Events

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: $0.01 per word for new stories and/or $25 for reprints. Theme: Fear Street appreciation. YA horror steeped in late 80s-90s nostalgia. Note: Reprints Welcome   WELCOME TO FEAR STREET You've heard the stories about Fear Street—the unexplained mysteries, missing people, the things that lurk in the dark—but wouldn't you rather experience them for yourself? You aren't scared, are you? Briana Morgan, author of  TRICKER-TREATER AND OTHER STORIES, and Roxie Voorhees, co-editor of CAMP HORROR, comes a collection of super-chilling tales of teen horror.  A little nostalgia and all Ode to Stine, this anthology promises to keep you up at night.   READER BEWARE! Please read carefully. Submissions that don’t meet the guidelines may be rejected.   Submissions will be accepted until August 1st, 2022. Please submit to [email protected]    What we are looking for: YA horror stories steeped in 90s nostalgia. We also encourage writers to have diverse representation of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and strong female, Disabled, fat, and neurodivergent representation.   What we are NOT looking for: Please, do not submit stories that do not fit the theme (erotica). Submissions cannot contain rape scenes on page. Please ensure any scenes of a sexual nature are necessary and non-exploitative.   Submissions must be between 6,000 and 8,000 words. Email subject: Last, First - Title - Word count Cover letter: Include 100 word author bio and socials Content warnings are encouraged Please use standard manuscript format https://www.shunn.net/format/ is a great example. (Omit address) American English spelling and punctuation, please. Bilingual characters welcomed. Must be a .doc or .docx  Save as: Last, First - Title - Word count   We do not require exclusivity. You hold copyright, licensing us until the publication date. If your story is a reprint, please indicate in your cover letter and include its...

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: 6 cents/word Theme: Stories featuring hysteria that are Dark speculative, widely defined. Hysteria Irrational. Frenzied. Unreasonable. Unable to speak their own experiences. In the case of abortion specifically, we have been told for decades in the United States that Roe v. Wade was safe and that we were overreacting, illogical, needlessly aggressive—hysterical. Now look. We were none of those things. Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic: An Anthology of Hysteria Fiction, which is presented by CHM and will benefit the Chicago Abortion Fund, is seeking dark speculative fiction from anyone directly at risk as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade, defined inclusively. Guidelines Genre: Dark speculative, widely defined. Don’t self-reject! Theme: Hysteria. Interpret the theme broadly. You don’t have to beat me over the head with the connection. I am willing to look at everything from retellings of “The Yellow Wallpaper” to sci-fi space opera rockstars. Feel free to take on one of the many faces of the monstrous patriarchy directly. Because if you can’t now, when the heck can you? Open To: Anyone directly at risk as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade, defined inclusively Word Count: Maximum 5,000 words, no minimum. Reprints: No. Multiple Submissions: No. Simultaneous Submissions: Yes! But please alert us immediately if the piece is accepted elsewhere and needs to be withdrawn. Pay:  6 cents/word (USD) As this is a charity anthology, authors who would like to contribute more and who are safe to do so may waive pay. This is completely optional, and we will never ask you to do this; you can only request it upon acceptance. Date Open: July 18 Date Closed: August 1 Format: Shunn-ish. I don’t need your home address or phone number, we haven’t even met. https://www.shunn.net/format/story.html...

  Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: 3 cents per word and a copy of the magazine Theme: YA Horror Dark Moon Digest, the quarterly magazine published by Perpetual Motion Machine, is now open for submissions to our special annual young adult edition titled Night Frights. We want to introduce young minds to the fabulous world of horror fiction. Click HERE to purchase the previous two issues, especially if you want to get a better sense of what kind of stories we’re looking to publish in issue two. Interested in submitting to Night Frights? Read on… What we want: the same awesome stories that we use for our quarterly magazine. We want stories with complex characters and new ideas. Scare us. But also, inspire young readers into a lifelong obsession with the genre. Cool it on the profanities, no overly graphic sexual situations, etc. Consider the following scenario: we are selling books at a local county fair. A family approaches with their kids (9 and 11 years old, maybe). One of the parents asks, “Is this okay for my kid?” We want to be able to confidently answer, “Yes,” without going through a long interrogation of what they’re allowed to read and watch at home. If this seems like a very specific scenario, that’s because it’s something we’ve lived through more times than we can count, as we sell books at many local fairs. Stories should not exceed 3,500 words. No reprints. No multiple submissions. Simultaneous submissions are fine. All submissions should be in a legible font (think TNR) with your contact information in the upper left-hand corner. We are not too strict on format, but some consistency to readability would be nice. Deadline is August 1st. Please do not query us asking the status of your story before September 1st. Payment will be 3 cents per word and a...

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: $20 for authors, artwork payment is negotiated Theme: "Selfies" WE ARE GRIMOIRE, an online literary publication of the dark arts. We publish one themed issue annually that includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and work that moves beyond genre. B E F O R E   Y O U   S U B M I T The best way to know what we want is to look in our mirror (see below) and to read past issues of the magazine. You can find our archive here. We’re currently seeking: C A L L F O R S U B M I S S I O N S : T H E G O T H N A R C I S S U S Turning the camera on one’s self (the selfie, the reimagined self) as in Anna Tendler and Petra Collins; the way the camera can lie; technicolor interiors; melodrama; a goth Eve Babitz; the curation of self-presentation; visual pleasure and self fantasy ie Mulvey; digitization and pixelation of self; the mise en scene of a Room of One’s Own; absence and the opportunity for reinvention; Leila Taylor’s Darkly; narcissism and dysmorphia; vanity via vanitas; If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power; paper dolls assembled into narrative tableaux; queer bodies and narratives; thirst traps; subcultural drag and the externalized markers of what we love; Men, Women, and Chainsaws; transgression. We’re looking for things that have this vibe, or that play with form like this, but we’re also open to interviews as well as literary and film criticism. If you see yourself in the mirror, submit your work to the newest reincarnation of Grimoire by AUGUST 1, 2022: A D D I T I O N A L L Y As part of our Goth Narcissus issue, Grimoire...

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: $30 and a contributor's copy Theme: Horror/dark fantasy stories or images involving a forge, such as: items created by a forge—haunted armor, weapons, or cursed objects; demonic crafters or smiths using the forge; or the forge equipment itself. Theme For the first edition of the Fear Forge Anthology, I wanted to give a nod to the anthology's name and to the relationships that inspired it. Since the conception of Horrorsmith Editing, I have been focused on forging strong relationships within the author and horror communities. This anthology is a continuation of that, and I thought it only appropriate that it should reflect both in the name and the first edition's theme.     Please submit your unique, unpublished, horror or dark fantasy stories or images involving a forge, such as: items created by a forge—haunted armor, weapons, or cursed objects; demonic crafters or smiths who use the forge; or the forge equipment itself.    Details All stories and images should involve the forge in any variation of the methods used above. However, the forge must be a prominent feature within the story. Simply adding a forge in the background of an existing story will not make the cut.  All stories should be between 2000 and 6000 words in length. There may be some wiggle room over 6000 words if the story is exceptional. However, please do not depend on that. Any stories less than 2000 words will not be considered.  Images can be a figure, scene, or cover image.  All stories and images should be emailed to [email protected] beginning Friday, May 13, 2022.  Stories and images will be accepted until the anthology is full or until August 1, whichever comes first, so it will be to your benefit to submit as early as possible.  You may submit more...

