Events

Submission Window: July 1st - July 31st, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word for original pieces, 2 cents per word for reprints, and $100 flat fee for original art and comics. Theme: Horror for younger readers Note: Reprints Welcome The Maul seeks stories, comics, and art. Please see below for details on each. Overall Guidelines for Writers This is a magazine developed for people who are looking for horror, but either aren’t quite sure where to start, or haven’t found the right author. So let’s talk about how to write horror and other speculative fiction for younger readers and also writing it for those looking for something different: It has been said that if something looks like a swamp monster, walks like a swamp monster, and sounds like a swamp monster, it is indeed a swamp monster. And good writing can be a lot like a swamp monster. You know it when you see it, and it is often just misunderstood. Here at the Maul, even though our target audience skews younger, we’re really just looking for great writing. Our focus is on horror but we’ll take other genres. I n fact, the editors prefer stories that are a mix of genres. You’re more likely to be published if you give us fantasy or sci-fi mixed with horror. We’ll also take literary work, though please realize that, given our clientele and organizational goals, it can be a hard sell. We enjoy pulp fiction. That means we look for stories that pop. Exaggeration, melodrama, impossibly imaginative settings, and vivid imagery are encouraged. Bring us something that really jumps off the page. Be as over-the-top as you like. If you’re a more subtle writer, submit anyway. Sometimes one good twist or some relatable descriptions will still catch people’s eye, even the uninitiated....

Deadline: July 31st, 2022 Payment: $5 USD per 1000 words Theme: Speculative Fiction *punk stories Phantasmical Contraptions take 2! Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Decopunk, Biopunk, Steelpunk, Islandpunk, whatever your favorite flavor of punk, we want your punk stories! Deadline, July 31, 2022. NOTE: We are currently only accepting short stories for the anthologies and cannot accept full-length novel manuscripts at this time. ** Please put the anthology you're submitting to in the subject line of the email!** Payment for stories will be $5 USD per 1000 words for all current anthologies (excepting contests). Payments occur via PayPal, so please have a PayPal account into which we can pay you. We're looking for speculative fiction across all anthologies (unless otherwise specified). That includes everything from high fantasy to hard scifi and anything in between. We do accept reprints, simultaneous submissions, and multiple submissions, though these will slow down our response time. Story lengths should be anywhere from flash-length to about 15k words, but we have at times made exceptions. We know a story is complete when it's complete, and arbitrary word count requirements are not always helpful. If you have an amazing story that exceeds 15k words, let us know. We may be able to make special accommodations. :) With regard to copyright, we request the non-exclusive right to publish your story in the anthology to which it was accepted. You retain the rights to your individual story to do with as you wish. Please let us know if you have any questions. Note: We do have long lead times with our anthologies, because we want to ensure quality work gets included. Thanks for your understanding on this. Check here for open calls for stories.   FORMATTING INFORMATION Formatting a manuscript is always a pain. Every publication has its own rules--headers, spacing, font, file format,...

Submission Window: July 24th - 31st, 2022 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Telepathy July 24-31, 2022: Diabolical Thoughts  Submission Window (telepathy theme) (Note that there is 1 submission per author per window. But you don’t need to hear back from one window before submitting to another window.) 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. Diabolical Thoughts Theme   We are seeking telepathy stories of every shape and style. Stories might be as intimate as mind-readers in love, forever seeing themselves through their lover’s eyes; or as harrowing as a telepath on the battlefield, drowned in every iota of pain, fear and grief felt for miles. They might be as bizarre as telepathy tourism from alien planets, all cognitive connoisseurs who find humans to have a particularly piquant mindset; or as familiar as a job interview, which has simply gained a new mental level to spar upon.   Give us telepathic truck drivers; telepathic orchestra players; telepathic gladiators and magistrates and paramedics and revolutionaries. We cannot wait to see what you come up with.   For this themed issue, our assistant editor Ziv Wities will be taking the wheel and making final selections. Of course, your story should still be a good fit for Diabolical Plots—check out our general guidelines for an idea of what that means—but what might win you extra points with Ziv?   Well, Ziv would love to see:   Telepathy taking on odd,...

