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Submission Window: November 1st - 30th, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $5 for poetry, 1 cent per word for non-fiction, $35 for cover art Theme: Speculative fiction It's our goal to publish diverse voices from around the world, and to do that, we are actively seeking stories, poems, and non-fiction pieces by authors from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in the science fiction and fantasy canon. Our submission cycle is therefore split into two categories, where every other month is explicitly reserved for submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. The interposing six months remain open to everyone. Guidelines for Fiction We are seeking stories in the English language up to 6,000 words by writers from around the world. We favor submisions that have not been published before (including on your own website), though we do accept a limited number of reprints not currently appearing anywhere online. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we're particularly interested in publishing stories from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we're open to a wide variety of stories across the SFF and weird spectra. We pay 1¢ per word for fiction, and we try to respond to all submissions within ten weeks. We will also accept a limited number of previously published stories, so please indicate on the form if your submission is a reprint. All submissions must use the Shunn manuscript format (we prefer Courier New) and be either .rtf, .doc, or .docx. We like stories that are subtle in their telling and stick with us long after we've finished. We're more likely to buy stories that balance a sense of wonder with a bold plot and...

Submission Window: November 1st - 30th, 2023 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre, short story Mission = Revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful. Payout = Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Wait, you mean if this substack gets thousands of subscribers, the winner would get thousands of dollars? Yes! The New Yorker pays roughly $7,500 per story and I sincerely hope to go way past that. What does the timeline look like? Submit stories by the end of the month, winner to be announced on the 15th. There is ONE story that wins and receives the full payout. Where do I send submissions? [email protected] What are the rules for submitting? 1. No Fees 2. Send in Microsoft Word or Google Doc form 3. Any genre 4. 6- 10,000 words. Yes, just 6 words, like Hemingway's famous 6-word story "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn." 5. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute. 6. Acknowledge Distribution Rights on this Substack - You can still sell your story elsewhere but we need to be able to save and publish it here. The goal is to create a library for subscribers. 7. Only the winner will be published and rights will only transfer for the winning story. What do I get for subscribing? One beautiful story every month. The complete library. The joy of supporting artists and doing something interesting. What if I can’t pay right now? That’s ok! If you publish a blurb about this site on your website, blog, or social media, I will send you one full story of your choosing. Best of all, it is...

Deadline: November 30th, 2023 Payment: 30% of royalties split between authors for the first year of sales. After the first year, these royalties go to charity Theme: All dragon stories with a male main character. All genres accepted. Note: I will say that I'm not a huge fan of this royalty structure. However, I've been asked multiple times recently on fantasy anthologies that were open to shorts so wanted to put a spotlight on this one for that reason. DRAGONS & HEROES (Rated R) Deadline – October 31st, 2023 November 30th, 2023 Publication – January 2024 Word Count – 3,000-20,000 Theme – All dragon stories with a male main character. All genres accepted. CHECKLIST Introduction of author A brief history of your writing experience. Author Contact Information / Pen name MUST be included with real name. If real name is same as pen name, state so in email. Author Biography in Third Person in 100-150 words Mandatory minimum of 100. Submission Word Count Word count. Not line count. Submission Formatted in Times New Roman 12 PT Font. One-inch margins. No indentations. No double-spacing. No extra spacing between paragraphs. No chapters. Scene breaks signalled with three ### (see example image below). Only DOC and DOCX accepted. Format video: https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=ftjuYtJWIBI Format image example at bottom of page. Summary/Query Letter Summarized outline of all major events within the story. All emails should be addressed as “Dear Editor” Email Subject Line must be as follows – “Story Title by Author Name for (Name of) Anthology” File/Document Name must be as follows – “Story Title by Author Name for (Name of) Anthology” All of the author’s social media links, including website if applicable Author must have one social media account. Note: Author Name @ Social Media is not a clickable link. Important information Maximum...

