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Submission Window: February 1st-2nd, 2023 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: February 3rd, 2023 Payment: $25 or royalty share Theme: Water-related horror stories Skywatcher Press launched the themed anthology series, UNLEASHED featuring top notch fiction by new and established authors.  ​ We are seek stories across the wide possibilities of the horror landscape. Our goal is to terrify readers, make their skin crawl, and keep them on the edge of their seats.    Stories can be up to 10,000 words, and we will make exceptions for longer.  Once selected, pay will be $25 per story or royalty share. This is determined by volume. We are eagerly awaiting your most twisted, nightmarish creations!  2023 Spring Release! Seeking themes around water-related horror stories. Submission DEADLINE is February 3, 2023 HOW TO SUBMIT For consideration, please send submissions in .doc format to [email protected] All submissions must be original works of fiction, and we are seeking First Print Rights. If you have any doubt about professional manuscript formatting, here is a handy dandy guide to manuscript formatting: How to Properly Format Your Manuscript Via: Skywatch Press.

Deadline: February 7th, 2023 Payment: $10 Theme: Horror stories from authors living in Alabama Upon all scribes of the darkness, the terrifying eye of PsychoToxin Press is upon thee! Specifically, to those residing in the dark depths of... Alabama! Yes, all macabre scribes that dwell in the state of Alabama, us freaks beseech thee. Bring us your offerings for our fourth issue of “Eidolotry digital”! We seek to have all testaments collected no later than February 7th when the sun dies and the moon reigns supreme. For your offering, accepted authors will of course be compensated $10.00 and a complimentary copy of the E-zine to spread the terrifying Gospels within upon the world! We seek first world electronic and print rights for a short time of three months after publication, after which all rights return to the author, with the request that we are credited as first appearance if published elsewhere. Our requirements are simple: — stories must be a gospel of horror (in other words, must be horror genre) — as stated in the beginning , ONLY scribes residing in Alabama are eligible for this issue — all stories must be no less than 1500 words and no MORE than 6,000 words (sweet spot being between 3 and 5,000) — NO reprints! Again, as stated above , we seek first rights only for 3 months. — no excessive violence or sex. Elements of these are of course fine, but preferably in moderation. We’re here for thrills and chills, not necessarily guys and/or porn. When ready, produce thy unrighteous offerings to [email protected] with the subject as “EIDOLOTRY SUBMISSION — — . Along with your story, please provide a short bio that may or may not include previous publication history. The date is set. The sands of time ebb away... and us freaks cannot wait...

Deadline: February 1st, 2023 (BIPOC-only extension until February, 8th 2023) Payment: $0.01/word and 50% of the royalties divided between authors for short stories, $20 for 'Between the Shelves', Artwork: $20 per page Theme: Unthemed speculative found-fiction A home for the strange, the uncanny, and the odd. Open Submissions Query for Serializing Audio/video Finished chapbooks/booklets Pieces you would like us to help promote Closed Submissions Issue #1 (Closed Dec 1, 2021) Issue #2 (Closed June 15, 2022) Issue #3 (Unthemed, open Dec 1 2022-Feb 1 2023, BIPOC-only extension until Feb 8 2023) Rules We’ll be open Dec 1-Feb 1 2022 for unthemed submissions, with a BIPOC specific extension for a week after (until Feb 8th). You don’t need to declare your ethnicity or anything on your cover letter, just mention that you are applying for the extension. Submissions are anonymous, so the extension is done on the honor system to an extent. We do find out your identity eventually to respond, obviously. If you submit to us last window (thank you!), you’ll probably be good just looking at the bolded pieces, as those have changed. All submissions must be found-fiction. Not sure what we’re looking for? The best way will be to look at the stories on our website, or buy an issue to see the full zine treatment (in fact, if you email us or DM us on Twitter we’ll give you a coupon code for being a savvy author… just saying). Alternately, think about all the things you read on a daily basis that aren’t fiction. Newspapers? Emails? Product support guides? …Submissions calls? If you read all of this and still have questions, please refer to our FAQ, or query! Alright, let’s dive in! Main Zine Fiction: We read blind. While there are no penalties for having identifying information on your document, we will ask you to remove...

