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Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word ($10 for every 1,000 words prorated, $50 for every 5,000 words prorated, and so on) + E-book and Audio format anthology copies Theme: Short horror stories that focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales Scare Street is now accepting submissions for its Night Terrors anthology. We’re looking for unpublished short horror stories that focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales. We want dark, creepy, weird, and unsettling fiction that are expertly told. Give us character-driven narratives with clever but logical twists at the end, creative and fresh takes on common horror tropes, terrifying monsters, and suspenseful tales. Gore and violence are fine as long as it follows our guidelines and it’s not just for shock value. Length: 3,000-7,000 words (we will consider stories that are slightly outside the word count range) Reprints: No Deadline: May 31, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word ($10 for every 1,000 words prorated, $50 for every 5,000 words prorated, and so on) + E-book and Audio format anthology copies Read the full submission guidelines here: https://scarestreet.com/submissions Via: Scare Street.

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: AU$100 Theme: Speculative Fiction Note: Australian writers (residents and citizens) only A cicerone is a guide who shows and explains the curiosities of a place to strangers. We want you to lead us to interesting and unseen places, and help us to understand these places. We want you to be just as curious as we are. Tell us something unusual. Show us an old thing in a new light. Point out something we never noticed. Take us to a side street, dark alley, or hidden trail. Cicerone Journal is currently OPEN for submissions for Issue 5: Curious Worlds, our first Speculative Fiction showcase. For our current issue, please send a maximum of two pieces of short fiction to [email protected]. For our Curious Worlds issue, we will be accepting short fiction of 1000-5000 words from any speculative fiction genre. This is a paid opportunity: we will pay AU$100 for each piece that is published. Genres accepted include, but are not limited to: Fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy Dystopian and utopian fiction (including apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic) Climate fiction (cli-fi) Magic realism Historical fantasy Supernatural fiction Superhero fiction Indigenous futurisms Afrofuturism Punk subgenres, such as steampunk, cyberpunk, solarpunk, silkpunk, capepunk, biopunk, etc. Unsure if your piece counts as speculative fiction? Contact us via email at [email protected] or follow us on facebook at Cicerone Journal where we will be discussing some of our favourite speculative fiction genres throughout the submission period. Send your submissions to [email protected] with the subject line – . Submissions close midnight AEST 31 May 2021. If your piece is topical or time-sensitive, we are open to altering our publication schedules to accommodate it. Please include ‘TIMELY’ or ‘URGENT’ (or some equally galvanising word) in the subject line of your email submission if the piece you are submitting is time-sensitive. We will try to...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $0.08 per word and contributors copies Theme: Identity, security, and community are inexorably entwined DARKNESS BLOOMS Identity, security, and community are inexorably entwined. For our anthology, Darkness Blooms, we’re looking for stories touching on at least one of these themes. We want you to explore the boundaries of who we are, what makes us feel safe (and at what cost), with whom we choose to surround ourselves, and our darkest secrets. Let’s explore how they influence us and our perception of reality. IDENTITY Identity is formed by not only things like race, culture, and class but also by the relationships we cultivate, the opinions and moral codes we adopt, and our choices. What secrets lie in the dark expanses between where we came from, who we think we are, and how we want others to perceive us? SECURITY Security—stability, order, dependency, structure—is an innate human need. In practice, security tends to be an illusion designed to make us feel more in control over our surroundings. What makes us feel safe, and what are we willing to sacrifice to feel that way? What happens when safety nets aren’t there to catch us when we fall? What dreadful secrets are we willing to keep to preserve the status quo? COMMUNITY Humans often seek security through community. We align ourselves with others who share our interests, culture and religion, geographic location, and workplaces. How well do you really know your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers, your family? How do we build these communities? What erodes a community, makes it crumble? SUBMISSION GUIDELINES + All submissions must inspire dread. Genre definitions tend to be subjective, so we encourage you to become familiar with the stories we’ve published here to get an idea of what sort of content we’re seeking. +...

Deadline: May 31st: 2021 Payment: $5 and a contributors copy Theme: Poetry about body horror Note: Open to all poets who are women (cis and trans) and non-binary femmes. To celebrate National Poetry Month, Black Spot Books will be publishing its inaugural Women in Horror Poetry Collection in April 2022: UNDER HER SKIN. This collection is open to all poets who are women (cis and trans) and non-binary femmes. Submissions open March 2021 and will close May 30, 2021, with decisions made on a rolling basis. Poems to be included in the collection will be chosen by Black Spot Book's editorial staff and guest judges. The theme of the inaugural collection is body horror. This is a broad spectrum and poets are welcome to interpret the prompt in their own vision--so long as it's dark, unsettling, an on-theme. The showcase will feature a cover with hand-drawn illustration by respected horror artist Lynne Hansen and will be distributed in both print and ebook. Poems must be previously unpublished, though published poets are, of course, welcome. We accept submissions of poems up to fifty lines. Free verse preferred (please, no forced rhyme or clichés). We accept up to three poems per poet. Submissions should be submitted along with a brief bio. Each poem chosen for publication will be paid $5 and each poet will receive a copy of the collection upon publication. Poet will retain rights to any accepted poem, with first right of publication by Black Spot Books. Showcase Judges: For the 2022 collection the judges will be Black Spot Books president and award-winning author/editor, Lindy Ryan, and Toni Miller, a founding member of the Ladies of Horror Fiction (LOHF). Lindy Ryan is the president and publisher of Black Spot Books, an imprint of Vesuvian Media Group. She is an award-winning and bestselling author and editor....

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: £10 Theme: J is for Jack-o’-Lantern J is for Jack-o’-Lantern – Submissions open April 1st. Deadline May 31st.  Halloween in theme for these stories but the Jack-o’-Lantern must play a key role. We are currently calling for submissions for a series of horror anthologies – The A-Z of Horror. The series will be based on a variety of themes and will consist of twenty-six books in total. We are looking for short horror stories, between 4000 and 8000 words, on each of the themes listed below. You may submit to more than one book, but we will only include a maximum of one story from each author, in each book. Being accepted into one book does not guarantee acceptance into one of the others. The story must be your own work, to which you hold the rights. The story must not be available elsewhere and, if accepted, we will hold the rights to it for three months from the date of publication. After that time, you may use the story however you wish. Any sub-genre of horror is suitable, even extreme, so long as the story fits the theme of that book and does not include anything which may unnecessarily cause offence Payment for the story will be £10, to be paid by PayPal, as well as a contributor’s e-book of the finished book. Please send submissions in a Word document (ideally Times New Roman 12pt, single spaced) to [email protected] with the title of the book you are submitting to in the subject line. Please ensure you have included your name on the Word document. If you have any queries, feel free to get in touch using the Contact page. We aim to respond to submissions within 2 weeks of the deadline, but feel free to get in...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 (Original call had windows that has been modified to this date) Payment:CAD 2c/word for originals; 50% rate for reprints Theme: Speculative Fiction of Spirituality, Belief, and Practice Note: Reprints welcome As a special way to accommodate people developing stories for Strange Wars or Strange Religion, authors have the option of requesting to make late submissions. This is intended for authors who expect not to be able to finish writing and polishing their submission before the close of our submission window. If you think you will need any additional time, you can request to make a late submission here. Strange Religion: Speculative Fiction of Spirituality, Belief, and Practice Strange Religion thoughtfully and respectfully explores religious traditions and ideas through speculative fiction.  These are stories about the rituals, theology, and spirituality of aliens, AI, and the denizens of fantastic worlds depicted by scripture and religious folklore. How do Muslims on other planets pray and perform the hajj? How would AI worship or read scripture? How would interreligious dialogue change if shamanic magic turned out to be real? What would the Bible be like if it were written by elves? How would the Buddha get by today? Suppose the remains of Krishna were found—what then? What if prophets didn't only see the future but were from the future? These stories depict religion with the complexity it has in the real world, where gods aren’t just plot devices to create political tension or to give characters magical powers. They delve into the struggles of adherents of tomorrow’s religions and religions that might have been. Strange Religion fills a lacuna in the field of speculative short fiction, which often does not treat religion with sufficient depth and thoughtfulness. These stories reconsider theological topics—incarnation, reincarnation, revelation, miracles, and the like—through the lens of science fiction and fantasy.  They put...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 (Original call had windows that has been modified to this date) Payment:CAD 2c/word for originals; 50% rate for reprints Theme: Speculative Fiction of Coalitions in Conflict Note: Reprints welcome As a special way to accommodate people developing stories for Strange Wars or Strange Religion, authors have the option of requesting to make late submissions. This is intended for authors who expect not to be able to finish writing and polishing their submission before the close of our submission window. If you think you will need any additional time, you can request to make a late submission here. Strange Wars: Speculative Fiction of Coalitions in Conflict Strange Wars explores military conflict through speculative fiction. These are stories with an original take on organized aggression. For science fiction stories about war: What will warfare look like in a hundred years? How will technology reshape war? Will they still be fought on traditional battlefields, or will completely new frontiers open? Will the major parties to conflict change? Will wars between nation states be replaced by corporate wars, proxy wars, and insurgent conflicts? We are interested in stories that explore military implications of: drones, Lunar and Martian colonies (or expansion into space generally), cryptocurrency, privatized military forces, non-state actors in military conflict, 3D-printing, hacking, environmental catastrophe, renewable energy sources, artificial intelligence, and other themes. For fantasy war stories about war: How can magic, gods, parallel worlds, or otherworldly societies reshape our conception of war? Are other forms of organized conflict possible? Can such fantastic visions serve as thought experiments and expand our understanding of conflict? What kind of magic could make a world without war possible? If it's not possible, why not? If it is, at what cost? These fantasy stories explore war through speculative world-building, inventing fantastic premises and revealing their consequences through...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: CAD 1/2 CENT per word for originals; 50% for reprints (i.e. CAD 1/4 CENT per word) Theme: Christmas horror with a dark and subversive theme that doesn't include Krampus Note: Reprints Welcome Note: Relisted due to deadline extension Wight Christmas is an anthology of holiday horror, and in particular stories that subvert Christmas tropes and seasonal clichés. We are seeking dark reinterpretations of seasonal traditions, and stories that reimagine holiday characters as ghosts, demons, spirits, supernatural entities, or other paranormal phenomena. Fantasy and science fiction genres are both okay, but in all cases, submissions are more likely to be successful if they are dark and subversive. No Krampus. Details: Length: up to 5000 words Genre: Christmas/horror Pay: CAD 1/2 CENT per word for originals; 50% for reprints (i.e. CAD 1/4 CENT per word) Reprints allowed: Yes (paid at 50% the rate of originals) Multiple submission allowed: No, send your best shot Simultaneous submissions: Yes, just please tell us if it is accepted elsewhere Rights sought: worldwide print and digital rights, exclusive for three months for originals, non-exclusive for reprints Poetry allowed: Yes, paid at a rate of CAD 1 cent / word for originals; reprints are paid at 50% the rate of originals. Submission Window: submissions will be open for a limited window of one week. Submissions open Monday March 15th at 12AM. Submissions close on Sunday March 21st at 11:59PM. How to Submit: we accept submissions through our submission form. Additional Information: Q: Does it have to be typical white North American Christian Christmas tropes? Are other traditions okay? A: Other traditions are okay, but these are much more likely to be successful if you are an #ownvoices writer. Subverting tropes of the dominant/majority culture is great because it’s punching up; subverting tropes of minority cultures is something we’d prefer to leave to people from those cultures. For this...