Deadline: November 30th, 2023 Payment: $0.02 per word Theme: Science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between Note: Reprints Welcome Flash Point Science Fiction wants speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 words in length. Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short. We here at FPSF are partial to flash fiction and want to see the flash market grow. So as much as it pains us, please take your 10,000 word tour de force elsewhere. We’re not looking for the next Brandon Sanderson. (Unless you are, in fact, Brandon Sanderson, in which case we’d be delighted!) What we’re looking for: -Fantasy (all kinds—epic, adventure, contemporary, urban, grimdark, fairy tale, magical realism, myths and legends, etc.) -Science Fiction (all kinds—hard, space opera, military, near future, science fantasy, cyberpunk, dystopian, etc.) -Slipstream (make it as weird as you want, so long as it works) -Seasonal (we love stories with holiday and/or seasonal themes, but please submit AT LEAST 3 months in advance of the relevant occasion) -Anything that makes us laugh, cry, think, or smile. What we aren’t looking for: -Horror—it can be spooky or menacing, but we’re not a horror market, so the fright factor should not be the primary appeal. DARK fantasy and sci-fi, however, are welcome. -Literary fiction—this is a genre market, so there needs to be an SF&F element, however slight. -Gratuitous sex or violence—we’re big fans of Love Death + Robots, but don’t be that guy. -Fanfic—original concepts only, please. We know there was a lot going on in Hobbiton while Frodo was away, but that’s not our property and it’s not yours either. -Stories previously published in a different language. Submission Specs In terms of how your story should look, we recommend you read William Shunn’s Proper Manuscript Format. This is the...

Deadline: November 30th, 2023 Payment: Contributor's copy and $50 CDN for fiction or $20 CDN flat fee for poetry Theme: Stories and poems about darkness, night, and the multitude of things that thrive (or hide) in those elements. Edited by Leslie Van Zwol and Megan Fennell Night is practically another world. Owls and bats steal the sky from songbirds, nocturnal creatures thrive under the moonlight, and night-blooming plants flourish away from most human eyes. As the saying goes: people aren’t truly afraid of the dark – they fear what could be in the darkness with them. And the list of legends and stories about the things that go bump in the night is extensive indeed. Carpe Noctem will be an anthology of stories and poems about darkness, night, and the multitude of things that thrive (or hide) in those elements. We are seeking stories beyond those simply set during the night or in a dark place, and that delve into tales of the nocturnal and – as the title would imply – really seize the night as a critical element of their stories, perhaps even as a character itself. We are seeking submissions with a focus on characters, narrative, originality, and ‘own voices’. Although we invite a range of story genres, we will not include pure gore, erotica, or fanfiction. Any submissions found to be using AI-assisted writing, in whole or in part, will be rejected immediately. We are looking for works from everyone, and warmly welcome submissions from authors of traditionally underrepresented and marginalized communities, including (but certainly not limited to) BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals. Rights and compensation: For Fiction: $50 CDN flat fee and a paperback contributor copy of the anthology For Poetry: $20 CDN flat fee and a paperback contributor copy of the anthology We are seeking...

Deadline: December 1st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Fantasy Love a great fantasy story? Well so do we. Then you may want to submit to Magic and Mischief. We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories of Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, and Sword & Sorcery that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more from the authors. How can you go wrong when heroes have to deal with magic gone awry? Genre: Epic/High Fantasy/ Sword and Sorcery Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: R.J. Ladon Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: 12/1/2023 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Magic and Mischief” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore adult content) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press for submissions in this genre at tanglewoodromance (at) gmail.com Gratuitous Abuse/Violence: While we at Three Ravens Publishing understand that graphic situations can alter or otherwise move the plot forward...

Deadline: December 1st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Speculative fiction that involves a "what if" element of something being different from our world This collection of Speculative fiction short stories will without a doubt take you on an adventure and cause the synapses to fire. The what if series is just that, what if something happened differently? What if Vikings were inhabiting the East Coast of America when Columbus arrived? What if Kennedy survived the assassination attempt? What If… It’s thought-provoking and starts the mind down random rabbit holes of possibilities. This is the first edition of a planned annual series. We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more. Genre: Speculative Fiction Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening by: TBD Edited by: Jenny E. Wren / William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: December 1, 2023 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “WJR Presents What If…” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore adult content) (Please, we know that there is...

