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Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: $15 and 3 contributors copy Theme: No genre, fiction, poetry, essays, art The World Unknown Review has taken an unexpected hiatus in the past few years, but we are proud to announce plans for it to return on a new schedule for a potential late 2022/ early 2023 release! The submission period for the World Unknown Review runs annually from January 1st to October 31st. We’re looking for a little bit of everything, so please send us your best fiction, poetry, essays, art, or whatever else in between. There are no genre, theme, or word limitations, although anything over 17,500 words will fall automatically into the novella competition. There is no entry fee, and writers may send in as many works as they like, though only one is likely to be chosen. Authors will receive $15 USD ($30 for the winning novella) and three contributors copies. Please send submissions or questions to [email protected] , preferably in .doc, .docx, or .rft form. Please, no PDFs. Via: L.S. Engler.

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: £0.005 per word Theme: Daytime-themed horror This daytime-themed horror anthology is going to be absolute FIRE! We want your original, unpublished, short horror stories set in daylight. That's it. Go wild. Think Midsommar, The Wicker Man, Benchley's Jaws, IT, The Silence of the Lambs. All great storylines, all packed with daytime fear proving you don't have to be in the dark to be afraid. Sleeping with the lights on won't help you this time. Howl at the sun, create reverse vampires, solar-powered cryptids, photosynthesising swamp monsters, make it eco-horror if you like, create an alternate world where the sun never sets, it simply grows hotter and hotter, closer and closer... You could even write about zombies (but only if you've something new to offer-zombies have been done to death, excuse the pun). Write whatever you like as long as the bulk of the action happens in broad daylight and is horror-themed. Elements of sci-fi, fantasy, dark and speculative fiction are fine, encouraged even, as long as your story is creepy, dread-inducing, and/or downright horrible. We're giving you a long time for this one, time to get those creative cogs turning so you can squeeze out something truly awful for us. Deadline: October 31st 2022 (midnight, last place on earth, yes we know that's Halloween) or until full. To be published Spring 2023. We're looking for flash pieces (500-1500 words) and longer stories (3-5k) but if you've something somewhere in between, we'd still like to read it, send it in. You may enter up to 3 pieces of flash and up to 3 longer stories, if you wish. £0.005 per word (after edits). An anthology of selected stories will be published in print and as an e-book publication. See our 'Submission Guidelines' section for information on...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022. Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: A shared-world Sword and Sorcery anthology based on Xonthian, a universe created by Daniel Dickinson. Fedowar Press is opening submissions for a shared-world Sword and Sorcery anthology based on Xonthian, a universe created by Daniel Dickinson. This is a world of magic and warriors with all the races you love: The world of Xonthian is thick with diversity and rich in history. From Xonthian City, where humans live their lives in a large city while the outskirts have some of the land’s richest crops and farms. Or the island of Juan’kij, where the elves have secluded themselves in the forests of Timilik. The Dwarves living peacefully under the Shadow Mountains, and the Atticatten, who have hidden away on the easternmost peninsula of Xecutran. Where Orcs, Ogres and darker races who live in long-forgotten jungles and swamps, or in the shadows of lost civilizations. To the undiscovered lands of the east, where magic, sword, and gunslingers travel desert vistas. This anthology is expected to release in mid-2023. Submissions will be accepted until October 31, 2022. Details Suggested Length: Between 7.5k and 15k words Region: Can take place anywhere in the Xonthian world Need more info on the Xonthian World? Take a look at it on World Anvil Want to chat with us about the world and your idea? Contact us on the Fedowar Discord Qualifying submissions must have never been published. Quick Start Guide Welcome to the world of Xonthian! A young medieval world filled with magic, sharp blades, and mysteries around every corner. From the world beginning, molded by the children of the cosmos, the gods see the world as a mortal plaything. Not every god however is invisible and sits silently by. Oblivious to the machinations of the elder gods, the world...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: 20€ for original stories and 5€ for reprints and a contributors copy Theme: Mystery Stories Note: Reprints Welcome Send us your best mystery. We want excellent writing, evocative settings, intriguing characters, and most importantly, a clever puzzle complete with clues, red herrings, foreshadowing, and twists. We strongly suggest you purchase a copy of The Black Beacon Book of Mystery to find out what kind of stories we're likely to accept. 20€ for original stories and 5€ for reprints regardless of length, plus one print copy. Preferred word count between 5,000 and 10,000 words. The preliminary deadline is the 31st of October, 2022. We regularly post news on our Facebook page. You can also get a feel for what we like by buying our previously published titles. Publishing quality fiction is an expensive passion, so the more we sell, the more we can publish. It's that simple. # 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. 20€ for original stories and 5€ for reprints regardless of length, plus one print copy. Preferred word count between 5,000 and 10,000 words. 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 our high standard of editing, and helps finance future anthologies and increases the possibility of better pay rates. Languages accepted:  English and French / anglais et français Black...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: Contributor's Copy Theme: Speculative Poetry About Cats In 2021, 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats were estimated to be in the world. Cats were first domesticated in the ancient “Near East”  around 7500 BC, though it was long thought that cat domestication began in Africa, in ancient Egypt, where cats were venerated from around 3100 BC. Speculative Cats is an anthology of speculative verse about the domesticated cat (Felis catus), edited by Akua Lezli Hope and LindaAnn LoSchiavo, to be published in 2023. Submissions open June 1- October 31, 2022 Submit no more than 3 unpublished, speculative poems to [email protected] Black and white illustrations also sought. Submit no more than 5 illustrations of speculative cats in .jpg or .png, with a minimum 400 dpi resolution. No previously published poems (see notes) Submission Format One-inch margins, 12 point or larger type. Name and e-mail address on every page of poem. Name of file should be your name and title of poem. Send each poem/image as a separate file. Send files as attachment in .doc or .docx to [email protected]. Illustrations should be in .jpg or .png format with a resolution of 400dpi or higher. Payment: all included will receive one copy of the paperback. (Estimated value, $25 including shipping and handling). The Speculative Cat Volume I will be published as a paperback and e-Book in 2023. ### Notes This anthology is focused on speculative verse about domesticated cats so no lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, pumas, cougars, etc. If you’re using any word other than English, include a notation. Please send only speculative poetry, no longer than 40 lines mere metaphor does not a speculative poem make mere simile does not a speculative poem make Possibilities include: alien cats, astro cats, cyber cats, ghost cats, cat familiars, magic...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: £80 Theme: The inter-relationship between the postmodern and horror A Darkness Visible - Submissions due by Midnight GMT, 31 October 2022‍ Ontology Books is seeking submissions for its upcoming anthology A Darkness Visible focused on postmodern horror. Postmodern literature has often been an ill-defined concept. Critics have cited the deconstruction of narrative, inter-textual storytelling, and the subversion of genre conventions in attempting to define what “postmodern” constitutes. Others have noted the interplay of high and popular culture, dark humor, and literary experimentation as hallmarks of the postmodern. It is safe to say that “postmodern” is a slippery concept open to multiple interpretations and meanings. This anthology will explore the inter-relationship between the postmodern and horror. We are seeking short stories of between 3,000 and 8,000 words addressing this theme. Writers like Mark Danielewski (House of Leaves), Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho), William Burroughs (Naked Lunch) or Thomas Pynchon (Gravity’s Rainbow) may be reference points, although thinking outside the box is welcome. Stories may be in the horror genre, or they may investigate horrific aspects of what Jean-François Lyotard called “the postmodern condition.” How you address the theme is up to you. Include a short cover letter with your submission in the body of the email citing any relevant writing credits or experience. A number of award-winning writers have already been contracted for the volume by invitation. We are now opening the call to public submissions, although spots will be limited. We expect highly polished manuscripts in standard Shunn formatting complete with contact information. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] and attached as a single document (.doc, .docx, or .pdf files are acceptable formats). Accepted contributors will be paid a flat fee of £80 and receive a contributor copy of the book. The editors expect to notify authors on the outcome of...

Submission Window: October 1st - 31st, 2022 Payment: $1 per accepted piece Theme: horrorku, horror themed tanka, haibun, see below for details The Submission may include any or all of the following: · Up to seven (7) horrorku or horror tanka  · Up to three (3) haibun · Up to five (5) pieces of cover art All submissions must be original, unpublished work that is not under consideration by a print or web-based journal. Posts in closed, critique-oriented groups and social media sites are acceptable for submission, but public posts on forums such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not. By submitting a piece to us, you are guaranteeing that it is your original work and not under consideration or published anywhere else in the world. E-mail submission is required. Type poems into the body of the e-mail; no attachments of poetry will be opened. For art submissions, please include all five pieces in a .PDF file or send us a link to a private gallery. If we purchase an art piece for our cover, we will ask that you provide a 300 dpi version of said piece. E-mail: [email protected] Subject: Otoroshi Submission Please include a cover letter noting location in the world. Please include handles for Instagram and Twitter for promotional purposes. At this time, only one submission per issue will be considered unless the editors directly request a second submission. Submission periods are one month long: · January for the Spring Issue · April for the Summer Issue · July for the Fall Issue · October for the Winter Issue Acceptances will be sent shortly after the end of each period. Please note: Although most journals may publish your work as is, we are editors, too. This means we will make suggestions to your work as we see fit. This...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: $10.00 USD Theme: A collection of tales all set in different rooms of the same horrifying house Imagine a Victorian house where every room is cursed with a frightful existence. Are monsters in the halls? Ghosts left to fester in the library? Or are the rooms themselves enchanted with malevolent energy? What was summoned long ago and what doorways were left open? Manor of Frights will be a collection of tales all set in different rooms of the same house. Stories MUST follow these guidelines: MUST be in 3rd person. No 1st person stories will be considered. The Manor of Frights was built in 1880. So, stories can take place between 1880-1980. Keep this in mind when writing. Is the house new in your era? Run down? Or refurbished? Has there been a fire? A flood? Are you writing about the homeowner? A guest staying at a BnB? Or maybe… You are writing about the architect renovating the place? Choose a room and write a horror story that takes place in it. 13 rooms will be picked from the submissions. Choose wisely. Be unique. You can write about the normal rooms in a house like bedrooms, bathrooms, or the kitchen, but some other ideas for rooms are: attic, conservatory, library, basement, study, billiard room, cellar, hall, parlor, boudoir, dining room, den, foyer, living room, nursery, dinette, hearth room, scullery, kit room, linen closet, landing, rotunda, nook, covered porch, widow’s walk, or maybe you have an idea of your own. The story must have an overwhelming sense of menace and dread. The KIND of horror is open to you. Is there a monster inside? Does it connect to a demon world? Has it been cursed? Is it haunted? Do vampires reside in the home? Scare us....

