Events

Slashic Horror Press Is Open For Queer Horror Novels And Novellas

Slashic Horror Press

Deadline: September 30th, 2024 Payment: 40% royalties for both eBook and paperback. If a hardcover book is produced, authors will receive 35% royalties due to the higher cost of production Theme: Queer horror novels and novellas We love the fresh smell of dead things, so our submission window is currently open for 2025/206! Please carefully read below for specific guidelines, including what we‘re currently looking for. The submissions are so easy a brainless zombie could do it (between meals). What we need in the email The subject line: SURNAME—TITLE—SUBMISSION TYPE (e.g., novel, novella)—WORD COUNT In the body of your email: please let us know if this is an original submission or a resubmission. If you are resubmitting an updated manuscript, please indicate the revised sections to help us assess your manuscript ​​ What we need attached A synopsis approx. 300 words, detailing the key themes, plot, characters, and twists Your brief author bio, including any previous publications The first 30 pages of your manuscript ​ Submission email: [email protected]. ​ Formatting Manuscripts should be presented in TNR, size 12, justified, 1.5 line spacing, as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or.docx. Any other file type won’t be read). Please, for the love of all that is unholy, do not use tabs for new paragraphs. Any variant of English will be accepted. What we want We are a horror press. Any horror sub-genre is welcome, but the manuscript must have clear elements of horror. Preferred length: approx. 30K—100K. Manuscripts outside this are more than welcome, but we are more likely to consider manuscripts in the suggested length Preferred horror sub-genres: slashers, psychological, creature feature/monster (vampires, werewolves, demons etc.), YA, extreme, body, supernatural, cosmic, horrormance, gothic, grief. We don’t shy away from gore Forms: novels, novellas ​​ What we don’t want Fantasy* Poetry Screenplays Erotica Series Short story collections...

Taking Submissions: Error Code (Tentative Title)

Riverfolk Books

Deadline: September 30th, 2024 Payment: $100 Theme: Horror shorts that revolve around technology Pay: $100 for accepted story.Rabid Otter, the horror imprint of Riverfolk Books, is putting together a collection of short stories.Hey everyone, my name is Zaq and I work as the creative director of Riverfolk Books, a progression fantasy indie publication. As much as I enjoy working for Riverfolk, my true love will always lie in horror, and after talking with my boss, he gave me the go ahead to put together a short story collection to get our foot in the door of horror publishing. Tentatively titled Error Code, I'm looking for horror shorts that revolve around technology. Whether that is something as simple as a killer app or something deeper like someone slowly replacing their body parts with cyborg parts, as long as it leans toward technology in any form, I'm interested. Think Black Mirror, but more horror.We're looking for shorts between 6,000 and 10,000 words with the payout being $100 if accepted. Also only asking for SIX months exclusivity after publication.Interested? Send your manuscripts to [email protected] Via: Riverfolk Books' Facebook.

Taking Submissions: Science Fiction Is a Drag!

Lady Zinnia

Deadline: October 1st, 2024 Payment: $50 and royalties Theme: Original, previously unpublished, science fiction stories that are, first and foremost, drag Science Fiction Is a Drag! is a drag anthology. We’re looking for original, previously unpublished, science fiction stories that are, first and foremost, drag.  This is an anthology where those of us in the drag community can gather and tell the stories that we’d never be able to publish anywhere else.  Stories up to 10,000 words will be considered. Publication date is sometime in 2025. Submission Deadline: October 1, 2024 What we don’t want: • Stories by straight people who think drag performers are cute, funny, scary, etc. and have no real connection to the drag community or drag rhetoric. (We, of course, are cute, funny, scary, etc., but there’s an ineffable deeper element that those of us who are drag get and others don’t.) • Stories by LGBT+ people who think drag performers are cute, funny, scary, etc. and have no real connection to the drag community or drag rhetoric. (Or, if you think of people who do drag as “them” and not “us,” I’d prefer if you let “us” have a room of our own.) • Stories by members of the drag community that were written for the straights and have nothing drag about them at all.  You may certainly send us your drag stories that were written for the straights or your stories that are written for us in the drag community.  But they must be drag stories not just by someone who does drag. • Look, I don’t have the money to take on Disney, Paramount, Warner, the Frank Herbert estate. If it’s set in someone else’s intellectual property, I can’t use it.  The day I have the money to get the proper permissions to do Star Wars Episode 69:...

Taking Submissions: Witchcraft in Your Lips

Lethe Press Books

Deadline: October 1st, 2024 Payment: $750 and 5 contributors copies Theme: Novellas to be released as a collection about lesbian-themed folk magic stories A collection of lesbian-themed folk magic and witchcraft tentatively titled Witchcraft in Your Lips. For this book we're seeking 3-4 novellas. Submissions should be between 20-30 thousand words in length. We are not interested in erotica or young adult stories for this book. Same-sex relationships should be presented as positive, as usage of folk magic. By this, we mean no self-loathing lesbians or witches (they can face external prejudices, of course). Submissions should be sent to [email protected] with the subject line WIYL Submission. Because we are a small press, our response time is quite slow; please do not query us about your submission until October, when we  will close for submission. Payment for each story will be 750 dollars and five copies of the print edition. Via: Lethe Press.

