Events

Submission Window: May 1st - May 15th, 2024 Payment: $10 per poem, $15 per short story Theme: Food From May 1st - May 15th, Diet Milk Magazine will be accepting submissions for its annual themed mini-issue. We will be open to poetry and prose. While the most detailed information can be found on our website, here's a quick rundown of what potential contributors need to know! 2023 THEME: FOOD GENERAL GUIDELINES: All submissions must fall under the Gothic umbrella, but aren't required to be a specific genre All submissions must adhere to the current theme No reprints or multiple submissions Simultaneous submissions permitted, though we ask to be informed promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere! Submissions should be .doc, .docx, or .pdf P O E T R Y : Poets may submit up to three poems at a time. No single poem should exceed one page in length. P R O S E : Authors may EITHER up to 3 stories of less than 999 words OR a single story of 1k—2k words. Stories exceeding 2025 words will be rejected automatically. Responses, Rights, & Payment Please allow up to six weeks for a response. After that, send a gentle nudge via email Diet Milk Magazine asks for first serial rights. Upon publication, all rights revert back to the creator. A contract will be provided upon acceptance All payments made via PayPal. For more information on pay scale, visit our website All submissions are processed through Duosuma, available to anyone with a free Duotrope account. Our manager can be accessed through the button above after logging into or creating your account. We don’t accept multiple submissions or, generally, reprints. However, we’re willing to consider pieces posted exclusively to an author’s website OR that have appeared in now-defunct publications. If this applies to your work, please say so in your cover...

Deadline: May 15th, 2024 Payment: $30, or $25 per issue if serialized over multiple issues. Theme: Sword & Sorcery, Dark Fantasy, and Grimdark subgenres of fantasy fiction Just as the classic pulps continue to bring attention, praise, and droves of new readers to legendary writers such as Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Crimson Quill Quarterly wishes to bring attention to budding authors of the Sword & Sorcery, Dark Fantasy, and Grimdark subgenres of fantasy fiction. We appreciate creativity and talent equally and would love to see well written stories driven by developed and intriguing characters and invigorating action that unfolds throughout the plot. While we are not looking for stories that "reinvent the wheel", we appreciate originality above all else.   WHAT WE WANT Original tales of nail-biting peril faced down by a fearless protagonist or protagonists reliant upon their mental might as much as their physical prowess to achieve their goals and overcome their enemies in action packed adventures, preferably told in 10,000 words or less. We do understand that fantasy writers can have a tale’s word-count get away from them and are willing to accept stories up to 30,000 words that will be serialized over several issues. NOTICE: Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please identify it as such in the body of your email and keep us informed if you decide to go elsewhere. As always, there are never any hard feelings if you choose to have another publication print your story. A payment of $30 USD via check or digital transaction (authors who have longer works accepted for serialization will be paid $25 USD per issue they appear in rather than a flat $30 rate). We will buy First Rights and will obtain aforementioned rights for six months. Should this...

Deadline: May 15th, 2024 Prize: $10 US (payable via PayPal only) plus a copy of Pulp Asylum’s first novella, When Harry Comes to Call Theme: Rebirth/Renewal Call for Submissions Pulp Asylum Fiction Contest ​ I am looking for drabbles for this contest.  A drabble is a story of exactly 100 words, no more and no less.  Do not count the title or your byline, just the body of the text itself.  Entries not meeting the 100-word requirement will not be considered.  Keep the following guidelines in mind: -- The theme for this contest is rebirth/renewal.   Your entry should connect with this theme in some way.  For this contest,  I will be considering drabbles that fall into the following genres: crime, mystery, horror, suspense,  fantasy, science fiction, western, or just plain weird. -- No reprints.  Previously unpublished work only. -- No multiple or simultaneous submissions, please. -- Submit via email as a .doc or .pdf attachment to [email protected].  Your subject line should be DRABBLE CONTEST .  Treat the body of your email as your cover letter.  No need to sweat the cover: keep it informal and brief–-just a bit about yourself. -- Submission deadline: end of the day Wednesday May 15th, 2024. -- Responses will be sent between May 16th and June 1st, 2024. -- The winning author will receive $10 US (payable via PayPal only) plus a copy of Pulp Asylum’s first novella, When Harry Comes to Call, due out June 1st, 2024.  Plus, of course, bragging rights and the happy glow of victory. ​-- The winning drabble will be published at the Pulp Asylum site in mid-June 2024 (date subject to change depending on scheduling and production needs). Via: Pulp Asylum.