Deadline: September 1st - October 31st, 2022 Payment: 1/2 cent per word for new, $10 for reprints, $10 for accepted new, not-previously-published poetry of 14 to 50 lines; One Dime/$.10 per line thereafter with a maximum of $15.00., $10-$15 for accepted new OR REPRINTED interior illustration, $25.00 for the Illustration/Art Theme: Stories containing vampires Our current Call for Submissions is for THE VAMPIRICON: Imaginings & Images of the Vampire. SUBMISSIONS OPEN FROM 1 SEPTEMBER THROUGH 31 OCTOBER (HALLOWEEN) 2022. The Vampiricon Must be directly relevant to the subject of THE VAMPIRE. Must contain at use of the word VAMPIRE in the text, OR be a work clearly on the topic of THE VAMPIRE, VAMPIRISM, etc., OR, if an illustration, must depict the VAMPIRE or have clear reference to THE VAMPIRE in some form. Short Fiction between 500 and 3000 words. Poetry between and including 14 to 200 lines (verse or free verse). NOTE: So-called "Prose Poetry" will be considered poetry, but the syllable count of the submission will be divided by 10 to compare to the number of iambic pentameter/10 syllable lines. Thus, a 2000 syllable prose poem will be the maximum length. Scholarly Articles, Essays, and Notes between 500 and 3000 words. Illustrations/Art can be line art, greyscale, or full color at 300 dpi. Except for the selected cover illustration(s), full color will be converted to greyscale for interior illustrations. BOTH NEW and PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED SUBS WILL BE CONSIDERED, provided the rights to the work are held by or have reverted to the submitter. RATES OF COMPENSATION FOR ACCEPTED WORK $10.00 for accepted previously published work [IMPORTANT: The complete MLA citation for the place or places of previous publication will be required. ADD this information at the end of the scroll of the document presented, or, if illustration/art, submitted along with the illustration file as a separate,...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: £10 Theme: Science Fiction Stories Q is for Quantum – Submissions open September 1st. Deadline October 31st We’re looking for sci-fi stories, parallel dimensions, time travel etc but firmly set in the horror genre. We are currently calling for submissions for a series of horror anthologies – The A-Z of Horror. The series will be based on a variety of themes and will consist of twenty-six books in total. We are looking for short horror stories, between 4000 and 8000 words, on each of the themes listed below. You may submit to more than one book, but we will only include a maximum of one story from each author, in each book. Being accepted into one book does not guarantee acceptance into one of the others. The story must be your own work, to which you hold the rights. The story must not be available elsewhere and, if accepted, we will hold the rights to it for three months from the date of publication. After that time, you may use the story however you wish. Any sub-genre of horror is suitable, even extreme, so long as the story fits the theme of that book and does not include anything which may unnecessarily cause offence (glorification of child abuse, rape, etc.). Payment for the story will be £10, to be paid via 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...

Deadline: October 31st 2022 Payment: $0.01 CAD per word Theme: Fairy tale short fiction Note: Reprints Welcome Over the last six years, the From the Rock series has become one of the preeminent anthology series’ in Atlantic Canada. We have been home to some amazing established talent and helped some new authors break through that have gone on to dominate their fields, becoming genre bestsellers in their own right. From the Rock is a title readers consistently ask for, review well, and is a great way for avid readers to get introduced to indie talent they might find interesting. Since 2018, each entry in the series has become a Canadian bestseller based on pre-orders alone! ​ We are currently accepting submissions for the tenth entry in this series: Fairy Tales from the Rock, to be available in Winter of 2023. Editors Ellen Curtis and Erin Vance are scheduled to return to helm the project. Many authors have expressed interest, but anyone can submit to be a part of this collection! Deadline is October 31 2022, but get your stories in as quick as you can, as it gives our wonderful editors more time to work with you and make sure it is as good as it can possibly be! We're looking for both fairy tales inspired by Newfoundland & Labrador culture, as well as new takes on popular fairy tales from the world over! What is the target audience? For this specific collection, we’re going for an equivalent of PG to PG-13. Rather than limit our authors creatively, we encourage them to write from the heart and allow us to work with them to fine-tune the work after the fact. What does it pay? Authors are paid $0.01 CAD per word, to an upper limit of 7000 words. Are there minimum/ maximum...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: $5 (USD) per poem and $10 (USD) per short story and a contributors copy depending on location Theme: Horror stories of regional legends and tall-tales from around the World. Volume IV A horror, short-story collection of regional legends and tall-tales from around the World. We've loved doing these, now it's addiction, so, we've decided to keep doing it. We are seeking short story submissions (1000-7500 words) for this anthology. The stories must be based upon a regional/cultural legend or tall-tale from any location or culture in the World. “Regional” can be a specific place (Loch Ness) or a larger region (Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest). We are seeking stories in the horror genre. Inclusion of elements of other genres is welcome, so long as, overall, the story is an horror story. The subject of the story can be based on any legend, so long as it has a horrific flavor. Ghosts, hauntings, alien abductions, monsters, demons, spirits, witches, etc, all are acceptable, as long as the subject is based on an actual legend or tall-tale. We want an original story involving the legend. Don’t rehash the legend itself or write an essay on the tall-tale. Instead, for example, WOW us with a new fable of some poor unfortunate who finds out that legends are sometimes all too real. For more examples; read our first three FROM THE YONDER Volumes. Please DO NOT: ~Extrapolate relationships that do not exist in the actual legends. Nessie can be a horrific monster, but she is not a servant of the Elder Gods (no matter how much we love Eldritch horror). ~Attribute characteristics or powers that do not exist in the actual legends. Jack-a-Lopes are cool, but they aren’t going to eat you in your sleep. ~Intermix legends that are...

Submission Window: October 1st - 31st, 2022 Payment: Flat rate (likely listed October 1st when the call officially opens.) Theme: The theme of other and/or different - however writers wish to interpret that. ***THIS IS AN EARLY LISTING*** Not all details were available at the time of scheduling this post, we will update or enter a new post once full details are available. Other & Different will be the first print anthology from the Coup of Owls team.  ​ Encompassing a variety of styles and genres, Other & Different will feature stories focused on the theme of other and/or different - however writers wish to interpret that. This anthology will include only adult (18+) creators from marginalised and/or underrepresented communities or backgrounds. ​ Submissions open in October 2022. Publication will be in April 2023. ​ 1000 minimum, 4000 word maximum - hard limit Flat rate payment per story - TBC Rating up to and including R/18+ Reprints not accepted Full submissions information and cover art will be available from September 2022 ​ We will be donating the profits from both pre-orders and the first six months of sales from release will go to the North American non-profit Rainbow Railroad and UK charity Rainbow Migration equally.  Rainbow Railroad is a global not-for-profit organization that helps LGTBQI+ people facing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics. In a time when there are more displaced people than ever before, LGBTQI+ people are uniquely vulnerable due to systemic, state-enabled homophobia and transphobia. These factors either displace them in their own country or prevent them from escaping harm. Rainbow Migration is a UK based charity that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) people through the UK asylum and immigration system. Via: A Coup of Owls.

Submission Window: October 1st-31st, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word and $500 for custom cover art and $100 for cover art drawn from an artist’s existing portfolio. Theme: Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. Note: You must identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. khōréō is a quarterly publication of stories, essays, and art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. We’re especially interested in writing and art that explore some aspect of migration, whether explicitly (themes of immigration, colonialism, etc.), metaphorically, or with a sly nod and a wink. Most importantly, we’re a new magazine and we’re still finding our identity: therefore, please don’t self-reject because you’re not sure if your work is a good fit. We won’t know until we see it, so please give us a chance to look! See submission requirements & how to submit at the following pages: Fiction Non-fiction Art Voice actors Who can submit? khōréō is dedicated to diversity and amplifying the voices of immigrant and diaspora authors and artists. We welcome, but do not require, a brief description of the author’s/artist’s identity in their cover letter. We invite you to submit if you identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented...

Submission Window: October 1st - 31st, 2022 Payment: Fiction: $0.03 per word (USD) + contributor copy, Art: $100 (USD) for previously unpublished art; $50 for reprint art + contributor copy Theme: Storytelling that centers nonhuman characters and positive multispecies interactions Open for Submissions: October 1 – 31, 2022 Story Length: up to 7,000 words Payment: Fiction: $0.03 per word (USD) + contributor copy Art: $100 (USD) for previously unpublished art; $50 for reprint art + contributor copy To imagine and build better futures, we’re championing a new wave of inclusive storytelling that centers nonhuman characters and positive multispecies interactions. Whether the setting is urban or rural or a space station, we’re looking for stories and artwork that put human-nonhuman or even nonhuman-nonhuman relations in the spotlight. We encourage creators to imagine nonhuman main characters, and we welcome narratives that acknowledge the agency of multispecies actors, both in the worldbuilding and in the plot. Because this is a solarpunk anthology, stories that acknowledge the realities of climate change and address those challenges through uplifting possibilities will have the best chance. We’re defining “creature” broadly, so let us see your depictions of wild animals as well as domesticated ones, of intelligent fungi or plastic-eating bacteria, of lakes and rivers granted personhood. Reconsider the traditional tropes of alien first contact and sentient AI, and envision them in a way that doesn’t replicate the same old oppressions and assumptions of human dominance. We’re looking for work that acknowledges humans as one species in a larger ecosystem, for human characters who strive for cooperation with (rather than dominance over) other creatures, for settings that reflect a sustainable balance of nature and technology. This is a sequel-in-spirit to Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures, which reimagined our urban spaces as less anthropocentric. Read those stories to get a...