Deadline: February 15th, 2023 Payment: Word count-based royalty split for 4k+ word stories. Theme: Epic fantasy that includes a dragon Title: A Thunder of Dragons Opens: 15 Oct 2022 Closes: 15 Feb 2023 11:59 pm EST Theme: Epic fantasy tales of any kind, as long as they involve a dragon--rescuing princesses from their clutches, searching for their treasures, capturing one to grant a wish, stopping one from attacking the local village--anything goes! Word Limit: 500-6k words, excluding title Author Eligibility: Open to All Reprints: Not allowed Simultaneous Submissions: Not allowed Multiple Submissions: Max of 2 (two) acceptance per author Author Compensation: One (1) digital copy and word count based royalty split for 4k+. Send your story and up to a 100-word author bio with 2 (two) links as a Word doc attachment to: [email protected] Please include the Anthology Title, Story Title, and Author name in your email subject line, with your document file name as: Author Name - Story Title. Via: Black Ink Fiction.

Deadline: February 15th, 2023 Payment: 7c per word (possibly 10c, depending on crowdfunding) Theme: Fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky. Greetings, ghouls! Nothing like a Saturday night to announce a brand-new horror magazine, right? As many of you already know, a few months ago we decided to discontinue the long-running Dark Moon Digest after publishing its final, 48th issue. It was a good run and we are immensely proud of the work we accomplished with the digest. But now it is time to move forward. Which brings us to Ghoulish Tales, our latest experiment with short horror fiction. Behold, Betty Rocksteady’s cover art for issue 1! Cover art by Betty Rocksteady   The art is finished, but the inside of the issue remains to be determined. That’s where you come in! What we are after: short stories that fit our personal definition of the word GHOULISH, which is “fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky.” Note that we said fun, not funny. Comedic stories are definitely allowed, but it’s not all we’re looking to receive. We want stories that remind us why we love the horror genre. We want to have a perverted little smile across our face while reading. Make us slobber like idiots. Turn us into the Sickos.jpeg meme. We are also interested in non-fiction about the horror genre. Payment for both short stories and essays will be 7c per word. However, payment may increase to 10c per word if we hit a certain stretch goal on a Kickstarter we plan to launch on January 5th. Subscribe to our newsletter to be notified when it goes live. GUIDELINES: Deadline: February 15, 2023 (11:59 PM CST) Word count: 5,000 max (short stories); 3,000 max (non-fiction) Payment: 7c per word (possibly 10c, depending on crowdfunding) Simultaneous Submissions: Yes Multiple Submissions: No Reprints: No How to submit: Send all stories...

Deadline: February 16th, 2023 Payment: $20 in Canadian Theme: Science Fiction or Fantasy stories involving: Autonomy We are currently open for science-fiction/fantasy submissions. Upcoming We are accepting submissions for our upcoming Funemployment Quarterly ‘Winter Volume‘ of short fiction. The prompt for the upcoming anthology is: Autonomy. The submission deadline for the upcoming anthology is 11:59PM, Pacific Standard Time, on February 16th, 2023. Here are our rules/guidelines for submissions: Length should be one thousand to five thousand words. Broad canvas to paint on! We only accept previously unpublished stories, in English. All stories should be original. No fan fiction or tales set in existing fictional landscapes. Taste is subjective and the complete discretion of the editors. We’re very open-minded people, but nothing that’s going to require a scouring with brain bleach, please. Nothing that glorifies sexual assault, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, vortexes, any of that. There’s a difference between themes and glorification. You know what we’re talking about, cut it out. If you disagree, alt-f4, thx. Payment and Rights Accepted works shall be paid $20 in Canadian currency, through Paypal. If required, other payment methods can likely be arranged, just let us know. If accepted for publication, we purchase exclusive rights for first publication for both the internet and the anthology. These rights exist for 365 days from first publication (either on the site or in the magazine), after which all rights revert back to the author. Published work will be retained in the archives of Funemployment Press on a non-exclusive basis for as long as the lead editor sees fit. Funemployment Press reserves the right to potentially select certain works published in this publication for inclusion in a hypothetical future “best of” anthology. All authors with their works selected would be notified in advance of such selection for additional publication, and would be given the option...

