Events

Deadline: March 1, 2016 Payment: 3 cents a word Comet Press is seeking short stories for an erotic horror anthology to be published in the summer of 2016. We are looking for the most gruesome, twisted, disturbing, erotic stories that push the boundaries of sex and horror and we don't have any content restrictions (except for kiddie content, of course). Reading period: From September 28, 2015--March 1, 2016 (or until filled). Word length: up to 9,000 words. Multiple submissions: Up to two stories per author can be submitted. Please send as separate emails. PAYMENT We have a funding campaign on Kickstarter for this anthology. Payment is 3 cents a word, unless we meet our funding campaign on Kickstarter, then payment will be bumped up to 6 cents.We really want to pay authors the professional rate and that is the whole purpose of the crowdfunder. Help us fund this book on Kickstarter! Payment will be made upon publication.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cometpress/stiff-things-an-erotic-horror-anthology Reprints: No reprints. Response Time: 3–4 weeks. Rejections will be sent as soon as possible. Stories that make the first cut will be kept until the end of the reading period. Authors will be notified right away if their story makes the first cut, then the final stories will be selected at the end of the reading period. We will send a confirmation that we received your story within 2 days. If you do not get this confirmation, please feel free to inquire or resubmit. WHAT TO SEND: In the body of the email please include: your name, pen name if any, address and email address, and bio. Include a brief blurb summing up the story and word count. Attach the story in a standard formatted .rtf or word document Put “STIFF THNGS SUBMISSION: TITLE OF YOUR STORY” in the subject of the...

Deadline: 3/1/16 Payment: $5-$20 depending on length "We are not afraid." Body Parts Magazine is an online literary magazine of horror, erotica, speculative fiction, essays and art. Each themed issue honors Eros and Thanatos, the Greek gods of libido and mortido—life and death. We celebrate the vast and various expressions of dreams and darkness, our primitive desires and urges, and seek to encounter—and embrace—those shadowy monsters who dwell in the dimly lit corners of human experience. Submission Guidelines Upcoming Themes Submissions for each issue are accepted through the last day of each reading period (if specified). You are welcome to submit material for any issue--simply indicate which issue you would like your work to be considered for. Issue #6: Grave Robbing (Spring/Summer 2016) Disinterment. Theft. Exhumation and ossuaries. Unspeakable crimes. Corpses of the past (events, relationships, ideas, cultures and cities). What inappropriate, grim and morbid things or people do we long for when they are gone? What incites one to dig up the dead, reanimate the deceased or dig through decayed remains in search of some treasured item, memory or ideal? In what horrific ways do we serve as the archaeologists of our own fates and futures? ​Submission deadline: 3/01/16 Fiction Body Parts accepts well-written, thoughtfully structured horror, erotic horror, speculative fiction, dark fantasy (including fairy tales and mythology), exceptional stories about ghosts, ghouls, monsters and wretched creatures, Gothic fiction, and all combinations of the above. Our boundaries are few and far between. Flash Fiction: 1,000 words or fewer. Short Stories: up to 8,000 words. Serialized Long Fiction: query us with total word count. Art/Photography We accept your original artwork and photography reflective of an issue’s theme. Email a link to your art online (web, Dropbox, Google album, etc.) Essays & Interviews We accept short essays and interviews (up to 1200 words) about topics that...

Deadline: March 1st, 2016 Payment: 1 cent per word (negotiable). You know the songs. They’re etched into every punk’s brain. Not just because they’re catchy, but because there’s something else there. Glenn Danzig’s lyrics evoke intense imagery. Beautiful, dark, monstery imagery. There’s poetry between the whoa-oh-ohs. There are stories in those songs. They just need to be told. Hybrid Moments will be a collection of short stories inspired by the songs of The Misfits. Edited by MP Johnson and Sam Richard, Hybrid Moments will be published in Fall of 2016 by Weirdpunk Books. Your stories are needed. Choose a song by The Misfits (Danzig-era only) and let it inspire you to create a story. Maintain the tone of the song, but be original. A story about a man hacking the heads off little girls and putting them on his wall is not going to cut it for this book. A story told from the point of view of one of the skulls on the wall is more likely to get our attention. Get crazy. Stories should only be based on songs that were not inspired by movies. We are not looking for novelizations of “Night of the Living Dead.” (Information on the inspiration behind various songs) Stories should not feature members of The Misfits. However, creativity trumps all rules. A good example of a creative way to break the rules that would get our attention would be to rewrite Lewis’s Bloodfeast starring the members of The Misfits (seriously, somebody do this). Stories must not contain the Crimson Ghost due to copyright issues. All submissions must include the name of the song that inspired it and a brief description of how the story ties to the song. Do not name your story after the song that inspired it. Follow standard manuscript...

