Events

Deadline: April 30th, 2024 Payment: $20 Theme: Horror stories that center around undertakers, funeral homes, mortuaries, cremations, and other aspects of the funeral trade We are looking for 10 short stories that center around undertakers, funeral homes, mortuaries, cremations, and other aspects of the funeral trade for “Stories to Take To Your Grave”. We are open to all subgenres of horror, from suspense to splatterpunk! WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR -Complete stories with a beginning, middle, and end. -Stories that leave us feeling satisfied yet also wanting more. -Stories that make our reformed undertaker feel like he’s back in the business. WHAT WE DON’T LIKE -Boundaries. If you think it meets the call requirements, send it our way. Please read are standard submission guidelines if questions. WHAT WE WON’T ACCEPT -Depictions of sexual violence against children. -Racism, sexism, homophobia, or other displays of focused hatred that don’t further the story’s plot. -Animal torture. -Dealing with lawyers. No stories containing anything that might cause issues with copyrighted characters, lyrics, or anything of that nature. This means no Fan Fiction. SUBMISSIONS Submit via email to [email protected]. In the subject line, please put GRAVE – – PAYMENT $20 per story and a digital copy of the anthology. SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please notify us as soon as possible if your story is accepted elsewhere. MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS Authors may submit up to two stories. REPRINTS No reprints will be accepted. LENGTH 3,000-6,000 Words FORMATTING Modern Shunn. Please submit your files in .doc or .docx format, named “CHAMBER--” CALL CLOSES April 30, 2024 Via: Undertaker Books.

Submission Windows: March 15th to March 31st and April 8th to April 30th Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Dark speculative fiction that transports the reader somewhere interesting, see below for details. Themes that will fit well are death, loss, love, grief, trauma, self-exploration, discovery, and hope. EARLY WINDOW — March 15 at 12:01 am EST to March 31 at 11:59 pm EST GENERAL WINDOW — April 8 at 12:01 am EST to April 30 at 11:59 pm EST REVIEW WINDOW — May 1 to May 26 OFFERS FINALIZED — May 28 to May 30 (tentative) WORD COUNT — 2000 to 5000 (hard limit) PAY — 8 cents per word SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS — Yes MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS — No REPRINTS — Yes, but with some caveats (see TOC GOALS below for more info) AI-GENERATED SUBMISSIONS — Don’t bother ABOUT THE PROJECT “I knew they'd speak to you," the Curator says, anticipation in his tone. But his voice seems far away now, carried off on a hollow wind, and you swear you can hear the rhythmic ticking of a pocket watch, beating like the cadence of a gallows drum. "I call these works IMPRESSIONS," says your host, leaning in, quieter still. "They give you a glimpse into another life, a scene playing out in some other realm. And a mind as alive as yours, well... it just fills in the rest..." Fills in the rest? You think. What does that mean? But the question barely registers now, your thoughts little more than dreams fleeing the sunrise. The image—the impression—has its hold on you... EMBERLETTER PRESS, in association with HAMLET PRODUCTIONS and STUDIOCOR3, presents IMPRESSIONS VOLUME 1, a new multimedia anthology series from the mind of author and filmmaker Geoff Emberlyn. Life and death, denail and loss, sadness and the surreal are all captured here in 22 tales...

Deadline: April 30, 2024. Submissions will be kept open for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, chronically-ill/disabled, and writers from other historically marginalized groups until May 15, 2024. Payment: $.05 per word and a contributor's copy Theme: Speculative fiction about billionaires being eaten Submissions will be open from April 1 – April 30, 2024. Submissions will be kept open for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, chronically-ill/disabled, and writers from other historically marginalized groups until May 15, 2024. The Rules Eat the Rich is a speculative fiction anthology of billionaires being eaten. That’s it, full stop. Give us carnivores, cannibals, kaiju, cryptids, and, of course, capitalist comeuppance. So long as some kind of obnoxiously wealthy fuck gets eaten — somewhere, somewhen, somehow — the sky’s the limit. *we’re looking for interpretations of literally being eaten, but what that means is entirely up to you *billionaires are the cause of 9 out of 10 problems, but if you want to set your sights on lower-tier wealth, go ahead *from 100 up to 8,000 words is acceptable, but between 2K – 6K is the sweet spot *close is okay, but please be reasonable *if you’re so far out of range you feel the need to query, you probably already know the answer *the answer is no *please send only one story at a time *simultaneous submissions are cool, just let us know, if, when, etc. *if you’re rejected, feel free to try again — once, for a total of two submissions per anthology *no reprints *misogyny, sexism, racism, ableism, and homophobic and transphobic bullshit will not be tolerated *pulp, bizarro, and transgressive writing are all a-okay, so long as they don’t do any of the above *anything that could be a right-wing talking point is emphatically not for us *to reiterate: pro-capitalism, pro-cop stances are a surefire way to get yourself an ice-cold form rejection *no...