Deadline: February 21st, 2023 Payment: 6 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: Speculative Fiction, details below NOW READING FOR ISSUE #17 SUBMISSIONS CLOSE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST Planet Scumm accepts submissions from writers across the world. (Our HQ is a roving meteor-sized space station—Earth’s borders mean nothing to us. We want to hear from writers of every race, nationality, and gender identity. WHAT TO SUBMIT Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, sci-fi that melts in your mouth-brain not your hand-brain Speculative fiction, weird fiction, slipstream Basically anything that pleases Scummy, our megaphone-toting slime buddy, will be considered for entry to the interstellar archive aboard Scummy’s saucer HOW TO SUBMIT Include submissions as a .doc or .docx attachment to [email protected] along with a brief cover letter in the email body. Please attach only your story (no images, do not put your story in the body text of the email). Stories, or collections of flash fiction, should be no more than 5,000 words in length, and submitted in standard manuscript format. Submit only one previously unpublished short story or flash collection. We do not accept multiple submissions from the same author in one reading period. Simultaneous submissions are okay, as long as you promptly withdraw a story accepted elsewhere. SCHEDULE, RIGHTS, AND PAYMENT Accepted authors receive 6 cents a word and one contributor copy. Our publication operates in print, e-book, and audiobook. Some accepted stories will also be published on our website. We purchase exclusive English language print, audio, and electronic publishing rights for six months, with non-exclusive rights thereafter. Authors will receive payment within 3 months of signing their contract. Via: Planet Scumm.

Deadline: February 27th, 2023 Payment: $0.01 CAD per word Theme: Thrillers, that can have horror, see details below for full guidelines Engen Books Ltd. and Quadrangle are proud to be teaming up again after the positive reception to 'Acceptance: Stories at the Centre of Us!' Over the last six years, the Engen's has become one of the preeminent publishers of fiction anthologies 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 bestsellers in their own genres. The From the Rock series is going strong, and we're happy that our Quadrangle partnership is growing as well! Quadrangle’s mission is to create a community centre for 2SLGBTQAI+ individuals and organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador, a space that is a resource for building community resilience and connection, and that provides supports for existing initiatives of our 2SLGBTQAI+ community. As a registered charity, both working toward having a community centre, and taking up projects like this one contribute to Quad’s vision of contributing to sustainable, positive, community connections. All profits from this collection will go towards that goal. We are currently accepting submissions for the second anthology in our partnership series with Quadrangle. This collection will feature strong fiction by and about members of the 2SLBGTQIA+ community. We decided to pick a different genre and group under the 2SLGBTQIA+ banner with each collection to focus on, and to choose each pairing at random! The dice decided upon BISEXUAL THRILLER for this year's combination! ​ When is the deadline? February 27th, 2023. Expected for publication in Fall of 2023 What is a Thriller? It's a very broad term for a genre that gets your blood pumping, and is largely action-oriented. Action movies fall under thriller, as...

