Events

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Monsters adapting to the 31st century Weird Little Worlds Press is looking for contributors to its inaugural Kickstarter science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthology. Bring your weird and help us tell the best monster stories you’ve ever imagined. SUBMISSION DETAILS Monsters are losing their place in a world flooded with technology and false movie representation. Their hunting grounds are diminishing in an “always-on” world. These are the stories of how monsters are adapting to the 21st century and fighting back to regain their place of power. Bring us your tired tropes reimagined for the new world. Tell us the story that no one has told from the monster that we all think we know. Funny, smart, sad…but always scary. The Details: Deadline: May 15th Length: 1000 – 3500 words Pay: .05 per word (.06 if we can unlock our stretch goal) Rights: We retain full rights of the story for 12 months at which they revert back to you. This includes audio and reprint permissions. Note: This is a Kickstarter project, so everything in contingent on us reaching our goal of $6,547. Once we hit over $8,000, we’ll be able to pay everyone .06 per word and give all authors a cool swag packages. You can take a look at the page here: https://weirdlittleworlds.com/humans-are-the-problem-a-monsters-anthology/ What we want:  Something creative and fresh Monster tropes that are turned inside out and upside down Funny, scary, and/or plotty Big stories that are told in a small way Crisp writing with all the fat cut away Diverse voices of all backgrounds, nationalities, gender identifications, sexual orientations, races, religions, and cultures What we don’t want:  Anything that reminds us of “Bright” or “Onward” Fan fiction Previously published stories Boring monsters doing boring stuff Excessive gore, sex, or...

Submission Window: May 1st-15th, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Submissions OPEN (Monthly, 1st – 15th). Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Length: 500 – 1,000 words. Firm. Author Compensation: $10, paid via PayPal. Publication: Dread Stone Press website (Dose of Dread). Reading Periods: Monthly, 1st to 15th. Any stories submitted outside of each reading period will not be read. Two (2) stories will be selected out of each reading period for publication the following month. Rights: First World Electronic Rights. Non-exclusive rights thereafter. No reprint restrictions after publication. Original stories ONLY. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but NO multiple submissions. You may submit again the next month if rejected. If your story is accepted, please sit out one reading period before submitting again. Please, for everyone’s sake, no rough drafts. Successful pieces will require little to no proofreading edits. Email your submission as a Word document attachment to [email protected] with “DOSE – – ” in the subject line. Please see the General Submission Guidelines below for additional formatting information. General Submission Guidelines Rejections for Dose of Dread submissions will be sent by the end of the month submitted. If you have not received a reply by then, feel free to follow-up. All rejections will be form rejections. It’s not personal, promise. Which also means please don’t respond to rejections. It’s unnecessary. For Dose of Dread submissions, please send your work by email to [email protected] with the subject line format: “DOSE – – ”. Address your email to “Editor” or “Alex”. Please provide a brief cover letter in the body of the email (title, word count, relevant info, etc). Do not stress over or overthink this. Please include an author bio of 100 words or less, written in third person, plus any links (e.g. to a website / Twitter) if you wish to...

Deadline: May 15th 2021 Payment: 4 cents per word Theme: Stories inspired by Gothic moods, subtexts and themes Note: Authors should be Women (trans, cis, femme-identifying, all are welcome) After the raving success that was their Green Inferno project, Tenebrous Press have decided to team up with me (Alex Woodroe, hi, how are you?) for their next caper. What’s it gonna be? A collection of fiction exploring the grand traditions and tropes of Gothic Horror, reimagined and contemporized for this generation and beyond. We are seeking Women—trans, cis, femme-identifying, all are welcome—to pay tribute to our Gothic Mothers (Gothmothers?) through transgressive, shocking, emotional, weird stories. We’re not interested in rewrites of the classics; rather, stories inspired by Gothic moods, subtexts and themes. Take your breast-beating, ghost-plagued protagonists out of the Victorian manor and inject them into outer space; the plague-soaked, paranoiac world outside your window; under the sea; into a splatterpunk meta-fiction; or better yet, surprise us! The most important thing is for your stories to stand in that delectable meeting point between the old world Gothic doom, dread, and death; and the new world fun, creativity, and excitement. What we’re looking for: Fresh, modern Gothic Horrors stories between 1.000 and 15.000 words. Keep in mind that we have limited space, so the longer the story, the stronger it would have to be in order to fit in as cornerstone content. We would likely only accept one story of max length. Cutting mercilessly will be to your own advantage. We will consider poetry, especially if it comes with a strong horror narrative. What we’re not looking for: Submissions from anyone who doesn’t identify as a woman. (whereas trans women, cis women, NB Femme, and anyone who is in any way comfortable with that identifier is welcome). Anything that isn’t horror. Sci-Fi and Fantasy angles welcome, but remember...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: $5 USD Theme: "Most" Speculative fiction, read below for specifics. Note: Open only for women-identified authors. Simply follow the schedule below to be notified when we close and open for submissions. Criteria Luna Station Quarterly publishes speculative fiction written by women-identified authors. We think women write awesome characters and really cool stories and we want to show it to the world. We will consider stories submitted by any woman writer, regardless of experience or writing resume. If you consider yourself on the woman end of the gender spectrum in any significant capacity, you’re welcome here! Stuff we want: Fantasy Science Fiction Space Opera New Fairy Tales (not retellings) Some creepiness Stories that explore the nooks and crannies of an original world Big events from the everyman perspective Unique settings and storytelling forms Well written stories with strong characters Stuff we don’t want: Anything biased toward any religion, race or moral preference Extreme gore or sexual content, in particular no explicit rape or sexual assault. (everything in moderation) Bizarro fiction Poetry Fan Fiction (original stories only, please) Bad grammar/punctuation (please proofread and watch your sentence structure!) Plagiarism A further note about sex and violence in submissions. Science fiction has a long-standing tradition of pushing boundaries and asking difficult questions. It is meant to challenge us and ask us to look at ourselves and how we treat each other and the world around us. That said, LSQ is centered on uplift and so any story that contains explicit sexual situations or violence especially toward women will be considered more carefully than other stories and the content must be justified within the story’s arch. Format and Details Stories should be 500 to 7000 words in length. We may publish longer or shorter works, but the greater your story is...

