menu below on how to submit for each category. Past Contributors Once you are published by Apparition Lit, you join our tiny but mighty family. We love our alumni and will always do what we can to support their publishing career. We want to continually discover and champion new voices and different point-of-views....

Deadline: May 31st, 2023 Payment: $5 Theme: Let’s Go to the Movies A Literary Journal with Some Art, Comics, and Analysis Thrown in for Good Measure As Quarter Press continues to grow, we’re adding another coin to our pocketful of change. We want to offer a space for shorter works to mingle with art and other bits of nonsense, so we bring you The Quarter(ly): It just makes cents. Issues are themed; however, we consider all interpretations. 023’s Themes and Deadlines: Let’s Go to the Movies (May 31) Weirder Still (Aug. 31) What’ve you got to show us? Stories and / or Poems For Stories: We’re open to micro works all the way up to 10,000 words. Just keep two things in mind: We want to be engaged and the submission must be completed (no pitches, please!) For Poems: We’d love to see up to five poems from you, but you can always just send one, too. Art As long as it has some tie to the current issue’s theme, we’re open to see any art created in any medium at any time. Just know that it will need to “work in print” and—might—be presented in black and white. For ART ONLY, you may choose to submit via email by sending jpgs, PDFs, or PNGs to chrisatquarterpress(at)gmail(dot)com Graphic Stories Show us your comic strips or complete short works; we’d love to see them all! Please try to keep submissions to 20 pages or less. Feel free to also send a collection of comic strips / one shot comics, as well. (Please note that our publication size / dimensions might change between issues. Our “Norm” is 6x9”). These must be COMPLETE works. For Graphic Work / Comics, you may choose to submit via email by sending jpgs, PDFs, or PNGs to...