Events

Submission Window: September 15th - November 15th, 2021 Payment: 6¢ (USD) per word Theme: dark, quiet horror Note: You must be able to say “If accepted, this would be my first pro-sale.” Note: SFWA considers 8 cents per word as pro, HWA is 6 cents per word Special Call: New Writers “If accepted, this would be my first pro-sale.” For the reading period of 15 September – 15 November 2021, we are having a special call—writers who have not yet had a professional sale. In your cover letter, please add the following statement: “If accepted, this would be my first pro-sale.” See this blog post for more information and a FAQ We have published writers of all backgrounds from all over the world in LampLight, but not everywhere, nor all shapes and sizes of writers. Help us to shine a light on greater diverse writing and keep LampLight a showcase of the best dark fiction out there by submitting and encouraging others to as well. We go for stories that are dark, literary; we are looking for the creepy, the weird and the unsettling. For inspiration, we suggest “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits”, and LampLight, Vol1 Issue 1 which is free. We do not accept stories with the following: vampires, zombies, werewolves, serial killers, hitmen, excessive gore or sex, excessive abuse against women, revenge fantasies, cannibals, high fantasy. Edition and Rights The quarterly is published as print and ebook, and at the end of the year all the quarterlies are bound together in an annual collection. We are asking for non-exclusive, worldwide, serial rights to your work for both electronic and print. We want to publish it, we don’t want to own it. Payment 6¢ (USD) per word 5100 words MAX (firm) Note: we will not be accepting reprints for...

Deadline: November 15th, 2021 Payment: $25 US Theme: 80's slasher heavy in nostalgia. Please read carefully. Submissions that don’t meet the guidelines may be rejected. Submissions will be accepted until November 15th, 2021. Please submit to [email protected], ensuring ’Hex on the Beach’ is in the subject line. What we are looking for: Horrifying short stories, interviews and editorials matching the theme as it relates to all mediums of the horror genre including books, comics, music, movies, art and television 1,000 to 10,000 words in length. We also encourage writers to include good representation of POC, LGBTQ+, and women. If you run a small press, podcast, blog, YouTube channel or any other platform that is focused on amplifying underrepresented voices in the horror community, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! We will have several placeholders to advertise at no cost. Space will be limited so take a moment to let us know what you do to lift other's up in the community. Please include submitter’s name, pen name (if different), word count, and author email address. Submissions must be written in 12 pt. Times New Roman and double spaced. We do not require exclusivity. You hold copyright, licensing us just for this publication. If your story is a reprint, please include its original publication details in your submission email. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but you must have the right to license your story in a publication. Notify us by email at [email protected] if you need to withdraw your submission. The deadline for submissions is November 15th, 2021.

Submission Window: November 1st-15th, 2021 Payment: 1 winner each month will win $10 Canadian Theme: A story at exactly 50-words If you’d like to have a 50-word story that you wrote featured on FiftyWordStories.com, first make sure that you understand exactly what a 50-word story is, and then read the submission requirements below closely. Submissions System Each month, submissions will be open between days 1 and 15 of that month. Any stories received on days 16 to 31 of a month will be deleted, but can be resubmitted the following month. You may only submit one story per month. From the stories received in those 15 days, the best stories will be selected to be published that same month. Only enough stories will be selected to publish two stories per weekday. There is no payment associated with stories. However, each month a “Story of the Month” is selected, and receives a prize of $10 Canadian. Stories that were not selected will not be published, will not roll over into the following month, and cannot be resubmitted in following months. Authors will be notified whether their story has been selected or not once all stories from the month’s submissions have been reviewed. How to Submit Please email your submission to [email protected]. Paste the story into the body of the email. Please include a title, your name, and a brief third-person bio. Feel free to include a link to your website! If you are submitting a story related to a specific date or holiday, please include that information in the Subject line of your submission. You can also send your story in using the form at the bottom of this page. Tips and Guides Looking for help with writing microfiction? Check out Bob Thurber’s Anatomy of a Microfiction page. Terms and Conditions Please keep the content of your submissions appropriate for...

