Events

Deadline: September 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: Historical fiction, with dragons Deadline – September 30th, 2021 Publication – December 2021 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – Historical Fiction. Any person, location, or time period accepted as long as dragons are included. Note: Dragons need to be part of the storyline. They cannot be mentioned in passing. * 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 submission. Via: Dragon Soul Press.

Submission Window: September 1st-30th, 2021 Payment: $5 Theme: Original feminist tales, feminist retellings of traditional tales, and personal essays related to traditional tales. Thanks for your interest in our journal! Corvid Queen will be open for submissions from September 1-31, 2021. We’re excited to introduce our first-ever guest reader for this submission period! Wen-yi Lee is a writer of speculative fiction hailing from Singapore. Her work has been published by Strange Horizons, Speculative City, Luna Station Quarterly, and Sword & Kettle Press. She can be found on Twitter at @wenyilee_. GENERAL GUIDELINES We’re looking for original feminist tales, feminist retellings of traditional tales, and personal essays related to traditional tales. Although we started as a magazine of fairy tales, we’re now open to pieces based on or related to fairy tales, folklore, myths, legends, and pop culture. We accept fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and pieces that are in-between. For prose, we accept stories of up to 5,000 words. Please note that you do not need to be female or femme to submit a piece; writers of any gender identity and expression are welcome. (We’re listed on Duotrope & Submission Grinder - Fiction, Poetry.) PROCESS How to Submit: To submit a piece, please fill out our Airtable submission form . You may submit one piece per reading period. Our submission form is unfortunately not able to send an automatic response or a copy of your submission; if you aren’t sure if your submission has gone through, please email [email protected]. We’re always happy to check! Payment: We offer an honorarium of $5 for each accepted piece. Acceptance: If your piece is accepted, you’ll receive an email with a publication date & a contract to digitally sign. We’ll follow up a week or two before your publication date with payment confirmation, any suggested edits to...

Deadline: September 30, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Stories of adventure, mystery, and romance set within a retro-futuristic alternative history of either the Victorian era or the American wild west. A steampunk adventure anthology. Journey through an alternate history, where steam and steel rule. Welcoming stories of adventure, mystery, and romance set within a retro-futuristic alternative history of either the Victorian era or the American wild west.   Deadline: September 30, 2021 Word count : 3,000 – 7,000 words Author eligibility : All authors aged 18+ are welcome Author Compensation: Free digital copy & $10.00 USD Reprints : Not allowed Simultaneous Submissions : Not allowed How to submit : Follow classic shunn formatting guidelines -Send your story as a Word (.doc) format attachment to [email protected] -Your document name must include the anthology name, your pen name, and the story title. -Your email subject should be “ – – ” -The body of the email must contain the name of the anthology, the word count, the author’s real name, and the author’s pen name -Please include a 100-150 word bio Via: Madhouse Books.

Deadline: September 30th, 2021 Payment: £10 Theme: L is for Lycanthropes L is for Lycanthropes – Submissions open August 1st. Deadline September 30th.  Where werewolves turn on a full moon, lycanthropes are not as restricted. This opens up to more possibilities as they may turn at the most awkward moment, leading to terrifying carnage. 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 (glorification of child abuse, rape, etc.). 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...

Deadline: September 30th, 2021 Payment: $20 Theme: Grisly short stories of love- gone WRONG. Submissions open from July 1st to September 30th. Send your submission to [email protected] with the subject heading "STORY TITLE - AUTHOR NAME".  Accepted authors will receive $20 through paypal. ​ For our first ever horror anthology "Love Bites" we seek grisly short stories of love- gone WRONG. Offer us your tales of doomed lovers, toxic relationships, broken hearts and unrequited desires - but remember - your tale must have a supernatural twist or element!  ​ We ask that you avoid submitting stories about vampires and werewolves- We will of course consider a vampire or werewolf story but keep in mind you'll have to make it extra compelling for us to accept it.  ​ Your story must be between 1,000-8,000 words.  Ensure that any scenes of a sexual nature are necessary and non-exploitative, and avoid graphic "torture adult content" levels of violence. Any submissions not following these guidelines will be rejected. ​ 1. Email your submission to [email protected]. Include your name and the title of your submission in the subject header. ​ 2. Your work must be double-spaced and in a 12pt, PROFESSIONAL font. If you send us a manuscript typed in Comic Sans, WingDings, or Papyrus, your work will be ritually sacrificed to an eldritch clown deity. DO NOT use the "tab" or "space" key to indent your paragraphs - use the ruler at the top of the page or Microsoft Word's paragraph tool.  ​ 3. Make sure you're satisfied with the piece you're submitting. We'll be happy to consider edits before the release date, but be sure to proofread to the best of your ability beforehand.  ​ 4. As a formality, in the body of your email, please provide a brief cover letter letting us know a little about yourself...

Deadline: September 30th, 2021 Payment: $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a contributor's copy Theme: Traditional Sherlock Holmes stories, but with a twist, in that every story will feature an adventure from a different universe. Sherlock Holmes: Adventures through the Multiverse We’ve read about the many cases that Holmes and Watson have handled from 221B Baker Street over their long career together, but what cases were handled from the other 221B Baker Street, or the other, other one? Adventures through the Multiverse will answer those questions. They will be traditional Sherlock Holmes stories, but with a twist, in that every story will feature an adventure from a different universe. Possibly Watson may be the detective and Holmes is his chronicler. Perhaps Lestrade is the detective and Holmes works at Scotland yard. Maybe young Holmes is one of the Baker Street Irregulars. Maybe Mycroft is the detective and Sherlock works for the government. Perhaps Holmes and Watson reside in the American Old West, or in Ancient Rome, or in Feudal Japan, or even in a futuristic moon base. The choice is up to you!!! Guidelines: These should be traditional Sherlock Holmes adventures that fit into the timeline of the original canon. It will be ok to use a slight sci-fi twist in that, in your multiverse, in the year 1881 smartphones existed as their industrial age happened centuries earlier than ours. If you decide to go this or a similar route, they should not be the focus of the story or detract from a traditional feel. Please start your story with a designation of which multiverse this story takes place in (You can give your multiverse a name i.e. "Animal Multiverse" where every humanoid is an animal like in Zootopia, or...

Deadline: September 30th, 2021 Payment: A$20 and A$60 per 1000 words, A$20 is for unsolicited work. Theme: All types of science fiction, fantasy and horror that are of a “speculative” nature will be considered Note: This date range is ONLY for Australian and New Zealand Authors authors Submissions from Australian and New Zealand writers: 1 February – 30 September Submissions from anyone anywhere: 1 July  – 31 July 2021 Subscribers are fast-tracked through the assessment process. Fiction guidelines Aurealis is looking for science fiction, fantasy or horror short stories between 2000 and 8000 words. All types of science fiction, fantasy and horror that are of a “speculative” nature will be considered, but we do not want stories that are derivative in nature, particularly those based on TV series. We do not publish horror without a supernatural element. Although we are an Australian-based publication, we are open to submissions in English from anywhere in the multiverse during specific reading periods. Stories containing an unacceptable number of spelling mistakes and typos, and those that do not conform to our guidelines in other ways, will be rejected automatically. This may seem harsh, but we are being honest about it. Please take the time to polish your work in every way before you send it to us. Aurealis pays between A$20 and A$60 per 1000 words, but assume the lower rate for unsolicited submissions.  Payment is made soon after the publication of the issue containing your story. Minimum payment is A$20. You will also receive a free electronic copy of the issue containing your story. We buy First Electronic Publication Rights and the non-exclusive rights to include the story in a print and digital anthology. All other rights remain with the contributor. The story must not be published elsewhere for a period of twelve months after it appears...

