Events

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalties Publication – February 2022 Word Count – 5,000-20,000 Theme – Fairytales will never be the same in this reverse harem anthology. All versions of bedtime stories, folklore, etc are welcome. If unsure, message DSP’s Facebook page. * 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.

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: £10 Theme: M is for Medical M is for Medical – Submissions open October 1st. Deadline November 30th. Think surgery gone wrong, sadistic nurses, organ trafficking, creepy doctors etc. 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 touch if you...

Submission Window: November 1st, 2021, to November 30th, 2021. Payment: $0.02 per word plus a physical copy upon publication Theme: Horror stories that explore the complex relationships between artists and models. We didn’t know if we’d do it again, but Weirdpunk is finally publishing a new anthology with an open call. Stories of the Eye will be edited by Sam Richard (Sabbath of the Fox-Devils, Wonderland Award-Winning To Wallow in Ash & Other Sorrows) and Joanna Koch (The Wingspan of Severed Hands, Shirley Jackson Award-Nominated The Couvade). It will be published in 2022. Read on for info. Weirdpunk Books is seeking horror stories that explore the complex relationships between artists and models. Go beyond the male gaze. Show us the queer gaze, the disabled gaze, the un-colonialized gaze, the intergalactic gaze. Turn the model's gaze on the artist or audience. Explore the power of images, why we bring them to life or destroy them through duplication and representation, and how the act of creating changes them and changes us. Invent a future art form or resurrect a forgotten handicraft. Define "model" as widely and surprisingly as you like: people, objects, trees, oceans, ideas. Examine obsession, violence, commitment, love, or indifference. Give us a botanical illustrator on an unknown planet, a modern-day Gericault shipwrecked in a studio with body parts becoming medical waste, a necromancing choreographer, or a performance artist looking for that one special element to transcend reality in a final postmodernist feat of madness. **Given the title of the anthology, we’re seeing a lot of folks talk about eyeball stories. This anthology is not about eyeball horror. Please fully read the submission guidelines to see what we are looking for, which is not—I repeat, not—horror stories about eyeballs. Additionally, the Bataille reference is intentional as we’re both fans, but...

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: horror/dark fiction QUARTERLY PRINT MAGAZINE Breakdown of content: 8 fiction pieces (approximate word lengths) – 1x 5000, 1x 3000, 1x 2500, 2x 1500, 3x 500 3-5 non-fiction pieces – 1 article, 1-2 briefs, 1 interview and/or review – Fiction We are looking for horror/dark fiction pieces between 500-5000 words firm. Common sense when submitting please. We do not accept stories that involve the sexual abuse/exploitation of minors direct or implied. We are not looking for pure shock value. All components of your story should have merit. Gore for gore’s sake is not what we are looking for. Our pay rates: 5 cents per word All payments are made in US funds via PayPal.   We accept submissions during the following reading periods , with an expected response time of up to 12 weeks. This way we are able to accommodate all the submissions we receive. If you have not heard back from us after 16 weeks, please feel free to send us an update query. WINTER ISSUE: September 01 – November 30 (current reading period) SPRING ISSUE: December 01 – February 28/29 SUMMER ISSUE: March 01 – May 31 FALL ISSUE: June 01 – August 31 All submissions must be sent via e-mail to: [email protected] as an attached word document with the word “Fiction Submission – STORY TITLE” in the subject line. Please also include if you wish your story considered for both the quarterly print and the website publication. Note compensation rates are different for website so be certain. MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING: 12 point standard font standard margins left side of header: name, contact info right side of header: word count top of first page: title, author Variances from traditional manuscript format: single spaced NO INDENTS use bold, italics and underline as they are to appear...

Submission Window: November 15th through November 30th, 2021 Payment: $0.06/word. Payment for reprints is $0.03/word, Poems are paid at the rate of $25 to $100 Theme: All SF and Fantasy genres, but horror is unlikely to find a home here. Ideally stories with a message of hope. Note: Reprints are welcome Our next submission period is going to be November 15th through November 30th, 2021. When we are Open for Submissions, you will be directed to the Submissions Portal from this page Read our announcement about the November Submissions Period –  here. Special Notes DreamForge Anvil is about a passionate attention to storytelling as much it is about the stories themselves. This year, most stories will be returned without comment. That will give us time to pick a few “almost there” tales and work with the authors to see if we can collaborate in taking the story over the hurdle to select it for publication. When we find a story we want to work with, we’ll ask first if the author is interested, before we come back at you with a detailed review and suggestions. If you are interested, and if we accept your story after editorial changes, then we’ll publish your story and include a line edit comparison from your original to final so that those interested in story development can learn from the experience. We’ll also give you the opportunity to talk about your story and share insights into its development and the meaning it has for you. If you’d like to work on your writing with us, consider joining us in our DreamCasters discussion group, available to our Patreon supporters at Tier Two an above. All proceeds go to pay for stories in future issues of DreamForge Anvil. Learn more about what we look for in the guidelines below. 1 Story...

Submission Window: November 1st-30th, 2021 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Dark Void Magazine is a biannual science fiction horror magazine featuring four original short stories that take place off planet Earth. Dark Void Magazine is a biannual science fiction horror magazine featuring four short stories that take place off planet Earth. Genre: Science Fiction Horror Word Count: 3000-4000 words Format: Paper Manuscript Format (Modern) Submit to: [email protected] Submission Periods: November (Spring Issue), May (Fall Issue) Payment: $0.05/word (HWA Professional Rate) *All stories that take place on Earth will be automatically rejected. Via: Dark Void Magazine.

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: $50 CAD and a contributor's copy Theme: Pirate dogs, yes my friends, pirate dogs How do you follow up an anthology of swashbuckling cats? With pirating dogs, of course! As with the first anthology in this series I am looking for adventure-loving dogs, puns, water and fun. I’m looking for sailors, submariners, explorers, Vikings and more. Fun stories filled with excitement, drama, treasure-seeking, sword fights, discovering new worlds and dogs, dogs, dogs! All. The. Dogs. Be careful not to get too caught up in the fun and forget to include a strong plot and detailed characters for your story, though. I’m a sucker for a great setting, three-dimensional characters and high stakes, and if your story elicits real emotion from me—laughter, tears or anything in between—you will have increased your chances of acceptance significantly. We don’t deserve dogs. But we do deserve an anthology of pirating pups! Rights and compensation: $50 CAD flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology. In exchange we are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology. Open submission period: October 1, 2021 – November 30, 2021 Length: Under 7,500 words No simultaneous or multiple submissions. No reprints. Canadian spelling, please (just do your best, I won’t judge). Submit here –> https://niteblade.submittable.com/submit/204831/pirating-pups Submissions received before October 1st will not be considered. Via: Rhonda Parrish.

