Events

Taking Submissions: UFO – Unidentified Funny Objects 4

Deadline: April 30, 2015 Payment: $0.07 per word + contributor copy Unidentified Funny Objects is an annual anthology of humorous SF/F. UFO4 Headliners include George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Esther Friesner, Piers Anthony, Mike Resnick, Karen Haber, Gini Koch, Tim Pratt, Jody Lynn Nye. For UFO4 we’re specifically seekingdark humor. SUBMISSION WINDOW: April 1 – April 30, 2015 LENGTH: 500-5000 words.       PAYMENT: $0.07 per word + contributor copy. Payment will be made upon acceptance. Our preferred method of payment is via PayPal, but you may request a check. FORMAT: RTF or DOC. Standard Manuscript Format or something close to it (We won’t take points off if you prefer Courier to Times New Roman or some such), except please remove your name and any other identifying information from the manuscript as all submissions are read “blind”. SEND TO: E-mail submissions as an attachment to: ufoeditors @ gmail dot com Format the subject line as follows: Submission: <Story Title> by <Author> (Approx. Length) Example: Submission: You Bet by Alex Shvartsman (2000 words)       RIGHTS SOUGHT: First Worldwide print and electronic English Language rights. Exclusivity for 90 days from date of release. Non-exclusive rights to keep the anthology in print across different publishing platforms afterward.Preview sample contract. POLICIES & RESPONSE TIME: No reprints, multiple or simultaneous submissions please. Do not send us any story we already considered for a previous UFO volume. We will respond to all subs within 30 days. If you don’t hear by then please check your spam folder, then query at the same e-mail address with the word QUERY in the subject of the e-mail. Please send only one submission per author.         WHAT WE WANT: We’re looking for speculative stories with a strong humor element. Think Resnick and Sheckley, Fredric...

Taking Submissions: Playrooms

Deadline: May 1st, 2015 Payment: 4% royalties after cost. Do you remember your childhood? Are all those memories happy ones? What about that creepy little doll that always seemed to be lying under your bed… the one that made you tuck your blanket around your feet so that it couldn’t climb in during the night to GET you? Do you remember that as well? What about the scary old caretaker who shouted at you on your first day of school… what exactly was it that he didn’t want you to see in the cleaning cupboard? PLAYROOMS is an anthology where all childhood fears become real. Submissions should feature spaces associated with young children (bedrooms, tree houses, schools, nurseries, etc.) and/or toys, items, objects associated with childhood. Stories should also contain elements of the fantastical or supernatural. Let your fears run rampant with this! Tales dealing with children suffering sexual assault in any manner are likely to be rejected. If something of this nature is integral to the plot of your story then proceed with extreme caution and tackle it as tastefully as possible. It is best avoided altogether. Works around 5,000 words are most likely to meet with the editor’s approval, although slightly longer/shorter pieces will also be considered. Aim for 3,000 – 6,000. Please follow standard manuscript format and under no circumstances use the Tab key or the Space Bar to indent your paragraphs. Either do not indent at all or use MS Word’s built in features to do so. Submissions must be .doc, .docx, or .rtf format Include your full name, address, email address and telephone number at the beginning of the manuscript. PAYMENT: 4% royalties after cost. (http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html). Be typed in Courier or Times New Roman 12 Include your full details (name/address/telephone number/email address) Be sent to...

Taking Submissions: The First Line – Summer 2015

Deadline: May 1st, 2015 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction Summer: Laura liked to think she was honest with herself; it was everyone else she lied to. We love the fact that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually two to three weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests to help come up with new first lines, or we run fun, gimmicky competitions for free stuff, but the actual journal is not a contest in the traditional sense. Fiction: All stories must be written with the first line provided. The line cannot be altered in any way, unless otherwise noted by the editors. The story should be between 300 and 5,000 words (this is more like a guideline and not a hard-and-fast rule; going over or under the word count won't get your story tossed from the slush pile). The sentences can be found on the home page...

Taking Submissions: Revolutions!

Deadline: May 1st 2015 Payment: £10 Submission details as follows . . . 1. Submissions window. We are now open to submissions and we will remain open until 1st May 2015. 2. Eligibility. Anyone over 18 can submit (group members or non-group members alike). Submitted pieces must not have been workshopped in the group prior to submission. 3. Theme. All submissions must be in a speculative genre (science fiction, fantasy, horror, dystopian fiction, slipstream) and must have some link to the area that isGreater Manchester, England. The final decision about whether a story qualifies for submission will remain at the editors’ discretion. 4. Payment. £10 payment per story accepted. Payment via PayPal. 5. Rights. For published pieces we take First Print rights and Electronic Publishing Rights for 12 months. We reserve the right to archive your story online indefinitely. Please bear in mind that most publications will not publish pieces that have been published in print, eBook, or on the web, so for all intents and purposes after your work is published by us it can only be marketed as a reprint, which severely limits the number of markets that will accept it, and drastically reduces the pay rate it can receive. It is up to you, the author, to decide if this is what you want to do. 6. Word count. Short stories of between 1,500 to 6,000 words. Please send only one story until you receive a response. You may then submit another story, and so on. Sorry but no poetry or non-fiction. 7. Formatting. Word DOC files only. Double line spacing with the author’s name, page number and story title at the top of every page. 8. Distribution. The anthology will be made available in e-book format via Smashwords and print copies will be available as POD. Tentative publication date is the second half of 2015. Editors: Eric...