Deadline: May 15th, 2021 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: Stories dedicated to the queerness of monsters Note: Contributors must be LGBTQIA2S+. Editors David Ly (Mythical Man) and Daniel Zomparelli (Everything Is Awful and You’re a Terrible Person) are looking for submissions of poetry and short fiction for a new anthology dedicated to the queerness of monsters, to be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in fall 2022. Monsters in pop culture have become LGBTQIA2S+ icons over time, and queer writers have long infused them into their work. The Babadook, Pennywise, Ursula, Freddy Krueger, King Kong, Medusa, witches, demons, and more have been queered to different degrees since their inception, and this anthology aims to showcase this and all things monsters. Daniel and David are looking for poems and short stories that subvert the horror gaze, allowing writers and readers to celebrate monsters that have once been feared, and even question who the real monsters are and what makes something horrific or monstrous. They want writing that explores the impact and meaning of monsters to you. Submissions don’t need to revolve around or be about a famous monster. Poems can be funny, poignant, or scary, or odes to your favourite monster (or ones we may not know about!). Stories can be about real or imagined monsters, demons, and/or witches with a queer bent. Contributors will receive an honorarium and a copy of the book. Guidelines: Poetry: up to three poems, or three pages of poetry (whichever comes first) Fiction: stories between 1,000 and 5,000 words. No fan fiction. Contributors must be LGBTQIA2S+. Send submissions to [email protected], with a subject line of either POETRY or FICTION. Please ensure documents are sent as Word attachments (no PDFs, please). We can’t wait to read your monstrous stories and poems! DEADLINE: May 15, 2021 About the Editors: David Ly is the...

Deadline: May 17th, 2021 Payment: $5 Theme: Post-Apocalypse If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. (Vol 70.) Post-Apocalypse II; deadline 17th May !!!NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS!!! SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If, this form isn’t working, then please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. But please let us know why as we’re hoping to use the form going forward. Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) It is important that your story complies with our Submission Guidelines. Any stories found not to be in compliance will be immediately discarded. Click HERE for details If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982). Failure to do this may...

Submission Window: July 1st - 31st, 2021 Payment: 50% net sale royalty rate for ebooks and audiobooks and a competitive rate for print rights. Themes: 10,000+ word stories that fall under Speculative Fiction Note: I'm listing this a month early so if anyone is finishing cleaning up their work they have a bit of time! Upcoming call for submissions: open call (July) What we’re looking for Nyx Publishing will open for general submissions for the first time in July. If you have a manuscript that you want us to read that, that hasn’t been included in a previous call for submissions, this is your opportunity! Nyx Publishing is seeking exciting completed manuscripts for the adult and new adult market of over 10,000 words (there is no maximum word limit). We are currently not seeking children’s books or young adult stories. We are a speculative fiction publisher. Genres we are happy to read include, but are not limited to: Fantasy (high, low, epic, grimdark, etc.) Science-fiction Paranormal romance Fantasy romance Any romance with speculative elements Magic realism Steampunk Fantasy horror Gothic fiction Before submitting, please look at the books that Nyx Publishing has published in the past. We seek stories from underrepresented perspectives in publishing. We never, however, require our authors to disclose personal information like their gender or sexuality, disabilities, or diagnoses. We merely ask that authors consider carefully whether the story they are telling is theirs to tell; whether it features queerness, race, neurodivergence, disability, trauma, or other immensely personal narratives. Nyx Publishing is an explicitly trans-inclusive publisher. The fine print Nyx Publishing is pursuing world-wide publishing rights in English for a limited time, for print, digital, and audiobook. The contract is negotiable. We offer a 50% net sale royalty rate for ebooks and audiobooks and a competitive rate for print rights. Only send us one manuscript at...