Deadline: September 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: Any stories involving a female Main Character and dragons. Deadline – September 30th, 2021 Publication – January 2022 Word Count – 7,000-15,000 Theme – Any stories involving a female Main Character and dragons. Publisher INFORMATION Company name: Dragon Soul Press Anthology Submission Email: [email protected] Website: http://dragonsoulpress.com/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dragonsoulpress/ Duotrope: https://duotrope.com/listing/26543/dragon-soul-press The Grinder: https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/Market/Index?id=9529   CHECKLIST Introduction of author This is not where the biography goes. Author Contact Information / Pen name MUST be included with real name. If real name is same as pen name, state so in email. Author Biography in Third Person in 100-200 words Mandatory minimum of 100. Submission Word Count Also applies to poetry. Word count. Not line count. Submission Formatted in Times New Roman 12 PT Font. One-inch margins. No indentations. No double-spacing. No extra spacing between paragraphs. No chapters. Only DOC and DOCX accepted.Format video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftjuYtJWIBI Format image example at bottom of page. Summary/Query Letter Summarized outline of all major events within the story. All emails should be addressed as “Dear Editor” Email subject and file name must be as follows – “Story Title by Author Name for (Name of) Anthology” All of the author’s social media links, including website if applicable Author must have an active social media account.   Important information Maximum of two submissions per anthology per author. Authors can submit to all anthologies simultaneously. Reprints from third party sources accepted IF author currently holds full rights. We will not publish duplicate stories within DSP. Authors get 30% Royalties for first year from date of publication. Afterwards, 30% of all proceeds go to a charity chosen by the Publisher. Story rights – The Publisher permanently reserves the right to publish the Work within the Anthology while the Author keeps ownership rights to the Work. Do not submit anthology stories with chapters....

Deadline: October 1st, 2021 Payment: USD $130, and 2 contributors copies Theme: Nonfiction, true crime accounts of individuals who have resorted to criminal means because of love, passion, obsession, jealousy, betrayal, etc. Writers Call for Submissions: True Crime/Nonfiction “THE BEST NEW TRUE CRIME STORIES: CRIMES OF PASSION, OBSESSION & REVENGE” I’m seeking original true crime stories for the fifth volume in my true crime franchise. What I’m looking for: Nonfiction, true crime accounts of individuals who have resorted to criminal means because of love, passion, obsession, jealousy, betrayal, etc. Stories can take place anywhere in the world and be from any time period. Material can cover a wide range of crimes. First-person accounts are welcome from writers with a connection to their cases. Tell us something new, offer a different viewpoint or angle to the story. Material must be meticulously fact-checked before submission, including dates, names, locations, etc. This is a nonfiction book, so it’s imperative that everything is 100% correct. To get an idea of the quality and variety of material I accept, please refer to the previous books in The Best New True Crime Stories series. Note that criminal subjects already covered in these volumes cannot be considered. No reprints or fiction. Important: Query first with a brief pitch. Word count: 4,000-7,000 words One-time payment per story: USD $130, and 2 print copies of the book. Contributor fees paid approximately one month following publication. (Preferred payment method: PayPal.) For: Non-exclusive rights, with one-year’s exclusivity from date of publication. Deadline for submissions: Oct 1, 2021 (I select material on an on-going basis; writers who submit work in advance of the deadline often have a better chance of acceptance.) Email: TheBestNewTrueCrimeStories @ gmail.com (not case-sensitive) Submission requirements: Format: double-spaced Arial 12-point Word document (sent as attachment). Do not indent paragraphs; instead enter one space between them. No irregular spacing between words...

Deadline: October 1st, 2021 Payment: $0.01 per word for new stories and/or $25 for reprints PLUS $5 for complimentary flash fiction. Theme: Beach Vacation Horror Please read carefully. Submissions that don’t meet the guidelines may be automatically rejected. Submissions will be accepted until October 1st, 2021. Please submit to [email protected], ensuring ’Slice of Paradise’ is in the subject line. What we are looking for: Horrifying short stories that occur on a tropical beach paradise. We also encourage writers to have good representation of POC, LGBTQ+, and strong female characters. What we are NOT looking for: Please, do not submit stories that do not take place on a tropical beach. Submissions cannot contain graphic rape scenes. Please ensure any scenes of a sexual nature are necessary and non-exploitative. Submissions must be between 2,000 and 10,000 words. Complimentary flash fiction submissions must be between 1,000 and 2,000 words. Selected flash fiction will be used in our YouTube series, Bite-Sized Terror as well as a free sampler to entice readers. 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 in 12 pt. Times New Roman and double spaced. We do not require exclusivity. You hold copyright, licensing us just for this publication. If your story is a reprint, please include its original publication details in your submission email. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology. Notify us by email at [email protected] if you need to withdraw your submission. The deadline for submissions is October 1st, 2021.

Deadline: October 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: October 1st, 2021 Payment: $10 and a contributor's copy Theme: Holiday monsters with a furry twist Deadline: October 1, 2021 Word count: 2,000-8,000; a little above and a little below will be acceptable The horned Krampus. The Rat King of the Nutcracker. The giant cat Jolakotturinn. The Mari Lwyd. There are so many holiday monsters. And there are other holiday characters who could be monstrified! Rudolph. The snow-wolf. Jack Frost. Santa. The editor of 12 Days of Yiffmas is back with another holiday erotic anthology for furries, but this time, it's horrific, too! Stories must be furry in nature. That means anthropomorphic animals that walk on two legs and can talk. Stories must be erotic in nature. Stories must be horror as well. And of course, stories must focus on Christmas, Yule, etc. The winter holiday! We will NOT accept: Racism, sexism, or discrimination presented in a positive light. Pedophilia or sex with characters under the age of 18 presented in a positive light. Rape, torture, dubious consent, forced seduction presented in a positive light. Snuff or Necrophilia presented in a positive light If you are in doubt, ASK. Better to ask then to get a straight up rejection! If you are unsure, just shoot me an email at [email protected].(restrictions borrowed from Voice: https://t.co/MWykJ6RY36) You can submit up to three stories, but we will only accept one per author (if any). Reprints are fine, but you have to own full permission of the work in order for us to consider it. We will not accept simultaneous submissions. Payment: Authors will receive 10 USD per story accepted and discount on author copies. This book may be illustrated. It also may get a soundtrack. We will inform all authors regarding decisions within a week or two after the deadline. Via: Weasel Press's Submittable.