Submission Window: May 1st-May 31st, 2021 Payment: An advance and royalties Theme: Novel and Novellas that are literary; incorporating the fabulist, the uncanny, the dark, the weird, the horrific, the numinous, the surreal, the gnostic, the esoteric, and the avant-garde. Strange tales for strange times. It’s that liminal area where genre and literary fiction meet. WE WILL BE OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS FROM MAY 1, 2021 TO MAY 31, 2021 FOR NOVELS AND NOVELLAS ONLY. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Note - Manuscripts must be original and previously unpublished anywhere, in any format, on any platform. Please do not query about reprints. We are unable to return manuscripts. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please inform us if you place the manuscript elsewhere. Translated work is welcome as long as you are offering first English-language rights. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Undertow Publications only publishes a few books a year. Regrettably, then, we have to turn down good work. We publish in hardcover, trade paperback, and eBook, though not all projects will be published in all formats. So as to not waste your time and our time, please make yourself familiar with our books. Our aesthetic is literary; incorporating the fabulist, the uncanny, the dark, the weird, the horrific, the numinous, the surreal, the gnostic, the esoteric, and the avant-garde. Strange tales for strange times. It’s that liminal area where genre and literary fiction meet. We accept submissions from anyone—regardless of race, gender, or sexuality—and think it is imperative to promote new writing from a diverse cross-section of society. Agented and non-agented submissions are welcome. WHAT WE WANT: We currently have 2 open slots in our 2022 publishing schedule. NOVELLAS We are seeking previously unpublished standalone novellas, in English. Word count should be between 17,500 - 42,000 words. We offer a small advance against royalties. NOVELS...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: £50 Theme: Stories that involve the supernatural in connection with railroads, railways, or any aspect of rail travel or location. I hope to publish this anthology of supernatural fiction in the summer of 2021.   Submissions are invited. The closing date will be 31 May 2021.   WHAT I WANT: I'm looking for 10 outstanding stories of between 2.000 and 10.000 words that involve the supernatural in connection with railroads, railways, or any aspect of rail travel or location. The stories should be set at any point in the past and be historically accurate where appropriate.         WHAT I DON'T WANT: Badly written and constructed stories. To me, spelling and grammar are important. That doesn’t mean you can’t push the boundaries, but remember that you have to know the rules before you can break them.   Slasherfests that rely on violence and cliché to propel the stories.   Poor, badly constructed characterization whose only function is to drive the plot towards an unconvincing, or contrived conclusion.   Waffle that bears no relationship to the plot, but only serves to slow down or unnecessarily bulk out the story.   Excessive strong language that does not help to shape characters or events. If it’s necessary & appropriate: no problem.       CONDITIONS: The deadline is currently the end of May 2021 but may be extended if I require more submissions. I'm looking for stories of between 2.000 to 10.000 words. Word limits outside of this will be considered if the work is, in my opinion, exceptional. Please do not send simultaneous submissions. Send one story at a time.   No multiple submissions, please.     Payment for First British print and electronic anthology rights will be £50 for original, previously unpublished stories, payable upon...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $10 and a contributor's copy Theme: Dark science fiction stories related to the military and war. Note: Must be a reprint Pole to Pole Publishing is seeking short, re-print fiction for the Re-Enlist anthology to be published in late 2021. Re-Enlist will join our previous submission calls (now closed) for Re-Launch, Re-Enchant, Re-Quest and Re-Terrify and others in the Re-Imagined Series of anthologies. Re-Enlist requires dark science fiction stories related to the military and war. Send us military science fiction stories, ones you’ve had published before, for which full rights have already reverted back to you. We have open minds about what constitutes “military” and “science fiction” but we’re insisting on good stories told well. For this anthology, we want stories with engaging characters, thrilling action, rational plot lines, a compelling writing style, and meaningful themes. Our preference is for hard science fiction. We’re okay if you bend the laws of physics for the sake of the story, but don’t break them completely. It’s unlikely we’ll accept fantasy stories with magic elements. In keeping with the common element of Pole to Pole Publishing’s other reprint anthologies, Re-Enlist seeks stories that are dark in tone, but not strictly horror tales. Give us fear, death, and the disturbing side of your characters’ natures, but be mindful of the restrictions listed below under “Hard Sells” and, especially, “What We Don’t Want.” Payment: Payment is $10 per story, paid on acceptance (contract must be signed), via PayPal only; plus, one electronic and one print copy of the antho. (If you do not have a PayPal account, please do not submit your work.) Right Purchased: – The non-exclusive right to collect the stories into an anthology, published in 2021 and sold thereafter. Re-Enlist may be included in book bundles with the other books in the series. – The non-exclusive right to publish the story to the Pole to Pole...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: LitRPG genre. Playing Virtual Reality games is a favorite pastime, but getting trapped in them due to a glitch is another story. It’s a true fight for survival now and the only way out is to finish the game. Deadline – May 31st, 2021 Publication – August 2021 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – LitRPG genre. Playing Virtual Reality games is a favorite pastime, but getting trapped in them due to a glitch is another story. It’s a true fight for survival now and the only way out is to finish the game. * Introduction of yourself should be a short biography in 3rd Person between 100-200 words. Upon acceptance, this will be used within the anthology. Send a bio with every single anthology submission. We work with hundreds of authors and will not take time to retrieve yours from a previous anthology. * Poetry submissions: All poetry needs to be contained within a single e-mail. Each poem should be in a separate document. Haikus may be grouped together. * All e-mails should be addressed to “Dear Editor.” After receiving edits back, the author has two weeks to return the submission for formatting. All submissions will be reviewed within thirty (30) days of the anthology’s submission deadline. This ensures submission calls do not close early and gives everyone a chance to submit. You will know your submission has been received for consideration by receiving a generic response. Whether accepted or rejected, you will always receive a response. View our blog articles on how to submit to a publisher and how to write a proposal.   Failure to submit following all of the guidelines will result in an immediate refusal. You are able to submit again before the submission call deadline.   Rating – Check each anthologies‘ rating. Word count – Check each anthologies‘ word count...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $10 per printed (or printed-out) page for accepted prose, and $20 per page for accepted poetry, up to a maximum of $150 and 2 contributors copies Theme: This has to be literature. They don't print genre work but you can borrow from genre work for your story. Essentials to remember Reading period September 1st - May 31st Response time Two to four months Submission methods Electronic and postal Simultaneous submissions Accepted Word limit No hard-and-fast length limit We look for writing that catches experience before the crusts of habit form—poetry and prose that resist ideas about what a certain kind of writing “should do.” We seek out writers who tell their truths in their own words and convince us as we read that we’ve found something no one else could have written. When to submit AGNI welcomes manuscripts between September 1st and May 31st. Submissions mailed in June, July, or August will be returned unread, provided sufficient return postage is included. Things to know when submitting Nearly everything we publish is unsolicited. We encourage submissions from writers of all identities, living anywhere, published and unpublished. We will not consider writing that has already been published in English, whether in a book, magazine, newspaper, or on an app, a website, a social media feed, or a publicly accessible online community. We consider only work written in English or translated into English. We have no word limits, though space is at a premium and length sometimes affects our decisions. We do not publish genre romance, horror, mystery, or science fiction; however, we are open to writing that borrows elements from any of these. We will consider excerpts if they read as if they were meant to stand alone. We are interested in personal essays, think-pieces, memoir, prose...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Mythology II If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. (Vol 71.) Mythology II; deadline 31st May !!!NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS!!! SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If, this form isn’t working, then please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. But please let us know why as we’re hoping to use the form going forward. Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) It is important that your story complies with our Submission Guidelines. Any stories found not to be in compliance will be immediately discarded. Click HERE for details If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document • Stories must fit an upcoming theme • By submitting your story to us, you...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $15.00 flat rate plus equal share of 50% of the anthology’s royalties. Theme: FIERCE Dragons! Note: Do not submit prior to January 15th, 2021 Everyone loves Dragon Stories – especially the ones where the heroic knight rescues the damsel in distress from the evil dragon and they go off to live happily ever after. Yeah right! Have you seen a dragon – they are truly badass m*****f*****s. Armor plated, huge, breathe fire, huge teeth and claws. Yeah, right, a single knight with a sword is going to defeat that. -- What we are looking for are stories that feature really badass dragons – they can be evil or good – or somewhere in between. The point is they need to live up to the power and strength we picture when we imagine a dragon. If your dragon is able to be defeated by a human knight – it should be because…well, I’m not sure what it should be because of – but it needs to be believable to someone who knows beyond all doubt dragons are the biggest, baddest predators out there. Show us why you should never meddle in the affairs of dragons as they may consider you crunchy and taste good with ketchup. 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 a teenager - please feel free to send the editor a story. In your cover email, please tell the editor a bit about yourself and a quick one-line synopsis of the story. Include genre. If experimental, please explain...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: Royalties Themes: Stories about slashers, animals, cannibals, torture, gore and violence | Stories about psychological horror | Stories about monsters Trail 2: The Death Trail – This trail is all about killers. Your story should be about slashers, animals, splatterpunk, cannibals, torture, gore and violence. Go ahead and let your imagination run wild; we are giving you a free rein. Trail 3: The Twisted Trail – This trail is all about psychological horror. Your stories should be about madness, paranoia, phobia… Trail 4: Trail of Terror – All your favourite monster stories go here. Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires, Daayans, Chudels, Chupacabras, Oni, Penanggalan… you catch the drift, don't you? Rules: You can submit one story per trail. Word limit: 3000 to 5000 words. Please stay within the word limit. Any story exceeding the word limit will be summarily rejected. Last date for submission: 31/05/2021 midnight Q: What are you looking for? A: Fantastically horrific stories that blows our minds away. Q: Will you edit our stories? A: No. Other than general spell-checks and punctuation-checks, we will not touch your story. So, make sure you get your stories beta-read and edited properly. We are looking for the best story you can give us. If possible, get your stories edited professionally. Even a mind-blowing story might be rejected if it needs heavy editing. Q: Is there a fee for submissions? A: Are you kidding? No, The Hive is not a vanity publishing entity, and nor will we ever be one. Q: If I submit my story, what are the chances of it getting picked? A: No guarantees. We will subject your stories to a minimum of the two-level stringent selection process and only those stories that pass muster will be published as a part of Project#8. Q: Will I get feedback for my story? A: Unfortunately,...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Science fiction set in the far future in space with aliens (not on Earth.) Submissions are now open for the July 2021 release of Alien Dimensions – Space Fiction Short Stories #20. Submissions Deadline is 31st May 2021. Submissions will be read in June 2021. Alien Dimensions is now part of the Maldek House department ‘Space Fiction Books‘ and will only be publishing short stories set in deep space from now on. To get an idea of what kind of stories are likely to be accepted for Alien Dimensions in the future, please check out Space Fiction Collection 1. What is Space Fiction? Nothing set on Earth. Or, if there is a part of your story on Earth, it should be so futuristic that we don’t recognise it. If so, you can name the planet something else! Aliens. Mandatory! Real aliens, with tusks, tentacles and blobby, leafy, electric, silicon bits! Avoid humanoid aliens. If you’re stuck, play Pokemon Go for a while and get some ideas! Space, with extrapolated science. I want to read explanations of how your spaceship drive works. I want to imagine how the engineering of your future operates. I want to hear the impossible details of the alien planets your characters visit. Adventurous and fun.   Write for Alien Dimensions Thank you for your interest in submitting to Alien Dimensions Submissions Read further for what stories I’m now looking for. Lots of detail below so that it saves us both time, and there’s less chance of a rejection! In summary: 3,500-4,500 words only. “Set it in space, in the far future, and include some friendly non-humanoid aliens helping to solve a pseudo-scientific problem. More cerebral than stomach! Space Fiction! Written in the restrictive third person.” US$10 flat rate. Rights retained for 2 years. First...