Submission Window: October 1st and October 31st of 2022 Payment: $20 Theme: Short stories set in deep space and/or on alien planets from now on. Far, far from Earth! To have your story considered for Issue 23 due out in November 2022, please submit it between October 1st and October 31st of 2022. I’ll read and reply in November 2022. Announcement Jan 2022! Since 2017, Alien Dimensions has been working hard to find its feet in the semiprozine world, while still covering costs. I’ve offered a token payment of $10 per story for stories accepted since then as, being a non-profit with no grants, that’s basically all Alien Dimensions can afford. Also, I volunteer my time to edit it. I’ve previously said that if sales increase, I’ll review that token payment. So, whether it was the double issue, covid, reduced number of issues being released, an increase in interest in space fiction worldwide, changing the release time limit from 1 year to 2 years, better advertising, a new algorithm from Amazon, more people interested in aliens, or more people reading via Kindle Unlimited, or, most likely, Issue #21-#22 being just so good, Alien Dimensions has not only been successful in 2021 it has started recovering losses for previous years. As a result, with huge thanks to all the readers and writers, from 2022, payments for accepted stories will rise to USD$20 each. I know that is still far away from professional payments but, I plan to review that every year and increase it when possible. There’s been some contract adjustments for this to happen, too. Future issues will remain available indefinitely, from issue #23, and from February 2022, the minimum story length for submission is now 5000 words. Also, Alien Dimensions issues will be 200+ pages rather than 100. Yes,...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: General Fiction" $0.07 per word. Speculative Fiction: $200 for stories accepted in annual Speculative issue, $100 for stories printed on website. Essays: $100 Theme: Any genre. Character-driven stories that leave the readers something to think about. Note: Black women writers Deadline: October 31, 2022 at 11:59pm ET (short fiction – all genres and narrative essays) CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT! short stories. essays. melanin. Whether you’re an established writer or are just starting out, we want to hear from you! midnight & indigo, a new literary magazine celebrating Black women writers, has issued a call for submissions to review short stories and narrative essays. We publish content on our digital platform and in our literary journals (paperback/ebook/audiobook). In 2022, we will publish our first long-form anthology! Writers are invited to share their original, fictional, or personal stories. Stories can funny, entertaining, serious, or sincere. Stories must be character-driven and leave readers with something to think about. All genres are welcome! How to Submit: Format:  All submissions should follow proper manuscript format and Microsoft Word .doc format. We will not accept submissions that do not follow our guidelines. All stories must be submitted via Submittable — we will not accept stories via email. You may submit up to three stories at any time. Our average response time is 120 days. Word length:  Short stories: min. 1,500 words. Narrative essays: min. 1,200 words Please note:  Call for Submissions will be held on a rolling basis with deadlines four times per year: January 30th, April 30th, July 30th, and October 31st. Submission does not guarantee that your work will be published. All submissions will be considered for our long-form anthology. Genres: All genres and writing styles are welcome. It may be helpful to view our current short stories, essays, and literary journals to get a general sense of what we publish, but don’t...

Submission Window: October 1st-31st, 2022 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre, short story 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. Via: Substack.

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: Contributors Copy and Royalties Theme: The Natural World NOTE: PLEASE ENSURE YOUR SUBMISSION IS INTENDED FOR THE SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY. DO NOT SUBMIT IN THIS CATEGORY UNLESS YOUR SUBMISSION IS A SHORT STORY. Submissions in erroneous categories will be rejected, and those with repeated infractions may be blocked from further submissions. The theme for our Fourth Annual Short Story Anthology is The Natural World. Stories should take place predominantly outdoors or in some natural context, with nature a defining aspect of the work. Man-made environments and situations should take a backseat in the characteristics of landscape, plot, and other elements of your submission.  Merriam-Webster defines "the natural world" as "all of the animals, plants, and other things existing in nature and not made or caused by people." We would love to see stories that explore how interactions with nature cause tension, excitement, wonder, and/or increase the knowledge of the reader and characters in the story. Reconnecting with the natural world is vital in these times of pandemic, resulting in working from home, avoiding crowds, being cooped up in enclosed spaces, away from each other. How can we maintain our humanity without nature?  How often should we try to be outside, in nature? What can happen because of it? Without it? ANNUAL SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSIONS: Short stories submitted in this category will be evaluated for inclusion in the annual Anthology. For stand-alone collections, please submit in the other Short Story category. Please tell us in query form the length, as well as the theme, working title, and upload the complete short story in .doc, .docx, .txt., or .rft format. Please do NOT upload a .pdf of your story. If your story is illustrated, kindly state this in the query, and we will contact you regarding these if...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Prizes: Grand Prize: $5,000, writing credits on a video of the story. Theme: Original Ghost Stories Note: Must be 21 to enter. Bogle Vineyards’ Phantom Wine Ghost Story Contest is gearing up for another year of original ghost stories with the winner being produced into a short film with a cash payout! REQUIREMENTS OF CONTEST ENTRIES: Contest Entries may not contain, as determined by the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, any content that: • Is sexually explicit; gratuitously violent; derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic; • Promotes alcohol abuse, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing); promotes any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous; promotes any particular political agenda or message; • Is obscene or offensive; endorses any form of hate or hate group; • Appeals to children or minors or promotes underage drinking; • Appears to duplicate any other submitted entries; • Defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies; • Contains trademarks, logos, or trade dress (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors/interiors) owned by others, without permission; • Contains any personal identification, such as license plate numbers, personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses; • Contains copyrighted materials owned by others, without permission; • Contains any materials embodying the names, likenesses, voices, or other indicia identifying any person, including, without limitation, celebrities and/or other public or private figures, living or dead, without providing legal releases for such use in a form satisfactory to Sponsor; • Contains look-alikes of celebrities or other public or private figures, living or dead; • Communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which Sponsor wishes to associate; and/or • Violates any law. By submitting a Contest...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: "Contributors Copy" (Copy of the calendar + a t-shirt) Theme: Photographs must depict horror in any type of twisted, macabre, and evil images of dark artwork, soaked in whatever vile media you choose to delve into Greetings Cadavers! We are pleased to announce the 2023 Horror & Dark Art Calendar is underway! Last year's 2022 calendar was a killer success, and we were able to help float a couple of names out into the horror ether. For 2023, we are looking for much more bloodlust! Once again we are seeking photo submissions from all you independent horror artists to showcase your vile creations! There are some guidelines below that must be followed, and yes, a photograph release (a necessary document to keep everyone honest), has to be submitted. Other than that, if you have captured art in some evil form and you want to showcase it in our calendar (it's free by the way, no entry fee!), take a photograph (digital) and send it to us for consideration. We will wade through the rivers of blood to choose just the right ones. But there is more. If your photograph is chosen for a monthly wall, you will be awarded: One free calendar One free Split Skull Media T-Shirt One free Death Certificate (yup, these are back, too!) Photo credit and website listing Huge bragging rights If we use your photograph on/inside the grid (smaller photo): Honorable mention on the calendar Please understand that every entry cannot be a winner. These artworks are painstakingly viewed and reviewed. Choosing the right ones is difficult and we hold no biases. When the photos are finally chosen, we have become mere shadows of our former selves, slinking deep into our coffins in a whirlwind of self-inflicted madness... but we wouldn't have...

Deadline: February 1st, 2023 (DEADLINE EXTENDED) Payment: 3 cents per word Theme: Homebound Horror Ever felt like you weren’t alone in your own home? Like eyes were watching you through the walls and ceiling vents, or that if you just listened hard enough, you could hear footsteps creaking from the ceiling above you? Home is where you’re supposed to feel safe. But what happens when that safety is violated? When something malignant - living, dead, or something that never lived at all - enters our most sacred of places and begins twisting it to use that safety against you? You tell us. UNDER THE STAIRS wants your most horrific stories about what happens when one’s sense of home is lost. How you interpret that is up to you. We want supernatural stories and stories that deal with strictly human horrors. We want stories about stalkers, psychopaths, ghosts, monsters, urban legends, the mortician who built your home and parked his hearse in the driveway, where he used to let the bodies sit overnight. But what we want most are the stories that you are scared to tell. The splinters of painful terror from the deepest recesses of your heart. The ones that make you stop short of stepping over that threshold - whatever, or wherever “that threshold” is. Surprise us. We’re looking for original stories no more than 3,000 words. This is a hard limit. Submission Window Submissions will be accepted from August 1st-October 31st 2022. Any story submitted before or after will be deleted unread. Response Times We will try to respond to every submission within 60 days of submissions closing. Rights We are setting a 1 year, print and digital submission right to publish for submitted stories. Payment Sure, this is a passion project for us, but we wanna...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: 10.00 for each short story, $5.00 for each poem, article, and flash fiction piece, and $2.50 per cartoon/Comic Strip. Theme: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Time Travel Fantasy, Grimdark, Horror, Thriller, Paranormal, Bizarro Full Moon Chronicles Submission Guidelines We will be open to submissions September 1, 2022, through October 31, 2022 Quick and to the Point: Send us your submission in a .doc or .docx attachment in an email to [email protected]. Subject line, “FMCSubmissions” otherwise, your submission may not make it to our editors. Submissions sent to any other email address will not be considered. Include in the body of the email, Story Name (your title) Author (your name/pen name) Genre (in your opinion) Word count (the number of words in your story) Your story (Please leave a single blank line in between each paragraph of your story.) Please make sure you read and understand the guidelines as outlined above before you do so, especially the part about properly spacing your paragraph breaks. Who We Want We are eager to accept submissions by published authors and unpublished writers. What We Want All fiction, (for ages 18 and up) FANTASY, DARK FANTASY, HISTORICAL FANTASY, TIME TRAVEL FANTASY,GRIMDARK, HORROR, THRILLER, PARANORMAL, AND BIZARRO. (For other fiction not mentioned, please send a 250-word pitch for consideration.) Short Fiction Length: 2,500 to 4,500 words Flash Fiction Length: Up to 1,000 words (Flash fiction should never be more than 1,000 words.) Poetry Poems should be no more than a page, (approximately 225 words) or less. Subject matter to follow the above genres, and you may submit up to two poems per submission with triple spacing between them. Articles Pertaining to authors, genres, coming releases, distribution outlets, and so on. Cartoons / Comic Strips Original works only. (See “What We Don’t Want” below) What We...

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: 9 cents per word Theme: Speculative Fiction The submission window for the fall 2022 flash fiction submission cycle is October 1 to October 31. Authors will be notified in mid-November about whether their stories have been accepted for publication. Stories will be published under a non-exclusive license, at a rate of 8 cents per word. The author will retail all original copyrights. Stories must be under 1,000 words in length and fall under the genres of science fiction, fantasy or horror. Please submit only one story per cycle. Simultaneous submissions to other publications is allowed. Meanwhile, we are also accepting reviews, essays, reprints, and book excerpts for publication on this site. MetaStellar is an online publication focusing on horror, fantasy and science fiction, launched in September 2020, founded by a dozen speculative fiction writers, editors and artists from around the world. Via: Metastellar.

