Events

Deadline: July 31, 2013 Payment: 5¢/word Story submissions Below are guidelines for submitting stories to Long Hidden, and the submission form. Please read the guidelines carefully before submitting. Direct all queries to [email protected]. Do not send story submissions via email, and do not send queries through the submission form. Who can submit We welcome stories by authors from all walks of life. We especially encourage submissions from members of marginalized groups within the speculative fiction community, including (but not limited to) people of color; people who are not from or living in the U.S.A.; QUILTBAG and GSM people; people with disabilities, chronic illness, or mental illness; and atheists, agnostics, and members of religious minorities. The protagonists of your story do not have to mirror your own heritage, identities, beliefs, or experiences. We also especially encourage short story submissions from people who don’t usually write in this format, including poets, playwrights, essayists and authors of historical fiction and historical romance. Submission deadline and publication schedule All submissions are due July 31, 2013. If it’s still July 31 in your time zone, you’re good. Acceptance notices will be sent by October 1. The anthology is tentatively slated for a February 2014 release. Pay and rights We pay USD 5¢/word for global English first publication rights in print and digital format. The author retains copyright. Payment is upon publication. Story criteria Length: 3000-7000 words (FIRM) Your story must be set between the years 1400 and 1920 C.E., and take place primarily in our world or an alternate historical version of our world. (Travel to other worlds, other dimensions, Fairyland, the afterlife, etc. is fine but should not be the focus.) Your protagonists must be people who were marginalized in their time and place. By “marginalized” we mean that they belong to one or...

Deadline: July 31st 2013 Payment: 5 cents per word Behind every great movie is a great story. Alfred Hitchcock ranks as one of the top storytellers of the twentieth century. We're looking for suspenseful stories of psychological horror—Hitchcock with a spec fic twist. Cause let's be honest—who doesn't feel a bit creepy crawly when they see a huge flock of blackbirds or seagulls overhead? So whether Hitchcock has his signature cameo in your story or not, the best tribute to a man considered to be the most influential filmmaker of the 20th century is a story he would have loved to put on the big screen. CALL BEGINS ON MAY 1, 2013 CALL ENDS ON JULY 31, 2013 Penumbra is looking for original, unpublished stories of 3500 words or less. We prefer that writers use Standard Manuscript Format for submissions. (You can read this article by Chuck Rothman on the SFWA site on preparing a manuscript for submission if you are unfamiliar with SMF.) Please send your stories as file attachments in .rtf or .doc formats only. Please include a cover letter in the body of your email, with the manuscript title, you pen name if applicable, the exact word count of the story not including title and byline, and a publication history if applicable. Penumbra is a professional rates paying publisher, paying 5 cents per word. We will evaluate poetry submissions for each issue. We will also consider previously published stories with rights reverted to the author. Penumbra has multiple issue calls open at the same time, therefore it is imperative that you include the issue theme in the subject line of your email. Submissions that do not include this information risk getting lost in our queue and not read before the deadline. Penumbra uses Musa Publishing's house style...

Deadline: July 31st 2013 Payment: 5 cents per word The Wily Writers site publishes two short stories per month in both audio and text formats. We host a celebrity editor for each of them, and they choose the stories along with the producer (Angel Leigh McCoy). We publish only short fiction that falls under the genre umbrella of speculative fiction: horror, fantasy, science fiction, and paranormal romance / mystery / adventure. We have specific themes that we’re asking you to follow. See below: Themes are trickling in. More coming soon! Theme listed here: Horror which is due by March 31, 2013 Submission Requirements Submissions need to follow the guidelines listed below. IMPORTANT: Name your file so that it makes sense. An impressive filename for a fiction submission is: (lastname)-(word from title).RTF Word count: 1000 – 4000 (Firm. Do not query). Use standard manuscript formatting. (more info) No simultaneous submissions to other publishers. Multiple submissions okay, but only one story per theme. Story must have a speculative fiction element. Gore, sex, and adult language okay, but make sure it improves the story. We do not edit, so make sure you use good grammar, have double-checked the punctuation, and have done a spell-check. We prefer Chicago Manual of Style rules, and we will reject it if it’s a mess, even if it’s an amazing story. We may request revisions, so if you’re not open to the idea, then let us know in your cover letter. It will save us all some time by communicating that up-front. We will accept reprints. Make double sure that the rights have reverted to you. By submitting it to us, you affirm that it has been freed from all other commitments that conflict with the rights you give us. We reserve the right to change these guidelines...