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: 0.01 USD per word Theme: Body horror stories by women Since the earliest creation myths, womens’ bodies have been a site of conflict, venerated and feared in equal measure. We’re looking for body horror stories by women writers that explore, celebrate and dissect (perhaps literally!) femininity and the female experience. There are no limits on content: gore and sexual content is fine. However, don’t feel your story has to be extreme. We always enjoy reading unexpected takes on our prompts, so feel free to interpret it as you wish. We would love to include as diverse a range of voices in this anthology as possible, and as such would like to encourage LGBTQ, BIPOC, disabled and writers of other marginalised backgrounds to submit. Length: Anything between 1,000 – 6,000 words. Publication: E-book and print. Deadline: 31st May 2021 Author Compensation: 0.01 USD per word, plus an electronic contributor’s copy. Rights: We request first worldwide and electronic rights for 3 months after the date of publication, after which rights revert to the author. All copyright remains with the author. We accept simultaneous submissions but no reprints please. Multiple submissions not accepted. Email your submission as a Word document to [email protected] with “Blood & Bone – ” in the subject line. Please see our Submission Guidelines for more information on formatting. Via: Ghost Orchid Press.

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 Payment: 2 cents USD per word Theme: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries Die Laughing: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries This summer we will be publishing our first hardcover anthology. We're looking for original 1k-8k word stories with off-beat characters, bungling detectives, or funny premises. Be creative, but make it about a mystery/crime, and make us laugh! Payment is 2 cents USD per word, B&W comics $25 USD. Submit using the form below before June 1, 2021 If your story is accepted, a digital agreement must be signed and payment will be sent by PayPal to the email address you specify below. We are a Mystery Writers of America approved publisher. Details can be found below: Via: Mystery Weekly Magazine.

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: $100 scholarship Theme: YA topics Note: Only for writers in the age group of 15-19 years old. Submission call for Generation Dread edited by Gabino Iglesias. Cemetery Gates, Death’s Head Press, and Night Worms are putting together a YA horror anthology with stories written by teenage writers to shine a light on the next generation of horror writers. Here are your guidelines: -Word Count 1500 to 3000 words -Deadline: June 1, 2021 -Payment: $100 scholarship -Rules: Only topics featured in YA books, no racial slurs. -Ages: All writers between 15-19 years of age are encouraged to submit. -Stories and questions can be sent to [email protected] -A parent or guardian will have to co-sign the acceptance contract if the writer is under 18. -No poetry, art , or nonfiction. -We strongly encourage LGBTQ+, disabled, and young writers of color to submit. Via: Cemetery Gates Media.

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: Flat rates $5-$30 depending on length and type (listed below.) Theme: Genre, literary, poetry, and beyond! Sadly, not spelled out directly below but they do have an area for genre fiction. NOTE: Due to the current pandemic and its attendant stresses, we will strive to keep things light until further notice. ​ Please hold your darker submissions until the current ​crisis passes.​ Page & Spine is a paying site (paid via PayPal or company check in USD only).  Because of the large number of submissions, we will no longer accept work that does not comply with our requirements.  Emails containing attachments will be deleted unopened and without notice. Please research our site for appropriate style and content of submissions.  Our readers like what we publish. Page & Spine considers only unpublished work conforming to the requirements listed below."Published" is defined as any piece that has been on public view anytime, anywhere.  Members only critique sites where work is viewed only by paying members is not a publication venue.  Reprints will not be considered. Because we have bulging pending files in our short story and poems categories,    submissions will be accepted only between October 1 and June 1 in these categories and may take 8 months to be vetted. Simultaneous submissions will not be considered.  Please plan your submissions accordingly. If you haven't heard from us after eight months, please check back with us.  Sometimes the volume of submissions causes further delays, but be assured we're not ignoring you.  Author generated photography will not be paid, but may be published at the editor's discretion with the understanding that Page & Spine can neither control dissemination nor protect copyrights and will not be held responsible for theft or misuse. Do not send photos to which you do not hold the copyright.(If you did not...

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: $20 Theme: We ask our fiction writers to imagine their readers navigating a story with one finger poised over a mouse button. Can your story stay that finger to the end? “Turning words into art is unnatural. It begins with a contrary attitude. It says, I am unhappy with the way things are and desire to make things different. Rather than represent the world, I will make something wildly and savagely new. I will defy logic. I will invest in new perceptions. I will combine and recombine and fabricate and juggle until something that I have never experienced is experienced. The process is alchemical. The process is violent. It goes to the heart of creativity. It disrupts and shatters. It is splendid with provocation. It is an aggression against banality. It is sharp and loud like a janitor scraping frost from a window. The hectic bounce of steam on a street after a truck roars by. The anarchy of waters, the comedy of the face, dangerous feelings vented from a cage of skin.” ~ John Olson Poetry — We believe poetry is contrary by nature, always defying, always tonguing the tang of novelty. We look especially for plurality of meaning, for dual reverberation of beauty and concern. Contrary’s poetry in particular often mimics the effects of fiction or commentary. We find ourselves enamored of prose poems because they are naturally contrary toward form – they tug on the forces of exposition or narrative – but prose poems remain the minority of all the poetic forms we publish. Please consider that Contrary receives vast amounts of poetry and that we can publish only a small percentage of that work. Please submit no more than three poems per issue. Our poetry editor is Shaindel Beers. Fiction — We ask our fiction writers to imagine...

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: A contributors Copy and: 10,000 words - $200; 7,500 words - $150; 5,000 words - $100; 2,500 words - $50; 1,500 words - $30.00. Theme: Texas Horror By: Texas Writers HellBound Books Publishing is excited to announce that it’s now accepting submissions for Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers, Vol. 6. Author Madison Estes will be editing the latest incarnation of the series, and she’s looking for original horror stories 1,500-10,000 words in length. The stories must be written and submitted by Texas authors and they must take place (or be based) here--hence the title. Two cents per word and contributing writers will receive one free copy and a 50% discounted wholesale price on any copies of the book that he or she purchases to carry and sell on their own. The scale for writer stipends will look something like this: 10,000 words - $200; 7,500 words - $150; 5,000 words - $100; 2,500 words - $50; 1,500 words - $30.00. All payments will be made upon official acceptance, and when acceptance is communicated each author will need to send a short bio. HellBound will be requesting two-year non-exclusive rights. This means we will use your story in this anthology and we can print excerpts of it online and otherwise (for promotional purposes, etc.), but two years down the road you can do with it what you like. The DEADLINE to turn in stories is June 1, 2021 and our intent is to have the book printed and available by October 1, 2021, in plenty of time for Halloween. PLEASE SEND SUBMISSIONS to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Via: Hellbound...