Taking Submissions: Steampunk Sleuths

Black Beacon Books

Deadline: October 31st, 2024 Payment: $50 Theme: A novelette featuring detectives in a steampunk setting solving peculiar crimes. Deadline: October 31st, 2024 The genre of mystery is designed to get the cogs cranking, but let's not forget that steampunk is all about cogs too! Why not bring them together? Steampunk Sleuths will be an anthology of four novelettes (15 - 20,000 words) featuring detectives in a steampunk setting solving peculiar crimes. The only requirements for submission will be that the means of committing the crime (murder, theft, kidnapping...) must be clearly steampunk and the reader must be given the tools to crack the case before the solution is revealed. Think Agatha Christie and Jules Verne getting kinky together... um, actually, please don't. ;) * Previously unpublished only * Double the standard rate for this one: $50 USD Due to increasing numbers of submissions for our anthologies, we will no longer be sending rejection messages. We appreciate your understanding with regards to this decision. We will announce the table of contents via social media once it has been finalised. If you are not on social media, please consider your submission unsuccessful if you haven't received an email from us within two weeks of the end of the submissions period. We regularly post news on our Facebook page. You can also get a feel for what we like by buying our previously published titles. Publishing quality fiction is an expensive passion, so the more we sell, the more we can publish. It's that simple. Our cherished Patreon patrons also provide us with the means to keep producing quality books. # Rates: We use PayPal to pay our contributors. If your submission is successful, you'll need an account. Alternatively, we can pay with an electronic Amazon gift coupon. Payment is made upon publication. $25 USD  for original stories and $10 for reprints...

Taking Submissions: Dangerous to Go Alone! 2

Manawaker

Deadline: October 31st, 2024 Payment: $10 and $5 for reprints Theme: Poems inspired by games or game culture (Ideally video games, tabletop also accepted.) Note: Reprints Welcome Submissions are now open for “Dangerous to Go Alone! 2”, the sequel to Manawaker Studio’s anthology of gamer poetry, edited by CB Droege. The guidelines follow. POETRY ONLY Unlike many other Manawaker anthologies, DtGA is only for poetry. Sorry, fiction writers and visual artists. We’ll do another multi-media anthology next year. ;D We are looking for poems inspired by games or game culture. Most of the selected poems will be about video games and the culture surrounding them, but some will be about tabletop games. (We don’t want any poems about field sports or casino games). For legal reasons, poems about games with specific IP should be somewhat abstract. We feel that poetry is pretty well protected by fair use in this case, so specific characters and situations can be mentioned, but it’s still better if they are only alluded to. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Poems (no more than five, please) should be included in the body of an e-mail (see below). If your poem requires special formatting not available in an e-mail, attach an RTF file. Previously published work is okay, as long as you let us know where it was published previously, so we can credit them in the book. It’s the submitter’s responsibility to ensure they have the rights to their work before submitting. If the work is self-published online in a public setting (like in a personal blog, forum, facebook, deviant art, etc.) this counts as previously published If your work is accepted, you will grant Manawaker Studio the right to non-exclusively publish your work as part of this project in perpetuity. The work or parts of it may also be used for promotional purposes in print or online....

Taking Submissions: ​Midnight Menagerie

WolfSinger Publications

Submission Window: June 15th - October 31st, 2024 Payment: $15 and royalties Theme: Stories that feature the strange and bizarre from around the cosmos and other dimensions “Ladies and gentlemen,” the Ring Master waved her arm toward the crowd, “and, of course, all you ‘sweet’ children daring to see what, up until now, only existed in your dreams.” Her voice floated outward to the crowd. “Or perhaps your nightmares.” Her golden skin seemed to crack when she offered them a toothy grin. “Behind me, lurking in the blue-black darkness on the fringes of the unknown are the stars of the show. Creatures waiting to be seen, anxious to meet you...creatures from so many galaxies you never knew existed.” Again she offered a toothy grin as her red eyes took on a fiery glow. “And I, as the master of the show cannot wait for the entertainment to begin.” ~ * ~ ​ What we are looking for are stories that feature the strange and bizarre from around the cosmos and other dimensions. They can be the stuff of dreams or nightmares. Think along the fantastical lines of Something Wicked This Way Comes but with an intergalactic or other dimensional feel to the carnival or carnival sideshow. Magic and Science, Dreams and Nightmares, Joy and Terror, Love and Hate, combined with the alien and the familiar -- they all blend together at the Midnight Menagerie. The two paragraphs above will be the intro to the anthology - so imagine a ringmaster or guide in your story using those lines to draw your reader into what you are about to show them. WolfSinger does ask that stories maintain a PG-13 rating – so please be careful with any violence or sexual depictions. However, as this theme can lend itself to some dark stories –...

