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Deadline: July 1st, 2020 Payment: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10 Theme: The Tiny Red Suitcase To download a PDF file of the guidelines, click here . ALL SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, POEMS, PHOTOGRAPHS and ART MUST RELATE TO ONE OF THE PREMISES SPECIFIED ABOVE. NOTE: Previously published pieces are welcome, provided that the submission fits the theme and that the author owns the copyright. The premise (target theme) must be an integral part of the plot, not necessarily the central theme but not merely incidental. Fewer than 20 double-spaced typewritten pages preferred. Indicate premise (target theme) on title page. Be sure to Indicate target theme in cover letter or on first page of manuscript. Include self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with each submission. Rejected manuscripts unaccompanied by an SASE will not be returned. Response time: 3 months after premise deadline.  NO READER'S FEE. Mail to: THEMA, Box 8747, Metairie, LA 70011-8747. Outside the US: email [email protected] On acceptance for publication, we will pay the following amount: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10; artwork, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Copyright reverts to author after publication. THEMA isn't for everyone. To find out why, click here. New to submitting manuscripts to journals? Click here to download a PDF file of a few basic guidelines. Unlike many publishers, we prefer works submitted by the authors themselves, without the involvement of an agent. Be sure to indicate premise and include SASE for each submission.  BE SURE to include a separate SASE for each premise. No handwritten manuscripts will be considered. NOTE: We do not accept e-mailed submissions EXCEPT from authors who live outside the U.S. For those living outside the U.S., submit manuscript as an email attachment (readable by MSWord ― either as a DOC file or an RTF file), and include the following information on the...

Deadline: July 1st, 2020 Payment: 750-1500 words - $10, 350-749 words - $5, Reprints at $5 and $3 for the previous word counts. Theme: POC characters that turn Lovecraft's racism and monsters on his/their heads. Note: Reprints Welcome People of Color Destroy Lovecraft  ​Lovecraft wrote some hella scary monsters, on that most horror scholars agree, but he was terribly racist. I would like to see for this issue, POC characters that turn Lovecraft's racism and monsters on his/their heads. My preference for this issue is to have the majority of stories written by writers of color, if not all. Queer writers of color are especially encouraged to submit. Flash/shorts (750-1500 words. No more, no less) for $10 per piece original, previously unpublished. Microfics (350-749 words) will pay at a $5 per story rate for original, previously unpublished stories. NO POETRY OR DRABBLES FOR THIS ONE. Reprints will be accepted on this one. BUT will pay at a $5 rate for flash/shorts (750-1500 words) and $3 for microfics (350-749 words). You must identify your story as a reprint on the cover page of the manuscript and provide the market and date (mo/yr) where it was last published. Please follow instructions on the Guidelines page and include your name, PayPal email, and word count (total, not approximate) on the first page of your story document. Deadline July 1st, 2020.  Via: The Were-Traveler.

Deadline: July 1st, 2020 Payment: One cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) Theme: Fantastic Fiction You really NEED to read the description below. The Cafe Irreal is a quarterly webzine that presents a kind of fantastic fiction infrequently published in English. This fiction, which we would describe as irreal, resembles the work of writers such as Franz Kafka, Kobo Abe, Clarice Lispector and Jorge Luis Borges. As a type of fiction it rejects the tendency to portray people and places realistically and the need for a full resolution to the story; instead, it shows us a reality constantly being undermined. Therefore, we're interested in stories by writers who write about what they don't know, take us places we couldn't possibly go, and don't try to make us care about the characters. We would also suggest you take a look at the current issue, archives, and theory (especially the essay, "What is irrealism?") pages on this web site. We accept unsolicited fiction up to 2,000 words in length. Translations are welcome. There is no minimum length. We accept only electronic submissions via e-mail at [email protected]. We cannot, due to the various computer viruses and worms, accept attachments anymore, so please paste your story into the body of the e-mail. Also include your name, address, e-mail address, and a short bio in the text of the submission; please put the word "submission" in the subject heading of the e-mail to ensure that your submission doesn't get lost among all the spam. We pay an honorarium of one cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) to buy first-time internet rights (the story will then be archived). Payment is made upon publication. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DON'T ACCEPT SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS and are only interested in reprints in unusual cases (e.g., the story has appeared in print but...