Deadline: October 1st, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: Slasher stories! Note: Reprints accepted Note: Open to anyone who identifies as a woman SLASH-HER open call for submissions    With Volume 3 of our Women of Horror series doing well and Volume 4 currently in editing, we are delighted to announce our next project – Slash-Her. Slash-Her is a Women of Horror slasher anthology which is a mixture of invite and submissions. The foreword, cover and TOC so far will all be revealed in time, but we can tell you that everyone involved is very excited about this. I (Janine) will be editing in the main on this project but for anyone choking on their coffee at the thought of that, Jill will be holding my hand throughout the entire process.  We would like to see varied interpretations of this genre. Of course, we (Janine!) are hoping to see some splatterpunk submissions but this anthology will be filled to the brim with nuance. Wow us with your quiet horror, surprise us with your humour. You want an axe wielding soccer mom who has had enough of the other yummy mummies with their lattes, do your worst! Show us what you believe women can bring to the slasher sub-genre. We also want this to be as diverse as possible and are looking for own voices to bring a unique twist to their narrative.   Open to anyone who identifies as a woman and we encourage all writers, whether you have pages of previous publications or still looking for your first acceptance. This book will be published March 2022. DETAILS: Theme: Slashers Deadline: October 1st, 2021 Word Count: 3000-5000 Words (we won’t bite much if you go over by a little) Restrictions: No rape, child abuse, homophobia, transphobia, racism or animal abuse! And please, absolutely...

Monthly Submission Window: October 1st-2nd, 2021 Prizes: First prize: $300, optional second and third prizes of $200 and $100 Theme: Using modern science facts to create a science fiction story The Kepler Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy   The mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler wrote "Somnium" (The Dream), a science fiction/fantasy story to present his research and thoughts on astronomy and lunar geography in a way he hoped religious and scientific authorities of the day would find acceptable.  Through his science fiction/fantasy filter he put forth ideas on moon-based astronomical observation, likely lunar life forms, and space travel. The purpose of the Kepler Award is to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways.  Fantasy elements that don't contradict established scientific fact may used. So far, 2021 Judges of the Finalists will Include: Professor Virginia L. Trimble --  Professor of physics and astronomy, University of California, Irvine, specializing in the structure and evolution of stars, galaxies, the universe; the communities of scientists who study them; history of science; and scientometrics.  She has published more than 600 works in Astrophysics and dozens of works in the history of other sciences. She received the NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing "for informing and enlightening the astronomical community by her numerous, comprehensive, scholarly, and literate reviews, which have elucidated many complex astrophysical questions," the Klopsteg Memorial Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the George Van Biesbroeck Prize  for "many years of dedicated service to the national and international communities of astronomers, including her expert assessments of progress in all fields of astrophysics and her significant roles in supporting organizations, boards, committees and foundations in the cause of astronomy."  She is known for an annual review of...

Submission Window: October 1st-2nd, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world. Note: Reprints welcome     Submissions Schedule We have a new submissions schedule as of June 1, 2020: The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. Only one submission per person. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. We pay 6¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 6¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles. For new poetry, we pay $1 a line, reprints would be 50¢ a line, up to 40 lines. We’ll look at longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 6¢ per word. We began The Kepler Award to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways. You can learn about The Kepler Award here. You can read a copy of our standard contract here.   It can be varied as needed to include the rights of translators, voice actors, etc. Writers Guidelines We accept new work as well as reprints, prose and poetry, anywhere from 1000 word flash fiction on up, but all else being equal, shorter pieces will be favored.   We have tough standards but only care about the quality of the writing, storytelling ability, characters, plot, and ideas, not whether you’re new or established.  Submit only work you are proud of...

Submission Window: October 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: October 5th, 2021 Payment: US: $40 and a contributor's copy / non-US: $45 Theme: Short stories that give Grimm's Fairy Tales a unique and creative twist Quill & Crow Publishing House is putting together their third anthology just in time for the end of the year when the leaves are dead and the wind becomes chill. For this anthology, we are looking for short stories (5,000 - 8,000 words) that give Grimm's Fairy Tales a unique and creative twist - extra points for maintaining a Gothic feel. We are excited to see some of the less common stories come to life and even more excited to see some of the horrific aspects of the original tales come back in a fresh way. Things we are looking for: deconstructed Grimm's tales gothic horror historical horror dark folklore gothic/macabre elements modern adaptations considered ONLY if they maintain a Gothic feel Things we are not looking for: young adult extreme horror rape/child abuse heavy sci-fi overtly modern adaptations ​ Submission Requirements Please note: Submissions that do not follow requirements will not be considered. 1. We are accepting original works only. You must own the copyright to your submission. 2. Submissions period is from August 20 - Oct 5, 2021. Please submit all stories to [email protected] with the subject line: Grim & Dread / Your Title / Genre / Title of the Tale You're Retelling/Twisting. 2. All submissions must be in English and follow standard MLA formatting (double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font). Work must be polished and edited (to the best of your ability). Please submit as a .docx file and include your name, title, and word count on the front page. 3. Story length is 5,000 to 8,000 words. Submissions below 5,000 words and above 8,000 words will not be considered. 4. Accepted authors...

Deadline: October 6th, 2021 Payment: $5 for stories under 1,000 words and $10 for stories 1,000 words to 1,500 words. Theme: Rebirth, renewal, resurrection with an erotic element for Halloween On November 1st of last year I made a very heartfelt post surmising that the Circlet Press Halloween Microfictions had met their end. We were in the thick of the pandemic and Circlet Press had been bought out by Riverdale Avenue Books. Our understanding, at that time, was that we would eventually lose control of the website and no longer have posting access. Bye, bye, microfictions. Life has a funny way of doing what it wants to do though. Due to circumstances out of everyone’s control we’re still here and still have posting access. So why not make the best of it? In that spirit, I am reviving the Halloween microfictions. And since this is a bit of a resurrection I’d like to stick with that theme. Rebirth, renewal, resurrection. Pick your flavor. Or if you want to go more in the horror direction you could pick the rising/raising/reanimation of the dead. Whatever floats your boat. Just remember the following: Stories must contain erotic elements. Consent must be EXPLICIT. Nothing under the age of consent. No fan fiction. Please familiarize yourself with our work before submitting. We prefer character driven stories. No Adult Content without plot. While all are welcome to submit work we STRONGLY encourage marginalized writers to submit. And, of course, we welcome (and love!) stories featuring LGBTQ+ characters. Word count limit is 1,500. No reprints. Multiple submissions are okay. Please send as a Word doc or RTF (or in the body of the email) and follow standard manuscript formatting guidelines. Look up William Shunn if you aren’t familiar with manuscript formatting. The deadline is October 6th. Payment...

Submission Window: October 1st-7th, 2021 Prizes: 1st place: $100, 2nd place: $50, 3rd place: $25 Theme: cosmic horror, dark science fiction, or weird Submissions will be ongoing and open the first week of every month for that month’s contest. THREE stories will be chosen per month to be published the month after they were submitted. (If you submit a story on October 3rd and it is chosen, it will be published in November.) Submissions are open monthly from the 1st to the 7th. One entry per writer per month please! No simultaneous submissions. All stories accepted must be currently unpublished. Once a story has been submitted, please no resubmissions! We are looking for flash fiction (500 words or less) that can be classified as cosmic horror, dark science fiction, or weird. If you are unsure if your work qualifies, submit it and let us be the judge! Payment 1st place: $100 2nd place: $50 3rd place: $25 Make all submissions to [email protected]. Paste a cover letter with your information, publishing history, and word count into the body of the email. Attach the manuscript as a word document (.docx). Thank you and best of luck! Via: Cosmic Horror Monthly.