Taking Submissions: NonBinary Review #38

NonBinary Review

Deadline: November 1st, 2024 Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $10 per poem, $25 for artwork, $50 for cover art Theme: Rituals Note: Reprints Welcome NonBinary Review is currently open for submissions on the theme of RITUALS. Often, when we think of rituals, we think of robed, hooded figures standing around a large symbol of power etched into the floor, trying to summon a deity who will grant them their every desire. At least, that's what Hollywood would have us believe. But the truth is that much of our lives is dictated by rituals. The Brushing of the Teeth, The Making of the Coffee, The Feeding of the Pets, The After-Work Drinks, The Watching of the Baking Show - we all have aspects of our lives where we insist on things being done just so, turning something otherwise mundane into a ritual. Rituals can be comforting, or they can be confining. They can help us make sense of our habits, and they can look strange to outside observers. We want the best speculative takes on ritual - weird rituals, unexpected rituals, little-known rituals. We want to hear not just how rituals are enacted, but where they come from, how they get started, and what unintended consequences happen as a result. Fiction: All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme, and be double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman or they will be rejected. NonBinary Review  pays 1¢ per word for prose with a limit of 3000 words. Poetry: Submitters may include up to THREE poems per submission, but each must be a separate file. NonBinary Review pays a $10 flat fee for poetry. Artwork: All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme and be submitted as a jpg., .png., .tiff., or .psd file of 300dpi or greater (accepted pieces must...

Taking Submissions: SpeKulative Stories Anthology Series

Omicron World

Deadline: November 30th, 2024 Payment: 10 cents per word for fiction and $2/line for poetry. Also, a contributor's copy Theme: Speculative short stories and poems that either include trains or aliens as their focal point The purpose of the SpeKulative Stories Anthology Series is to showcase provocative and powerful tales related to a single theme. Following the publication of our first theme anthology, Automobilia, in 2024, we are now seeking short stories and poems for the next two anthologies in the series. The titles are Train Tales and Aliens Among Us. Publication is set for early 2025. As each title suggests, a train or an alien (space aliens that is) should be such an integral part of your story or poem that if removed the story or poem collapses. We seek quality short stories and poems from every genre: fantasy, magical realism, science fiction, mystery, crime, romance, supernatural, horror, and mainstream; from drama to humor, but if you are submitting horror please avoid slasher or gore. ALL stories should avoid or minimize the use of foul language. We want to make these books acceptable to the widest range of readers. Guidelines: - All genres accepted. English language only. Stories from across the glove accepted. Previously published stories accepted. 7,500 words max for stories. Pays 10 cents per word for stories on acceptance. Negotiates higher rates for established authors. Poems accepted. 50 lines max. Pays $2 a line for poetry on acceptance. Buys first or reprint anthology rights. - Unpublished writers welcome. We provide feedback for new writers when time allows. - Submissions accepted as an e-mail attachment in Word or RTF. - E-mail to: [email protected]. Write "Train Anthology" or "Aliens Anthology" in the e-mail subject line to help us traffic manuscripts. Include a cover letter in the body of the...

Taking Submissions: Fantasy Is a Drag!

Deadline: December 1st, 2024 Payment: $50 and royalties Theme: Fantasy stories that are, first and foremost, drag Note: For authors with a real connection to the drag community (see below for details) Fantasy Is a Drag! is a drag anthology. We’re looking for original, previously unpublished, fantasy stories that are, first and foremost, drag.  This is an anthology where those of us in the drag community can gather and tell the stories that we’d never be able to publish anywhere else.  Stories up to 10,000 words will be considered. Publication date is sometime in 2025. Submission Deadline: December 1, 2024 What we don’t want: • Stories by straight people who think drag performers are cute, funny, scary, etc. and have no real connection to the drag community or drag rhetoric. (We, of course, are cute, funny, scary, etc., but there’s an ineffable deeper element that those of us who are drag get and others don’t.) • Stories by LGBT+ people who think drag performers are cute, funny, scary, etc. and have no real connection to the drag community or drag rhetoric. (Or, if you think of people who do drag as “them” and not “us,” I’d prefer if you let “us” have a room of our own.) • Stories by members of the drag community that were written for the straights and have nothing drag about them at all.  You may certainly send us your drag stories that were written for the straights or your stories that are written for us in the drag community.  But they must be drag stories not just by someone who does drag. • Look, I don’t have the money to take on Disney, Warner, the Tolkien estate, or J.K. Rowling.  If it’s set in someone else’s intellectual property, I can’t use it.  The day I have the money...