Deadline: December 1st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: All ages to PG-13 romance on the LBGTQ+ spectrum in any genre There are tons of boy meets girl stories that we see, all the time, from the moment we can start paying attention. From famous novels and movies to TV shows and commercials. And for the people those stories are applicable to, they are “lessons” or templates for those kinds of interactions, for how the boy and girl can or should or could interact, even when fictitious and obviously untrue. But for the rest of us who do not fall easily into the boy/girl combination, there are very few examples of “How do I meet them?” “What do I say?” “How can I tell if they like me, or even if they are like me?” “How do I deal with…?” And those are tough questions for anyone, let alone people who don’t have good examples to learn from, who don’t have easy guidelines to follow, who don’t have any experience to build upon. I would like to put together an anthology of those kinds of stories: first time meetings, of people who fall somewhere on the all-inclusive LBGTQ+ spectrum, that lead to healthy relationships. I would prefer these were romantic stories of meeting and falling in love, though I recognize that may not apply to everyone, or may not apply in the same way. And that’s part of the issue. Not everything does apply to everyone. And for those trying to find their way, a good story about that particular path may mean everything to them. And I hope we can help provide that. I realize we are talking about representation here, but I want to normalize it. I want stories, that show a reader they are “not alone” in who they...

Submission Window: October 1st - December 1st, 2023 Payment: $0.10 CAD per word Theme: horror/dark fiction anthology in the vein of previous anthologies of Canadian speculative fiction Note: Canadian Authors Only “Deep silence fell about the little camp, planted there so audaciously in the jaws of the wilderness. The lake gleamed like a sheet of black glass beneath the stars. The cold air pricked. In the draughts of night that poured their silent tide from the depths of the forest, with messages from distant ridges and from lakes just beginning to freeze, there lay already the faint, bleak odors of coming winter.” — Algernon Blackwood, The Wendigo “Canadians are fond of a good disaster, especially if it has ice, water, or snow in it. You thought the national flag was about a leaf, didn’t you? Look harder. It’s where someone got axed in the snow.” — Margaret Atwood, Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature Northern Nights is a proposed horror/dark fiction anthology in the vein of previous anthologies of Canadian speculative fiction — Northern Stars (Hartwell & Grant, eds.); Northern Suns (Hartwell & Grant, eds.) — and the 5 volume Northern Frights series (Don Hutchison, ed). Black glassy lakes. Dark woods. Ancient pines and maples. Abandoned highways. Ghost towns. Preternatural light. The Midnight Sun. Uncanny valleys. An indigo sky spiked with bright white stars. The darkening garden. The sting of the whooshing north wind. The killing cold. A cry in the dark. It’s another night in the Canadian north. Night and all its torments.  OPENS: Oct. 1, 2023  CLOSES: Dec. 1, 2023  Anticipated publication date: Fall 2024  Who Can Submit Canadian citizens / permanent residents / those residing within lands claimed by Canada / expats. What We Want Looking for horror and horror-adjacent dark weird fiction, ideally set in Canada and incorporating a motif of night /...

Submission Window: September 1st - December 1st, 2023 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: Horror of all genres Ghostlight: The Magazine of Terror is a magazine devoted to horror fiction, art, and poetry. It is published once a year (Spring) by the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. Unlike Erie Tales, Ghostlight: The Magazine of Terror is open to all writers, poets, and artists. It is edited by our very own Nicole e. Castle. We specialize in horror in all its guises, particularly for adult audiences. We’re open to most settings and themes, from historical, modern, supernatural, and even the future. We want our writers to push the boundaries of horror. We need writing that will challenge, scare and surprise our readers; stories and poetry that will make us gasp at the end and haunt us for a long time afterward. Thrill and fright are what our readers want! If you have any questions not covered in the guidelines, please feel free to contact Nicole at: [email protected] Submissions are open from September 1 to December 1. READING PERIOD September 1 – December 1 Ghostlight: The Magazine of Terror may also send out special calls for themed or charity issues throughout the year. Any submissions sent outside these reading periods will be deleted unread. FICTION We at the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers (GLAHW) are looking for stories that are well written and character-driven, but any well-written story with a dark side has a chance with us. All stories need to be Horror—added elements of Dark Sci-Fi, Satire, and/or Dark Fantasy are welcomed. We specialize in horror in all its guises, particularly for adult audiences. We’re open to most settings and themes, from historical, modern, supernatural, and even the future. We want our writers to push the boundaries of horror. We need...