Deadline: June 1st, 2021 Payment: $0.01 per word and a contributor's copy Theme: Stories must include menopause as the main plot point Sliced Up Press is looking for short stories involving menopause for its latest horror fiction anthology, Bodies Full of Burning: An Anthology of Menopause-Themed Horror, edited by Nicole M. Wolverton. Menopause can be hell – so show us your demons, your darkest dreams, bloodiest crimes or scariest transformations. It’s called the change of life, but transitions can be deadly. What we’re looking for: Stories must include menopause as the main plot point We welcome and encourage stories from women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors, as we’re looking for a range of experiences to be represented All submissions must be in the horror genre, though we don’t want anything involving rape, etc. All submissions must be original. We will not accept reprints, or stories published elsewhere including on blogs, social media etc. Submit your best work in standard manuscript format, as an MS Word .doc or .docx attachment. Anything sent in a different format will be deleted without reply. Authors may submit one story maximum for consideration. Do not re-send rejected stories (including those rejected for previous calls to Sliced Up Press anthologies) No simultaneous submissions please. We are not looking for artwork submissions at this time. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & TERMS: Please email submissions to [email protected] using the following format in the email subject line: Submission for Bodies Full of Burning: – – . (so your email should look like this: Submission for Bodies Full of Burning: My Name – My Story – 1,500 words) In the body of your email, please include a brief author bio of 3-4 sentences maximum along with any social media links. Payment: $0.01 per word, plus 1 x paperback and ebook contributor copy. Length: Minimum 1,000 words, up to 4,000 words...

Submission Window: June 1st-3rd 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk. Hi there! We’ll no doubt write more about this later in the next year, but for now, what follows below will tell you all you need to know. And the theme? It’s “Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk.” (No more submissions are being accepted for publication in December of 2020–but we will be publishing stories that have already been accepted.) The following is relevant to all submissions for 2021, and the first submission window opens Jan. 1. More below.   Writing opportunities for 2021 include:   New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are almost or entirely new or are just new takes on old tales are all welcome. Mashups of existing fairy tales are welcome as well. Submissions must follow the theme below to be considered.   Essays: Nonfiction articles about any aspect fairy tales and folklore are being sought. The term “essay” just means you’ll be writing about fairy-tale related matters in a nonfiction article.  Creative nonfiction is welcome. You do not have to stick to the theme, but you can.   Poetry: Poetry inspired by fairy tales and that follows the theme is also welcome.   Please read the following in its entirety before submitting.   Want to know what is likely to get published here? There are well over 10 years of stories, essays and art on this current site. It’s the best place to start if you want to be published here.   HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT AND FORMAT   Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at EC in 2021.   * Writers will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories/essays/poems 11 times this year. Since we will be choosing four works per publishing month, there are 44...

Deadline: June 5th, 2021 Payment: $25 Theme: Pandemic Skywatcher Press is excited to launch our themed biannual anthology series UNLEASHED featuring top notch fiction by new and established authors.  We are seeking stories across the wide possibilities of the horror landscape. Our goal is to terrify readers, make their skin crawl, and keep them on the edge of their seats.    This anthology series is released biannually, so if your story doesn't get chosen, keep trying! Stories can be up to 10,000 words, and we will make exceptions for longer.  Once selected, pay will be $25 per story. We are eagerly awaiting your most twisted, nightmarish creations!  2021 Summer Release! Seeking stories with themes surrounding PANDEMIC. Submission DEADLINE is JUNE 5, 2021 HOW TO SUBMIT For consideration, please send submissions in .doc format to [email protected] All submissions must be original works of fiction, and we are seeking First Print Rights. If you have any doubt about professional manuscript formatting, here is a handy dandy guide to manuscript formatting: Via: Skywatcher Press.

Deadline: June 6th, 2021 Payment: 2 contributors copies Theme: Current/former prisoners may submit work on any topic. Prison volunteers, family, friends, and staff should submit only work on memories, perspectives, or insights related to mass incarceration. Note: This call is for current/former prisoners, current/former prison volunteers, family and friends of prisoners, and current/former prison staff Call For Submissions Submission Guidelines (Link to website) We are currently accepting submissions of short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, one-act plays, cartoons/comics, graphic stories, and art for Issue 6. Submission Deadline: June 06, 2021 Who Can Submit  We welcome submissions from current/former prisoners, current/former prison volunteers, family and friends of prisoners, and current/former prison staff. Current/former prisoners may submit work on any topic. Prison volunteers, family, friends, and staff should submit only work on memories, perspectives, or insights related to mass incarceration. How to Submit  To accommodate prisoners who do not have computer and/or internet access, we accept both electronic and mail-in submissions. Additionally, we accept both typed and handwritten work. There is no submission fee. Please see the guidelines below for each category. Please use the attached coversheet and include your entire submission in a single email or envelope. Manuscripts and art will be returned only with a self-addressed and stamped envelope or mailing tube. We prefer to receive digital images (jpg, png, pdf) of the original art rather than the art itself, but we will accept either. *In order to be considered for publication, cover letter/consent form must be completed in its entirety (Included in Submittable Electronic Form). If you do not have access to a copy of the cover sheet, please include a handwritten/typed letter with title, genre, consent to proofreading and/or structure edits, and incarceration status.  Payment/Gift for Accepted Work  Two contributor copies, prison policy permitting. *Arizona State Prison policy prohibits gifting or paying...

Submission Window: June 1st-7th, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Original fantasy and dark fantasy stories. All types of fantasy and dark fantasy are welcome. Note: This is an early listing to give you some time to plan ahead for next month or to remember to finish revising your story for the upcoming month! Note: We are trusting that the submission windows listed in the ongoing call are valid for this publisher. If they are not, please let us know and we'll look into revising accordingly. Instructions for submitting to Fantasy Magazine follow. Please read everything on this page and read the magazine before submitting. SUBMISSION PROCEDURES Submission Periods: Fantasy is open to submissions the first week of every month (1st-7th). Please do not query about submitting outside our open submission periods. Anonymous Submissions: Fantasy only accepts anonymous submissions. Do not include your name, address, phone number, or other similar identifiers on the manuscript. All original short fiction, flash fiction, and poetry submissions will be read anonymously on first read: moving out of slush depends on the merits of the story alone. Please make sure the title is on the manuscript. Simultaneous and Multiple Submissions: We do not accept simultaneous submissions or multiple submissions. Please do not submit more than one set of poems at a time, more than one piece of flash fiction at a time, or more than one story at a time. You may, however, submit a single entry in each category at the same time: you can submit one batch of poems, one flash fiction piece, and one short story all at the same (or overlapping) time, and each category will be considered a separate submission. If we are already considering work in any given category, please wait until you have received an acceptance or rejection before submitting again in that same category. Instructions: All fiction must be...

Deadline: June 9th, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word, 4 cents a word for reprints Theme: 100-word stories of science fiction General Submissions will be OPEN May 10, 2021 – June 9, 2021 Martian magazine publishes drabbles, stories of exactly 100 words (excluding title). Stories submitted of greater than or less than 100 words will be rejected. We use Google Docs to determine word count. We publish science fiction. Every subgenre of science fiction is acceptable but the science fiction element must be present. Submitted works must be stories. They must have a beginning, middle, and at least hint at the end. They may be 100 words, but we are not interested in thoughts or feelings without action or characters that don’t do anything. We will have set reading periods each year. Submissions will only be read in those reading periods. Stories sent outside of the reading periods will not be read unless they were specifically solicited by the editor. We pay .08 per word for original fiction, paid on publication of the selected work. Reprints are accepted and paid at .04 per word, half that of original fiction. We accept simultaneous submissions. Just please let us know if your work was selected elsewhere if we have not yet gotten back to you. We accept multiple submissions-up to three at a time, sent as separate emails. We will respond within two weeks with either a rejection or hold request. The rights we ask for are first-time world electronic rights for original fiction and non-exclusive reprint rights for reprints. We do not have an exclusivity period, you are free to sell your work as a reprint upon publication in Martian. We publish a yearly anthology gathering the work from the previous year. This anthology will be published in digital ebook and print. We also ask for the...

Deadline: June 9th, 2021 Payment: $40 and a contributor's copy Theme: Horror deep under horror Do you want your story to appear in the next volume of the Better Off Dead Series? IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE: Volume 6 Submission Guidelines ​ Please read carefully. Submissions that don't meet the guidelines will be automatically rejected. ​ All submissions will be reviewed after the submission deadline and chosen stories will be published in IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE- TALES OF THE DARK DEEP - The Better Off Dead Series Volume 6, which will be released December 6th, 2021. Submissions must be between 5,000 and 10,000 words (Word counts are firm) Title, submitter's name, pen name (if different), story word count and author email address must be centered at the top of your submission Submissions must be written using American English spelling and terminology Submissions must be written in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1" margins, double spaced with a special first line indention of 0.3" Submissions must not contain headers, footers or page numbers All scene breaks must be three asterisks, centered, with no spaces in between (***) Submissions must be in .Docx or .Doc format Submissions should be clean and edited to the best of author's ability Submissions must fit the theme of the Dark Deep and should be centered around bodies of water and anything connected to them, such as sea creatures, mysterious disappearances, pirates, the Bermuda Triangle, etc, and must be written in the horror genre. Submissions cannot contain graphic sexual or rape scenes Submissions must not have been published elsewhere before in any medium The number of stories published will depend on word count of the chosen stories, but will be no less than ten stories and no more than twenty Authors may submit as many...

Deadline: June 14th, 2021 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Doppelgängers If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. (Vol 72.) Doppelgängers II; deadline 14th June !!!NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS!!! SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If, this form isn’t working, then please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. But please let us know why as we’re hoping to use the form going forward. Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) It is important that your story complies with our Submission Guidelines. Any stories found not to be in compliance will be immediately discarded. Click HERE for details If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document • Stories must fit an upcoming theme • By submitting your story to us, you are...

Deadline: June 14th, 2021 Payment: Contributor's copy Theme: something got out Note: My apologies for the short window, only saw the open call on it this morning No Bad Books Press is pleased to announce its first anthology call for submissions. We expect publication in September 2021. The name of the Anthology is "Released" and the theme is, "something got out." SUBMISSION DETAILS Submission Deadline: June 14, 2021 Word Count: 1,500-4,000 Guidelines: Please keep it into a speculative-fiction world or theme. Please don’t include anything that involves rape, violence for the sake of violence, erotica, abuse of animals or children. Explicit language is fine in moderation as are mild-sexual scenes. Author compensation: You will receive a physical copy of the anthology, an e-book copy, authors will retain the rights to their stories after 6 months, and receive our undying support and appreciation. Submit submission in the email body (no attachments) to [email protected] Via: No Bad Books Press.