Deadline: April 30th, 2024 Payment: $10 + Contributor copy Theme: Gorey and Whorey works that seamlessly blend the Splatterpunk and Smut or Erotica subgenres. PsychoToxin X is seeking short stories and flash fiction for a new anthology, SCREAM and CREAM: A Splatterphuck Collection. Title: Scream and Cream: A Splatterphuck Collection Publisher: Crimson Cult Media Word Count: 2,000 - 8,000 words Pay: $10 + Contributor copy Format: .doc or .docx Font: 12 pt Times New Roman Spacing: Double spaced Send To: [email protected] Write “Scream and Cream” along with your name and story title in the subject of your email (Subject: Scream and Cream: Name, STORY TITLE) *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * Submit Word (.doc or .docx) documents as attachments to your submission email. Rights returned after six months of publishing date. Submission Deadline: April 30, 2024 Publishing Date: Summer 2024 Edited by: Marie Lestrange What We Want: Gorey and Whorey works that seamlessly blend the Splatterpunk and Smut or Erotica subgenres. What We Don’t Want: Any works that are not a BLEND of Smut/Erotica and Horror. Depictions of child r*pe or pedophelia of any kind will not be accepted. (I don’t want to read it.) Smut vs. Erotica: Smut refers to a work of fiction, typically written, that is highly sexual in nature and intended to arouse the reader. It is characterized by an excessive focus on explicit sexual details and descriptions. The primary purpose of smut is to provide sexual stimulation, rather than to develop a narrative or explore themes. Think “porn on the page.” Erotica is ALSO a type of literature that is intended to arouse sexual desire in the reader. It typically has a stronger focus on the emotional and narrative aspects, with sex scenes serving to advance the plot...

Deadline: April 30th, 2024 Payment: $25 and a contributor's copy Theme: Hillbillies and Horror 2024 is upon us, and with it comes From the Ashes From the Ashes first official open call from the newly minted press. We’re trying things a bit different with this in that this is only an announcement for the upcoming open call. The reason for this is to give authors who are interested in submitting a story extra time to hone in on the tale they want to tell, without the added pressure of rushing to get it completed. So, without further ado… HOOTENANNY HORRORSHOW We’re going to the mountains with this one, folks. The theme - HIllbillies, Rednecks, Mountain Folk, and all the lore and traditions surrounding these majestic creatures. Think outside the box with these tropes and archetypes. Or, if you go with the old cliches, put a fresh spin on them and make them your own, new tales. OPEN CALL SUBMISSIONS The actual submission period for stories will be the entire month of April, and only in April. Any submissions received before or after April 1st - April 30th will not be considered for publication. GUIDELINES A standard docx word file. 12 pt font (garamond is nice!) Word Count 3-7k No Indentions at all preferred. ***no reprints*** Authors of accepted stories will receive a flat pay out of $25 & a paperback contributor copy of the anthology—with the ability to purchase additional copies at printing cost. Send your submission to [email protected] Via: From The Ashes Facebook Group.

Deadline: May 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Stories related to Robin Hood or Sherwood Forest with at least one grumpy character that are amusing and speculative fiction Hear ye!  Hear ye!!  It’s time for another Grumpy Anthology and this time we’re heading to those forests of yore to revamp tales of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. That’s right, we’re off to the land of leather jerkins and longbows for another chance for a Grumpy twist on a classic mythos.   Why Robin Hood you ask? We’re so glad you asked. Authors are readers, and for many of us, this group of stories are a cherished childhood memory.  Robin Hood wandered in and out of English Literature leaving a trail of tales (looking at you Ivanhoe), despite being the original rebel bad boy. He literally robs from people who are in power. How did these tales even survive?  These stories survived because the common people loved them.  As early as the 1300’s May Day celebrations featured Robin Hood stage plays.  They were entertainment for the masses, and the masses loved seeing the tricksy Robin pulling the wool over the eyes of influential figures.  Some of the first cheap short stories were Robin Hood broadsheets. He’s had more incarnations than Dr. Who.  A lot more. Like all good mythologies, Robin Hood has grown and changed with his audience. We took a deep dive when we began discussing this idea, and to our delight and joy – there’s no set cannon.  There is no written version of this story that can be pointed to as the definitive beginning of Robin Hood.  Like our Grumpy Gods, his traditions were mostly oral and he was only later canonized. What does that mean for us as Grumpy authors? It means it’s open season on storytelling.  It...

