Events

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: $5 Theme: Holidays, with a pile of horror thrown in We all love the holidays, be it Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Hanukkah, Eid, the Solstices, Walpurgisnacht... the list is practically endless. We want your stories of of holidays (any holiday at all!) filled with terror and dread, blood and guts, ghosts, and demons most foul. Curated by the inimitable Theresa Scott-Matthews. 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! * 4K-10K word count * Write 'HELLIDAYS' 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our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: 30 June 2023 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Deadline: June 30, 2023 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: Stories, poems, and scholarship inspired by and about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. Steel True, Blade Straight The Belanger Books Journal of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Inspired Stories, Poems, and Scholarship 2023 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....

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: $20 and a contributors copy Theme: Monsters that live next door! The reading period is now open for our next anthology, THE MONSTERS NEXT DOOR. Theme: Exactly what the title indicates. The setting is real world, suburbia, inner city, farm country -- with the exception that there are monsters next door. We are open to horror, science fiction, comedy, tragedy, whatever your story needs to get it told, so long as it fits the theme of the anthology. Did Dracula move into the apartment next to yours? Does Cthulhu have a summer house in the country? Are there zombies on the cul-de-sac now? Word length: 2,000 min / 10,000 max Rights: First serial print and e-book Pay: Upon publication, $20 plus author copy. Authors can order additional copies at base printing cost. Deadline: June 30, 2023 Date of Publication: Sept 2023 Submissions should be sent in MS-Word format to [email protected]. If you use the William Shunn Manuscript format, you will have a much better chance of getting read. Via: Critical Blast.

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: $.03 per word and a contributors copy Theme: Short stories based around the theme of “mad science.” For Greater Than His Nature, I’m looking for short stories based around the theme of “mad science.” Cackling Victorian scientists, giant atomic monsters, and Cronenbergian body horror are all fair game. I’m even open to the right piece of nonfiction for this one. I’m especially interested to include stories from disabled and chronically ill writers. You don’t need to self-identify if you don’t want to or give me any information you don’t feel comfortable with; just know that, if you’ve got some medical trauma you need to work through with monsters and mayhem, I’m here for you. The Specifics pulp, bizarro, and transgressive writing are all a-okay; anything that could be a right-wing talking point is emphatically not to be clear, I’m saying that misogyny, sexism, racism, ableism, and/or homophobic and transphobic bullshit will not be tolerated pro-capitalism, pro-cop stances are also going to be a (very) hard sell no AI-generated anything up to 10,000 words, but between 2K – 6K is the sweet spot simultaneous submissions are cool, but please only send me one story per anthology at a time; if you’re rejected, feel free to try again submissions for both Greater Than His Nature and Open All Night will be open until June 30, 2023; I’ll try to respond to all stories within a month of receipt payment for accepted stories is $.03 per word and a paperback of the anthology you’re in the pay-rate will go up if we hit the stretch goals for our Kickstarter by submitting, you’re acknowledging acceptance of the above Kickstarter contingencies send your story as an attachment to electricalsweater gmail com, with the subject line Submission, questions and queries go to carnivalatomic gmail com Via: Atomic Carnival Books.

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: 3 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: Horror and fantasy that deals with the theme of "Open All Night" For Open All Night, I want horror and fantasy (and all and any assorted sub- and cross-genres) based around the theme of “open all night.” While not strictly necessary, I’ll definitely be looking for retail and service industry-based stories. Give me graveyard shifts, overnight inventories gone bad, and haunted diners, shit so sordid and spooky that even the most seasoned of waitresses can’t handle what’s happening. No nonfiction here, but if you want to deviate from the above genres, a little or a lot, that’s cool with me. I’m never going to turn down Clerks set in the commissary of a spaceship. Just make sure it sticks to the theme. The Specifics pulp, bizarro, and transgressive writing are all a-okay; anything that could be a right-wing talking point is emphatically not to be clear, I’m saying that misogyny, sexism, racism, ableism, and/or homophobic and transphobic bullshit will not be tolerated pro-capitalism, pro-cop stances are also going to be a (very) hard sell no AI-generated anything up to 10,000 words, but between 2K – 6K is the sweet spot simultaneous submissions are cool, but please only send me one story per anthology at a time; if you’re rejected, feel free to try again submissions for both Greater Than His Nature and Open All Night will be open until June 30, 2023; I’ll try to respond to all stories within a month of receipt payment for accepted stories is $.03 per word and a paperback of the anthology you’re in the pay-rate will go up if we hit the stretch goals for our Kickstarter by submitting, you’re acknowledging acceptance of the above Kickstarter contingencies send your story as an attachment to electricalsweater gmail com, with the subject line Submission, questions...

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: £10 Theme: witches, or a witch All submissions must include witches, or a witch, as the main theme of the piece. Each author may submit up to three pieces for consideration. We accept short stories of up to 5,000 words and poetry of any length. Please email your submission as a Word document to [email protected] Submissions will close at midnight GMT on the 30th of June 2023. The list of successful authors will be published on our website no later than 31st of July 2023, so please do keep an eye out. Successful writers will receive a one off payment of £10. Writers will retain all copyrights for their submission/s.   Via: West Avenue Publishing.