Submission Window: January 1st, 2023 to February 28th, 2023 Payment: Contributors copy and $20 USD for original stories and $5 for reprints Theme: Folk Horror, Psychological Horror, Gothic Horror, Weird Fiction / Lovecraftian, Post-Apocalyptic Note: Reprints Welcome Our next submissions window will be for "The Black Beacon Book of Horror". The submissions window will be from the 1st of January to the 28th of February, 2023. Patreon patrons are invited to submit effective immediately.   Oh, the horror! But what kind of horror do we want? We want your very best horror stories in keeping with the themes and styles that make Black Beacon Books stand out from the pack. If you don't know what that means, you probably haven't read any of our previous titles...we strongly suggest you do so. In short, our passion is for great plots, evocative settings, suspense and atmosphere, and clever twists. We want that creeping feeling of unease that grows to a spine-chilling climax. In terms of horror subgenres, these are what are most likely to tickle our fancies: - Folk Horror (Black Beacon Books is based in Brittany and your editor loves all things Celtic and mystical, so folk horror from all around the world is likely to attract his attention) - Psychological Horror (We are the monsters)   - Gothic Horror (Can you channel Shelley, Poe, Stoker, Gaskell or Le Fanu?) - Weird Fiction / Lovecraftian (But it had better be original) - Post-Apocalyptic (Make us fear the future)   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. Our cherished Patreon patrons also provide us with the means to keep producing quality books. # Rates: We...

Deadline: February 28th, 2023 Payment: $100 and a contributors copy Theme: Anything story 'from that future' that includes bitcoin Konsensus Network is accepting story submissions for the world’s first bitcoin short-fiction anthology, 21 Futures: Tales from the Timechain The book will contain 21 short fiction stories from various authors, one of whom could be you! We want to present a broad spectrum of possible worlds all told through the lens of bitcoin. Stories must be fiction and must feature bitcoin in a meaningful way. The book will feature work from some of the most prominent voices in the bitcoin community in addition to emerging short-fiction authors. Primarily, our editors are looking for gripping, human-interest stories with emotional impact. They want strong characters, high stakes, and moments of epiphany and change. The idea is not to predict the future of bitcoin, but to expose the situations it may uncover. We are keen to publish a variety of visions, not just sci-fi dystopias and stories of crime and fraud. Send your story Writers should submit stories between 1,500-3,000 words before the deadline of 28th February 2023. If selected as one of the 21 stories to feature, authors will receive $100 in exchange for Global, unlimited publishing rights.* Yes, you can get paid in sats. You will also naturally get a copy of the book, fresh off the press. Please send submissions in English as a document (odt or doc preferred) to [email protected] along with a 50-word author biography. We only accept one submission per author, so please send us the best one! The small print We don’t want to limit your creativity, but there are some important guidelines that all submissions must follow. Submissions should not feature any other kinds of “blockchain technology”, “Web3” platforms, “cryptocurrencies” or “NFTs”. The accuracy of bitcoin terminology, ethos and technology...

Submission Window: January 17th - February 28th, 2023 Payment: $10 Theme: Dark genre-bending works in the realms of horror, sci-fi, the weird, the macabre, fantasy, and magical realism. WHAT WE LOOK FOR: We are most interested in dark genre-bending works in the realms of horror, sci-fi, the weird, the macabre, fantasy, and magical realism. We want stories that grab us by the throat and ask questions about what it means to be human. Make us feel something long after we are done reading. The Editor is particularly fond of stories in the vein of The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, and Creep Show. When it comes to literary inspiration, think of Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, and Mary Shelley. The Editor also enjoys almost anything produced by A24. Think of Pyre as a bonfire — a place of storytelling and sacrifice. Take a seat near the fire and listen or spin a yarn of your own. Here at Pyre, we worship at the altar of storytelling done well. We love genre work that tells us something about the human condition. Pyre is personally funded and maintained by the Editor. he asks you are patient with him as he gets back to submissions. PYRE WILL CONSIDER MATERIAL BY ANY WRITER AND ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN AMPLIFYING UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES.  SUBMISSION PERIODS: Pyre Magazine is a biannual publication. Issues are released Spring/Summer & Fall/Winter. Our submission periods are as follows: SUMMER/SPRING ISSUE (CURRENT ISSUE) SUBMISSIONS OPEN: JAN 17 - FEB 28 ISSUE RELEASE: APRIL WINTER/FALL ISSUE SUBMISSIONS OPEN: AUG 17 - SEP 18 ISSUE RELEASE: NOV 16 FICTION GUIDELINES:  Submissions of fiction should be no longer than 3,500 words Please submit only one piece per submission period. Send submissions as attachments to: [email protected] with the subject line: fiction submission_yourname. Please include your name (or pen name), the title of the story,...