Deadline: July 1st, 2020 Payment: Royalties Theme: Dark fantasy that includes elemental magic Submission Open: April 1, 2020 Submission Close: July 1, 2020 Publishing timeline: December 2020 SOON Theme: Think Elemental Magic This title is a work in progress Think Elemental Magic DARK FANTASY - Rated R Stories welcome ​ Theme: Elemental Magic - Earth, wind, fire, water and spirit. Dark versus light. We are giving a lot of leeway for story building, but magic must play a part in your world and there must be a dark fantasy element. Create a fantasy world for this to all play out in, or build something in ours. The choice is yours. The only requirement is that you must feature elemental magic. Fae and other realms, magic and witches, dragons or orcs, all magical and fantastic creatures are welcome. This one has opportunities for a lot of world-building so the call out is for larger stories. We will only be accepting a limited number of stories for this project, but volume II is under consideration. Stand-alone stories only, no to be continued. ​ Word Count is 7000 - 15000 (not a hard limit) we are looking for longer stories and small novella's. ​ Compensation: Equal royalty split per story. Digital copy. ​ Formatting guidelines: See our Submission Format guide below ​ How to submit: Submission form will open in April 2020 ​ Multiple Submission: Yes - We will be happy to read up to two stories per author, but note we will only be accepting one story per book. Please send each story in a separate form. Reprints: No. ​ Things that are a hard pass: any animal erotica and all forms of rape Remember to read the submission guidelines in full. Failure to comply could result in your submission being rejected or sent back for correction. At this time we are only accepting manuscripts in English. Word...

Deadline: July 1st, 2020 Payment: Contributor's Copy Theme: A "found footage" type story on paper. Explanations are found below Note: Reprints welcome Thurston Howl Publications is now accepting submissions for its fifth volume of its Howlers series, FOUND FOOTAGE. Deadline: July 1, 2020 Word count: 2,500-8,000; a little above and a little below will be acceptable. Starting with what was called the McPherson Tape, moving on to the Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, and V/H//S, found footage films have, for the past few decades, captivated horror lovers everywhere. This anthology asks writers to put found footage into the written word. Largely, we anticipate three major types of written structures: 1) stories that just feature characters using cameras; 2) epistolary stories that "found" by the readers of the anthology and 3) other experimental forms that would become textual versions of found footage. Any of these options (or others you might think of) are perfectly fine for submission. Just remember it's a horror anthology that celebrates the structure and style of found footage films. Please note we are a progressive press and do not publish conservative works. ​ We will NOT accept: Racism, sexism, or discrimination presented in a positive light. Pedophilia or sex with characters under the age of 18 presented in a positive light. Rape, torture, dubious consent, forced seduction presented in a positive light. Snuff or necrophilia presented in a positive light. If you are in doubt, ASK. Better to ask then to get a straight up rejection! If you are unsure, just shoot me an email at [email protected] (restrictions borrowed from Voice: https://t.co/MWykJ6RY36) ​ Submit via Submittable at https://weaselpress.submittable.com/submit/163951/found-footage ​ You can submit up to three stories, but we will only accept one per author (if any). Reprints are fine, but you have to own full permission of the work in order...

Deadline: July 2nd, 2020 Payment: 6 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints 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 We have a new submissions schedule as of June 1, 2020: The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. Only one submission per person. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. We pay 6¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 6¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles. For new poetry, we pay $1 a line, reprints would be 50¢ a line, up to 40 lines. We’ll look at longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 6¢ per word. We began 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 about The 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, anywhere from 1000 word flash fiction on up, but all else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored.   We have tough standards but only care about the quality of the writing, storytelling ability, characters, plot, and ideas, not whether you’re new or established.  Submit only work you are proud of —...

Deadline: July 5th, 2020 Payment: $50 and a contributors copy Gothic Blue Books were short fictions popular in the 18th and 19th century. They were descendants of the chap book trade and are now a thing of the past. Burial Day Books is now open for submissions for Gothic Blue Book Vol. 6 to be available October 31st 2020. What was a Gothic Blue Book? Gothic Blue Books were abridgements of full-length Gothic novels. The subjects of these books fell into one of two categories; the first being set in a monastery or convent and the second being set in a castle. In terms of the physicality of the book, they were three and a half to four inches in width and six to seven inches in height, with a page count of thirty-six to seventy-two pages. These little pieces of terror were popular at the time because they were affordable, a sixpence or a shilling each. Their cost affordability led them to be nicknamed Shilling Shockers or Sixpenny Shockers. What are we looking for? Original Gothic Blue Books typically took place in either a monastery, convent or castle. In years past we have asked for short stories that take place in one of these locations, or a modern day location such as a morgue, haunted house or cemetery. This year, we have added a new theme – Krampus, Christmas, and ghosts / lore from the globe revolving around a major celebration. Christmas ghost tales have a history stretching back that includes Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL and more. Please submit a short story or poem no longer than 3,500 words that follows one of the following: A single mention or setting in one of the original Gothic Blue Book settings: a) Monastery b) Convent c) Castle OR – A single...

