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Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: $150 Theme: works of literature that intersect with Taco Bell My kids make books all the time for fun. Both of them want to be writers and artists when they grow up. I feel like this is my fault. I’ve made it look too fun. They bring me their stacks of pages, begging for the stapler, as if the stapler contains magical powers, as if the act of binding together the book is what makes it real. I staple three neat clicks and I’ve made it look real. Something more real to pretend with, at least. We are back, pretending to make our literary magazine again. We are the Taco Bell Quarterly, a Prestigious Literary Magazine that is opening for submissions on 4/20/25. We are looking for prose, poetry, art, and beyond for our eighth issue, which will be available to read for free online, and to buy in print in the late fall. We will pay $150. What are we looking for: works of literature that intersect with Taco Bell Does it have to be about Taco Bell? Does it have to mention it? It’s the Taco Bell Quarterly. The joke is that it’s our only guideline. Also, we do not have any guidelines. We have no rules. You can say whatever you want. We have an aesthetic. We have a vibe. Read our last 3 issues especially to get a sense of the direction we’ve been going in. But also, yes, it can and should be about Taco Bell too, because that is the joke of the literary magazine, in which every piece has a recurring product placement. Because life might happen in a Taco Bell, or with a Taco Bell logo in the background for a moment. That moment of product placement may be chosen...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 Payment: $0.02 per word Theme: Science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between Note: Reprints Welcome Flash Point Science Fiction wants speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 words in length. Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short. We here at FPSF are partial to flash fiction and want to see the flash market grow. So as much as it pains us, please take your 10,000 word tour de force elsewhere. We’re not looking for the next Brandon Sanderson. (Unless you are, in fact, Brandon Sanderson, in which case we’d be delighted!) What we’re looking for: -Fantasy (all kinds—epic, adventure, contemporary, urban, grimdark, fairy tale, magical realism, myths and legends, etc.) -Science Fiction (all kinds—hard, space opera, military, near future, science fantasy, cyberpunk, dystopian, etc.) -Slipstream (make it as weird as you want, so long as it works) -Seasonal (we love stories with holiday and/or seasonal themes, but please submit AT LEAST 3 months in advance of the relevant occasion) -Anything that makes us laugh, cry, think, or smile. What we aren’t looking for: -Horror—it can be spooky or menacing, but we’re not a horror market, so the fright factor should not be the primary appeal. DARK fantasy and sci-fi, however, are welcome. -Literary fiction—this is a genre market, so there needs to be an SF&F element, however slight. -Gratuitous sex or violence—we’re big fans of Love Death + Robots, but don’t be that guy. -Fanfic—original concepts only, please. We know there was a lot going on in Hobbiton while Frodo was away, but that’s not our property and it’s not yours either. -Stories previously published in a different language. Submission Specs In terms of how your story should look, we recommend you read William...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 Payment: $10 or a contributors copy Theme: Speculative stories featuring a family with at least one type of supernatural family member THREE COUSINS PUBLISHING, an imprint of WEST MESA PRESS, will be accepting submissions for its fourth annual anthology with the working title, Family, Fae, Fiend, Friend, and Foe from June 1, 2025 until midnight July 31, 2025. Stories submitted before or after the submission period will not be considered. This is a themed anthology and stories that don’t fit the theme will be rejected. Submissions must be speculative and feature a family with some type of supernatural family member or members. Vampires and fairies, gnomes and zombies, leprechauns, bigfeet, ghouls, and poltergeists are all welcome. Horror, humor, fantasy, science fiction, or even an entertaining, but bizarre mashup of genres that we haven’t considered. Your characters may be young or old and the time frame may be from the dawn of mankind to the far future. Here’s the short list of guidelines. Pay attention, please. These are important. 