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: 4€ euros per 1000 words for original stories and two print copies, 2€ euros per 1000 words for reprints and two print copies Theme: Stories directly inspired by a Hitchcock film Note: Reprints Welcome Black Beacon Books publishes quality mystery and suspense anthologies. We are currently OPEN to submissions for our Hitchcock-themed anthology. We're looking for suspense stories directly inspired by a Hitchcock film. The story doesn't have to be set in the 50s or 60s but it must convey the atmosphere and tension that make his films so memorable. Please submit the first page only of your story and a synopsis of the entire plot. Include the name of the film that inspired your story in your introduction. Deadline for first page and synopsis: November 30th, 2021. Pay rates as per section below the # We will typically accept between four and eight stories per publication, depending on length. Length:  Between 6,000 and 30,000 words Rates: Please note the rates quoted are not inclusive of transfer fees. The amount received may be slightly lower; typically 3%. We use PayPal to pay our contributors. If your submission is successful, you'll need an account. Alternatively, we can pay with an electronic Amazon gift coupon. Payment is made upon publication. 4€ euros per 1000 words for original stories and two print copies 2€ euros per 1000 words for reprints and two print copies Rates are rounded up. A 10,500-word story (previously unpublished) will be paid 44€ Please read the full guidelines below before submitting. # ANTHOLOGY GUIDELINES AND DETAILS Please only submit one story per publication. No simultaneous submissions for original fiction. The best way to get a feel for the kind of fiction we're likely to publish is to buy our previously published titles. This provides you with examples of accepted stories, demonstrates...

Deadline: November 30th, 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 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: November 30, 2021 (11:59 PM PST) 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 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...

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: Time travel and romance Everlast (Rated R) Deadline – November 30th, 2021 Publication – March 2022 Word Count – 5,000-20,000 Theme – Romance can be difficult on its own, even before adding the complications of time travel to the equation. These couples find themselves from separate timelines in history, but cross paths due to unforeseen circumstances. Deadline – December 31st, 2021 Publication – April 2022 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – Cyberpunk. These characters are trying to survive in a dystopia of advanced technologies. Living alongside Artificial Intelligence has its perks, but also many deadly downfalls.     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...

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: When your day is going too well and you don’t trust it and some shit finally goes down. Ah, there it is: The F*ckening. Because we don’t have enough to do, the SFL team has decided to open submissions to a new stand-alone anthology—The F*ckening. We’ve all seen the memes about “The F*ckening”—when your day is going too well and you don’t trust it and some shit finally goes down. Ah, there it is: The F*ckening. We were inspired by this sentiment and thus have heeded the call to create an anthology that embodies The F*ckening. SFL is looking for funny, speculative fiction short stories and poetry that embody The F*ckening. All stories must be science fiction, fantasy, horror, or a combination of the three. These stories can be witty, goofy, dark, sarcastic…whatever, we don’t care, as long as they are speculative fiction and contain a reference to The F*ckening and maintain a general theme of f*ckery. We know that some of you are going to be tempted to shoehorn a reference to The F*ckening into an existing piece; we won’t tell you not to do that. However: please don’t send us something that is obviously not within the theme where you changed two sentences just to get it in on a technicality. Our word limit is 7500 words. We have no problem with simultaneous submissions as long as you tell us as soon as your submission is accepted elsewhere. Two submissions maximum per person. We pay $10 for six-month exclusive print rights, and non-exclusive print rights thereafter. You own your work, and can submit elsewhere six months after the anthology is released. Submissions will be open until November 30, 2021, or we just receive too many words. The planned release date will be May 2022....

Deadline: November 30th, 2021 Payment: $10 USD per story Theme: Furries and technology cast in a 'bad' light (details below) Deadline: November 30, 2021 Payment: $10 USD per story Editor: Reinardo Villalobos Word count: 2,500-8,000; a little above and a little below will be acceptable. ​ Isaac Asimov once famously stated, "I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them." Yet, this exact fear, fear of technology, has been a big staple in the news and in the media ever since. 2001: A Space Odyssey. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. The Fly. Black Mirror. Even anime like Sword Art Online talk about the perils that may come from new technology, or from the right technology falling into the wrong hands. The idea is that each story focuses on one or two pieces of technology, their uses or misuses, and the consequences arising from that. A cybernetic genital implant could provide a deadly experience to its users. A deal on the dark web could go wrong for an unsuspecting wolf. An old camera could capture images coming out of this world. A malevolent AI could torment a couple by hacking their Bad Dragon toys.  A Furby could...exist. ​ We will take preference for stories that showcase both furry and their selected technology (currently existing or otherwise) in the front and center, and not just something to throw aside as soon as the main plot starts. Moreso if they find a way to integrate both elements together in unique ways. ​ Things we will NOT accept: ​ Racism, sexism, or discrimination presented in a positive light. Pedophilia or ex with characters under the age of 18 presented in a positive light. Rape, torture, dubious consent, forced seduction presented in a positive light. Snuff, necrophilia presented in a positive light ​​ If you are in...

Deadline: December 1st, 2021 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Surgery 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 75.) Surgery II; deadline 1st December 2021 !!!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: December 1st, 2021 Payment: $15.00 for 500-1999 words, $20.00 for 2000-4999 words, $25.00 for 5000+ words Theme: Speculative, horror preferred but not needed, Stories can be in any format except traditional prose A home for the strange, the uncanny, and the odd. Open Submissions Issue #1 (Oct 1- Dec 1 2021) Rules Prose: for the most part, the rules are simple. There is, however, a lot of them. Stories can be in any format except traditional prose. Stories told in forum messages? Great! Police blotters? Excellent! Receipts? If you can swing that, we want to see it! More weight will be given to new and unusual formats. Part of that is the sake of novelty, part of that is just because we don’t want five epistolary stories in one issue. Submissions do not have to rely entirely on text! If you would like to submit something in the form of a webpage that has considerable html/CSS going on, just make sure it’s in pdf form when you submit it. We still pay by word, but mixed media pieces are wholly welcome. All work must be speculative, horror being preferred. We’d like a variety of time periods but won’t judge against you for being set in the present or near present. Story lengths between 500-7500 words are accepted. You can haggle a bit on either end, but drabbles and novellas aren’t an option. (However, if you have a story you want to serialize, please query at [email protected].) Payments for writing are as follows: $15.00 for 500-1999 words $20.00 for 2000-4999 words $25.00 for 5000+ words After initial funds are recouped, contributors receive an equal split of 50% of royalties- the rest will be used to improve the zine for future issues, including increasing payment rates for authors. We understand that this isn’t...

