Events

Deadline: October 15th, 2020 Payment: 6 cents per word Theme: Secret identities and beyond UnMasked: Stories of Risk and Revelation   When the mask comes off, can you handle what’s underneath? When your secret identity is revealed ... When the hero comes out to play ... When the monster is unleashed ... Masks have existed throughout history, from the tribal masks of gods, to the iconic masks of tragedy and comedy, to the iron masks of prisoners. Villains wear masks to commit crimes, heroes wear masks to protect those they love, others wear masks to block disease. Some masks confer power; others rein it in. Does the true face hide beneath the mask, or is it the mask itself? What happens when the mask comes off? We want you to tell us. Perhaps your character is a mask collector who buys a mask that is more than he bargained for, or a coroner wearing a protective mask to perform an alien autopsy. The plague mask she inherited from her great-uncle seduces her to evil whenever she puts it on. We seek stories that explore the masks we wear, the mysteries they conceal, and the price we pay when they’re stripped away. Unmasking, whether literal or figurative, must be integral to the story. Funny or grim, unsettling or cozy, we expect the unexpected. Pull back the mask and reveal your insights, your character-driven tales, and stories that will make us think. Genre: Original short stories of unmasking, to include a mix of science fiction, fantasy, horror, alien, magical, witchcraft, AI, and romance elements. Must be appropriate for a “PG-13” audience. Please, no copyrighted characters.  Length: up to 5000 words Rate: 6¢/word on acceptance. Rights: First Anthology Rights and audio rights; exclusive publication rights revert to author one month after publication; publisher retains non-exclusive right to include in the anthology...

Deadline: October 15th, 2020 Payment: $10 for fiction $5 for poetry Theme: Regional legends and tall-tales from around the World. War Monkey Publications, LLC, is pleased to announce open submissions for our upcoming anthology: FROM THE YONDER Volume II A horror, short-story collection of regional legends and tall-tales from around the World. Our Staff so loved working on the first volume, we've decided to keep doing it.   We are seeking short story submissions (1000-7500 words) for this anthology. The stories must be based upon a regional/cultural legend or tall-tale from any location or culture in the World. “Regional” can be a specific place (Loch Ness) or a larger region (Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest). We are seeking stories in the horror genre. Inclusion of elements of other genres is welcome, so long as, overall, the story is an horror story. The subject of the story can be based on any legend, so long as it has a horrific flavor. Ghosts, hauntings, alien abductions, monsters, demons, spirits, witches, etc, all are acceptable, as long as the subject is based on an actual legend or tall-tale. We want an original story involving the legend. Don’t rehash the legend itself or write an essay on the tall-tale. Instead, for example, WOW us with a new fable of some poor unfortunate who finds out that legends are sometimes all too real. For more examples; read FROM THE YONDER; Volume I (published in February 2020) Please DO NOT: ~Extrapolate relationships that do not exist in the actual legends. Nessie can be a horrific monster, but she is not a servant of the Elder Gods (no matter how much we love Eldritch horror). ~Attribute characteristics or powers that do not exist in the actual legends. Jack-a-Lopes are cool, but they aren’t going to eat you...

Deadline: October 15th,2020 Payment: Contributor's Copy Theme: Fill in the blank for your story title and the story HAS to be about it! Note: Reprints welcome Thurston Howl Publications is now accepting submissions for its sixth volume of its HOWLERS series, Attack of the Killer____. ​ Deadline: October 15,2020 Word count: 2,500-8,000; a little above and a little below will be acceptable. ​ If Stephen King has taught us anything over the past several decades, it's that we shouldn't trust anything in the world around us. Clowns, car, chattery teeth, disembodied fingers, St. Bernards, little girls, old people in their RVs, antique cameras, antique stores, and Kindles all have the potential for evil. This anthology challenges you to fill in the titular blank yourself! We welcome all flavor of horror stories: sci fi, erotic, campy, serious, body horror, Lovecraftian, Poe, King, etc. BUT the title of your story has to be what goes in the blank. For example, you could name your story "Sex Machine," implying your story could be read as "Attack of the Killer Sex Machine." We will take preference with stories that are unique. Don't just write another killer doll story or another killer dog story, unless your story genuinely has a unique take on the that trope. ​ We will NOT accept: Racism, sexism, or discrimination presented in a positive light. Pedophilia or sex with characters under the age of 18 presented in a positive light. Rape, torture, dubious consent, forced seduction presented in a positive light. Snuff or necrophilia presented in a positive light. ​ If you are in doubt, ASK. Better to ask then to get a straight up rejection! If you are unsure, just me an email at [email protected] (restrictions borrowed from Voice: https://t.co/MWykJ6RY36) ​ Submit stories via Submittable at https://weaselpress.submittable.com/submit/163952/attack-of-the-killer ​ You can submit up to...

