Events

Deadline: February 1st, 2022 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: Rayna sat in front of the mirror removing her makeup and wondered who she would discover underneath. We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests to help come up with new first lines, or we run fun, gimmicky competitions for free stuff, but the actual journal is not...

Deadline: February 1st, 2022 Payment: One cent per word and a contributors copy Theme: Sword-and-sorcery stories where Samhain/Halloween is relevant to the plot On October 31, 2021, DMR Books will reopen for submissions once again for a themed anthology tentatively entitled Samhain Sorceries. The concept for this book will be sword-and-sorcery stories where Samhain/Halloween is relevant to the plot. For clarification, sword-and-sorcery is a genre that combines swashbuckling adventure with supernatural elements (usually of a horrific nature) in a pre-industrial setting. Unlike most S&S stories, which are set in an invented world like Hyperborea or Nehwon, the tales in Samhain Sorceries should take place in the British Isles. Any time period is suitable, as long as it’s pre-industrial. Admittedly, not many stories that fall in this category have been written, so I would suggest reading those few that exist to get a better idea of what I’m looking for. Those stories are “The Unlawful Hunter” and “The Haunting of Mara” by Keith Taylor (which can be found in Renegade Swords II) and “All Will Be Righted on Samhain” by Howie K. Bentley and David C. Smith (which appears in Swords of Steel Omnibus). What we’re not looking for: Urban fantasy or anything with a modern-day setting. Tolkien-style epic/high fantasy. Stories that read like a D&D session. No LitRPG, either. Anything with orcs in it. If your story has orcs, it will automatically be rejected. I’m not kidding. Badly written amazon warrior women. I won’t dismiss stories with a fighting woman out of hand, as long as a) there’s some kind of explanation for her superior strength and combat abilities and b) she still has some feminine qualities. If neither of those are present, the character might as well be male. Profanity. If a word would get censored on network TV,...

Deadline: February 1st, 2022 Payment: Royalty Split Theme: Be careful what you wish for We’ve all heard the tales, and the warnings: Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. If you had a wish, how careful would you be? Would you regret it, or would your wildest dreams come true? Submission dates December 1, 2021 to February 1, 2022 We want stories about wishes granted. Whether they played out the way the wisher wanted is up to you. For this anthology, please no extreme horror or sex. Please keep content and language limited to the equivalent of a “PG-13” rated movie. We want to be able to share this with our mothers and children. Please remember, Knight Writing Press will not accept a story that glorifies, supports, encourages, or gratuitously includes hate, hate crimes, rape, sex, sex crimes, or any other forms of inhumanity. While we know it is tempting to walk those lines with wishes, do not send us stories about wishes used for rape, torture, or abusive mind control unless you are showing the consequences and why it shouldn’t be done. Even then, we probably don’t want to see it. This anthology is supposed to fun escapism, not an outlet for high-handed morality stories nor mentally masturbative abusers. There are no genre restrictions on this anthology, however the main premise of wishes coming true heavily implies fantastic/magical elements. Please keep this in mind if your story does not contain those elements. It will be up to the editors to decide if a non-magical wish granted fits the theme well enough. Please make sure you read and follow all submission guidelines and look over the sample contract before you submit. In the text of your query letter, please include confirmation that you understand we are using Draft2Digital and that...

