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Submission Window: March 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: 1.5¢ per word (one and one-half cent), with a $25 (U.S.) minimum and 2 contributors copies Theme: Horror and Weird Fiction Weird Horror has two reading periods each year - March and September. FICTION GUIDELINES OPENS: March 1, 2023 CLOSES: March 31, 2023 We are seeking first publication rights. Fiction must be in English, and previously unpublished in English anywhere, in any format, on any platform, including your blog, website, newsletter, Patreon, etc. Please do not query about reprints. We will consider works translated to English, as long as you are offering first English-language publication rights. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please inform us if your story is accepted elsewhere. No multiple submissions. Please send 1 story only per reading period. We are seeking horror and weird fiction from 500 to 6,000 words, firm. Stories over or under the word count will not be read. (Please respect our word counts.) We are not interested in extreme horror. We receive about 1,000 manuscripts each period, and accept less than 2% of submissions. Do not be discouraged by a form rejection. Payment is (U.S.) 1.5¢ per word (one and one-half cent), with a $25 (U.S.) minimum (paid via PayPal) for first worldwide English-language rights, for use in the print, eBook, and online edition. Contributors also receive 2 copies of the print edition. We ask for a 6-month exclusivity. Copyright remains with the author, and a contract will be provided. Submit stories in Standard Manuscript Format as a Word document or PDF, and e-mail as an attachment to: WeirdHorrorMag gmail com NOTE - There is no need to provide a mailing address on your manuscript. Format the subject line of your e-mail thusly: Submission - Add Story Title Here Do not respond to rejections, please, for...

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: 50% share of book royalties and 5 author copies Theme: Bizarro Novel & Novella Submissions January 1st – March 1st See Theme: Bizarro We want to publish your exciting, well written bizarro stories. For those unfamiliar with the genre, think of the weirdest story you’ve ever read, then times that by potato. Novellas - 20,000 to 40,000 wordcount Novels – 40,000 to 80,000 Short story collections may also be considered. Author compensation will be in the form of; ·       50% share of book royalties ·       5 Author Copies Stage 1 – First chapter only due within the submission window, along with a synopsis and rough plot outline. Make sure it captures our attention and makes us want to read more! Please allow 4 weeks from closing date for a response. Stage 2 – Those successful in stage 1 will be invited to submit their completed manuscript (and their full bio) within 12 weeks. This full manuscript will go to our read team. Successful authors from stage 2 will be invited to sign contracts with us. Please allow 12 weeks from closing date for a response. Author eligibility : Open only to all Reprints : Allowed Simultaneous Submissions : Not allowed Multiple Submissions : No. Publication : Publications in digital and print, launching 2023/24 Submit to : [email protected] Subject line: Novel/Novella submission - Story name - Your name Via: Planet Bizarro.

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: £20 Theme: Stories should be inspired by/based on tabletop games - roleplaying games, board games, miniature wargames. Fanatical is currently OPEN for submissions. We are looking for unpublished sci-fi, fantasy and horror stories of between 2,000 and 6,000 words. Please only submit one story at a time and don't submit if it's already submitted somewhere else. All stories should be self-contained, no "to be continued". Recurring characters across multiple stories will be considered, as long as each story is a solid read in its own right. If you've already been published in an issue of Fanatical you are free to submit again, but we may hold your submission over so as not to publish the same author in back to back issues. Fanatical will pay £20 per accepted story, paid upon publication. We pay via Paypal. Upon acceptance, authors retain rights to the story but we ask they don't publish/submit it anywhere else before it is published in Fanatical. Tales from the Tabletop These stories should be inspired by/based on tabletop games - roleplaying games, board games, miniature wargames. Though Fanatical may take it's name from the concept of fan fiction, we're not looking to get sued here.   A story about an adventuring party consisting of a dwarf, an elf, a human and a halfling going into a dungeon to fight a dragon is fine. A story specifically set in a copyright protected world of Dungeons & Dragons, with reference to its locations and characters is not. A story about a genetically engineered super-soldier in power armour fighting aliens in the far future is fine. A story about a Space Marine fighting Xenos in the grimdark universe of Warhammer 40,000 is not. Rest assured the editors at Fanatical will work with you to ensure your stories meet our criteria in this regard.   Authors should be...