Submission Window: February 1st-28th, 2023 Payment: 10 cents per word, Reprints at 1 cent per word Theme: Stories that deal with death and what comes from death (see below) The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve. A ghost in a shadowed wood. An afterlife discovered through a rusted door. An abandoned house in the middle of a haunted field. A skeletal figure moving with intent toward something unseen. Death personified. Burials in troubled lands. A raised scythe against a clouded sky. Memento mori. The rivers of the dead. The sprawling underworlds beneath our feet. The Deadlands would love to see stories from a worldwide perspective, different cultures, different approaches to death. We welcome stories from everyone, everywhere. We are particularly interested in works by writers from historically marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds. Stories that feature characters impacted by someone passing away and processing the event of death are fair game, but will likely be a hard sell unless they also do something else. Stories about related subjects—zombies, demons, vampires, apocalypses, and the various undead—are not for us. An apocalypse may be your setting, but it isn’t your story. We are absolutely not interested in seeing weird West stories, steampunk tales, or military fiction. We are not interested in stories involving Lovecraft’s mythos. Humor will be a harder sell than heartbreaking. If your story begins with someone waking up, it is not for us. Explore some influences we’re drawing from. The Deadlands accepts stories up to 5000 words. There is no minimum length. Stories should be original and unpublished (this includes your blog, your website, your newsletter, your Patreon). The sweet spot for length is probably around 3-4k. Please do not submit reprints and originals at the same time....

Submission Window: January 1st - February 28th, 20-23 Payment: 3 cents/word with a minimum payment of $50 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry. We purchase book reviews for $50. We purchase art for $80. Theme: Science Fiction and fantasy Reading past issues is the best way to know if your submission is a good fit for NewMyths.com. We like to balance each quarterly issue between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. Our readers are not fixated on a single style or tone or genre, but prefer a quality sample of the field. Think tapas or dim sum. Submission Period New Myths considers submissions between January 1-February 28 and June 1-July 31. Artwork, requests for book reviews, and other correspondence can be submitted at any time. Payment Payment is upon publication. NewMyths.com currently pays 3 cents/word with a minimum payment of $50 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry. We purchase book reviews for $50. We purchase art for $80. Rights NewMyths.com acquires first publication rights only (we are not interested in stories that have already been published elsewhere). Authors retain their copyright on all works after first publication on the NewMyths.com website. By submitting content to NewMyths.com you agree that, should the content be accepted, you grant NewMyths.com a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right and license to digitally archive and display the content (aka Digital Archive Rights). In the case that we later desire to include your content in any other format (e.g. print, anthology, etc.), those rights will be separately negotiated at that time. Simultaneous Submissions: No problem. We ask that you please indicate in your submission that your story is a simultaneous submission, and notify us as soon as possible...

Submission Window: February 1st - 28th, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $5 for poetry, 1 cent per word for non-fiction, $35 for cover art Theme: Speculative fiction It's our goal to publish diverse voices from around the world, and to do that, we are actively seeking stories, poems, and non-fiction pieces by authors from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in the science fiction and fantasy canon. Our submission cycle is therefore split into two categories, where every other month is explicitly reserved for submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. The interposing six months remain open to everyone. Guidelines for Fiction We are seeking stories in the English language up to 6,000 words by writers from around the world. We favor submisions that have not been published before (including on your own website), though we do accept a limited number of reprints not currently appearing anywhere online. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we're particularly interested in publishing stories from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we're open to a wide variety of stories across the SFF and weird spectra. We pay 1¢ per word for fiction, and we try to respond to all submissions within ten weeks. We will also accept a limited number of previously published stories, so please indicate on the form if your submission is a reprint. All submissions must use the Shunn manuscript format (we prefer Courier New) and be either .rtf, .doc, or .docx. We like stories that are subtle in their telling and stick with us long after we've finished. We're more likely to buy stories that balance a sense of wonder with a bold plot and...