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: $0.005/word up to 7500 words. Minimum of $15 Theme: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Note: Reprints Welcome We are currently open to SHORT STORY submissions for Summer of Sci-Fi & Fantasy: Volume Two to be published in the Summer of 2023. All stories must be submitted before our deadline of October 31st, 2022. We ask for the following: 1) We are looking for great Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Don’t overthink it! Just write an incredible story and you will find yourself in this anthology. 2) Submit your work in the Shunn Standard Manuscript Format. We only accept documents in DOC, DOCX and RTF formats. 3) We accept work in the range of 1500-7500 words. Anything outside this range will be automatically rejected. 4) Payment for original fiction is currently $0.005/word up to 7500 words. Minimum of $15. Reprints paid at full rate. We retain no rights to your work. 5) Worldstone Publishing encourages submissions from writers of all races, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, etc. We want and value diverse voices. Saying that, we make editorial decisions strictly based on merit, and we do not collect any information that might clue our editors to any of these attributes other than your name, email, address, and cover letter before any decisions are made regarding your submission. 6) Ready to submit? Then send an email directly to [email protected] In the subject line, please write “Anthology Submission: “STORY TITLE” or your story will be automatically rejected. 7) No multi-submissions. We try to respond to all submissions within 30 days. Via: Worldstone Publishing.

Deadline: October 31st, 2022 Payment: 10 cents per word for fiction, $3000 for pay to play contest, $200 for cover artwork Theme: A haunted place, and silver. Note: There is also a contest with the same theme that you can enter, which IS pay to play with big rewards. However, it is not required to enter in order to submit to the magazine. Do you tremble from the chill? As the weather cools and leaves scatter the ground, can you be sure it’s not something… else. Which scares you more, the darkness or your own thoughts? Certain places are known to be haunted. Asylums, crypts, and old creaky houses. The striped-tent circus turns sinister at night. You wonder what lurks inside the fog as the mist rolls through town, as the rain blankets the manor home, as lighting illuminates the deep woods. Where do you hide when the panic sets in? Surely not that cave, hotel, or empty church. An isolated cabin in the forest? Run farther, to a station among the stars, where the echoes you hear are definitely human. Perhaps you’re haunted by memories, of things you’ve done and people you’ve lost. How do you escape the voices in your head, conversations replayed ad nauseam until you scream with guilt? Chased by ghosts—real or imagined—where do you hide? This contest invites you to explore haunted hideaways, whatever that means to you. Fantasy, contemporary, romance, crime. All genres are welcome. Submissions close October 31st at 11:59 pm EST. Contest only open to new writers. WHO CAN ENTER? Anyone can submit work to the magazine for free, but you must be an Elegant+ Member to enter the contests and win prizes. Membership is $10/month and includes over $250 in exclusive discounts from our partners like Scrivener, ProWritingAid, Novel Factory, and more. SIGN UP NOW...

Deadline: November 1st, 2022 Payment: 15GBP Theme: If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 150k+ monthly 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 86.) Mother Nature; deadline 1st November 2022 SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If this form isn’t working, please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. Title your email with the following syntax: “SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT”  (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) Submission Guidelines • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document • Stories must fit an upcoming theme • By submitting your story to us, you are confirming that you are the original creator of the story • We will consider entrants whose work has been entered and published elsewhere, however please ensure you state where and when your story has been used elsewhere on the document • You will be allowed to place one call-to-action for your own work at the end of the episode. Be sure to include this at the end of your document, underneath the log line • Payment per accepted story is 15GBP • 2x entries per theme permitted   When will I hear if my story has been accepted or not? We carefully review every single submission that comes through our door. If you’ve...

Deadline: November 1st, 2022 Payment: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem, $10, artwork, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Theme: So THAT's Why THEMA literary journal was born in a Chinese restaurant in 1988 as the result of a conversation over how different writers would respond to a single quirky theme—specifically, stories involving the fortune cookies received that day. Our curiosity evolved into a mental exercise among friends—a challenge. What we didn’t expect was how much fun we would have. As we wrote about fortune cookies, we began to ponder other topics. Soon, it was like eating peanuts—we couldn’t stop. Strange themes kept popping into our heads; how would various imaginations react to them? We had to know! So now we had a list of quirky themes in one hand, a fistful of diverse but homeless fortune-cookie manuscripts in the other, and heads buzzing with potential theme-based plots. What should we do with the themes? What would we do with the resulting stories and poems? Start a literary journal and send the challenge across the country—of course! Why not?? Upcoming premises (target themes) and deadlines for submission : The Crumpled Yellow Paper (July 1, 2022) So THAT's Why (November 1, 2022) Help from a Stranger (March 1, 2023) To download a PDF file of the guidelines, click here . ALL SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, POEMS, PHOTOGRAPHS and ART MUST RELATE TO ONE OF THE PREMISES SPECIFIED ABOVE. NOTE: Previously published pieces are welcome, provided that the submission fits the theme and that the author owns the copyright. The premise (target theme) must be an integral part of the plot, not necessarily the central theme but not merely incidental. NOTE: Fewer than 20 double-spaced typewritten pages preferred. Indicate premise (target theme) on title page. Be sure to Indicate target theme in cover...

Submission Window: October 1st - November 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: DEVOUT: Martyrs, Cults, and Madness 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. Please check on the website for the theme in detail. Last Girls Club Winter Issue Theme is DEVOUT: Martyrs, Cults, and Madness No more than two fiction or flash fiction stories per author per submission period. Fiction is limited to 2,500 words or less. Authors are paid $0.01 per word upon acceptance ($25 USD max). Flash fiction is limited to under 1,000 words. Authors are paid $0.01 per word upon acceptance ($10 USD max). No more than three poems per poet. Poems are limited to 200 words or less for each poem. Poets are paid $10 upon acceptance. I prefer to use PayPal to pay authors, but will work with authors where PayPal is not available. Nonfiction columns will must be pitched to editor in chief before submission. Email your idea to [email protected]   Via: Last Girls Club Duotrope.

Deadline: November 1st, 2022 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: When he died, their father had two requests. 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 to help come up with new first lines, or we run fun, gimmicky competitions for free stuff, but the actual journal is not a contest in the traditional sense. Fiction: All stories must...

Deadline: November 1st, 2022 Payment: $10 Theme: The artfully weird. Strong preference for Orlando based writers/submissions about Orlando and surrounding areas. While we prefer writers with a connection to Orlando or the greater Central Florida area, Olit will accept quality writing meeting our aesthetic and criteria from writers anywhere around the world. What do we mean by aesthetic and criteria? We’re glad you asked. Olit seeks the following: Genres: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Hybrid, Artwork, Photography. Send us all kinds of stuff. We love the artfully weird. Strong preference for Orlando based writers/submissions about Orlando and surrounding areas. We aim to focus primarily on publishing marginalized voices. LGBTQIA+ is a big plus with us. BIPOC voices will always be uplifted here. Disabled? Incarcerated? Low income? Other marginalized voices? Please send us your work. If you do not consider yourself marginalized, your submission is still welcome at Olit if it meets our other criteria. Our aesthetic is best defined as gritty with grace, fast food parking lots in the middle of the night, the underbelly of a tourist city the locals know by memories. We want quality writing with heart and teeth. Give us words that bite back, stories full of verve, and the poems you wouldn’t let Grandma read. We are not the Academy/highbrow lit scene. We are indie and intellectual, raw yet polished. Send us only your best. We welcome simultaneous submissions. We would never ask you not to submit your work to more than one place at a time. Any lit journal still doing that should be banished and left behind. Please send us only previously unpublished works. We welcome multiple submissions. Have a short story perfect for us? Looking to publish some poems at the same time? That is fine with us, but please submit them as separate...

Deadline: November 1st, 2022 Payment: $25 + two paperback copies + one award certificate Theme: New Weird Horror as a Horror subgenre focused on progress, creatively capturing themes and questions that bleed into fiction straight from the modern reader's life and future. Note: Reprints Only *PUBLISHED WORKS ONLY*   Tenebrous Press presents the inaugural Brave New Weird Awards—to reward and further this unique blend of genres—and its accompanying Brave New Weird:the Best New Weird Horror of the Year anthology series, showcasing the winners of each year, care of editor Alex Woodroe. We define New Weird Horror as a Horror subgenre focused on progress, creatively capturing themes and questions that bleed into fiction straight from the modern reader's life and future. It acts as a challenge to break new ground in terms of form and content and to engage with the unknown. Beyond that, New Weird Horror will be defined by the winning pieces themselves. Buzzwords: speculative; eclectic; horror-centric but genre-blended; progressive and innovative in terms of content, social themes, form, or voice; concept-driven. Does this sound like your writing? Submit your previously published work to the New Weird Horror Awards today! Disclaimer: Tenebrous is a young press looking to have fun in the world of Horror and build a community of like-minded peers. We’re not claiming this award will wow your dream agent or single-handedly sell your book. It’s a way to showcase reprints that we love in a genre that we care about, and get them into the hands of more readers—no fuss, no lobbying, no hidden costs. Eligibility: Any previously published piece of short fiction under 7.499 words originally published in the English language within the eligibility period. You may submit NARRATIVE poems only; poems will be judged on their storytelling. Stories published in other languages are welcome...

Deadline: November 2nd, 2022 Prizes: Overall winner: $75, Prompt prizes: $50 for each of the three categories, $5 for every “honorable mention” (10-12 stories) Themes: Stocking Stuffer, Christmas Cryptids, Weird Cards (Details for each below!) I’m sweating, and my shorts are damp, which means it must be time to announce the FIFTH ANNUAL WEIRD CHRISTMAS FLASH FICTION CONTEST! This is year number FIVE! Last year’s results are here. I’m sticking with the Prompt Categories this time which lets me give out four top prizes rather than just one or two. It’s still an experiment to see if this gets more or better submissions, and I figured one more year will give me a good sense whether to keep doing it this way. But first, if you’re new to this, then “What,” you may ask, “the hell!?” I want your stories to help keep Christmas weird! This is a contest for flash fiction of no more than 350 words that’s somehow about Christmas and somehow about slapping a big ole scoop of oozy weird right in the middle of your Christmas pudding. What does that mean in particular? I don’t know! You’re the writer! Surprise me! Just make Christmas (or any other winter holiday) seem new and unsettling with a bit of that grinning like you’re not sure if it’s funny or creepy, and you’re on you way to fame and fortune as the winner of this little contest. There are three “Prompt Categories.” You have three ways to enter this year, and four ways to win a top prize. There will be one overall winner and then three winners in each of three separate categories: “Stocking Stuffer” – In this category, just write whatever the hell you want. Anything goes as long as it fits the rules and general guidelines down below. “Christmas Cryptids“ – Seems like odd monsters and critters...