Deadline: March 1st, 2016 Payment: ½ a cent per word. Note: A little lower on payment than I'd usually like to list but unique enough that I'm sure there will be some interest FurPlanet publishes several anthologies each year, including FANG and ROAR under our Bad Dog Books imprint. This page will be updated with submission info and deadlines for all anthologies which are open for submission.   NOTE: Please read all the submission information carefully and address any questions directly to the editor linked in the anthology description.   Anthology General Terms: Authors of accepted submissions agree to a payment of 1/2 cent per word, exclusive publication rights in print and electronic formats for the period of one year from date of publication and non-exclusive rights in perpetuity thereafter. Submissions must not contain any copyrighted characters which the author does not hold the copyright on. Any story submissions featuring minors in sexual situations will be rejected.     Anthropomorphic Science Fiction Horror (not the actual title) is an upcoming book of original short stories by various authors. It will be published by FurPlanet. Here’s what we are looking for: Despite what some people may think, science fiction and horror have been bedmates for a long time. From the first moment humans looked at the stars and realized that there could be something out there with not so friendly intensions and felt that chill along their spines, mankind was combining the genres. With this in mind, there are some things that must be included in your submission. Stories must have anthropomorphic animals as the primary characters. If you are unfamiliar with stories that include anthropomorphic characters, please check out FurPlanet (furplanet.com), the Man-Kzin wars series, and S. Andrew Swann’s Moreau Quartet. Second, stories must be science fiction horror, obviously. Both science fiction...

Deadline: March 1st, 2016 Payment: $20.00 and a contributors copy. We want 2,000 to 3,000 word stories dealing with anything Wu-Tang Clan related. That could be Gravediggaz themes of horror, cool ass ninja shit, grimy Shaolin monks, gritty futuristic martial artists a la Bobby Digital, off-the wall crime fiction, etc. Not really wanting fan-fiction, but a good Ol’Dirty Bastard story would be dope. We want stories that give tribute to the greatest hip-hop group of all time, through the art of fiction. Take anything you love about the Wu, create a story around that, and bring the muthaf-in ruckus. Deadline:  March 1, 2016 Pay is $20.00 and a contributors copy. Send submissions to [email protected] with headline: Wu-Tang Tribute NO POETRY and multiple submissions are cool. Via: New English Press.

Deadline: March 1st 2016 Payment: £45 on day of publication, 3% of sales over first 12 months and your own copy of the book Shadows at the Door is in the process of publishing our very first anthology. The anthology will feature illustrations, with an audiobook also being produced. We have an open call for submissions until 1st March 2016. The anthology will be funded through Kickstarters, and will be the first in a series of high quality anthologies. We’re very excited to introduce you to this opportunity. Word Count: 5,000 – 7,000. Fee: £45 on day of publication, 3% of sales over first 12 months and your own copy of the book. Copyright: Rights remain with Shadows at the Door for 12 months after publication. Theme: Modern ghost stores, or similar content. Stories must be based locally to each writer. We’re not looking for stories with excessive gore and/or sex, we believe that less is more. We like stories by M.R. James, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Robert Aickman, Washington Irving, and similar. Please send your submission to [email protected] Best of luck. Via: Shadows at the Door.

Deadline: March 7, 2016 Payment: $25.00, plus digital and 1 trade paperback copy upon distribution Visual Adjectives is currently accepting stories, art and photography for the SteamPunk Assemblage,New Legends: Mercenary • Engineer  • Captain Book 2   Take to your typographers to help us build a steamtastic collection. The settings can be post-apocalyptic steampunk, time travel steampunk, airship and/or airship pirates. The world can be this one, in any time frame you choose, or another world altogether, just be sure to bring the steam powered flavor into your writing. The characters can be adventurers, inventors, entertainers, well to do or ner’ do well, wealthy or waif, whatever strikes your fancy. We seek submissions from emerging and established authors. We are looking for exceptional, well-written, engaging stories with subject matter reasonably free from sexually explicit content, gore, and obscenities.  This is going to call for a high level of skill to keep your story fast paced and interesting without falling back on those particular crutches to carry the plot along. No copyright infringements please. Characters must be your own, originally created, and not a version or fan fiction of an existing character. Do not use the names or personalities of existing trademarked characters. No references should be made to characters from well-known sources. Only submit unpublished, original stories, and characters. Story length, between 2,500 minimum and 8,000 maximum words. The first page of your submitted document must be a Cover Page (see below for details). Please spend time reviewing the guidelines, this will ensure that your best work is submitted free of editorial issues, such as spelling, formatting, and grammar. GUIDELINES Theme: SteamPunk Story Word Count: 2,500 minimum – 8,000 maximum, (not including information for cover page) Authors Biography: 250 maximum words Story Synopsis: 350 maximum words File Format: Microsoft Word document...