Submission Window: March 8th, 2023 to March 24th, 2023 for all, Underrepresented voices have the entire month of March Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Horror, Dark and Science Fiction Horror that takes place in institutions of learning (see below) Ai Jiang and Christi Nogle are seeking previously unpublished stories of 1,000 to 4,000 words for Shortwave Publishing’s Wilted Pages: An Anthology of Dark Academia. Wilted Pages takes its inspirations from works such as The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas, and The Bone Weaver’s Orchard by Sarah Read. Gloomy buildings, secret societies, futuristic boarding schools, gothic yet modern aesthetics, and occult learning are among the pleasures to be found in this subgenre.   We are looking for a broad range of HORROR, DARK FANTASY, and SCIENCE FICTION HORROR concerning Schools, colleges, universities, and/or other educational institutions Libraries and books Laboratories and research facilities Teachers and students Scholarship and scholarly life Esoteric/occult learning Educational technology The future of learning The knowledge economy   Recommended Reading H. Pueyo’s “A Study in Ugliness” from The Dark Magazine Corey Farrenkopf’s “Mother’s Wolves” from Catapault John Langan’s ““Technicolor” at PseudoPod Our definition is not so narrow as this one, but it might be a good starting point: Dark Academia | Aesthetics Wiki A more critical take at Dark Academia: The Truth About the Genre & Subculture Submission Guidelines File: .docx or .doc Format: Double-spaced, Times New Roman, include email address and byline on the first page (*address and phone number not needed) Length: 1,000 to 4,000 words (*no exceptions) Emailed to: [email protected] Include a brief cover letter (A third-person bio — no more than 100 words) Subject line: SUBMISSION: Story Title — Word Count — Author Name Submissions open March 8, 2023 and close March 24, 2023. We would love to see work from writers from all backgrounds and locations....

Submission Window: March 1st - 31st, 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: March 31st, 2023 Payment: $40 USD Theme: Eerie stories that would be perfect to be told around a campfire! Pull up a seat, roast a marshmallow, and tell us a tale. We want the stories you’d whisper in the dark. The kind that linger and leave readers with more questions than they answer. We want a little bit of campiness and a whole lot of speculation on the world around us. We prefer stories set in a rural backdrop with the intimate feeling of a small town. We want sparse populations and a closeness to nature. The stories don’t need to be about camping necessarily, but they should evoke the eerie feeling of a story told around a campfire with the strange sounds of the forest just beyond the firelight. All stories will need to be previously unpublished (this includes your own website/blog/etc.) and must feature a speculative element, whether it’s magic or monsters or anything in between. All subgenres of speculative fiction are welcome, although sci-fi will be a harder sell. We will judge all stories by their own merits though, so if you think you have something that fits, we want to read it. A note on horror: we are not looking for gratuitous violence, grimdark, or gothic romanticism. We will not accept any stories featuring bigotry, hateful language, or sexual assault of any kind. This is an anthology for adults so some sex/violence/profanity is fine, as long as it directly pertains to the story and isn’t used solely for shock value. We do want our grandmothers to read this though, so any sex should preferably be fade-to-black rather than overly descriptive. Guidelines: Deadline: March 31st, 2023 at 11:59 EST Word count: 2,000-5,000 words Payment: $40 USD per accepted story, paid through PayPal. Rights: First world print and digital publication rights...

Submission Window: March 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: 2 contributors' copies and 1 cent per word Theme: Short fiction and narrative poetry that are horror and horror-adjacent, and particularly well-suited for traditional storytelling. Opens: March 1, 2023 Closes: March 31, 2023 Before submitting, please read about our magazine so you know our mission and our literary interests. Our list of influences may also give you a sense of the types of work we’re looking for. We accept submissions from creators of every ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, creed, nationality, ability, and economic background. Further, we encourage submissions from those whose voices are underrepresented or frequently silenced. You are welcome here. Please don’t self-reject by not submitting. Fiction/Poetry The Deeps seeks to publish pieces of short fiction and narrative poetry that are horror and horror-adjacent, and particularly well-suited for traditional storytelling. We have a special interest in stories that are gothic, folkloric, cosmic, or psychological in nature. Please do not submit works that have been previously released in any format: online, digital, audio, or print. (Distribution on social media and Pateron (etc.) count as online publication.) We are currently not considering reprints, nor are we interested in nonfiction. Please no extreme or erotic horror. Requirements: Submissions must be no longer that 6,000 words, firm. Simultaneous submissions should be clearly indicated as such in your cover letter; please notify us immediately if your submission is accepted elsewhere. Fiction: no multiple submissions, only one story per submission. Poetry: up to three poems in a single document, the total word count not exceeding 6,000 words. For accepted submissions we pay 1 cent ($0.01) per word; a minimum of $20 will be paid to each contributor. Each contributor will also receive 2 print copies after publication. We ask for 6-month exclusivity and the first worldwide rights...