Submission Window: November 1st-3rd 2022 Payment: $50 Theme: Weather. A new theme, weather, starts in January 2022. Hi there! We’ll no doubt write more about this later in the next year, but for now, what follows below will tell you all you need to know. Added March 3, 3021: Although it states below that only one work per author per submission, I am suddenly getting multiple poems at a time. Only one story or poem per submission, per author. (Kate Wolford, Editor-In-Chief.) And the theme for 2022? It’s “WEATHER.” (No more submissions are being accepted for publication in December of 2021). The following is relevant to all submissions for 2022, and the first submission window opens Jan. 1. More below.   Writing opportunities for 2022 include:   New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are almost or entirely new or are just new takes on old tales are all welcome. Mashups of existing fairy tales are welcome as well. Submissions must follow the theme below to be considered.   Poetry: Poetry inspired by fairy tales and that follows the theme is also welcome.   Please read the following in its entirety before submitting.   Want to know what is likely to get published here? There are well over 10 years of stories, essays and art on this current site. It’s the best place to start if you want to be published here.   HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT AND FORMAT   Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at EC in 2022.   * Writers will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories/poems five times in 2022. Since we will be choosing eight to 10 works per publishing month, there are up to 50 slots to be filled in 2022. That’s a lot! And it does not...

Submission Window: September 14th - November 9th 2022 Payment: Contributor's Copy Theme: Light & Dark We rarely get to tell our own stories. Whether we are queer, poc, disabled, or all of the above, our stories are most often told for us by people unqualified to. For much of history, we were kept silent on our own experiences. But now we have a voice and the ability to uplift the voices of others. We must take advantage of this as much as possible. Limeoncello Magazine was created for this purpose. Our stories are valuable. Our voices will be heard. Winter 2022 theme: Light & Dark. Submissions will be open from September 14th - November 9th. We publish OwnVoices stories in all genres. All works including common triggers will be prefaced by a trigger warning. How we define OwnVoices: an author from a marginalized, persecuted, or underrepresented group writing about their own experiences/from their own perspective, rather than someone from an outside perspective writing as a character from an underrepresented group. All works must be own voice. Any graphic depictions of sexual assault, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, antisemitism, etc. must be own voice. We do not publish work that encourages violence or hatred toward others. You must be 18 or older to submit. All submissions must: be in English be double spaced be 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font have tab-indention on all paragraphs have a one-inch margin on all pages be a Microsoft or Google Docs file All submissions must include a cover page. The cover page should include: title author’s name (pen names allowed) an indication that the author is over 18 an approximate word count identities relevant to the piece trigger/content warnings for your work, if applicable Flash Fiction pieces should be under 2k words. Any Flash fiction...

Submission Window: November 6th-12th, 2022 Payment: $25 Theme: Post-Colonialism The Fabulist accepts submissions of short fiction, poetry, visual art, and nonfiction by invitation only or during periodic open calls. Links, guidelines and policies (including our evaluation process, nondiscrimination statement, payment, and more) for fiction, poetry and visual art are below. You can get notifications for our current open calls via our email newsletter, Twitter feed, and Facebook page. Short fiction From October 2022 through April 2023, The Fabulist will be opening a new series of brief, monthly submissions windows for short, fantastical fiction of all sorts. Learn more. Our next submission window will run from Nov. 6-12. All submissions of fantastical fiction are welcome. Our special thematic interest will be: Post-Colonialism. Please review our Submissions & Publishing Policies for details on publishing rights, nondiscrimination, evaluation, simultaneous submissions, and why we never charge reading fees. How to submit your work Short fiction can only be submitted via Submittable during open submissions windows, using the linked button at the end of the following Fiction Guidelines. Fiction Guidelines The Fabulist seeks short (up to 3,000 words) works of fantastical and genre fiction, which we define expansively. Surprise us! We do love science fiction, fantasy, intelligent horror, speculative fiction, literary fabulism, magic realism, mythic/folkloric works, near-future speculations, solarpunk/cli-fi, hopepunk, and genre subversions (crime, mystery, romance, westerns, thrillers, sea adventures, gothic, and quasi-realist works) that are anchored by some element of the fantastic. Please review The Fabulist’s short-fiction archives, to get a sense of the sort of work we’ve published so far. We’re always looking to expand our horizons, but knowing where we’re coming from helps. We value • Great writing (attention to sentence construction, an awareness of the poetry inherent in prose) • Vivid settings that influence and engage the plot and character arcs • Revelations of the self and the world we live in • Sensitivity and alertness to the significant issues of...

Submission Window: September 15th, 2022 - November 14th, 2022 Payment: 0.08CAD Theme: Disabled characters being empowered and living full lives while still being disabled Note: Stories by people at the intersection of disability and other identities that have been traditionally excluded from publishing. All too often in popular media, disability is used as shorthand to say a character is helpless or weak. A victim. And if that character is a superpowered person, their disability becomes something for them to overcome or cure in order for them to become a hero. We want to challenge those tropes and celebrate characters who are disabled and still save the day, whose abilities and disabilities are equally important aspects of their lives and identities. What we want Fiction stories ranging from 500 to 3500 words. Disabled characters being empowered and living full lives while still being disabled Stories that play around with tired clichés and tropes about disability Humor Stories about and by people at the intersection of disability and other identities that have been traditionally excluded from publishing. This includes but is not limited to people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, religious minorities, women, older adults. Cross-genre stories. Science fiction is good, but we welcome any genre of speculative fiction. Can you tell a superhero story in a fantasy or weird west setting? What we DON’T want Stories that promote hatred against a group of people. Characters can be racist, ableist, sexist, etc., but the story should not portray this behavior as acceptable. Fanfiction Poetry Stories written by non-disabled friends, family, and caregivers of disabled people. Your experiences are important, but they aren’t what we are looking for. What do we mean by disabled? We are actively seeking stories written by and about people who are physically disabled, developmentally disabled, neurodiverse, blind or low...

Deadline: November 14th, 2022 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence for each word Theme: Horror - no specific theme A New Collection of Horror Stories We are very excited to open submissions for this new anthology, edited by Mark Morris ("...one of the finest horror writers at work today" – Clive Barker)! Darkness Beckons is the fourth book in the Flame Tree Book of Horror series, and follows Close to Midnight, which is out now! Mark has once again approached an impressive range of authors but we've reserved space for four new stories from the online submissions. This is a prestigious anthology and will be published worldwide in hardcover and paperback. The first book in the series, After Sundown, was nominated for both Shirley Jackson and British Fantasy awards, so we’re looking forward to finding more unthemed horror stories for this fourth collection. Fees, Copyright and Other Terms: We pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence for each word for new stories. We will not accept reprints for consideration for this anthology. We would prefer to pay for the selected stories via PAYPAL because bank charges to the US and Canada, in particular, can be very high for all concerned. Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that. Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel. Please submit in .doc, .docx or .rtf formats, double-spaced, with your name and email address in the footer or header of each page. We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months of the submission deadline. The anthology will be published worldwide, available online and to...

Deadline: November 15th, 2022 Payment: $100 or $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is greater) and a contributor's copy Theme: Traditional Sherlock Holmes stories blended with one or more of Lovecraft’s tales. Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H.P. Lovecraft Edited by Derrick Belanger & Brian Belanger Description: Imagine Holmes investigating the disappearance of a college student in the mysterious town of Innsmouth, matching wits with a man who can reanimate the dead, or using his deductive skills to help fight creatures from beyond the realm of time and space. These are just some of the stories which could be included in the new anthology Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H.P. Lovecraft. The anthology will feature traditional Sherlock Holmes stories blended with one or more of Lovecraft’s tales. Belanger Books is calling for submissions from writers, new or established, which are between 5,000 - 10,000 words (it is okay to be over some). Guidelines: The stories must feel like traditional Holmes and Lovecraft stories. The stories should have the traditional Holmes and Watson working with the traditional characters, creatures, and/or gods of H.P. Lovecraft. Remember, there was a logic to the writing of Lovecraft, a rationale behind the otherworldly beings even if humans couldn’t conceive it, that should blend well with the deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes. Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) and a paperback copy of the anthology. Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication. Authors are welcome to submit more than one story for the anthology. Send submissions in a word document to [email protected] with the subject line: ATTN: SUBMISSION FOR...

Deadline: November 15th, 2022 Payment: Royalty Theme: Fantasy humor with grumpy old dragons Spring is coming and so, with spring, the thoughts of editors naturally turn to… dragons. Well, maybe that’s just us. It does mean that the time is finally here to introduce an anthology especially for those weird and wonderful draconic characters, that so many of us have held dear to our hearts since childhood. Did you grow up reading Patricia C. Wrede or Piers Anthony’s various books?  Ever wish you lived on Pern?  Then my friends, come on in and get comfortable, you are going to love writing for this anthology! We’re looking for stories where the dragon takes center stage (or at least steals the show). We’re open to any setting: maybe your dragon is disguised as a human and runs the local library and takes a very dim view of those who don’t return their books.  Perhaps your dragons took over the world in 1180 and the future now is kinda…dragon-shaped? We’re perfectly happy to get a pile of typical DND styled dragon stories, as long as you subvert our expectations and make us laugh hard enough to be a danger to ourselves and others. To be considered for the anthology, the story must contain at least one loveable ‘grumpy’ character – it can be the dragon’s human mentor, a disembodied ghost of a former dragon snack, or the dragon themselves.  Have fun with it and go berserk. We’d prefer the dragon to be the MC but will consider stories with the dragon as antagonist, if the twist leaves us with our mouths open, and our tongues lolling out. We have a distinct preference for clever characters that manage to get themselves into and out of deep trouble. If you give us sparkling dialogue, well-drawn characters, and...

Blank bookcover with clipping path Deadline: November 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...