Deadline: February 28th, 2023 Payment: $5 Theme: Burn This F*cker Down 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. Issues are themed; however, we consider all interpretations. "~ Burn This F*cker Down - Feb. 28 - What needs to be destroyed? Why? Send us your destructive works that hope to bring in the new and build something better." 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!) We Want: Works with fantastical elements: scary, happy, creepy, heartbreaking, bizarre, hilarious, whatever. While you can see our “Loves” lower on the page, we’re pretty open to anything that’s worth picking up. We (Probably) Won’t: Pick up works not tied to or containing fantastical elements. It’s kinda our thing. (However, some themes may lean more heavily on a specific genre or reality. Interpret accordingly.) Where to Tread Lightly: We’re pretty open-minded and okay with just about anything, but there better be a reason for it to be in the work. The darker, more explicit you go, the more we’ll really need to see its necessity to the work. We don’t want shock / horror / violence for its own sake. Definitely Will Not Publish: Any work that is hateful towards any race, creed, religion, gender, or identity. This aims to be an inclusive space. Other Good Things to Know Your work must be ORIGINAL. Excluding...

Deadline: February 28th, 2023 Payment: 3¢ per word for fiction, 25 cents per line for poetry Theme: Outstanding fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, and speculative horror that takes a look at a world where everything is automated and a labor force no longer exists Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend – Call for Submissions and Guidelines Beginning December 1, 2022, the annual Triangulation anthology will accept submissions for its 20th collection in the series, Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend. Automation simplifies our lives, to the point where a production facility is so automated it makes no sense wasting energy to run lights. These “dark factories” are currently present in the auto industry, the electronics industry, and even the robotics industry itself. What does the world look like when jobs are automated to the point that the labor force is non-existent? We’re looking for outstanding fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, and speculative horror—from both new and established writers. Editors: Storm Walden, Co-editor, Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend. Greg Clumpner, Co-editor, Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend. Humanity craves efficiency, subconsciously forming habits to make each portion of our day more comfortable, allowing us the time and ability to expand our horizons. From Neanderthals learning migration patterns for hunting food to coding scripts to streamline processes to the dream of roads filled with fully autonomous vehicles, we push boundaries to make our lives easier. What happens when our lives become as easy as they can be? What are the sustainability implications? How does excess free time affect our social structure? What personal habits develop when we’ve already made our work lives as efficient as possible? Are we going to rise above working long hours in drudgery? Will a seven-day weekend be hopeful, lightening the communal load for all to experience joy and freedom every day? What is the cost of that freedom? Will automation take over...

Submission Window: February 15th - 28th, 2023 Payment: $0.05 per word for fiction, $50 per poem Theme: Symmetry As of November 2022, we are no longer accept submissions via email, we’re now using Moksha to manage submissions. Any submissions sent via email will be deleted unread. 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 1000 words and be inspired or based on the chosen theme. Read our submission guidelines and submit your work through our Moksha portal. 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...

Submission Window: February 1st - 28th, 2023 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...