Deadline: June 15th, 2021 Prizes: 1st place: $700, 2nd place: $200, 3rd place: $100 Theme: Engaging and original stories in the Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror realm The Contest $1000 short story contest instructions: Deadline June 15th Deadline: June 15th Word Limit: 5000 words (if you're a few words over, that's fine). All genres accepted. Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror smiled upon. 1st place: $700 and publication in the journal. 2nd place: $200 and publication in the journal. 3rd place: $100 and publication in the journal. HOW TO SUBMIT: Email your stories to: submissions (at) muddypawpress (dot) com The subject of your email should read: CONTEST: title of story  e.g. CONTEST: The Dirty Dog . Include your name and contact information on page 1. No reprints. Original, unpublished work only. Guidelines We're not going to waste your time with obscure and lengthy guidelines, and we hope you won't waste ours by neglecting to read these brief tips. If it's not already clear, we're primarily seeking engaging and original stories in the Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror realm. That said, we're looking for fiction that has literary merit above all else. Share a story with us that's demanding to see the light of day. Give us a conflict that's cannot be ignored; give us a character that commands attention; give us a novel situation or a compelling predicament or a totally unique angle on a familiar trope. Send us a good piece of fiction and we'll figure out everything else later. Edit your manuscript. Gaping plot holes, typos, mistakes, and cliched writing is certain to be rejected. No idea is clever enough to overpower bad or unpolished writing. We cannot stress this enough: edit your manuscript. Hyper analyze your first page. Then, hyper analyze your first chapter. There's an overwhelmingly high chance that our editors will recognize within...

Deadline: June 19th, 2021 Payment: $10 for short fiction, $5 for poetry Theme: Dark fiction, horror, sci-fi/horror, speculative horror, creature feature, suspense, thriller, weird horror, cosmic horror, and crime. Note: Apologies for the short notice, just stumbled across this on Twitter. Originally for a magazine, this call was turned into an anthology release Active: June 5-19 Expected Release: Fall or early Winter Will be accepting up to 10-13 pieces, mostly short fiction but some poetry, as well. Compensation: $10 for short fiction, $5 for poetry – USD sent via Paypal, Venmo, or Cash apps prior to publication / Accepted authors will be able to purchase physical copies of the anthology at print cost and shipping (usually a few dollars cheaper this way) We’re looking for variations of dark fiction, horror, sci-fi/horror, speculative horror, creature feature, suspense, thriller, weird horror, cosmic horror, and crime. We do not want: romance/erotica fiction or poetry … fanfiction … excessive amounts of sex … excessive blood/gore without substance to the story … descriptive sequences of rape … racist or homophobic content that serves no purpose to the story (and even if it does, we may determine it’s too much for this publication to be accepted) … religious pieces (nothing preachy or promoting an agenda) Word Count (Short Fiction): 1500-7000 (some flexibility) Word Count (Poetry): Under 1000 (firm) Be aware #1: Content warnings will be placed in the back of the magazine that will note such things as “rape” or “child abuse.” If you refuse to allow us to include a content warning in the back pages of our magazine, your story will not be accepted. Please read this article if content warnings are foreign to you. Be aware #2: We are supporters of the LGBTQIA+ community. We want stories from all, regardless of race, cultural background, sexual orientation, or identification. Be aware #3: We most likely...

Deadline: June 20th, 2021 Payment: Contributor's Copy Theme: Shine a spotlight on the background characters of a hero's story Note: Reprints welcome Since its beginnings in the early 1980s, the Life, the Universe, & Everything Symposium has been a staple of the Utah and Intermountain West author and artist community. Many authors, artists, and editors have found inspiration for their careers at the feet of scores of symposium guests. Influential professors and others have mentored those planning and running the symposium, but many of these mentors have passed on. The symposium helps students of all ages by providing greatly discounted student memberships. Hemelein Publications—in conjunction with LTUE Press—created a series of memorial benefit/charity anthologies to help the symposium continue to help these aspiring creators learn about their crafts at a reasonable cost. Author, artist, and editor proceeds from the anthology go to LTUE to help students attend for a very low cost. The fifth of these anthologies, A Hero of a Different Stripe, is a science fiction, fantasy, or light horror (along the lines of the original Twilight Zone) unusual hero adventure anthology, created in honor of Tom Grover. Tom was always helping out with LTUE, volunteering for anything and everything. He always seemed to be there when help was needed, and he was tireless in his efforts to make LTUE a success. He passed away in 1988 following a mountain climbing accident. Theme Ever wonder what the background people get up to when the hero’s not around? Write a story about it! We’re looking for stories featuring the people usually relegated to the role of mobile furniture in a story: the janitor on the starship, the granny knitting quietly on a park bench, the little kid with his dog, street merchants and performers, innkeepers just trying to take care of their customers, librarians, geeky teens who wouldn’t ever be...

Submission Window: June 15, 2021 (9AM EST) to June 22, 2021 (9AM EST) Payment: Novels are an advance on royalties, Novellas are the same or pure royalties Theme: Novels and novellas for adults across the breadth of the horror genre—from the cosmic and Lovecraftian to the beloved undead tropes of zombies, ghosts, and slashers and the more uncanny and internal terrors of isolation, lost love, and aging. The following guidelines outline how to submit novels and novellas to Nightfire. Please be sure to read them carefully so that your submission does not get disqualified. Note: Tor/Forge Books’ submission information is here, and Tor.com’s submission information is here. To learn more about the Tor/Forge, Tor.com, and Nightfire editorial teams, check here. Nightfire will be open to novel and novella submissions from June 15, 2021 (9AM EST) to June 22, 2021 (9AM EST). To submit your work, visit us on Moksha. When submitting, please upload your full manuscript. Our submission portal will also ask for a cover letter, where you should include a pitch and a short author bio. Once you have registered on Moksha, you can use that portal to check the status of your submission. If you have trouble with our submission portal, please email [email protected]. What We’re Looking For: The Nightfire team is looking for novels and novellas for adults across the breadth of the horror genre—from the cosmic and Lovecraftian to the beloved undead tropes of zombies, ghosts, and slashers and the more uncanny and internal terrors of isolation, lost love, and aging. We are actively looking for submissions from writers from underrepresented populations. This includes, but is not limited to, writers of any race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, class, and physical or mental ability. We believe that good stories reflect the incredible diversity and potential of the human species, and want...

Submission Window: June 15th, 2021 to June 22nd, 2021 Payment: Novels: advance against royalties, Novellas: Optionally can go royalty-only. Theme: Tor's horror imprint is actively seeking un-agented submissions, The following guidelines outline how to submit novels and novellas to Nightfire. Please be sure to read them carefully so that your submission does not get disqualified. Note: Tor/Forge Books’ submission information is here, and Tor.com’s submission information is here. To learn more about the Tor/Forge, Tor.com, and Nightfire editorial teams, check here. Nightfire will be open to novel and novella submissions from June 15, 2021 (9AM EST) to June 22, 2021 (9AM EST). To submit your work, visit us on Moksha. When submitting, please upload your full manuscript. Our submission portal will also ask for a cover letter, where you should include a pitch and a short author bio. Once you have registered on Moksha, you can use that portal to check the status of your submission. If you have trouble with our submission portal, please email [email protected]. What We’re Looking For: The Nightfire team is looking for novels and novellas for adults across the breadth of the horror genre—from the cosmic and Lovecraftian to the beloved undead tropes of zombies, ghosts, and slashers and the more uncanny and internal terrors of isolation, lost love, and aging. We are actively looking for submissions from writers from underrepresented populations. This includes, but is not limited to, writers of any race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, class, and physical or mental ability. We believe that good stories reflect the incredible diversity and potential of the human species, and want our catalog to show that. We encourage you to scroll through our book announcements and to listen to our free audio anthology, Come Join Us By the Fire, to get a sense of our vision and tastes. Good luck—we look forward to...

Submission Window: June 21 to June 27, 2021 Payment: $250 for short fiction; $25 for poetry Theme: Dark stories focused on folklore linked to South America Submission Guidelines for Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas Submission Period: June 21 to June 27, 2021 Hex Publishers is proud to announce our Open Call for Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas, a collection of dark stories focused on folklore linked to location. Authors and folklore enthusiasts Carina Bissett and Hillary Dodge, and four-time Colorado Book Award finalist and StokerCon™ 2021 souvenir book publisher, Joshua Viola, will be jointly editing this anthology. Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas will be a collection of dark tales intrinsically rooted in the places from which they’ve sprung. We seek haunting and folkloric tales where setting is character and landscape is an essential part of the story. We want stories that draw from the wellspring of cultural destinations and local folklore in their shaping - most especially, stories that are tied to a specific and concrete location. This can include places that never existed, or those with connections created by the author, but they must take place in South America. Original tales, mash-ups, and new takes on known folkloric elements/cryptids/legends are all welcome. There is an old saying that wisdom sits in places. Open an atlas across the Americas, and you will soon discover this knowledge hidden in fragments of shared memory marked on maps. The ancient peoples knew which areas to avoid, which spirits to appease. Later, invasive superstitions from far-flung countries seeded into the landscape. In order to survive, newcomers learned the cautionary tales and secret lore linked to the terrain. But not all paid heed to superstitions. These are their stories, each tale a new entry in the field guide to dark landscapes. From...