Deadline: December 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: December 1st, 2021 Payment: $10 Theme: A complete story in any genre FREEZE FRAME FICTION IS BACK! We are once again accepting flash fiction submissions. Please stay tuned and keep an eye on our social media for updates. For more information about what we want and expect, see our editor’s interviews with Jim Harrington at Six Questions For… and on Duotrope (visible to non-members). Also, take a look at 5 Tips for Writing Twist Endings at Flash Fiction Chronicles. What are we looking for? Good flash fiction is like a freeze frame—a snapshot of a real story about real characters. The word count is low, so many of the details are left to the reader to fill in, but they’re there. Flash fiction is neither a vignette nor a character sketch. Something must happen, and there must be an ending, whether explicit or implied. So first and foremost, we want a story. A complete, interesting story. 1000 words or less, any genre, no content restrictions. We want your science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, drama, literary works, satire, bizarre fiction, or anything else you can come up with or mix together. The more original, the better. The weirder, the better. The best way to find out what we’re looking for is to read what we’ve already published! Check out our current volume, free to read at https://freezeframefiction.com/. What are we NOT looking for? We are 100% okay with explicit content, so long as it serves a purpose to the story and/or characters. Profanity for the sake of profanity—or the same thing for sex, violence, or gore—does not impress us. Also, animal cruelty. Please just send that somewhere else. We do not publish fan-fiction, i.e., stories based in worlds or using characters created by other authors. All content must be original. The following things might be accepted, but will be a very hard...

Deadline: December 1st, 2022 Payment: $25 Theme: True Love Never Dies We are presently accepting original work for our February 2022 issue. Short Stories up to 3,000 words Flash and Micro Fiction up to 1,000 words Poetry Author Compensation: $25.00 (USD) per piece Rights: We request first worldwide and digital rights for four months following publication. Thereafter all rights revert to the author. All copyright remains with the author. Feb 22 Theme: True Love Never Dies Publication: Digital Formats Deadline: December 1, 2022 Guidelines For all open calls, submit your work by email to [email protected] with the subject line formatted as such: “ ” (ex.“October 2021 – The Sinkhole – David Fey – Adult”). Please submit your work as an email attachment in .doc/.docx format. Authors may submit up to three pieces per issue. We request that each piece be submitted via its own individual email. You are welcomed to interpret each issue’s theme however you like. Ensure your document contains your story title, your name (or pen name), and an approximate word count. In the event that your story is selected for publication, we will need your legal name for the contract. Please include a header on each page of your document with your surname, title and page number. Your document should be formatted in Times New Roman, 12pt., with double line spacing and indented paragraphs. We do NOT accept simultaneous submissions. In case of acceptance, please also include a brief biography in the third person of approximately 75 words, a high-resolution headshot (optional), and any personal social media links (such as a Twitter or personal website) that you’d like to share. For a more detailed look at classic manuscript formatting, please refer to this article by WILLIAM SHUNN. Via: We Are The Quiet Ones.

Deadline: December 1st, 2021 Payment: $.03 per word Theme: Bloody Rock Anthology Scary Diary Press is accepting submissions from 01 August 2021 to 01 December 2021 for an anthology that has gutsy strings attached! But don’t fret! Are you a horror writer and a music lover? Does the rock of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s take you back to the nightmares of yore? If you can brew a scary tale that Alice Cooper and the Dead would love, we just might love it too! Submission Guidelines: Scary Dairy Press is seeking short story submissions between 2,000 and 5,000 words max for an anthology that combines a rock song theme and creepy horror into a tale that rocks readers to their bones! Anthology title pending the kinds of stories submitted and selected.   For now, “Bloody Rock” is a placeholder. This ear-bursting anthology draws inspiration from the terrifying tunes of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Stories need not use the song title as the story title. Stories must not use the original song lyrics, however the song inspiring the tale should be clear. We are looking for stories that channel deathly waves on the air! Bonus points if tales champion animals or animal rights (animals can be our heroes!), focus on human rights, climate change, gender issues, and other important social issues. Any story that combines a terrifying tune and a creepy tale is welcome as long as we can pick it up, play it and shiver! What we want: Stories for this horror anthology may include additional elements of dark fiction, dark fantasy, speculative fiction, sci-fi or bizarro as long as horror is the primary venue. Your story may occur in any time, place or space. Mix it up, but make it thought provoking and disturbing to the human conscience....

Deadline: December 1st, 2021 Payment: $.03 per word Theme: Stories to draw inspiration from the terrifying tunes of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s Scary Diary Press is accepting submissions from 01 August 2021 to 01 December 2021 for an anthology that has gutsy strings attached! But don’t fret! Are you a horror writer and a music lover? Does the rock of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s take you back to the nightmares of yore? If you can brew a scary tale that Alice Cooper and the Dead would love, we just might love it too! Submission Guidelines: Scary Dairy Press is seeking short story submissions between 2,000 and 5,000 words max for an anthology that combines a rock song theme and creepy horror into a tale that rocks readers to their bones! Anthology title pending the kinds of stories submitted and selected. For now, “Bloody Rock” is a placeholder. This ear-bursting anthology draws inspiration from the terrifying tunes of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Stories need not use the song title as the story title. Stories must not use the original song lyrics, however the song inspiring the tale should be clear. We are looking for stories that channel deathly waves on the air! Bonus points if tales champion animals or animal rights (animals can be our heroes!), focus on human rights, climate change, gender issues, and other important social issues. Any tale that combines terrifying tunes and creepy tales is welcome as long as we can pick it up, play it and shiver! What we want: Stories for this horror anthology may include additional elements of dark fiction, dark fantasy, speculative fiction, sci-fi or bizarro as long as horror is the primary venue. Your story may occur in any time, place or space. Mix it up, but make it...

Submission Window: December 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...