Submission Window: July 1st - August 1st, 2022 Payment: Short Story-2,500 words or less. $0.01 USD per word/$25 USD max, Poems-less than 200 words $10, Flash Fiction-less than a 1,000 words $0.01 USD per word/$10 USD max Theme: Dark Shadows: The Gay 90s; closeted, cast out, or converted. The Last Girls Club Magazine is a quarterly feminist horror magazine that publishes international short stories and poems from the female gaze. It is an homage to the scary comics and zines of the late 20th century. This season's theme is Dark Shadows: The Gay 90s; closeted, cast out, or converted. This issue is dedicated to my dear friend Paul, who died of cirrhosis in '00s. We worked the graveyard shift together at a Texas gas station in the 90s. The stories he shared with me of growing up gay in the South, with a deeply religious emotionally scarred mother broke my heart. The 80s Satanic Panic led to a religious fervor that cast a long shadow over society and personal freedoms. If you lived it, you know exactly what I'm referring to: the friends on the streets in their early teens, the weird homophobic rants of priests and relatives, the amazing clubs and hangouts hidden in seedy alleys that were occasionally raided by truckloads of skinheads or rednecks, sometimes cops looking for "underage drinking", the disgusting older repressed trolls who paid for oral in the dark, while in the daylight stood in government buildings and expounded on family values and morality, the overall perception that AIDS was a punishment for sin not a disease/pandemic that should be addressed. That is the backdrop for our stories in the Fall issue. Paul loved Rosemary's Baby, the Wizard of Oz, and Dark Shadows. If you manage to insert a swanky older Euro trash cousin...

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: Lily unlocked the back door of the thrift store using a key that didn't belong to her. Fall: Lily unlocked the back door of the thrift store using a key that didn't belong to her. Due date: August 1, 2022 We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests...

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: 5 cents a word, 1 cent per word for reprints, 2 contributor copies Theme: dark and speculative short stories that address gay sexuality, desire, masculinity, and the aesthetics of "rough trade." Note: Reprints welcome Brute is an anthology featuring dark and speculative short stories that address gay sexuality, desire, masculinity, and the aesthetics of "rough trade." We do not want every story in the book to be so grim; if your inclination is to have your protagonist chasing a beast of a man who rapes and kills the character, please do not submit. That said, stories don't need to end happily. The attraction to rough trade often involves a desire to embrace danger and risk the self. Because we are seeking a certain tone, we ask that before you submit your story, you query first with your details on your concept (and if you have any previous publications). We will consider reprints. For an example of the kind of stories we are seeking, please look at Nick Mamatas's tale "Last Night at Manscape" or "Dick Pig" by Ian Muneshwar. Stories must have speculative elements: horror, dark fantasy, weirdness. Stories should be 2,500 to 9,000 words. Standard formatting please (Times New Roman 12, double space, etc). Payment for original fiction will be 5 cents a word for one-time print and digital rights. Payment for reprints is a bit more than 1 cent a word. Additionally, contributors will receive two copies of the finished book. Publication in hardcover will be sometime in 2023. The deadline for submissions is August 1, 2022 Via: Lethe Press Books.

Deadline: August 1st, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: High fantasy set in a new world (bible available). “Embers of Corsari”. An anthology set in A new world that will be available for other authors to dabble in. Yes, there’s a world bible you’ll have to look over and abide by. Genre is high fantasy. Submission call: Enter a world of heroes, villains, monsters, and gods. Where magic is as common as the air you breathe. I’m looking for stories about the beginnings of heroes or villains. Or even their ends. The start of wars… or perhaps the end where little is left but devastation and the embers of hope. Fiery-tempered warriors or Red-headed temptresses. Or perhaps even Pyromaniacs. Everything begins with a burning ember: may it be hope or hate, love or revenge. Due date: August 1st, 2022 Wordcount: 7,000-10,000 words Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. Email submissions to: ladyafterdeath @ gmail dot com Corsari World Bible Via: Three Raven's Publishing.

Submission Window: August 1st - 3rd. 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints, For artwork: $10 for the non-exclusive right to use each image, for as long as the site is online.  If we publish a print collection we will pay a pro-rata share for each image used. 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 8¢ 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,...

Deadline: August 15th, 2022 Payment: $0.02 per word and a contributor's copy Theme: Horror stories with a specific theme, read below. Ends On Monday, August 15, 2022 5:20 PM Description Dirt in the Sky is the new horror mini-anthology from Filthy Loot focusing on juxtapositions. We’re looking for stories about the haves and have-nots, but also seeding elements of genres like alt-lit with body horror, or dirty realism with transgressive horror. Heady themes in the sugarcoating of genre fiction. Since I only said it 3 other times in this paragraph, this is horror.  We’re looking for things that are general, but very specific—so if you have any questions, please just contact us. What we’re not looking for: sci-fi/fantasy, experimental, torturous adult content, anything too humorous or bizarro. Guidelines Stories 2-5k, edited & ready for print, reprints accepted. One submission per release, please include word count, title and name on the attached Word Document Authors retain all rights Payment of $0.02 per word + a physical copy upon release (with the option to buy more at cost) Please contact us with any questions. Submit Notes on what this press likes: Focused on misfit fiction (transgressive, existentialist, horror, and other cult fictions) and odd other ideas — we publish zines, art stuffs, & books in both limited edition and open formats. Via: Filthy Loot.

Deadline: August 15th, 2022 Payment: 10 Euro Theme: Any stories related to trains Note: Reprints welcome Wanted: Stories about trains, tracks and railway stations. Especially welcome: Creepy, spooky tales about haunted trains Stories with strong settings Locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, NZ, South America Unusual trains – e.g. a suspended train, an underground train Genre Gothic, Horror, Fantasy, Mystery Mood Suspenseful, atmospheric, creepy Length Any Reprints (previously published stories) Yes – very welcome, provided you own the copyright Multiple submissions (submitting several stories to this anthology) Yes Simultaneous submission (submitting to other markets at the same time) No problem Payment Flat fee, 10 Euro per story on publication (This anthology is essentially a reprint market, featuring previously published stories, and the fee reflects this.  We’ll consider previously unpublished stories as well, but they won’t get a bigger payment.) Rights One-time publication rights for this anthology. The writer retains all rights to the story and can publish it elsewhere. We believe strongly that writers, not publishers, should own the copyright to their stories. Note regarding previously unpublished stories:  we will consider new works, and you will keep the copyright and can also sell the stories elsewhere. However, keep in mind that some markets  buy only previously unpublished stories. Once your story has been published in this anthology, it will no longer be eligible for those markets. Editor Rayne Hall Submission Period 2 June – 15 August 2022 Decisions Selected authors will be notified before 30 September 2022, probably much earlier. If we like your story, but it’s not quite right, we may ask for changes (especially in the case of previously unpublished stories).  You can decide whether you want to make those changes and have the story included. Requested changes need to be made promptly. Similar Anthologies This anthology will be...

