Events

Submission Window: January 1st - 2nd, 2025 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints, For artwork: $10 for the non-exclusive right to use each image, for as long as the site is online.  If we publish a print collection we will pay a pro-rata share for each image used. Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world. Note: Reprints welcome     Submissions Schedule The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. We pay 8¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 8¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles. For new poetry, we pay $1 per line, and for reprints we pay 50¢ a line  We’re looking for poems up to 40 lines. We’ll consider longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 8¢ per word. We sponsor The Kepler Award to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways. You can learn aboutThe Kepler Award here. You can read a copy of our standard contract here.   It can be varied as needed to include the rights of translators, voice actors, etc. Writers Guidelines We accept new work as well as reprints, prose and poetry, from a minimum of 1000 words on up.   All else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored, and we have yet to find a story over about 9-10,000 words we...

Deadline: January 5th, 2025 Payment: $5 Theme: Storm We are currently reading for our Winter 2025 issue. The theme for this issue is storm. In our changing climate, storms are here to stay. They batter us from within and without. Whether writing about a literal tempest or a figurative deluge, we want to read your torrential landscapes. Send us fiction, flash fiction, poetry, or art that strikes lightning in our hearts. Please read the general guidelines below before submitting. The deadline to submit for the winter issue is January 5th, 2025. The best way to learn what we are looking for is to read us! All of our issues are available to read for free online. To check out our Summer 2023 issue, click here. To read our latest flash fiction contest winners, click here. You might just find something you like, too! Guidelines for General Submissions: All submissions should follow the core code of the magazine: write or illustrate something fantastic. We are interested in all things fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, surrealist, fabulist, and magical realist. Show off your weird! Fiction submissions should be no longer than 3,500 words. Fiction submissions that are 1,000 words or fewer will be considered as flash fiction. Poetry submissions should be no longer than 50 lines and under three pages. Please send no more than two fiction or flash fiction pieces or four poems per issue. Fiction submissions should be double-spaced. All submissions should be in a size 12, no-nonsense font (arial, times new roman, etc). We can work with Word DOC, DOCX, and PDF files for fiction and poetry. For art, we can take JPG, PNG, and PDF files. We do not discriminate based on race, sex, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality, disabilities, or religious beliefs. In fact, we welcome and celebrate diversity in our contributors. Similarly, we will not publish works that promote discrimination or bigotry of any kind. Please do not send us work...

Deadline: January 6th, 2025 Payment: Prose—$25/published piece, Poetry—$10/published piece, Cover art—$50 Theme: Defiance We are shifting focus to works OF DEFIANCE—we are looking for works of and by voices of protest that challenge our current status quo. We are looking for resistance literature. This can be fictional prose of any genre, poetry, or nonfiction essays. We are also looking for cover art submissions which should fit a 6"x9" cover (the left edge may need cropped up to 0.25” due to some recent issues we’ve had with “shifting” with the printing company!) To be clear, the ideology of the work should oppose right-wing ideology, Nazism, Authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, white supremacy, etc. or uplift voices of dissent or marginalized voices. Let's make future issues the target for bans by Moms for Liberty. Our current pay rates are as follows: Prose—$25/published piece Poetry—$10/published piece Cover art—$50 We will start accepting submissions for Volumes 3 and 4 on December 1, 2024. Submit Our magazine was founded in 2024 as a "cozy" literature magazine, however, we are now in the process of transitioning to publishing resistance literature. We value artistic expression! We are looking for works that are daring, even challenging. Works should protest right-wing ideology, particularly of the far/alt-right variety. Our digital releases will come in many convenient formats as well, including e-reader formats. We plan to release digital and print versions of our magazine on a quarterly basis. We may release some free online or online-only stories on our website from time to time as well (authors will be asked beforehand for permission for an online release.) We are located in the Jackson, Mississippi greater area/Huntsville, Alabama greater area. We will open for submissions for volume 3 and 4 December 1, 2024! We pay $25 for accepted prose, $10 for accepted poetry, and...

Submission Window: January 1st - 7th for general submissions and an extended window to January 14th for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and Palestinian authors Payment: Flash (400-1500 word) $10, Shorts (1,501-8,000) $20, Black and white Artwork: $10 Theme: Paranoia Volume 5: Paranoia General submissions: January 1,2025 – January 7, 2025 Extended window for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and Palestinian authors: January 1, 2025 – January 14, 2025 Publishing in March 2025 Submission Guidelines Fraidy Cat Press is proud to present Fraidy Cat Quarterly, published four times annually in print and ebook formats. What To Submit Fraidy Cat Press loves all things horror – from the eerie, creeping terror of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”’s systematic violence to the unhinged tilt of Laird Barron’s “The Imago Sequence” and everything in between. We want your stories that go bump in the night, your stories that creak like an intruding foot on the staircase, your best writing that screeches through the calm darkness. Put simply, Fraidy Cat Press is interested in: Horror (and its related genre mashups and sub-genres) Wordcount Fraidy Cat Press is seeking: Flash fiction (400-1,500 words long, $10 per accepted piece) Short stories (1,501-8,000 words long, $20 per accepted piece) Black and white artwork ($10 per accepted piece) When To Submit We open for a limited weeklong period four times annually. Space in our quarterlies are limited. We reserve the right to close to submissions early if we are flooded. Submit early to be sure your story will be considered. How To Submit Your submission should be in Shunn format, but we prefer you NOT include your address or phone number. Please submit ONE story per reading period. Multiple submissions will be deleted unread. Simultaneous submissions are encouraged! Just please let us know as soon as your submission is accepted elsewhere. We strive to respond...