Deadline: May 15th, 2024 Payment: $300 and 50% royalties on all sales Theme: Horror novels between 50k-100k words Third Estate Books, publishers of Spectrum: An Autistic Horror Anthology and the forthcoming The Monologist, is proud to announce our first Open Submission period. From April 15-May 15, 2024, we will be accepting submissions for horror novels that give voice to the voiceless. Three books will be selected for publication in 2025. We are looking for: works that align with the philosophy of Third Estate Books. Click here to read the vision statement. horror, and only horror. If you have any doubts if your book is horror, don't send it to us. previously unpublished novels. Do not send us previously published material. This includes self-published and traditionally published material. word ranges of 50k-100k. Anything more or less will be rejected outright. We will not accept: works which promote or excuse racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism, or any other form of discrimination. working with sexual harassers or abusers. If that statement makes you nervous, we're not the press for you. use of A.I. We are champions of the PEOPLE, not programs! Any writing that has been created with the use of A.I. will not be accepted. It will, in fact, be mocked. werewolf stories. Don't do it! What should you send us? A query letter—one page maximum—in which you explain a bit about your story and why you think it's a good fit for Third Estate Books. The first three chapters of your manuscript in Shunn format, file formats .doc or .docx only. Trigger warnings are welcome but not required. Submit to: https://thirdestatebooks.moksha.io What do you receive if we publish your book? $300 payout prior to publication. 50% royalty rate on paperback, ebook, and audiobook sales. Other odds and ends: Simultaneous submissions...

Submission Window: July 15th - August 15th, 2024 Payment: 10 cents per word and $500 for custom cover art and $100 for cover art drawn from an artist’s existing portfolio. Theme: Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. Note: You must identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. khōréō is a quarterly publication of stories, essays, and art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. We’re especially interested in writing and art that explore some aspect of migration, whether explicitly (themes of immigration, colonialism, etc.), metaphorically, or with a sly nod and a wink. Most importantly, we’re a new magazine and we’re still finding our identity: therefore, please don’t self-reject because you’re not sure if your work is a good fit. We won’t know until we see it, so please give us a chance to look! See submission requirements & how to submit at the following pages: Fiction Non-fiction Art Voice actors Who can submit? khōréō is dedicated to diversity and amplifying the voices of immigrant and diaspora authors and artists. We welcome, but do not require, a brief description of the author’s/artist’s identity in their cover letter. We invite you to submit if you identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees,...

Submission Window: July 1st - 14th, 2024 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: Radically hopeful and optimistic science fiction and fantasy (At the moment, our nonfiction department is current and always open for submissions. If the fiction portal is closed and you submit fiction through the open nonfiction portal, your submission will be rejected.) 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. 2024 Submission Window Schedule: January 1-14 April 1-14* July 1-14** October 1-14 2024 Issue Release Schedule: Issue #13 – January 10 Issue #14 – March 12 Issue #15 – May 14 (delayed to May 21) Issue #16 – July 9 (Colorful Roots)* Issue #17 – September 10 Issue #18 – November 12 *Submissions for the Colorful Roots themed issue will be accepted during our April open window. We will also accept non-themed solarpunk submissions during March. The Basics: If...

Deadline: May 30th, 2024 Payment: $25 Theme: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Barry Manilow There are few musicians in the world today who are more recognizable than Barry Manilow. With a chart-topping career spanning decades and a current residency in Las Vegas, Manilow continues to demonstrate his incredible musical talent and creativity. Manilow created a crime story of his own in his hit song Copacabana, and now we look to provide the same treatment to his many other hits. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 1. Your work must be based on a song that’s an original Barry Manilow song and cannot be a cover performed by him. For example, although his cover of “Memory” from the musical Cats is iconic, it is not eligible for this anthology. Feel free to reference the list HERE and HERE for inspiration. 2. Your work must relate strongly to the song it’s inspired by, whether that’s by the lyrics or the name. 3. You still must have a STORY and a good crime/mystery. 4. LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC characters and authors very, very strongly encouraged. Be authentic! 5. All works must be original to this publication and cannot have been published or self-published previously. 6. We’re perfectly ok with simultaneous submissions to other publishers, but please let us know if you’d like your story withdrawn from consideration. 7. Please make sure your song choice is not too obscure. From past musical mystery anthologies we’ve found that readers have a lot more interest if there are songs they immediately recognize. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES 1. We’re not looking for flash fiction, but we’re not against it if it works. Prefer more in the regular short story length (3000-5000 words). 2. All submissions need to be in DOC, DOCX or Pages format. Everyone knows by now that we don’t care about fonts and spacing and all that...