Deadline: December 5th, 2021 Payment: Royalties or $5, whichever is greater Theme: Weird Fiction and Cosmic Horror Note: Reprints Welcome SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We consider stories for two types of publications: Website Anthologies (approximately 20 stories per anthology) Response Time: We will try our best to respond in four to eight weeks after the submission period ends. The first wave of rejections is usually quick (two weeks after the submission period ends)   Word Count: 4,000–15,000 for website and anthologies; 500–2000 for flash fiction anthologies Submission Fee: None Rights: the copyright to the story remains yours. All we ask for are nonexclusive rights to publish your story Payment: Website: Currently, there is no payment for website publications because the blog is not yet monetized and we are in the beta phase (which may last for eight to twelve months). Once we get the numbers, we will come up with a model (probably token advance) that will allow us to pay our writers as well as fund the growth of TGVB (YouTube channel, audiobooks, story podcast, etc). It is an important goal for us to reach the stage when we can pay a decent sum to our authors. However, it will take time as these are some hard times for small presses. But we are sure we will get there if we keep working diligently. While monetary payment is not possible at the moment, we still want to offer some perks! Anthologies: Payment is 40% net profit divided equally among the contributors of that anthology. Net profit accounts for discounts, returns, and printing cost; we do not subtract any cover art, editing, formatting, or promotion costs. In other words, we pay 40% of the money vendors (such as Amazon) pay us. If the anthology doesn’t perform well, we will pay a one-time payment of 5 USD to each...

Submission Window: December 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. Submission close at 12 am (midnight) eastern standard time. 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: December 9th, 2021 Payment: 5 cents a word Theme: Take any three famous people from history, toss them together, and have an adventure. Take any three famous people from history, toss them together, and have an adventure. How they got together is up to you – you could do an origin story of how they first met or you could write the story as if they had been adventuring for years. You can use a time machine or a rip in space/time or quantum magic or whatever. You could have some sort of universal translator or you can have the language barrier be part of your plotline. And these three people should be really separate if possible, from different cultures and times. That’s part of the fun… I’m now accepting story submissions for this upcoming anthology. You’ll be in great company, with New York Times Bestselling authors and multiple award-winning authors like David Gerrold, Jonathan Maberry, Peter David, Allen Steele, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Adam-Troy Castro, Jody Lynn Nye, Gail Z. Martin, Keith DeCandido, James Moore, and L. Penelope! Below are the guidelines for submission and some advice. Not following either greatly reduces your chance of acceptance. Follow the guidelines! STORY LENGTH AND PAYMENT: Try to keep your story at around 4000 words. This should be sufficient for what should most likely be a somewhat humorous tale. Take as many words as you need to make a great story, but if it is too long, it had better be so great that we can’t refuse it. We will pay 5 cents a word with a top limit of 5000 words. If you absolutely have to go over that limit, it won’t disqualify you but understand that we won’t pay extra. A good but padded story may get rejected over a concise, fast-moving one,...

Deadline: December 10th, 2021 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2500 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2500 words Theme: Feet Colp is our 'anything goes' genre-free anthology collection. Expect to see a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Current theme: FEET Most people have mixed feelings when it comes to feet. So what about you? Do you love them? Hate them? Are they just something to get you from A to B? An unusual request we know, but for this collection, we would like stories that in some way involve feet (whether they be human, animal or otherwise). Be creative. Colp is for everyone and therefore we are willing to read stories that fall into any genre. So, no matter whether your story is a horror, adventure, romance, sci-fi or historical fiction piece, please send it on through. 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: Colp - Feet - Story Title. Word count: 1000 - 5500 words Deadline: December 10 2021 Payment: AU$5.00 for stories under 2500 words / AU$10.00 for anything above 2500 words Via: Gypsum Sound Tales.

Closed Early Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: $50 flat rate per story, $25 flat rate per poem and a contributor's copy Theme: Obscure creatures and phenomena Sliced Up Press is looking for short stories & poetry involving obscure creatures and phenomena for its third horror fiction anthology, Monstroddities, edited by Ben Walker. Terrify us with your best story or poem about monsters or unexplained occurrences that are rarely used in horror. Think cryptids, long-forgotten myths, melt monsters…phenomena like spontaneous combustion, dark matter, physical impossibilities – if you’ve ever wondered why there isn’t more horror about a particular thing, that’s what we’d like to see – the weirder the better. Set it in the present, the past, the future, on Earth or not – as long as it’s frightening. What we’re looking for: All submissions must be in the horror genre. Bizarro, splatterpunk and extreme horror are welcome, but we don’t want anything involving rape, etc. As always we’re especially interested in submissions from women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors Please don’t use creatures/monsters from any existing properties including SCPs that are not your own unless they’re firmly in the international public domain Please don’t reference real-life cases/victims etc. No “classic” monsters or spins on tropes like zombies, werewolves or vampires All submissions must be original. We will not accept reprints, or stories/poetry published elsewhere, including on blogs, social media etc. Submit your best work in modern or classic manuscript format (as outlined on www.shunn.net/format), as an MS Word .doc or .docx attachment. Anything sent in a different format will be rejected without reply Authors may submit 1 (one) story and 1 (one) poem maximum for consideration – if you want to send both, please send them in separate emails Do not re-send stories/poems that have been rejected for previous calls to Sliced Up Press anthologies. No simultaneous...

Submission Window: December 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: December 15th, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: Space Opera Note: Reprints Welcome gradient="rgba(255,255,255,0.01)"> SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We consider stories for two types of publications: Website Anthologies (approximately 20 stories per anthology) Submissions: Open (check the deadlines mentioned above the images) Response Time: We will try our best to respond in four to eight weeks after the submission period ends. The first wave of rejections is usually quick (two weeks after the submission period ends) Word Count: 4,000–15,000 for website and anthologies; 500–2000 for flash fiction anthologies Submission Fee: None Rights: the copyright to the story remains yours. All we ask for are nonexclusive rights to publish your story Payment: Website: Currently, there is no payment for website publications because the blog is not yet monetized and we are in the beta phase (which may last for eight to twelve months). Once we get the numbers, we will come up with a model (probably token advance) that will allow us to pay our writers as well as fund the growth of TGVB (YouTube channel, audiobooks, story podcast, etc). It is an important goal for us to reach the stage when we can pay a decent sum to our authors. However, it will take time as these are some hard times for small presses. But we are sure we will get there if we keep working diligently. While monetary payment is not possible at the moment, we still want to offer some perks! Anthologies: Payment is 40% net profit divided equally among the contributors of that anthology. Net profit accounts for discounts, returns, and printing cost; we do not subtract any cover art, editing, formatting, or promotion costs. In other words, we pay 40% of the money vendors (such as Amazon) pay us. If the anthology doesn’t perform well, we will pay a one-time payment of 5 USD to...