Submission Window: June 1st to August 15th, 2022 Payment: $.08/word Theme: When We Were Getting High, My Last Trick ‘r Treat, Body Grotesquerie, Ominous Visitors From Deep Space, and Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes From June 1st until Aug 15th we’ll accept original 500-1500 word flash horror fiction for the second installment in our Campfire Macabre series. No reprints. Paying $.08/word. Send stories to [email protected] attached in doc or rtf. There will be four to five themes. Please only write one story per theme. You may submit stories for more than one theme, but please submit all your stories at one time in the same email. In the subject line of your email please put your story title, theme, wordcount. If you sub more than one story put the wordcount, theme, and titles of the other stories in the body of your email. Below we’ll give you some hints at stuff we like, but you’re welcome to interpret the themes more broadly. Story themes subject to change before June 1st. Themes: When We Were Getting High Oasis. The Chronic. 90s. That kid in HS that dropped acid every morning before school. My Last Trick ‘r Treat You’re 12 or 13 out trick-or-treating with your pals, having the time of your life–and somewhere in the back of your mind you knew this was probably the last night of your childhood. Make it spooky. Body Grotesquerie “Your body is like a charcuterie board for worms and maggots.” -Something I think I read on social media. Ominous Visitors From Deep Space Everyone knows that aliens love 80s slashers, so they emulate them when they land in your backyard. It’s like with kids and violent video games and movies; except for real. Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes Out here in the fields,...

Deadline: August 15th, 2022 Payment: $25 Theme: Magic and mystery, gods and goblins, curses and crystals. Give us your fleeting fantasies. Magic and mystery, gods and goblins, curses and crystals. Give us your fleeting fantasies. All of them. From traditional to epic to urban to science to whatever you can come up with as long as it is fantasy. Give me fantastical stories that delight, amaze, frighten, and mystify. Gritty and low level to universe shaking. Swords and sorcery. Djinns and elder gods in the garden. Fairy rings in space. Spells gone awry. Broken curses. Stolen artifacts. Prophecies come true. Wishing wells with personality. Any type of fantasy is on the table as long as it has a fantastical element to it. Simultaneous and Multiple Submissions: We do not accept simultaneous submissions. We will allow one (1) submission per author. Send us your best. Instructions: All fiction must be submitted through our Moksha online submission system. Please do not email your submissions. Manuscript must be in either .RTF, .DOC, or .DOCX format. Submit your manuscript in double-spaced 12-point Times New Roman or Courier font. Please include your byline as you’d like it to appear in publication. Keep your cover letter short and sweet. The Editor wants your story to do the talking. Crunchy Bits: • Limited time open call: July 15-August 15. • Flash fiction wordcount: 500-999 (firm) • Genre: Any flavor of fantasy. • Payment: $25.00 • Rights: Non-exclusive (story will only be published as part of the anthology as a whole) print, ebook, and audio rights in all languages throughout the world. What the Editor is looking for: • A wide range of protagonists in age, race, orientation. • Neat twists or unexpected turns. • Atmospheric and interesting settings. • Stories that stick with the reader. • Must have an...

Deadline: August 15th, 2022 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: horror/dark fiction 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 16 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: August 15 – November 15   SPRING ISSUE: November 16 – February 15   SUMMER ISSUE: February 16 – May 15   FALL ISSUE: May 16 – August 15   While not a requirement, we strongly suggest you pick up a copy of the digital magazine to help better understand the types of work we’re looking for. All submissions must be sent via e-mail to: [email protected] as an attached word document or .rtf with the word “Fiction Submission – STORY TITLE” in the subject line. In the body of the email include a word count. A short bio is welcome, but not mandatory. 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.   ***VERY...

Submission Window: August 12th - 21st, 2022 Payment: $.08/word for original fiction, $100 flat rate for short story reprints, and $20 flat rate for flash fiction reprints Theme: General Note: Reprints accepted PseudoPod is always looking for quality fiction to feed our listeners. If you’re a writer with a short horror story that you’d like to hear narrated by one of our talented performers, we’d like to see it. Probably. When we’re open, you can send it to us through our Moksha portal. Check to see if we’re open by reviewing our schedule. Multiple and Simultaneous Submissions For the submission period in 2021, we will consider one original and one reprint per author. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable WITH DISCLOSURE. Let us know that you are submitting this to multiple markets simultaneously. We’ll be transparent with you, and expect the same level of professionalism in return. The only exception to this is simultaneous submission of a particular story to multiple Escape Artists podcasts (Escape Pod, PodCastle, Cast of Wonders, and PseudoPod), which we ask that you avoid. When submitting to one Escape Artists podcast, please wait to hear back about it before submitting the same story to another. What We Want PseudoPod is a genre magazine in audio form. We’re looking for horror: dark, weird fiction. We run the spectrum from grim realism or crime drama, to magic-realism, to blatantly supernatural dark fantasy. We publish highly literary stories reminiscent of Poe or Lovecraft as well as vulgar shock-value pulp fiction. We don’t split hairs about genre definitions, and we do not observe any taboos about what kind of content can appear in our stories. Originality demands that you’re better off avoiding vampires, zombies, and other recognizable horror tropes unless you have put a very unique spin on them. What matters most is that...

Deadline: August 21st, 2022 Payment: 6 cents per word Theme: Dark and scary stories — no parodies or humor pieces — based on Shakespeare’s plays or characters Shakespeare Unleashed, edited by James Aquilone and published by Monstrous Books and Crystal Lake Publishing, is an anthology of horror short stories and sonnets inspired by the Bard's works. Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet... all get the horror treatment...by some of the biggest names in the genre — including Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Maberry, Gemma Files, Seanan McGuire, Philip Fracassi, Lisa Morton, and Ian Doescher, author of William Shakespeare's Star Wars, William Shakespeare's Avengers and Deadpool Does Shakespeare. SHAKESPEARE UNLEASHED SHORT STORY GUIDELINES: Payment: 6 cents a word Length: 1500 to 6000 words Submission Period: July 22, 2022 - August 21, 2022 Expected Publish Date: April 2023 Kickstarter Launch: Summer 2022 No reprints, multiple subs or simultaneous subs We're looking for dark and scary stories — no parodies or humor pieces — based on Shakespeare’s plays or characters. Stories can be set in time periods other than the Elizabethan era, and can be updated or reimagined. Please, include which play or character your story is based on with your submission. Use Classic Shunn formatting. Send to james at monstrousbooks.com and use this format for the subject heading: Shakespeare Unleashed Story - Title - Author Name. Include a short bio in your email. SHAKESPEARE UNLEASHED SONNET GUIDELINES: Payment: $35 flat fee Length: 14-line Shakespearean sonnet Submission Period: July 22, 2022 - August 21, 2022 No reprints, multiple subs or simultaneous subs We're looking for horror sonnets — no parodies or humor pieces. Sonnets should be based on one of Shakespeare's sonnets or plays or characters (let us know which one when you submit) or they can be totally original,...