Deadline: October 10th, 2021 Payment: $15AUD and royalties Theme: A travel guide of the fantastic, far fetched and freaky things in Australia and New Zealand. Note: Must be written by Australian or Kiwi author Submissions are now open for ‘WHERE THE WEIRD THINGS ARE’ – an upcoming location-specific speculative fiction anthology. ‘WHERE THE WEIRD THINGS ARE’ will read like a travel guide of the fantastic, far fetched and freaky things in Australia and New Zealand. Read on to find out more about what we are looking for.   Stories must be speculative in nature, as per this definition: “Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre encompassing narrative fiction with supernatural or futuristic elements. This includes, but not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, science fantasy, horror, utopian and dystopian fiction, supernatural fiction as well as combinations thereof.” Stories must be set in a specific location, and we are wanting stories that bring the setting to life (whether it be a city, coastal town or inland scrub). While we would love you to write about places that you are intimately familiar with, we will accept stories about places that may not exist – or may not yet exist – as long as you make us believe in them. Word limit is 7,000 words. Stories must be original, and written by Australian or Kiwi authors. Submissions will open in July 1st and will close 10th October 2021. Payment: $15AUD for each accepted story, plus an ongoing percentage of royalties and free e-copy of the anthology. Stories must be in .doc/docx format, double spaced and in 12 point font. Please use double quotation marks for dialogue. E-mail submissions with story title and ‘WEIRD THINGS’ in the subject line to [email protected] Via: SPeculative Fiction Australia.

Deadline: October 15th, 2021 Payment: 6¢/word on acceptance. Theme: A fairy tale involving a mirror MIRROR, MIRROR: Modern Myths Executive Editors: Kevin J. Anderson and Allyson Longueira   When you’re alone with your reflection, are you prepared for what you see? A prince in disguise? A monster revealed? An alien race? Mirrors can be truth-tellers, wish-granters, face-concealers, illusion-makers, even monster-summoners. Maybe the mirror shows an evil twin, or an echo of the life that should have been. Or a portal to another world. What happens when it shatters? Once upon a time, no one knew the phrase “Once upon a time.” You’ve read the classic stories. Now write the lore you’ve always wanted to read. Reflect in your own creative mirror, informed by your roots, culture, and background. Imagine a canon of diverse characters for today’s readers to love and loathe. Tell us new stories, fables, folklore, and fairy tales about mirrors, real or metaphorical. What do you see, and what looks back at you? We are looking for original short stories (prose poems will also be considered), to include a mix of fantasy, science fiction, horror, magical, history, and romance elements. Classic or genre-bending, grim or whimsical, as long as it is new and fresh. Must be appropriate for a “PG-13” audience. Please, no copyrighted characters. Previously unpublished stories only. Women, BIPOCs, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse individuals, and other minorities are strongly encouraged to submit. Length: up to 5000 words (firm limit) Rate: 6¢/word on acceptance. Rights: First Anthology Rights and audio rights as part of the anthology; rights revert to author one month after publication; publisher retains non-exclusive right to include in the anthology as a whole. Due: We are open to submissions from August 30 through October 15, 2021.   Submit: A Microsoft Word or RTF file in standard manuscript...

Deadline: October 15, 2021 Payment: $10 usd Theme: Deals involving the devil Thurston Howl Publications is now accepting submissions for its eighth volume of its HOWLERS series, Devilish Deals. Deadline: October 15, 2021 Word count: 2,500-8,000; a little above and a little below will be acceptable What do Needful Things, the state of Georgia, and details have in common? They all have the Devil. And in two of those, the Devil is known for making deals... This anthology challenges you to come up with stories where people make unique deals with the Dark Lord. I want to see people summoning Satan so they can have a once-in-a-lifetime orgy in hell. I want to see people doing unspeakable things in order to just pass a college chemistry test. I want to see Baphomet making deals with humans just so he can have a chance to try kimchi for the first time. Horrific. Erotic. Comedic. As long as it's unique and has that Satanic deal! Submit at Submittable! We will NOT accept: Racism, sexism, or discrimination presented in a positive light. Pedophilia or sex with characters under the age of 18 presented in a positive light. Rape, torture, dubious consent, forced seduction presented in a positive light. Snuff or Necrophilia presented in a positive light If you are in doubt, ASK. Better to ask then to get a straight up rejection! If you are unsure, just shoot me an email at [email protected].(restrictions borrowed from Voice: https://t.co/MWykJ6RY36) You can submit up to three stories, but we will only accept one per author (if any). Reprints are fine, but you have to own full permission of the work in order for us to consider it. We will not accept simultaneous submissions. Payment: Authors will receive 10 USD. Via: Weasel Press.

Deadline: October 15th, 2021 Payment: $20 per story Theme: Electric Spec prefers science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. Fiction Submission Guidelines   submissions at electricspec (dot) comPlease don't query us about your story submission. We don't have the manpower to answer such queries. An editor will email you back as soon as possible with the decision about your story. This can take a few days, or, up to three months. We make every effort to get back to authors in a timely manner but we get a lot of submissions so sometimes it's not possible. A note on our editorial policy: before publication we may work with the author to edit the story for length or readability. However, we always remain true to the spirit of the story and the author has final approval. Issues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. We reserve the right to shift publication date slightly, as necessary. We have reading periods for each issue, though we never close to submissions. February closes January 15 May closes April 15 August closes July 15 November closes October 15 Please do not submit the same story more than once, and please submit only one story at a time. We consider any story between 250 and 7000 words with speculative fiction elements. We prefer science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. We do not consider poetry, stories with over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction, or non-fiction. We don't accept multiple submissions; in other words, only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before submitting another. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us...

Submission Window: October 1st-15th, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Submissions OPEN (Monthly, 1st – 15th). Un-themed, general horror flash fiction. Preference to dread-inducing stories. Length: 500 – 1,000 words. Firm. Author Compensation: $10, paid via PayPal. Publication: Dread Stone Press website (Dose of Dread). Reading Periods: Monthly, 1st to 15th. Any stories submitted outside of each reading period will not be read. Two (2) stories will be selected out of each reading period for publication the following month. Rights: First World Electronic Rights. Non-exclusive rights thereafter. No reprint restrictions after publication. Original stories ONLY. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but NO multiple submissions. You may submit again the next month if rejected. If your story is accepted, please sit out one reading period before submitting again. Please, for everyone’s sake, no rough drafts. Successful pieces will require little to no proofreading edits. Email your submission as a Word document attachment to [email protected] with “DOSE – – ” in the subject line. Please see the General Submission Guidelines below for additional formatting information. General Submission Guidelines Rejections for Dose of Dread submissions will be sent by the end of the month submitted. If you have not received a reply by then, feel free to follow-up. All rejections will be form rejections. It’s not personal, promise. Which also means please don’t respond to rejections. It’s unnecessary. For Dose of Dread submissions, please send your work by email to [email protected] with the subject line format: “DOSE – – ”. Address your email to “Editor” or “Alex”. Please provide a brief cover letter in the body of the email (title, word count, relevant info, etc). Do not stress over or overthink this. Please include an author bio of 100 words or less, written in third person, plus any links (e.g. to a website / Twitter) if you wish to...