Deadline: December 15th, 2021 Payment: US 3¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $3, maximum $25 Theme: Light Eye to the Telescope 43, Light, will be edited by Jordan Hirsch. Light is so much more than meets the eye. It emanates from a lover’s smile as they walk into the room. It bleaches the bones of your enemies. It can be the minimal weight of a feather, its absence the heftiness of a black hole, eating matter and energy, regardless of wave or particle. It is the horror of a headlamp burning out miles underground; it is the nightmare of endless day, nary a shadow in sight. Celebrate stars, whether their ancient light has travelled from time’s beginning or your ship has taken you to the birthplace of a new light-maker. Write the promise at the end of the tunnel or a sunrise of another time. Any iteration of this theme will do: as abstract as you can get or an ode to literal photons—I want to see it all. Short, long, formal, or free: just make sure it’s speculative. Had a bulb go off? Send it my way! Submission Guidelines SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Use the form at http://bit.ly/SFPAettt43 to submit. Please submit 1–3 poems in English (attached as .docx or .txt) and include a short bio. Translations from other languages are acceptable with the permission of the original poet (unless public domain). Inquiries only to [email protected] with “ETTT” in the subject line. Deadline: December 15. The issue will appear on January 15, 2022. Payment and rights Accepted poems will be paid for at the following rate: US 3¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $3, maximum $25. Payment is on publication. The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association normally uses PayPal to pay poets, but can also send checks. Eye to the Telescope is an online publication. Therefore,...

Deadline: December 15th, 2021 Payment: $20 Theme: Stories that fall into any realm of speculative fiction Samjoko purchases first worldwide English-language serial and electronic rights from the date the contract is signed and paid for up until 2 months after publication date. After initial publication date, Samjoko Magazine will maintain non-exclusive rights to publication. Paid submissions must not use the intellectual property of any other author or company. Just To Clarify: your work will not appear, and will not have appeared, in any other available format (blogs and public forums included) until 3 months after the release date of the story in Samjoko Magazine. After 3 months, we’ll retain ongoing non-exclusive distribution rights, but you can self-publish your work or sell your story to another paying market. Each piece we acquire will be published on samjokomagazine.com in an electronic seasonal issue. We may also excerpt pieces for promotional purposes. The author retains all other rights. We pay up to 60 days after publication through PayPal only. Payment projected to happen sooner. Current payment is $20 per accepted submission, though we hope to increase this with greater support from readers. Feel free to query after 2 months of submitting. Cover letter should have contact information, PayPal email, and author’s bio less than 100 words. Email subject should read: Example - SUBMISSION: The Grey Wolf (3200) by Lauren Hill See below for detailed submission guidelines. Magazine Responses sometimes placed in Junk Folder, so mark us as Safe. All submissions accepted for publication will undergo an editing process. If you are uncomfortable with that, please don’t submit. Notification of receipt and rejections will be form letters to save time. There will be no personal responses except in the case of general queries and acceptances. If you have any questions, please query. We’re listed on The Submission...

Deadline: December 15th, 2021 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Superheroes 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 76.) Superheroes II; deadline 15th December 2021 !!!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: December 21st, 2021 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Adventure, detection and mystery, fantasy, horror and the supernatural, and science fiction SUBMISSION GUIDELINES JOURN-E: THE JOURNAL OF IMAGINATIVE LITERATURETM    FIRST OF ALL: READ ALL OF THE GUIDELINES BELOW BEFORE SUBMITTING. COMPLY WITH ALL OF THEM WHEN SUBMITTING. ONLY PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED WORK will be considered. SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS ARE ALLOWABLE, but if the work is accepted by another publication, it is expected that the author/poet/artist will immediately contact JOURN-E about the acceptance by another publishing entity. Failure to do so will result in no further acceptance of material for JOURN-E. First World Publication Rights (both online and in print) are expected. With the acknowledgement that the online version will remain available for the life of the publication in its archive of issues. Reprint/Republication rights will be re-negotiated in the event of a "Best Of" future print and/or online publication. All other rights revert to the creator of the work. WORD COUNT RANGES: We are looking for SHORT FICTION in the general range between 3000 to 7000 words, with the median of 5000. We are looking for SCHOLARLY NON-FICTION ARTICLES OF LITERARY CRITICISM relevant to the genres covered in a general range of from 2500 to 5000 words, with a median of 3750. We are looking for REVIEWS relevant to the genres covered in a range from 500 to 2000 words, with a median of 1250. We are looking for POETRY of between 3 and 210 lines (the length of a "Wreath of Sonnets") with the preference in the case of longer poems for narrative and descriptive poetry over personal, especially introspective, lyric. NOTE: A little leeway might be granted either below or above the abovelisted parameters. ALL TEXT DOCUMENTS should be formatted in TIMES NEW ROMAN, TIMES ROMAN, COURIER, or COURIER NEW in 12 point type...

Deadline: December 30th, 2021 Payment: $20, royalties, and a contributor's copy Theme: Detectives in the fantasy genre that will do whatever is needed to solve their case Call  for  Submissions         Fantastic Detectives is a sequel anthology to Fantastic Defenders, which covered fantasy heroes, and has the same editors: Donna Royston and David  Keener. This new anthology is targeted at those stubborn individuals who just won’t let crimes go unsolved.   They could be members of the CityGuard, soldiers,          magicians, or anything else…but they all have one thing in common.  They’ll do whatever it takes to find the answers they need.   What We Want We’re looking for stories about crimes in fantasy settings, ranging from “second world” settings to urban fantasies   (with a slight preference for the former—no more than a  third of the anthology will be urban fantasies). Stories can have other elements such as romance, humor, action…but should primarily be about dealing with a crime  (a theft, kidnapping, murder, etc.). Since these are fantasy stories, magic should be featured in some fashion. It can be: used in committing the crime, used in solving the crime, the reason for the crime, an intrinsic capability of a character, or you can surprise us with something clever. The fantasy detective sub-genre can obviously lead to some dark stories,  which is fine,  but there should be at least a   little ray of hope somewhere in each tale.     Finally, as with any good story,  make us care about your characters.   What We Don’tWant Erotica Downer Endings    (the Bad Guys win, there is no hope,  we’re all Doomed). Tired tropes with no unique elements  (Conan the Detective, Mary Sue Werewolf, Dashingly Deadly Vampire Hunk,  Legolas the  Elf   Clone,  etc.). We love magic, but not as a  deus ex machina.               Submission Details...