Payment: $1500 Deadline: February 1st, 2022 Theme: Greek Gods, any genre An Open Call for New and Established Writers Greek mythology has proven itself to be of perennial interest. From reprints of classics like the D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths to retellings of the Iliad, Odyssey, and the Aeneid by everyone from Ursula K. Le Guin to Madeline Miller, writers are continually fascinated and readers are continually compelled by these stories. But while we know today that the Greco-Roman world was international and diverse in racial, ethnic, and sexual identities, this is hardly reflected in the retellings we have. Readers of all backgrounds are actively looking for inclusive, broad-ranging, cross-genre retellings; it’s time to give them their favorite myths with a new twist. Edited by Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams and published by Vintage, Fit For the Gods will shine new light on these beloved myths, and bring much-needed representation to them. All genres except nonfiction are welcome. Please note that this anthology is intended for an adult audience; we will not be considering works written for YA or younger audiences. Think Sword Stone Table (co-edited by Northington, including a story by Williams) but Greco-Roman mythology! Eligibility Requirements: New and established authors may submit an original work for consideration. Submission Requirements: All entries must be submitted to fitforthegodsanthology at gmaildotcom by 11:59pm Eastern, February 1, 2022, and must include the following: An original short story of 5,000 – 10,000 words, in two versions: One version of the manuscript with name removed, attached as a .doc, .docx, or .txt file. One version of the manuscript with name and contact information, attached as a .doc, .docx, or .txt file. Optional: Anything else we should know about you? We’d love to consider works by authors from marginalized communities, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled authors, and would be interested in knowing if that’s you. Feel free...

Submission Window: February 1st-2nd, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world. Note: Reprints welcome     Submissions Schedule We have a new submissions schedule as of June 1, 2020: The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. Only one submission per person. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. We pay 8¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 6¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles. For new poetry, we pay $1 a line, reprints would be 50¢ a line, up to 40 lines. We’ll look at longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 6¢ per word. We began The Kepler Award to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways. You can learn about The Kepler Award here. You can read a copy of our standard contract here.   It can be varied as needed to include the rights of translators, voice actors, etc. Writers Guidelines We accept new work as well as reprints, prose and poetry, anywhere from 1000 word flash fiction on up, but all else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored.   We have tough standards but only care about the quality of the writing, storytelling ability, characters, plot, and ideas, not whether you’re new or established.  Submit only work you are proud of...

Deadline: February 6th, 2022 Payment: £0.04 per word, with a minimum payment of £10 per accepted piece. Theme: Original stories related to ghosts AND folklore Note: Apologies for the short window, I only stumbled across this one just now I’m delighted to launch an exciting new project in collaboration with the fantastic Alternative Stories & Fake Realities podcast: GHOSTLORE: An Audio Fiction Anthology And we’re now open to flash fiction submissions! Ghostlore is a genre of folklore concerning ghosts, and I can’t wait to read creative responses to this. The anthology will form part of Alternative Stories & Fake Realities’ Season 6, in Spring 2022, and will link to a folklore discussion panel on a similar theme. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR Original stories related to ghosts AND folklore – stories should contain at least an element of both. We would love to see stories representing folklore from around the world. For this call we’re looking for fiction 800 words or less, with a preference for shorter pieces. We’re looking for a combination of micro-fiction and flash fiction pieces, and will be able to accept more shorter pieces than longer pieces. Stories from a range of genres are welcome – as long as they contain the elements mentioned above! Whether funny, dark, heartbreaking, weird, uncanny, atmospheric, gothic, or horror, I want to read them all! Stories that would translate well to audio. (Experimental structures may be a hard sell for this reason.) New and established writers welcome. The anthology will be a mix of invited writers (to be announced soon) and open submission (roughly 30% invited/70% open submission). We particularly welcome submissions from underrepresented writers. TERMS AND PAYMENT Payment: £0.04 per word, with a minimum payment of £10 per accepted piece. Publication format: The selected stories will be read and recorded by professional actors and compiled into an audio...