Deadline: March 15th, 2016 Payment: $10 and contributor's copy FunDead Publications is currently seeking submissions for an upcoming anthology of spooky short stories set in Salem, MA. Title TBA. Instructions: Send your submission to [email protected] for consideration, but please read our guidelines below! Submission Guidelines: Submit by March 15, 2016 with a rough release date of September 2016 Word Count: 1,000-6,000 Content Requirements: Your story must take place in Salem, MA. The time-period and content is your choice, but DO be unique and DO make it SPOOKY! Payment: Accepted submissions will be awarded payment in the way of $10 upon printing. It may not be much, but we are a small and humble press just getting our start and it’s all we can offer at this time besides a little social media promotion and beyond. If your submission is accepted, you will also receive a printed copy of the anthology! Anyone wishing for extra copies to distribute to family and friends (or to sell on their own) will pay the flat, wholesale price plus shipping. Format: Format should be in standard manuscript format and submitted as .doc, .docx, or PDF. Unfortunately, we cannot accept reprints at this time. Please include a brief cover letter introducing yourself along with your submission. Response Time: Please be aware that it may be six to eight weeks before you receive a response from FunDead Publications. Diversity Statement: We at FunDead Publications believe diversity is what makes fiction wonderful and unique and we welcome submissions from writers of every race, religion, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation. Via: Fun Dead Publications.

Deadline: March 15, 2016 Payment: 3 cents per word or if a SFWA member, 6 cents per word. "Hyperpowers"- Space opera and military fiction. Plato invented naval superpower Atlantis. Iain M. Banks imagined a future dominant galactic civilization in his Culture series. With all of space and time to choose from, this is your chance to show us your world-building chops. Likable characters optional. Third Flatiron Publishing is based in Boulder, Colorado, and Ayr, Scotland. We are looking for submissions to our quarterly themed anthologies. Our focus is on science fiction and fantasy and anthropological fiction. We want tightly plotted tales in out-of-the-ordinary scenarios. Light horror is acceptable, provided it fits the theme. Please send us short stories that revolve around age-old questions and have something illuminating to tell us as human beings. Fantastical situations and creatures, exciting dialog, irony, mild horror, and wry humor are all welcome. Stories should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Inquire if longer. Role models for the type of fiction we want include Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke, Dan Simmons, Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, and Ken Kesey. We want to showcase some of the best new shorts available today. See the "Submissions" tab for preferred formats, etc. For each anthology, we will also accept  a few very short humor pieces on the order of the "Shouts and Murmurs" feature in The New Yorker Magazine (600 words or so). These can be written from a first-person perspective or can be mini-essays that tell people what they ought to do, how to do something better, or explain why something is like it is, humorously. An SF/Fantasy bent is preferred. Stories should be submitted in either Microsoft Word (using double spacing), RTF, or plain text. They should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Flash humor pieces (Grins...

Deadline: March 15, 2016 Payment: Contributor's Copy The bayou country is rich in history, beauty, music and culture. Swamps and live oaks draped in Spanish moss, catfish and the blues, Cajuns and pirate treasure and jazz and voodoo, plantations and the dark history of slavery and racism; with Bouchercon finally coming to New Orleans, what better theme for the Bouchercon 2016 anthology than BLOOD ON THE BAYOU? We are looking for stories either set in, or inspired by, the Bayou Country. (Remember, Louisiana is not the only state with bayous!) We want diverse voices and characters, tales of darkness and violence, whether they are noir, cozy, hard-boiled or suspense. Push the boundaries of your creativity and the theme! NOTE: The stories don’t have to actually be set in the Bayou Country, but can be ‘inspired’ by it—so a character can be from here, it can built around a piece of music; etc. If you have any questions as to whether your idea fits the theme, do not be afraid to ask! Specifics: The maximum word count is 5,000 words; the minimum is 2,000. The stories should be crime-oriented; whether it’s the commission, planning or solving of one. It can also be about the after-effects of one. Murder, mayhem, blackmail, embezzlement, robbery—get as creative as you can! Submissions: All submissions will go through a blind-reading process for inclusion. So, do not include your name anywhere on the file; there should simply be a title on the first page. Pages should also be numbered, and in the header, the title of the story as well. Please use Microsoft Word; double spaced, using Times New Roman 12 point font. The name of your file should also be the title of the story, i.e. The Lottery.docx. Please include your name, address, and contact information...