Submission Window: July 1st - August 30th, 2022 Payment: 0.06 USD per word and a contributor's copy Theme: Erotic Horror Inspired by Fairy Tales, Mythology & Folklore SUBMISSIONS OPEN JULY 1ST for this major new anthology edited by Evelyn Freeling. This will be our first pro-paying anthology, to be funded by a Kickstarter campaign in June 2022. We anticipate around a 50/50 split between invited authors and those chosen via our submission call. We’re looking for erotic horror stories inspired by fairy tales, mythologies, and folklore from around the world. Retellings about sexuality, desire, and fantasies that take dark turns. We love a good spin on the classics, but want to see fairy tales, mythologies, and folklore from outside the Western Euro catalog as well. We want all of the hallmarks of a great horror story: rich characters, dynamic settings, tension, pacing, with well written erotic scenes that make our hearts race, then rip the rug out and terrify and disturb us (though we ask you to please refrain from submitting rape fantasies). The erotic elements don’t need to be the source of horror and there may be elements of adjacent genres, but the story should be firmly grounded in horror. We want the unexpected. This is an inclusive anthology: M-F, F-F, M-M, threesomes, orgies, etc. Bring your kinks. A word on consent: As mentioned above, please do not submit rape fantasies. We all know rape is horrifying. Erotic scenes should feature consenting adults only. Absolutely no children. Consent in the stories does not need to be enthusiastic, but there needs to be at the very least implied consent. Length: 1k-5k words (hard limit, ideal is anything from 2k-4k). Payment: 0.06 USD per word (via PayPal) and a paperback contributor’s copy. Publication: E-book and print. Deadline: 30th August 2022. Rights: We request first worldwide and electronic...

Deadline: August 30th, 2022 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints Theme: stories from a diverse range of writers who have direct or familial experience of immigration and migration and its complex issues. Note: Reprints Welcome We are seeking stories from a diverse range of writers who have direct or familial experience of immigration and migration and its complex issues. Writers with origins from all over the world, including but not limited to Latinx, Caribbean, Asian, African, Arabic, North American and East European, are invited to challenge the reader with stories that spill out into space, parallel realms or just hidden in plain sight. The stories will explore the world from the gaze of the incoming, whether forced through slavery, economic choice, necessitated through war or oppression, or hope for a better future, examining the perspectives of displacement in a future or fantastical setting. The new stories will be set alongside older narratives – real and speculative – by Frederick Douglass, Sutton Elbert Griggs, Harriet E. Wilson, Sui Sin Far and more. An intriguing view of the conflict and anxiety between the settled and the unsettled. As with Black Sci-Fi Short Stories, Asian Ghost Short Stories and our upcoming First Peoples Shared Stories, we are enlisting and engaging with a diverse team of people to collaborate on the book: there will be an Associate Editor, a Foreword, a thoughtful Introduction, and a plethora of readers, who will work with us to ensure this book is both entertaining and true to immigrant experiences and visions. Sarah Rafael García (Associate Editor) is an author, community educator and performance ethnographer. As a child of immigrants and first-generation graduate, she has over 15 years of experience as an Arts Leader in Orange County, California. She is the author of Las Niñas and SanTana’s Fairy Tales, which is now...

Submission Window: July 1st, 2022 to August 30th, 2022 Payment: $30 and a contributor's copy Theme: Reclaiming Joy This year marks the third year of the WriteHive annual conference! Each year we’ve grown in the number of panels and workshops offered, all thanks to the generous time and money donated by our community. A very special part of our conference has also been our anthology. In collaboration with Inked in Gray, we seek to publish powerful, authentic stories from members of our community. And this year is no exception. In deciding on the theme, we wanted to highlight and empower the positive. The last few years have been difficult in a multitude of ways, and we wanted to bring attention to how communities and people have found ways to reclaim some kind of joy or happiness amidst struggles, tragedies, and oppression, for it is those moments that fuel the light in the darkness.   This upcoming anthology will officially open July 1, 2022, and we will be collecting submissions until August 30, 2022. We will be looking for stories that explore characters or groups reclaiming joy after difficulties, whether it be for themselves or others. Submissions will not be accepted prior to July 1, 2022. Theme: Reclaiming Joy There is no limitation to how you incorporate this theme into your work as long as the story falls within the Sci-Fi, Horror, or Fantasy genre. We encourage you to take the theme and show its manifestation beyond the physical, showing us something unique and engaging. Submission Period: July 1, 2022 to August 30, 2022 Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 8K words per piece, not including addition information below Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi Submission Details: Previously unpublished works You may submit up to 2 pieces, but each work must be a separate submission Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please let...

Submission Window: August 15th - 31st, 2022 Payment: .01 per word and .005 per word for reprints Theme: Flash fiction featuring military and law enforcement science fiction Note: Reprints Welcome Troopers is a magazine of flash fiction featuring military and law enforcement science fiction. All stories in Troopers must feature a fictional military, paramilitary, or law enforcement entity in some meaningful way. Your main character doesn’t need to be a soldier, pilot, or future cop necessarily, but there must be elements of military or law enforcement present in the story. Your character doesn’t need to be human either, sentient space ships, robots, aliens, and the like are more than welcome. Paramilitary characters or groups are also welcome, such as mercenaries, space pirates, cartels, organized corporations with private militaries and/or guards, and other similar entities. We like stories with cool tech and that pack an emotional punch. We have a preference for stories that have a dark and gritty atmosphere and tone as well. We’re looking to push the boundaries of military sci-fi in the flash category and we can’t wait to see what you come up with! Submissions will be open August 15th-31st. See below guidelines for details. Submission Guidelines Troopers publishes flash fiction stories of 1,000 words or less. We publish science fiction. Every subgenre of science fiction is acceptable but the science fiction element must be present. We will have set reading periods each year. Submissions will only be read in those reading periods. Stories sent outside of the reading periods will not be read unless they were specifically solicited by the editor. We pay .01 per word for original fiction, paid on publication of the selected work. Reprints are accepted and paid at .005 per word, half that of original fiction. We accept simultaneous submissions. Just please let us...

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: 10 cents per word, $200 for artwork Theme: Killer Instinct Note: There is ALSO a contest with the same theme that pays $3,000 though that one is a pay-to-play scenario. Do you feel safe? Do you believe doors and locks will protect you? They won’t, but lies are necessary to distract us from the terrifying truth – killers are everywhere. Life is full of danger. The wilds are home to fearsome predators. Sharks smell blood, and other territorial animals will rend you with tooth and claw for the misfortune of crossing their path. But urban spaces might just kill you quicker. Humans have the propensity to kill one another six times higher than the average mammal. Born killers and those brought to it by chance and fate, the true predators of the world wear familiar faces. Sharp teeth lurk behind kind smiles and watchful eyes. History is full of atrocities and bloodshed, and stories of our future suggest more to come. Even good people suffer intrusive thoughts, visualizing horrendous acts for a split second before recoiling. Beware strangers, but keep a closer eye on friends. All new writers 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. Each issue of the magazine is themed according to our monthly prompt. The prompts are designed to inspire ideas but leave room for you to tell the story you want to tell. You can always write in any genre. This month’s prompt can be viewed here.  We do host a monthly contest using the...