Deadline: May 1st, 2024 Payment: Prose: 1¢ per word, Poetry: $10, Artwork: $25 (Cover art is $50.) Theme: Heredity NonBinary Review is open for submissions on the theme of "heredity." Maybe you have your mother's nose, or your father's eyes, or your grandmother's hair, or your uncle's earlobes. There are so many things that run in families - not just physical characteristics, but so many of our habits, tastes, and ways of thinking. The "nature vs. nurture" debate has been raging forever, although science is finding that a surprising amount of what we think of as learned behavior might actually be biological. But what else might we inherit from our families? Magic powers? A tail? ESP? We're looking for speculative takes on heredity - the unexpected, the impossible, the very furthest out there. We're NOT looking for stories about inheritance - things given to us by families or friends. We're not looking for werewolves or vampires (or any other well-known fictional monsters). We're looking for something new - something we've never seen before. Prose: All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme, and be double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman or they will be rejected. NonBinary Review  pays 1¢ per word for prose with a limit of 3000 words. Poetry: All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme and be submitted in 12pt Times New Roman, or they will be rejected. Submitters may include up to THREE poems per submission, but each must be a separate file. NonBinary Review pays a $10 flat fee for poetry. Artwork: All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme and be submitted as a jpg., .png., .tiff., or .psd file of 300dpi or greater (accepted pieces must be PRINT QUALITY). Submitters may include up to five pieces per submission, but each must be a...

Deadline: May 1st, 2024 Payment: $10 and a contributor's copy Theme: Horror stories about inanimate things that are living Inanimate Things: Volume Two. With the success of Volume One, we decided to do it again! We are looking for horror short stories between 1500 and 6,000 words in length (can go over a little bit, we aren’t too particular. Just not shorter than 1500 words) about inanimate things that are living. It could be a doll, the dead flesh of zombies, or your Ford F-150. The story needs to involve this subject in some way…and be scary too. Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $10 along with a paperback copy of the anthology once it is completed. Rights: First Print and Electronic Publication rights, the non-exclusive rights to include the story in a print, audiobook, and digital book, and a one-year (12 month) period of exclusivity from the date of publication. All other rights remain entirely with the author. OTHER STUFF: No poetry or reprints. No novel extracts. Authors are welcome to submit more than one story for the anthology (no more than two per author though) but please submit them in separate emails. Submission Deadline: May 1, 2024. Expected Publication Date: January 15, 2025. Email submissions to [email protected] with a story either: 1) attached in Microsoft Word; or 2) with the entire story pasted inside the body of the email. Either one is fine. We try to reply and let you know if we are not using your submission within 4 weeks…but if you do not hear from within four weeks from submission (check your Spam folder) then we did not accept it. Please put EXACTLY the following in the subject line: ATTN: SUBMISSION FOR INANIMATE THINGS.  Via: Burial Books.

Deadline: May 1st, 2024 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today." 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 a contest in the traditional sense....

Deadline: March 1st – May 1st, 2024 Payment: $50 Theme: Writing that attempts to salvage something pure from the collision of warmth and cold, that says what it can about the world it finds itself in. A Note on Our Aesthetic We believe there is beauty in scars on smooth skin, in the small fissures where things begin to break apart. Sundogs are not the sun itself but phantom stars appearing on the horizon, illusions produced by the play of the sun’s heat with crystals of ice. They shed their light all the same. Many are tinged with color. We look for this same quality in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. We want writing that attempts to salvage something pure from the collision of warmth and cold, that says what it can about the world it finds itself in. We seek a diversity of voices speaking from visceral, lived experience. We like truth we can stare at until our eyes water, words so carefully chosen we want to reread them as soon as we have finished. Schedule We publish two issues a year, September 1 and March 1. We accept general submissions for poetry, nonfiction, and fiction between two reading periods, and the first 300 submissions to each are free. We also run a collaborative writing contest in August. We also accept visual art all year. General Submissions: March 1 – May 1 General Submissions: October 1 – December 1 Collaboration Contest: July 15 –  August 31 Payment We are thrilled to finally be able to say that, starting with issue 17, we will be able to offer our contributors a small payment of $50 upon publication. Practical Matters We are grateful to be a part of a literary community that is taking action against systemic racism. We will also be donating submission fees...