Events

Taking Submissions: Chiral Mad 5

Deadline: December 31st, 2020 Payment: $0.06/word, contributors copy Theme: The End Is the Beginning / The Beginning Is the End Note: Only open to underrepresented demographics (POC, LGBTQIA+, female) My voice needs to be heard. How can I submit? If you are not part of an underrepresented demographic (POC, LGBTQIA+, female), please do not submit at this time, but feel free to send recommendations; otherwise, if you feel your voice needs to be heard, send your submission to [email protected] (or just click the email link, but read the next part before doing so). There are no formatting guidelines other than file type: .doc, .dotx, .rtx, or plain text. The words are what matter. What can I submit? Fiction (5,000 words or fewer recommended, payment capped at 5K), only one submission at a time. If you receive a rejection, feel free to submit again, immediately. No reprints. Poetry (50 lines or fewer, payment capped at 50 lines), up to 5 poems at a time. If you receive a rejection, feel free to submit up to 5 more, immediately. No reprints. Artwork (9.25 height x 6.25 width, 300 DPI, black-and-white), .jpg preferred for initial consideration. Payment Fiction - $0.06 per word, US, capped at 5,000 words Poetry - $1 per line, US, capped at 50 lines Artwork - exposure only, unless contracted individually Contributor copies of all editions Deadline December 31st, 2020 (end of the year, basically) Contract A publishing contract will be made available for all accepted work, to be signed by both parties prior to publication. Here's what you can expect: Written Backwards requests first worldwide print rights Rights revert back to the creator immediately upon publication You're allowing your work to be published in this anthology for as long as there is a need for the anthology, but you get your rights back the moment it goes...

Taking Submissions: The Modern Deity’s Guide To Surviving Humanity

Deadline: December 31st, 2020 Payment: 8 cents per word+ Theme: Urban fantasy stories set in the modern-day world with some type of god or deity as the central focus of the story THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE anthology Kickstarter (back us at tinyurl.com/ZNBDeity) has hit its goal!  If you have a story idea that fits one of the anthology themes, write it up, revise it, polish it, and send it in for consideration.  I've posted the guidelines below. THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE Submission Guidelines Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its three science fiction and fantasy anthologies THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE.  Stories must be submitted in electronic form as an attachment with the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx format.  The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for along with the title of the submission (for example:  DERELICT:  Ghost Ships Gone Wild!).  The content of the email should also include which anthology the manuscript is intended for.  Please send multiple manuscripts in separate emails; you may submit to any or all of the anthologies as many times as you wish.  Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered.  Please use Times New Roman font.  The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s real name.  Italics and bold should be in italics and bold. Stories for this anthology must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, and must...

Taking Submissions: Derelict

Deadline: December 31st, 2020 Payment: 8 cents per word+ Theme: Abandoned ships, whether it be ships at sea or starships in space. THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE anthology Kickstarter (back us at tinyurl.com/ZNBDeity) has hit its goal!  If you have a story idea that fits one of the anthology themes, write it up, revise it, polish it, and send it in for consideration.  I've posted the guidelines below. THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE Submission Guidelines Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its three science fiction and fantasy anthologies THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE.  Stories must be submitted in electronic form as an attachment with the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx format.  The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for along with the title of the submission (for example:  DERELICT:  Ghost Ships Gone Wild!).  The content of the email should also include which anthology the manuscript is intended for.  Please send multiple manuscripts in separate emails; you may submit to any or all of the anthologies as many times as you wish.  Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered.  Please use Times New Roman font.  The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s real name.  Italics and bold should be in italics and bold. Stories for this anthology must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, and must satisfy the theme of the anthology. DERELICT is to feature...

Taking Submissions: When Worlds Collide

Deadline: December 31st, 2020 Payment: 8 cents per word+ Theme: Science fiction and fantasy stories, including alternate history stories, where two different cultures “collide” in some way. THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE anthology Kickstarter (back us at tinyurl.com/ZNBDeity) has hit its goal!  If you have a story idea that fits one of the anthology themes, write it up, revise it, polish it, and send it in for consideration.  I've posted the guidelines below. THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE Submission Guidelines Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its three science fiction and fantasy anthologies THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE.  Stories must be submitted in electronic form as an attachment with the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx format.  The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for along with the title of the submission (for example:  DERELICT:  Ghost Ships Gone Wild!).  The content of the email should also include which anthology the manuscript is intended for.  Please send multiple manuscripts in separate emails; you may submit to any or all of the anthologies as many times as you wish.  Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered.  Please use Times New Roman font.  The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s real name.  Italics and bold should be in italics and bold. Stories for this anthology must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, and must satisfy the theme of the...