Submission Window: August 1 – Aug 31, 2022 Payment: $0.01/word Theme: Horror of all types One new short, published on Mondays, for at least 45 weeks of the next year. We are hoping to begin posting these short stories on February 6th, 2023. “Two-thousand Word Terrors” will be the name of the featured column hosting these stories. Because this call is not specific to Strangehouse Books, all writers are welcome to submit. The theme should be, simply, Horror. What kind of Horror is up to you. Go nuts. One submission per author. Payment: $0.01/word. NO multiple submissions NO simultaneous submissions NO reprints. Submission Length: approx. 2,000 words (a little under is OK but do not exceed 2000) The submission window will be open from August 1 – Aug 31, 2022. Submissions sent outside of this time frame will be deleted. Responses should take no longer than 3 months. Due to the anticipated volume of submissions, there will not be individualized feedback on declined stories. Send submissions to: [email protected] with name and story title in the subject line. Don’t stress about the cover letter! Just get those stories attached and sent. Please do not send PDFs. Emails with PDFs attached will be deleted immediately. Manuscript formatting should follow the Shunn style, which can be found HERE (or you can copy/paste this link: https://www.shunn.net/format/story.html) We will try to notify everyone of acceptances and rejections by December 1st, 2022. Accepted stories/authors will be announced in January 2023. A QUICK WORD REGARDING REJECTIONS: Rejections are not personal. Under no circumstance will we be opening/reading responses to rejection notices. Responses to rejection notices will be deleted, unread. Thanks in advance for your understanding. Best of luck to everyone who submits a story! We look forward to reading. Via: Rooster Republic Press.

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: Trembling With Fear was designed as a way to give back to Horror Tree. Since it’s inception we now offer an optional $5 payment on short stories to be paid by the time our yearly anthology which contains the story will be released. At this time, drabble are still considered donations to the site. Moving forward, as our Patreon levels grow, this will change for the better in both areas. Theme: Summer-themed horror Who wants summer to last longer? We do at the Horror Tree! This year, we've extended our Summer Specials submission period by an extra month so that we can collect even more hellishly hot and campfire creepy stories. Send us your tales of horror about backpacking, road trips, glamping, beach adventures, summer camp... anything summer-related goes! You may even want to write a drabble as a summer vacation postcard as a "wish you were here" . The submission window is open until August 31st to submit drabbles of 100 words and short stories up to 2500 words. Themed Calls Please note in your submission if it is for a specific theme and not a standard Trembling With Fear call. As a side note, going forward these will likely be collected in a secondary collection each year. Summer Holiday Special (to be published in August). Submit from February to end of July. Horror on the beach, at a B&B, on a cruise, backpacking, road trips, glamping, end of the pier. Why not even write a drabble as a holiday postcard: Wish you weren’t here? For special editions, we also do take longer work and Unholy Trinities. ‘Trembling With Fear’ is a new ongoing outlet for creatives that we’re trying out on Horror Tree. We’re going to be opening for submissions on drabbles and short...

Submission Window: August 1st - 31st, 2022 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre of short story Note: Reprints accepted Changing the world, one story at a time Mission = Revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful. Payout = Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Wait, you mean if this substack gets thousands of subscribers, the winner would get thousands of dollars? Yes! The New Yorker pays roughly $7,500 per story and I sincerely hope to go way past that. What does the timeline look like? Submit stories by the end of the month, winner to be announced on the 15th. There is ONE story that wins and receives the full payout. Where do I send submissions? [email protected] What are the rules for submitting? 1. No Fees 2. Send in Microsoft Word or Google Doc form 3. Any genre 4. 6- 10,000 words. Yes, just 6 words, like Hemingway's famous 6-word story "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn." 5. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute. 6. Acknowledge Distribution Rights on this Substack - You can still sell your story elsewhere but we need to be able to save and publish it here. The goal is to create a library for subscribers. 7. Only the winner will be published and rights will only transfer for the winning story. What do I get for subscribing? One beautiful story every month. The complete library. The joy of supporting artists and doing something interesting. Anything Else? Yes! Analytics will be published monthly in terms of subscribers, the number of submissions, and anything else that might be relevant. There is also...

Submission Window: August 1st to 31st, 2022 Payment: ¢1 per word CAD Theme: Horror stories involving water Water: Elements Book 3. Open August 1 - 31. Stories of horror with the theme of 'water' - Rated R welcomed Water deities - Drowinings - Sea Accidents - Storms - Flooding - Draughts - Welcome to our four-book series, dedicated to horror from the elements.   Each quarter has been assigned an 'element'. Please review the elements and open submission windows below. Each quarter submission window is only one month, so please make sure to submit during that specific time period Patreon members will be allowed to submit one week early, and be given a one-week extension to each quarter call. Although there can be some fantasy elements tossed in there, the overall feel of the stories must remain in the horror genre. Aim to scare. ​ Each part will be approximately 70,000 words and have its own ebook and paperback. Once all four sections are complete we will release a 'collection' containing all four books in ebook, paperback and hardcover form.  ​​Word count: 1500 - 7000 firm. Payment: Flat rate payment ¢1 per word CAD after approved edits. Reprints? No ​ Multiple Submission? No 💀 Only one submission per author per theme/quarter. (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) ​ Formatting:  Please use 12 pt Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing, set auto-indent new paragraphs. Add the story title to the top of the manuscript. Do not include your name or email in the manuscript. These stories will be read "blind" by our reading team. Title your manuscript "Title of Story - Theme"  example "The Ruin - Earth" Please make sure the title of the story and the title on the manuscript match. ​ How to submit? Submit via the FORM - Which will open on the start of each quarter. (A button will...

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: A small advance plus 50% of net royalties thereafter on both e-books and physical books. Also, 5 contributors copies. Theme: Horror, Gothic, and dark fantasy. OPEN JULY 1ST – AUGUST 31ST We are open from July 1st – August 31st 2022 to general submissions for novellas (roughly 20,000 – 40,000 words) and novels (roughly 40,000 – 100,000) aimed at an adult audience. What We’re Looking For: We’re looking primarily for horror, Gothic, and dark fantasy. We love genre mixing, works that stray from the well-trodden path, or that offer a fresh perspective on existing tropes. We’re particularly keen to see work from BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and non-Western authors, and stories with elements of the following genres: Horror-romance / erotic horror Historical and Gothic horror Folk horror Hauntings, supernatural, and the occult Sorry, but we’re NOT currently interested in: Science Fiction or high fantasy YA or childrens’ fiction Short story collections Series’ Rights and Compensation: We ask for exclusive first publishing and electronic rights for a set period of 2 years following publication. Thereafter, all rights revert to the author, although the contract can be extended if both parties are happy to do so. All copyright remains with the author. We offer a small advance plus 50% of net royalties thereafter on both e-books and physical books. Authors will also receive 5 free paperback copies of their book and the option to purchase further copies at cost price. Exact details of the contract will be negotiated with individual authors, but we are happy to send you a copy of our sample contract on request. What We Offer: We provide full developmental and copy-editing, formatting, cover design, and a marketing plan for your book using social media, newsletters, advance-release copies, and industry contacts. Our 2022 releases have appeared...