1, Stories should be submitted in standard format. Here’s a link: https://www.writersdigest.com/.../how-to-submit-short... 2. Double spaced, no tabs, use the indent function in ‘paragraph,’ no extra spaces between paragraphs, and Times New Roman 12 point font. 3. Signal scene breaks by ###. Scene breaks are welcome, but chapters aren’t. 4 If you want italics, use them. 5. Stories must be between 4,000 and 5,000 words. No slack. Rewrite and edit to fit before submitting. Longer or shorter submissions will be deleted unread. 6. No reprints, but simultaneous submissions are fine, as they always should be, but let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere. 7. Put your contact information on the first page and your 150 word bio and bibliography in your cover letter. Do not...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 Payment: Fiction: $25.00 for original stories, $7.00 for reprints, $6.00 for each poem, $20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. $7.00 for reviews and interviews. Theme: Paranormal - this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores. Submissions are accepted Feb 1 – Mar 31, Jun 1 – Jul 31, Oct 1 – Nov 30. Anything submitted outside those periods will be deleted unread. We no longer accept simultaneous or multiple submissions. ​ No matter how far we move forward as humans, we are still bound by the instincts and ancestral memories of our animalistic past. None of these are so strong as the fight or flight response. However, there are times when we seem to be perfectly safe, completely at ease and comfortable, when that urge to run from something sneaks up on us. What causes these sensations? Is there something lurking in the darkness? Why is that man giving you the creeps, he’s not even looking at you? And yet, there is something odd. Something instinctual, something you know without fully understanding. We may have moved on, we may have forgotten and left behind those old stories and legends of beasts, voracious monsters, and dark spirits... But they have not forgotten or left us... What We Want The subject matter of parABnormal Magazine is, yes, the paranormal. For us, this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores. PLEASE NOTE: CREATURES LIKE VAMPIRES, GHOULS, WEREWOLVES, AND ZOMBIES ARE NOT PARANORMAL. Shapeshifters, for the purpose of this magazine, refer to the spiritual shift, not the physical. Think Native American shaman. Paranormal activity centers around the human, not the creature. We do not want...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 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: July 31st, 2025 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Stories for lovers of the unexplored depths of our planet and universe 💥OPEN CALL: DEEP ANTHOLOGY (Title TBD) with Death’s Head Press Anticipated Release: Late Spring 2027💥 Death’s Head Press continues its exploration of dark horizons. This time we seek the abyss. We’re putting together an anthology for lovers of the unexplored depths of our planet and the universe. We are looking for stories between 2,500 and 10,000 words that dive into the dark. Please send submissions to [email protected] under the subject line “DEEP ANTHOLOGY–STORY TITLE–AUTHOR NAME” Attach the full story as a separate document, and include a brief summary in the body of your submission email, and tell us a little about yourself. Please follow APA guidelines for formatting and grammar. Submissions open on May 1st and go until July 31st. *Stories will be paid at $0.05 per word. Via: Death's Head Press's Instagram.

  Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 Payment: $25 and a contributor's copy Theme: Stories about monsters living in a mundane setting Announcing our latest horror/fantasy anthology, the follow-up to THE MONSTERS NEXT DOOR! MORE MONSTERS NEXT DOOR will be accepting 20 short stories, each one focused on a monster living in a mundane setting. The Tudor house across from you may be Dracula's summer home. That apartment down the hall may be Cthulhu's downsizing goal. The hairy guy who just moved into the trailer court sure does make a lot of noise during the full moon. The genre may be classic horror, comedy, science fiction -- so long as your story meets the theme, it is up for consideration. Manuscripts should be submitted as a Word docx file, in the William Shunn format. Submissions should be emailed to [email protected]. Reading period is open from June 1, 2025 through July 31, 2025. Word Length: 2500 / 10K Payment: $25 USD + contributor's copy. Extra contributor copies are available at print cost. Via: Critical Blast.