Deadline: December 30th, 2021 Payment: $30 and a contributor's copy Theme: Reclamation by marginalized individuals. Rising up, overcoming, and righting (and rewriting) transgressions Who Can Submit: Those who identify as a marginalized individual or a person from a marginalized community. This new open call is one that is very special to us here at Inked. The past 10 months have felt like 30 years, and it seems in many ways we are going backwards instead of making progress. So this time, we’re going to grab a spot on the stage, demand the world make room. Our next anthology, aptly titled For Those Who Deserve to Exist, will be about marginalized folk, by marginalized folk. We will be looking for passionate, visceral stories about rising up, overcoming, and righting (and rewriting) transgressions. The general theme is that of reclaiming narratives through the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. In true Inked fashion: no sugar-coating, no watered down characters or situations. No punches pulled. Words have the power to elicit change. Stories dispel stereotypes with insight, combat prejudice with perspective, and narrow the divide so we can see each other for what we all are: human.   And we cannot wait to read all your stories! Here are the details you’ve been waiting for: Submission Period: Oct 31st to Dec 30th (Newly extended date!) Theme: Reclamation by marginalized individuals. Rising up, overcoming, and righting (and rewriting) transgressions Who Can Submit: Those who identify as a marginalized individual or a person from a marginalized community. Note: The parameters of marginalization can be fluid. Marginalized populations are defined as groups and communities that experience discrimination and exclusion (social, political and economic) because of unequal power relationships across economic, political, social and cultural dimensions. Marginalized groups include (but are not limited to: BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, veterans, persons with a serious...

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: $25 for original stories, $10 for reprints Theme: Tales of future crimes and future detectives Notes: Reprints welcome An anthology of tales of future crimes and detectives ​ Open to submission as of 1 May 2021 until 31 December 2021. ​ Writers and Artists Guidelines ​ Hiraeth Publishing is looking for stories and illustrations for Cosmic Crime Stories 2022, a print anthology of tales of future crimes and future detectives. This anthology is tentatively scheduled to be published on 1 June 2022 in trade paperback format with a color cover, and black and white interior illustrations. The editor is Tyree Campbell. ​ Please note that crime fiction written in the third person stands the best chance for acceptance. “They” say that there are no new plots or stories anywhere. “They” may be right, but you are the only you there is, so send us a story as only you can tell it, one that’s atmospheric and highly entertaining, has fascinating characters, one that takes place in a unique location or time period. ​ We do not want gore, blood, splatter, or slice-and-dice. A word about sex and extreme language: we don’t mind it, necessarily, but the sex and/or colorful language must have a purpose. ​ Stories for Cosmic Crime Stories 2022 must be written in English. You may use King’s English or American English . Please use standard manuscript format: 12 pt Times New Roman, double spaced, etc. The word count of your story should be between 2,000 and 8,000 words. We will be somewhat flexible on the 8,000, but the 2,000 is pretty firm. Of course, story quality usually overrides word count limitations. Usually. ​ Other useful hints: Do not underline. If you want italics, use italics. Put quotation marks around your dialogue, so that we know...

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: $5 Theme: A nice fall walk, a cold drink, a scary house, and so much more. Content: A nice fall walk, a cold drink, a scary house, and so much more. Accepted Styles: Short stories, flash fiction, and poetry Accepted Genres: Anything that isn't erotica or children's fiction Simultaneous Submissions: These are allowed, but please withdraw your submission immediately if accepted by another publisher. Reprints: No. Stories posted on the internet, including but not limited to, FB, personal websites, blogs, etc., are considered published. Number of Submissions per Author: 1 short story or 3 pieces of flash fiction or 5 pieces of poetry Length: A short story should be less than 5,000 words. Each flash fiction piece should be less than 1,500 words. Payment: Free electronic copy of the book and $5 per author, regardless of number of accepted submissions. Requested Rights: First rights to digital, audio, and print formats in English. Exclusive for one year from publication. After that year all rights revert back to the author. Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Formatting: Stories must be submitted electronically as a .docx attachment in an email to [email protected]. Submission should be 12 point font, Times New Roman, and double spaced. The document name should include the name of your submission. Please include the title and page numbers in the header of the attachment. In the body of your email please include your name, author name/website, address, short story title, and word count of submission. IF IN DOUBT PLEASE SUBMIT! Please note that Pub 518 is dedicated to the growth of writers within the Capital region. Therefore our publications are comprised of at least 51% written works from this region. That being said there is still plenty of room in our books for those outside of the...

Submission Window: December 1st-31st Payment: £10 Theme: Fresh starts and new beginnings Each month, a new theme will be announced, and we will be accepting flash fiction submissions based around the specific theme for the entirety of that month. From these submissions, four winners will be chosen to be published each Friday of the subsequent month, and at the end of the year, these forty-eight flash fiction pieces will appear in a similarly titled anthology. We will be looking for original and unpublished fictional stories that run the gamut of the horror genre and all its assorted sub-genres—we’re open to it all, so long as it has a strong horror twist flowing through its veins. Since The Theatre Phantasmagoria series is aiming to offer varied slices of horror, you can really go wild as far as characters, settings, and storylines go. As always, if your story is blatantly racist or homophobic it will be instantly rejected. We also encourage submissions from female, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors, as we’re striving to offer a range of experiences and perspectives in this series. The anthology will be edited, and the stories selected, by J. D. Keown. He can be found on both Instagram and Twitter @JDKAuthor, and we can be found on Instagram @nightterrornovels. All updates and announcements regarding this project will be posted on each of those accounts, so give us a follow if you want to get the latest news. The first window to submit will run from the 1st December, 2021 (1/12/2021) to the 31st December, 2021 (31/12/2021), with the selected stories debuting on our website throughout January. DECEMBER’S THEME: Fresh starts and new beginnings. How you interpret this theme is largely up to you. As these first stories will be going live in January, we are looking for flash fiction centred around New Year’s resolutions, starting over, resolving to change, or similar horror stories along these lines. Each...

Deadline: December 31, 2021 Payment: 6 cents a word (USD) Theme: Stories inspired by and featuring the BABA YAGA. Note: Open to writers who identify as women Deep in the dark forest, in a cottage that moves through the forest on birds’ legs behind a fence topped with human skulls, lives the baba yaga. A guardian of the water of life, she lives with her sisters and takes to the skies in a giant mortar and pestle, creating tempests as she goes. Those who come across the baba yaga may find help, or hinderance, or horror. She is wild, she is woman, she is witch—and these are her tales. We are looking for stories inspired by and featuring the BABA YAGA. INTO THE FOREST: Tales of the Baba Yaga is a women-in-horror anthology. All writers who identify as women are welcome to submit. GUIDELINES: Payment: 6 cents a word (USD) Length: 1000 to 5000 words Submission Period: September 28, 2021 to December 31, 2021 Expected Release Date: November 2022 (traditional trade) No reprints, multiple subs or simultaneous subs Use classic Shunn formatting. ​​ Full list of invited contributors: - Gwendolyn Kiste - Stephanie M. Wytovich - Donna Lynch - R. J. Joseph - Lindy Ryan - Mercedes M. Yardley - Monique Snyman - Lisa Quigley Via: Black Spot Books.

lonely woman with umbrella in abandoned city,digital painting Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: Royalties Theme: Cyberpunk Deadline – December 31st, 2021 Publication – April 2022 Word Count – 5,000-15,000 Theme – Cyberpunk. These characters are trying to survive in a dystopia of advanced technologies. Living alongside Artificial Intelligence has its perks, but also many deadly downfalls.     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...