Taking Submissions: Resist with every inch and every breath

Deadline: December 31st 2020 Payment: $25 for original work, $15 for reprints Theme: Resist with every inch and every breath. Note: Officially opens to ALL on November 1st, however, currently open to Black, Indigenous, people of color, migrants, queer, disabled, women, working class, currently or formerly incarcerated, and/or living in poverty Note: Reprints allowed Lonely Cryptid Media is now accepting submissions for our second anthology, to be published September 2021. Theme: Resist with every inch and every breath. Stories of resistance and rebellion, but also of the steps in between and the change that comes after. People around the world rise up and resist those who hold power over them. In the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic, oppression persists and is magnified as crises lay bare the systemic inequalities within societies around the world. This anthology will invite us to reflect on this moment, but also imagine a world beyond it. What will happen if the momentum of Black Lives Matter carries us through and ends state violence? What does a world post-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) look like? What does a world without any borders at all look like? What will be the result of teachers’ and athletes’ strikes? How might we forestall climate catastrophe and work towards climate utopia instead? How can a pandemic be a time to come together even as we stay apart? What does a post-oppression world have in store for us? What will be the outcome of resistance to injustice? What does the future hold? Tell us about resistance big and small; real and imagined; rooted in reality or fantastical in nature; science fictional or science factual; historical, contemporary, or in the future. The everyday resistance of women. The power of youth and children’s rebellions. Resistance in the streets. The dismantling of white...

Taking Submissions: We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020

Deadline: December 31st, 2020 Payment: $0.01/word Theme: The best speculative stories published in 2020 that implicitly or explicitly explores queerness and/or transness. Note: Reprints Only WE’RE HERE: THE BEST QUEER SPECULATIVE FICTION 2020 is now open for submissions. The anthology will be co-edited by CL Clark and series editor Charles Payseur. Expected publication will be Summer 2021 from Neon Hemlock Press. Learn more about the press here: www.neonhemlock.com Submissions are open for all speculative work published in 2020 under 17,500 words that deals either implicitly or explicitly with queerness. If you're not sure, send it in and let the editors decide. The compensation level for stories accepted to WE’RE HERE: THE BEST SPECULATIVE FICTION 2020 is $0.01/word. Submissions will close December 31st 2020. Editors are encouraged to recommend work from their publications and can submit multiple stories for consideration. Authors may also submit their own work; authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject. Please note that we will not be sending rejections for this anthology, as is standard for other Best Of anthologies. The authors of selected stories will be reached out to in April 2021. We will be announcing our ToC in May 2021. The name and photo associated with your Google account will be recorded when you upload files and submit this form. We are looking for: • Wordcount: Under 17,500 words. • What we want to see: We are looking for the best speculative stories published in 2020 that implicitly or explicitly explores queerness and/or transness. We refer to queerness that is inclusive of ace/aro stories, trans and nonbinary stories, and intersex stories. • What we don’t want to see: Original work, unqueer work, non-speculative work. Guidelines: • Please submit your story in .pdf, .doc or .docx file,...

Taking Submissions: Nemesis

Deadline: December 31st, 2020 Payment: $10 for short stories (3000-8000 words) Theme: Tales of enemies to the forever bound Working Title: Nemesis ​ Deadline: Dec 31 2020 or When Full Premise:Sometimes great loves begin with great fury. These are such tales of passion and partnership that ignite somewhere closer to hate.  Warriors on opposite ends of a battlefield align to oppose a greater evil. Sworn enemies become bound brothers for the greater good. Whatever it is that puts them at odds, its no match to the power of what binds them together. ​ Preference will be given to #OwnVoices, female authors, LGBTQA stories, but all are welcome to submit! Encouraged Tropes:  Enemies to Lovers Foe Romance Subtext (But skip the sub and make it TEXT!) Belligerent Sexual Tension The Only One Allowed to Defeat You ​ Pairing Examples: Buffy/Spike Rey/Kylo Batman/Joker (In fan fiction LOL) The Doctor/ The Master Riddick/Fry (Pitch Black) The Length Accepted: Flash, and Shorts. Eligibility: Open to all. No Reprints. No simultaneous submissions. Multiple Submissions: See guidelines and story lengths for the number of submissions per pen name. Publication: Feb 2021 Author compensation: Standard. See guidelines and story lengths for details. Submission Guidelines ​ Unless otherwise stated, all submissions should be sent to [email protected] Please fill the subject line as follows:  “SUBMISSION CALL – Author Name – Story Title” ​ Address the email to WTP for a general submission, or a specific editor if you choose (some calls will be run by different individuals). Length ​ Drabble = EXACTLY 100 words. Excludes title and author. Hyphenated words count as 1. Scene break markers and em-dashes are also excluded. No more than 5 drabbles per Pen Name per submission project. These may be submitted at the same time if connected to one another, but all must stand alone as they are likely to be...

