Events

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Space exploration and colonization The Way of Worlds is an anthology focused on space exploration and colonization (see, we have you covered). We want aliens, solar systems, spaceships, alternate universes, and to go somewhere beyond imagination. The focus of this anthology is space but it doesn't have to be hard science fiction. Show us what is happening in the galaxy next door. Closes 11:59 pm 12/31/2023. How you incorporate the quarterly theme in your story is up to you.  We do ask that you make sure the theme idea is not an afterthought, but an integral part of the story.  We want truly want stories depicting underdogs rising to the occasion when it seems all hope is lost. We are looking for polished manuscripts of about 3,500 - 12,000 words (not hard cut-offs, but not too much under/over please) in standard Shunn format. Please include your contact information, including full name and email address and any social media links you may have as well as any prior publications. If your story is nobledark, noblebright, grimdark, or grimbright or something in the middle of all of those that's okay.  Let us take a look. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] as an attached Word doc or docx. Please format the email subject line and your submitted file name as “The Underdogs Rise – by for ”. Accepted authors will be paid $.03/word and receive a contributor copy of the standard mass market paperback. We are purchasing first world-wide print rights for three years from publication (reprints in “best of” yearly anthologies will be allowed). We plan to notify all authors on the outcome of submissions by mid-December. Reprints are not accepted for this anthology. Simultaneous submissions are not accepted. Multiple submissions are accepted, but limited to three per...

Submission Window: October 1st - December 31st, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? Oxymoron? We don’t think so. One place you can start your exploration of this idea is an article from Nightmare Magazine penned by one of our co-founders. But perhaps the easiest way to understand what we mean is to read stories by some of the old masters we love: Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Roald Dahl. Watch classic episodes of Thriller, The Twilight Zone, and Night Gallery. Read old horror comics. Listen to radio dramas like Suspense, Quiet, Please, and Inner Sanctum Mysteries. Consume enough vintage horror, and you’ll probably begin to get an idea of the type of thing that’s likely to appeal to us. In short, we’re looking to provide a space for a type of storytelling that has largely gone out of style – dark and scary, but playful and approachable with an emphasis on plot. To clarify further, here’s a list of things we want and things we don’t, which may help you hit the sweet spot. THINGS WE LOVE: Stories with a moral core. It need not happen in every tale, but we like to see good prevail (or at least evil punished). Ironic justice, in which cleverly nasty things happen to bad people, as in old EC comics, makes us chuckle with ghoulish delight. Well-earned twist endings. There’s nothing we love more than a really good surprise or a clever way to subvert our expectations. Pull the rug out from under us and leave us gasping. High concept settings and situations reminiscent of the pulps. Androids, ghosts, aliens, old castles, vampires, dinosaurs, deals with the devil, mad scientists, Wild West gunslingers, and so...