Deadline: July 31st 2013 (don't submit before July 1st.) Payment: 1 cent a word US, plus one contributor's copy. Dark Opus Press is proud to present Tell Me a Fable, our third annual anthology. We will be looking for stroies base on one of Grimm's Fariy Tales. We're sorry, but for the concept we're going for here we are not accepting poetry, reprints or artwork for this anthology. Our guidelines are simple. All stories MUST be based on a Grimm's Fariy Tale and NOT the Disney version. All stories must have a dark bent to them and be between 2,000 and 4,000 words. This word count is firm and stroies outside this word range will not be considered. MUST be in proper manuscript format. This means: Courier New or Times New Roman fonts, doubled spaced, no extra space between paragraphs, indent paragraphs. Words meant to be italicised or bolded in the final print, please make sure it is that way in your manuscript. Please read our magazine guidelines to see what we do not want. If you don't review our magazine guidelines, we will know. Send your submissions to: [email protected] In the subject line please put: submission - Your story title/title of Grimm's tale For example: Submission - Stewie's Melancholy/Sloth Payment for accepted works will be a 1 cent a word US, plus one copy. The reading period for this anthology will start July 1st and end July 31st or until filled. Stories sent before July 1st will be deleted unread. All submissions must be in either .doc, .docx, or .rtf Please be advised: If you require a form to be filled out by us in order for you to get our emails, we will NOT fill them out. We are too busy to take the time to do this....

Deadline: July 31st 2013 Payment: 5 cents per word The Wily Writers site publishes two short stories per month in both audio and text formats. We host a celebrity editor for each of them, and they choose the stories along with the producer (Angel Leigh McCoy). We publish only short fiction that falls under the genre umbrella of speculative fiction: horror, fantasy, science fiction, and paranormal romance / mystery / adventure. We have specific themes that we’re asking you to follow. See below: Themes are trickling in. More coming soon! Theme listed here: Horror which is due by March 31, 2013 Submission Requirements Submissions need to follow the guidelines listed below. IMPORTANT: Name your file so that it makes sense. An impressive filename for a fiction submission is: (lastname)-(word from title).RTF Word count: 1000 – 4000 (Firm. Do not query). Use standard manuscript formatting. (more info) No simultaneous submissions to other publishers. Multiple submissions okay, but only one story per theme. Story must have a speculative fiction element. Gore, sex, and adult language okay, but make sure it improves the story. We do not edit, so make sure you use good grammar, have double-checked the punctuation, and have done a spell-check. We prefer Chicago Manual of Style rules, and we will reject it if it’s a mess, even if it’s an amazing story. We may request revisions, so if you’re not open to the idea, then let us know in your cover letter. It will save us all some time by communicating that up-front. We will accept reprints. Make double sure that the rights have reverted to you. By submitting it to us, you affirm that it has been freed from all other commitments that conflict with the rights you give us. We reserve the right to change these guidelines...

Deadline: July 31st, 2013 Payment: 5 cents per word for the winning story. Bram Stoker award-nominated author Jeremy C. Shipp will guest judge NOTLP’s first Flash Horror Contest. The winner will be paid a professional rate of 5 cents per word for First Worldwide Electronic rights. The winning story will be published on the NOTLP blog. All entries will be considered for publication. Submission guidelines: Word Count: 1000 words or less. Reading Period: July 1 through July 31, 2013 Genre: Horror. The guest judge particularly enjoys character-based tales, vivid imagery, dark humor, unique monsters. Reprints: No Multiple Submissions: No Simultaneous Submissions: No Payment: 5 cents per word for the winning story. Please include your contact information (name, address, email) and approximate word count on the title page. Send submissions to [email protected]. Please write “NOTLP FLASH CONTEST: Title of Story” in the subject line of the email. Attach your story as an rtf or doc file. We look forward to reading your stories. Judging process: After reading through all the submissions, Jeremy will choose the top 5 flash stories. These 5 stories will be voted on by Jeremy as well as the NOTLP staff. The winning story will be decided based on these votes. About the guest judge: Jeremy C. Shipp is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Cursed, Vacation, and Attic Clowns. His shorter tales have appeared or are forthcoming in over 60 publications, the likes of Cemetery Dance, ChiZine, Apex Magazine, Withersin, and Shroud Magazine. His online home at jeremycshipp.com.

