Events

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: horror, fantasy and science fiction Our editorial team would be happy to hear from you. Below is an overview for paid and unpaid submissions. PAID SUBMISSIONS MetaStellar Magazine has two cycles for paid submissions each year, where we pay 8 cents a word for flash fiction. Unfortunately, we cannot pay for submissions outside these two cycles. To keep up with our paid submissions windows, you can subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Twitter. If you are interested in submitting, please see our fiction submission page. Original flash fiction submissions are closed. Our next submission cycle opens March 1 and runs through March 31. Accepted authors will be notified by April 15. To keep up with our paid submissions windows, you can subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Twitter. We are able to pay for original flash fiction through the kind generosity of our Patreon supporters. Your donations allow us to accept and publish original speculative fiction at a time when publishing opportunities for new writers are extremely limited. Please direct your questions related to original fiction to [email protected]. Please see our overview for non-paying opportunities with MetaStellar. Via: MetaStellar Magazine.

Deadline: March 31st 2022 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Gambler's Grief NOTE: The magazine also runs a monthly contest with a $3000 prize, though the contest is only open to members who pay the $10/month fee The stakes rise, your eyes gleam. Slowly, carefully, you reach for the card up your sleeve. One big win and everything changes, but the deck is stacked against you. Is the risk worth the reward? Gambling, a favorite past-time dating back thousands of years. From friendly wagers to deadly deals. Win the bet; reap the reward. But no streak can last forever. Losses mount, loans are made, and we lie: just one more game. Double or nothing. Deeper into the hole. Every choice is a gamble on your future. Chance is a fickle mistress and regret stalks close behind. Bet your livestock, your coin, your soul. Don’t dance with the devil—the game is rigged. Take a person’s last coin and they’ve got nothing to lose. Card sharks, casinos, and carnivals. Tailored suits reduced to rags. The rich bet higher but fall harder. Flash your wealth and gain entry to the back room. The illegal game. The blood sport. Dodge the law and deposit the spoils. When the chips are down and all bets are off, what’s in your hand? This contest invites you to explore gambler’s grief, whatever that means to you. Fantasy, contemporary, romance, crime. All genres are welcome. All new writers can submit work to the magazine. It’s free. We don’t believe publications should charge authors to be published. However, we have a specific submission process you must adhere to in order to have your work considered. Our submissions window opens on the first and closes at midnight on the final day of each month. Each issue of the magazine is themed...

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: $15 USD and a contributors copy Theme: sub-dermal body horror about terrors lurking under the skin SUBMISSION PERIOD: January 9 - March 31st PUBLICATION: July 2023 Submissions open Jan 9. for our debut short story collection: CRAWLING. We're looking for sub-dermal body horror about terrors lurking under the skin: infestations and transformations with an emphasis on the embodied experience. What are we looking for? Body horror short stories (3,500-6,500 words) FRESH perspectives on the body horror genre from othered voices (women, non-binary, trans, and queer perspectives). Themes: sub-dermal horror, infestations, body horror, possessions, and transformations. Submission Requirements Your work must be 100% your work. You must own the copyright to your submission. In your email include: short author biography and links to your social media. Story length must be 3,500 to 6,500 words. Please submit your work in the period stated, this is from January 9 through to March 31 2023. When submitting your short story, please send them to our email address [email protected] Include trigger warnings with your submission Accepted authors will receive compensation per our contract agreement of $15 USD + physical author copy. Via: Hear Us Scream.

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: 2 cents per word Theme: Science fiction, dark or horror, involving military or military-like characters Submissions will be open 3/1/23-3/31/23 Stories must be flash fiction, less than 1,000 words in length. Stories must be science fiction, must be dark or have an element of horror, and must be about or centered around military or paramilitary characters. Read the first volume in the series if you’re not sure what we’re looking for. The anthology will appear in digital, print, and audio formats. A simple contract will be sent outlining terms but we are requiring no exclusivity. Once your story is published, you are free to sell it elsewhere. Compensation: .02 per word and a digital copy of the finished anthology. Submit each story with the subject line “Dread Space Submission: by ” to [email protected]. Send stories attached as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf. If submitting more than one story send each in a separate email. Please include a bio in third person of no more than 50 words. Reprints are welcome and will be accepted at half the rate of original submissions. Please state in your email if the submission is original or a reprint and where it was originally published. Multiple submissions are welcome (up to three at any given time). Simultaneous submissions are also welcome. Via: Shacklebound Books.