Deadline: July 6th, 2020 Payment: Split of 20% of royalties between the authors Theme: Short stories revolving around the planet or God Neptune Note: Reprints accepted Starting in December 2019, Tuscany Bay Books will be releasing an 11-book anthology series: Planetary Anthology Series. First up is Pluto. You can pre-order the e-book edition now. On Dec. 5th you can get it for free if you are a KU subscriber on Amazon. Shortly after Dec. 5th you should be able to order the paperback edition as well. Next up is Luna and then Uranus. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Sol and Saturn should then follow. NOTE: Submissions are now open again for Neptune and Saturn. Payment is a split of 20% of royalties between the authors. For more info on what is required and how to submit, see this post: ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSION CALL   Lord of the Sea. Ruler of Pisces. Exalted in Cancer. Mythologically, Neptune is associated with the sea, navigation, springs, horses, and racing. Astrologically, Neptune associated with idealism, dreams, dissolution, artistry, fluidity, illusion, and glamor. Astronomically, it is the beautiful sea-blue eighth planet. All these together tie into what we think of when we hear “Neptune.” Stories working with the genre conventions of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Weird/Pulp, or anywhere between will be considered. • Word count is 1,000 – 10,000 • Poems will be accepted • Reprints will be accepted • Stories may be connected to Neptune astronomically, mythologically, or astrologically, as you prefer Please submit to the editor, Jake Freivald, directly at [email protected] Subject line should appear as follows: Neptune Submission/Story Title/Author SurnameTentative submissions close date: You can submit until it’s no longer July 6, 2020 or earlier anywhere in the world. Via: Tuscany Bay Books.

Deadline: July 7th, 2020 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Original fantasy and dark fantasy stories. All types of fantasy and dark fantasy are welcome. Note: This is listed on the site a day early, do not submit until the 1st. Fantasy is a digital short fiction magazine edited by Christie Yant and Arley Sorg. Instructions for submitting to Fantasy Magazine follow. Please read everything on this page and read the magazine before submitting. SUBMISSION PROCEDURES Submission Periods: Fantasy is open to submissions the first week of every month (1st-7th). Please do not query about submitting outside our open submission periods. Anonymous Submissions: Fantasy only accepts anonymous submissions. Do not include your name, address, phone number, or other similar identifiers on the manuscript. All original short fiction, flash fiction, and poetry submissions will be read anonymously on first read: moving out of slush depends on the merits of the story alone. Please make sure the title is on the manuscript. Instructions: All fiction must be submitted through our Moksha online submission system. Please do not email your submissions. If one of the Submission Type options is grayed out, that means we are currently closed to that Submission Type. Questions/Problems: Email [email protected] for all submission-related inquiries, or if you have any trouble using our online submission system. Please do not email your submissions to this address. All submissions must be submitted via our Moksha online submission system. Rejections/Response Times: Be aware that we expect to receive several hundred submissions during our submissions periods. As such, we cannot offer personalized feedback on each story. If we say “send more” it means we really do hope to see something else from you. Most rejections will be sent out within a few business days, while stories being seriously considered may be held for up to a few weeks. Please do not respond to rejection letters, even just to say...

Deadline: July 10th, 2020 Payment: $80 USD per piece Theme: Flash fiction stories from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) writers who re-envision the future For the rest of 2020, we’re asking writers to reimagine our world for the better. We’re looking for flash fiction stories from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) writers who re-envision the future. What were you imagining for 2020 when it began? What’s on your apocalypse bingo card for next month? Does it feel like tempting fate too much to ask if our current reality can get any worse OR any better? We invite you to fast forward and tell us how any or all of 2020’s chaotic plot lines resolve, get tangled, tied off, or cut. Write us some Alternate Endings to tell around the fire until we get there. Does the fae spell break at 00:00:01 on Jan 1, 2021? Is a free-roaming space colony in Andromeda still trying to wipe out a sentient mutated Covid-19 200 years from now? Show us our futures in evocative, speculative flash fiction (up to 1,000 words) that responds to what humanity is facing this year. Experiments with story form welcome. We are featuring BIPOC writers for this call and will select one story for each month through the end of 2020. Society needs new blueprints to build from. Show us your Alternate Endings. ​ Our Guest Editor for this call is Jamileh Jemison. Submissions will be open June 5, 2020 — July 10, 2020. We may open for a second call in September if we do not receive enough stories in June/July. What we want: Previously unpublished flash fiction (up to 1,000 words). You may submit up to 3 pieces. Speculative genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, or any interpretation of these that fits the theme. By writers of...