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: $30USD Theme: Terrors on Distant Planets Title: Strange Sunsets: Terrors on Distant Planets Theme: Science fiction stories that take place on another planet. There must be an element of horror. Gore and splatterpunk is welcome, but may not be a first choice. Word Count: Preferred 2500-7500. Hard cap on 10,000 words for exceptional stories. Payment: $30USD Rights: First time publishing rights for one year after publication. The author is free to publish the story elsewhere afterwards. Reprints: No. Original stories only. Multiple Submissions: Welcome. Simultaneous Submissions: No. If you do not hear back within eight weeks, you may submit the story elsewhere. How to submit: Email manuscript to [email protected] attached as a Word (.docx) document. In the subject line, please write Sunsets_Your_Name. In the body, please include a few sentences summarizing the story. Via: War and Whiskey Publishing.

Submission Window: June 1st, 2022 to August 31st, 2022 Payment: Between $0.05 and $0.08 per word Theme: Bold, imaginative fantasy, horror, and sci-fi sculpted to thrill and entertain readers with the bizarre or delve into the shadows. Arise – appear, emerge, come to light, surface, befall, ensue, stand up, transpire, etc. Inkd Pub is excited to announce a submission call for Hidden Villains: Arise opening June 1, 2022. We hope to have this project completed and published in spring 2023. Theme: Hidden Villains Arise – Bold, imaginative fantasy, horror, and sci-fi sculpted to thrill and entertain readers with the bizarre or delve into the shadows. Arise – appear, emerge, come to light, surface, befall, ensue, stand up, transpire, etc. Express yourself as the theme moves you. There is no restriction as to how you incorporate the theme into your story as long as the genre falls within Sci-Fi, Horror, or Fantasy. We encourage you to weave the theme into an engaging story with well-developed characters and deep emotion. Stories that contain infanticide, rape, or gratuitous gore will not be accepted. Submission Period: June 1, 2022 to August 31, 2022 Submissions: 1 per author; no simultaneous submissions; Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 7,000 words Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi Anticipated Pay: Between $0.05 and $0.08 per word for accepted stories Upon acceptance, the author is expected to work with the editor on at least one round of revisions in MSWord. Our publication goal will be the spring of 2023; however, the extensive time needed to review and edit submissions may vary depending upon the submitted works. Authors must provide assurance that their story submission is an original, previously unpublished work, is not currently under consideration elsewhere, and that it will not be submitted for publication elsewhere prior to receiving notification that it has not...

  Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: Contributor's Copy (US Authors) Theme: Story must include a character named Jessica and mention both Flint, Michigan as well as a non-human character named Winona Submission deadline is July 1, 2022. JESSICA’S RECURRING NIGHTMARES GUIDELINES Thank you for choosing to submit to the seventh annual Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers (GLAHW) mini-anthology. We are looking for horror fiction, between 2,000 and 5,000 words, along with the following requirements. 1. A character named Jessica. The character can be the protagonist, antagonist, monster, victim, friend, etc. As long as he, she, it, or they play a significant, if not pivotal, role in the story. 2. The story must make a reference to Flint, Michigan, AND a non-human character named Winona. Whether it is the setting of the story, part of the backstory for a character, or a passing reference, the city of Flint and Winona should have some importance to the story. We will be editing the stories, but we will not make any changes without first discussing them with you, the writer. We’re writers, too, and we know what it’s like to have our stories altered without our consent. We won’t do that to you. Having said that, however, we will try our best to make each of the stories in this anthology the best they can be. So, if we give you notes, we’d appreciate it if you’d consider them carefully. We’re not saying you have to agree with us (We’ve had plenty of writers argue with us, and sometimes, we see their point and concede the edit). Just that you listen. The cover art for Jessica’s Recurring Nightmares will be handled by the talented Steve Bejma SUBMISSION Please submit all stories to [email protected]  The subject line should read Submission: Jessica’s Recurring Nightmares. Stories should be submitted as an attachment...

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: Poetry - $10 USD, Flash - $15 USD, Short Fiction - $35 USD and a contributor's copy. Theme: horror set in the Old West Timber Ghost Press is proud to present Along Harrowed Trails, an anthology of horror set in the Old West. We are seeking well-crafted stories and poems that are creepy, disturbing, and weird that embrace the Old West aesthetic from around 1800-1900. For inspiration, you can look to Bone Tomahawk, Ravenous, Hostiles, The Wind, Appaloosa, Tombstone, Blood Meridian, Deadlands, Quick and the Dead, etc.  We anticipate an early 2023 release. Accepted authors will receive payment according to the pay scale below, plus a contributor's copy of the anthology in both print and electronic format. Deadline: August 31st, 2022 The Following Categories are Open for Submission: Poetry Flash Fiction: 1000 words or less Short Fiction: 1001-6000 words Payment: Poetry - $10 USD Flash - $15 USD Short Fiction - $35 USD What We Do Not Want: Timber Ghost Press may outright reject stories that contain the following: ​​Pedophilia\Rape\Child Abuse Animal Abuse Extreme Violence or Gore Just for the Sake of It ​ Multiple/Simultaneous Submissions/Reprints: You may submit up to three poems and/or once in each category. For example, you may submit three poems, a piece of flash fiction, and a short story if you like. Regarding simultaneous submissions, we don't mind as long as you let us know if your story gets accepted elsewhere. No reprints please. Submission Format: Please submit your manuscript in either .docx, .doc, or .rtf following Shunn format. You can find the form to submit your story in the link below: Via: Timber Ghost Press.

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: Original Stories: $25.00, Reprint Stories: $15.00, Flash Fiction: 1 cent/word to $10.00 maximum, Poems: $5.00 (for minimalist poetry such as scifaiku, etc., the rates for Scifaikuest apply), Illustrations: $7.00 Theme: “Bed” is not limited to an actual bed. It can be a futon, a sofa, a chaise lounge, a recline, or anything you can reasonably sleep on. Note: Reprints Welcome IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED is a paperback anthology of stories, poems, and art, and will be published by Hiraeth Publishing. Editors for IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED are Terrie Leigh Relf and Marcia Borell. IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED is open to submissions as of 1 April 2022. We expect to close on 31 August 2022. We expect to publish on 1 January 2023. IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED wants original stories with plot, tension, suspense, conflict, and character development. Remember, if readers do not care what happens to your main character(s), they won’t read the story. The narrative should maintain a sense of wondering what’s going to happen next; of what’s lurking just around the corner. Showing is better than telling. Frex, instead of telling the reader that it’s cold, show your character shivering, stomping feet, or having ice form on beard or hair. The inner thoughts and emotions of your character(s) are just as important. IMPORTANT NOTE: “Bed” is not limited to an actual bed. It can be a futon, a sofa, a chaise lounge, a recline, or anything you can reasonably sleep on. If you’re looking for inspiration, think Roger Corman and what he might have done with this. Stories submitted to IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED should be between 3K and 8K words long. Longer or shorter stories will be considered; however, anything less than 3K will be a difficult sell. Anything 2K...

