Events

Submission Window: July 1st - 15th, 2025 Payment: Short Story-2,500 words or less. $0.015 USD per word/$37.50 USD max, Poems-less than 200 words $10, Flash Fiction-less than a 1,000 words $0.015 USD per word/$15 USD max Theme: Monkey's Paw/Answered Prayers The Last Girls Club Magazine is a quarterly feminist horror magazine that publishes international short stories and poems from the female gaze. It is an homage to the scary comics and zines of the late 20th century. This season's theme is Monkey's Paw/Answered Prayers. You've got everything you ever wanted and it's awful. More tears have been shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones. Show us the folly of wishes. Terrify us with consequences. Keep us up at night dreading a knock on the door or an envelope in the mail. No more than two fiction stories per author per submission period. Fiction is limited to 2,500 words or less. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($37.50 USD max). Flash fiction is limited to under 1,000 words. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($15 USD max). No more than three poems per poet. Poems are limited to 200 words or less for each poem. Poets are paid $10 USD upon acceptance. I prefer to use PayPal to pay authors, but will work with authors where PayPal is not available. Nonfiction columns will must be pitched to editor in chief before submission. Email your idea to [email protected] The Last Girls Club Magazine is a quarterly feminist horror magazine that publishes international short stories and poems from the female gaze. It is an homage to the scary comics and zines of the late 20th century. Please check on the website for the theme in detail. Submissions will be accepted from Jan 1-15, April 1-15, July 1-15, Oct 1-15. Final...

Submission Window: Jun 16-30, 2025. Extended Period for authors who are BIPOC, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized communities, Jul 1-15 Payment: $50 advance on novellas, $75 advance on novels, 50% net royalties on all eBooks and 30% net royalties on paperback books Theme: Horror Novels and Novellas Submission are Open Jun 16-30, 2025 Extended Period for authors who are BIPOC, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized communities, Jul 1-15 What We Want Timber Ghost Press is looking to publish high-quality ​horror fiction to include cosmic horror, weird horror, sci-fi/horror, gothic, and contemporary. We especially love cosmic horror, wilderness horror, stories that fill you with creeping dread. We are looking for both new and seasoned authors. If you have never published before, we want to hear from you. If you're a seasoned spinner of dark tales, we want to hear from you. Basically, we want to hear from you. We would love to see more subs from marginalized communities including but not limited to, LGTBQIA+, BIPOC, First Nations, Asian/Pacific Islander, etc.  We are currently looking for novels/novellas that fall into the following horror categories (We are currently not seeking single-author collections or novelettes this time around): Hauntings Possession Cosmic Horror Weird Horror Sci-Fi/Horror Old West/Horror Wilderness Horror Survival Horror Strange/Liminal Spaces Timber Ghost Press is NOT looking for or interested in stories that contain: Child abuse/pedophilia Gore/extreme violence just for the shock factor We are not interested in fantasy or slashers Absolutely no AI-generated stories Novels must be over 50k+ words. Novellas must be between 25-50k words. If your manuscript falls a little outside of these limits, that is okay; just let us know in your submission email. Simultaneous submissions are okay, please just let us know if it is accepted elsewhere. We do not accept multiple submissions, nor do we...

Deadline: July 20th, 2025 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Theme: Love where time itself is conquered (time travel, time bending, etc) We’re seeking short stories for our brand-new Romantic Fantasy series, a paid market for new and established writers. We're looking for tales featuring strong-willed, independent women who are resilient, perhaps flawed or possess hidden powers, secrets or royal bloodlines. Such protagonists would not be defined solely by their love interests but grow through emotionally charged journeys. Friendships and love interests might be brooding, mysterious or dangerously alluring. Relationships might emphasize deep emotional connections, with lyrical, romantic scenes central to each character’s arc. Ideal submissions will weave emotional tension such as longing, betrayal and love into epic fantasy worlds depicting prophecies, injustice and conflict. We welcome stories that explore moral dilemmas or sacrifices tied to love and duty, and will look out for richly imagined settings, from fae realms and alternate worlds to magical kingdoms, complete with unique magic systems, mythical creatures, royal courts and epic quests. Romance should be integral to the plot, with other elements such as slow-burn attraction, enemies who become lovers, forbidden love or fated matches. If you’re ready to immerse readers in unforgettable adventures where love and fantasy collide, we’d love to read your story. Read on for more tips on the specific titles… A Breath of Time Lost loves, love discovered, love unreachable unless Time itself is conquered, these and many other time-bending, time traveling, time feasting themes can spark your imagination for stories of alternate history, of ancient forests returning to haunt the present and great adventures through dreams and timeless mountain tops, all with hearts beating to the rhythm of romance. Let's see where your stories take us! Please note: Without wishing to...

