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Deadline: April 1st, 2025 Payment: One cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) Theme: Fantastic Fiction You really NEED to read the description below. The Cafe Irreal is a quarterly webzine that presents a kind of fantastic fiction infrequently published in English. This fiction, which we would describe as irreal, resembles the work of writers such as Franz Kafka, Kobo Abe, Clarice Lispector and Jorge Luis Borges. As a type of fiction it rejects the tendency to portray people and places realistically and the need for a full resolution to the story; instead, it shows us a reality constantly being undermined. Therefore, we're interested in stories by writers who write about what they don't know, take us places we couldn't possibly go, and don't try to make us care about the characters. We would also suggest you take a look at the current issue, archives, and theory (especially the essay, "What is irrealism?") pages on this web site. We accept unsolicited fiction up to 2,000 words in length. Translations are welcome. There is no minimum length. We accept only electronic submissions via e-mail at [email protected]. We cannot, due to the various computer viruses and worms, accept attachments anymore, so please paste your story into the body of the e-mail. Also include your name, address, e-mail address, and a short bio in the text of the submission; please put the word "submission" in the subject heading of the e-mail to ensure that your submission doesn't get lost among all the spam. We pay an honorarium of one cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) to buy first-time internet rights (the story will then be archived). Payment is made upon publication. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DON'T ACCEPT SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS and are only interested in reprints in unusual cases (e.g., the story has appeared in print but...

Deadline: April 1st, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Two stories that, together, give us supernatural parables, stories filled with polarities conflicting with each other at their core. The title for the fourth Dead Birds Publishing anthology is Supernatural Parables: Myth versus Reality. What happens when opposing supernatural forces collide? Yang and Yin. Death versus life. Villain against hero. Vampire hunting priest. Senses versus truth. Parables are stories with life lessons woven into the pages. Lessons your characters must confront, lessons they must overcome to survive. We are looking for supernatural parables, stories filled with polarities conflicting with each other at their core. Tell us the morbid of your story. What We’re Looking For Dead Birds Publishing is looking for two short stories from each *author. The stories do not need to be mirror stories of each other, but must contain some element of opposites and some element of supernatural. Angels and devils, tricksters, the undead, myths reborn, cryptids. While we prefer a good horror parable, writing can include magical realism, science fiction, or even dark satire. If you’re not familiar with Dead Birds Publishing, please have a look at our most recent collection, Sasquatch is My Neighbor, to get a sense of what we’re after. What We’re Not Looking For We don’t accept fanfic; any characters or settings featured in your work must be your own original creations. We will not consider any political or covid related stories, unless the topics are buried so well that even Rod Serling would have trouble spotting them. We may accept work that has been previously published as long as the author has regained all rights. Include previously published details when submitting. Absolutely no AI. Anyone caught submitting AI written material will be banned from our wickedly fun publication for life. Editors This anthology will be co-edited by A.M. Symes...

Submission Window: April 1st-2nd, 2025 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints, For artwork: $10 for the non-exclusive right to use each image, for as long as the site is online.  If we publish a print collection we will pay a pro-rata share for each image used. 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 The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. 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 – 8¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles. For new poetry, we pay $1 per line, and for reprints we pay 50¢ a line  We’re looking for poems up to 40 lines. We’ll consider longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 8¢ per word. We sponsor 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 aboutThe 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, from a minimum of 1000 words on up.   All else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored, and we have yet to find a story over about 9-10,000 words we have even...

Query Deadline: April 2nd, 2025 Payment: 50/50 profit split of books sold Theme: YA Horror (Think Point Horror, Christopher Pike, and R.L. Stine (Fear Street)) Are you a fan of Point Horror, Christopher Pike, and R.L. Stine (Fear Street) from the '80s and '90s? Terrorcore Publishing LLC is thrilled to announce an all-new subline—Terrorcore Rewind—dedicated to capturing the chilling nostalgia of that era. We're seeking original horror stories that feel they could have come straight from that time period. Stories should be set between 1985-1995, with young adult protagonists (ages 15-19). While we expect YA-aged characters, these stories are not strictly YA, allowing for slightly more mature themes than the original Point Horror books. Who We're Looking For? Our target audience is adult readers who grew up devouring these classic horror tales and teenage readers who may be discovering YA horror for the first time. Submission Guidelines - Tone & Content: * Death scenes are acceptable. * Limited use of sex and strong language. * Nostalgic horror with an authentic '80s/'90s feel. - Query Requirements: * Title * Your full legal name * Your full address, including street, city, and country * Synopsis (a back-cover-style blurb, no spoilers here)  * Detailed 2-3 page outline (Yes, including spoilers for the beginning, middle, and end. We want to know everything!) Do not start writing your book for submission. This phase is only for story selection.  - Final Book Word Count: 40,000-50,000 words (at the completion of the manuscript) - Deadline: If selected, you will have 8-10 months to complete your manuscript. The exact timeline will be outlined in the contract. Submission Window Queries will be accepted until April 2nd, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. CST. Please note that we do not expect you to have a full draft written upon querying. Publishing & Format - The series...