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: horror, fantasy and science fiction Our editorial team would be happy to hear from you. Below is an overview for paid and unpaid submissions. PAID SUBMISSIONS MetaStellar Magazine has two cycles for paid submissions each year, where we pay 8 cents a word for flash fiction. Unfortunately, we cannot pay for submissions outside these two cycles. To keep up with our paid submissions windows, you can subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Twitter. If you are interested in submitting, please see our fiction submission page. Original flash fiction submissions are closed. Our next submission cycle opens March 1 and runs through March 31. Accepted authors will be notified by April 15. To keep up with our paid submissions windows, you can subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Twitter. We are able to pay for original flash fiction through the kind generosity of our Patreon supporters. Your donations allow us to accept and publish original speculative fiction at a time when publishing opportunities for new writers are extremely limited. Please direct your questions related to original fiction to [email protected]. Please see our overview for non-paying opportunities with MetaStellar. Via: MetaStellar Magazine.

Deadline: March 31st 2022 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Gambler's Grief NOTE: The magazine also runs a monthly contest with a $3000 prize, though the contest is only open to members who pay the $10/month fee The stakes rise, your eyes gleam. Slowly, carefully, you reach for the card up your sleeve. One big win and everything changes, but the deck is stacked against you. Is the risk worth the reward? Gambling, a favorite past-time dating back thousands of years. From friendly wagers to deadly deals. Win the bet; reap the reward. But no streak can last forever. Losses mount, loans are made, and we lie: just one more game. Double or nothing. Deeper into the hole. Every choice is a gamble on your future. Chance is a fickle mistress and regret stalks close behind. Bet your livestock, your coin, your soul. Don’t dance with the devil—the game is rigged. Take a person’s last coin and they’ve got nothing to lose. Card sharks, casinos, and carnivals. Tailored suits reduced to rags. The rich bet higher but fall harder. Flash your wealth and gain entry to the back room. The illegal game. The blood sport. Dodge the law and deposit the spoils. When the chips are down and all bets are off, what’s in your hand? This contest invites you to explore gambler’s grief, whatever that means to you. Fantasy, contemporary, romance, crime. All genres are welcome. All new writers can submit work to the magazine. It’s free. We don’t believe publications should charge authors to be published. However, we have a specific submission process you must adhere to in order to have your work considered. Our submissions window opens on the first and closes at midnight on the final day of each month. Each issue of the magazine is themed...

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: $15 USD and a contributors copy Theme: sub-dermal body horror about terrors lurking under the skin SUBMISSION PERIOD: January 9 - March 31st PUBLICATION: July 2023 Submissions open Jan 9. for our debut short story collection: CRAWLING. We're looking for sub-dermal body horror about terrors lurking under the skin: infestations and transformations with an emphasis on the embodied experience. What are we looking for? Body horror short stories (3,500-6,500 words) FRESH perspectives on the body horror genre from othered voices (women, non-binary, trans, and queer perspectives). Themes: sub-dermal horror, infestations, body horror, possessions, and transformations. Submission Requirements Your work must be 100% your work. You must own the copyright to your submission. In your email include: short author biography and links to your social media. Story length must be 3,500 to 6,500 words. Please submit your work in the period stated, this is from January 9 through to March 31 2023. When submitting your short story, please send them to our email address [email protected] Include trigger warnings with your submission Accepted authors will receive compensation per our contract agreement of $15 USD + physical author copy. Via: Hear Us Scream.