Submission Window: October 1st - December 31st, 2023 Prizes: $1,500 prize package will be divvied up like so: $750 first place, $500 second place, $250 third place. Theme: Fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc at a MAX of 4500 words Contest guidelines below. READ CAREFULLY. Failure to do so may result in disqualification! Please note that we have additional perks and leeway for MEMBERS, see details below (highlighted in green)! Story Guidelines: The short story contest is open to everyone with a brain (a jab at AI, or to the screen-swiping, order taking, zombie-like state of the West? You decide). Don't be fooled by our promo illustration, there are no restrictions on genre: fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc - we don't care as long as it's a good story. The story itself cannot exceed 4,500 words. There are no restrictions on age of participant, and no need to ask us for permission to participate in the contest - just follow the guidelines below. What do I win? A $1,000 $1,500 prize package will be divvied up like so: $750 first place, $500 second place, $250 third place. The winning story will be featured on Story Unlikely's website, will be strongly considered for our annual (print) sample magazine, and may be sent out as the bonus story for signing up, which means a lot of exposure to the winner. All three placing stories will be published in the monthly issue, and all three will be illustrated by our crackpot team of digital editors! Don't forget about the honorable mentions! That's right, you honorable little losers, you. Is that harsh? It's supposed to be a compliment. Anyway, we do NOT notify honorable mentions ahead of time, because we're lazy busy, so very, very lazy busy. Rather, we announce them in the monthly issue along with the winning story, which you need to sign...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: 8 cents per word and royalties Themes: 'Familiar': Familiars of any type (cats, dragons, etc) for any genre of speculative fiction and for 'Last-Ditch': Science Fiction or Fantasy stories of back-against-the-wall, desperate purpose--Hail Marys launched when hope seems lost for spies. The FAMILIARS, LAST-DITCH, and AMPYRIUM anthology Kickstarter (back us at http://tinyurl.com/ZNBKickstarter2023) has hit its goal! If you have a story idea that fits one of the anthology themes for FAMILIARS or LAST-DITCH, write it up, revise it, polish it, and send it in for consideration. I've posted the abridged guidelines below. You can find more detailed submission guidelines at http://zombiesneedbrains.moksha.io. AMPYRIUM will NOT have an open call for submissions, since it is establishing a new shared fantasy world. We hope to do an open call for submissions set in this world next year. The FAMILIARS and LAST-DITCH Submission Guidelines Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its two science fiction and fantasy anthologies FAMILIARS and LAST-DITCH. Stories must be submitted in electronic format to the Zombies Need Brains Moksha site for the appropriate anthology at http://zombiesneedbrains.moksha.io. Please send multiple manuscripts in separately; you may submit up to three stories to each anthology, so a total of six stories if you submit the maximum of three stories per anthology. Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered. Please use Times New Roman font. The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, word count, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s real name. Italics and bold should be in italics and bold. Stories for these anthologies must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, and must satisfy the theme of the anthology. FAMILIARS is to...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $20 USD for original stories and $5 for reprints and a contributor's copy Theme: Pirate tales, preferably about pirates and buccaneers from the 16th to 18th centuries Note: Reprints Welcome For this anthology, we're looking for pirate tales, prefereably about pirates and buccaneers from the 16th to 18th centuries. Stories set in completely fictional/fantasy worlds will be considered but are likely to be a hard sell. That said, we're interested in stories belonging to various genres just so long as the central characters and setting are pirates or centred on the theme of piracy, even if the story is set in the present. For example, a ghost story featuring a legendary pirate or a mystery about a lost treasure. We're not looking for sci-fi or futuristic stories. As usual, if you have any questions, just get in touch. The submissions window will remain open until December the 31st. Now, raise that black flag and get back to your writing desk! # Rates: We use PayPal to pay our contributors. If your submission is successful, you'll need an account. Alternatively, we can pay with an electronic Amazon gift coupon. Payment is made upon publication. $20 USD  for original stories and $5 for reprints regardless of length, plus one print copy. Preferred word count between 3,000 and 9,000 words. Please read the all the guidelines below before submitting. # ANTHOLOGY GUIDELINES AND DETAILS Please submit one story per publication. No simultaneous submissions for original fiction. Stories are chosen on merit and suitability for the anthology. However, when it comes to choosing between equally worthy submissions, social media presence and engagement may be taken into account. Social media is at the heart of our marketing strategy and most of our contributors have profiles on multiple platforms. We strongly encourage you to...

Deadline: December 31st, 2023 Payment: $100 per short story, $50 per flash fiction story, $50 per poem, $50-$100 per illustration, depending on size & complexity Theme: Stories with a range of neurodivergent perspectives on encountering aliens. Thinking Ink Press wants to publish your short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and art exploring encounters between neurodivergent people and neurodivergent aliens. Submission deadline: December 31, 2023 The universe is filled with aliens—creatures with different histories, cultures, and even biologies—who may seem strange to us. But our world is filled with a diversity of people, many of whom find each other strange. One particular group finds the rest of humanity especially strange: neurodivergent people. Would neurodivergent folks find themselves at an advantage in dealing with aliens? Let’s find out. Neurodiversiverse will be an anthology of 60,000 – 90,000 words, edited by Anthony Francis & Liza Olmsted, featuring stories with a range of neurodivergent perspectives on encountering aliens. We’re inviting you to put your spin on what that means. We welcome all well-told stories, but we are particularly interested in representation, empowerment, and own voices for neurodivergent people—especially stories which highlight how neurodivergent perspectives and experiences might give advantages when dealing with aliens. Own voices and diversity Thinking Ink Press believes that people of all backgrounds deserve to have their voices heard. We primarily publish books relating to disability, writing advice and inspiration, and diverse speculative fiction. Editor Liza Olmsted is neurodivergent, and all of the founders of Thinking Ink Press are members of marginalized communities. For this anthology, we are particularly interested in short stories written by people who are neurodivergent, including but not limited to: autistic, ADHD, OCD, Tourette’s. We understand the impact of intersectionality, and explicitly invite people from other marginalized backgrounds to submit stories. We’re also aware of how insidious unconscious bias...

Submission Window: November 1st - December 31st, 2023 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Resource Scarcity We are seeking stories for an anthology to be titled We Are All Thieves of Somebody's Future which will collect stories with the theme: Resource Scarcity - using up the last of a critical resource and dealing with the aftermath. While stories could be dystopic (ex. the last tree), authors could also explore hopepunk (losing a resource leads to something unforeseen and positive), solarpunk (a pollution laden resource leads to a better solution), fantasy (the last dragon). We are open to all genres. All stories are requested to be between 1000 and 3000 words in length. Authors may explore any genre with their stories and we encourage a wide variety of ideas and interpretations. Submission Dates Submissions open: November 1st, 2023 Submissions close: December 31st, 2023 Reading/Review begins: January 1, 2024 Reading/Review ends: February 29, 2024 All authors will be contacted by: April 15, 2024 General Submission Information We like to seek out new authors and book ideas ourselves rather than be contacted directly because we are a small, self-funded press, and only publish 4-5 books a year. We usually offer open call submissions on anthologies we decide to do, or we contact authors directly if we have particular needs. We pay $0.08/word for the stories we publish. Most of our books are limited editions of between 100 and 200 copies and we prefer to print physical books over creating ebooks. The Air and Nothingness Press is interested only in publishing works created by the individual, creative efforts of human authors. We are not completely opposed to the use of AI as a tool to develop art or writing, rather we are opposed to the use of it in place of art or writing. If you "wrote" a...