Deadline: July 31st 2013 Payment: Exposure Only Lions and tigers and bears – oh my! Not even close… MONSTERS! That’s right; we want your best creature story. But no copyright infringement; make sure they are your own creations. Scare us! Freak us out! Make us wet our drawers! The theme for the August issue of The Sirens Call eZine is Monsters and fear! Full guidelines at www.SirensCallPublications.com! Deadline for submissions: Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 Sirens Call Publications is open to everyone: pre-published works, online serials, Indie authors, authors of note - if you have a tale to tell, we want to read it. We are an edgy/dark Fiction Publisher interested in stories of Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery and Suspense. If your work falls outside one of those genres and you believe that Sirens Call Publications is a good fit for you, feel free to give us a try. We are a co-operative of writers with many varied tastes and styles, and while your piece may not fall into one of our main categories, it doesn't mean that we won't consider working with you on it. We will not publish stories containing sexual content involving minors in any way, or stories containing ; other than that, the only boundaries are your imagination! Sexual content unnecessary to the storyline is discouraged unless you are submitting an erotic story for consideration. Gore for the sake of gore or simply included for shock value in a piece is discouraged as well, and will most likely not garner our attention unless it is necessary to support the storyline. eZine Specific Guidelines (that overrule General guidelines if applicable): Previously published works will be considered for inclusion. Please refer to the guidelines attributed to each individual eZine. Please submit stories, flash fiction or poetry that is...

Deadline: August 1st 2013 Payment: Winners will split the profits of the collection evenly. Calling all writers: Announcing the start of Dark Hall's first short story competition! Now through August 1st (2013) we will be accepting short Ghost stories for possible inclusion in a late summer anthology. Ten slots are available, and the contest will be highly competitive. The base concept for these stories is ghostly happenings, but this is open for broad interpretation, and there are no rules for where you take your story. Submissions should be no longer than 4,000 words, submitted in PDF format, and include a brief author bio and contact information. Please include the word GHOST in the e-mail heading. We cannot accept previously published material. Winners will split the profits of the collection evenly. Winners will be contacted after August 1st. In submitting work for consideration we ask that writers include the first chapter/section of their project, a brief (one page) synopsis of the overall work, and some background information on themselves. PDF format preferred. Note that we will not entertain simultaneous submissions. Response time is generally one week. Direct all submissions to: [email protected]

Deadline: August 1st, 2013 Payment: $10 from Enchanted Conversation and paperback copy of the anthology from World Weaver Press Anthologist: Kate Wolford You know the Jolly Old Elf of Christmas, right? Of course you do. You can’t avoid him. Yet, Santa Claus isn’t just a kindly old expert at breaking and entering and leaving gifts he didn’t actually buy for the children of a house. At least he isn’t in Austria and many other parts of Europe. In these ancient places, where, perhaps, the old, old gods still add a touch of mischief, Krampus is the angry, punishing sidekick of St. Nicholas (Santa’s counterpart in much of Europe). Known for his willingness to punish rotten children, Krampus might even be considered Santa’s dark side or evil twin. Krampus is the sort of guy more and more North Americans want to explore. He’s definitely having a moment this side of the Atlantic. To that end, World Weaver Press and Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine are pleased to announce a joint venture: An anthology of Krampus short stories. Although the book is yet to be named, we hope you’ll explore every possible Krampus angle via short stories. He’s a nasty old dude, and we hope your imaginations will get the better of you. Rights and compensation: Payment: $10 from Enchanted Conversation and paperback copy of the anthology from World Weaver Press. We are looking for previously unpublished works in English. We are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for life of the anthology. Open submission period: June 15 – August 1, 2013. Length: Under 10,000 words. Submission method: Email cover letter and story to enchantedconversation...

Deadline: August 1st 2013 Payment: Winners will split the profits of the collection evenly Calling all writers: Announcing the start of Dark Hall's first short story competition! Now through August 1st (2013) we will be accepting short Ghost stories for possible inclusion in a late summer anthology. Ten slots are available, and the contest will be highly competitive. The base concept for these stories is ghostly happenings, but this is open for broad interpretation, and there are no rules for where you take your story. Submissions should be no longer than 4,000 words, submitted in PDF format, and include a brief author bio and contact information. Please include the word GHOST in the e-mail heading. We cannot accept previously published material. Winners will split the profits of the collection evenly. Winners will be contacted after August 1st. PDF format preferred. Note that we will not entertain simultaneous submissions. Response time is generally one week. Direct all submissions to: [email protected]