Deadline: January 10th, 2024 Payment: $30 Theme: Speculative Stories that feature food in a way that makes you want to eat it Ever read something that made you hungry? Ever had an author so skilled at sensory description make you crave the food in their story? We want to make an anthology out of that feeling. Send us your stories that feature food. The food doesn’t need to be central to the plot, however, the sensory description of the food needs to stand out for us. We want our readers hungry, both for the rest of your story and for the food it contains. Wow us with your culinary plot points. All stories must feature a speculative element, whether it’s magic or monsters or anything in between. All subgenres of speculative fiction are welcome, although military/political/alien-based sci-fi will be a harder sell. We will judge all stories by their own merits though, so if you think you have something that fits, we want to read it. All food featured in your story must be appetizing and must be something that can be made in the real world. We want speculative fiction, but not speculative food. All stories must be previously unpublished (this includes your own website/blog). We will not accept any stories featuring bigotry, hateful language, or sexual assault of any kind. This is an anthology for adults so some sex/violence/profanity is fine, as long as it directly pertains to the story and isn’t used solely for shock value. We do want our mothers to read this, so any sex should be fade-to-black rather than overly descriptive. Guidelines: Deadline: January 10th, 2025 at 11:59 EST Word count: 2,500-7,000 words Payment: Flat payment of $30 USD per accepted story, paid through PayPal or Venmo. Rights: First world print and digital publication rights with one year...

Deadline: January 14th, 2025 Payment: Fiction: 1500-7500 words ($.08 per word, $100 minimum), Poetry: One poem of up to three pages ($40 per poem), Nonfiction: 1000-2000 words ($75 per essay or article), Cover Art: $100 for reprints, $200 for original unpublished, Interior Art: $50 for reprints, $100 for original unpublished Theme: Any genre of science fiction, interstitial fiction, magic realism, or fantasy has potential as a solarpunk forum that are also works that stir readers with themes of defiance, change, and achievement. All submissions to Solarpunk Magazine are done via Moksha. Any submissions received via email will be deleted without a response. Please don’t email us to describe your story and ask if it’s something we’d be interested in before submitting. We appreciate the consideration, but its easier if you just submit the story through Moksha. In 2024, we are particularly looking for stories between 1,500 and 3,000 words. While our word limit remains 7,500, stories that fall between 1,500 and 3,000 will have a better chance of being selected for at least the first few submission periods in 2024. Please read the full submission guidelines on down below or on our Moksha page before submitting your work. All submission periods end at 11:59 pm PST on the 14th of their given month. 2025 Submission Window Schedule: January 1-14 April 1-14 July 1-14 October 1-14 2025 Issue Release Schedule: Issue #13 – January 14 Issue #14 – March 11 Issue #15 – May 13 Issue #16 – July 8 (Colorful Roots)* Issue #17 – September 9 Issue #18 – November 11 The Basics: If your work is accepted, please wait two full submission windows before submitting again. For example, if a story you receive word in April that your story is accepted, please do not submit during the May and July open windows, but feel...

Deadline: January 15th, 2024 Payment: $15, 5 contributors copies, "future earning opportunities" (this part is unclear) Theme: Zombie-themed stories of a short novella length to be released in collections “Sometimes I think we’re all corpses. Just rotting upright.” (George Orwell, “Keep the Aspidistra Flying”) Campfire Publishing is excited to announce that we are currently accepting submissions for, “Rotting Upright, Volume 1”, the first in our collection of Zombie themed horror stories! Please read below to ensure that your story will be a good fit, and feel free to reach out to us–via the form located on our main page or by sending an email to [email protected]–if you have any questions. “Rotting Upright” is the first volume in a horror collection dedicated to Zombie- themed horror stories. Campfire Publishing aspires to publish multiple volumes in the “Rotting Upright” collection, along with collections specific to a variety of themes in the horror genre. What are we looking for? We are looking for WELL-EDITED stories between 15,000-20,000 words that offer a horrific, bloody, or unique lens to view the subject of Zombies— there’s no ‘wrong’ way to answer the question “what is a zombie?” or “where do they originate?” “what is their objective?” Maybe you feel there’s zombies among us right now. Feel free to journey wherever your creativity leads you! Campfire Publishing is keeping its eye out for a wide range of chilling voices from seasoned to novice that offer unique perspectives into the chilling and often post-apocalyptic world of “Zombies”. We want twists and turns, thrills and chills; make us want to sleep with the lights turned on at night. Show us excitement, culture, and blood-curdling screams! What are we NOT looking for? We don’t want works that promote hate speech; and while a romantic note or two or many is fine and...