Deadline: November 15th, 2021 Payment: $.10 per word Theme: passionate, diverse SF/F fiction and poetry from writers from every conceivable background. Please follow us on social media or sign up for our newsletter to get all submission updates.  Editors-in-Chief: Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas Uncanny Magazine is seeking passionate, diverse SF/F fiction and poetry from writers from every conceivable background.  We want  intricate, experimental stories and poems with gorgeous prose, verve, and imagination that elicit strong emotions and challenge beliefs. Uncanny believes there’s still plenty of room in the genre for tales that make you feel. Uncanny Magazine is a Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Qualifying Professional Market. Fiction Guidelines Uncanny is looking for original, unpublished speculative fiction stories between 750-6000 words. Payment is $.10 per word (including audio rights). We will reject any story that doesn’t follow our guidelines and procedures. You may not resubmit a rejected story. If you aren’t sure if your story counts as unpublished, please query us. Submission procedures: 1- NEW! Please submit your story via Uncanny‘s Moksha submission system. 2- All stories should be in Modern Manuscript Format and attached in .RTF, .DOC, or .DOCX formats. Please feel free to include your pronouns (optional) along with your name and email address in the upper left corner of your manuscript. Note, you do not need to add your mailing address or legal name to your manuscript. We will only ask for that information if your story is chosen for publication. 3- Your cover letter should contain the length of your story, your significant publishing history and awards, and information that might be relevant to that specific submission. 4- Please do not send multiple submissions at once. 5- We try to respond to all submissions in 30 days. Please feel free to query uncannymagazine gmail com if we’ve had your submission for over 45 days. Poetry Guidelines Poetry Editor: Chimedum Ohaegbu Uncanny is looking for original,...

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalties Publication – February 2022 Word Count – 5,000-20,000 Theme – Fairytales will never be the same in this reverse harem anthology. All versions of bedtime stories, folklore, etc are welcome. If unsure, message DSP’s Facebook page. * Introduction of yourself should be a short biography in 3rd Person between 100-200 words. Upon acceptance, this will be used within the anthology. Send a bio with every single anthology submission. We work with hundreds of authors and will not take time to retrieve yours from a previous anthology. * Poetry submissions: All poetry needs to be contained within a single e-mail. Each poem should be in a separate document. Haikus may be grouped together. * All e-mails should be addressed to “Dear Editor.” After receiving edits back, the author has two weeks to return the submission for formatting. All submissions will be reviewed within thirty (30) days of the anthology’s submission deadline. This ensures submission calls do not close early and gives everyone a chance to submit. You will know your submission has been received for consideration by receiving a generic response. Whether accepted or rejected, you will always receive a response. View our blog articles on how to submit to a publisher and how to write a proposal.   Failure to submit following all of the guidelines will result in an immediate refusal. You are able to submit again before the submission call deadline.   Rating – Check each anthologies‘ rating. Word count – Check each anthologies‘ word count requirements. E-mail address to submit to – [email protected]   NOTICE –  Failure to submit correctly will result in refusal of submission. Via: Dragon Soul Press.

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: Time travel and romance Everlast (Rated R) Deadline – November 30th, 2021 Publication – March 2022 Word Count – 5,000-20,000 Theme – Romance can be difficult on its own, even before adding the complications of time travel to the equation. These couples find themselves from separate timelines in history, but cross paths due to unforeseen circumstances. Deadline – December 31st, 2021 Publication – April 2022 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – Cyberpunk. These characters are trying to survive in a dystopia of advanced technologies. Living alongside Artificial Intelligence has its perks, but also many deadly downfalls.     Publisher INFORMATION Company name: Dragon Soul Press Anthology Submission Email: [email protected] Website: http://dragonsoulpress.com/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dragonsoulpress/ Duotrope: https://duotrope.com/listing/26543/dragon-soul-press The Grinder: https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/Market/Index?id=9529   CHECKLIST Introduction of author This is not where the biography goes. Author Contact Information / Pen name MUST be included with real name. If real name is same as pen name, state so in email. Author Biography in Third Person in 100-200 words Mandatory minimum of 100. Submission Word Count Also applies to poetry. Word count. Not line count. Submission Formatted in Times New Roman 12 PT Font. One-inch margins. No indentations. No double-spacing. No extra spacing between paragraphs. No chapters. Only DOC and DOCX accepted.Format video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftjuYtJWIBI Format image example at bottom of page. Summary/Query Letter Summarized outline of all major events within the story. All emails should be addressed as “Dear Editor” Email subject and file name must be as follows – “Story Title by Author Name for (Name of) Anthology” All of the author’s social media links, including website if applicable Author must have an active social media account.   Important information Maximum of two submissions per anthology per author. Authors can submit to all anthologies simultaneously. Reprints from third party sources accepted IF author currently holds full rights. We will...