Deadline: April 5th, 2025 Payment: $40 CAD and a contributors copy Theme: Horror stories by Canadian authors set in Canada Calling all Canadian authors! Dark Canadiana: An Anthology of Canadian Horror is accepting submissions until April 5, 2025. We want your Horrifying/spooky/unsettling short stories that showcase the people, places, and things of Canada. Stories set in Canada. Stories staring Canadians. Stories full of Canadiana. Give us your serial killer at a Provincial Park. Give us a haunted landmark. Give us a monster in the forests of BC. Give us all the Canadian chills and thrills. Canadian authors only! Max of 7,000 words Selected stories will receive $40 CAD and a Paperback copy. Accepted authors will have the ability to order additional copies at a reduced rate. Please send submissions attached as Word document (.doc, .docx) format. Please include your name and email address at the top of the document. Use 12pt font, double-spaced, in a common font such as Courier New, Calibri, Times New Roman, Aptos. Simultaneous submissions allowed. Please email to notify if story has been accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions: no more than two stories per author. Must be submitted in separate emails. Will accept a couple reprints but want the majority of the anthology to be new material. We are ok with gore/violence if it fits the story. We are NOT OK with stories that include graphic SA, promoting prejudice/hatred, or any sort of pedophilia. Do not use characters and settings from IPs you do not own. As much as I would love to read about Casey and Finnegan being a serial killer’s Schizophrenic hallucination, this is not a fan fiction request. I really do not want to get sued. No AI / ChatGPT generated stories. Email your stories to [email protected] Please add “Oh Canada Submission:” to the...

Deadline: April 6th, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Speculative fiction adventure on the frontier of the Old West. Edited by Nick Nethery More fantastical adventure on the frontier of the Old West. Stories of cryptid-wrangling cowboys and ancient magic. Witches who ride for the brand. Tell your tales about monsters and magic in the American frontier. We want you to ride off the beaten path with your story submission. If you’ve seen this monster portrayed more than six times in recent media, we don’t want to see it again. Dig up dusty tomes of American folklore and mythology if nothing comes to mind. Stretch your imagination beyond werewolves and skin walkers! Don’t forget to do your homework. Opens: 02/01/25 Closes: 04/06/25 Contracts: 04/19/25 Publication: 05/16/25 Guidelines for all our anthologies (psst! this is important!): 5,000 to 8,000 words. Length and genre are negotiable, as long as the story fits the concept and is entertaining. Any submission must be in Times New Roman (preferred, but you can use Georgian or other readable font), 12PT, double-spaced, with your name, title of the story, and your email on it. Name the file as -—. Send it in a .docx format as an attachment—no links. Refer to the submission guideline graphic below for how to format your story—It has all the information you need! Feel free to download it for reference. Raconteur Press will hold the rights for one year after publication; after one year, the rights will revert to the author, but we continue to pay you as long as the anthology is selling. Authors receive an equal percentage share of the proceeds from the anthology, along with the Press, our editors, and administration. Yes, you read that right. We don’t take 80% off the top and split the 20% left over between all the authors. We’re...

Deadline: April 7th, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Darker tales of King Arthur, Camelot, Avalon, and related characters Deadline – 7th April 2025 Midnight Perth Western Publication – 18th May 2025 Word Count – 2,500 words to 7,000 Theme – The legends of King Arthur, Camelot, and Avalon have been told for centuries—tales of noble knights, powerful sorcerers, and the tragic fall of a golden age. But history is written by the victors, and beneath the well-known stories lie secrets long buried, whispers of magic untamed, betrayals forgotten, and horrors unseen. Explore the darker, stranger, and more speculative sides of Arthurian mythos. What if Excalibur was more than just a sword—what if it had a will of its own? What lurks in the mists of Avalon when the priestesses are not watching? What pacts were made in the shadows of Camelot, and which knights never returned from their quests—not because they failed, but because they uncovered something they were never meant to see? Submissions should reimagine, expand, or twist Arthurian tales through the lenses of speculative fiction, fantasy, or horror. Think eerie fae bargains, haunted battlegrounds, eldritch relics, or even the lost voices of those history ignored—Morgana, Mordred, Nimue, or the knights who never became legends. Genre – Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Horror Compensation – 40% of royalties split between all authors within the anthology for one year from the date of publication.  Reprints – Yes Simultaneous Submissions – No For more information on how to submit, check the Submission Guidelines. Via: Iron Faerie Publishing.

