Events

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...

Submission Window: May 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre, short story 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. What if I can’t pay right now? That’s ok! If you publish a blurb about this site on your website, blog, or social media, I will send you one full story of your choosing. Best of all, it is...

Submission Window: May 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $5 for poetry, 1 cent per word for non-fiction, $35 for cover art Theme: Speculative fiction It's our goal to publish diverse voices from around the world, and to do that, we are actively seeking stories, poems, and non-fiction pieces by authors from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in the science fiction and fantasy canon. Our submission cycle is therefore split into two categories, where every other month is explicitly reserved for submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. The interposing six months remain open to everyone. Guidelines for Fiction We are seeking stories in the English language up to 6,000 words by writers from around the world. We favor submisions that have not been published before (including on your own website), though we do accept a limited number of reprints not currently appearing anywhere online. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we're particularly interested in publishing stories from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we're open to a wide variety of stories across the SFF and weird spectra. We pay 1¢ per word for fiction, and we try to respond to all submissions within ten weeks. We will also accept a limited number of previously published stories, so please indicate on the form if your submission is a reprint. All submissions must use the Shunn manuscript format (we prefer Courier New) and be either .rtf, .doc, or .docx. We like stories that are subtle in their telling and stick with us long after we've finished. We're more likely to buy stories that balance a sense of wonder with a bold plot and...

Deadline: May 31st, 2023 Payment: Short Stories: 1 cent per word, Poetry: 5 cents per line, Comics: $5 a page Theme: Horror comics, poems, and short stories with the theme of pulp horror Submissions for our 3rd issue are open from April 15th to May 31st, 2023! ​ At Reader Beware, we want to see pulp horror of all kinds – think Friday the Thirteenth, Psycho Goreman, and Glorious. Think Junji Ito, Grady Hendrix, and Eric LaRocca. We want your creepy gorefests!  Don't be afraid to get explicit with it, just don't send us anything too mean-spirited. Gore is great, peril and torment are great–continuing the horror tradition of fetishistically brutalizing women is not. Stories We accept short stories of up to 5000 words at a rate of one cent per word. Poetry We accept up to three pages of poetry per author at a rate of five cents per line. Comics We accept up to ten pages of comics at a rate of five dollars per page. Send Us Your Work Send us your story/poem/comic as a file attachment (.docx for stories and poems, png/pdf for comics) to [email protected]. In the body of the email, write the name you wish to be credited as and any content warnings you deem necessary. Via: Reader Beware.

Deadline: May 31st, 2023 Payment: Contributors copy and $30 for short stories and $10 for poetry Theme: Speculative fiction that explores the body and our relationship to it Note: For authors originally from, or living permanently in, Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand What is a body? In the modern world, the body is an object, separate from the self. The body is an inconvenience whose needs are a barrier to overcome in pursuit of productivity. The body is a collection of features. The body is an asset in which we invest to increase value. The body is sanitised, with illness and death hidden from public view. The body is effortless; evidence of exertion is edited out, except perhaps a single drop of sweat for aesthetic emphasis. BODY OF WORK rejects this dislocation of the body from self. The body belongs to us in all its glory. The 2023 CSFG anthology seeks speculative fiction that explores the body and our relationship to it – how we live in it, how we die in it, and how we transform it – from the good to the bad to the just plain weird. We invite authors to consider the following themes: Bodily autonomy Transformation and metamorphosis Adaptation and mutation Curses Shapeshifting Gender and sexuality Illness and wellness Disability and accessibility Beauty standards Body modification Birth, aging, and death Life cycles Survival Cyborgs, hybrids, and monsters Medicine, medical history, and public health Writing We are seeking submissions from authors who are: Over 18 Originally from, or living permanently in, Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand Made out of meat (no AI-generated stories, please) Submissions may take the form of poetry (max 40 lines) prose (max 5,000 words) All entries must be the author’s original work. CSFG is not accepting reprints at this time. Stories will be selected...

Submission Window: May 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: Short Fiction: .05 per word (up to .08 if stretch goal is met) Poetry: $1 per line up to 50 lines (up to $2 if stretch goal is met) Theme: Horror telling a tale of music Submissions for Playlist of the Damned, the 2023 Kickstarter anthology from Weird Little Worlds Press will open on May 1st, 2023. This anthology is the third Kickstarter anthology from WLW Press, and features authors such as Gemma Files, Philip Fracassi, Lisa Morton, Eric LaRocca, Hailey Piper, Premee Mohamed, Craig L. Gidney, and more. The press will take 9 additional stories and poems from its open submissions period, with a potential to take more, depending on the Kickstarter’s funding. Weird Little Worlds Press has become one of the strongest publishers of short horror fiction, with Humans are the Problem: A Monster’s Anthology (2021) and Mother: Tales of Love and Terror (2022) both being recognized on the Bram Stoker Award® Preliminary Ballots. Stories from the press’s anthologies have also appeared on the yearly Pseudopod fiction highlight roundup as well as Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year anthologies. The 2022 Mother is also on the final Stoker ballot for Excellence in an Anthology, and the co-editors of this year’s Playlist, Jessica Landry and Willow Dawn Becker, are both Stoker-nominated editors (Landry, There Is No Death, There Are No Dead; Crystal Lake Publishing, 2021)(Becker, Mother: Tales of Love and Terror; WLW Press, 2022). The Authors Playlist of the Damned looks to meet the same level of excellence as the press’s previous anthologies and includes brand new fiction from award-winning authors including: Gemma Files Philip Fracassi Premee Mohamed Castro Richard Chizmar Hailey Piper Lisa Morton Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito Craig L. Gidney Maxwell I. Gold Mercedes M. Yardley Sofia Ajram Tim Waggoner Linda Addison P. Miskowski Eric LaRocca The Pitch In December 2020, hiker Jeremy Schall finds a cassette tape in an abandoned mine reading DO NOT PLAY....