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: $5 Theme: Stories that are the perfect length for between sitting down and having a 'royal flush' THE TOILET ZONE: THE ROYAL FLUSH SUBMISSIONS EXTENDED TO 31 DECEMBER 2021 HellBound's third outing to the smallest room... And no, don't panic, we're still not looking for lavatory-themed tales of terror - although should your short story involve the smallest room in the house, we'd be more than delighted to read it! The theme for this anthology is short horror stories that will make an ideal sit-down read, just long enough for those extended stays at the convenience, and terrifying enough that they really are best read whilst over water.... We have based story length upon the average time spent upon the convenience (10-15 mins) and the average reading speed (200-250 words per minute), so that the stories within this exceptionally unique anthology will be the perfect 'per visit' length! NOTE: we will also accept a handful of shorter stories - 'flush fiction' - if the fit is right! To submit, email your polished story to: [email protected] 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! * 2.5K-4K word count (although we are incredibly flexible for awesome stories!) * Write 'TOILET ZONE 3' 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. Deadline: 31 DECEMBER 2021 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment -$5 for first rights Capped at 120K words in total

Deadline: December 31st, 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: December 31st, 2021 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Horror VALRAVN is our yearly annual of “wyrd fiction” short stories (3,000 to 10,000 words). We also publish anthologies as the mood strikes us. These guidelines are similar to our novel/novella guidelines above, but there are key differences, so we’d recommend you read carefully. VALRAVN is still horror themed, but each annual contains a multitude of genres and elements in it. Our anthologies tend to be themed, and when we announce them, we announce the theme we’d like short stories submitted in. WHAT WE WANT We love fiction from diverse, under-represented perspective and cultures, well-researched and written by fresh and exciting voices. Speculative short fiction in the following genres (for VALRAVN. As we said above, for anthologies, we’ll tell you the theme.) Fantasy Horror Espionage/Thriller Science Fiction Up to 10,000 words, minimum of 3,000 words Only one submission per quarter, no simultaneous submissions, no submissions of previously rejected material without prior approval. Please wait until the next quarter (January 1, April 1,  July 1, October 1) before submitting anything again. Please only send RTF, DOC or DOX files, and must adhere best practices in manuscript formats: https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/ For VALRAVN and our anthologies, we require previous unpublished works. If you have a short story collection, you can see our novel/novella guidelines above. WHAT WE OFFER With our short fiction annuals and anthologies, we offer a one-time purchase fee of $0.10 USD per word (ten cents USD per word), with additional bonus payouts based on crowdfunding and sales (these are not “royalties” exactly, as they’re based on sales thresholds rather than a per sale bonus.) We request a year’s publication rights, after which, the story is yours to do what you want with, though we will retain the rights to continue publishing the...

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: $75 and a contributor's copy Theme: Mystery and Crime stories to be set in Minnesota or Minnesota adjacent (Wisconsin, Iowa, Canada, the Dakotas). We are pleased to announce there will be a short story anthology for Bouchercon 2022 - The Land of 10,000 Crimes. Our goal is to raise money for the Women's Prison Book Project. All of the proceeds, after publishing costs, will  go to the WPBP, along with the proceeds from our live and silent auctions.     Submission guidelines:    Short stories must be crime fiction, less than 5000 words, and stories must not have been published anywhere else previously.   We would like the stories to be set in Minnesota or Minnesota adjacent (Wisconsin, Iowa, Canada, the Dakotas).   The hard deadline for submission is December 31, 2021. Any stories received after this will not be considered for any reason.   Please submit stories via email and in Word documents to [email protected] Please include your name, email, and any other contact information we might need.  If selected, we will send you a contract assigning Bouchercon the rights for your story for one year after the publication date. After that, the rights revert to you. You will be paid $75.00 for each story we publish so you meet the guidelines for certain awards in our industry. You will also receive a free copy.   We will be holding a signing at Bouchercon 2022.   Greg Herren and Bouchercon 2022 co-chair Terri Bischoff will be making the selections and editing the anthology. Via: BoucherCon 2022.

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: 1/word ($5 minimum.) for accepted fiction, $10 per accepted poem Theme: Stories about the future which feature cats Submissions are open for Felis Futura: An Anthology of Future Cats (working title) from Manawaker Studio, edited by CB Droege. Felis Futura is an anthology focused on stories about the future which feature cats. This volume will contain stories, poetry, and visual art. THEME Submitted works should be of any genre, as long as the work depicts a world that is noticeably in the future. Hard and Soft Sci-fi, (Post-)apocalyptic, Solarpunk, Slipstream, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Alternate (future) History, Supernatural, Retro-futurism etc. are all fine names for genres that often take place in the future, but your story doesn’t have to fit into one of those. In fact, if it manages to miss all of those labels, we may be even more interested to see it (unless it thus falls into what we specifically don’t want (see next paragraph)). All works must also prominently feature at least one cat. It does not have to be a cat of the genus Felis. Other members of the cat family are also acceptable, as are non-biological cats, metaphorical cats, robots with the acronym K.A.A.T., and so on. We are not looking for gore horror nor erotic romance. Works that contain some horror elements or some romantic elements are fine, but we would like the book to remain accessible to young adults and squeamish people. Works which seem particularly hateful or which discriminate against specific real-world groups will also be rejected. FICTION There is no hard word limit, but novellas and above might be hard to find room for. Fiction (one story only, please) should be attached to an e-mail (see below) as an RTF file. Please use standard manuscript formatting if possible. If submitting a sequential graphic narrative (comic), see the...

