Events

Deadline: April 21st, 2024 Payment: $200 CAD and a contributors copy Theme: Canadian characters living their ‘super’ lives while still retaining their national/regional identity/connection. We’re looking for stories that push the usual superhero tropes while shining a spotlight on unique corners of Canada. We want stories set in and around the nation’s more often overlooked locales—isolated small towns, remote reservations, bedroom communities, and other underrepresented areas of Canada. Give us rural superheroes, backwater supervillains, and tales of characters/communities at a crossroads.How does place impact your character? Are they unable to reconcile their superpowers with their residence or is it the people who pose the problem? Does your hero struggle to maintain a secret identity where everyone knows everyone or do they find that familiarity weirdly comforting given the challenges of being superpowered? Submission Guidelines:   Word Count: 500-3500 Canadian characters living their ‘super’ lives while still retaining their national/regional identity/connection. Stories that know the tropes and cliches—those applied to superheroes and Canada both—and either explore or subvert them. Heroes that reconcile their superpowers with the limits of their home—geographic, political, economic…heck, tie in the weather—so long as they’re original characters with strong connections to specific parts/cultures of Canada. Have your protagonists face situations unique to our nation/their region thereof. These can be silly or serious, inspired by reality or entirely fictional. Tell us about everyday Canadians. Folks often excluded from mainstream literature—the ignored, overlooked, and undervalued. (Including cultures, genders/sexual orientations, ages, economic groups, and faiths.) Genre-busting tales are encouraged. A superhero mystery or an origin story couched as a romance. Submitted stories do not have to be about superheroes per say (tales of supervillains and anti-heroes are welcome), but should tie into that theme in some way. Please avoid extreme violence, unnecessary profanity, and/or graphic sexual content. Submission deadline: April...

Deadline: April 21st, 2024 Payment: 9 cents per word Theme: Offshoots: Humanity Twigged – SF, fantasy, positive futures Theme: Offshoots: Humanity Twigged – SF, fantasy, positive futures The dictionary defines “twig” as a shoot branching off a tree, the result or descendant of something, or a style of fashion. How will humanity cultivate the strongest branches from among myriad potential futures? Please give us your science fictional and fantasy speculations. Possible subjects might include: bioengineering, space exploration, future societies, magical futurism, and extrapolation of trends (think Asimov’s Foundation or Loki’s Sacred Timeline). Stories about effects of AI and virtual reality are fine, but they must be written by people. Flash humor is welcome. Reading Period: April 1 – 21, 2024 Writer Deadline: April 21, 2024 Publication Date: July 15, 2024 Themes and Schedules Continuing with Third Flatiron’s quarterly themed anthologies, we will be soliciting SF/Fantasy/Horror short stories with stated themes. Themes are designed to be open-ended, allowing authors considerable leeway. We appreciate short, imaginative tales, preferring those that work with the theme in some way. Short stories should be 3,000 words or less. Flash humor pieces (<=1,000 words) can be on any theme. We aim to be inclusive and encourage submissions from all creators. Please submit during the reading periods. We do themed anthologies. We are not currently accepting unsolicited reprints. We have also discussed the types of stories we prefer in an interview (note that the pay rate has increased) at D.L. Snell’s Market Scoops. We are currently closed for submissions. Please see our main page for the current theme . 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. Be sure they are the final version (any Review comments removed). Flash humor pieces (Grins and Gurgles) should be short, around 600-1,000 words. Please don’t...