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: horror/dark fiction QUARTERLY PRINT MAGAZINE Breakdown of content: 8 fiction pieces (approximate word lengths) – 1x 5000, 1x 3000, 1x 2500, 2x 1500, 3x 500 3-5 non-fiction pieces – 1 article, 1-2 briefs, 1 interview and/or review – Fiction We are looking for horror/dark fiction pieces between 500-5000 words firm. Common sense when submitting please. We do not accept stories that involve the sexual abuse/exploitation of minors direct or implied. We are not looking for pure shock value. All components of your story should have merit. Gore for gore’s sake is not what we are looking for. Our pay rates: 5 cents per word All payments are made in US funds via PayPal.   We accept submissions during the following reading periods , with an expected response time of up to 12 weeks. This way we are able to accommodate all the submissions we receive. If you have not heard back from us after 16 weeks, please feel free to send us an update query. WINTER ISSUE: September 01 – November 30 (current reading period) SPRING ISSUE: December 01 – February 28/29 SUMMER ISSUE: March 01 – May 31 FALL ISSUE: June 01 – August 31 All submissions must be sent via e-mail to: [email protected] as an attached word document with the word “Fiction Submission – STORY TITLE” in the subject line. Please also include if you wish your story considered for both the quarterly print and the website publication. Note compensation rates are different for website so be certain. MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING: 12 point standard font standard margins left side of header: name, contact info right side of header: word count top of first page: title, author Variances from traditional manuscript format: single spaced NO INDENTS use bold, italics and underline as they are to appear...

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: £10 Theme: M is for Medical M is for Medical – Submissions open October 1st. Deadline November 30th. Think surgery gone wrong, sadistic nurses, organ trafficking, creepy doctors etc. We are currently calling for submissions for a series of horror anthologies – The A-Z of Horror. The series will be based on a variety of themes and will consist of twenty-six books in total. We are looking for short horror stories, between 4000 and 8000 words, on each of the themes listed below. You may submit to more than one book, but we will only include a maximum of one story from each author, in each book. Being accepted into one book does not guarantee acceptance into one of the others. The story must be your own work, to which you hold the rights. The story must not be available elsewhere and, if accepted, we will hold the rights to it for three months from the date of publication. After that time, you may use the story however you wish. Any sub-genre of horror is suitable, even extreme, so long as the story fits the theme of that book and does not include anything which may unnecessarily cause offence. Payment for the story will be £10, to be paid by PayPal, as well as a contributor’s e-book of the finished book. Please send submissions in a Word document (ideally Times New Roman 12pt, single spaced) to [email protected] with the title of the book you are submitting to in the subject line. Please ensure you have included your name on the Word document. If you have any queries, feel free to get in touch using the Contact page. We aim to respond to submissions within 2 weeks of the deadline, but feel free to get in touch if you...

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: $50 CAD and a contributor's copy Theme: Pirate dogs, yes my friends, pirate dogs How do you follow up an anthology of swashbuckling cats? With pirating dogs, of course! As with the first anthology in this series I am looking for adventure-loving dogs, puns, water and fun. I’m looking for sailors, submariners, explorers, Vikings and more. Fun stories filled with excitement, drama, treasure-seeking, sword fights, discovering new worlds and dogs, dogs, dogs! All. The. Dogs. Be careful not to get too caught up in the fun and forget to include a strong plot and detailed characters for your story, though. I’m a sucker for a great setting, three-dimensional characters and high stakes, and if your story elicits real emotion from me—laughter, tears or anything in between—you will have increased your chances of acceptance significantly. We don’t deserve dogs. But we do deserve an anthology of pirating pups! Rights and compensation: $50 CAD flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology. In exchange we are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology. Open submission period: October 1, 2021 – November 30, 2021 Length: Under 7,500 words No simultaneous or multiple submissions. No reprints. Canadian spelling, please (just do your best, I won’t judge). Submit here –> https://niteblade.submittable.com/submit/204831/pirating-pups Submissions received before October 1st will not be considered. Via: Rhonda Parrish.

Submission Window: November 15th through November 30th, 2021 Payment: $0.06/word. Payment for reprints is $0.03/word, Poems are paid at the rate of $25 to $100 Theme: All SF and Fantasy genres, but horror is unlikely to find a home here. Ideally stories with a message of hope. Note: Reprints are welcome Our next submission period is going to be November 15th through November 30th, 2021. When we are Open for Submissions, you will be directed to the Submissions Portal from this page Read our announcement about the November Submissions Period –  here. Special Notes DreamForge Anvil is about a passionate attention to storytelling as much it is about the stories themselves. This year, most stories will be returned without comment. That will give us time to pick a few “almost there” tales and work with the authors to see if we can collaborate in taking the story over the hurdle to select it for publication. When we find a story we want to work with, we’ll ask first if the author is interested, before we come back at you with a detailed review and suggestions. If you are interested, and if we accept your story after editorial changes, then we’ll publish your story and include a line edit comparison from your original to final so that those interested in story development can learn from the experience. We’ll also give you the opportunity to talk about your story and share insights into its development and the meaning it has for you. If you’d like to work on your writing with us, consider joining us in our DreamCasters discussion group, available to our Patreon supporters at Tier Two an above. All proceeds go to pay for stories in future issues of DreamForge Anvil. Learn more about what we look for in the guidelines below. 1 Story...