Submission Window: April 1st - 30th, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $5 for poetry, 1 cent per word for non-fiction, $35 for cover art Theme: Speculative fiction Note: Apologies for the delay, this was meant to go up in January and never published. It's our goal to publish diverse voices from around the world, and to do that, we are actively seeking stories, poems, and non-fiction pieces by authors from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in the science fiction and fantasy canon. Our submission cycle is therefore split into two categories, where every other month is explicitly reserved for submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. The interposing six months remain open to everyone. Guidelines for Fiction We are seeking stories in the English language up to 6,000 words by writers from around the world. We favor submisions that have not been published before (including on your own website), though we do accept a limited number of reprints not currently appearing anywhere online. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we're particularly interested in publishing stories from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we're open to a wide variety of stories across the SFF and weird spectra. We pay 1¢ per word for fiction, and we try to respond to all submissions within ten weeks. We will also accept a limited number of previously published stories, so please indicate on the form if your submission is a reprint. All submissions must use the Shunn manuscript format (we prefer Courier New) and be either .rtf, .doc, or .docx. We like stories that are subtle in their telling and stick with us long after we've finished. We're...

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: $10 Theme: Recipes that hint at a deeper narrative without violating the recipe structure, for this issue, recipes with representation Note: LGBTQ+ authors for this installment Calling all chefs! Send us your darkest goulash, your most violent sachertorte, your transformative aperitif. Pass down your great-aunt’s potluck dish for a party that ended … poorly. We are a cookbook for a dreadful feast, in the style of a recipe blog. Submissions: Subs are open! We will be open March 15-31, 2023. Submissions from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, writers with disabilities, and early-career writers are especially encouraged. If you need any accommodations to submit, please email! Pride Month Special: Our June recipes will be themed for Pride month. We’re looking for recipes with representation, or which touch on themes that would be appropriate. If you are an LGBTQ+ author and would like to submit a recipe for our June Special Menu, the subject line of your email should read “RECIPE SUBMISSION - - Pride” during the March submissions period. FAQ about this: Any authors are welcome to submit anything, but the Pride Month Special portion of the call is limited to LGBTQ+ authors. LGBTQ+ authors, however, are not limited to submitting for the Special Menu. You do not need to out yourself— submitting for the Special Menu will be considered a promise that you consider yourself to be included. If you are sending two recipes please note which one is for the Special (or if both are). How to submit: Email your recipe in the usual formatting (loosely, Shunn, but we do not need your address). Send it to deathcapandhemlock at gmail.com as an attachment with the subject line “RECIPE SUBMISSION - ”. You should receive a receipt confirmation and all submissions will receive a response (acceptance/rejection)....

  Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: 1 cent CAD per word Theme: The element of cups, does not require it to include anything tarot related Welcome to our four-book series, dedicated to horror inspired by the Tarot.  Does the story have to be about Tarot Cards... NO. Think cups, knives, wands, and pentacles. We are looking for the theme to be the element, not necessarily the card itself, although we would love to read that as well.  Chalice - Pentacles - Blades - Wands ​ **Patron Members get an extended submission window** ​ March 1- 31: Chalice  (Patron dates Feb 21 - April 7) June 1- 30: Pentacles (Patron dates May 23 - July 7) Sept 1- 30: Blades/Swords  (Patron dates August 24 - October 7) Dec 1- 31: Wands (Patron dates November 23 - January 7) ​ ​ Each book will have an overriding theme of a Tarot suit and be between 50k - 60k words in length. They will be stand-alone books but will make up a four-book series. ​ ​​Word count: 1500 - 7000 firm. Payment: Flat rate payment ¢1 per word CAD after approved edits. Reprints? No ​Multiple Submission? No ???? Only one submission per author per theme/quarter. ​Formatting: Please use 12 pt Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing, set auto-indent new paragraphs. Add the story title to the top of the manuscript. Do not include your name or email in the manuscript. These stories will be read "blind" by our reading team. Title your manuscript "Title of Story - Theme" for example "Borderline Nuisance - Tarot Wands" Please make sure the title of the story and the title on the manuscript match. ​ How to submit? Submit via the Form - Which will open on the start of each quarter. (A button will appear) IF you have issues...