Submission Window: October 1st-15th, 2021 Payment: 1 winner each month will win $10 Canadian Theme: A story at exactly 50-words If you’d like to have a 50-word story that you wrote featured on FiftyWordStories.com, first make sure that you understand exactly what a 50-word story is, and then read the submission requirements below closely. Submissions System Each month, submissions will be open between days 1 and 15 of that month. Any stories received on days 16 to 31 of a month will be deleted, but can be resubmitted the following month. You may only submit one story per month. From the stories received in those 15 days, the best stories will be selected to be published that same month. Only enough stories will be selected to publish two stories per weekday. There is no payment associated with stories. However, each month a “Story of the Month” is selected, and receives a prize of $10 Canadian. Stories that were not selected will not be published, will not roll over into the following month, and cannot be resubmitted in following months. Authors will be notified whether their story has been selected or not once all stories from the month’s submissions have been reviewed. How to Submit Please email your submission to [email protected]. Paste the story into the body of the email. Please include a title, your name, and a brief third-person bio. Feel free to include a link to your website! If you are submitting a story related to a specific date or holiday, please include that information in the Subject line of your submission. You can also send your story in using the form at the bottom of this page. Tips and Guides Looking for help with writing microfiction? Check out Bob Thurber’s Anatomy of a Microfiction page. Terms and Conditions Please keep the content of your submissions appropriate for...

Deadline: October 15th, 2021 Payment: $100 and a 1-year subscription tot he magazine Theme: Science fiction, science fantasy or fantasy tales where at least one scene takes place in outer space or another planet. Sexy Fantastic Magazine features the absolute highest quality of fiction, comics, book and movie reviews, articles, photos of sexy fantastic heroines, and other cultural delights by top professionals and award-winning authors and artists. CURRENT ISSUE GUIDELINES We are currently accepting stories for Issue 5: Interplanetary. Science fiction, science fantasy or fantasy tales where at least one scene takes place in outer space or another planet. What We Want The absolute best literature possible in the field of fantastic stories. The greatest emphasis of this magazine is the quality of writing. Whether an orthodox narrative tale, a dreamlike vignette, or a poetical prose scene, a story should be comprehensible on some level, stay truthful to the literary world that the author has created, and be pleasing or satisfying. Any type of story with fantastic elements is acceptable, such as a metaphysical or surreal modern tale, magic realism, a dark fantasy thriller, science fiction satire, historical legend, an imaginary world fantasy adventure, etc. The fantastic element may be blatant or only perceived or hinted at. We are simply looking for great literature. We have published stories that would be considered mainstream science fiction or fantasy, but also at least one story that would be considered literary with no “fantastic” element. We do favor stories that are either fantastic or deal with eroticism or romantic relationships. In terms of quality and style, some examples would be stories by Jorge Luis Borges, Fritz Leiber, Catherine Lucille Moore, Gore Vidal, Lawrence Durrell, John Fowles, Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Michael Moorcock, Jody Scott, Robert Heinlein, Carlos Fuentes, Anne Rice, Robert Aickman, Jack...

Deadline: October 20th, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word ($10 for every 1,000 words prorated, $50 for every 5,000 words prorated, and so on) Theme: Short horror stories with a focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales. Scare Street is accepting submissions for short horror stories with a focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales. Unpublished short stories must be 3,000-7,000 words and will be included in our Night Terrors anthologies consisting of ~65,000 words each. These stories will be published in e-book, print, and audio formats in English within 6 months after the submissions close date. Based on reader reception, we may also publish them in e-book, print, and audio formats in German and Spanish. WHO ARE WE? Scare Street is a horror publishing company dedicated to helping fellow horror lovers experience sleepless nights. We’ve been around since September 2015 and have published 200+ e-book and paperback titles along with 150+ audiobooks (and counting!). WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? Get visibility from thousands of horror readers. We will promote your work on our email list (12,000+ subscribers), Facebook Page (30,000+ followers), Facebook Group (12,000+ members), Pinterest (nearly 200k+ monthly views) and the rest of our social media channels. Afterwards, thousands of readers on Amazon and other retailers will organically find your stories. Our first few volumes clenched the top 3 new release spots in horror anthologies category and continue to be found on the first page of various horror categories. Work with an experienced publisher. We’ve been publishing high-quality manuscripts, non-stop for 5+ years. We’ve ironed out the kinks and know what it takes to bring stories to the masses, operationally. And we know a few things about getting your stories read, too! Distribution in e-book, print, and audio formats, in various languages. You’ll also receive a...

Submission Window: October 7th – 21st, 2021 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Stories of food, dining, and cookery Diabolical Plots is pleased to announce our first themed issue ⁠— stories of food, dining, and cookery, which we couldn’t resist titling “Diabolical Pots”! (Actual pots optional.) We’ll be accepting submissions for this special issue from October 7th – 21st, 2021. In addition to being centered around food, stories must have a speculative element. Pay rate, format, and submission restrictions (no reprints, no resubmits, etc.) will follow our general submission guidelines. So, how can food be integrated into your story? Any way you want! Maybe a crew of space pirates is about to score big on some outer-planet delicacies. Or a tense family dinner gets tenser when the youngest child insists they hear scratching sounds in the wall. Or two witches both reach for the last bundle of herbs and their eyes meet and… For this themed issue, our assistant editor, Kel Coleman, will be taking the wheel and making final selections. Of course, your story should still be a good fit for Diabolical Plots—check out our general guidelines for an idea of what that means—but what might win you extra points with Kel? Well, Kel would love to see: Lush descriptions of food Immersive worldbuilding—food is never just food. Food is love, food is culture, food is survival Science fiction that’s high on emotional resonance, low on unexamined imperialism Any kind of prose—it can be ornate, experimental in structure or tone, or punchy and simple, as long as it is intentional and serves the story David Steffen is the editor, who you may also know from reading The Long List Anthology series or from the Submission Grinder, which you can use to find markets for your writing and track your submissions.  Diabolical Plots is a SFWA-qualifying market, so if you...

Deadline: October 21st, 2021 Payment: $80 Theme: A story that somehow includes the concept of one hundred Note: Reprints Welcome In January 2022, we’ll be celebrating our 100th issue of Flash Fiction Online! As part of our celebration, we’re looking for stories on the theme of “ONE HUNDRED.” Give us stories of centenarians on adventures! Tell us tales of a hundred-year storm! Raise the temperature to 100 degrees (Fahrenheit? Celsius?)! Write us a story that takes place in 100 seconds! The possibilities are endless — they just have to somehow involve the number 100 in a way that’s integral to the story. This submission window will be open during the same time frames as our regular monthly window (1st-21st) until October 21. Submissions will be evaluated each month and receive either a rejection or a hold notice. Final decisions on these second-round stories will be made in early November. Multiple submissions are allowed for this call so long as each story fits the theme, and you may submit to this call while also submitting an ORIGINAL and a REPRINT submission. SUBMIT YOUR STORIES HERE! Via: Flash Fiction Online.

Deadline: October 30th, 2021 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2500 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2500 words Theme: Horror, By the Seaside Many times, we’ve been lucky enough to live near the seaside. There is something about falling asleep to the churn of waves that just can’t be beaten. But with the ocean comes issues… scares… especially down here in Australia, where anything may be lurking beneath the surface. For this collection, we request your stories about life by the seaside. Tales of sand and surf and all the things that may come with it. Be inventive, and take us away on a horrific holiday. Thuggish Itch is our horror, sci-fi and speculative fiction collection. Please make sure that your story falls within one of these genres. Be original. We also encourage new and unpublished writers to take the leap and get in touch. Please ensure that you read through the general guidelines and format your submission accordingly. If you have any specific questions please contact us using the form on the home page or via the listed social media accounts. To help make sure that your submission gets to the correct place, please include the following in the subject line of your email: Thuggish Itch - Seaside - Story Title. Word count: 1000 - 5000 words Deadline: October 30 2021 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2500 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2500 words Via: Gypsum Sound Tales.