Submission Window: July 7th-21st, 2025 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element, even horror). Submissions will be open from July 7-21, 2025! Please do not query about when our next submission window will be. When we know when our next submission window will be, the first place we mark it is here. So if it is not noted here, then we do not know yet. David Steffen is the editor, who you may also know from reading The Long List Anthology series or from the Submission Grinder, which you can use to find markets for your writing and track your submissions.  Diabolical Plots is a SFWA-qualifying market, so if you have a personal goal to join SFWA, making a sale here would help you toward that goal. If you have already read our guidelines and are ready to submit, you can SUBMIT HERE. FICTION Accessibility Note:  We recognize our submission form may not be accessible to all users. Please send us a message at our contact form or email editordiabolicalplotscom and we will make sure you can submit your story. Genres:  science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element, even horror). Word count:  3500 words or less.  This is a firm limit.  If you submit a longer story, it will be rejected unread and that will count as a submission.  Do not query to ask permission to submit something longer–the answer will be no. Pay rate: 10 cents per word.  Paying by PayPal is preferred by us, but we can mail a US bank check if you live in the US, and if you live somewhere where neither of these things are options, we are exploring other options.  We don’t want unavailability of payment apps for you to be a deterrent to you submitting! Multiple submissions:  No.  In the past, Diabolical Plots accepted...

Deadline: July 25th, 2025 Prize: A publishing contract with Penguin Michael Joseph, with a £10,000 advance, and representation by Bell Lomax Moreton Agency. Theme: Horror novels by under-represented UK horror authors Penguin Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Books, is a leading publisher of commercial fiction and non-fiction. We are proud to be entering our third year of The Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers' Prize to find new authors from underrepresented backgrounds who we can bring to the widest possible readership. Last year, we asked for submissions in the romance genre and were thrilled to announce Brandon Purves, whose debut novel Do Not Kiss Nicholas Prince publishes Summer 2026, as our second Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers Prize winner. This year we want something scary! If you’re an aspiring horror author, we want to hear from you. We’re looking for the best horror novels that have a strong hook and even stronger atmosphere. What's the prize? The winner of the Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers' Prize will receive a publishing contract with Penguin Michael Joseph, with a £10,000 advance, and representation by Bell Lomax Moreton Agency. Two runner-up writers will also receive one-to-one editorial feedback and guidance from an editor or agent. Who are the judges? Jorgie Bain Jorgie Bain has worked in the industry for nearly 4 years but has had a lifelong passion for storytelling in all its forms, birthed from an overactive imagination and a tendency to watch horror films while eating breakfast. Jorgie has worked on some incredible authors such as Raven Kennedy, Frances White, Stacia Stark, Danielle L. Jenson, Kate Dramis, Josh Winning and Simone St. James, to name a few, and is a champion for conversation-starting books C.J. Tudor C. J. Tudor’s love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young. When her...

Submission Window: July 1st - July 25th, 2025 Payment: $5 Theme: Dark fiction, Serialized dark fiction, Creative non-fiction At the Stygian Lepus Magazine, we are passionate about sharing the unique voices and stories of our contributors. As a boutique publisher, we are a small team working hard to bring these projects to life. We are proud to provide a complimentary digital copy of the published magazine to all our contributors. Additionally, we now offer a small token payment of $5 USD for each accepted submission. As a growing press, we rely heavily on sales to fund our operations and improve what we can offer contributors in the future. While we are unable to provide discounted print copies at this time due to the additional manual workload, we deeply value every story we publish and the trust our authors place in us to bring their work to readers. Thank you for being part of our journey. Your creativity and collaboration mean everything to us, and we look forward to building something meaningful together. We are looking for:  **note: our bunny leans to the dark side, so please remember this when submitting. Stories: Any wordcount and genre Dark fiction Serialized dark fiction Creative non-fiction Poems: Any wordcount and genre Articles: Any wordcount. Must be writing related. Share your experiences: advice for new authors, what worked for you in marketing, book reviews. Art: Any genre, must be high resolution, 300 dpi, in order to be considered Please email before submitting anything over 4,000 words. We only have capacity to read 2 each month. If accepted, your submission will be published online, and also in the digital/print magazine. If your story is chosen for a serialization, it will also have its own supplemental publication – you’ll received a free print copy. Send submissions to [email protected] Submission window...

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: $30 plus 1 cent per word and a contributors copy Theme: Genre-bending stories that feature Polarities Autonomous Press is now accepting submissions of short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry for the 10th volume of Spoon Knife, our annual genre-bending lit anthology. Please read this whole page carefully before submitting; some details have changed this time around! Theme The theme for Spoon Knife 10 will be Polarities. Polarities: pairs of opposite forces or qualities or tendencies. Good and evil. Love and hate. Life and death. Heroism and villainy. Feminine and masculine. Night and day. Vice and virtue. Old and new. Order and chaos. The public persona and the hidden shadow self. The mundane everyday world and that which lies beyond. What polarity lies at the heart of your story? In what ways does it manifest? What happens when the two sides of the polarity come into contact or conflict, or when one transforms into the other? What We’re Looking For One of the things that’s always set Spoon Knife apart from other anthology series is the wild diversity of genres represented in each volume. Each volume has its own theme, and we aim to show how that theme can be woven into stories across multiple disparate genres. In a given volume of Spoon Knife, you might find the theme explored in tales of magical realism, science fiction, absurdist satire, swords-and-sorcery, historical romance, and horror, not to mention creative nonfiction and poetry. We especially love stories that defy established genre categories or creatively blend genres. Ultimately, our criteria for assessing a submission boil down to this: is it a good, engaging, and well-written story that plays with the volume’s theme in an interesting way? If you’re not familiar with Spoon Knife, please have a look at our most recent volume (that would be volume 8...