Deadline: October 26, 2020 Payment: $10 for every 1,000 words Theme: the creepy, the weird and the unsettling Note: This is an ongoing anthology series with 3 volumes already out Note: Out of print reprints accepted Scare Street is accepting submissions for short horror stories with a focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales. Short stories must be 3,000-7,000 words and will be included in our Night Terrors anthologies consisting of ~65,000 words each. These stories will be published in e-book, print, and audio formats in English within 6 months after the submissions close date. Based on reader reception, we may also publish them in e-book, print, and audio formats in German and Spanish. WHO ARE WE? Scare Street is a horror publishing company dedicated to helping fellow horror lovers experience sleepless nights. We’ve been around since September 2015 and have published 190+ e-book and paperback titles along with 140+ audiobooks (and counting!). WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? Get visibility from thousands of horror readers. We will promote your work on our email list (13,000+ subscribers), Facebook Page (19,000+ followers), Facebook Group (9,500+ members), Pinterest (500k+ monthly views) and the rest of our social media channels. Afterwards, thousands of readers on Amazon and other retailers will organically find your stories. Our first few volumes clenched the top 3 new release spots in horror anthologies category and continue to be found on the first page of various horror categories. Work with an experienced publisher. We’ve been publishing high-quality manuscripts, non-stop for 5 years. We’ve ironed out the kinks and know what it takes to bring stories to the masses, operationally. And we know a few things about getting your stories read, too! Distribution in e-book, print, and audio formats, in various languages. You’ll also receive a complimentary digital e-book and audio formats...

Deadline: October 30th, 2020 Payment: $5 Theme: Mezo-American/Latinx Authors and Stories Note: Reprints welcome In ‘Corners of the World’ collections we showcase writers and authors from all around the world, each collection focuses on a different subset of people from different cultures. Giving their unique voices and stories a chance to shine. For these collections, we want to bring the folk stories and societies to life in stark horror through the eyes of those who inhabit them. Theme – Mezo-American/Latinx Authors and Stories This year we are looking for Latinx and Mezo-American authors to submit stories that pertain to the legends, folklore, culture, and fears that exist within and surround the cultures of Central and South America, as well as those that have emigrated to North America bringing their stories with them. We HIGHLY recommend you pick up a copy of “Of The Book” our last volume. We are more interested in the authenticity of voice than the fear factor. Please note in your cover letter if you have your story in English & Spanish, only in Spanish or only in English. Currently Open – Will Close When We Have Enough Stories Violence, sex, and gore must be pertinent and interesting to the story. Rape is never acceptable. Anything too gratuitous will be rejected. Racism/Sexism/Bigotry of any form will never be accepted here. Double-check your grammar and spelling. Format your story correctly. Please submit all stories in DOC/RTF format. Reprints are ok. Please include a small bio that includes your own connection to the Latin-American people or culture. We retain exclusive publishing rights for 12 months. We pay $5.00 for stories Deadline is 10.30.20 –  We give this a long submission time due to the narrow nature of our search. Once we have all the stories we need we close submissions. Via: Madness Heart Press.

Deadline: October 30th, 2020 Payment: Royalties Theme: Weird fiction Note: Most paying open calls from Black Hare Press first require authors do have been previously printed with them, this one does not. Submission Deadline : 30th October 2020 Anthology : WEIRD FICTION SERIES Title : WEIRD FICTION Theme : Weird fiction Word count : Around 5,000 Author eligibility : Open to all Reprints : Not allowed Simultaneous Submissions : Not allowed Multiple Submissions : Maximum of two Publication : Expected to release 2021 in Print and Digital formats Author compensation : Royalty split, plus one digital copy How to submit : See our submission guidelines for formatting. Send your story and bio as an attachment in Word format to  [email protected]. Please include wordcount in email body. Your email subject and document name should be Anthology Name – Your Story Name – Author Name. For example; “WEIRD– My Story – A N Author” Please include an author bio of upto 100 words and no more than two links. Via: Black Hare Press.

Deadline: October 31st, 2020 Payment: $60 USD for fiction and $30 USD for poetry Theme: Speculative fiction of all types Fiction and Poetry Guidelines Arsenika is looking for previously unpublished original fiction and poetry up to 1,000 words long. Submissions may be in English, Spanish, and/or Chinese. Any submissions not in English will be translated by S. Qiouyi Lu. Se puede enviarnos obras en español. Si publicamos su obra, S. Qiouyi Lu la traducirá al inglés. 我們歡迎繁體和簡體中文的作品。如果我們出版您的作品，陸秋逸會替您翻譯成英文版。 我们欢迎繁体和简体中文的作品。如果我们出版您的作品，陆秋逸会替您翻译成英文版。 Payment is $60 USD for fiction and $30 USD for poetry for first world electronic rights and non-exclusive audio rights. We hope to raise the poetry rate to $60 as well in the future. Submit no more than two flash fiction pieces and five poems at a time, and please make sure you fill out the form again for each piece you send, unless the pieces are meant to be read together (e.g. a triptych of poems). Format poetry exactly as you would like to see it online—use italics for italics, underlines for underlines, boldface for boldface, etc. Send only TXT, RTF, DOC, and DOCX files. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Multiple submissions are allowed, but please have no more than two flash fiction pieces and five poems in the submissions queue at a time. We try to respond to all submissions within 30 days. If you haven’t heard from us in 90 days, please send us a query at [email protected]. Our secondary email address is [email protected]. Remember: Don’t self-reject. We use Moksha to manage submissions. If you are ready to submit, please use the button below to reach our Moksha page. Do not email submissions. Submit to Arsenika Reprints Arsenika does not accept unsolicited reprints. Payment is $30 upon acceptance. Art Arsenika pays $100 for reprint art. Please feel free to query us at [email protected] with a link to your portfolio. Questions Q. Can I submit multiple times per submissions period? A....