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: $25 and a contributor's copy Theme: Short stories from people of color, that embody the dark magic, creepy wonder and beautiful horror of the fairy world! Tales of the Dark Fae Open Submission Window: October 15, 2021 through December 31, 2021 Theme: Colors in Darkness is seeking short stories from people of color, that embody the dark magic, creepy wonder and beautiful horror of the fairy world! Lend us your tales of urban goblins, beautiful but deadly sprites or unruly but cute magical creatures. I’m talking evil mushrooms that have appetites for bad children, a were-toad stepmother whose disguise can be seen by everyone except her husband or a faun prince who uses his charms to ruin lives, we want to see your most diverse and dark tales from the fairy/fae world! Submission Guidelines: For the third Colors in Darkness anthology, we are seeking, thirteen well-written, diverse tales of horror, paranormal and dark fantasy. This anthology will be published in May 2022, as a part of CID’s celebration of Black Fae Day however, stories from all cultures will be considered! No stories that contain rape, or the abuse of minors will be read. Violence and sex are acceptable but should be important to the plot. ▪ Submit your work to ( [email protected] ) with ‘CID Dark Fae: Story Title_Your Last Name’ in the subject line. Attach your story as a DOC or DOCX file. Submissions sent in the body of the email will not be read. ▪ Stories should be in New Times Roman font with 1.5 spacing and First Line Indentation for new paragraphs. ▪ Include a brief cover letter in the body of your email stating your name, pen name (if using one), story title with word count, a brief summary, address, website...

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: $50 and a contributor's copy Theme: A compilation of first-person accounts including letters, prosaic poems, diary entries, postcard letters, short personal essays, and other genre-bending experimental pieces I am seeking writers for an experimental anthology titled “letters i’ll never send”. This anthology will be a compilation of first-person accounts including letters, prosaic poems, diary entries, postcard letters, short personal essays, and other genre-bending experimental pieces. "letters i'll never send" is meant to serve as a sentimental linkage between the writer and the reader. It should lure the reader in emotionally, so that they can resonate in some meaningful way. Simultaneously, all pieces inside the book should connect with the others in vulnerable, open, or spiritual ways - or all of those ways. Essentially, just write as if you're writing to whoever, and run with whatever comes up - whether it's an angry letter, a love letter, a breakup letter, a friendship letter, a self-reflection letter, a letter to yourself, a postcard letter to a friend/significant other, etc. The possibilities are endless, and as long as you capture the vulnerability and heartwarming (or heart-wrenching) pull that I'd love to evoke in the book, then this anthology will be an impassioned masterpiece! If you have a piece that you think is fit for this project, I’d love to hear from you. Please make sure to only send your own, unpublished work. I will not accept previously published work for this project. Please make sure that longer pieces are no more than 1,000 words. If your piece is chosen, I will need non-exclusive rights to what you submit and I will pay you $50 on acceptance. All rights revert back to the author upon publication. I will also send you a copy of the print version of the book when it...

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Merry Magic and the color red Note: Membership (free) is required to submit to the magazine. There is also a monthly $20,000 contest however a monthly paid membership is required to submit to it. Theme Info: Write a story involving magic, merriment, and the color red. Is magic real? Perhaps, if you know where to look. You can find it in the twinkling eyes of a smiling stranger, in the gleeful laugh of playful children, and in any dish cooked with love. When families and communities get together and celebrate the holidays, well, you can taste the magic in the air. Ah, but you may be interested in more… practical applications. How does Santa make it to each house in a single night? How do elves penetrate locked doors to leave presents in shoes? Which wards do you draw on the mantle, and what is the proper wording to summon Krampus? Blizzards have awesome power. Glades of silent, snow-covered pines hold many secrets. Enchantments lay on warm-glowing villages in the night. Magic is everywhere. You just have to look. This contest invites you to explore the wonder of magic with an eye to the festive, whatever that means to you. Mystery, fantasy, romance, crime. All genres are welcome. Submissions close December 31st at 11:59 pm EST. More details below. Submission Info Anyone can submit work to the magazine. It’s free. We don’t believe publications should charge authors to be published. However, we have a specific submission process you must adhere to in order to have your work considered. Our submissions window opens on the first and closes at midnight on the final day of each month, just like our contest. The theme of each issue of the magazine is the same...

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: 8 cents per word Themes: Noir: Science fiction, fantasy, or urban fantasy stories with a detective/private investigator set-up and a noir atmosphere Shattering the Glass Slipper: Stories of known fairy tales that have been upended, gender-bent, or twisted around in some way. Brave New Worlds: Science fiction stories set along the pathway of us leaving Earth for the stars.   The NOIR, SHATTERING THE GLASS SLIPPER, and BRAVE NEW WORLDS anthology Kickstarter (back us at tinyurl.com/ZNB2021) has hit its goal!  If you have a story idea that fits one of the anthology themes, write it up, revise it, polish it, and send it in for consideration.  I've posted the guidelines below. The NOIR, SHATTERING THE GLASS SLIPPER, and BRAVE NEW WORLDS Submission Guidelines Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its three science fiction and fantasy anthologies NOIR, SHATTERING THE GLASS SLIPPER, and BRAVE NEW WORLDS.  Stories must be submitted in electronic form as an attachment with the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx format.  The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for along with the title of the submission (for example:  NOIR:  Private Detectives Gone Wild!).  The content of the email should also include which anthology the manuscript is intended for.  Please send multiple manuscripts in separate emails; you may submit to any or all of the anthologies as many times as you wish.  Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered.  Please use Times New Roman font.  The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, word count, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s real name.  Italics and bold...

Deadline: December 31st, 2021 Payment: $25 and a contributor's copy Theme: Empowering fat characters within the horror community Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology Edited by Sonora Taylor and Nico Bell SUBMISSIONS: September 15 - December 31, 2021 Publication Date: Summer 2022 Send submissions to [email protected] Description: It’s time to reclaim the “f” word. Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology is dedicated to empowering fat characters within the horror community. Give us your rage over weigh-ins, your detest over detox cleanses, your rebellion against diet culture. Give us bad-ass characters who own their size and never apologize for taking up space. This is a horror anthology, so be sure to have your character in some kind of horror story--but, we are open to what that story is! We welcome haunted houses, ghost stories, creature features, splatterpunk, serial killers, witches, monsters, you name it. Just make sure your story features at least one fat protagonist. Fat people are often degraded in literature, especially in horror. It’s disheartening to see someone’s natural body be portrayed as disgusting and inherently bad. Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology aims to give that trope the heartiest “f*ck you” that our big selves can muster. So go on, send us what you’ve got! Submission guidelines: Authors at any stage in their career are welcome to submit. We want to encourage submissions from authors who are women, BIPOC, queer, trans, disabled, and/or neurodivergent; but all are welcome to submit! Stories must have at least one fat protagonist, ideally the main character. While they can be anti-heroes, their fatness must not be part of what makes them evil. We want this to be a diverse and inclusive anthology. We welcome and encourage stories with characters who are queer, non-cis, non-white, disabled, and/or neurodivergent. Story length: 4000-6000 words Payment: $25 flat rate,...