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: One free paperback OR $10 USD Theme: Stories that involve vampires. Your vampire(s) can be the whumpee, whumper, and/or caretaker. We will also consider stories about vampire-adjacent creatures such as dhampirs, succubi, etc. Bring out your vampires! For WPP's fourth anthology, we’re looking for stories that involve vampires. Your vampire(s) can be the whumpee, whumper, and/or caretaker. We will also consider stories about vampire-adjacent creatures such as dhampirs, succubi, etc. Word Count: Up to 17,500 words   For this anthology, we are looking for stories in the following categories: Micro-fiction: 250 words or less Flash fiction: 251-1,000 words Short Story: 1,001-7,499 words Novelette: 7,500-17,500 words Each author can submit one story per category. So for example, you can submit a short story and a micro fiction but you can’t submit two micro fictions. Compensation: ebook contributor’s copy, one free paperback OR $10 USD, and discounts on additional paperbacks 50% of proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to charity. Submissions Open: November 1, 2024 Submissions Close: July 31, 2025 Expected Publication Date: October 2025 Submit here! The Nitty-Gritty (aka more details about submitting) Via: The Whumpy Printing Press.

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: $50 and a contributor’s copy. Theme: Horror stories set in the Ozark mountains Calling all Ozark writers, storytellers, folklorists, and tale collectors!Parlor Ghost Press, an imprint of Watertower Hill Publishing (publishers of 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴, and 𝘏𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴), is taking submissions for our upcoming anthology, 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸: 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, edited by Heather Daughrity, to be released February 2026.What we are looking for: horror stories set in the Ozark mountains--either your own take on a story from Ozark folklore or an original tale featuring Ozark locations/atmosphere/beliefs/etc.We want all the spooks, haints, hags, and boogers. Give us the mist rising out of the hollers and the mysterious sounds from the woods, the strange lights in the sky and the distant cackle of Old Granny in her hidden shack.We want horror, but we want it PG—no extreme horror or erotic horror, please. Just a good modern take on the venerable myths, magic, and monsters unique to the Ozark area.Submissions are open from April 7 to July 31, 2025.Word Count: 3,000 to 6,000 words.Payment: $50 plus a contributor’s copy.Send submissions to: [email protected]. Put “OZARK” in the subject line.Submissions should be double spaced with Times New Roman 12-point font. Please ensure that your name, address, email, and word count are located at the top of your document. Send submissions as attachments to your email; stories included in the body of the email will not be accepted.We look forward to reading your stories! Via: Watertower Hill Publishing.

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Lovecraftian horror Cthulu: Dreams – our Lovecraftian anthology Cthulu: Dreams– This is horror. Express yourself as the theme moves you. Incorporate the Lovecraftian theme as you will into your horror story. Not all need contain an eldritch horror, remember The Alchemist. Good writing will triumph over concepts tightly aligned to a perception of the theme. We encourage you to weave the theme into an engaging story with well-developed characters and deep emotion. Stories that contain infanticide, or rape will not be accepted. Consideration might be made for gratuitous gore, if the story calls for it. Submission Period: May 1, 2025 to July 31, 2025 Submissions: No AI, 1 per author; no simultaneous submissions, no reprints; Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 2,000 to 7,000 words Submission Guidelines: Anonymous submission with no author name in document; 12 pt Times or Arial; .Doc or .Docx; double-space; first line indent; no tabs used. Genres: Horror Anticipated Pay: Royalty Share of D2D sales and Kickstarter Share Each story will receive A D2D royalty share from the sales on the D2D platform and a percent of the Kickstarter. This does not include: wholesale to authors; or non-D2D retail outlets. Links will be available to direct your customers to D2D outlets. Timeline Projections: Submissions close: July 31, 2025 Review: Aug 2025 Acceptance / Rejection: Sep 2025 Edits: Oct 2025 Production: Oct 2025 Kickstarter: Oct 2025 Published: December 2025 Upon acceptance, the author is expected to work with the editor on at least one round of revisions in MSWord. Our publication goal will be the late fall of 2025; however, the extensive time needed to review and edit submissions may vary depending upon the submitted works and author’s response times. Inkd Publishing LLC will hold first publication rights for four months after publication...