Deadline: November 15th, 2022 Payment: ¢1 per word CAD Theme: Cosmic Horror COSMIC HORROR! A note from the curator and project lead - Tim Mendees ​ It's time to get weird and give us your sanity-blasting tales of cosmic horror. “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” ― H.P. Lovecraft The above quote by the father of the genre sums it up nicely. Cosmic horror deals with the insignificance of the human race in the face of an uncaring cosmos teeming with entities beyond our understanding. It is the things lurking in the liminal spaces between worlds. The hunger of a carnivorous universe. Give me your tales of Eldritch monstrosities, crazed cultists, subterranean terrors, and malign deities. I want a wide range of themes and abominations for this so think outside of the usual squid-faced suspects. Cosmic horror is more than just HPL. I will be looking for stories inspired by early practitioners such as Blackwood, Machen, Chambers & Hodgeson through the Lovecraft Circle to modern masters of the genre. For this anthology, I'm looking for the world as we know it and beyond. Historical, space & alternate reality settings are fine and encouraged but I'm not looking for fantasy (sword & sorcery) settings for this call. Think decaying urban landscapes, isolated communities, ancient ruins and lonely ships in orbit. Show me the unravelling of the fabric of society and the slipping mask of sanity. Above all, have fun with it. Take the brakes off and let your imagination run riot. Unleash the nightmare creations hiding in the dusty corners of your mind. Embrace the madness. Word count: 2000 - 7000 (Some wiggle room allowed - please let us know on the form, no need...

Deadline: November 15th, 2022 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: "A journey bestowed upon either from or seeking a mysterious entity with a theme of being “The Road Trip God”." PsychoToxin Press presents its first anthology title: “ROAD TRIP GOD” *** A journey can take many forms and serve many purposes. It can be a means of solace, of escape, or of discovery... But who is the one that sets each path? Who is the one that drives us to seek such an escape, and for what ends? Currently, only one of these questions may be answered. We all know him only as The Road Trip God! Who they are or why they do this, well, that’s for you all to tell! Myself and the ghouls of the newly fledged horror house, PsychoToxin press are seeking flash fiction stories (from 200-1,000 words; firm word limit) of any genre concerning a journey bestowed upon either from or seeking a mysterious entity with a theme of being “The Road Trip God”. *** Guidelines: Max word count = 1,000 words Original work ONLY — no reprints No simultaneous or multiple submissions — one story per author. We ask for first world print and digital rights for three months after publication, after which all rights revert back to the author. (We would appreciate, though, you crediting us as first appearance if you publish the story elsewhere) Stories must contain some mysterious entity (human or non-human) with a connection as “The Road Trip God” *(Note: entity does not actually HAVE to be named “The Road Trip God” — actually probably better if they weren’t — but needs to be SOME sort of interpretation of it.)* Stories must be your own! You wouldn’t appreciate having someone else rip off your work, right? Then let’s not do it to...

Deadline: November 15th, 2022 Payment: $100 for each accepted print piece. $25 for each accepted online piece. Theme: Stories that take place in the western US. word west revue is a home for western-y writing and art and a whole lot more. a place to reimagine ‘the west’ and ‘westerns’ from new angles, overlooked perspectives, in both analogue + digital. we’re into subversion and surprise. we're into road trips and weird americana, ufos and cosmic country—from the mountains to the deserts to the beaches to the plains. go west-ish. hi, we're looking for writing and art and whatever else you've got that engages with and reimagines the 'west.’ ideally you or your work will have some connection to the western usa, but this theme is wide open to your interpretation (though our print issues will be more focused and western-y than online, which will be more free-wheeling). we like  intersections and echoes, mythos and symbolism, and perspectives not as often seen. we like road stories and weird americana. most of all, tell us a great story. show us something cool. something we can't help falling in love with. our goal is to remain open to the unexpected—to what surprises us, to what moves us, to what makes us see ‘the west’ in ways we haven't before. still unsure? tune into word west radio, or catch a flick at the westword cinemas. maybe you'll find some inspiration? yeehaw 🤠 no submission fees. 1 submission per submission window. submissions will be open twice / year: september 15 - november 15 & march 15 - june 15. pitches for online content (reviews, interviews, etc.) will always be accepted. sim-subs totally fine. just please let us know if a piece is accepted elsewhere. 5k words or less for prose. up to 5 poems for poetry. pieces are read for both online and print. we aim to...

Submission Window: November 1st - 21st, 2022 Payment: $80 for original work, 2 cents per word for reprints Theme: All forms of flash fiction. Our submission portals for original and reprint stories are OPEN from the 1st to the 21st of each month* unless we reach our submission cap of 425 stories. (*except for December, when all submissions are CLOSED). We are looking for complete 500- to 1000-word stories with crisp prose, well-developed characters, compelling plots, and satisfying resolutions. We want stories that engage our minds and emotions. We publish across many genres, including speculative (science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and horror) and literary fiction. For more information on the type of stories we enjoy, please read a few issues and check out our "What We're Looking For" page. FORMATTING: Please format your submission in a double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman or other serif-type font (NO Courier), with standard 1" margins and black font on an unadorned, white background. No PDF submissions.  No Images and no graphics. ANONYMOUS SUBMISSIONS: Do not include your name, address, email, or other identifying information on your manuscript (header, byline, file name, etc). SIMULTANEOUS & MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: You may submit one original and one reprint story concurrently (multiple submissions), but please do not submit works that are currently under consideration elsewhere (NO simultaneous submissions) QUERIES: You can check on the status of your submission at any time via your Submittable account. If, after 8 weeks, your submission is still marked as "in-progress," you may email [email protected] with QUERY in the subject line for an update on its status. (Submissions sent to this address will be deleted unread.) We are unable to provide personal feedback or critiques. We do not accept resubmissions of stories previously rejected by Flash Fiction Online, unless requested by the Editor. We will NOT consider stories that promote or affirm hatred, prejudice, or violence toward any group of people based on age, race, nationality, religion, sex, gender, political affiliation, disability, neurodiversity, or other social identity....

Submission Window: November 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...

Deadline: November 27th, 2022 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints Theme: Tales of lost civilisations Note: Reprints Welcome Lost Atlantis Short Stories We’re looking for tales of lost civilisations, perfect societies that withdraw from the world, from the plains of Saharan Africa, to the India of the Indus, from subterranean coastlines to narrow mountain ravines, hidden by vistas of cloud, but enchanting the minds of those yearning for something better, something beyond. They can be utopias in the style of Samuel Butler, or Charlotte Perkins Gilman, or walled cities in the deserts of Robert E. Howard. Stories of Atlantis began with Plato but the idea of a perfect society, lost to the world, has haunted the speculative mind for over 2000 years. Atlantean tales of Francis Bacon led to the Utopian tales of Thomas More, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and William Morris, and in modern times, TV series and short stories galore. Submissions to: [email protected] Terms: Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails. Simultaneous submissions are fine but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology. For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months of the submission deadline. Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that. Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel. Let us know in your submission email whether your story would be a reprint or is currently...

Deadline: November 27th, 2022 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints Theme: Explorations of spirits, ghosts and ghouls, from every corner of the world. Note: Reprints Welcome We’re looking for explorations of spirits, ghosts and ghouls, from every corner of the world. The spirits of the mountainside, the ghouls of the deserts, the abandoned ghosts of pirate ships, the spirits who linger to protect, the apparitions who thirst for revenge, and the ghouls who simply lust for the taste of flesh. From cemeteries and abandoned mansions, battered tenement buildings and ice-cold chambers to the desert wastelands of Arabia, this new collection gathers stories from open submissions and surrounds them with the ghastly emanations of H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Amelia Edwards and the frightful tales of Le Fanu, Charlotte Riddell and Elizabeth Gaskell. Submissions to: [email protected] Terms: Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails. Simultaneous submissions are fine but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology. For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months of the submission deadline. Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that. Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel. Let us know in your submission email whether your story would be a reprint or is currently unpublished.   Important Notice about Submissions and Guidelines We're always looking for better ways of working so we've...

Deadline: November 28, 2022 Payment: $50 Theme: Endings & Epilogues We are currently accepting submissions for the 2023 Level 1 Anthology. All writers of independent RPGs are invited to submit their work for consideration to be included in Level 1. Suggested submission length is 500-1500 words. However games of any length will be considered for inclusion. Each designer(s) may submit as many games as they want, though only one game per designer(s) will be selected for inclusion in the anthology. If chosen, contributors are compensated with a stipend of $50. Submit to the 2023 Level 1 Anthology for Free RPG Day Submissions are open from June 25, 2022 until November 28, 2022. Your work will be considered for inclusion in the print 2023 Level 1 Anthology, published on Free RPG Day—June 25th, 2023. This year's theme is Endings & Epilogues. We are interested in stories from diverse cultural backgrounds as well as interesting play experiences. Exactly how you interpret the theme is entirely up to you. You will need to sign and upload the 9th Level Designer Submission Form. Please click here to download the PDF: https://tinyurl.com/2p9d5w8m Please submit separately for each game. Selected designers will be notified after January 1, 2023. Each store participating in Free RPG Day will receive an order that includes 12 copies of LEVEL 1, enough so that each retail outlet hosting an event has plenty of copies available for interested attendees. In addition, each store will receive an independent "How to Order" form which details product listings for all of the Designers and Advertisers included in LEVEL 1—ensuring that interested retailers and consumers can get more of your work! Via: Level 1.

Deadline: November 30th, 2022 Payment: $5 Theme: Ends 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. 2022’s Themes and Deadlines: 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. 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. 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. 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, music, literature, etc.), interviews with notable creatives, or reviews of past—or present—media. We’re open to anything up to 10,000 words. (Feel free to pitch non-fiction ideas; however, please note that our...