Taking Submissions: Legends of Sleepy Hollow

Deadline: May 1st, 2015 Payment: $5 payment and ONE contributor’s copy of the final anthology Ever since Washington Irving published The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in 1820, the region has become synonymous with ghost stories. But there’s a lot more horror in Sleepy Hollow than what’s in Irving’s story, and more demons at play within this idyllic land than just a single headless horseman. We’re looking for original horror stories set in Sleepy Hollow, New York. The time period for your story is up to you– past, present, future, alternate history– but it must take place whole or in part within Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow is a real place, with a real history, so do your homework. For example, while it has always been an unofficial name of the region, the Village itself was not officially named Sleepy Hollow until 1996. Scare us, creep us out, give us the shivers, make us laugh. Be Gothic, modern, Lovecraftian, Victorian, Steampunk, whatever. Just set your story in Sleepy Hollow. RULES: 1. Any & all submissions must be set in & around Sleepy Hollow, New York. 2. No gratuitous sex, violence, or profanity 3. No adult content of any kind. If you include sex in your story, it must be important to the story– and must abide by rule #2. 4. No stories centered on rape, torture or child molestation. We’re not interested. 5. No fan fiction (stay away from the world of the TV show and the Tim Burton film). 6. Your story must be a complete story– we’re not interested in excerpts. 7. It must be your ORIGINAL work. 8. Do NOT include any artwork Interested? Sweet! Read on. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Stories should be between 2,000 and 8,000 words. All stories must be titled Edit and format your work according to...

Taking Submissions: Typewriter Emergencies

Deadline: May 1, 2015 Payment: $20 per story accepted Basic Guidelines: -Deadline May 1, 2015 -5,000 - 10,000 words Maximum, if you need more space than this, please let me know and I’ll see if we can work it out. -Stories must feature Anthropomorphic characters (AKA humanized animals). -Ratings PG-R accepted -Payment: $20 per story accepted -Send all submissions in the form of an attachment to [email protected] -Files Accepted: DOC, DOCX -Times New Roman, 12pt Font -Al submissions must be sent through Submittable https://weaselpress.submittable.com/submit/39807 Weasel Press is releasing a new Furry anthology called Typewriter Emergencies and it is currently calling for intense psychological dramas in which characters have to overcome some harsh realities. I’m looking for dark and existential fiction focusing around the theme of “These Things Shall Pass/It’s a mad world out there.” There’s a wealth of things that fit but some examples of what I’m looking for in this anthology would be Bullying, Sexuality, domestic violence, drug abuse, poverty/homelessness, anxiety. We’re looking for situations that would cause intense psychological strife. We are looking for stories featuring anthropomorphic animal characters (aka humanized animals) following the theme. Fiction not containing any of the elements we are asking for will not be reviewed. I suppose you could say there's a love affair between Weasel Press and the Bukowski's or Hubert Selby Jr.'s of the world, and that's essentially what I would like to see in this submission call; furry versions of heavy existential fiction. If you need examples of things to read, feel free to shoot me an email. Ratings PG-R are accepted. Adult and Sexual themes are allowed, however excessive gore and sex is not. Pretty much, if it’s related or crucial to your story then it is fine. If it has nothing to do with your story then it’s probably not...

Taking Submissions: Bloody Heather

Deadline: May 1st, 2015 Payment: Equal share of 50% net profits from sales and a contributor's copy I am pleased to announce the submission call for our Scottish Horror Anthology: Bloody Heather. Think of mist-covered hills, gothic cities, lonely isles - where better for your horror story than Scotland? Scotland is simply the theme of the anthology, the rest is up to you and your imagination. And no, you yourself don't actually have to be Scottish to make a submission. The novellas must range between 20,000 to 30,000 words in length. Please note, only manuscripts that fall in this word count will be considered. The collection will be released as an e-book and we anticipate a release in print to coincide with this, in summe/autumn of 2015. Submissions are open to all authors, whether already published with Dark Chapter Press or aspiring to be published with Dark Chapter Press. All submissions must be new, original material—previously published submissions will not be considered. Previously submitted manuscripts will not be considered either. Be aware that manuscripts submitted for this anthology cannot be resubmitted at a later date unless by invitation from the editor. To submit a manuscript for consideration, please send an email to [email protected] and include: The full manuscript (of 20,000 to 30,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis. Also include a letter of introduction/query letter. As well, when you send your manuscript, be sure to use the naming convention Bloody_Heather_Your Title_MS and Bloody_Heather_Your Title_Synopsis. This will ensure that your submission is processed as a priority under the special call for this anthology. Submissions are open until 1st May 2015. Payment: Each contributor will recieve equal share of 50% net profits from sales of the ebook and paperback versions of the Bloody Heather Anthology, for their accepted contribution, with a...

Taking Submissions: Wild Things

Deadline: May 15th, 2015 Payment: 4% royalties after costs, plus a copy of the book Therianthropy: the ability of a creature to change form from man to beast and/or vice versa. While the most common examples are werewolves, many other cases exist – from selkies to cat people, snake women to Manimal. This is your opportunity to create a brand new creature, to breathe new life into an old idea, or to tell a tale of true lunacy. While stories can be fantastical or comedic, the main emphasis should be on horror. Guidelines Ideal length: 4,000-5,000 words. Please follow standard manuscript format and under no circumstances use the Tab key or the Space Bar to indent your paragraphs. Either do not indent at all or use MS Word’s built in features to do so. Submissions should be .doc, .docx, or .rtf format, typed in Courier or Times New Roman, size 12. Include your full name, address, email address and telephone number at the beginning of the manuscript. Send to [email protected] with the subject line “SURNAME/WILD/WORDCOUNT”. Authors will retain copyright. Multiple submissions up to a maximum of two stories per author can be submitted. We will write to you within approximately four to eight weeks of the submission deadline to let you know if you have been successful. Payment 4% royalties after costs, plus a copy of the book. Via: Knightwatch Press.

Taking Submissions: Frozen Fairy Tales

Deadline: May 15th, 2015 Payment: $20 and Contributor's Copy In the bleak midwinter, the call of fairy tales can be especially irresistible. After all, fairy tales both take us out of our humdrum world and into the possibilities of what can be--or maybe even is. A fairy tale read in winter can help us dream through the the cold days and nights. Yet, surprisingly few fairy tales are specifically set in winter. With Frozen Fairy Tales, we're hoping to remedy that. In a joint venture between World Weaver Press and Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine, we're opening up to submissions for a fairy tale collection set in winter. Details are below. 1) You must be 18 or older to submit. 2) Submissions must be in English, but submissions from all over the world are most welcome. 3) No stories connected to the movie Frozen will be considered. It's a great movie, but this anthology is not at all about that film. 4) Stories centered on winter holidays are most welcome, but stories do not need to be holiday focused. Krampus-themed stories will be considered, but please do not resubmit stories that were previously submitted for the Krampusnatch collection. 5) A sense of winter and its perils and possibilities must be part your story. 6) This is a fairy tale collection, which means the sensibility of the stories should evoke classic fairy tales. You do not need to retell famous fairy tales reset in winter, but you may. Nonetheless, the classics have been retold a lot lately, so fresher takes with more originality stand a better chance of being selected, as do retellings of obscure fairy tales. But think winter! 7) Please, no erotica, children's stories, hard-core horror, or sci-fi. This anthology is aimed at an audience age 15 or older. 8) Open submission period: March 6 - May 15,...

Taking Submissions: Sword & Sorceress #30

Deadline: May 15, 2015. Payment: 6 cents per word as an advance against a pro rata share of royalties and foreign or other sales. We are happy to announce that the reading period for Sword & Sorceress 30 will start in April 2015 (see exact dates below). If you wish to submit a story to the anthology, please follow the Guidelines below. Guidelines Stories should be the type generally referred to as "sword and sorcery" and must have a strong female protagonist whom the reader will care about. See Sword & Sorceress 22, Sword & Sorceress 23, Sword & Sorceress 24, Sword & Sorceress 25, Sword & Sorceress 26, Sword & Sorceress 27, and Sword & Sorceress 28 (or S&S 1-20) for examples. We do not want stories with explicit sex, gratuitous violence, or profanity. We are NOT a market for poetry. We are willing to consider stories set in modern times (urban fantasy), but we won't buy more than one or two of those for the anthology. We always want something short and funny for the last story. No reprints. No simultaneous submissions. With regard to multiple submissions, do not submit more than one story at a time. If we've rejected your first one, you may send one more, as long as it's before the deadline. We have occasionally bought someone's second submission. We have never bought a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth submission. If you send us two stories, and we don't hold either of them, wait until next year to try again. Please do not re-submit stories we have already rejected (including stories rejected in previous years). If you have not previously sold to Sword & Sorceress, please read "What is a Short Story?" and "Why Did my Story Get Rejected?" before submitting to us....