Submission Window: June 13th - July 31st, 2025 Payment: $15 USD per page Theme: Horror, no specific theme, but stories should be hard hitting We’re looking for comic scripts for DARKEST DEPTHS VOL. 1, a new horror anthology series to be published by Monstrous Books and Crystal Lake Publishing. COMIC WRITERS WANTED! Darkest Depths Guidelines: Length: Up to 8 pages Pay: $15 USD per page Submissions Period: June 13 to July 31, 2025 (please, do not send scripts before June 13; they won’t be read) Theme: Horror, no specific theme, but stories should be hard hitting, though not X-Rated. Some nudity is okay, adult language is okay, violence and gore is okay. But be reasonable. Email scripts to jamesmonstrousbookscom and use this format for the subject heading: Darkest Depths - Title - Author Name. Include a short bio in your email. Please, send only one script. If you get a rejection, you can send another script, as long as its within the deadline. Check out our Kickstarter to familiarize yourself with what we’re looking for. Via: Monstrous Books.

Submission Window: July 1st - 31st, 2025 Payment: Poem (per poem): $25, Work (less than 1500 words): $50, Art (1-3 Images) : $50, Art (4+ Images): $100, Work (more than 1501 words): $100 Theme: Hybrid fiction with the theme of Obsession Brink has two reading periods per year: January and July. July 1 - 31 we will open for submissions engaging the theme of Obsession. Through Submittable, we accept a variety of creative work from Nonfiction to Fiction, from Poetry to Translation. But our hearts beat strongest for hybrid work. We are interested in work that presses boundaries by using more than one medium to tell a story; work that looks and feels different on the page. Additionally, we look for submissions that engage the issue's theme and the notion of being on the brink. Please submit only unpublished pieces and notify us if your simultaneous submission is accepted elsewhere. Payment for each contributor is one copy of the issue in which their work appears as well as: $25 || Poem (per poem) $50 || Work (less than 1500 words) $50 || Art (1-3 Images) $100 || Art (4+ Images) $100 || Work (more than 1501 words) Submissions portal About Brink: Brink is an in-print literary journal dedicated to publishing hybrid, cross-genre work of emerging and established creatives who often reside outside traditional artistic disciplines. By providing space primed to instigate new ideas, Brink fosters dialogue and collaborative community across disciplines and cultural divides. At Brink, we actively work to engage, promote, and expand the reach of voices from diverse groups and communities. We seek out work from creatives of all races and ethnicities; genders and gender identifications, especially trans writers; and those in various stages of their career, from emerging to established and a wide range of ages. ​ Hybrid writing often includes...

Submission Window: July 1st - 31st, 2025 Payment: 8 cents/word and 4 cents/word for reprints Theme: Speculative stories--science fiction, fantasy, horror--with Christian themes, characters, or cosmology Note: Reprints Welcome We are looking for speculative stories--science fiction, fantasy, horror--with Christian themes, characters, or cosmology, and for artwork for this site. Fiction Guidelines Technical details Stories can be up to 9000 words (thanks, Patreon supporters!). This is a hard limit--our submission system will enforce it. We pay 8 cents/word for original stories (or original translations of stories that have not previously appeared in English), and 4 cents/word for reprints (thanks again, Patreon!). Authors are paid once we've agreed on edits and signed a contract, prior to earliest publication (generally on our Patreon page). We are seeking 6 months' exclusive worldwide publication rights for original works (with exceptions for established Best of the Year anthologies), and non-exclusive worldwide print and electronic rights thereafter for both original works and reprints. We want to publish your story online in our webzine and keep it there indefinitely. We're also acquiring the right to offer ebook versions of the stories we publish, as Patreon rewards or for purchase; and to publish a print and ebook anthology of all the stories that appeared in the webzine over a given 1- or 2-year period. For original fiction, we want to be the only place publishing it for the first 6 months; after that, you're welcome to publish it anywhere else in any format you like. No multiple or simultaneous submissions. If multiple writers co-write a story, we consider each distinct group of writers a different submitter. In other words, if two people co-write a story, and they submit the co-written story, and each of them also submits a story written on their own, that would not violate our no multiple submissions policy. Submitting two...