Deadline: November 30th, 2022 Payment: Original Fiction: $0.08/word for the first 1,000 words, and $0.01/word after. Reprints: $0.01/word Theme: Horror, mystery, crime, thriller, and/or suspense. Note: Reprints Welcome Aurelia Leo presents FABLE: An Anthology of Horror, Suspense & the Supernatural open to all authors. Submissions must fall into one of the following categories: horror, mystery, crime, thriller, and/or suspense. Supernatural elements are encouraged. However, they are not necessary. GUIDELINES Submit? pridebookcafe.com/submit Deadline: November 30, 2022 Publication Date: Mid-2023 Payment: Original Fiction: $0.08/word for the first 1,000 words, and $0.01/word after Reprints: $0.01/word Length? Flash (1,000 words) up to novella length (39,999 words) (NOT FLEXIBLE) Format? Shunn Modern Manuscript Format Track submissions using Duotrope and The Submission Grinder. TABLE OF CONTENTS “Me, A Hero” © Warren Benedetto (2,200): TBA “Paddlejumpers” © R. B. Payne (5,950): Two graveyard shift EMTS battle an invasive species when they respond to a not-so-routine emergency call from Hollywood’s famed adult ranch film location. “The Vandal” © Antony Paschos (8,300): TBA RULES Translations are accepted Simultaneous submissions to other markets are accepted Only two submissions allowed in total (one original and one reprinted story) RIGHTS Copyright remains with the author at all times Non-exclusive archival rights as long as the website(s) hosting the work are online First world electronic and print rights in English with exclusivity for 12 months from the date of publication If selected to be republished in another anthology in the future, payment in royalties is $0.01USD per word If selected for a podcast or audiobook, payment is $0.01USD per word for non-exclusive electronic audio rights HARD SALES Excerpts out of a novel Poorly formatted and edited work Overtly racist, sexist, or violent work ABSOLUTE NO Fanfiction of any kind Works above the word count Taboo elements (rape in all forms, incest, pedophilia, etc.) in almost all cases OF INTEREST Protagonists that are Queer,...

Submission Window: October 1st to November 30th, 2022 Payment: Royalties (50% of net profits) Theme: All forms of speculative fiction and more! If you would like to submit to us, please follow the submission guidelines below carefully. Submissions that do not contain adequate information or that are received outside of our submissions window will not be reviewed.  We're looking for Escapism Fiction... Our goal is to provide readers with the ability to escape the mundane through wildly creative fiction. We're looking for books that act as gateways to other worlds, times, or versions of reality. We prefer strong story telling, engaging openings, and compelling character development as well as imaginative settings, vivid world building, and interesting themes. If your manuscript transports a reader somewhere else, tells an engaging story and then brings them back feeling like they have experienced something unique, then we want to publish your book!​ As for genres, we're looking primarily for...  We don't like to limit ourselves, so if you have something you think would fit with our current list of published works, please send it.  We'd rather take a chance outside our comfort zones than miss something great. Speculative Fiction Fantasy Science-Fiction Romance LGBT-themed Adventure Paranormal/Occult Comedy Historical Portal Fiction A blend of any two or more of the above genres Cross-genre, mixed genre, or things that don't fit genre norms Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, Middle Grade, or Children's (please specify your target market in your query letter)  As for types of manuscripts, we consider primarily:   Novels (125,000 words maximum) Novellas (25,000 words minimum) Graphic Novels or illustrated mixed media (art included) That being said, here's a list of things we're NOT interested in: Non-fiction Memoirs or autobiographies Literary fiction Self-help or inspirational fiction Hard Sci-Fi or Military Sci-Fi Horror / Thriller /...

Deadline: November 30th, 2022 Payment: 0.05 per word and a contributors copy Theme: Horror stories about bugs From Beyond Press is launching with a bang—or a squirm, or the sound of too many legs skittering in the dark. This World Belongs to Us is an anthology of horror stories about bugs, writ large—we’re not scientists, so spiders and slugs and scorpions (oh my!) are OK too. Watch the book trailer here! This anthology will feature stories by Bram Stoker Award winner Kealan Patrick Burke, multiple Bram Stoker Award nominees Cynthia Pelayo and V. Castro, plus Paula D. Ashe, Donnie Goodman, Felix I.D. Dimaro, and Laurel Hightower, as well as a major rediscovery—John B.L. Goodwin‘s 1946 story The Cocoon, one of the creepiest stories ever written but out of print for more than 40 years. The eerie cover is by Jacob Blanchet. Bugs as ill omens, bugs burrowing into bodies or thoughts, bugs taking over your town, giant bugs eating your friends, bugs giving you the side-eye at the supermarket—terrify us with your best stories about the creepy-crawlies that outnumber us, outweigh us, and scare the bejesus out of us. A little humor is OK, but first and foremost we want to be frightened. Bugs don’t have to be the main characters, but they have to have some influence on the plot. This will be our first anthology, and we are paying Horror Writers Association pro rates of 5 cents a word. We anticipate a 50/50 split between featured authors and those chosen via our submission call. Length: 500-5000 words (hard limit) Payment: US$0.05 per word (via PayPal) and a paperback contributor’s copy Publication: E-book and print in spring 2023 Deadline: November 30, 2022 Response time: We hope to respond to all submissions within two weeks of the deadline. Rights: We request first worldwide and electronic rights for 12 months after the date of publication, after which rights revert to...

Submission Window: October 1st, 2022 - November 30th, 2022 Payment: Fiction: $25 for original stories, $7 for reprints. Poetry: $6, Non-Fiction: 20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. $7.00 for reviews and interviews. Artwork (read details) $5. Theme: paranormal creatures Submissions are accepted Feb 1 – Mar 31, Jun 1 – Jul 31, Oct 1 – Nov 30. Anything submitted outside those periods will be deleted unread. We no longer accept simultaneous or multiple submissions. ​ No matter how far we move forward as humans, we are still bound by the instincts and ancestral memories of our animalistic past. None of these are so strong as the fight or flight response. However, there are times when we seem to be perfectly safe, completely at ease and comfortable, when that urge to run from something sneaks up on us. What causes these sensations? Is there something lurking in the darkness? Why is that man giving you the creeps, he’s not even looking at you? And yet, there is something odd. Something instinctual, something you know without fully understanding. We may have moved on, we may have forgotten and left behind those old stories and legends of beasts, voracious monsters, and dark spirits... But they have not forgotten or left us... What We Want: The subject matter of parABnormal Magazine is, yes, the paranormal. For us, this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores. PLEASE NOTE: CREATURES LIKE VAMPIRES, GHOULS, WEREWOLVES, AND ZOMBIES ARE NOT PARANORMAL. Shapeshifters, for the purpose of this magazine, refer to the spiritual shift, not the physical. Think Native American shaman. Paranormal activity centers around the human, not the creature. We do not want stories that involve excessive blood, gore, digestive tracts, and so forth. We also dislike stories...

Deadline: November 30th, 2022 Payment: .015 cents per word and 2 contributors copies Theme: Works that bring a new light to new beginnings Our first anthology! This is the start of an amazing relationship with a few good authors. It’s the start of our traditional, annual, anthology project. It's the start of something riotous, because we are only looking for stories that rock us to the core. The theme for our first anthology is "The Start". We are looking for works that bring a new light to new beginnings. Our first kiss with a twist. Our first unlawful arrest. Our first botched magic spell. Our first political cover up. Our first murder. Hey, we all have to start somewhere. What we're looking for: All fiction genres Stories that REBEL in some way Authentic artists who want to be paid for their work but aren’t in it for the money (We ARE paying, btw) Super Short Stories (1,500 or less) Short Stories (1,500 – 10k) What we're not looking for: Non-Fiction. We’re not ready for that quite yet. Full erotic stories. Heavy petting is cool, but not too many details... Poetry. We're planning a full anthology for that. One moment, please! Anything that can get you or us arrested. Anything that is legal but will ruin our reputation. Payment The publisher will contract for publishing rights. First rights are NOT required but preferred. Authors will receive no royalties for book sales but will receive a semi-pro rate (details here) for the contracting of your work as well as 2 copies of the anthology for personal use upon its release. All payments are made in US currency. Pay rates are: Prose: .015 cents per word SUBMISSIONS - PLEASE READ EVERYTHING BELOW Failure to follow these directions will lead to an automatic rejection. Starting OCTOBER 1ST, 2022: We...

Submission Window: November 1st-30th, 2022 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre, short story 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. What if I can’t pay right now? That’s ok! If you publish a blurb about this site on your website, blog, or social media, I will send you one full story of your choosing. Best of all, it is on the...

Submission Window: November 15th - 30th, 2022 Payment: $0.05 per word and $50 per poem. Theme: Dread Apparition Lit is a speculative fiction magazine that publishes themed issues four times a year. We publish poems and stories between 1k-5k words in January, April, July, and October. We also hold monthly flash fiction contests between the 1st and 15th of each month. Flash stories must be under a 1000 words and be inspired or based on the chosen theme. Full details for submission guidelines are below. Payment Apparition is a semi-pro rate magazine, paying $0.05 per word, minimum of $50.00 dollars for short stories and a flat fee of $50 per poem. If we accept your story, we are purchasing the right to publish the story online and in the quarterly edition. Rights will revert back to the artist after one year. Equity Initiative As Apparition Lit works to create a more equitable publishing community, we recognize that our open submission period is concurrent with some other really great literary magazines where marginalized writers also like to submit. Voices should be heard and we want to help increase that opportunity. Our submission window will remain open for an additional week each quarter for writers who identify as BIPOC and self-identify in their cover letter.  We will also accept simultaneous submissions from writers who identify as BIPOC or LGBTQIA+. Please just note how you identify in your cover letter, that it is a simultaneous submission, and see further details in the menu below on how to submit for each category. Past Contributors Once you are published by Apparition Lit, you join our tiny but mighty family. We love our alumni and will always do what we can to support their publishing career. We want to continually discover and champion new voices and different point-of-views. If we have published your work...

Deadline: November 30th, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Horror in any genre/subgenre ***Submissions are currently open for Issue One until November 30th.*** The Maul seeks stories, comics, and art. Please see below for details on each. Overall Guidelines for Writers This is a magazine developed for people who are looking for horror, but either aren’t quite sure where to start, or haven’t found the right author. So let’s talk about how to write horror and other speculative fiction for younger readers and also writing it for those looking for something different: It has been said that if something looks like a swamp monster, walks like a swamp monster, and sounds like a swamp monster, it is indeed a swamp monster. And good writing can be a lot like a swamp monster. You know it when you see it, and it is often just misunderstood. Here at The Maul, even though our target audience skews younger, we’re really just looking for great writing. Our focus is on horror but we’ll take other genres. In fact, the editors prefer stories that are a mix of genres. You’re more likely to be published if you give us fantasy or sci-fi mixed with horror. We’ll also take literary work, though please realize that, given our clientele and organizational goals, it can be a hard sell. We enjoy pulp fiction. That means we look for stories that pop. Exaggeration, melodrama, and vivid imagery are encouraged. Bring us something that really jumps off the page. Be as over-the-top as you like. If you’re a more subtle writer, submit anyway. Sometimes one good twist or some relatable descriptions will still catch people’s eye, even the uninitiated. Which brings us to the main guideline – your job is to initiate the uninitiated. Which doesn’t mean you...