Deadline: July 31st, 2022 Payment: $5 USD per 1000 words Theme: Speculative Fiction Flora and fauna From Other Worlds! This one's pretty self-explanatory. Flora and fauna from elsewhere. We want your spec-fic stories! Deadline, July 31, 2022. NOTE: We are currently only accepting short stories for the anthologies and cannot accept full-length novel manuscripts at this time. ** Please put the anthology you're submitting to in the subject line of the email!** Payment for stories will be $5 USD per 1000 words for all current anthologies (excepting contests). Payments occur via PayPal, so please have a PayPal account into which we can pay you. We're looking for speculative fiction across all anthologies (unless otherwise specified). That includes everything from high fantasy to hard scifi and anything in between. We do accept reprints, simultaneous submissions, and multiple submissions, though these will slow down our response time. Story lengths should be anywhere from flash-length to about 15k words, but we have at times made exceptions. We know a story is complete when it's complete, and arbitrary word count requirements are not always helpful. If you have an amazing story that exceeds 15k words, let us know. We may be able to make special accommodations. :) With regard to copyright, we request the non-exclusive right to publish your story in the anthology to which it was accepted. You retain the rights to your individual story to do with as you wish. Please let us know if you have any questions. Note: We do have long lead times with our anthologies, because we want to ensure quality work gets included. Thanks for your understanding on this. Check here for open calls for stories.   FORMATTING INFORMATION Formatting a manuscript is always a pain. Every publication has its own rules--headers, spacing, font, file format, required information,...

Deadline: July 31st, 2022 Payment: $0.11/word CAD. Theme: cozy slice-of-life fantasy short stories. Tales and Feathers is a home for cozy slice-of-life fantasy short stories. Our ideal submissions looks like this: Quiet character-driven storytelling Gentle moments Rich fantastical worldbuilding Everyday moments Stories that take place before or between or after the epic conflicts Stories that offer warmth, comfort, and possibility We welcome stories written in any fantasy genre or genres, including stories that blur genre lines. We are especially interested in high fantasy, fairy tales, and myth. We also welcome stories that have been translated into English and stories that engage with non-Western fantasy genre traditions. If you think you match our tone, give us a try. We recommend checking out our preview issue, free online, or grabbing an issue, to see what Augur has published before (especially 5.1, their joy issue). We accept multiple submissions and simultaneous submissions. Our goal is to respond to all submissions within eight weeks. Our submissions system, Moksha, should send you a verification email within 24 hours. If you do not receive one, resubmit and send us an email letting us know what happened. Text submissions should be formatted as follows: Standard manuscript format .doc Without your name (for anonymous reading) Preferably, in size 12 Times or Times New Roman font Finally: If you fit into our guidelines, don’t self-reject! Submit, submit, submit! PLEASE DON'T SEND... Pandemic stories Gratuitously violent pieces Horror that uses neurodivergence or mental health as the horror element Comedy that punches down Stories that are “speculative” because a non-marginalized group suddenly experiences what it’s like to be a marginalized group (e.g. a man “has to live with sexism”, a white woman is suddenly “treated like a woman of colour”) Anything that minimizes sexual trauma/any trauma as a plot device (eg. A woman is assaulted...

Deadline: July 31st, 2022 Payment: $30 and a contributor's copy Theme: Short stories & poetry that terrify without a single mention of blood or gore Sliced Up Press is looking for short stories & poetry that terrify without a single mention of blood or gore, for its latest horror fiction anthology, BLOODLESS, edited by Ben Walker. Terrify us with your best story or poem where no blood is mentioned, nor any associated gore, grue & guts. That doesn’t mean characters can’t die in horrific ways (if they die at all) – we just want you to challenge yourself to write something where blood & guts are suggested, happen “off-screen”, or are otherwise worked around creatively. Make it psychological, paranormal, or even extreme, just don’t show any blood! Any time period or setting is welcome, on Earth or not. What we’re looking for: All submissions must be in the horror genre which means we want scary. Bizarro, splatterpunk and extreme horror are welcome, but we don’t want anything involving rape, etc. Preference will be given to submissions from women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors. If you don’t like this, don’t submit. Don’t mention blood at all, not in your title or the story/poem itself! No synonyms/slang terms for blood either! All submissions must be original. We will not accept reprints, or stories/poetry published elsewhere, including on blogs, social media etc. Submit your best work in modern or classic manuscript format (as outlined on http://www.shunn.net/format), as an MS Word .doc or .docx attachment. Anything sent in a different file type will be rejected without reply. Poems may be submitted in whatever form best suits the piece. Authors may submit 1 (one) story and 1 (one) poem maximum for consideration – if you want to send both, please send them in separate emails. Do not send more than one story or poem...