Deadline: May 25th, 2021 Payment: $3 Theme: Aliens, use the image linked below as inspiration May 2021 "The truth is out ...WHAT?!" THE IMAGE YOU NEED TO REFERENCE CAN BE FOUND HERE: http://www.withpaintedwords.com/current.php. submissions now open, close on the 25th Submissions Please make sure to read ALL the instructions on this page (especially the sections on 'Copyright' and 'Compensation' before submitting a piece of writing or artwork. We take a submission to With Painted Words as your permission for us to publish your work and do not send out other formal contracts. Thank you. Piece of Writing We accept works of fiction - and poetry - of up to one thousand (1000) words, at most, in length. This is the maximum amount - if you can tell a compelling story in as little as fifty words, for example, then you are more than welcome to do so. All submissions must be inspired by the current section Key to fiction types: Flash Fiction 501-1000 words Micro Fiction up to 501 words Poetry   Please make sure to include your full name/s, e-mail address, and bio (including a link to your personal site/blog) with your submission and, if you so choose, the thought process behind your story. Please send your submissions by the deadline stated in the current section .  Pieces received after the deadline cannot be considered for publication. 'With Painted Words' reserve the right to reject any submission without explanation. Deadline:- This will usually be the 25th of the month, each and every month - any exceptions will be clearly notified.     Piece of Artwork 'With Painted Words' is always open to artwork submissions - they are the heart and soul of the site and inspire the stories! We prefer .jpeg files for artwork submissions. Please don't upload files larger than...

Deadline: May 25th, 2021 Payment: US: $40 + author copy/non-US: $45 + ebook author copy Theme: Stories that contain witches/magical elements. Creative twists are encouraged - extra points for maintaining a gothic feel. “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. Cool it with a baboon's blood, Then the charm is firm and good.” ​ Quill & Crow Publishing House is teaming up with Jazz House Publications to bring you an autumn anthology full of witchy delights! This marks our second collaboration with our sister press, and we are on the hunt for gothic horror stories that revive tired witchy tropes. For this anthology, we are looking for short stories (5,000 - 8,000 words) that contain witches/magical elements. Creative twists are encouraged - extra points for maintaining a gothic feel. Things we are looking for: stories about witches gothic horror historical horror themes of magic gothic/macabre elements modern adaptations considered if they maintain a gothic feel Things we are not looking for: young adult extreme horror rape/child abuse high fantasy heavy sci-fi Submission Requirements Please note: Submissions that do not follow requirements will not be considered. 1. We are accepting original works only. You must own the copyright to your submission. 2. Submissions period is from April 13th - May 25th, 2021. Please submit all stories to [email protected] with the subject line: The Witches Ball / Your Title / Genre. 2. All submissions must be in English and follow standard MLA formatting (double...

Submission Window: May 15th — May 29th, 2021 Payment: 2 cents per word Theme: An Anthology on the Lengths One Might Go To. An Anthology on the Lengths One Might Go To.  Edited by Scott J. Moses  (Published in ebook and paperback formats) “What one wouldn’t do for…what?  Power?  Safety?  Love?  Revenge? I’m looking for sacrifices, risky wagers, high stakes, and especially—if you’re familiar with my own writing—the unintended consequences and fallout of said things. I’m interested in the lengths characters would go to “fill-in-the-blank-here.” I’m open to anything in the dark speculative fiction realm. I think blending genres/sub-genres around this theme could make for something special. Here’s to the lengths one might go to for anything, everything.  GUIDELINES— *Stories should be between 1,000 and 4,500 words. *Multiple submissions are prohibited, though simultaneous submissions are allowed AS LONG AS you withdraw your submission immediately if it gets accepted elsewhere. *Original stories only please, no reprints. *Submissions open May 15th — May 29th your time zone *Responses will be sent no later than July 7th. *Anthology will be published in Fall 2021. Additional Information— *There’s a difference between writing “bigoted characters” and “bigoted stories.” I’ve no use for the latter. *For the sake of disclosure, one person has been invited to contribute and I will have a story included as well, but the rest of the entries will come from this open call. Please know that while rejection sucks—sending rejections isn’t something I’m looking forward to—it’s anything but personal. My goal is to gather the best stories that form a cohesive manuscript when paired with the others. That’s just the nature of the beast. Have I mentioned I’m not looking forward to sending rejections? FORMAT— *Use standard manuscript format and send as a doc / docx attachment. For the love of hell and...