Deadline: April 30th, 2024 Prizes: The GRAND PRIZE winner will be published as the featured story on the Baen Books main website and paid at industry-standard rates for professional story submittals. The author will also receive a handsome engraved award and a prize package containing $500 of free Baen Books. SECOND place winner will receive a prize package containing $500 of free Baen Books. THIRD place winner will receive a prize package containing $300 of free Baen Books. Theme: Any form of fantasy Baen Books is excited to announce the eleventh annual Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. The award recognizes the best original adventure fantasy short story in the style of fantasy greats like Mercedes Lackey, Larry Correia, Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Elizabeth Moon, Andre Norton, Brandon Sanderson, J.R.R. Tolkien, and David Weber. Contest Rules Write and submit a short story of no more than 8,000 words. It must be a work of fantasy, though all fantasy genres are open, e.g. epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, contemporary fantasy, etc. No entry fee. But only one submission per person...we suggest your best one! No reprints (i.e. the story must be unpublished). All entries must be original unpublished works in English. Plagiarism, poetry, song lyrics, settings and/or characters from published gaming worlds or another author’s works of fiction will not be considered. Any AI-generated stories will be automatically disqualified.   E-mail submissions only. Send entries as .RTF attachments to: [email protected] Please put BFAA SUBMISSION in the subject line when sending a contest entry and BFAA QUESTION in the subject line for questions to the contest administrator. Please include the following in the body of your email: the title of the work the author's name, address, and telephone number an approximate word-count The manuscript should be a RTF attachment, in standard manuscript...

Deadline: April 30th, 2024 Payment: $5 Theme: Wet A Literary Journal with Some Art, Comics, and Analysis Thrown in for Good Measure As Quarter Press continues to grow, we’re adding another coin to our pocketful of change. We want to offer a space for shorter works to mingle with art and other bits of nonsense, so we bring you The Quarter(ly): It just makes cents. Issues are themed; however, we consider all interpretations. 2024’s Themes and Deadlines: WET (April 30) hat’ve you got to show us? Stories and / or Poems For Stories: We’re open to micro works all the way up to 10,000 words. Just keep two things in mind: We want to be engaged and the submission must be completed (no pitches, please!) For Poems: We’d love to see up to five poems from you, but you can always just send one, too. Art As long as it has some tie to the current issue’s theme, we’re open to see any art created in any medium at any time. Just know that it will need to “work in print” and—might—be presented in black and white. We WILL NOT Accept any AI-Generated art. For ART ONLY, you may choose to submit via email by sending jpgs, PDFs, or PNGs to chrisatquarterpress(at)gmail(dot)com Graphic Stories Show us your comic strips or complete short works; we’d love to see them all! Please try to keep submissions to 20 pages or less. Feel free to also send a collection of comic strips / one shot comics, as well. (Please note that our publication size / dimensions might change between issues. Our “Norm” is 6x9”). These must be COMPLETE works. For Graphic Work / Comics, you may choose to submit via email by sending jpgs, PDFs, or PNGs to chrisatquarterpress(at)gmail(dot)com Analysis / Interviews /...

Deadline: April 30th, 2024 Payment: 8 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: “fun”, “80s style” horror that involve Rock n Roll Note: Only accepts Mail-In Submissions so don't wait until the last moment! Seeking short fiction for our Rock n Roll Issue! From hair-raising riffs to head-banging oblivion, horror and rock n roll are a match made in Hell! Book Worms Horror zine is a limited-edition print only publication sold on Etsy and selective bookstores. Frequently Asked Question: What kind of stories are you looking for? We generally enjoy “fun”, “80s style” horror reminiscent of the zine’s old-school vibe, but we’ve also been blown away by fresh voices that take the genre in a new direction. That being said, the best chance for your story being accepted by Book Worms is to follow the submission guidelines. Make sure your story is of the horror genre (you’d be surprised how many we receive that aren’t), mail in your submission versus email, meet the deadline, and don’t exceed the word count limit. And if your story doesn’t make it, please keep trying. We’ve had to turn down many excellent stories due to space constraints alone. It might be helpful to explain what we don’t want. Paranormal romance (Love the genre. It’s not right for Book Worms.) Anything with a political theme. We read to escape that stuff. Beyond the pale violence or pornographic material. Keep it fun, kids. Submission Guidelines Deadline: April 30, 2024 Payment is 8 cents a word for fiction and essays (1500 words or less). Includes one contributor copy. No reprints or multiple submissions please. Exclusive rights for six months after publication. ACCEPTING MAIL-IN SUBMISSIONS ONLY! Mail your submissions to: La Regina Studio/Grundy Commons/925 Canal Street/Bristol, PA 19007 *In the past, we’ve made some special allowances for writers living outside the USA....