Submission Window: May 15th to June 30th, 2023 Payment: 5 cents per word plus contributor’s copies Theme: Lucy Westenra/Bloofer Lady Issue 3: Lucy Westenra/Bloofer Lady: (To be published November/2023) What’s your take on Miss Lucy? Innocent and pure? Promiscuous Tease? How about her time as the Bloofer Lady? You can romance us or scare us, just be sure to intrigue us. Submissions open May 15, 2023-June 30, 2023. Submissions received earlier will be read and considered but will not be responded to until the window opens. We like stories that feel like they could be canon, but we also enjoy fun alternate takes and pastiche. Prequels, sequels, updates, divergent timelines - unleash your creative powers of darkness and show us something exciting . Stories should be 1500-5000 words. Poetry will be considered, but is not necessarily sought (We are hoping to have an all poetry issue sometime in the future). Compensation will be .05/word plus contributor’s copies. Simultaneous submissions accepted, but please notify us immediately if accepted elsewhere. Some stories may be chosen for the website, but not the publication. Please adhere to the Shunn format - https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/ Please only send .doc, .docx, or .pdf Filename and email subject should be - “lastname_title_renfield” or “lastname_title_lucy” Include short 3rd person bio Email story submissions to: [email protected] Cover Art Submissions What we want Eye catching design. Think pulp paperbacks, Basil Gogos’ Famous Monsters covers, EC Horror Comics, Vintage Movie Posters. Originality. Homage is fun, plagiarism is not. Please make sure you own all aspects of your work. Knowledge and Love of all things Dracula. Hide some Easter eggs in there. Make it so that we keep coming back to find more to enjoy. Keep it clean. Sensual is fine. Erotica, not so much. Check out our previously published Covers. Parameters Format is...

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: $20 Theme: Fantasy short stories that explore names Theme: What’s in a name? Is it a simple collection of symbols and sounds, or something more? A name is one of the first things we are given in this world, and is the first thing we give to others. But names hold power. They can define and divide, unite and reimagine. A name can truly change your fate. This collection of Fantasy short stories will explore names and the power they hold over us. Featuring stories from the Worldsmyths community, these tales will show you new worlds and open your mind to the power of names. What We Are Looking For: Stories that make the heart sing and the coldest soul melt, stories with exciting characters that make us feel for them. See our previous anthology wherever books are sold to get an idea of what we like. NOTE – Please send your most polished work, stories that have a clear beginning, middle, and end, where something changes by the end of the piece. Submission Period: Now to June 30th at 11:59pm EST Length: 2000-4000 words (+/- 250 wordS) Genre: Speculative fiction Pay: $20USD/story Rights: Exclusive right for a year, reprint right after Delivery Method: These stories will be serialized and released on several sites before being bundled on Amazon Reprints Accepted: Yes Simultaneous Submissions: No Who Can Submit: Anyone Where to Submit: See #publisher-info on Discord for the Google Form Via: Wordsmyths.

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: 3 cents per word Theme: A look at the south of the United States through the lens of speculative fiction B Cubed press is proud to announce our latest Open Call:  Alternative Truths. Southern Edition: Bless their Hearts (working title). Edited by K.G.  Anderson and Bob Brown and the next in B Cubed Press’s best-selling Alternative Truths series. This book will examine the South, a place where politicians and their followers compete to peg the outrage meter. Why—and how—are they turning the United States into a cauldron of bigotry and hate? They are banning books. They are controlling free speech (“Don’t Say Gay”). They have placed bounties on abortion seekers. They have declared war on Mickey Mouse. They promote state takeovers of local prosecutors’ offices, election boards, college governing boards, and school curricula. They think no one is too young or too unbalanced to have a gun and are In full retreat on gun-safety laws. They would make your gender identity a crime. It goes on and on. This book will look at the mindset behind these and other efforts to bring back the Old South, a mythical place and time when everyone knew their place. We want you give us stories that speak to the consequences of such a mindset and where it may be taking us as individuals and  as a culture. What, if left unfettered, would they make of America, the world, and the future. And more important, how will we fight to stop them.  What we are looking for: We are accepting stories, essays, and poems. When you write, go deep. You won’t sell us a story just by mocking the Right or by being Left. We want thoughtful looks at the issues. Hate doesn’t work for us. We like character-driven stories. We like...

Deadline: June 30th, 2023 Payment: $15 Theme: Speculative fiction, primarily horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Note: Reprints welcome Formatting Guidelines This is proving to be a recurring problem, so we're putting it up front. Please, for all our sakes, read this next part carefully. All submissions should be sent by e-mail (no letters or telephone calls please) to [email protected]. Below are some formatting rules to help us process your submission more quickly. EMAIL AND COVER LETTERS Email is accepted in both text and HTML formats. When submitting, please put this in the subject line: Submission: (Title) - (First and Last name) Include the following in the body of the email and in the attached submission: Your name Name to use on the story (byline), if different Your preferred email address Your mailing address The story's title The story's word count You may also include a cover letter in the body of the email. We get a lot of strange stuff in cover letters, so if you're unsure of what goes in them (and especially what doesn't) please refer to these cover letter tips: How to write a cover letter | What not to put in a cover letter by Jed Hartman SUBMISSION FORMATTING We ONLY accept submissions as attachments! All stories submitted as an attachment must follow standard manuscript formatting. We will no longer read any story not properly formatted. (And we much prefer Courier New to Times New Roman) For explanations and tips on what SMF is and how to do it with word processing programs, please see this article. Please send your submission as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Test Format (.rtf) only. Other formats, such as Works, WordPerfect, Open Office, etc., have proven difficult to open. Please note that we no longer accept "inline" submssions; that is, submissions with the stories pasted...