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Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: 8 cents a word for fiction and essays (1500 words or less). $25 for short poems (ten lines or less), $50 for longer poem. Also, a contributors copy Theme: Witchy stories for the Halloween special All of Them Witches As Book Worms Horror Zine enters its second year, we’re thrilled to announce that this year’s Halloween issue will be all about Witches. This time around, we’re looking for fiction, poetry, and essays of the witchy kind. Frequently Asked Question: What kind of stories are you looking for? We generally enjoy “fun”, “80s style” horror reminiscent of the zine’s old-school vibe, but we’ve also been blown away by fresh voices that take the genre in a new direction. That being said, the best chance for your story being accepted by Book Worms is to follow the submission guidelines. Make sure your story is of the horror genre, mail in your submission versus email, meet the deadline, and don’t exceed the word count limit. And if your story doesn’t make it, please keep trying. We’ve had to turn down many excellent stories due to space constraints alone. A good way to get an idea about what we’re looking for is to read our current issue or one of our back issues that are still available. A Few Tips: Mail early. Unfortunately, we’ve had a few submissions lost in the mail and that didn’t arrive until weeks after the deadline. Consider writing shorter stories. Sometimes we have just enough room to a 500-800 word flash fiction piece. It might also be helpful to explain what we don’t want. Paranormal romance (Love the genre. It’s not right for Book Worms.) Anything with a political theme. Beyond the pale violence or pornographic material. Keep it fun, kids. Submission Guidelines Deadline: September 1, 2024 Payment is...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: 8 cents per word for fiction and $25 for artwork Theme: Literary Science Fiction and Fantasy The Basics Stories should be submitted to [email protected]. All stories must be under 1200 words (not including the title and byline). All stories over 1200 words will sadly be rejected automatically. All stories must contain significant speculative elements. This does not mean all sci-fi stories must have lasers and rockets. It just means a non-speculative story doesn’t become speculative if you include a single line clarifying the story takes place on Mars. When to Submit Because of the time needed to evaluate submissions and prepare stories for publication, Orion’s Belt has a limited submission window. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to you. Stories submitted outside the submission window will not be deleted, but they will not be read until the submission window re-opens. Our current submission window opened March 1st. This submission window will be open until September 1st. Art Submissions Art submissions are currently open. We’re looking for cover art for issues of our magazine. Payment is a flat $25. The art should fit the ethos of this magazine and thus should feature speculative elements, but there are otherwise no major restrictions on what we’re looking for. If you have artwork you would like us to consider, submit it to us with a subject line that’s some variation on the basic format of “Art Submission - Artwork Name (Artist’s Name).” All art submissions should be directed to [email protected]. Keep in mind that we tend to take significantly longer to respond to art submissions than to story submissions, though we will eventually respond to every submission. For examples of what we’re looking for, check the cover art of Flash Fiction Online or Uncanny Magazine, though keep...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Shakespeare (Vol 103) SHAKESPEARE, 1st September 2024 Pay homage or re-imagine the Bard’s timeless works. We’re looking for stories of star-crossed lovers, tragic heroes, cunning jesters, and more. If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. WHEN WILL I HEAR IF MY STORY HAS BEEN ACCEPTED OR NOT? We carefully review every single submission that comes through our door. If you’ve submitted a story to us, please be patient. We WILL let you know if your submission has or hasn’t been successful. Having said that, if you haven’t heard anything up to twelve weeks after the deadline has passed, feel free to ping us an email to check in on it. Submission Guidelines • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document • Stories must fit an upcoming theme • By submitting your story to us, you are confirming that you are the original creator of the story • We will consider entrants whose work has been entered and published elsewhere, however please ensure you state where and when your story has been used elsewhere on the document • You will be allowed to place one call-to-action for your own work at the end of the episode. Be...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Conspiracy Theories Who doesn’t love a good “WHAT-IF” discussion that Conspiracy Theories can invoke? Then you may want to submit to SEEMS A LITTLE CRAZY!. Packed full of Aliens, Deep State government, Reptilian Overlords, and more! Show us your freakiest Conspiracy Theory! We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more. Genre: Speculative Fiction Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: September 1, 2024 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Seems a Little Crazy!” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore porn) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press for submissions in this genre at tanglewoodromance (at) gmail.com Gratuitous Abuse/Violence: While we at Three Ravens Publishing understand that graphic situations can alter or otherwise move the plot forward in ways that the reader may not...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: £20 & 3 author copies Theme: Vampires Creature Feature Classics #2 Creatures of the Night ​ Creature Features #2 will be the second in an anthology series exploring everybody's favourite horror monsters. The sequel to our lycanthropy anthology; this one is all about blood-sucking vampires! We're looking for a variety of stories so feel free to go in any direction your brain might wander - the more whacky, the better. We want a mixture of sub-genres so stories that think outside of the box will have a stronger chance of success. The less classic, haunted middle-age castle stories the better - if you feel strongly about yours do send it, but we want our inbox to be packed with variety. Horror with humour is warmly invited too. ​ Hard word limits of 3,000-8,000 ​ Follow the guidelines found under the 'submissions' page for formatting, content and how-to-submit guidelines. The subject line should read ​ SUB/BLOOD - TITLE - SUBGENRE - WORDCOUNT - SURNAME ​ Compensation: £20 & 3 author copies ​ Submissions close midnight, September 1st 2024. *Unfortunately we are not accepting reprints for this anthology* Via: Snake Bite Books.

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: $10-$30 for fiction, $5-$15 for poetry Theme: American Gothic Our fall edition theme is American gothic, however you interpret that. We are particularly interested in stories that consider themes of class, non-city living, the institution of motherhood, and gender, but all facets of American culture are welcome for exploration. One might consider writers like Shirley Jackson, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner, and Stephen King as stand-out examples in the genre. Submissions may be sent using this Google Form. We manage submissions through Google Forms, linked above. The details: Non-fiction under 4,000 words, fiction under 2,000, and poetry just generally kept to a minimum Please submit one prose piece or two poems. Turnaround times vary. Expect a response within approximately one month of submissions closing. Talk Vomit believes wholeheartedly in simultaneous submissions and raises their eyebrows at places that don’t. BUT, if your piece is accepted elsewhere, please email [email protected] as soon as you can. If you don’t, it stands to be quite embarrassing for both of us. Talk Vomit asks for first serial rights. We aim to share most work on our website, our Substack, and in print, as space allows. Upon initial publication, all rights revert back to you, although we ask you credit Talk Vomit in the event of republication. Some stuff we particularly like: Gothic stories. Not high fantasy stuff, usually, but moody and atmospheric pieces that take a microscope to the underbelly of our communities and relationships Flash satire Essays that weave first-person with cultural criticism; essays with a fresh coming-of-age narrative (one can come of age at many times in their life, in many ways; Monica is currently particularly interested in coming-of-age stories related to motherhood, fwiw) Cultural criticism, in general Book reviews, especially those in the 300-600 word range — unless you’re baking in some first-person narrative...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: $25 (US) or two copies of the book, if you're local to me (Maryland, USA) or the shipping is reasonable. Theme: Science fiction short stories that take place in a shared universe (details below) that feature a mysterious space station, strange aliens, and more! Enigma Station is a ShareVerse anthology featuring a mysterious space station, strange aliens, and more! Planned for publication in late 2024 or early 2025. General Setting information Situated in a solar system lightyears from Earth, the Banahatti Station is home to thousands of humans and aliens of several different species. It lies on a convenient path between several major planetary systems, and the solar system it lies in is home to mineral rich asteroids, seven planets and their moons (none habitable without environmental domes). Nominally under the Earth Republic's jurisdiction, its location means little oversight. The Earth Republic keeps one destroyer-class ship, the Antioch, docked at the station, but the administration of the station itself is handled by a security force (basically police) at the station. The station has shops, ship repair, medical facilities, hydroponics for growing food, ample living space, even a few areas where people can raise animals such as chickens or pigs. The space station still has unused areas that haven't been converted to human (or alien) use. However, a few adventurous explorers have reported strange happenings throughout the station, particularly in the unexplored areas. Strangely-shaped objects appear, change shape, then disappear. Rooms and hallways change their shape. Unexplained signals of energy - far below the level that would endanger anyone - burst into existence, then vanish. Some inhabitants also report feeling strange sensations within their body, but cannot find an explanation. The news has spread throughout the Earth Republic and the alien civilizations, and more superstitious folks...