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: $0.02 per word and 3 contributor's copy Theme: An anthology where unabashedly queer villains, anti-heroes, and outlaws reign supreme. Note: This anthology is open to all writers who identify as LGBTQ+ I’m of the opinion that all the best ideas are born by chance. Something you perceive might strike you and, akin to the feeling of deja vu, you double-take and it haunts you.  That is how The Book of Queer Saints was conceived: A Twitter conversation between myself, Sam Richard of WeirdPunkBooks, and Eric Raglin of Cursed Morsels, about queer representation in horror lit and how public opinion shapes (or tries to shape) how we write our queer characters.  Most in the horror community are aware of the practice of review bombing, and have witnessed it occurring as a reaction to what folks have marked “trauma adult content” in queer horror stories. While most of these review bombers seem to be outsiders to the horror community, the effect it has on the queer writer can be disheartening, discouraging, and alienating. Assumptions made about the sexual and gender identity of the writer and unfair ratings based on hearsay are pervasive. The Book of Queer Saints is a reaction to this discourse, a statement about the complexity and nuance of queer folks and their stories.  It is an anthology where unabashedly queer villains, anti-heroes, and outlaws reign supreme.  SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: This anthology is open to all writers who identify as LGBTQ+ No simultaneous submissions. Only one submission per person. Submission period: August 2, 2021 - October 31, 2021 Word count requirements: 2,000 - 6,000 words Accepted submissions will be announced on December 1, 2021 Anthology will be published in print and e-book format in February 2022. PAYMENT:  Writers with accepted stories will be paid $0.02 per word and receive 3 contributor copies...

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: .01 per word after approved edits up to $60 CAD, $15 CAD for reprints Theme: What can give you nightmares (see below for expanded description) "It Calls From the Veil" Submission Open: September 1, 2021 Submission Close:  October 31, 2021 Publishing timeline:  2022 HORROR - May have elements of Dark Fantasy, Dark Fiction and Cosmic horror. But must have the intention to scare the readers.   Theme: Give me your nightmares. Ghosts, demon possessions, poltergeist, haunted houses, séances gone wrong. These stories should take place in our reality with a supernatural twist. Think evil entities, movies like Sinister, Poltergeist, Blair Witch Project, Insidious, Amityville Horror and Marianne (Netflix).   We are looking for horror. Give us elements of surprise, twists and turns, scare me with your words and your imagery. I am fine with gore, but it should not take over the plot. Give me your nightmares. These stories should take place in our reality with a supernatural twist. Think evil entities in our reality (not a fantasy world).   Word count: 2000 - 6000 Some wiggle room allowed above the limit, not below.   Compensation: .01 per word after approved edits up to $60 CAD for first rights original stories $15.00 for reprints   Formatting guidelines: Please read carefully   We are reading these stories blind, so please refrain from adding your name or any identifying information on the story itself. All fiction manuscripts should be in a standard manuscript format with 12 pt Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing, set auto-indent new paragraphs. Please make sure the title is on the first page, but no other identifying details in the manuscript itself.   Title your manuscript with the story title -"(the actual story title) - VEIL" - again no identifying names on the title of the document.   The form...

Submission Window: October 1st - October 31st, 2021 Payment: $1 per accepted piece Theme: horrorku, horror themed tanka, haibun, see below for details The Submission may include any or all of the following: · Up to seven (7) horrorku or horror tanka  · Up to three (3) haibun · Up to five (5) pieces of cover art All submissions must be original, unpublished work that is not under consideration by a print or web-based journal. Posts in closed, critique-oriented groups and social media sites are acceptable for submission, but public posts on forums such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not. By submitting a piece to us, you are guaranteeing that it is your original work and not under consideration or published anywhere else in the world. E-mail submission is required. Type poems into the body of the e-mail; no attachments of poetry will be opened. For art submissions, please include all five pieces in a .PDF file or send us a link to a private gallery. If we purchase an art piece for our cover, we will ask that you provide a 300 dpi version of said piece. E-mail: [email protected] Subject: Otoroshi Submission Please include a cover letter noting location in the world. Please include handles for Instagram and Twitter for promotional purposes. At this time, only one submission per issue will be considered unless the editors directly request a second submission. Submission periods are one month long: · January for the Spring Issue · April for the Summer Issue · July for the Fall Issue · October for the Winter Issue Acceptances will be sent shortly after the end of each period. Please note: Although most journals may publish your work as is, we are editors, too. This means we will make suggestions to your work as we see fit....

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: Poetry - $10 USD, Flash - $15 USD, Short Fiction - $35 USD, Novelette - $75 USD Theme: Well-crafted stories and poems of cosmic horror in the same vein as Lucy A. Snyder, Laird Barron, Algernon Blackwood, Robert W. Chambers, Mary SanGiovanni, Victor LaValle, Betty Rocksteady, and Caitlin R. Kiernan. Note: All entries (either the author or the story) needs to have a Utah connection Timber Ghost Press is proud to present Dead Stars and Stone Arches: A Collection of Utah Horror. With the help of the Utah Horror Writers*, Timber Ghost Press is excited to be publishing the eighth collection of Utah horror. We are seeking well-crafted stories and poems of cosmic horror in the same vein as Lucy A. Snyder, Laird Barron, Algernon Blackwood, Robert W. Chambers, Mary SanGiovanni, Victor LaValle, Betty Rocksteady, and Caitlin R. Kiernan. For this anthology, all entries must have a Utah connection, either on the part of the author or the story itself (it is called Utah horror for a reason). The stories will be evaluated in a blind read by three judges and must receive at least two ”yes” votes to be accepted. Therefore, when submitting, please ensure that there is no identifying information in the story itself. We anticipate an April 2022 release. Accepted authors will receive payment according to the pay scale below, plus a contributor's copy of the anthology. (format?) Deadline: October 31st, 2021 The Following Categories are Open for Submission: Poetry Flash Fiction: 1000 words or less Short Fiction: 1001-5000 words Novelette: 5001-12,000 words (only one novelette will be accepted) Payment: Poetry - $10 USD Flash - $15 USD Short Fiction - $35 USD Novelette - $75 USD What We Do Not Want: Timber Ghost Press may outright reject stories that contain the following: ​​Pedophilia\Rape\Child...

Submission Window: October 1st-October 31st, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Genre-bending and tropes typically excluded from mainstream literary magazines Fiction submissions should be sent to [email protected] with the title of your story in the subject line. In your email, please include a short cover letter outlining past publication credits if any, a brief bio if desired, a word count, and which of our magazines you wish to be considered for. The story should be attached to the email as a word document or other common word processing file. Stories should be in standard manuscript format. We accept simultaneous submissions to other journals, but if your story is accepted elsewhere, please alert us immediately.  Please only submit one story at a time for consideration. While we encourage genre-bending and tropes typically excluded from mainstream literary magazines, elements of the fantastic and unusual in your work should not be used as a crutch. If your story is boring without fantastic elements, it is also boring with them. We’re looking for work by both veterans and those without a single byline to their name. We especially welcome stories in translation (if you have confirmed with the original’s rights holder that English translation rights are available), stories that draw on elements and modes beyond the European tradition, and stories from traditionally underrepresented groups. We have no hard rules regarding story length, but we do cap the whole magazine at 80 pages, so don’t send us more than that. A very long story will need to justify taking space that could have gone to other pieces. A short piece may be easy to squeeze in, but creating a coherent, biting story in 1,000 words is always trickier than doing so in 100,000. Our focus is exclusively on fiction. We welcome experimentation, but your...