Submission Window: March 1st - April 30th, 2024 Payment: $10 Theme: Stories of any genre by writers who identify with and as any of the following descriptors: trans, two-spirit, disabled, neurodivergent, Mad, queer, crip, nonbinary, genderqueer, intersex. We welcome submissions by those who identify with and as any of the following descriptors: trans, two-spirit, disabled, neurodivergent, Mad, queer, crip, nonbinary, genderqueer, intersex. This is a space for the words, works, and worlds of and by those whose bodyminds defy social expectations and invite new ways of thinking and knowing. We do not need to know the specifics of your identity/diagnosis/experience unless you want us to. We invite closeted and questioning people to share their work, as well as those whose experiences fall outside the confines of the language we used above. We welcome submissions from creators of all ages. We particularly encourage unpublished/emerging/young creators to submit. If you know an incarcerated/institutionalized creator who would like to submit, email us for information as to where to mail the submission, or clearly indicate in your message that you are submitting on their behalf. We publish on a quarterly schedule, with issues coming out on: February 15 May 15 August 15 November 15 We are open for all submissions EXCEPT during publication months. That is to say, we are open for submissions January, March, April, June, July, September, October, and December. Things to note This is a leftist magazine. We hate capitalism, “america,” cops, prisons, borders, neoliberalism, and all the rest. We don’t tolerate white supremacy, zionism, cisheterosexism, ableism, transmisogyny, xenophobia, fatphobia, intersexism, and anti-sex worker sentiment here. We reserve the right to reject and/or remove content from creators whose work does not align with our values. We do not tolerate AI-generated or -assisted submissions. Anyone found to be using AI will have their content immediately rejected/removed...

Deadline: April 30th, 2024 Payment: $20 Theme: Speculative fiction set in the Greater Charlottesville Area: Charlottesville City, the Counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Green, Nelson, or Shenandoah National Park. Announcing Charlottesville Fantastic edited by James Blakey and Catherine Simpson. Charlottesville’s a magical place, and we want to read all about it. We’re talking anything from vampires in the Rotunda to Cinderella set in Monticello, from a sentient Rivanna to sirens singing at a Rapunzel’s open mic. What We Want: Dazzle us with High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retellings, Magic Realism, etc. Stories can be set in the past, present, future, or sideways (Alternate History). Smash genres and mix in Mystery, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Western, as long as you include a fantastical or supernatural element. Stories must be set in the Greater Charlottesville Area: Charlottesville City, the Counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Green, Nelson, or Shenandoah National Park. What We Don’t Want: Your trunk stories with a couple of Charlottesville references bolted on. Gore, Violence, Sex, Language: Nothing worse than you’d see in a PG-13 movie. Word Count: 1,800 to 5,500 (Hard Limits) with 3,500 being the sweet spot. Formatting Requirements: Shunn Standard or Modern Format. Courier or New Times Roman, size 12. Use Italics for Italics. DOC or DOCX file type. We are conducting Blind Submissions. Remove your name and all personally identifying information from your document/file. File name should be your story title in ALL CAPS. Example: THE WIZARD OF OLD RAG.docx Bio: In the submission form (not in your story file), include a 50-125-word third-person biography. Original Works Only: Your story should not have been published anywhere (in print, eBook, Patreon, etc.) with the exception of password protected critique forums. Simultaneous Submissions: Please don’t do this. Multiple Submissions: You may submit up to two stories (separately), but only one will be accepted for...