Deadline: March 1st 2022 Payment: £20 Theme: Stories involving bizarre monsters. Open Jan 1st 2022 - March 1st 2022 (Stories sent before or after will not be read) Your chance to be a part of Planet Bizarro’s first EVER anthology. We are looking for 4000-7000 word stories involving bizarre monsters. They could be bloodthirsty, benevolent, pets, or whatever else you can dream up. Keep in mind that this is first and foremost BIZARRO, although we also love horror, humour, and stories with a message (subtle). Keep it weird, wacky, and bizarre. Expected to be published in April 2022. To give you an idea, some of the stories we particularly enjoy are by Carlton Mellick III, Michael Allen Rose, Danger Slater, Brian Allen Carr, David W. Barbee, Douglas Hackle, Shane McKenzie and many, many more. We recommend you familiarize yourself with the genre before submitting. FORMATTING: Standard Shunn formatting. Nothing fancy, please. Word doc/docx attachment to an email, as well as a short bio of no more than 100 words and up to two author links. PAYMENT: £20 plus a digital copy of the anthology upon publication. RIGHTS: Exclusive rights for 1 year. Full rights return to author after. No simultaneous submissions. No multiple submissions. Reprints may be considered but originals are preferred. SEND TO: [email protected] FAILURE TO FOLLOW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES WILL RESULT IN YOUR STORY BEING AUTOMATICALLY REJECTED Via: Planet Bizarro.

Deadline: February 11th 2022 Payment: $.01 per word advanced against royalties Theme: Science Fiction Note: Reprints Welcome Rockets and Robots is looking for science fiction adventure stories set on alien worlds, space ships, or the post-21st century future. NO FANTASY! Word Balloon Books sells print editions at comic cons, Ren Fairs, and book festivals. We've noticed that most books at these event target adult readers,  so in 2022 we're launching a line of anthologies appropriate for readers 10 and up. We're open to challenging themes and subject matter, but language, graphic violence, and sexual content should be rated G. Child or teen protagonists preferred. Pay for all anthologies is $.01 per word advanced against royalties, with a possible bonus based on crowdfunding. Publication is NOT dependent on crowdfunding, however. Contributor copies will be provided as well. No firm word count limit, but under 3k is preferred. REPRINTS WELCOME! Email submission in standard manuscript format to [email protected]. Please specify the anthology you're submitting to, and if the story has been previously published.  Deadline for all February 11. 2022, though watch this space for adjustments! NOTE: These are preliminary covers. Final covers will be revealed closer to publication date. Via: James Maxey.  

Deadline: February 11th 2022 Payment: $.01 per word advanced against royalties Theme: Giant bugs! Note: Reprints Welcome Beware the Bugs is open to stories about giant bugs (or, perhaps, normal sized bugs and tiny humans). Fantasy or science fiction are welcome. Word Balloon Books sells print editions at comic cons, Ren Fairs, and book festivals. We've noticed that most books at these event target adult readers,  so in 2022 we're launching a line of anthologies appropriate for readers 10 and up. We're open to challenging themes and subject matter, but language, graphic violence, and sexual content should be rated G. Child or teen protagonists preferred. Pay for all anthologies is $.01 per word advanced against royalties, with a possible bonus based on crowdfunding. Publication is NOT dependent on crowdfunding, however. Contributor copies will be provided as well. No firm word count limit, but under 3k is preferred. REPRINTS WELCOME! Email submission in standard manuscript format to [email protected]. Please specify the anthology you're submitting to, and if the story has been previously published.  Deadline for all February 11. 2022, though watch this space for adjustments! Via: James Maxey.

Deadline: February 11th 2022 Payment: $.01 per word advanced against royalties Theme: Wondrous pets Note: Reprints Welcome Paradoxical Pets is open to stories about wondrous pets, be they alien, magical, artificial, or common pets with some special power. Fantasy or science fiction are welcome. Word Balloon Books sells print editions at comic cons, Ren Fairs, and book festivals. We've noticed that most books at these event target adult readers,  so in 2022 we're launching a line of anthologies appropriate for readers 10 and up. We're open to challenging themes and subject matter, but language, graphic violence, and sexual content should be rated G. Child or teen protagonists preferred. Pay for all anthologies is $.01 per word advanced against royalties, with a possible bonus based on crowdfunding. Publication is NOT dependent on crowdfunding, however. Contributor copies will be provided as well. No firm word count limit, but under 3k is preferred. REPRINTS WELCOME! Email submission in standard manuscript format to [email protected]. Please specify the anthology you're submitting to, and if the story has been previously published.  Deadline for all February 11. 2022, though watch this space for adjustments! Via: James Maxey.