Deadline: October 31st, 2020 Payment: $10 Theme: Gothic Romances GOTHIC ROMANCES of old featured a female protagonist dealing with a terrifying ordeal while struggling to be with her true love. Set against dark backgrounds of medieval ruins or haunted castles, the love interest was either a brooding handsome gentleman or a supernatural monster disguised as a gentleman. Following the example of such works as Northanger Abbey, Phantom of the Opera, The Grey Woman, Dracula, The Woman in White, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Witch House and the like, we want your darkest, creepiest horror love story. Although we crave gothic romance style, don’t feel the need to paint a damsel in distress. The woman may certainly be the one who saves the day. We are also open to LBGTQ love stories. The main plot should be horror and romance. We don’t like stories written specifically with social or political agendas. Sensual or passionate stories are acceptable but we don’t want erotica or sexually-based stories. No rape. The editor likes horror. Be careful of sci-fi creatures or anything that sways sci-fi or fantasy. Stories MUST contain: An overwhelming sense of menace and dread. Horror must be just as much a part of the story as romance. Inclement weather.  ie…fog, rain, snow, hurricane.  A supernatural horror being or entity. ie…ghost, monster, vampire, werewolf. Being can be the hero, anti-hero, or the being they are battling against. Just remember the editor likes horror. Be careful of sci-fi creatures or anything that sways sci-fi or fantasy. Set in a spooky location. ie…ghostly gatehouse, haunted lighthouse, dilapidated abbey, crumbling cathedral, terrifying tower, cursed castle, decaying plantation. Time period 1700-1940. We are looking for the classic gothic romance feeling in whatever time period you choose. Also, if writing a diverse character, please set to time period standards. Know your world, what the political/social rules were...

Deadline: October 31st, 2020 Payment: Contributor's copy Theme: The afterlife's bodyguard A Sinister Collection of Short Stories Zimbell House is holding open submissions for short stories from the point of view of the afterlife’s bounty hunter. Your story must include: which side the debt collector works for, what the debt to be collected is, the consequences at stake, how the afterlife system works, and most importantly, be from the point of view of the debt collector. Does he/she love or hate his/her job? Is he/she up for a promotion, due for a vacation? What’s in it for the collector-is it just a job or something more sinister? Please keep foul language to a minimum-it loses its punch if over-used. Dialogue needs to be believable, and please keep dialects/slang to a bare minimum if you must use them. No head-hopping or POV changes. Pick one point of view and stick with it. Please show more of the action than just telling the reader what happens. Submissions of both short stories and novellas to this anthology are welcome, please keep in mind the minimum word count is 4,500 and the maximum word count is 19,500. This anthology is a great opportunity to showcase emerging writers and allow them to build their professional platforms. Submission Deadline: October 31, 2020, with a targeted release date of early January 2021. Submit your best work. Poorly formatted and unedited work will be turned down. Please use Americanized English spellings. We will be doing light editing as necessary to fit the standards we strive to maintain. Submission Guidelines: Any work under 4,500 words will be automatically disqualified for this anthology. The work must not have appeared in print or online anywhere before. All submissions must be in English. Each author may submit up to three (3) unique works—please submit them separately. Work...

Deadline: October 31 2020 Payment: $0.01 CAD per word to an upper limit of 4000 words. Theme: Stories of mythology inspired by any and all cultures, from the classic stories of Greek gods, to Celtic and African-inspired myths, to adaptations of modern mythology-inspired works like HP Lovecraft! Note: Canadian authors only Over the last five years, the From the Rock series has become one of the preeminent anthology series’ in Atlantic Canada. We have been home to some amazing established talent and helped some new authors break through that have gone on to dominate their fields, becoming genre bestsellers in their own right. From the Rock is a title readers consistently ask for, review well, and is a great way for avid readers to get introduced to indie talent they might find interesting. In 2018 the series’ third entry, Chillers from the Rock, went Bestseller on pre-orders alone! We are currently accepting submissions for the seventh entry in this series: Mythology from the Rock, to be available in Winter of 2021. Editors Ellen Curtis and Erin Vance are scheduled to return to helm the project. Many authors have expressed interest, but anyone can submit to be a part of this collection! Deadline is October 31 2020, but get your stories in as quick as you can, as it gives our wonderful editors more time to work with you and make sure it is as good as it can possibly be! We’re looking for stories of mythology inspired by any and all cultures, from the classic stories of Greek gods, to Celtic and African-inspired myths, to adaptations of modern mythology-inspired works like HP Lovecraft! What is the target audience? For this specific collection, we’re going for an equivalent of PG to PG-13. Rather than limit our authors creatively, we encourage them to write from the heart and allow us...