Submission Window: June 21st to June 27th, 2021 Payment: $250 for short fiction; $25 for poetry Theme: A collection of dark stories focused on folklore linked to location, short stories exclusively set in South America, and poetry set in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and South America. Submission Period: June 21 to June 27, 2021 Hex Publishers is proud to announce our Open Call for Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas, a collection of dark stories focused on folklore linked to location. Authors and folklore enthusiasts Carina Bissett and Hillary Dodge, and four-time Colorado Book Award finalist and StokerCon™ 2021 souvenir book publisher, Joshua Viola, will be jointly editing this anthology. Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas will be a collection of dark tales intrinsically rooted in the places from which they’ve sprung. We seek haunting and folkloric tales where setting is character and landscape is an essential part of the story. We want stories that draw from the wellspring of cultural destinations and local folklore in their shaping - most especially, stories that are tied to a specific and concrete location. This can include places that never existed, or those with connections created by the author, but they must take place in South America. Original tales, mash-ups, and new takes on known folkloric elements/cryptids/legends are all welcome. There is an old saying that wisdom sits in places. Open an atlas across the Americas, and you will soon discover this knowledge hidden in fragments of shared memory marked on maps. The ancient peoples knew which areas to avoid, which spirits to appease. Later, invasive superstitions from far-flung countries seeded into the landscape. In order to survive, newcomers learned the cautionary tales and secret lore linked to the terrain. But not all paid heed to superstitions. These are their stories, each...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $30, a contributor's copy, potential royalties Theme: Navigating Ruins WriteHive has grown so much since it's started. We are excited to announce this new projects as another step toward Writing the Future We Need. In a collaboration with Inked in Gray we will be hosting our first ever anthology collection! As we come out of this last year and seek for ways to grow better and stronger, we felt that this theme would be a good first foray to showcase our writing community. More specifically the topic of navigating ruins. This open call opens May 1st, 2021 and closes on June 30, 2021. Writing the Future We Need: Navigating Ruins Theme: Navigating Ruins. There is no limitation to how you incorporate this theme into your work as long as the story falls within the Sci-Fi, Horror, or Fantasy genre. We encourage you to take the theme and show its manifestation beyond the physical, showing us something unique and engaging. Submission Period: May 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021 Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 10K words per piece, not including addition information below Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi Submission Details: Previously unpublished works You may submit up to 2 pieces, but each work must be a separate submission Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please let us know if the work is accepted elsewhere Include story as attached .doc (or .doc compatible format) please for ease of visual accessibility You will be asked to copy a short query with bio and mission criteria into our form submission Work must not have been previously published elsewhere What to Include with Your Submission: *Please read carefully* A 3 – 5 sentence bio with any relevant social media links (Social media is not required to participate) A short snippet (1 – 3 sentences)...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: 5 cents per word original, 1 cent per word reprint, min $50 Theme: Weird/Occult Detective stories, RETRO-TECH/VINTAGE/ALT-HIST SETTINGS STRONGLY PREFERRED Note: Reprints welcome Special Session: 1-30 June 2021 Weird/Occult Detective stories ONLY* *RETRO-TECH/VINTAGE/ALT-HIST SETTINGS STRONGLY PREFERRED Hello! This project is a comfortable two-headed beast at play in the curious and often dark corners of retropunk fiction. That means steampunk, dieselpunk, dreadpunk, bronzepunk, others that haven’t even been invented yet punk … but not atompunk. Sorry, space fans, we draw our line at Sputnik. About 2/3 of rejections are for “bad fit.” We buy nonexclusive rights for fiction, cover & interior art, music & sound effects usage, and narration services. What we do: Curiosities, a short story anthology series published two or three times a year, which is available in digital and print on demand formats, and The Gallery of Curiosities, a podcast which features stories from the publication. Not every story we buy will make it to an audio podcast release, but we do make good effort to get it there before our rights expire. We started out as a podcast, and went to print later.  Audio production is incredibly time intensive. Short version: 5 cents per word original, 1 cent per word reprint, min $50 Length up to 7500 words We read blind. Anonymize your manuscript before sending it as a doc, docx, or rtf. Use the format SUBMISSION: Story Title in the title bar of your email or it gets lost. Multiple? No more than 3 at a time. Always send in separate emails. Simultaneous? Yes. Please be prompt with a withdrawal if sold If accepted, your story will be published in ebook and print-on-demand formats If accepted, your story may possibly be produced for podcast send to [email protected] Long version: What we’re looking for: As an audio venue, we want...