Deadline: November 30th, 2022 Payment: $.0075 per word (minimum $10 up to a maximum of $45) and a contibutor's copy Theme: Fantasy, and he story must have a moral or lesson to it and involve Gods or immortals of some sort We're currently accepting original submissions for our upcoming fantasy anthology! Submission Period: September 1 to November 30, 2022 ​ Genre: All fantasy! (dark fantasy, urban fantasy, epic fantasy, high fantasy, etc.) Theme: Apologue of the Immortals This means that the story must have a moral or lesson to it (Apologue) and have something to do with a being(s), creature(s), or god(s) that in some way have immortality or an immortal element. Format/Style: Short Story or Poems Length: Short stories - minimum 1,000 words, maximum 6,000 words Poems - any length Eligibility: Any author is welcome to submit original, unpublished works. No previously published works please. ​ Submissions: No number limit on submissions but must be submitted via the submissions form below. Terms/Rights: Selections for inclusion to be made after submission timeframe ends unless otherwise notified. Upon your story or poem being accepted for inclusion in the anthology you will receive a contract to review and sign. Upon receipt of returned and signed contract, Morian Press will pay you a nominal fee (in USD) according to your submission type and manuscript length according to the pay schedule below. Upon payment to the author, Morian Press obtains the right to publish and promote the original work in this anthology only. Author retains non-exclusive rights, meaning, the author can publish and promote the submitted work elsewhere as well. ​ Payment for stories/poems (for accepted works): $.0075 per word (minimum $10 up to a maximum of $45) FREE author copy of the published anthology Author spotlight on social media channels Morian Press swag of the author's choosing (limitations apply)...

Deadline: December 1st, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: Near Future Hard Science Fiction. Mankind’s expansion into the universe sometimes comes at great costs. Riddled with hardships in our exploration of the unknown, our humanity shines through, even in the deepest of darkness. Join us in this anthology of exploration and hope. Genre: Near Future Hard Science Fiction. Word Count: 7,000-10,000 Due date: December 1, 2022 Edited by: Bart Kemper & William Joseph Roberts Opening by: Arlan Andrews Tech Essay: Les Johnson Anchor author: Malorie Cooper 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 “Tomorrow’s Hope” in the subject line Please follow the Three Ravens submission guidelines that can be found here Via: Three Ravens Publishing.

Deadline: December 1st, 2022 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Tunnels If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 150k+ monthly 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 88.) Tunnels; deadline 1st December 2022 SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If this form isn’t working, please email your submission to [email protected] as a last resort. Title your email with the following syntax: “SUBMISSION | STORY TITLE | THEME | WORDCOUNT”  (e.g. SUBMISSION | THE MARTIAN | SPACE | 1,982) Submission Guidelines • Stories must be 2,000 (10% tolerance +/-) • Save stories in a Word document - Times New Roman font, size 12 • Include a 1-2 sentence log line for your story at the end of the document • Ensure that your name and an email address are somewhere on the document • Stories must fit an upcoming theme • By submitting your story to us, you are confirming that you are the original creator of the story • We will consider entrants whose work has been entered and published elsewhere, however please ensure you state where and when your story has been used elsewhere on the document • You will be allowed to place one call-to-action for your own work at the end of the episode. Be sure to include this at the end of your document, underneath the log line • Payment per accepted story is 15GBP • 2x entries per theme permitted   When will I hear if my story has been accepted or not? We carefully review every single submission that comes through our door. If you’ve...

Deadline: December 1st, 2022 Payment: $25 Theme: Cross-Genre stories We’re looking for genre authors who cross boundaries. Authors whose stories twist the tropes to showcase in a cross-genre anthology of stories that entertain, but read fresh and new. Send us the story that you can’t classify: a story that can’t be pigeon-holed into a single subgenre, or that pushes against your genre’s boundaries. We want to showcase authors who write uncommon fiction. For example: Witches in space, Romances that flip gender roles, Alternate histories set in the near-future, Medical thrillers set in the distant past, Fairy tales that start after the ‘happily ever after,’ Something cool and exciting that we haven’t imagined!   Do not submit previously published work, but you may submit a story you are also submitting to other publishers. As a courtesy, we ask that you promptly notify us if you need to withdraw your story from consideration. Key Details Publication: June 2023 Submission Deadline: December 1, 2022 (Rolling Acceptances) Payment: $25 per accepted story Length: 1,000 – 10,000 words Guidelines Email your story in Word format (double-spaced, 1-in. margins, 12pt. Times New Roman font, header with page numbers and story title) to: [email protected]. On your cover page, please identify the story title, author, contact email, word count, genre(s), and a brief (under 200 words) statement of why you think your story fits the anthology’s theme. If applicable, include a list of any published or forthcoming novels/stories related to your submission.  This anthology will be marketed to readers looking to discover new authors, so preference will be given to emerging authors who have published (or will be publishing) related works. Via: Wandering Wave Press.

Deadline: December 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? The first problem is the “Contrary” above the content. Why is it called Contrary, you might ask, when some of its content isn’t? We have a contemplation to confront this contradiction: we insist that all of our content is contrary. And, we insist, so is all of yours. Doesn’t it seem possible that all content is contrary, that there is no for, there is only against? Why else does the word contrary, so openly against something, have no antonym? What opposes contrary? Nothing. That which opposes contrary, by opposing, becomes contrary. Besides, we tend to think contrarily, and we hope our magazine expresses contrarities that otherwise might go unexpressed: writings and images that confront entities, voids, and the edges of their own categories. As for that poetic nothing, the “Journal of Unpopular Discontent,” we conceal our dreams in the double negative, hoping to become a journal of popular content. (Spring 2003) “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...

Submission Window: October 1st, 2022 - December 1st, 2022 Payment: Royalties, the possibility of an advance Theme: Horror Note: The amazingly talented Lee Murray is the guest editor for this call! Interstellar Flight Press is seeking submissions of Horror Novellas in the speculative genres. For this call, we are also open to translations. Books from this call will be slotted for 2023–2026 publication dates. This call will be open 10/1/22–12/1/22. Our guest editor for this call is Lee Murray. From Aotearoa- New Zealand, USA Today bestselling author, Lee Murray, is a writer, editor, poet, and screenwriter, and winner of the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, Australian Shadows, and Sir Julius Vogel Awards. Her fiction titles include the Taine McKenna adventure trilogy, The Path of Ra (with Dan Rabarts), and debut collection Grotesque: Monster Stories. Lit Reactor’s Editor of the Year for 2021, Lee has edited 18 volumes of speculative fiction, including the acclaimed Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women (with Geneve Flynn). She’s a Grimshaw-Sargeson and NZSA literary fellow, and a former HWA Mentor of the Year. Her first poetry collection, Tortured Willows, a collaboration with Angela Yuriko Smith, Christina Sng and Geneve Flynn, released in October 2021. Read more at https://www.leemurray.info/. We are looking for: Novellas 17,500–40,000. (This is a hard word count limit. We will accept manuscripts within 5,000 words of this, but note that authors may be asked to revise to within these word counts.) Horror genre including but not limited to: Science Fiction Horror, Fantasy Horror, Supernatural, Weird Horror, Mystery/thrillers with horror elements. Hybrids or difficult to categorize works are welcome. Give us your slashers, zombies, witches, vampires, monsters, demons, devils, horror comedies, psychological thrillers, body horror, crime noir, creature features, aliens, ghosts, haunted houses, creepy carnivals, serial killers, possessed children, shapeshifters, disasters, and viruses. Translations: We accept translations from authors or translators working on behalf of...

Deadline: December 1st, 2022 Payment: $40 Theme: Stories about entirely new societies and cultures populated by anthropomorphized creatures The prompt: Lost Boys is looking for 8-10 stories about entirely new societies and cultures populated by anthropomorphized creatures. This is your time to be utterly creative! What do you think, say, a society of cats would look like if they could walk and talk as humans do? What would their religion be? What would their world look like? What societal standards would they have? What would their homes be made of? Their favorite foods? You don’t have to use cats, you are free to use any creature you wish! Parameters: Every genre qualifies. No rape, gore, incest, or child abuse. Must be at least 3k but no more than 9k. Submissions must be in Times New Roman, 12pt. No headers, please. List your story’s title and your author name at the top of the document, along with your email address - you don’t have to include your postal address! Submissions open on September 1st, 2022 and will close on December 1st, 2022. We encourage gender fluidity, gender-bending, LGBTQIA+ retellings, and whatever else feels appropriate to YOU for the story you want to tell. Submissions can be sent to [email protected] with the subject line: “Empire of Beasts Submission” Submissions may be sent in the body of the email or via attachment. The choice is yours. PLEASE, pay attention to the guidelines, as any submission not adhering to them will be automatically disqualified. Accepted authors will receive $40 (30 days after publication date) and one free digital copy of the completed anthology. Via: Lost Boys Press.

Deadline: December 1st, 2022 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: All forms of horror Book Worms is a new mail order only zine launching in 2023 (6 issues planned). Deadline is December 1, 2022 Seeking original short fiction 500 – 3000 words. Payment is .08 per word. No reprints, exclusive rights for one year from publication. Simultaneous submissions okay. English language only. No multiple submissions. Open to all HORROR sub-genres. No romance or erotica. Create something new and cool! Be brave! Only properly formatted stories will be considered. Submit your story as an email attachment labeled like this LASTNAME_STORYTITLE along with a brief cover letter using the subject line Book Worms Submission to [email protected] I’m also looking for original artwork, so if you’re interested, send me a brief email along with a link to your portfolio or samples. Payment varies. *Tip: Be really old school and mail your submission to: La Regina Studio/Grundy Commons/925 Canal Street/Bristol, PA 19007 Via: R. Saint Claire.

Deadline: December 1st, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: Vermin "We're Infested!" Vermin, birds, bugs, and everything in between or adjacent. Maybe there's one too many, maybe there's an army too many, but these aren't stories about finding them in the wild. It's about them coming to you, scratching at your door, disrupting your peace, and obliterating your comfort zone. Death by a thousand bites. Or just one big one. The deadline is December 1st. Payment is royalties upon a negotiable contract. 1k to 6k words. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if they alert me of an acceptance ASAP. They can send submissions to this email address: [email protected] Please submit in Times New Roman, 12 pt font, in the form of a Microsoft Word document. Coming from Raven Tale Publishing.

Submission Window: December 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...