Deadline: February 28th, 2023 Payment: New stories: $50 for 2.5-5k words, $75 for 5-10K words; $100 for 10-15K; Reprints accepted at half the new story rate Theme: Near future hopepunk Note: Reprints Welcome Open for Submissions: November 1st 2022 – February 28th, 2023 Story Length: 2.5-15K Genre: Near future hopepunk Characters: All welcomed. Diversity (race, sexuality, gender, ability) welcomed Payment: One-time flat fee. New stories: $50 for 2.5-5k words, $75 for 5-10K words; $100 for 10-15K; Reprints accepted at half the new story rate Include: Word file (.doc or .docx, see below), short submission letter with story title, word count, problem addressed in the story, solution/adaptation, and if this is a reprint. Submit to: Editor J. Scott Coatsworth, [email protected] Other Submission Notes: One story per author, please, no simultaneous submissions. Submit Your Story The way we do things now as a society is unsustainable. Garbage is piling up in our landfills and oceans, income inequality is getting worse, and our governments are often paralyzed when it comes to seeking solutions. For the third anthology in the Writers Save the World series, “Transform the World,” we’re focusing on new ways of living and of structuring societies. Stories should be near future (in the next 100 years or so) science fiction with a hopeful tone. Stories do not need to be hard sci fi, but the chosen solution/adaptation should be plausible, given what we know about human nature and society today. That said, we have accepted a few whimsical stories that tickled our fancy in the past. Diversity (race, gender, orientation, ability, mental spectrum etc) encouraged. Submit Your Story Examples: A new colony on Mars is run entirely on a barter/exchange system, with expansion credits for hard work that allow the recipients to start sub colonies of their own. A new city is built on the ocean, where people live in a sustainable way with...

Submission Window: February 1st, 2023 - February 28th, 2023. Payment: $0.03 per word Theme: Story that takes place at the beginning of the apocalypse in a short period of time, see below for specifics At the moment the earth ended, a little over eight billion human souls clung to its surface. That’s eight billion stories. Nobody knows how many remain. But if you’re reading this, you are one of them. Good job! We want that story. It doesn’t matter how this thing started, what caused it, or where it came from. That’s not what we’re after. We want the experiences, the points of view, the wild, weird, disgusting, disturbing, beautiful, heartbreaking things that happened at the very beginning of the end of the world. Guidelines: This is an open submission call for a fiction anthology. Open call submission window open February 1, 2023 - February 28, 2023. Extended submission window exclusively for writers from marginalized communities March 1, 2023 - March 7, 2023. The anthology will be a mix of solicited stories and stories selected from the open call submission period. What are we looking for? Short horror, weird, dark fiction between 1500 and 4000 words (firm limit) that deal with a fictional apocalypse. The story must take place within a short period of time (less than a day) at the beginning of a fictional apocalypse. The story shouldn’t be the inception point or the origin of the apocalyptic event. It shouldn’t even be about the event itself. Rather, it should be about when it all started for the POV character(s). Make it personal. Make it weird. Make it disturbing. Make it beautiful. We’re gonna get a lot of zombies, so points for originality. This anthology is open to all writers, but we strongly encourage writers from the LGBTQIA+, BIPOC,...

Submission Window: January 31st - February 28th, 2023 Payment: Negotiated; expect a royalty, potentially an advance. Theme: All forms of speculative fiction Weird Little Worlds Press is pleased to announce that we will be opening to unsolicited submissions starting January 31, 2023. Our press is focused on speculative genre fiction that includes fantasy, science fiction, horror, and adventure. We are also looking to publish nonfiction adventure novels that include true stories of survival, high-stakes or dangerous careers, or incredible events featuring real-life heroes. The press was started in 2020 by Michael Cluff and Willow Dawn Becker. Even though Michael had to step away from the company in 2021 because of time constraints, Willow has continued to lead the company to ever-expanding heights. The press’s first anthology, Humans are the Problem: A Monster’s Anthology, was recently featured in Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 14, and Gemma Files’ story “Poor Butcher Bird,” was included. In 2021, WLW Press released Mother: Tales of Love and Terror, an anthology of horror that is eligible for Bram Stoker Award® consideration, as well as Leto’s Children, a science fiction horror novel. WLW Press has a goal to publish at least four full-length novels in 2023. The open submissions period, which will last until midnight on February 28th, will give authors of all experience levels the same opportunity for having their work read. The WLW Press submission process is an anonymous process, so talent, execution, and concept becomes the focus of our reading, not the author’s name or following. LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE. SHARE YOUR STORY. There is nothing as powerful and awesome as a great story told well. We are looking for the most exciting, fantastic, and awe-inspiring tales to add to our publishing library. If you have something wonderful that illuminates, surprises, and scares us, we want...