Submission Window: July 1st through August 31, 2022 Payment: $25 and a contributor's copy Theme: A charity horror anthology of stories inspired by the music of Alice Cooper, both the group and solo. "Dismember the Coop" is a charity horror anthology of stories inspired by the music of Alice Cooper, both the group and solo. The proceeds from sales go to support the Solid Rock Foundation, an organization setup by Alice and Sheryl Cooper that benefits the disadvantaged youth in the Phoenix area. To learn more about it, go here: https://www.alicecoopersolidrock.com/ Note that although this is a charity anthology, authors and artists will be paid. I don't like giving my work away for free, and I suspect most other professionals don't either. Submission guidelines: Stories should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words with payment being at $25 USD, plus an e-book or paperback copy, your choice. Payment will be upon acceptance, with distribution of books following publication. I don't really care about the format, font, etc., since I'm a geek and a lot of that will be sorted out in the editing process, but just be consistent, eh? No explicit sexual content just for the sake of having it. No racism, hatred toward marginalized groups, animal cruelty, or violence just for violence’s sake. No reprints. Some notes about the stories: You can base your stories on song titles. You can base it on characters referenced during a song. *** You CANNOT quote lyrics in your story. *** Doing so creates so many copyright headaches it's not even funny, and this will cause your story to be rejected outright, regardless of quality. Alice has a huge catalog of songs to choose from, going back over 40 years. Try to be creative and go deep catalog. If you submit a story based...

  Submission Window: July 15th, 2022 – August 31st, 2022 Payment: $25 Theme: Nocturnal Animals The Quiet Ones is a tri-annual e-zine that centers LGBTQIAP+ and women’s voices in the subgenres of quiet horror and intimate dystopian fiction, both for YA and Adult audiences. New installments of The Quiet Ones are released on the last Thursdays of October, February, and June, and are available for download on our website. We are exploring other avenues for distribution and will update accordingly as The Quiet Ones becomes available by other means.   “Quiet Horror” applies to atmospheric, unsettling stories that rely more on mood and rhythm than on shock and gore. Examples of quiet horror include: classic ghost stories and shorts like The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, modern moody masterworks like The Walls Around Us by: Nova Ren Suma, and films such as The Exorcist III or Pontypool where so much of the horror is left to the viewer to imagine as opposed to horror films that bombard their audience with scenes of excessive gore and jump scares. “Intimate Dystopia” is all about scale. We’re looking to zoom that lens in – show us the personal, everyday impact of living under totalitarian regimes, or heavily restricted environments – anything from haunted houses to run-down clubs or playgrounds – anywhere upon which the larger trappings of dystopian visions apply. For post-apocalyptic stories, give us small, contained spaces which explore life in the ruined world. Examples of intimate dystopia include: Speech Sounds by Octavia Butler, Wool by Hugh Howey, and films such as Quarantine (or ), or Tale of A Vampire. Accepting: Short Stories up to 3000 Words Flash and Micro Fiction up to 1000 Words Poetry Author Compensation: $25.00 (USD) per piece Rights: We request first worldwide and digital rights for four months...

Deadline: August 31st, 2022 Payment: $5 Theme: Let’s Get Weird A Literary Journal with Some Art and Analysis Thrown in for Good Measure As Quarter Press continues to grow, we’re adding another coin to our pocketful of change. We want to offer a space for shorter works to mingle with art and other bits of nonsense, so we bring you The Quarter(ly): It just makes cents. Each issue will be themed; however, we will consider any interpretation of said themes. 2022’s Themes and Deadlines: Other Voices (NOW AVAILABLE!) Myths, Fables, and Folklore (June 30) Let’s Get Weird (Aug. 31) Ends (Nov. 30) What’ve you got to show us? Stories and / or Poems For Stories: We’re open to micro works all the way up to 10,000 words. Just keep two things in mind: We want to be engaged and the submission must be completed (no pitches, please!) For Poems: We’d love to see up to five poems from you, but you can always just send one, too. Art As long as it has some tie to the current issue’s theme, we’re open to see any art created in any medium at any time. Just know that it will need to “work in print” and—might—be presented in black and white. Graphic Stories Show us your comic strips or complete short works; we’d love to see them all! Please try to keep submissions to 20 pages or less. Feel free to also send a collection of comic strips / one shot comics, as well. (Please note that our publication size / dimensions might change between issues. Our “Norm” is 6x9”). These must be COMPLETE works. Analysis / Interviews / Reviews As long as it is tied to the theme in some way, we’d love to see any and all media analysis (film,...

  Deadline: August 31st, 2022 (reported on Facebook) Prizes: 1st place: $100 via Paypal Author Print Copy, Author Interview published on all WTP socials and website. , 2nd Place $50 via Paypal, Author Print copy, 3rd Place $20 via Paypal Author Print copy Theme: A story about a nemesis There is no fee to enter. All entries whether they place or not will be considered for publication. ​What is Nemesis? The inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall. A long-standing rival; an archenemy. A person’s undoing. Theme Trope: Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Allies, Enemies as Lovers/Friends 1st place: $100 via Paypal Author Print Copy Author Interview published on all WTP socials and website.  ​ 2nd Place $50 via Paypal Author Print copy ​ 3rd Place $20 via Paypal Author Print copy ​ Working Title: Nemesis ​ Premise: Sometimes great loves begin with great fury. These are such tales of passion and partnership that ignite somewhere closer to hate.  Warriors on opposite ends of a battlefield align to oppose a greater evil. Sworn enemies become bound brothers for the greater good. Whatever it is that puts them at odds, it's no match to the power of what binds them together.​ ​ Genres: Keep it speculative. Romance on some level is preferred, but not required—passion, emotion, fierce bonds are what we are looking for. We’re also hoping to see a lot more #OwnVoices pieces, female authors, LGBTQA+ stories, but all are welcome to submit!​ ​ Encouraged Tropes:  Enemies to Lovers Foe Romance Subtext (But skip the sub and make it TEXT!) Belligerent Sexual Tension The Only One Allowed to Defeat You ​ Pairing Examples:  Beauty and the Beast Buffy/Spike Rey/Kylo Negan/Maggie (Enemies to allies) Nina and Matthias (Six of Crows) Batman/Joker (In fanfiction) Grindelwald/Albus Dumbledore (In fanfiction) The Doctor/ The Master...

Deadline: September 1st, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: Military Science Fiction Note: Reprints Welcome An anthology of Future Combat and Mechanized Warfare Call for entries Three Ravens Publishing is accepting entries for a military science fiction-themed anthology to be published in 2022. Focus will be stories in the genre that featured future combat centered around mechanized warfare, ie, tanks, APC’s, cavalry, mounted infantry etc. Stories can be set in existing author owned universes but must be new material. Author bio and link to existing works will be provided at the end of each story. Focus should be on hard military science fiction, with a setting from the near future to thousands of years from now. Ground combat in a combined arms atmosphere. In other words, Close Air Support and air to air combat can be part of the story but not the focus. Dropship troopers and airborne insertion are merely a way to get to the fighting. Mechas are allowed but it has to be a really good story that focuses more on the meatsickle element than the gee whiz fighting suit. Please, no Mary Sue’s. Genre: Military Science Fiction Word Count: 7,000 – 10,000 Edited by: J.F. Holmes & William Joseph Roberts Opening by: David Drake Due Date: Sept 1, 2022 Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Blood, Sweat, and Steel” in the subject line Please follow the Three Ravens submission guidelines that can be found here MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here Hard and fast rules of what not...