Taking Submissions: SNAFU: Holy War

Deadline: October 31st, 2020 Payment: AUD .05 per word and a contributors copy Theme: Holy war military horror. What we want: Military ACTION-BASED horror, themed around religion and/or religious-based conflict. Think the Crusades, Europe’s Thirty Years War, The Troubles in Northern Ireland (but with unnatural monsters)… anything that can be considered a high-action monster story based around a conflict (overt or covert) of religion. For level of unnatural creature we will give priority to, think Dog Soldiers or Aliens. We want lots of monster goodness. We will also be looking for soldiers, mercs, police, private security/paramilitary. Hell, even a group of bodyguards protecting some arsehole theocracy warlord in his jungle property. Just ensure the action is central to the story, from start to finish, and don’t forget monsters! This volume is like the previous volumes squared. All action. We want extreme action, and it has to be military or paramilitary action. And to say it again, full action. Nothing less. Hoo-rah! We actively encourage submissions from all cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, and identities. Storytelling is for everyone, and we are richer for it when all voices are heard. SOME GUIDANCE – IF YOU TAKE THIS PLOT PATH, IT BETTER BE DAMNED GOOD: Modern America versus Muslim country war stories with religiosity at its core. These need to be extremely well-written to make it past the slush pile. What we DO NOT WANT AT ALL, IN ANY FORM: Rape as a plot device/backstory White saviour stories Racism, bigotry, misogyny of any kind Child abuse/paedophilia (can’t believe we have to say this, but we do) Rape as a plot device/backstory (yes, we have to say this twice) Fanfiction or derivatives Edited by Amanda J Spedding and Geoff Brown Payment: AUD5c/word and one contributor copy in each format released. Wordcount range: 2,000 – 10,000 words (query...

Taking Submissions: 50 Shades of Dead

Deadline: December 31st, 2020 Payment: $10 for short stories (3000-8000 words) Theme: Horror romance/erotic horror Working Title: 50 Shades of Dark ​ Deadline: Dec 31 2020 or When Full Premise: Horror romance/erotic horror. This is not for pure erotica or romance (no standard PNR), and not for horror that lacks any romantic elements. The components of romance, sensuality, and horror should be well woven together. Happily ever afters not required. Sex not required, but if included should be well done. The best submissions will be equal parts titillating and nightmare fuel. Looking for stories at a hard R to NR rating, but all levels of sensuality and horror will be considered. If you have ever wanted to push boundaries, this is the call to do it in! Preference will be given to #OwnVoices, female authors, LGBTQA stories, but all are welcome to submit! Length Accepted: Flash, and Shorts. Eligibility: Open to all. No Reprints. No simultaneous submissions. Multiple Submissions: See guidelines and story lengths for the number of submissions per pen name. Publication: Feb 2021   Via: Wicked Taxidermy Press.

Taking Submissions: Taking Submissions: Allegory Volume 38/66

Deadline: December 31st, 2020 Payment: $15 Theme: Speculative fiction, primarily horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Note: Reprints welcome. Formatting Guidelines This is proving to be a recurring problem, so we're putting it up front. Please, for all our sakes, read this next part carefully. All submissions should be sent by e-mail (no letters or telephone calls please) to [email protected]. Below are some formatting rules to help us process your submission more quickly. EMAIL AND COVER LETTERS Email is accepted in both text and HTML formats. When submitting, please put this in the subject line: Submission: (Title) - (First and Last name) Include the following in the body of the email and in the attached submission: Your name Name to use on the story (byline), if different Your preferred email address Your mailing address The story's title The story's word count You may also include a cover letter in the body of the email. We get a lot of strange stuff in cover letters, so if you're unsure of what goes in them (and especially what doesn't) please refer to these cover letter tips: How to write a cover letter | What not to put in a cover letter by Jed Hartman SUBMISSION FORMATTING We ONLY accept submissions as attachments! All stories submitted as an attachment must follow standard manuscript formatting. We will no longer read any story not properly formatted. (And we much prefer Courier New to Times New Roman) For explanations and tips on what SMF is and how to do it with word processing programs, please see this article. Please send your submission as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Test Format (.rtf) only. Other formats, such as Works, WordPerfect, Open Office, etc., have proven difficult to open. Please note that we no longer accept "inline" submssions; that is, submissions with the stories pasted...