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: $0.01 per word for new stories and/or $25 for reprints. Theme: Fear Street appreciation. YA horror steeped in late 80s-90s nostalgia. Note: Reprints Welcome   WELCOME TO FEAR STREET You've heard the stories about Fear Street—the unexplained mysteries, missing people, the things that lurk in the dark—but wouldn't you rather experience them for yourself? You aren't scared, are you? Briana Morgan, author of  TRICKER-TREATER AND OTHER STORIES, and Roxie Voorhees, co-editor of CAMP HORROR, comes a collection of super-chilling tales of teen horror.  A little nostalgia and all Ode to Stine, this anthology promises to keep you up at night.   READER BEWARE! Please read carefully. Submissions that don’t meet the guidelines may be rejected.   Submissions will be accepted until August 1st, 2022. Please submit to [email protected]    What we are looking for: YA horror stories steeped in 90s nostalgia. We also encourage writers to have diverse representation of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and strong female, Disabled, fat, and neurodivergent representation.   What we are NOT looking for: Please, do not submit stories that do not fit the theme (erotica). Submissions cannot contain rape scenes on page. Please ensure any scenes of a sexual nature are necessary and non-exploitative.   Submissions must be between 6,000 and 8,000 words. Email subject: Last, First - Title - Word count Cover letter: Include 100 word author bio and socials Content warnings are encouraged Please use standard manuscript format https://www.shunn.net/format/ is a great example. (Omit address) American English spelling and punctuation, please. Bilingual characters welcomed. Must be a .doc or .docx  Save as: Last, First - Title - Word count   We do not require exclusivity. You hold copyright, licensing us until the publication date. If your story is a reprint, please indicate in your cover letter and include its...

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: 5 cents a word, 1 cent per word for reprints, 2 contributor copies Theme: dark and speculative short stories that address gay sexuality, desire, masculinity, and the aesthetics of "rough trade." Note: Reprints welcome Brute is an anthology featuring dark and speculative short stories that address gay sexuality, desire, masculinity, and the aesthetics of "rough trade." We do not want every story in the book to be so grim; if your inclination is to have your protagonist chasing a beast of a man who rapes and kills the character, please do not submit. That said, stories don't need to end happily. The attraction to rough trade often involves a desire to embrace danger and risk the self. Because we are seeking a certain tone, we ask that before you submit your story, you query first with your details on your concept (and if you have any previous publications). We will consider reprints. For an example of the kind of stories we are seeking, please look at Nick Mamatas's tale "Last Night at Manscape" or "Dick Pig" by Ian Muneshwar. Stories must have speculative elements: horror, dark fantasy, weirdness. Stories should be 2,500 to 9,000 words. Standard formatting please (Times New Roman 12, double space, etc). Payment for original fiction will be 5 cents a word for one-time print and digital rights. Payment for reprints is a bit more than 1 cent a word. Additionally, contributors will receive two copies of the finished book. Publication in hardcover will be sometime in 2023. The deadline for submissions is August 1, 2022 Via: Lethe Press Books.

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: High fantasy set in a new world (bible available). “Embers of Corsari”. An anthology set in A new world that will be available for other authors to dabble in. Yes, there’s a world bible you’ll have to look over and abide by. Genre is high fantasy. Submission call: Enter a world of heroes, villains, monsters, and gods. Where magic is as common as the air you breathe. I’m looking for stories about the beginnings of heroes or villains. Or even their ends. The start of wars… or perhaps the end where little is left but devastation and the embers of hope. Fiery-tempered warriors or Red-headed temptresses. Or perhaps even Pyromaniacs. Everything begins with a burning ember: may it be hope or hate, love or revenge. Due date: August 1st, 2022 Wordcount: 7,000-10,000 words Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. Email submissions to: ladyafterdeath @ gmail dot com Corsari World Bible Via: Three Raven's Publishing.

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: Lily unlocked the back door of the thrift store using a key that didn't belong to her. Fall: Lily unlocked the back door of the thrift store using a key that didn't belong to her. Due date: August 1, 2022 We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests...