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Deadline: February 29, 2016 Payment: $20 Length:          2,000 to 4,000 words (exceptional stories can have fewer, or more, words than our suggested guidelines)   WHAT WE WANT: We’re looking for crisp, out-of-the-box, modern, and unique urban legends that’ll be told around campfires for the next century. Give us your ghosts, faeries, cryptids, killers, and creepy kids, but tread carefully around the trap of retelling an urban legend that’s already been told. Tales from the Lake: Volume 3 is not horror-specific whatsoever, but steer clear of romance and cutesy stories. Give us a new generation of beautifully crafted urban legends that’s diverse and meaningful; something we’ve never seen before, set in places we’ve only ever dreamt of going.   WHAT WE DON’T WANT: It’s simple, really: Don’t give us vampires and werewolves unless you’re Anne Rice, and don’t give us zombies unless you’re Jonathan Maberry. We’re not easily offended, but the unnecessary use of graphic violence and explicit sexual encounters should be avoided unless it’s crucial to the plot. That said, the slightest hint of animal cruelty gets you an automatic rejection letter, and no exceptions will be made in this regard. Profanity is okay, just don’t overdo it. Other than that; show us what you’re made of.   SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Stories should be formatted as doc or docx files. Further guidelines are as follows: Times New Roman, 12pt, single spaced, justified. 1" margins, 1/2" indent. No spaces between paragraphs, and use *** for scene breaks Contact information must be on the first page of document No headers, footers or page numbers Include a short (2-4 sentences) bio, written in third person at the end of your document. In the subject line of your email, please put: Tales from the Lake: Vol 3 Submission – “Title of Story” – Your Name....

Deadline: February 29, 2016 Payment: $25 plus a contributor’s copy BLOOD, SWEAT & FEARS: Horror Inspired by the 1970s The 1970s often seem like the dreaded hangover from the 1960s, representing a time of particular unease in American life. It was a time of painful, disconcerting transition, a time when old economic sureties imploded in light of rampant uncertainties, while rock music, polyester and paranoia ruled the day. It’s no accident that some of the most classic (and/or infamous) horror movies of the genre arose in the 1970s—Duel (1971), The Last House on the Left (1972), The Exorcist (1973), Black Christmas (1974), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Jaws (1975), The Omen (1976), Halloween (1978), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Magic (1978) and even Alien (1979)—all of these (and many more) tapped into the fear and unease that thrived in the 1970s. Nosetouch Press is bringing you Blood, Sweat & Fears: Horror Inspired by the 1970s to capture the essence of the horror of living in the weird 1970s. We welcome any horror, provided that it faithfully represents the oh-so-creepy, grit-under-the-fingernails vibe of the 1970s, and really captures the time period between 1970 through 1979 — we’re not looking for splattercore and excessive gore, so much as rampant paranoia and dread hanging like smog over everything. Put on your bellbottoms, your clogs and your satin shirts and write the best original 1970s-inspired horror story you can imagine, and send them our way. Beyond the grimy 1970s horror vibe, thematically, the stories can be wide open, but all submissions should radiate that discordant ‘70s vibe that gave us Son of Sam and other infamous serial killers, Three Mile Island, Jonestown, Watergate and CREEP, and many other things. No reprints, please. Submission Schedule Submissions Accepted: December 1, 2015 through February 29, 2016 Length:...

Deadline: February 29th, 2016 Payment: 2 cents per word. and digital copy Announcing open submissions for Triangulation: Beneath The Surface, Parsec Ink’s speculative fiction annual for 2016. We’re looking for outstanding speculative fiction from new and established writers. Impress us with your best interpretation of our theme. Be creative, be unique, show us what hides, lurks, or thrives…beneath the surface. Theme:  Beneath the Surface Submissions Open: December 1st 2015 Submissions Close: February 29th, 2016 Word Count: We will consider fiction up to 6,000 words. There is no minimum word count. Genre: We are a speculative fiction market.  We accept science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories.  Please do not send stories without any speculative element. Compensation: We pay 2 cents per word.  Authors will also receive an e-book and print version of the anthology and wholesale pricing for additional printed copies (typically 50% of cover price). Rights: We purchase North American Serial Rights, and Electronic Rights for downloadable version(s). All subsidiary rights released upon publication. Submissions: We do not accept reprints, multiple submissions, or simultaneous submissions.  If we reject a story before the end of the reading period, feel free to send another. We love creative interpretations of our themes, but we do require that stories fit the current theme. We will run mature content if we like the story and if the mature content is integral to the story. We will not accept fanfic, even if it’s of a fictional universe that has passed into public domain. How To Submit: Electronic submissions make our lives easier. Please upload your story via Submittable. If this is your first time submitting to a publication that utilizes Submittable, you will need to create an account with them. It’s free. SUBMIT YOUR STORY HERE!   Manuscript Format: Please use industry standard manuscript format. We’re not testing you to see if you can follow...

Deadline: February 29th 2016 Payment: $5 advance and an equal share of fifty percent of the royalties received from sale of the anthology. BEFORE READING FURTHER, PLEASE TAKE NOTE.  We are seeking short fiction in the Speculative Fiction genre (by which we mean to be the umbrella term for the wide and varied range of Science Fiction and Fantasy subgenres).  The stories are to be inspired by (by which we mean drawn from, informed by, derived from) the author's personal experiences of being Jewish.  What does this mean to us?  More to the point, what does this mean to YOU?  We feel that the Jewish tent is a big tent, and want this collection to reflect that belief.  These stories can be explicitly about the Jewish Experience (past, present or future), but they can also be stories that take place on a spaceship, a distant planet, under the ocean, in the afterlife or in another dimension.  As long as it is Speculative Fiction, and something about the story was inspired or influenced by your Jewish Experience, it is a story we'd like to consider for our collection. Another note:  If your story has Nazis in it, please don't bother submitting.  No exceptions. The Jewish Experience is ripe for stories that express one, or both, of two of the primary themes to be found in Speculative Fiction.  The idea of The Other; Someone or something that is apart or different from the supposed mainstream.  And the idea of the Not Other; The exploration of what it means to realize our potential as humans, asmenschen.  But don't feel limited to these; one of the great things about Spec-Fic is that the possibilities are literally endless. Word count and Deadline:  Between 500 and 10,000 words.  These are guidelines, not laws; if you have a great story that runs a few...

Deadline: Feb 29th, 2016 Payment: $5 + contributor copy Reprints Allowed Note: From our limited experience with them, this publisher seems to truly care about writer concerns in a way we fully support! The First United Church of Cthulhu is looking for modern, urban fiction set within the world of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. If we get a high number of quality submissions early on then submission acceptance will be cut off before the deadline.     Deadline: Feb 29, 2016   Length: 2,000 – 10,000 words   Payment: $5 + contributor copy English only. Non-exclusive anthology rights. Reprints and multiple submissions are allowed. Author retains copyright. Payment is via Paypal. Guidelines Modern, urban setting in the world of the Cthulhu Mythos. Setting does not have to be a gritty Times Square locale, just no isolated mansions in the middle of nowhere or cabin in the woods type of cliches. Do not overuse the monsters in the sewers and subways cliche. It can be part of the story but should not be the main focus/location. This is not a Godzilla anthology. Cthulhu is not going to wake up and destroy Tokyo while getting hit with nukes. English only. Non-exclusive anthology rights. Reprints and multiple submissions are allowed.  Author retains copyright. Payment is via Paypal. Pictures can be printed with the story (they will be black and white). Images should be .jpg or .png and 300 dpi is recommended but not necessary. Make sure you have clearance to use the image(s) and send with any necessary copyright information that would need to be listed. Email your story as an attached .doc file to bitter_venus yahoo.com with Urban Temples of Cthulhu as the subject. Via: First United Church Of Cthuluhu.

Deadline: February 29th, 2016 Payment: $0.04 a word to a maximum payment of $300.00 Note: They aren't looking for horror but some of the SF themes here cross over so I felt you'd want the option! Science Fiction is our conversation with the future. But what if that conversation went on forever? Bundoran Press Publishing House will open for submissions from December 21st, 2015 to February 29th, 2016 for a new anthology of science fiction stories to be edited by Michael Rimar and Hayden Trenholm. Publication is planned for October 2016. Lazarus Risen will seek SF (no fantasy or horror, please) short stories that explore the economic, political, social and psychological consequences of life extension, human cloning, the hard upload and other forms of the biological singularity. Dreams of immortality and eternal youth are almost as old as human culture itself. But what would the world look like if everyone could live and be young forever? What would it look like if only some of us had that privilege? These are only some of the questions your story might try to answer. Surprise us, shock us, illuminate us but most of all tell us a great story. Payment for first world English rights (print and digital) will be $0.04 a word to a maximum payment of $300.00 (all figures Canadian dollars). Our preferred length is 3500 to 6500 words. We will accept stories of any length to 10,000 words (longer than 10,000 WILL NOT BE READ) but the maximum payment will remain $300.00. Stories will be accepted from around the world but we are not interested in reprints. Payment on publication. Please submit in .rtf, .doc or .docx format. In the title line of e-mail put: SUBMISSION LR:"Title of your story." Include a brief cover letter in the body of...

Deadline: February 29, 2016 Payment: $0.02 per word + contributor copy. Note: Reprints Only I’ll be publishing an anthology of reprint stories in the summer of 2016 titled FUNNY FANTASY. It will follow on the heels of FUNNY SCIENCE FICTION, my 2015 reprint anthology. For this book I’m seeking stories that are: Funny. Fantasy. 500 – 7500 words in length Were originally printed in the last ten years (2005-present) Were printed in curated venues paying at least $0.01 per word – for this book please don’t send material from token and non-paying venues, self-published, posted on your blog, published in magazine/anthology you yourself edited, previously unpublished, etc. Please do not send stories you previously submitted to any volume ofUnidentified Funny Objects or Coffee anthologies. Payment: $0.02 per word + contributor copy. Rights sought: Non-exclusive print and electronic rights (aka I’d like to include your story in paper and e-book editions of FUNNY FANTASY and keep it in print for as long as I’d like. All other rights remain with the author.) How to submit: E-mail submissions as an RTF, DOC, or DOCX attachment to: ufoeditors @ gmail dot com Format the subject line as follows: FF: <Story Title> by <Author> (Approx. Length) Example: FF: Dreidel of Dread by Alex Shvartsman (800 words) In the body of the email please specify where and when the story was originally published. If this info isn’t included I will assume the story breaks one of the guidelines above and send a form rejection. Response times: I will try to reply within a week or two with either a rejection or a bump notice. Final decisions will be made in the Spring. Since these are reprints and I require no exclusivity, feel free to submit them elsewhere at the same time. Please send one story...

Deadline: March 1, 2016 Payment: 3 cents a word Comet Press is seeking short stories for an erotic horror anthology to be published in the summer of 2016. We are looking for the most gruesome, twisted, disturbing, erotic stories that push the boundaries of sex and horror and we don't have any content restrictions (except for kiddie content, of course). Reading period: From September 28, 2015--March 1, 2016 (or until filled). Word length: up to 9,000 words. Multiple submissions: Up to two stories per author can be submitted. Please send as separate emails. PAYMENT We have a funding campaign on Kickstarter for this anthology. Payment is 3 cents a word, unless we meet our funding campaign on Kickstarter, then payment will be bumped up to 6 cents.We really want to pay authors the professional rate and that is the whole purpose of the crowdfunder. Help us fund this book on Kickstarter! Payment will be made upon publication.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cometpress/stiff-things-an-erotic-horror-anthology Reprints: No reprints. Response Time: 3–4 weeks. Rejections will be sent as soon as possible. Stories that make the first cut will be kept until the end of the reading period. Authors will be notified right away if their story makes the first cut, then the final stories will be selected at the end of the reading period. We will send a confirmation that we received your story within 2 days. If you do not get this confirmation, please feel free to inquire or resubmit. WHAT TO SEND: In the body of the email please include: your name, pen name if any, address and email address, and bio. Include a brief blurb summing up the story and word count. Attach the story in a standard formatted .rtf or word document Put “STIFF THNGS SUBMISSION: TITLE OF YOUR STORY” in the subject of the...

Deadline: 3/1/16 Payment: $5-$20 depending on length "We are not afraid." Body Parts Magazine is an online literary magazine of horror, erotica, speculative fiction, essays and art. Each themed issue honors Eros and Thanatos, the Greek gods of libido and mortido—life and death. We celebrate the vast and various expressions of dreams and darkness, our primitive desires and urges, and seek to encounter—and embrace—those shadowy monsters who dwell in the dimly lit corners of human experience. Submission Guidelines Upcoming Themes Submissions for each issue are accepted through the last day of each reading period (if specified). You are welcome to submit material for any issue--simply indicate which issue you would like your work to be considered for. Issue #6: Grave Robbing (Spring/Summer 2016) Disinterment. Theft. Exhumation and ossuaries. Unspeakable crimes. Corpses of the past (events, relationships, ideas, cultures and cities). What inappropriate, grim and morbid things or people do we long for when they are gone? What incites one to dig up the dead, reanimate the deceased or dig through decayed remains in search of some treasured item, memory or ideal? In what horrific ways do we serve as the archaeologists of our own fates and futures? ​Submission deadline: 3/01/16 Fiction Body Parts accepts well-written, thoughtfully structured horror, erotic horror, speculative fiction, dark fantasy (including fairy tales and mythology), exceptional stories about ghosts, ghouls, monsters and wretched creatures, Gothic fiction, and all combinations of the above. Our boundaries are few and far between. Flash Fiction: 1,000 words or fewer. Short Stories: up to 8,000 words. Serialized Long Fiction: query us with total word count. Art/Photography We accept your original artwork and photography reflective of an issue’s theme. Email a link to your art online (web, Dropbox, Google album, etc.) Essays & Interviews We accept short essays and interviews (up to 1200 words) about topics that...

Deadline: March 1st, 2016 Payment: 1 cent per word (negotiable). You know the songs. They’re etched into every punk’s brain. Not just because they’re catchy, but because there’s something else there. Glenn Danzig’s lyrics evoke intense imagery. Beautiful, dark, monstery imagery. There’s poetry between the whoa-oh-ohs. There are stories in those songs. They just need to be told. Hybrid Moments will be a collection of short stories inspired by the songs of The Misfits. Edited by MP Johnson and Sam Richard, Hybrid Moments will be published in Fall of 2016 by Weirdpunk Books. Your stories are needed. Choose a song by The Misfits (Danzig-era only) and let it inspire you to create a story. Maintain the tone of the song, but be original. A story about a man hacking the heads off little girls and putting them on his wall is not going to cut it for this book. A story told from the point of view of one of the skulls on the wall is more likely to get our attention. Get crazy. Stories should only be based on songs that were not inspired by movies. We are not looking for novelizations of “Night of the Living Dead.” (Information on the inspiration behind various songs) Stories should not feature members of The Misfits. However, creativity trumps all rules. A good example of a creative way to break the rules that would get our attention would be to rewrite Lewis’s Bloodfeast starring the members of The Misfits (seriously, somebody do this). Stories must not contain the Crimson Ghost due to copyright issues. All submissions must include the name of the song that inspired it and a brief description of how the story ties to the song. Do not name your story after the song that inspired it. Follow standard manuscript...

Deadline: March 1st, 2016 Payment: ½ a cent per word. Note: A little lower on payment than I'd usually like to list but unique enough that I'm sure there will be some interest FurPlanet publishes several anthologies each year, including FANG and ROAR under our Bad Dog Books imprint. This page will be updated with submission info and deadlines for all anthologies which are open for submission.   NOTE: Please read all the submission information carefully and address any questions directly to the editor linked in the anthology description.   Anthology General Terms: Authors of accepted submissions agree to a payment of 1/2 cent per word, exclusive publication rights in print and electronic formats for the period of one year from date of publication and non-exclusive rights in perpetuity thereafter. Submissions must not contain any copyrighted characters which the author does not hold the copyright on. Any story submissions featuring minors in sexual situations will be rejected.     Anthropomorphic Science Fiction Horror (not the actual title) is an upcoming book of original short stories by various authors. It will be published by FurPlanet. Here’s what we are looking for: Despite what some people may think, science fiction and horror have been bedmates for a long time. From the first moment humans looked at the stars and realized that there could be something out there with not so friendly intensions and felt that chill along their spines, mankind was combining the genres. With this in mind, there are some things that must be included in your submission. Stories must have anthropomorphic animals as the primary characters. If you are unfamiliar with stories that include anthropomorphic characters, please check out FurPlanet (furplanet.com), the Man-Kzin wars series, and S. Andrew Swann’s Moreau Quartet. Second, stories must be science fiction horror, obviously. Both science fiction...

Deadline: March 1st, 2016 Payment: $20.00 and a contributors copy. We want 2,000 to 3,000 word stories dealing with anything Wu-Tang Clan related. That could be Gravediggaz themes of horror, cool ass ninja shit, grimy Shaolin monks, gritty futuristic martial artists a la Bobby Digital, off-the wall crime fiction, etc. Not really wanting fan-fiction, but a good Ol’Dirty Bastard story would be dope. We want stories that give tribute to the greatest hip-hop group of all time, through the art of fiction. Take anything you love about the Wu, create a story around that, and bring the muthaf-in ruckus. Deadline:  March 1, 2016 Pay is $20.00 and a contributors copy. Send submissions to [email protected] with headline: Wu-Tang Tribute NO POETRY and multiple submissions are cool. Via: New English Press.

Deadline: March 1st 2016 Payment: £45 on day of publication, 3% of sales over first 12 months and your own copy of the book Shadows at the Door is in the process of publishing our very first anthology. The anthology will feature illustrations, with an audiobook also being produced. We have an open call for submissions until 1st March 2016. The anthology will be funded through Kickstarters, and will be the first in a series of high quality anthologies. We’re very excited to introduce you to this opportunity. Word Count: 5,000 – 7,000. Fee: £45 on day of publication, 3% of sales over first 12 months and your own copy of the book. Copyright: Rights remain with Shadows at the Door for 12 months after publication. Theme: Modern ghost stores, or similar content. Stories must be based locally to each writer. We’re not looking for stories with excessive gore and/or sex, we believe that less is more. We like stories by M.R. James, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Robert Aickman, Washington Irving, and similar. Please send your submission to [email protected] Best of luck. Via: Shadows at the Door.

Deadline: March 7, 2016 Payment: $25.00, plus digital and 1 trade paperback copy upon distribution Visual Adjectives is currently accepting stories, art and photography for the SteamPunk Assemblage,New Legends: Mercenary • Engineer  • Captain Book 2   Take to your typographers to help us build a steamtastic collection. The settings can be post-apocalyptic steampunk, time travel steampunk, airship and/or airship pirates. The world can be this one, in any time frame you choose, or another world altogether, just be sure to bring the steam powered flavor into your writing. The characters can be adventurers, inventors, entertainers, well to do or ner’ do well, wealthy or waif, whatever strikes your fancy. We seek submissions from emerging and established authors. We are looking for exceptional, well-written, engaging stories with subject matter reasonably free from sexually explicit content, gore, and obscenities.  This is going to call for a high level of skill to keep your story fast paced and interesting without falling back on those particular crutches to carry the plot along. No copyright infringements please. Characters must be your own, originally created, and not a version or fan fiction of an existing character. Do not use the names or personalities of existing trademarked characters. No references should be made to characters from well-known sources. Only submit unpublished, original stories, and characters. Story length, between 2,500 minimum and 8,000 maximum words. The first page of your submitted document must be a Cover Page (see below for details). Please spend time reviewing the guidelines, this will ensure that your best work is submitted free of editorial issues, such as spelling, formatting, and grammar. GUIDELINES Theme: SteamPunk Story Word Count: 2,500 minimum – 8,000 maximum, (not including information for cover page) Authors Biography: 250 maximum words Story Synopsis: 350 maximum words File Format: Microsoft Word document...

Deadline: March 15th, 2016 Payment: $10 and contributor's copy FunDead Publications is currently seeking submissions for an upcoming anthology of spooky short stories set in Salem, MA. Title TBA. Instructions: Send your submission to [email protected] for consideration, but please read our guidelines below! Submission Guidelines: Submit by March 15, 2016 with a rough release date of September 2016 Word Count: 1,000-6,000 Content Requirements: Your story must take place in Salem, MA. The time-period and content is your choice, but DO be unique and DO make it SPOOKY! Payment: Accepted submissions will be awarded payment in the way of $10 upon printing. It may not be much, but we are a small and humble press just getting our start and it’s all we can offer at this time besides a little social media promotion and beyond. If your submission is accepted, you will also receive a printed copy of the anthology! Anyone wishing for extra copies to distribute to family and friends (or to sell on their own) will pay the flat, wholesale price plus shipping. Format: Format should be in standard manuscript format and submitted as .doc, .docx, or PDF. Unfortunately, we cannot accept reprints at this time. Please include a brief cover letter introducing yourself along with your submission. Response Time: Please be aware that it may be six to eight weeks before you receive a response from FunDead Publications. Diversity Statement: We at FunDead Publications believe diversity is what makes fiction wonderful and unique and we welcome submissions from writers of every race, religion, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation. Via: Fun Dead Publications.

Deadline: March 15, 2016 Payment: 3 cents per word or if a SFWA member, 6 cents per word. "Hyperpowers"- Space opera and military fiction. Plato invented naval superpower Atlantis. Iain M. Banks imagined a future dominant galactic civilization in his Culture series. With all of space and time to choose from, this is your chance to show us your world-building chops. Likable characters optional. Third Flatiron Publishing is based in Boulder, Colorado, and Ayr, Scotland. We are looking for submissions to our quarterly themed anthologies. Our focus is on science fiction and fantasy and anthropological fiction. We want tightly plotted tales in out-of-the-ordinary scenarios. Light horror is acceptable, provided it fits the theme. Please send us short stories that revolve around age-old questions and have something illuminating to tell us as human beings. Fantastical situations and creatures, exciting dialog, irony, mild horror, and wry humor are all welcome. Stories should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Inquire if longer. Role models for the type of fiction we want include Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke, Dan Simmons, Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, and Ken Kesey. We want to showcase some of the best new shorts available today. See the "Submissions" tab for preferred formats, etc. For each anthology, we will also accept  a few very short humor pieces on the order of the "Shouts and Murmurs" feature in The New Yorker Magazine (600 words or so). These can be written from a first-person perspective or can be mini-essays that tell people what they ought to do, how to do something better, or explain why something is like it is, humorously. An SF/Fantasy bent is preferred. Stories should be submitted in either Microsoft Word (using double spacing), RTF, or plain text. They should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Flash humor pieces (Grins...

Deadline: March 15, 2016 Payment: Contributor's Copy The bayou country is rich in history, beauty, music and culture. Swamps and live oaks draped in Spanish moss, catfish and the blues, Cajuns and pirate treasure and jazz and voodoo, plantations and the dark history of slavery and racism; with Bouchercon finally coming to New Orleans, what better theme for the Bouchercon 2016 anthology than BLOOD ON THE BAYOU? We are looking for stories either set in, or inspired by, the Bayou Country. (Remember, Louisiana is not the only state with bayous!) We want diverse voices and characters, tales of darkness and violence, whether they are noir, cozy, hard-boiled or suspense. Push the boundaries of your creativity and the theme! NOTE: The stories don’t have to actually be set in the Bayou Country, but can be ‘inspired’ by it—so a character can be from here, it can built around a piece of music; etc. If you have any questions as to whether your idea fits the theme, do not be afraid to ask! Specifics: The maximum word count is 5,000 words; the minimum is 2,000. The stories should be crime-oriented; whether it’s the commission, planning or solving of one. It can also be about the after-effects of one. Murder, mayhem, blackmail, embezzlement, robbery—get as creative as you can! Submissions: All submissions will go through a blind-reading process for inclusion. So, do not include your name anywhere on the file; there should simply be a title on the first page. Pages should also be numbered, and in the header, the title of the story as well. Please use Microsoft Word; double spaced, using Times New Roman 12 point font. The name of your file should also be the title of the story, i.e. The Lottery.docx. Please include your name, address, and contact information...

Deadline: March 28th 2016 Payment: $10 As inspired by, the Gift of the Magi Stories featuring romantic partners are welcome, but stories with other duos are preferred InfectiveINk.com is interested in great fiction. Unless specified, we are open to all genres and styles, except erotica. We offer $10 per Short Story, payable via PayPal. We do not currently pay for Short Story submissions under 1500 words, or for any Flash Fiction submissions, bragging rights however, are priceless. Remember, InfectiveINk.com is a prompt-driven publication. Be sure that the story you're submitting corresponds to one of our prompts before sending your work. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] In the subject line please include the word 'submission', your last name, and the prompt you're submitting for, e.g. Submission, Fitzgerald, Monsters. The body of the email includes: Your name Your pen name, if you use one Your contact details (including the email address we would send your Paypal payment to if your story is 1500+ words) The word count An interesting bio that doesn't simply list your publications Your submission You are welcome to paste the submission in the body of the email, we also accept .doc, .docx, .txt, and .rtf attachments. Please replace any curly quotes with straight quotes, curly apostrophes with straight ones. Double and triple check for grammar and spelling errors, watch your possessives, take care with there/their/they're. Write to the prompt and HAVE FUN! These aren't the stories to devote months of intense effort toward. Let your creative juices flow freely (yeah, that sounded gross), and play fast and hard! Edit with a vengeance and submit. Please read over our Author Agreement before submitting. InfectiveINk.com is listed at Duotrope, don't forget to track your submissions! Questions? Need some help/guidance? Email us at [email protected] Via: InfectiveINK.

Deadline: March 30th 2016. Payment: 100 USD Independent Legions Publishing is seeking original horror stories in English language for the new eBook Anthology THE BEAUTY OF DEATH, edited by Alessandro Manzetti, to be published in April, 2016 . All types of horror are welcome. Sex or violence in a story should be artistically justified; no excessive gore. We welcome all subgenres and forms of speculative fiction. We do not accept  multiple submissions. Submissions should generally follow standard manuscript format, Your manuscript may be submitted via email in .DOC format. We can only consider stories submitted through that form. We don't need to see a cover letter, but if you feel like providing one, feel free. Word Count: We are open to stories of 4500-7500 words. Deadline: March 30, 2016. Pay Rate: We pay (via Paypal) 100 USD for each original story. We buy first exclusive English-language rights  for two years, Response time currently within three weeks. After that, if you haven't heard from us, please query. We don't send a message in response to every submission we receive. SUBMIT YOUR STORY Via: Independent Legions.

Deadline: March 30th, 2016 Payment: $30 per story Word count: 2000 - 8000 (flexible, but the longer the story the stronger it must be) Theme: What Went Wrong? Submission limit: Two stories per author max We've all had that day when a spell went south, a glitch ate the code in your doomsday device, and negotiations broke down so  aliens are on the move eat your brains. Okay, maybe we haven't all had that day. We want a story about what went wrong. Tell us about the best laid plans and what turned them on their ear. Make it dark or funny. Make it sci-fi or fantasy. Just make it something we haven't seen before. We're looking for an eclectic mix of stories that are unique and feature strong storytelling.  Please no: Explicit violence or sex for shock value.  Established authors welcomed, newcomers encouraged. All submissions acknowledged within 5 days and acceptances notified by April 15.  We look forward to reading your work. Via: Lit Select.

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: 1¢/word up to $50 Upheaval. Unrest. Turmoil. Radicalism. These are the ideas that come to mind when we think of revolution. But buried within that word is another. Evolution. The slow, inexorable march of the old giving way to the new. The new, giving way to the newer. And the newer, perhaps forgetting its past, giving way to something come around again. Change. Circumstances change. Climates change. Regimes change. And in each instance, those ideas best adapted for survival are usually those rewarded. This is evolution. But let’s not forget that circumstances can be changed. Climates can be changed. Regimes can be changed. This is revolution. Which brings us to you. Write a story that deals with change, with all the consequences, intended and unintended, that follow. Juxtapose revolution and evolution. Offer us the ascendant avant-garde, or the resurgent old guard. Entertain us. Enlighten us. Give us that moment of exhilaration that comes from the realization of the fantastic. The change starts with you. The change ends with you. The change is you. (Accepting speculative fiction stories between 2,000 and 12,000 words. See Submissions page for more details.) So you want to submit a story? Fantastic! Here are a couple of things you should know: while we have opened our doors to stories originating beyond the Michigan borders, we do still remain committed to showcasing great Michigan writers. Because of that, we will maintain a minimum 60/40 ratio of Michigan-to-non-Michigan authors. We accept story submissions for upcoming projects only in the stated window for each, as listed on the project’s page. Find our open projects at the left. Make sure your story is well-written and edited, and generally free of copy errors. Format your pages with 1″ margins, ragged right, and double-spaced. We prefer a sans...

Deadline: March 31st 2016 Payment: $5.00 plus equal share of 50% of the anthology’s royalties It seems like in today’s world that anytime a new something or other comes out – a few years down the road there are lawyers advertising to get clients because of something that happened regarding that drug, product etc. In some cases there is evidence that the manufacturer new about the issues and opted to ignore. In some cases, it is something that is finally confirmed decades down the road and wasn’t even foreseeable. What we’re looking for are speculative fiction stories involving the creation, manufacture, release etc. of some new technology (or magic) that is supposed to do one thing and later on down the road some unintended consequence is discovered. It can be product that is supposed to be ‘good’ but has a bad consequence or just has something different happen as well. Conversely, you can have something that is supposed to be dangerous or ‘evil’ and have it develop a ‘good’ consequence. An example of unintended consequences from the novel Dispassionate Lies by Eileen Schuh. Decades after the introduction of Birth Control Pills – there is a generation of women who are born asexual—no sex drive or interest in sex. (This would be an unintended consequence of something that supposed to help women take control of their reproduction) Give us the whole story regarding the original intended purpose as well as the good, the bad and the unintended consequences thereof. Break the story-writing rules if you want. If you use a tried and true plotline, twist it in an original and interesting way. Original stories are preferred. Query for reprints. ALL writers are encouraged to submit. Doesn’t matter if you’re a pro with years of credits, a beginner just starting out, or...

Deadline: March 31, 2016 Payment: Royalties BEEN A LONG TIME: STORIES INSPIRED BY ROCK AND ROLL CLASSICS A Pulp/Noir (yes, there’s a difference) Anthology Edited by Sean Taylor (yep, your friendly, neighborhood blogmaster is editing a new book) Theme: I was driving home last night listening to some music, and it hit me that Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" would be a great starting point for a 1950s jazz noir story. Poor musician has to sell his guitar while his girl works in a diner, all the while trying to salvage their strained relationship. Then they get caught up in a local kidnapping with ties to the mob (okay, it takes a turn there...). Which only made my mind wander into this territory: What other great rock and roll songs would make equally great pulp or noir tales if recast to some time between the 1920s and 1960s? Details: We’re looking for stories set in a historic noir or pulp mood and tone between the 1920s and 1960s. No fantasy. No sci-fi unless it’s clearly pulp or noir in tone (a la Blade Runner). Horror is fine as long as it doesn’t go too far into elements of the fantastic (hinted supernatural is fine, but don’t have imps and devils and monsters running around New York or Chicago; think a Lovecraftian story inspired by "Hotel California," for example). Do not simply retell the story of the song. The song must serve as a “jumping off” point to create your story. If you have questions about what that means, just ask. The key word here is CLASSIC. It must be a known song, no obscure indie “hits” only hipsters know. And we’re talking about rock and roll, not so underground, so alternative it doesn’t even sound like music anymore stuff....

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: $5 payment advance and will share equally fifty percent of the royalties Tree-Lion Press is currently seeking submissions for an anthology of Weird Western stories.  This page includes submission instructions specific to this theme.  Please read this page, including the general submission guidelines, before sending a story in for consideration. DEADLINE:  MARCH 31, 2016 BEFORE READING FURTHER, PLEASE TAKE NOTE.  We are seeking short fiction in the Speculative Fiction genre (by which we mean to be the umbrella term for the wide and varied range of Science Fiction and Fantasy subgenres).  Weird Westerns are generally speaking, a blend of the venerable Western and Speculative Fiction... fantasy, horror, sci-fi, etc.  It's a broad theme, and we encourage you to stretch even these tenuous boundaries.  Move beyond the clichés, and give us some great stories that have elements of both the classic Western and some sort of un-reality. Word count and Deadline:  Between 500 and 10,000 words.  These are guidelines, not laws; if you have a great story that runs a few words short or long, go ahead and submit it. Genre:  We are looking for Speculative Fiction; We tend toward (soft) Science Fiction and Fantasy, but will also accept well-written Horror or Supernatural or Whatever, as long as it is Speculative Fiction and meets the other requirements stated here.  (Need more info on what qualifies as Speculative Fiction?  Check out the Goodreads entry that discusses the term.) Theme:  WEIRD WESTERN.  The Western element may be very slight, but the Speculative Fiction aspect of the story is non-negotiable.  Straight Western stories will not be considered. GENERAL SUBMISSION NOTES:  Please read the entire page before clicking through to the submission guidelines for a specific publication. Tree-Lion Press is now accepting submissions for ALL of the following Keeping Pace with Eternity ... Speculative Fiction inspired by Long-Distance Running (Deadline 01/15/2016)...

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: Contributor's Copy See Guidelines and FAQ (Submissions) for general submission information. Submissions are sought for a revised and expanded paperback release of The King In Yellow anthology. We are seeking stories between 2000 and 7000 words related to the Yellow Mythos in some manner (all genres and interpretations will be considered). Reprints from before 2015 will be considered. Multiple submissions are accepted. If sending simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if it is accepted elsewhere. Longer and shorter works: We may be able to consider longer works (upto 10,000 words), but please query before submitting. If you have a number of shorter pieces, we may be able to consider them, but please query before submitting (we would need several shorter pieces totaling 2000 words or more to justifyinclusion). Non-fiction: We are happy to consider 'fictional non-fiction', so if you have written an 'investigation' into the cult of the Yellow King or something similar, we would be happy to see. We may be able to include non-fiction discussing the King In Yellow, Yellow Mythos, etc, but please query before submitting. Poetry: We are focusing on fiction for this anthology. As much of the poetry from the original anthology has been or will be appearing in the Yellow Leaves series (and hopefully, a collected volume of the pamphlets) they won't be appearing in the reprint and we would recommend poets to submit to the series or wait for the collected volume which may take additional poems. However, we will make an exception for very long poems (at least 100 lines). But, be aware, we will probably only be accepting one or two at most, so competition will be fierce! Rights Required: We will be seeking one-time publication rights and six-months exclusivity. Reprints should not have been...

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: Comic scripts: $12.50 per page. Prose stories: $0.04 per word. All The King’s Men is a two-volume epic science fiction anthology edited by Shane W Smith, the author of The Lesser Evil, Peaceful Tomorrows, The Game, James Flamestar, and Undad. All The King’s Men takes a look at the lives of those on the periphery, ordinary people struggling to make sense of their lives and dreams in a galaxy torn apart by civil war. Each of them is fleeing something different, but they've all come to the same place. When their ship is marooned in deep space, they pass the time by sharing stories. Things that have happened to them, events they've witnessed, rumours they've heard... The anthology is seeking contributions from writers. Contributions may be in the form of prose short stories or short comic scripts. Submissions are open until 31 March, 2016. Please read the submission guidelines below for more information. Writers: submissions are currently open! All The King’s Men is not seeking contributions from artists at this time. Before you get started on your pitch, please ensure you are familiar with the background information. One of the criteria your pitch will be assessed on is its suitability to the established universe, and the information provided will go a long way to ensuring you get past this hurdle. If you’re stuck for story ideas but want to contribute, please check out the story ideas page. Any questions or concerns can be directed to [email protected]. At this stage, it is my intention to offer notes and feedback for every pitch. I am equally happy to work closely with you to develop your idea up front. The most important piece of upfront advice I can give you, though, is: take your time. Take the time...

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: $5 + contributor copy Kill Those Damn Cats – Cats of Ulthar Lovecraftian Anthology The First United Church of Cthulhu is looking for horror fantasy involving the titular creatures from H. P. Lovecraft's story The Cats of Ulthar. The original is set in the Dreamlands and is part of a series of short stories and novellas called the Dream Cycle. Everybody's got a story about those cats. You can (re)familiarize yourself with the Dream Cycle here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Cycle http://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php/Dreamlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underworld_(Dreamlands) Deadline: March 31, 2016 Length: 2,000 – 10,000 words Payment: $5 + contributor copy English only. Non-exclusive anthology rights. Reprints and multiple submissions are allowed. Author retains copyright. Payment is via Paypal. Guidelines: The cats are cats. 1. They do not speak. They do not have telepathy. They have no internal monologues. 2. They do not walk upright. They do not wear clothes. This is not Puss In Boots. 3. They are not werecats or shapeshifters of any kind. But other beings from the Cthulhu Mythos who do have shapeshifting abilities may be found among the cats. 4. Cats are already very intelligent, so they can act with a human level of intelligence. Just no driving cars, shooting guns, writing novels about themselves, etc. They're still cats. 5. They can have supernatural qualities. But they are not furry little wizards, so no fireballs or Expecto Patronum. 6. The majority of the story must take place in the Dreamlands. 7. The majority of the story must be about the cats of Ulthar. Do not tack on a companion cat to one of your sucky D&D campaign stories and try to pass it off as Lovecraftian. 8. Feel free to use any of the people, places, or monsters already listed in the Dream Cycle stories. 9. The Dreamlands...

Deadline: March 31, 2016 Payment: $5 and a contributor copy Kill Those Damn Cats – Cats of Ulthar Lovecraftian Anthology The First United Church of Cthulhu is looking for horror fantasy involving the titular creatures from H. P. Lovecraft's story The Cats of Ulthar. The original is set in the Dreamlands and is part of a series of short stories and novellas called the Dream Cycle. Everybody's got a story about those cats. You can (re)familiarize yourself with the Dream Cycle here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Cycle http://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php/Dreamlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underworld_(Dreamlands) Deadline: March 31, 2016 Length: 2,000 – 10,000 words Payment: $5 + contributor copy English only. Non-exclusive anthology rights. Reprints and multiple submissions are allowed. Author retains copyright. Payment is via Paypal. Guidelines: The cats are cats. 1. They do not have spoken lines. They do not have telepathy. They have no internal monologues.  They did communicate with Randolph Carter in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath so this is acceptable, but we do not want talking animal stories (i.e. Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, Bugs Bunny, etc). 2. They do not walk upright. They do not wear clothes. This is not Puss In Boots. 3. They are not werecats or shapeshifters of any kind. But other beings from the Cthulhu Mythos who do have shapeshifting abilities may be found among the cats. 4. Cats are already very intelligent, so they can act with a human level of intelligence. Just no driving cars, shooting guns, writing novels about themselves, etc. They're still cats. 5. They can have supernatural qualities. But they are not furry little wizards, so no fireballs or Expecto Patronum. 6. The majority of the story must take place in the Dreamlands. 7. The majority of the story must be about the cats of Ulthar. Do not tack on a companion cat...

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: $10 USD and digital copy of the issue Publication will be one year after reading period. Anything sent to us outside these reading periods will be deleted unread. Fiction We here at Bete Noire are looking for stories that are well written, character driven and have a dark bent to them.  We are open to most genres as long as they have a dark side.  This includes horror, dark sci-fi, dark fantasy, crime, mystery or dark humor.  However, vampires plus sparkle equals rejection. Please don't send us sword & sorcery or space operas.  Tolkien and Lucas have their place, but not here.  Also, we don't and can't accept "fan fiction" which includes anything based on a video game, book, movie or any other creator's work or conception unless you have written permission from the creator.  If you don't own the copyright to the characters in your story, we cannot publish your work.  By submitting to us, you, as the author of the work, accept responsibility for any possible copyright infringement. Please don't send us "Slash" or "Fem-Slash" or anything graphically describing sex.  Sex is okay as long as it's integral to the story but don't overdo it.  Please don't use gore for gore's sake.  Again gore is okay as long as it's integral to the story.  Though we cringe at the thought of violence toward children or pets, we understand that this type of violence does occur in real life, but we just don't want it in our magazine. Stories with acts of violence toward animals or children will not have a chance with us.  Any story that insinuates an act of sex or sexual violence between an adult and a child will be rejected.  This includes ALL children, alien, robotic or otherwise. If you think...

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: Comic scripts: $12.50 per page. Prose stories: $0.04 per word. ABOUT THE BOOK An epic sci-fi anthology of prose and comics All The King’s Men is a two-volume epic science fiction anthology edited by Shane W Smith, the author of The Lesser Evil, Peaceful Tomorrows, The Game, James Flamestar, and Undad. All The King’s Men takes a look at the lives of those on the periphery, ordinary people struggling to make sense of their lives and dreams in a galaxy torn apart by civil war. Each of them is fleeing something different, but they've all come to the same place. When their ship is marooned in deep space, they pass the time by sharing stories. Things that have happened to them, events they've witnessed, rumours they've heard... The anthology is seeking contributions from writers. Contributions may be in the form of prose short stories or short comic scripts. Submissions are open until 31 March, 2016. Please read the submission guidelines below for more information. SUPPORTED BY DEEPER MEANINGS PUBLISHING AND ARTSACT Funding has been received from artsACT, and in-principle acceptance from Deeper Meanings Publishing has been received. The delivery of this book is a sure thing. AN ACCLAIMED AND ESTABLISHED SCIENCE FICTION UNIVERSE All The King's Men takes place in the same universe as Shane W Smith's previously published works, including The Lesser Evil, and the Aurealis Award finalists Peaceful Tomorrows, and The Game. CONTRIBUTORS WILL BE PAID All contributors to All The King's Men will receive payment for their work. Click the links below for more information. JOIN THE MAILING LIST Sign up for news, updates and reminders about the submission deadline! SUBMISSION INFORMATION Submissions are open now, and close on 31 March, 2016! SUBMISSION GUIDELINES BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND CONTEXT CONTRIBUTORS, PAY RATES, AND...

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Payment: $10 for Flash fiction, $20 for short fiction, $20 for serial installments up to $100. Reprints are half of the above amounts. Reprints Allowed. This e-zine primarily publishes “scientific papers” by mad scientists. Or, at least, fiction that could be loosely considered such. They must be written in a first person perspective of some sort. It should also have something to do with “mad science.” We are willing to be flexible on the mad science part, but not the first person part. This can be an essay or newspaper article, but the presumed narrator is someone in the fictional world. We are willing to take almost any genre for this: humor, SF, fantasy, horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, pulp adventure. All we ask is that it be well written and fit within the needs of this e-zine. Gratuitous anything that doesn’t add to the story is discouraged. Reprints will be considered. We accept multiple submissions, but not simultaneous submissions. If your story is accepted, we ask that you provide a fictional identity as the source of the article, with bio. Authors will still be credited under their own name. We just want to maintain the atmosphere of “scientific journal.” So, for example, your story might be “An Examination into the Giant Albino Fire Moles” by Professor Higglepiggle, as provided by Joe M. Author. We currently are publishing a new short story every week on the site. We collect them on a quarterly basis into a book (print and digital) with exclusive content in the book. Flash Fiction These stories should be 500-2000 words and stand alone. They must be written in a first person perspective of some sort. If you have a recurring character you’d like to use in future submissions, that would be wonderful. Short Fiction...

Deadline: March 31, 2016 Payment: $100, two hardcovers, two softcovers, and an eBook Tayen Lane is currently reading submissions for our first annual Procyon Science Fiction Anthology. This collection will feature the works of writers from across the world and will span multiple sub-genres within the science fiction genre . Send us your best and most memorable stories. We want work that fascinates, provokes, intrigues. Writer guidelines: Submissions are open to writers from all countries; however, the submissions must be in English. The maximum word length of a submission is 7,000 words. Submissions must be unpublished. Please submit short stories as a Microsoft Word document (or PDF), double-spaced and in 12-pt font to [email protected]. Submissions will remain open until 11:59pm PST, Thursday, March 31, 2016. The anthology is edited by Jeanne Thornton and will be published in hardcover in FALL 2016 with subsequent softcover and eBook editions to follow. All chosen contributors will receive $100, two hardcovers, two softcovers, and an eBook. Writers will maintain ownership of all copyrighted material. We look forward to your submissions for our 2016 Science Fiction Anthology. Thank you for considering Tayen Lane Publishing. Via: Tayen Lane.