Submission Window: March 1st - April 30th, 2024 Payment: $0.03/word Theme: Strong, character-driven stories where your main characters struggle in some way with their ghosts—or the ghosts of others—against truths being either suppressed or exposed Note: Open to those who identify as LGBTQ+, especially the following individuals: Will be open for short story submissions on March 1, 2024. Do not submit early! The second of three charity anthologies loosely related to military life/service. Edited by Bram Stoker Award Winning Editor, Vince A. Liaguno and TSP Editor-in-Chief, Sirrah Medeiros Theme: “Truths can be hidden, pushed down, and repressed, from those around us. But the ghosts—of our past, our present, and our future—know our most intimate truths. We cannot hide from our ghosts. For Don’t Ask, Ghosts Tell, we’re looking for strong, character-driven stories where your main characters struggle in some way with their ghosts—or the ghosts of others—against truths being either suppressed or exposed. In these stories, the outcomes can be varied—truths remain hidden, or truths exposed—to whatever consequence(s) to the main character. Will your character(s) be silenced by their ghosts? Will the truth set them free—or doom them to some horrible fate? Your latitude with this basic theme is wide and interpretation is strongly encouraged.” ~ Vince A. Liaguno Title: Don’t Ask, Ghosts Tell Word Count: 2-5K words for short stories. Poetry will be by invitation only. Deadline: April 30, 2024 No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are okay. Just let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere. Author Pay: $0.03/word (USD) for short stories with potential for increase based on Kickstarter success. Who May Submit: Open to those who identify as LGBTQ+, especially the following individuals: With military service (active, retired, veterans welcome). Wanted to join a service organization but was denied. Served but forced out due to sexual orientation. Current or former military dependents who identify as...

Submission Window: April 23rd-30th, 2024 Payment: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum. Theme: Diverse sci-fi and fantasy fiction. We are open to submissions within the following periods: January 23rd-30th April 23rd-30th July 23rd-30th October 23rd-30th Submissions received outside of these dates will unfortunately be lost and therefore not responded to. When open, we seek and offer the following: Length: 1,000-5,000 words. These are firm limits. Shorter or longer works will be considered, but the further a story goes outside these bounds the more it will need to impress. Compensation: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum. Please be aware that payment is via PayPal only. If you do not receive an acknowledgment within 24 hours of submission, please get in touch. We aim to accept or reject within 14 days of acknowledgment, but rl (real life) and rl (reading load) can get in the way. If you do not hear from us after 30 days, feel free to query. REQUIREMENTS We acquire First Print and Digital rights with a six month period of exclusivity from the date of publication. We also ask permission to potentially include accepted pieces in future anthologies; in event of agreement, an additional payment and digital copy will be offered in compensation. All other rights remain entirely with the author. See here for an overview of our editorial process. Simultaneous submissions are not only accepted, they are encouraged. Please tell us if you sim-sub, and we merely ask that you notify us of acceptance at another market as soon as possible. In the event that we accept first, we expect a positive and timely confirmation. Therefore we recommend sim-subbing to markets of equivalent status – we won’t wait for someone else you’d like better to turn you down. We do not accept multiple submissions. Please wait until your first submission has been rejected before submitting...

Deadline: April 30th, 2024 Payment: $10 USD Theme: Poems inspired by feminine rage. All speculative tropes are welcome Opens: March 1s 2024, midnight EST  Closes: April 30, 2024, midnight IDLW Compensation: $10 USD Theme: Adult speculative poetry Submissions must be under 50 lines OPEN to any and everyone that identifies (now or in the past) as femme in the most inclusive of definitions. Expected release: March 2024 Submit to [email protected]   HEMORRHAGING FLOWERS: A COLLECTION OF 100% FEMME RAGE is a collection of speculative poetry showcasing the spectrum of femininity and the rage contained within.   What we are looking for: First exclusive (1 year) US rights for poems inspired by feminine rage. All speculative tropes are welcome.   Submissions must be under 50 lines Via: Bookslayer Press.