Deadline: January 15th, 2025 Payment: $20 per story or artwork Theme: Electric Spec prefers science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. Fiction Submission Guidelinessubmissions at electricspec (dot) com Issues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. We reserve the right to shift publication date slightly, as necessary. We have reading periods for each issue, though we never close to submissions. February closes January 15 May closes April 15 August closes July 15 November closes October 15 We do not consider stories or art created, or partially created, by A.I. We consider stories between 250 and 7000 words with speculative fiction elements. We prefer science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. We do not consider poetry, stories with over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction, or non-fiction. We don't accept multiple submissions; in other words, only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before submitting another. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know up front and tell us as soon as it's accepted elsewhere. We do not publish reprints, including anything that has appeared on a website. We pay $20 for each story we publish. We buy first-printing world exclusive rights for four months. Payment will be made shortly after publication using PayPal. We encourage our authors to establish a PayPal account if they don't already have one. We prefer to read submissions in traditional manuscript format. This means indented paragraphs instead of left justification, and Courier or Times New Roman font in 12 pt, double-spaced. Also, please include the title, your name, address, and word length on the first page of your story. To submit your...

Submission Window: November 1st - January 15th, 2025 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Fantasy stories of queer heroes forged and tempered in the fire, fighting dark stars and bright suns, and overthrowing tyranny in all its forms. Sword and sorcery, sweat and sandals, souls and stars. The anthology, edited by dave ring, will include pulp heroism in conversation with Samuel R. Delany's Nevèrÿon, Conan and Red Sonja, Imaro and Xena. Check out the crowdfund here. The compensation level for original stories accepted to this anthology is $0.08/word. Submit stories on Submittable between November 1st, 2024 and January 15th, 2025. Please contact us if there are any accessibility concerns for any reason and we’ll work with you. We are looking for: Wordcount: Under 6,000 words. 1-4,000 words is probably the sweet spot. Concept: Stories of queer heroes forged and tempered in the fire, fighting dark stars and bright suns, and overthrowing tyranny in all its forms. Sword and sorcery, sweat and sandals, souls and stars. What we want to see: We are looking primarily for fantasy stories on the gritty, un-epic side of things. We expect there will be a seam of the occult and cosmic horror running through the book. We’ll also probably include a couple sword and planet stories, but that won’t be the focus. We’re using the most inclusive definition of queer. Queer, trans, ace, undefinable. Throughout, we’re looking for rich, varied and nuanced understandings of gender, family and ethnicity. What we don’t want to see: We’re not interested in work which focuses on unexamined bigotry or sexual violence. While this is a darker-themed anthology, we intend to handle these subjects with care. Further vibe-check notes after getting some questions about what we are looking for: We’re probably not looking for stories set on Earth. We’re probably not...

Deadline: January 15th, 2025 Payment: $20 for original stories, $15 for reprints, $40 to their favorite short Theme: Extreme horror Note: Reprints Welcome Dancing Griffin Press is seeking extreme horror stories for the upcoming anthology UNHOLY ADMISSIONS. We are looking for stories with limited characters and locations that feature extremely dark elements. Blood, guts, gore, etc. is more than welcome as nothing is off limits except excessive depictions of sexual violence. Violence towards children is acceptable, though we are not necessarily looking for stories with children as the main characters. Get creative! Your story can be about a newlywed couple who get attacked by a pack of rabid zombie skunks on their honeymoon or it can be about a mechanic who comes home from work and randomly snaps and kills his whole family. Gross-out stories are very much encouraged as well. Just have fun, and make sure to bring the violence. Length: Between 3,500 and 7,500 words Pay: $20 for original stories, $15 for reprints, $40 if your original story is our absolute favorite Window: November 15th - January 15th Expected publication date: March 15th, 2025 Please email stories to [email protected] with the subject “Unholy Admissions,” and attach your story or stories as .docx files. Include a short bio of yourself in the body of the email. You may enter up to three stories. Reprints of course are welcome, but please do not send us more than two reprints for consideration.  Simultaneous submissions are fine, but let us know immediately if your entry needs to be pulled for any reason. Please do not use AI. Do not stress about the format – fonts, font sizes, line spacing and layouts do not matter as all of that will be changed anyway if your story is accepted. You own the rights to your story always.