Submission Window: October 1st - October 31st, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. Note: You must identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. khōréō is a quarterly publication of stories, essays, and art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. We’re especially interested in writing and art that explore some aspect of migration, whether explicitly (themes of immigration, colonialism, etc.), metaphorically, or with a sly nod and a wink. Most importantly, we’re a new magazine and we’re still finding our identity: therefore, please don’t self-reject because you’re not sure if your work is a good fit. We won’t know until we see it, so please give us a chance to look! See submission requirements & how to submit at the following pages: Fiction Non-fiction Art Voice actors Who can submit? khōréō is dedicated to diversity and amplifying the voices of immigrant and diaspora authors and artists. We welcome, but do not require, a brief description of the author’s/artist’s identity in their cover letter. We invite you to submit if you identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been...

Submission Window: October 1st - 31st, 2021 Payment: 10 cents per word and royalties Theme: Short crime or mystery stories to fit the Death of a Bad Neighbour theme Anthology to be edited by Jack Calverley host of the  podcast From the rock star in his fairytale Gothic mansion in Central London whose neighbour plans a double basement excavation, to the retiree in a fisherman's cottage in the northeast of England whose neighbour tells lies to a court to acquire the back garden that is not theirs: we are plagued by bad neighbours. One recent article in the Daily Telegraph Online which reported the trauma caused by at best inconsiderate, but at worst criminal, neighbours accumulated five hundred registered comments within half an hour of being published. It does not take a crime writer to know that a plague of bottom-feeders calls for an exterminator. But it does take the creatively criminal-minded to come up with the bestest plan ever... Such is the inspiration for "Death of a Bad Neighbour: Revenge is Criminal" - an anthology of all-new crime and mystery stories. Submission window is October 2021. Incidentally, the rock star is Jimmy Page, he of Led Zeppelin fame. His expansive neighbour is Robbie Williams, some crooner or other. And the original suggestion for an anthology came from Carter Blakelaw who was mid-discussion of his story "Tinnitus" at the time (please don't use "Tinnitus" as a story title. Now it will sound second-hand). 10 cents a word plus a share of royalties So, I'm after around 20 short crime or mystery stories to fit the Death of a Bad Neighbour theme, 2,000 to 5,000 words (you're the best judge of the sweet spot length of the story you tell), paying U.S. 10 cents a word for first English language text (eBook and print) and audio publication rights (exclusivity...

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Queer tales of supernatural love Beyond the Veil: Queer Tales of Supernatural Love Submissions Open Until October 31st We’re looking for queer tales of supernatural love for our next major anthology, slated for a February 2022 release to coincide with Valentines Day. Sweet, sexy, scary or tragic… We’d love to see your own interpretations on what queer love means to you. We only ask that your story has a supernatural / Gothic / dark element of some kind. Length: Anything between 1,000 – 6,000 words. Payment: 0.01 USD per word via PayPal and a digital contributor’s copy. Publication: E-book and print. Deadline: 31st October 2021 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. All submissions will be responded to after the deadline. Email your submission as a .doc/.docx file to [email protected] with “Beyond ” in the subject line. Please see our Submission Guidelines for more information on formatting. Via: Ghost Orchid Press.

Submission Window: September 1st - October 31st, 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: Survival Horror Negative Space 2: A Return to Survival Horror Compiled and Edited by Aric Sundquist Short Story Submission Call: September 1 - October 1, 2021 (opening soon...) Fiction Submission: Survival Horror. Word Count: 2,000 - 7,500 words. Payment: $50.00 + digital copy. Rights: We are seeking first time rights for 1 year after publication. After that time all rights revert back to the author. The publication will appear in both print and digital formats. Reprints: None. Previously unpublished only. Multiple Submissions: None. Simultaneous Submissions: None. Please wait until you hear back from us before submitting your piece to another market. File Format: Include your story as an attachment in MS Word (DOC or DOCX), LibreOffice, or Rich Text Format. Manuscript Format: Use the Modern Shunn Format. Include a short bio in the body of your email. Your subject line should read NS2 Submission: ("Title") by (Author's Name). For Example, NS2 Submission: "The Black Phone" by Joe Hill. Attach the story as a separate document. Response Time: 2 - 3 weeks after submissions close. Submission Period: All submissions must be received between September 1, 2021 and October 1, 2021 EST. Any story sent before or after will be deleted unread. Send Submissions to: darkpenpress (at) gmail (dot) com Influential Games/Series: Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Clock Tower, Fatal Frame, Dead Space, State of Decay, Rule of Rose, Siren, Parasite Eve, Amnesia, Haunting Ground, Obscure, Tomb Raider (2013 reboot), A Plague Tale, Eternal Darkness, Outlast, The Evil Within, Dino Crisis, The Last of Us, Alone in the Dark, Remothered, Darkwood, Alan Wake. Influential Novels & Novellas: The Mist by Stephen King, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, Off Season by Jack Ketchum, Bird Box by Josh Malerman, The Shadow Over Innsmouth by HP Lovecraft, The Terror by Dan Simmons, The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. Influential Movies: The Descent, The Thing, Alien(s), Cube, Predator, Night of the Living...

Deadline: October 31, 2021 Payment: $200 Theme: The color of my vote Submission Guidelines Stories can be in any crime sub-genre. If a crime is central to the plot, it's suitable for this anthology. Your story must match the anthology theme: the color of my vote: Maybe your vote is pink where only blue votes matter. Maybe your vote is pro-democracy in a power structure bent on maintaining minority rule. Maybe your vote isn't green (delivered with a $2 million dollar dark money donation...) You are free to interpret the theme as literally or metaphorically as you wish. Story length must be between 2,500 to10,000 words. Any time period or location is acceptable for this anthology.  In Volume I, many authors experimented with form and voice. Please feel free to experiment! Narrative non-fiction will also be considered. DEADLINE: October 31, 2021. Volume III is meant to be bigger, louder, and more diverse than Volumes I and II, because the attacks against basic democratic processes are bigger and louder and laser focused on minority rule.  Pay is $200 per story, payable on acceptance, plus three author copies. We wish it could be more. Is your story ready? Email lowdowndirtyvote AT gmail DOT com and attach your Word or Markdown document before Nov 1, 2021! You'll receive an acknowledgement within seven days of submission. Via: Low Down Dirty Vote.

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Flash Speculative Fiction Note: Apologies for the short window, I just found out about this call today The submission window for the fall 2021 flash fiction submission cycle is October 1 to October 31. Authors will be notified in mid-November about whether their stories have been accepted for publication. Stories will be published under a non-exclusive license, at a rate of 8 cents per word. The author will retail all original copyrights. Stories must be original, under 1,000 words in length, and fall under the genres of science fiction, fantasy or horror. MetaStellar is an online publication focusing on horror, fantasy and science fiction, launched in September 2020, founded by a dozen speculative fiction writers, editors and artists from around the world. Since our launch in September 2020, we’ve had 50,000 page views from more than 16,000 unique visitors and published over 350 pieces (out of more than 1,000 submissions) by more than 170 writers. We are accredited as a Google News publisher. We pay for original speculative fiction, at a rate of 8 cents a word. We also have non-paying publishing opportunities for reprints, essays, how-to articles and reviews. Click below for the submission form Via: Metastellar Magazine.