Submission Window: November 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023 Payment: 8¢ per word Theme: Speculative flash fiction Interstellar Flight Press seeks speculative flash fiction for 2024 publication in our online magazine and yearly anthology. We will publish one piece of flash fiction a month in 2024, celebrating micro and small fictions. Submissions will be read by our team of readers and final selections will be made by flash series editor, Annika Barranti Klein.  Guidelines: Genres: as long as it’s speculative (even a little bit!), anything goes for genre. Please see below for specific content hard sells and loves.  Length: up to 1,250 words (no minimum) Payment: 8¢ per word (minimum payment $25) within 30 days of publication. 1 print contributor’s copy of our yearly anthology.  Simultaneous subs? Yes! Please let us know right away if you need to withdraw a story by emailing [email protected]. Multiple subs? Yes! Up to three stories per person; please fill out a separate form for each story.  Response times: We aim to reply to submissions in 90 days. We will try to get first round answers (rejections or holds) out as quickly as possible.  Terms: Original stories, no reprints please. First English Rights with a 3-month exclusivity period. Inclusion in our annual print anthology.  Please do not send anything generated using the large language models commonly called AI; they are built on plagiarism and we won’t publish them. Tools like spellcheck are absolutely fine.  Accepted stories will be featured on our website and Patreon, where authors will be asked to complete a short Q&A interview for our patrons. All accepted stories will also be in our yearly anthology, along with the interview.  About the Flash Series Editor Annika Barranti Klein’s flash fiction has been in Mermaids Monthly, The Future Fire, Milk Candy Review, HAD, Hallowzine, and Worlds of Possibility. Her...

Deadline: December 31, 2023 Payment: $0.07 per word Theme: Character-driven fictional short stories written by Black women writers. All genres are welcome. We’re Currently Accepting Submissions! Next Deadline: December 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm ET (short fiction – all genres and narrative essays) *updated 10/1/23 CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT! short stories. essays. melanin. Whether you’re an established writer or are just starting out, we want to hear from you! midnight & indigo, a literary journal celebrating Black women writers, has issued a call for submissions to review short stories and narrative essays. We publish content on our digital platform and in our literary journals (paperback/ebook/audiobook). In 2024, we will publish our first long-form anthology! Writers are invited to share their original, fictional, or personal stories. Stories can funny, entertaining, serious, or sincere. Stories must be character-driven and leave readers with something to think about. All genres are welcome! How to Submit: Format:  All submissions should follow proper manuscript format and Microsoft Word .doc format. We will not accept submissions that do not follow our guidelines. All stories must be submitted via Submittable — we will not accept stories via email. You may submit up to three stories at any time. Our average response time is 120 days Word length:  Short stories: 1,500-8,000 words. Narrative essays: min. 1,200 words Please note:  Calls for Submissions will be held on a rolling basis with deadlines four times per year: March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st. Submission does not guarantee that your work will be published. All submissions will be considered for our long-form anthology Genres: All genres and writing styles are welcome. It may be helpful to view our current short stories, essays, and literary journals to get a general sense of what we publish, but don’t be afraid to push the needle! Compensation: We pay for all accepted pieces. Information is available below Fiction...

Submission Window: December 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: $0.08 CAD per word Theme: short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships in any genre (though they prefer uplifting so probably better for Scifi/Fantasy.) Note: Looking for at least 50% Canadian authors We're looking for short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. We don't want the blaze of new love or the obsession of a new friend. We want pieces that show that comfort that develops when people know each other for years. Give us deep space, dusty frontiers, or dreamy fantasy. We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. While we are primarily looking for stories with happy endings (yeah, yeah), we also want endings that are earned. If things get a little teary or gory, that's ok. We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules. Payment Payment is $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction (1,000-3,500 words) and $60 CAD flat per poem. We are purchasing first publication rights, to revert back to the author after one year. Canadian Writers Since Heartlines Spec is primarily a Canadian magazine, we're looking to feature writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. This includes expats, refugees and displaced people living in Canada, new immigrants, and people who refuse/resist Canadian Identity. Heartlines welcomes submissions from writers of all identities. If you are comfortable, we encourage writers to indicate their intersections in their cover letter. Disclosure is not a requirement to submit, and we recognize that not all people are safe to disclose their identities. We are committed to addressing barriers and systemic discrimination faced by equity-deserving groups, which includes (but is not limited to): Racialized people People with disabilities LGBTQIA+ people Indigenous people Women Neurodivergent people Our goal...