Deadline: March 31st, 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Each story must have a Pagan, Heathen, Occult influence that has a spark of truth in regards to the connection with the masculine aspect of the divine. DREAMING THE GOD will be a collection of short stories between 2,500 and 20,000 words. Each story must have a Pagan, Heathen, Occult influence that has a spark of truth in regards to the connection with the  masculine aspect of the divine.  We are looking for stories that speak to the spiritual soul. It doesn’t matter in which aspect the Divine Masculine is portrayed–Son, Father, Horned One, Green Man, Hunter, Warrior, Gender Fluid etc., are all welcome. Uplifting stories, inspirational  stories, dark tales, fantastic, written with truth or complete fantasy are all welcome. We are open and inclusive to LGBTQ2+ stories that meet the parameters of our main theme - the Divine Masculine in all His aspects, which we believe includes LGBTQ2+ experiences. The main aspect is exhibit, in both fiction and nonfiction stories, the great breadth of how the Divine Masculine is portrayed across cultures and across interpersonal experiences. We welcome new authors and well experienced authors. Another goal for this anthology is to educate readers about the Divine Masculine, so including mythology, culture, politics, paganism, heathenism, Wicca, Witchcraft, geography etc., is important to the plot. If you pique your reader’s interest and get them looking up references to learn more about the Divine Masculine, you’ve done your job. The idea is for your reader to not only be entertained, but also to walk away from your story a little wiser and open than they were before. EDITOR BIO: Karen Dales is the Managing Editor of Dark Dragon Publishing. She lives in Toronto with her husband, son and five cats. When she is not writing or...

Deadline: April 1st, 2023 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...

Submission Window: February 1st - April 1st, 2023 Payment: US: $40 + author copy/non-US: $45 + ebook author copy Theme: Shakespeare Retellings (Ideally with a gothic twist though that is not a requirement.) Quill & Crow Publishing House is opening submissions for our second anthology of 2023, Violent Delights & Midsummer Dreams: An Anthology of Shakespeare Retellings. ​ For this collection, we are looking for Shakespeare retellings (5,000 - 8,000 words). We want stories that bring fresh new perspectives on the classic stories, bonus points for providing a Gothic twist. Give us Romeo & Juliet with zombies or the real story of the Wayward Sisters. Deconstruct tropes and bring unique voices to life. Things we are looking for: dark Shakespeare retellings gothic horror deconstructed tropes themes of death/darkness historical horror literary horror gothic/macabre elements modern settings considered ONLY if they maintain a Gothic feel Things we are not looking for: young adult extreme horror/extreme erotica rape/child abuse heavy sci-fi overtly modern adaptations ​ Submission Requirements Please note: Submissions that do not follow requirements will not be considered. 1. We are accepting original works only. You must own the copyright to your submission. 2. Submissions period is from Feb 1st - April 1st, 2023. Please submit all stories to [email protected] with the subject line: Violent Delights / Your Title / Genre. Emails sent to other emails will not be considered. 2. All submissions must be in English and follow standard MLA formatting (double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font). Work must be polished and edited (to the best of your ability). Please submit as a .docx file and include your name, title, and word count on the front page. 3. Story length is 5,000 to 8,000 words. Submissions below 5,000 words and above 8,000 words will not be considered. 4. Accepted authors will receive compensation per contract...