Deadline: October 31, 2021. Payment: $5 USD per 1000 words Theme: Megastructures Note: This is below what I'd usually want to list pay-wise but I personally know 2 people with stories that would fit this that have been collecting dust so wanted to share it. Ringworlds, Dyson spheres, arcologies, planet cities, space elevators, skyscrapers with populations of entire countries; we're looking for your speculative stories set in or about megastructures, gigastructures, TERASTRUCTURES! NOTE: We are currently only accepting short stories for the anthologies and cannot accept full-length novel manuscripts at this time. ** Please put the anthology you're submitting to in the subject line of the email!** Payment for stories will be $5 USD per 1000 words for all current anthologies (excepting contests). We're looking for speculative fiction across all anthologies (unless otherwise specified). That includes everything from high fantasy to hard scifi and anything in between. We do accept reprints, simultaneous submissions, and multiple submissions, though these will slow down our response time. Story lengths should be anywhere from flash-length to about 15k words, but we have at times made exceptions. We know a story is complete when it's complete, and arbitrary word count requirements are not always helpful. If you have an amazing story that exceeds 15k words, let us know. We may be able to make special accommodations. :) With regard to copyright, we request the non-exclusive right to publish your story in the anthology to which it was accepted. You retain the rights to your individual story to do with as you wish. Please let us know if you have any questions. Note: We do have long lead times with our anthologies, because we want to ensure quality work gets included. Thanks for your understanding on this. Check here for open calls for stories.   FORMATTING INFORMATION...

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: $25 Theme: Cosmic horror The Hunger of Old Stars is a cosmic horror anthology that is looking for YOUR Eldritch tales of terror! S.I.P. will be looking for Cosmic Horror Stories for their upcoming anthology ‘The Hunger of Old Stars’. In this anthology, we want tales of eldritch horrors that will drive our readers to lunacy! We are paying $25 per story and we are looking for stories that are around 3,000 - 10,000 words long. Also, NO REPRINTS... Also, no, it does not need to be strictly Lovecraftian to be considered for this anthology! So, we here at S.I.P. hope you will consider sending us your cosmic horror stories! We cannot wait to see what you all bring to the table!

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: $0.01 CAD Theme: Stories from a variety of genres and styles focusing on the sea, life in and around the sea, and the stories we tell ourselves about the sea. Note: Must be a Canadian author to submit Open Call for Sea Story Short Fiction. Over the last six years, the From the Rock series has become one of the preeminent anthology series’ in Atlantic Canada. We have been home to some amazing established talent and helped some new authors break through that have gone on to dominate their fields, becoming genre bestsellers in their own right. From the Rock is a title readers consistently ask for, review well, and is a great way for avid readers to get introduced to indie talent they might find interesting. Since 2018, each entry in the series has become a Canadian bestseller based on pre-orders alone! ​ We are currently accepting submissions for the eighth entry in this series: Sea Stories from the Rock, to be available in Winter of 2022. Editors Ellen Curtis and Erin Vance are scheduled to return to helm the project. Many authors have expressed interest, but anyone can submit to be a part of this collection! Deadline is October 31 2021, but get your stories in as quick as you can, as it gives our wonderful editors more time to work with you and make sure it is as good as it can possibly be! We're looking for stories from a variety of genres and styles focusing on the sea, life in and around the sea, and the stories we tell ourselves about the sea. The collection will be a well-rounded companion for lovers of the ocean.   What is the target audience? For this specific collection, we’re going for an equivalent of PG to...

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: £25 Theme: Stories inspired by Nicolas Cage Submission guidelines “I am not a demon. I am a lizard, a shark, a heat-seeking panther. I want to be Bob Denver on acid playing the accordion.” Nicolas Cage, has lived a life blended with myth, madness and mystery. His performances imbued with other worldly energy and that requires tribute, want in?  Ex-Parrot Press wants your Nicolas Cage inspired short fiction stories. Guidelines are as follows:  Each successful Submission will receive £25 to be paid via Paypal and a copy of the anthology.  2000-3000 words per story.  Please make sure to edit and format your stories properly before submission.( I’ll post a link in the comments with some tips on what you can do for this.)  Simultaneous submissions, yes. Reprints, no. Although we will only publish one story from each writer.  Email submissions to: [email protected] Submissions close October 31st 2021. Contributions should be double-spaced and written in English. Use black, 12-point, Times New Roman as the font. Use the U.S standard page size of 8.5 x 11 inches and set your margins to 1 inch on all sides. Use a single space after periods.  

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: $50 Theme: War BLACK HARE PRESS is—and has always been—an inclusive publisher. LGBTQ+ characters always acceptable. This call will be open for submissions until midnight 31st OCTOBER 2021 (last place on Earth).  Submissions received outside of this timeframe will not be read. Reading will start once the submission period has closed. Please allow 12 weeks after the call has closed before querying. THEME : War/conflict. Must be dark, any genre. Word count : 5,000+, excluding title. Please ensure your first chapter hooks the reader. Author eligibility : Open to all. Reprints : Not allowed. Simultaneous Submissions : Not allowed. Multiple Submissions : No. Publication : In a single anthology in print and digital formats. Author compensation : $50 USD, plus one digital copy. How to submit : See our website for submission guidelines and formatting. Send your story as a Word format attachment to [email protected]. All submissions are read double-blind, so please DO NOT put your name, email, street address, etc in your manuscript or in the document name. Your document name must be WAR-Story Title.doc/x. Please include the following in your email; Your real name, your pseudonym, a bio of up to 100 words, up to 4 links, a 40 word short blurb, and a synopsis of up to 500 words. Don’t worry too much about these wordcounts, they’re just for guidance. Please ensure you list your social media accounts in your email. Please ensure you sub the final, well-edited manuscript. Show, don’t tell. Use British spellings, double quotation marks, etc. If you need assistance with those, please use a writing tool like Grammarly or ProWritingAid (set to British spelling). Microsoft Word does not know British spellings, please don’t rely on it. Your email subject should be “WAR – – ” Via: Black Hare Press.

Deadline: October 31st, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: Secrets that are darker than others We all have secrets. We all have dark stories and hidden truths we hide from others. But some secrets are darker than others. Join Madhouse Books in this upcoming anthology of short, horror stories of sinister secrets and hidden evil. We are seeking stories of the evil of mankind. We are not seeking stories with paranormal elements. Think serial killers, secret identities, and hidden pasts. Please note, we will not consider stories containing rape scenes or any form of pedophilia. Deadline: October 31, 2021 Word count : 3,500 – 7,000 words Author eligibility : All authors aged 18+ are welcome Author Compensation: Free digital copy & $10.00 USD Reprints : Not allowed Simultaneous Submissions : Not allowed How to submit : Follow classic shunn formatting guidelines -Send your story as a Word (.doc) format attachment to [email protected] -Your document name must include the anthology name, your pen name, and the story title. -Your email subject should be “ – – ” -The body of the email must contain the name of the anthology, the word count, the author’s real name, and the author’s pen name -Please include a 100-150 word bio   PLEASE NOTE: If you are submitting a story to Madhouse Books, please note our intention to produce top-quality books. We intend to showcase your work in its best form, and so each story accepted for publication through us will receive in-depth editing prior to publication. Our editing process will preserve the heart of your story while ironing out grammatical errors and increasing the story’s clarity and tension. Final edits are always sent to the author beforehand for approval before publication. Via: Madhouse Books.