Submission Window: June 1st – June 30th, 2021 Payment: 3 cents/word Theme: Ecological Horror Field Notes from a Nightmare will be a print and e-book anthology about environmental and ecological horrors. Though some still try, there is no denying that humans have and continue to drastically alter the earth and its environment. Climate change, pollution, suburban sprawl, deforestation, etc. Give me your tales and observations on these impacts. What horrors have/will we see as a result? How will Mother Nature fight back in a struggle for survival? As long as it’s nature/environmental/ecological and horror, it’s good. Submission Period: June 1 – June 30. Do not send before June 1. Length: 1,000 – 4,000 words. Firm. Author Compensation: 3 cents/word, paid via PayPal upon acceptance. Publication: Print and ebook (target publication Winter 2021-22). Rights: Exclusive First Worldwide Publication and Electronic Rights for three months, and non-exclusive rights thereafter. Original stories ONLY. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your story immediately if accepted elsewhere. NO multiple submissions. Email your submission as a Word document attachment to [email protected] with “FIELD NOTES – – – ” in the subject line. OTHER SUBMISSION CONSIDERATIONS: Dark weird fiction and horror-adjacent sci-fi is also welcome. Please no fantasy or hard sci-fi. This is anthology about our earth, so to a large degree your story should be rooted in our reality. Meaning, stories with dystopian elements are expected, but full-on dystopian stories will be a hard sell. Happy endings are also a hard sell, but don’t be afraid to try a glimmer of hope. Tropes aren’t bad, but preference will given to unique usage and/or subversion of well-established tropes. Yes, we are pro-environment, but don’t be overly moralizing. Nuance is key. Stories that deal with bigotry are fine, but bigoted stories are not. Splatterpunk is fine, but gore and extreme elements should serve story, character,...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a contributor's copy Theme: Sherlock Holmes mysteries taking place in 1882 Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mystery 1882 “When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years '82 and '90, I am faced by so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know which to choose and which to leave.” - Dr. Watson Synopsis: Watson mentions that 1882 is one of the years with strange and interesting cases, yet the canon contains not a single adventure from this year. What happened during Holmes and Watson’s second year in Baker Street? What thrilling mysteries did they solve? Find out in Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1882. This collection contains a dozen cases, one for each month of the year, from January to December. Submission Guidelines: Stories must be canonical in nature. Holmes and Watson should be young and still getting to know each other. Authors interested in participating should first send a synopsis of their adventure and the month of the year they wish it to take place. If your story does not need a specific month (i.e. it takes place in autumn and could be in September, October, or November) please let us know that as well. Once your synopsis has been accepted, you should begin drafting the story. Submission length: 5,000 – 10,0000 words (it is okay to go over some). Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology. Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: 0.5p per word (£5 per 1000 words) and 2 contributors copies Theme: Fiction that explores "Depth, Time and Infinity" in any way you choose. Note: My apologies on the short deadline, this recently hit my inbox. Abyss: Stories of Depth, Time and Infinity Exciting news! Following the success of our first anthology, Vast, Orchid’s Lantern is opening its doors once more. Abyss: Stories of Depth, Time and Infinity will be our second anthology, and this time we’re seeking fiction that explores these metaphysical topics in any way you choose. We want high-impact experimental pieces, streams of consciousness, unusual perspectives and fictional accounts of altered states. We want extrapolations and interpretations of our present reality, or visions of drastic changes. We want the literary and the speculative. The entertaining will be juxtaposed, or combined, with the philosophical. We do not want highly fantastical settings unless they explicitly link back to the theme. We want complete stories, not chapters of something bigger. Please do not send us: Stories of a racist, sexist or bigoted nature Stories promoting particular religions or political stances Vampires, werewolves, superheroes or magic Erotica We like: Maniac, Russian Doll, The OA, Mr Robot, Black Mirror, The Matrix, Philip K Dick, Mark Z. Danielewski, Franz Kafka, Clarice Lispector, Sylvia Plath, Hermann Hesse, Jean-Paul Satre, Kurt Vonnegut, Anna Kavan, Robert Anton Wilson, Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts and Terence McKenna. Guidelines: All submissions should have fewer than 7,500 words. There is no lower limit because we are fans of flash fiction, so long as it is strong and impactful. We aim to have a variety of lengths in the finished publication. The initial deadline is 30th June 2021, but we reserve the right to extend this should we not receive enough quality submissions by this date. We will...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $15 Theme: Speculative fiction, primarily horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Note: Reprints welcome Formatting Guidelines This is proving to be a recurring problem, so we're putting it up front. Please, for all our sakes, read this next part carefully. All submissions should be sent by e-mail (no letters or telephone calls please) to [email protected]. Below are some formatting rules to help us process your submission more quickly. EMAIL AND COVER LETTERS Email is accepted in both text and HTML formats. When submitting, please put this in the subject line: Submission: (Title) - (First and Last name) Include the following in the body of the email and in the attached submission: Your name Name to use on the story (byline), if different Your preferred email address Your mailing address The story's title The story's word count You may also include a cover letter in the body of the email. We get a lot of strange stuff in cover letters, so if you're unsure of what goes in them (and especially what doesn't) please refer to these cover letter tips: How to write a cover letter | What not to put in a cover letter by Jed Hartman SUBMISSION FORMATTING We ONLY accept submissions as attachments! All stories submitted as an attachment must follow standard manuscript formatting. We will no longer read any story not properly formatted. (And we much prefer Courier New to Times New Roman) For explanations and tips on what SMF is and how to do it with word processing programs, please see this article. Please send your submission as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Test Format (.rtf) only. Other formats, such as Works, WordPerfect, Open Office, etc., have proven difficult to open. Please note that we no longer accept "inline" submssions; that is, submissions with the stories pasted...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $25 Theme: A horror anthology that takes a look at the real black zodiac. Open submissions being accepted for “The Dire Circle.”              Open 5/3/21 - Close 6/30/21 D&T Publishing proudly presents The Dire Circle. A horror anthology that takes a look at the real black zodiac.  Most people know of the black zodiac as portrayed in the movie, Thirteen Ghosts. But, did you know that there is an actual black zodiac? The evil side of the zodiac circle we are so accustomed to. The evil side of the human creature. Within these pages, we will explore what evil lurks on the other side of the wheel, and what that could mean for those that tend to spend a little more time on the dark side.  Specific information: - If you’ve worked with us on some of our prior anthologies, then you will be familiar. Send us a one paragraph story, about one of the sides in the black zodiac. I will post a link below, that will help you find more information. https://aminoapps.com/c/horror/page/blog/the-real-black-zodiac-not-13-ghost/7evF_Pua33KgRMKR8xrpz4DKrjNBQR6 - One paragraph, typed into the body of an email. No attachments. **If it is over one paragraph, it will not be read.** Send to [email protected] - A confirmation email will be sent to you within 24 hours of receipt of your submission. Please make sure that your name is on your submission.  - Acceptance emails will be sent out no later than 7/4/21.  - For your email, please use The Dire Circle, as the subject.  - If you receive an acceptance email, a link will be provided to you for a Facebook group and all other information will be provided to you at that time, as well as assignments of which story you will write. You...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalty Split Theme: What happens when the villain wins? What happens when the villain wins? Sick of dashing debonairs? Fed up of being blinded by shining armor? Sometimes, all a girl wants is a villain for a hero. The Rebel Diaries is looking for stories starring characters with a dubious shade of morals. We want characters who aren’t afraid of getting what they want, causing a bit of chaos, dabbling in mischief and mayhem, and slathering on the sarcasm. We want stories that slip into the grey areas, that are bulging with villains, deviants and rebels. We’re after sassy tales littered with questionable morals and happy endings—for the villains anyway.   We are not looking for horror or gratuitous violence, but dark stories that are fun, light hearted explorations of the characters usually hidden in obscurity.  We actively encourage submissions from own voices, characters or authors with disabilities or from underrepresented backgrounds, LGBTQ+ etc. *** Submission deadline: June 30th, 2021 Word count: 2,500–7,500 words. Payment: royalty split via Draft2Digital (an account will be required but is free to set up) PLEASE NOTE: All stories will be read blind, names will be taken off stories before they’re read and a number assigned to ensure no bias. Stories slightly over or under the word count will be considered Stories must be saved as a Word document, PDFs will not be accepted Times New Roman Size 12 font 1.5 paragraph spacing You can use this template for submitting Place your name, the title of the anthology for which you are submitting, and your preferred contact email address in the header of the document Sex, violence, are accepted as long as they serve the story Creative swearing is encouraged ;p  No hate speech or fan fiction All works must be original and copyright held by the person submitting One submission per...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payent: Royalties Publication – October 2021 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – After killing Earth, humans have been launched into space exploration. Discovering aliens and new technologies, future generations are unrecognizable from the Earthlings that once were. There are a select few who want to go back to their roots, some who will prevent this at all costs, and others who don’t care. Where do your characters fit within the vast universe full of the unknown? * Introduction of yourself should be a short biography in 3rd Person between 100-200 words. Upon acceptance, this will be used within the anthology. Send a bio with every single anthology submission. We work with hundreds of authors and will not take time to retrieve yours from a previous anthology. * Poetry submissions: All poetry needs to be contained within a single e-mail. Each poem should be in a separate document. Haikus may be grouped together. * All e-mails should be addressed to “Dear Editor.” After receiving edits back, the author has two weeks to return the submission for formatting. All submissions will be reviewed within thirty (30) days of the anthology’s submission deadline. This ensures submission calls do not close early and gives everyone a chance to submit. You will know your submission has been received for consideration by receiving a generic response. Whether accepted or rejected, you will always receive a response. View our blog articles on how to submit to a publisher and how to write a proposal.   Failure to submit following all of the guidelines will result in an immediate refusal. You are able to submit again before the submission call deadline.   Rating – Check each anthologies‘ rating. Word count – Check each anthologies‘ word count requirements. E-mail address to submit to – [email protected]   NOTICE –  Failure to submit correctly will result in refusal of...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $5 Theme: Dates that have gone horrifically wrong We have all had dates we would much rather forget, but how many tragic souls have had the misfortune to swipe right on a serial killer, lycanthrope, one of the undead, a denizen fresh from hell itself, or any other manner of nefarious beings? We want your stories of dates gone horrofically wrong, seemingly innocent meetings that deliver death and terror instead of romance, of psychopathic stalkers who will stop at nothing to possess their love's still-beating heart... PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 4K-10K word count * Write 'DATES' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: 30 June 2021 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: Contributor's copy Theme: Each story must contain a character named Angela and a penguin. What? More details below! Submission deadline is June 30, 2021. ANGELA’S RECURRING NIGHTMARES GUIDELINES Thank you for choosing to submit to the sixth annual Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers (GLAHW) mini-anthology. We are looking for horror fiction, between 2,000 and 5,000 words, along with the following requirements. 1. A feature character named Angela. She can be the protagonist, antagonist, monster, victim, friend, etc. As long as she (or, I suppose they, since gender fluidity is fine) plays a significant, if not pivotal role in the story. 2. The story must contain a penguin. How you use the penguin is up to you, be creative. I will be editing the stories, but I will not make any changes without first discussing them with you, the writer. I’m a writer, too, and I know what it’s like to have my story altered without my consent. I won’t do that to you. Having said that, however, I will try my best to make each of the stories in this anthology the best they can be. So, if I give you notes, I’d appreciate it if you’d consider them carefully. I’m not saying you have to agree with me (I’ve had plenty of writers argue with me, and sometimes, I see their point and concede the edit). Just that you listen. The cover art for Angela’s Recurring Nightmares will be handled by the talented Steve Bejma SUBMISSION Please submit all stories to [email protected]  The subject line should read Submission: Angela’s Recurring Nightmares. Stories should be submitted as an attachment in either MS Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf). Please follow proper manuscript format. If you don’t know what proper manuscript format is, please follow this link.  http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html. Include a short 100-150...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $15.00 plus equal share of 50% of the anthology’s royalties for stories. Theme: Stories that revolve around the process of creating an US / THEM situation and what happens to both sides because of it. Propaganda. Dehumanizing those that you disagree with. Using labels to identify people as being evil. Only broadcasting the fringe and extremist activities—but saying everyone who supports something on that side of the divide is the same as the extremists. These tactics are very common in warfare and becoming more and more common in politics. They divide people, they can tear families, friends and countries apart. What we’re looking for are stories that revolve around the process of creating an US / THEM situation and what happens to both sides because of it. Stories can have a happy ending where both sides are to see past the differences that have been magnified to find the similarities that can join them. They can have tragic endings where one or both sides are destroyed by the hate mongering. (Think: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield from ST:TOS). Or, they can be somewhere in between Give me stories that present all sides and show the similarities even as those sides are demonizing the other sides and ignoring the extremists on their own (remember no one is ever perfect—especially in their hatred of others) 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 a teenager - please feel free to send the editor a story. In your cover email, please tell the...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: Shared royalty pool of 30% of sales revenue Theme: Creepy Christmas stories, your Hanukkah horrors, your New Year’s Eve Evils, with a dose of speculative fiction tossed in. Fedowar Press is opening submissions for a holiday speculative-horror themed anthology. We want your creepy Christmas stories, your Hanukkah horrors, your New Year’s Eve Evils, with a dose of speculative fiction tossed in. This anthology is expected to release in late November 2021. Submissions will be accepted until June 30, 2021. Details Length: Between 7.5k and 15k words Genre: Horror plus any speculative genre. For example Horror/SciFi, Horror/Fantasy, Horror/Urban Fantasy/Romance Region: Can take place anywhere in the world Period: Any period, present, past, future Qualifying submissions must have never been published. Participating authors will share a royalty pool of 30% of sales revenue. Percentage per author will be based on the percentage contributed to the final word count. How to submit? Email us at [email protected], with the subject “Scary Christmas Submission“ Tell us a little bit about yourself. For example: Have we met? Remind us. Do you have any writing credits? What is your social media info? Do you like dogs? Include your genres, word count, and a brief synopsis. Paste your story into your email *attachments will not be opened. Please only use standard fonts for legibility. Stories will be reviewed after the close of the submission window. Please allow up to six weeks after the submission window closes for a response. After that, If you haven’t received a response, feel free to check-in for an update.   Still have questions? Please use our contact form, and someone will get back to you. Via: Fedowar Press.

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: % of royalties, exact % not stated in call. Theme: Sci-fi stories with a slathering of comedy ROYALTY SHARE PAID CALL Submission opens: 1st April 2021 Submission Deadline: 30th June 2021 Title: Flying Saucers in Space (working title) ​ Theme: We want sci-fi stories with a slathering of comedy. Think Galaxy Quest, Barbarella, Red Dwarf, Space Milkshake, The Orville. Must be primarily based in Space and full of comedy. ​ Genre: Sci-Fi Comedy Word Count: 5000 - 10000 ​ Author eligibility: Open to all. ​ Reprints: None. ​ Simultaneous Submissions: Not allowed. This means, don't send your story elsewhere while we are considering it. ​ Multiple Submissions: Up to two acceptances per author allowed. ​ Publication: A single anthology in print (paperback and hardback) and digital. ​ Author Compensation: Free digital copy of the book and a % of royalties. ​ Please email all submissions to [email protected] ​ Via: Raven And Drake Publishing.

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: $20.00 USD and a contributors copy Theme: Exploring the hotel in 'Escaping Infinity', details below Subs are now open for, Exploring Infinity, a new sci-fi/fantasy anthology based on the Dragon Award nominated novel, Escaping Infinity ( https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Infinity-Richard-Paolinelli/dp/1541392582 ). I am looking for 10-12 stories. Maximum word count is 10,000 words and the hard minimum word count is 5,000 words. Stories must be centered around the novel and can range from other people in the hotel (i.e. the person Liz led to that certain door who failed to solve the mystery as Peter did), a part of the hotel not explored, a person at any point in time that encountered the Infinity but did not enter the hotel (remember, once inside there is no exiting), or life on Earth AFTER Peter leads them out of the Infinity. You can go all the way up until Peter and Liz depart Earth looking for the Manager’s home world, but as the final chapter of Escaping Infinity and the upcoming sequel, Expanding Infinity, will pick up the story from there, please do not wander that far into the future. Payment will be $20.00 USD plus a free print copy of the book to each author. Submissions must be in Word doc or docx format. Times New Roman, 12 pt and double-spaced with a return e-mail address and your name, mailing address and other info in the top left corner. An apprx. word count in the top right corner. Submission deadline is June 30, 2021. Submission e-mail: [email protected]. The anthology will be released in the late fall of 2021, around the time that the sequel is released. If you have any questions, e-mail me at the address above or PM me here. If you have not yet read the original novel and...