Submission Window: April 1st - 7th, 2025. Extended window for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and Palestinian authors: April 1, 2025 – April 14, 2025 Payment: Flash (400-1500 word) $10, Shorts (1,501-8,000) $20, Black and white Artwork: $10 Theme: Horror stories involving Growth Fraidy Cat Press is proud to present Fraidy Cat Quarterly, published four times annually in print and ebook formats. We are currently closed to submissions of flash fiction and short stories. We are always open to submissions of black and white art. Any fiction submissions sent outside of our open call period will be deleted unread. Volume 6: Growth General submissions: April 1,2025 – April 7, 2025 Extended window for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and Palestinian authors: April 1, 2025 – April 14, 2025 Publishing in June 2025 What To Submit Fraidy Cat Press loves all things horror – from the eerie, creeping terror of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”’s systematic violence to the unhinged tilt of Laird Barron’s “The Imago Sequence” and everything in between. We want your stories that go bump in the night, your stories that creak like an intruding foot on the staircase, your best writing that screeches through the calm darkness. Put simply, Fraidy Cat Press is interested in: Horror (and its related genre mashups and sub-genres) Wordcount Fraidy Cat Press is seeking: Flash fiction (400-1,500 words long, $10 per accepted piece) Short stories (1,501-8,000 words long, $20 per accepted piece) Black and white artwork ($10 per accepted piece) When To Submit We open for a limited weeklong period four times annually. Space in our quarterlies are limited. We reserve the right to close to submissions early if we are flooded. Submit early to be sure your story will be considered. How To Submit Your submission should be in Shunn format, but we prefer you NOT include your...

Submission Window: April 1st - 14th, 2025 Payment: Fiction: 1500-7500 words ($.08 per word, $100 minimum), Poetry: One poem of up to three pages ($40 per poem), Nonfiction: 1000-2000 words ($75 per essay or article), Cover Art: $100 for reprints, $200 for original unpublished, Interior Art: $50 for reprints, $100 for original unpublished Theme: Fantasy and Science Fiction that falls into the category of Solarpunk that ideally include themes of defiance, change, and achievement. Note: Our nonfiction is no longer always open for submissions. It will now open and close on the same schedule as our other submission portals. All submissions to Solarpunk Magazine are done via Moksha. Any submissions received via email will be deleted without a response. Please don’t email us to describe your story and ask if it’s something we’d be interested in before submitting. We appreciate the consideration, but its easier if you just submit the story through Moksha. In 2024, we are particularly looking for stories between 1,500 and 3,000 words. While our word limit remains 7,500, stories that fall between 1,500 and 3,000 will have a better chance of being selected for at least the first few submission periods in 2024. Please read the full submission guidelines on down below or on our Moksha page before submitting your work. All submission periods end at 11:59 pm PST on the 14th of their given month. 2025 Submission Window Schedule: January 1-14 April 1-14 July 1-14 October 1-14 2025 Issue Release Schedule: Issue #19 – January 14 Issue #20 – March 11 Issue #21 – May 13 Issue #22 – July 8 (Colorful Roots)* Issue #23 – September 9 Issue #24 – November 11 The Basics: If your work is accepted, please wait two full submission windows before submitting again. For example, if a story you receive word in April that your...

Deadline: April 15th, 2025 Payment: Fiction: 2¢ per word for original, 1¢ per word for reprints. Poetry: $20 per original poem and $10 for reprints. Artwork: $100 for issue cover art, $30 for back cover art, and $20 for art used on our site Theme: Stories and poetry containing elements of science fiction, anarchism, transhumanism, or dystopia. Note: Reprints Welcome Radon welcomes short stories and poetry containing elements of science fiction, anarchism, transhumanism, or dystopia. ​ We publish quality literature every mid-January, May, and September. Submissions are accepted year-round. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Reprints accepted if writer has the rights. AI submissions are not allowed at Radon. ​ Please click below to submit your work through our no-fee Submittable page: SUBMIT We kindly request a third-person bio that is 100-words or shorter in your cover letter.Author rights: For original work, Radon asks for first worldwide digital and print publication rights in English and non-exclusive archival rights. ​ Authors published in Radon cannot be accepted into the issue immediately following, but may submit after this period. ​ Our issue reading periods are: ​January: Aug. 16 - Dec. 15 May: Dec. 16 - April 15 September: April 16 - Aug. 15 Prose We accept flash fiction and short story submissions up to 3,000 words. Radon pays a semi-professional rate of 2¢ per word for original work and 1¢ for reprints. For quicker processing, please use a submission style similar to the modern manuscript format. We ask that you utilize single-spacing. Please note that we do not publish fantasy stories and are looking for work that includes leftist social commentary. Poetry Please submit up to five poems in a single Word document. There is no line limit. Radon pays a semi-professional rate of $20 per original poem and $10 for reprints.We request single-spaced formatting using a standard 11pt font such as Garamond, Times New...