Submission Window: September 1st - 2nd, 2024 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints, For artwork: $10 for the non-exclusive right to use each image, for as long as the site is online.  If we publish a print collection we will pay a pro-rata share for each image used. Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world. Note: Reprints welcome     Submissions Schedule The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. We pay 8¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 8¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles. For new poetry, we pay $1 per line, and for reprints we pay 50¢ a line  We’re looking for poems up to 40 lines. We’ll consider longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 8¢ per word. We sponsor The Kepler Award to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways. You can learn aboutThe Kepler Award here. You can read a copy of our standard contract here.   It can be varied as needed to include the rights of translators, voice actors, etc. Writers Guidelines We accept new work as well as reprints, prose and poetry, from a minimum of 1000 words on up.   All else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored, and we have yet to find a story over about 9-10,000 words we...

Submission Window: July 4 - September 6th, 2024 Payment: $20.00 for original fiction, $10.00 for poems , $5.00 for reprints Theme: As cold and silence envelopes the earth, and all things lie dormant, we all move inward and lean toward hibernation, shadow work and self-reflection. Note: Reprints Welcome Opens for Submissions July 4 The next edition to our popular YULE anthology will be opening this summer for submissions. Submissions open July 4 - September 6 Send manuscripts to [email protected] Subject EVERGREEN SUBMISSION Word Count: 2,000 to 7,000 for stories Up to 4 pages for poetry $20.00 for original fiction $10.00 for poems $5.00 for reprints Format your story in Shunn Manuscript Format The more submissions we get, the less exceptions we are able to make. Title your file - Author Name - Evergreen - Story Title EX: Spears-Evergreen-Toxic **Make sure your name and email are at the top of your document **Your cover letter and bio NEED to be in the body of the email. As cold and silence envelopes the earth, and all things lie dormant, we all move inward and lean toward hibernation, shadow work and self-reflection. From all over the world, within the darker days live many celebrations of good triumphing over evil, light's victory over darkness and of seeds planted deep, waiting to slowly reach for the sun and burst into life. What we want: Your unique, fictional stories of the dark and stillness and what light brings out of the shadows. Stories of transformation. Stories of cold forests, elves and magickal places. Stories of witch magick, the occult and ghosts. We want modern retellings of Yaldā, Soyal, Roman Saturnalia or the Dongzhi Festival. Stories of the winter solstice, Bodhi Day, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Omisoka, and Kwanzaa. Look into your ancestral roots and tell us about...

Submission Window: September 1st - 7th, 2024 Payment: Drabbles and Flash – £5, Short Stories 1001 to 4000 words – £10, Short Stories 4001 to 8000 words – £15 Theme: Any form of speculative fiction, feel free to be inspired by the season of the issue but that isn't a requirement Note: Only publishes creators from under represented and/or marginalized communities. WE ONLY PUBLISH CREATORS FROM UNDER REPRESENTED AND/OR MARGINALISED BACKGROUNDS AND/OR COMMUNITIES We don’t ask for any proof, we take this on trust with the expectation that anyone not from a marginalised background or underrepresented community wouldn’t take up the space of someone who is. We ask you to consider this before submitting. QUARTERLY ONLINE ANTHOLOGY: BRIEF We’re looking for stories you’ve poured your soul into but haven’t been able to find the right home for. We’re looking for stories that make us feel something. Warmth, love, melancholy, rage. We want it all. All genres, styles and themes will be considered and we especially love stories that are outside the box in their telling. Ambiguous endings? Non-linear storytelling? Antagonist’s point-of-view? A story told in just one scene? We love it all. Quarterly Online Anthology Submission Schedule: September 1st – 7th (Winter Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions December 1st – 7th (Spring Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions March 1st – 7th (Summer Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions June 1st – 7th (Autumn Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions ​We do not have set issue themes but feel free to be inspired by the season, seasonal occasions and events. We are unlikely to publish stories with seasonal events out of season – for example a story set in the Winter isn’t likely to make it into our Summer issue even if we adore it....