Deadline: May 31st, 2024 Payment: $20 (CAD) and a contributors copy Theme: Writing on your view of the meaning of the word "Stygian" After the release of our first publication "The Stygian Collection", there was demand to continue producing anthologies. To continue growing our community and keep the anthology spirit alive, The Stygian Society will be releasing a literary zine every January and July! ​ Focusing on the theme "Stygian", we ask writers to meditate on their meaning of the word. We are open to poetry, short stories, non-fiction articles, personal insights and visual art (including comics)! For written works please do not exceed 2500 words (poetry included). For comics please do not exceed 5 pages. Submissions are always open, so send us something and see what we think. ​ Works received between June 1 and November 30 will be considered for the January issue Works received between December 1 and May 31 will be considered for the July issue ​ We will accept written submissions in Word or PDF format. If your work has previously been published, please be sure to note this when reaching out and let us know where it is currently featured. For artwork, please send in any high res file format - 300dpi minimum. Colour or black and white welcome. ​ For selected works, you will receive a $20 (CAD) honorarium and one print copy of the zine.   Submit Your Work Via: Stygian Society.

Deadline: May 31st, 2024 Payment: £0.005 per word (Low pay is due to being a charity anthology for skin cancer.) Theme: Speculative stories that include skin We’re looking for stories (2-5k words) on the theme of skin (after all, we are skeletons, we crave what we lack). Take the prompt as literally or as abstractly as you like. We tend to prefer speculative, surreal, supernatural, dark fiction with creeping, poetic, dread-inducing prose, and endings we can't predict, but we're open to all subgenres of dark fiction. Elements of sci-fi and/or fantasy are fine, as long as your story veers towards the dark. We are not, however, the market for violent, bloody, racist, homophobic, or masochistic fiction. If you want an idea of what sort of story we publish (my oh my, it is an eclectic collection), why not check out any of our other publications? Links can be found by clicking on the Books tab at the top of this page. Deadline: May 31st 2024 (midnight, last place on earth) or until full.  One piece per author - send us your best! No reprints. No AI fiction. £0.005 per word (after edits). Profits made during the year of publication will go to a skin cancer charity. An anthology of selected stories will be published in print and as an e-book publication. Do get in touch via email or Twitter with any questions. Submission Guidelines Stories must be typed in English. Pieces must be your own, original work (no AI), and previously unpublished in any format. Size 12 font, Times New Roman or similar easy-to-read font. Please do not double space after a full stop (period). No paragraph indents. Leave a line between paragraphs. Please use " for speech marks, not '. No colour or images please. Please tell us your name, title of your story,  and which call you are submitting to in the subject line of your...

Deadline: May 31, 2024 Payment: Contributor's Copy Theme: Whumpy stories that involve a laboratory Whump, closely related to hurt/comfort, is a genre of fiction that involves hurting fictional characters. It often also involves the comforting of those characters, but not necessarily. It originated in fan fiction, but has now branched out into original fiction. If you are unfamiliar with the genre, make sure to familiarize yourself with it before submitting. Check out #whump on tumblr, or pick up a copy of one of our previous anthologies! Calling all whump writers! The Whumpy Printing Press is looking for stories for its third anthology, to be published in paperback and ebook formats in 2024. Theme: Lab whump. For this anthology, we’re looking for whumpy stories that involve a laboratory. Maybe your whumpee is a lab rat. Maybe they’re on the run from the ethically questionable organization that has been holding them prisoner. Maybe the whumpee has finally flipped the script on their whumper. As long as a lab is incorporated into the story in some way, it counts! We take a broad view of whump- it can be physical or emotional. Your stories can be hurt no comfort or comfort no hurt, just as long as they touch on whump in some way. Word Count: Up to 17,500 words For this anthology, we are looking for stories in the following categories: Micro-fiction: 250 words or less Flash fiction: 251-1,000 words Short Story: 1,001-7,499 words Novelette: 7,500-17,500 words Compensation: ebook contributor’s copy, one free paperback, and discounts on additional paperbacks 50% of proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to charity, with the remainder going to support future WPP projects. Submissions Open: October 28, 2023 Submit Here! Submissions Close: May 31, 2024 (hard deadline) Expected Publication Date: October 2024 The...