Deadline: September 1st, 2022 Payment: Contributors Copy and royalties Theme: Speculative fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any other works with a speculative element Note: Authors must be LGBTQIA+ writers We are so proud of our anthologies Strongly Worded Women, Shout, Denial Kills, and our forthcoming Stories (Within) (available on August 5th of 2022). We want to do it again! When we look at our country and our industry, we’re very concerned about attacks on LGBTQIA+ folks in the USA and around the world. We worry about how those attacks are silencing the voices of LGBTQIA+ authors, poets, and artists. We want to do what we can, so, just as Strongly Worded Women included only female-identifying writers, our next anthology will only feature the work of LGBTQIA+ authors, poets and artists. Our panel of editors evaluating and selecting submissions is entirely LGBTQIA+ and includes incredible writers like Christine Sandquist, Lydia Valentine, and Claudine Griggs, and our co-publisher Viveca Shearin. We will accept submissions under pen names to protect our authors/poets/artists. We're primarily seeking speculative fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any other works with a speculative element. These genres are places of catharsis and solace where people of all identities can imagine new worlds where they are represented, but they're also spaces where marginalized voices have often been pushed aside within the mainstream publishing industry. Give us your sentient spaceships, murderous fae, and weirdest ecology! We're interested in both prose and poetry, and we're willing to consider work in experimental or unconventional styles. The stories do need to be fictional, though. We're not knocking journalism, long form essays, memoirs, or online rants, but there are other places for those. We want to create a space for fiction and poetry exclusively by LGBTQIA+ authors and poets. Can you submit...

Deadline: September 1st, 2022 Payment: (CAD) 1c per word, and $15 per poem Theme: General Horror What are we looking for? We’re looking for predominantly horror short stories, flash fiction, and poetry, but they can run the gamut of everything from absurdism to bizarre (and terrifying) science-fiction to unsettling dark fantasy. We love the uncanny; what we look for is the telling drop in your stomach when you absently look up at the skies and there are far more constellations than you’d remembered, brighter and closer and in configurations you don’t quite recall. We want stories about the bleed error of the universe printing outside the margins of reality. We are interested in stories with LGBTQ2S+ and diverse leads, especially with narratives that are not confined to tragedy tropes. • What do we not want? Please don’t send us anything bigoted or hateful, we’d all be wasting our time. At this point we’re not seeking photography or art. We do not take reprints, including translations. Previously published works on personal websites (including sites such as Wattpad, Medium, etc) count as reprints. Please note that you must be eighteen years of age or above to submit your work. • How much do we pay? We pay 1c per word, and $15 per poem, regardless of length. All listed currency is in CAD. • What about word limits? We have a firm limit on stories not exceeding 7000 words. The ideal word count would be in the 2000-4000 range for short stories. We prefer poetry to not exceed 1500 words. • How do you submit? You can submit via e-mail to [email protected]. Please send us works in .doc, .docx, or .rtf formats. We recommend including your name and contact information in the file. Please note that our submissions e-mail address has been recently changed in order to...

Deadline: September 1st, 2022 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: September 1st, 2022 Payment: €40 and a contributor's copy Theme: Getting lost to find the most intricate and vivid settings, see below for a better explanation Jacques Yonnet once stated that "an age-old city is like a pond. With its colours and reflections. Its chills and murk. Its ferment, its sorcery, its hidden life." And the same could be said for the most intoxicating of video games. Getting truly lost in one means encountering places more vivid than our physical reality. Wind Guide You will be a pixelstruck anthology of enchanted texts devoted to exploring these territories and digital ramblings. We want pieces that talk about the most otherwordly and intense settings of virtual universes. We want your beautiful dérives. We want your utter escapism, your childlike stray in the woods. But we aim to go beyond mere description. These short incursions must absorb the reader, envelop the way the most lucid video game environments do, with a poetic, complex, evocative prose. The pieces will be accompanied by a pixel art illustration, especially commissioned for each of the selected texts. Send us your submissions in English or Spanish in a text document (with a limit of 1,500 words) before the 1st of September to submissionssadwrnpresscom. Do not include absolutely any personal or professional info along with your submission. Payment consists of €40/text and a complimentary copy of the zine. Via: Sadwrn Press.

Deadline: September 1st, 2022 Payment: $5 and physical contributor's copy for those in the United States Theme: Domestic Horror poetry from those who identify as women Black Spot Books will publish its second Women in Horror Poetry Collection in November 2023 in recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This collection is open to all poets who identify as women (cis and trans) and non-binary femmes. Submissions open July 2022 and will close August 31, 2022, with decisions made on a rolling basis. All submissions will receive a response. The theme of the second collection is domestic horror. This is a broad spectrum and poets are welcome to interpret the prompt in their own vision, so long as poems support the theme of domestic horror -- the fear that we might not be safe in our own homes. We have partnered with The Pixel Project, a global, volunteer-run non-profit for this showcase, and will be donating a portion of proceeds to support ending violence against women. More information on The Pixel Project can be found at: https://www.thepixelproject.net/ The showcase will feature a cover with hand-drawn illustration by respected horror artist Lynne Hansen and will be traditionally and globally distributed in both trade print and ebook. Featured poets include Bram Stoker Award®-winning poet Stephanie M. Wytovich and nominee Jessica McHugh, as well as Science Fiction & Fantasy (SF&F) Poetry Association Grand Master and recipient of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) Lifetime Achievement Award winner Marge Simon. Poems must be previously unpublished, though published poets are, of course, welcome. We accept submissions of poems up to fifty lines. Free verse preferred (please, no forced rhyme or clichés). Please, no simultaneous submissions. We accept one poem per poet, but up to three poems are allowed for submission. Submissions should be submitted along with a brief bio....

Deadline: September 1st, 2022 Payment: $5 Theme: Anything Sci-Fi! HellBound Books Publishing is excited to announce its very first foray into the science-fiction genre. We are looking for your very best tales of aliens, strange new worlds, fantastic beings from distant planets, space travel, terrifying glimpses of the future, and whatever else your sci-fi mind may conjure up to horrify our readers. PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 4K - 10K word count * Write 'SC-FI' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Deadline: September 1st, 2022 Payment: $5.00 for First Rights Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Deadline: September 1st, 2022 Payment: $5 Theme: Stories that pay homage to Edgar Allan Poe fan Lifelong Edgar Allan Poe fan, Madame Gray, is in search of horror tales that pay homage to one of the greats of the genre. Whether you gravitate toward The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, Murders in the Rue Morgue, or the Masque of the Red Death, she wants to read your story... Compiled and edited by Gerri R. Gray (Madame Gray's Creep Show, Blood & Blasphemy, Vault of Gore) and published by Hellbound Books, this anthology is open to undiscovered writers and established voices alike. Contributors are invited to send a bio (up to 250 words) with their submission. Multiple and simultaneous submissions are okay. 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! * 3K - 8K word count * Write 'MADAME GRAY POE' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: September 1st, 2022 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment: $5.00 for First Rights Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hell Bound Books Publishing.

Submission Window: September 1st-2nd, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints, For artwork: $10 for the non-exclusive right to use each image, for as long as the site is online.  If we publish a print collection we will pay a pro-rata share for each image used. 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 8¢ 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...