Deadline: June 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalties, potentially an advance Theme: Speculative genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Weird, Mystery/Thrillers or any combination of the above. Hybrids or difficult to categorize novellas are welcome. Note: Authors must be BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) ​Interstellar Flight Press will open to novella submissions from BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) authors starting 2/15/21 through 6/30/21. ​ Our Guest Editor for this call is Premee Mohamed. Premee Mohamed is an Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is a Social Media Manager and Associate Editor for the short audio science fiction venue Escape Pod, and was a Capital City Press Featured Writer for 2019/2020 with the Edmonton Public Library. Her short fiction has appeared in both print and audio in a variety of venues, including Analog, Escape Pod, Augur, Nightmare Magazine, Shoreline of Infinity, and PodCastle. Solicited anthology and other project appearances include Drabblecast, A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods, Jo Walton’s New Decameron, and others. In 2017 she was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for her story “Willing” (Third Flatiron Press). Her debut novel, Beneath the Rising, is out now from Solaris Books, with the sequel A Broken Darkness due out in 2021. Her novellas being published in 2021 include These Lifeless Things (Solaris Books), And What Can We Offer You Tonight (Neon Hemlock), and The Annual Migration of Clouds (ECW Press). In her spare time, she also paints and occasionally does pen and ink illustration. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @premeesaurus and on her website at www.premeemohamed.com. We are looking for: Fiction Novellas 17,500–40,000 words. (Submissions within 5,000 words of this range are okay, but we may ask you to edit the work to fit this word range if it is accepted.) Speculative genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Weird, Mystery/Thrillers or any combination of the above. Hybrids or difficult to categorize novellas...

Deadline: July 1st, 2021 Payment: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10 Theme: Watch the Birdie! To download a PDF file of the guidelines, click here . ALL SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, POEMS, PHOTOGRAPHS and ART MUST RELATE TO ONE OF THE PREMISES SPECIFIED ABOVE. NOTE: Previously published pieces are welcome, provided that the submission fits the theme and that the author owns the copyright. The premise (target theme) must be an integral part of the plot, not necessarily the central theme but not merely incidental. Fewer than 20 double-spaced typewritten pages preferred. Indicate premise (target theme) on title page. Be sure to Indicate target theme in cover letter or on first page of manuscript. Include self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with each submission. Rejected manuscripts unaccompanied by an SASE will not be returned. Response time: 3 months after premise deadline.  NO READER'S FEE. Mail to: THEMA, Box 8747, Metairie, LA 70011-8747. Outside the US: email [email protected] On acceptance for publication, we will pay the following amount: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10; artwork, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Copyright reverts to author after publication. THEMA isn't for everyone. To find out why, click here. New to submitting manuscripts to journals? Click here to download a PDF file of a few basic guidelines. Unlike many publishers, we prefer works submitted by the authors themselves, without the involvement of an agent. Be sure to indicate premise and include SASE for each submission.  BE SURE to include a separate SASE for each premise. No handwritten manuscripts will be considered. NOTE: We do not accept e-mailed submissions EXCEPT from authors who live outside the U.S. For those living outside the U.S., submit manuscript as an email attachment (readable by MSWord ― either as a DOC file or an RTF file), and include the following information on the title...

Deadline: July 1st, 2021 Payment: Poetry International authors will receive a free copy of the issue. Australian authors will receive $25-40 + a copy. Payment: Flash International authors will receive $20 + a copy of the issue. Australian authors will receive $50-75 + a copy of the issue. Payment: Short Fiction International authors will receive $60-125 + a copy of the issue. Australian authors will receive $80-140 + a copy of the issue. Theme: Speculative Fiction stories that excite, that break the boundary between real and unreal SUBMISSIONS OPEN UNTIL 01 JULY 2021 Send us your stories! We want to read your elegant and ugly. We want to pore over your terrifying, your elegiac. We want to ponder over your profound and your silly. We can’t wait. We accept poetry and short fiction up to 5,000 words in length. Double-spaced with a serif font such as Garamond, Times New Roman or Georgia is a requirement. Send all submissions in a Word document (.doc or .docx) by email to [email protected]. Previously unpublished work only. Absolutely no PDFs. Those go straight into the recycling bin. One short story per author OR up to three poems OR up to two pieces of flash fiction (750 words or less). The subject of the email should read “<Name of Author> – <Title of Piece> – <Word Count>”, i.e., “John Citizen – This Story I Wrote – 2,500 words” (If you’re submitting poetry or flash, just your name and either “Flash” or “Poetry” will suffice). Please include a short cover letter in the body of the email, as well as a short (50-75 words) author bio. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your piece has been accepted elsewhere. No multiple submissions, however. As stated, we’re looking for stories that excite, that break...

Deadline: July 1st, 2021 Payment: One cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) Theme: Fantastic Fiction You really NEED to read the description below. The Cafe Irreal is a quarterly webzine that presents a kind of fantastic fiction infrequently published in English. This fiction, which we would describe as irreal, resembles the work of writers such as Franz Kafka, Kobo Abe, Clarice Lispector and Jorge Luis Borges. As a type of fiction it rejects the tendency to portray people and places realistically and the need for a full resolution to the story; instead, it shows us a reality constantly being undermined. Therefore, we're interested in stories by writers who write about what they don't know, take us places we couldn't possibly go, and don't try to make us care about the characters. We would also suggest you take a look at the current issue, archives, and theory (especially the essay, "What is irrealism?") pages on this web site. We accept unsolicited fiction up to 2,000 words in length. Translations are welcome. There is no minimum length. We accept only electronic submissions via e-mail at [email protected]. We cannot, due to the various computer viruses and worms, accept attachments anymore, so please paste your story into the body of the e-mail. Also include your name, address, e-mail address, and a short bio in the text of the submission; please put the word "submission" in the subject heading of the e-mail to ensure that your submission doesn't get lost among all the spam. We pay an honorarium of one cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) to buy first-time internet rights (the story will then be archived). Payment is made upon publication. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DON'T ACCEPT SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS and are only interested in reprints in unusual cases (e.g., the story has appeared in print but...

Deadline: July 2nd, 2021 Payment: $15 Theme: Mythos Reborn Volume I, Issue VI ​ Theme: Mythos Reborn ​ We all know Zeus as king of the Greek panoply of gods and a ruthless tyrant. But we don't know what Zeus did when he wasn't mercilessly pursuing those who defied his will. Maybe he was a great baker. Maybe he liked to sing in the shower. ​ For this issue, we're looking for stories that give us a unique take on mythological figures and characters from all the cultures of the world. Retell a classic tale from a minor character's perspective. Reintroduce us to a story lost to the ages. Or invent your own mythology. ​ Deadline: July 2, 2021 Word Limit: 6,000 words ​ Compensation: flat $15 fee upon publication, plus a digital copy of the magazine (which you're free to share). ​ Format: We will accept short-form fiction any way you want to write it. This can include poetry, flash fiction or short stories. We're particularly interested in the subversion of form. We don't care about hard and fast rules, so don't worry too much about formatting. If you feel its good, chances are that shines through in the writing. And we want to read it. ​ Genre: Anything that's dark, creepy, weird and just a little off-kilter. We're open to genre fiction, particularly anything related to horror, science-fiction, speculative fiction or weird fiction. But we're also interested in anything that twists or subverts these genres in some unexpected way. ​ Simultaneous submissions: We will accept simultaneous submissions, but please inform us if this applies to you. If a story may be pulled away from us at the last minute, we want to know as this may affect our decision on acceptance. ​ Multiple Submissions: We do not accept multiple submissions. ​ Reprints: We do not...

Submission Window: June 20th -July 3rd, 2021 Payment: $0.01/word Theme: Any aspect of horror that contains element(s) specific to Generation X Note: Open only to writers of Generation X (aka born 1965-1980. A year wiggle room is okay.) Dark Ink Books, the home of Kane Holder’s and Tom Savini’s official biographies as well as acclaimed horror anthologies Ghosts, Goblins, Murder, and Madness: Twenty Tales of Halloween and Unburied: A Collection of Queer Dark Fiction, is excited to announce its next open call for short story submissions:   Title: Generation X-ed   Specifics: Open only to writers of Generation X (aka born 1965-1980. A year wiggle room is okay if you truly feel you’re one of us, but don’t claim that “Xennial” crap: you’re over 40. Deal with it). Please don’t submit if you’re not a member of Gen X. payment $0.01/word, eBook copy, and discounted pricing on print copies length: 3000-6000 words (a sprinkling over/under is okay but not a shower) Content should fall within horror genre parameters, any sub-genre, including splatter-punk, psychological, quiet, body, sci-fi terror, creature-feature, dark fable, or paranormal horror, etc, (though we’re not big fans of bizarro fiction or glittery vampires) AND contain element(s) specific to Generation X. This includes (but is not limited to)   -The music (hair metal, rap/hip-hop, grunge * keep in mind copyright restrictions on use of lyrics), fashion, television, movies, and media post-Woodstock but pre-Patriot Act   -The birth of cable television, VCRs, microwaves, AIDS, crack, slasher films, riot grrrls, Satanic panic, and Stephen King fiction, and the death of the Cold War Though historical fiction is absolutely welcomed, it is not a requirement.    Stories will be chosen based on adherence to call parameters, quality of writing, originality, and fit with the other stories in the collection. Some preference will...

Submission Window: July 1st-3rd 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk. Hi there! We’ll no doubt write more about this later in the next year, but for now, what follows below will tell you all you need to know. And the theme? It’s “Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk.” (No more submissions are being accepted for publication in December of 2020–but we will be publishing stories that have already been accepted.) The following is relevant to all submissions for 2021, and the first submission window opens Jan. 1. More below.   Writing opportunities for 2021 include:   New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are almost or entirely new or are just new takes on old tales are all welcome. Mashups of existing fairy tales are welcome as well. Submissions must follow the theme below to be considered.   Essays: Nonfiction articles about any aspect fairy tales and folklore are being sought. The term “essay” just means you’ll be writing about fairy-tale related matters in a nonfiction article.  Creative nonfiction is welcome. You do not have to stick to the theme, but you can.   Poetry: Poetry inspired by fairy tales and that follows the theme is also welcome.   Please read the following in its entirety before submitting.   Want to know what is likely to get published here? There are well over 10 years of stories, essays and art on this current site. It’s the best place to start if you want to be published here.   HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT AND FORMAT   Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at EC in 2021.   * Writers will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories/essays/poems 11 times this year. Since we will be choosing four works per publishing month, there are 44...