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Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: $20 plus 1 cent per word Theme: Smoke & Mirrors Autonomous Press is now accepting submissions of short fiction, short literary memoir, and poetry for the eighth volume of Spoon Knife, our annual genre-bending lit anthology. We are accepting submissions until July 31st, 2023. Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by the end of 2023. Spoon Knife 8 will be published in Spring 2024. The theme for Spoon Knife 8 is Smoke & Mirrors. All submissions should touch in some way or another on this theme, but it can be interpreted as broadly and strangely as you like, and as literally or figuratively as you like (i.e., actual smoke and actual mirrors need not appear). Please note that above all else, Spoon Knife is an anthology of stories, which we select primarily based on the quality of the storytelling. Many would-be contributors, in past years, have been unclear on the nature of Spoon Knife and have wasted their time sending us pieces that read more like blog posts or political activism. We highly recommend reading a recent volume of Spoon Knife in order to make sure you understand what this series is and what it isn’t. All submissions must be sent as Word documents (.doc or .docx files). Prose submissions (fiction and memoir) must meet the following criteria: 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced. First line of each paragraph indented. No extra whitespace between paragraphs. Consistent use of Oxford commas. Thoroughly proofread and spell-checked. If you’re submitting poetry, you may send up to 3 poems (please put them all in a single document). Poems should also be in 12-point Times New Roman font, but do not need to be double-spaced. Maximum length for submissions is 10k words. Exception: you can assume this limit to be as flexible as you need it to be if you’re...

Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: $75 and Royalties - 50% author share to be divided equally among the authors Theme: Superheroes who have their powers for 5 seconds - details below Live Real Press is stepping into the anthology publishing business. Our first offering is a collection of stories set in the 5 Second Rule universe. Submissions are open. This is being published in partnership with writer and game creator Laura from Lucky Newt Games. Here is the game’s description: “You are participating in a new study by L&G Inc. Though the compensation isn’t very good, they could be the key to your dream of having superpowers. After weeks of pokes and prods, and far more mental and physical tests than should be legal, you are one of the few whose power awakens! The catch? You’re stuck in this facility with a few powered individuals until you learn how to work together as a team of superheroes. Oh yeah, and everyone’s power- including yours- is limited by 5 seconds in some way. So why go through all this? Because someone mentioned there would be a portal at the end of this training that could take your group anywhere, anytime. And did you catch the part about being a superhero?“ If you’re interested in learning more about the lore of the game, click here. Laura has also made the game pay-what-you-want for the duration of the submission period. There is a discord channel dedicated to answering questions about this. Click here. Guidelines Details: An unpublished short story set in the 5 Second Rule Universe. Looking for 15 contributors. If we get enough, we will produce a second volume. Wordcount: 2500 to 7500 words. Genre: Superhero, specifically in the 5 Second Rule universe. Rating: For those in the US, we’re looking for a TV14 rating, something that can air on broadcast TV...

Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: $25 and a contributors copy Theme: Stories of the Sley Siblings (details on them below) in the genres of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, noir mysteries with dark elements, and thrillers. We are looking for well-written short stories in the genres of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, noir mysteries with dark elements, and thrillers, each around 6000 words. We would like 18-21 previously unpublished stories to fill this year's anthology. We'll stay open at least through July 31st, and possibly after that date if we haven't filled all slots. In the subject line, write "SUBMISSION -- story genre + Story title -- word count". In the body of your email, tell us a little about yourself and a little about the story.  If you've been published elsewhere, tell us about that also. We will pay $25 via PayPal upon contract signing + 1 eBook copy & 1 print copy. We also offer a discount on any future print copies. ​ TALES OF THE SLEY SIBLINGS   Publication Date: Halloween 2023 The Sley siblings, pictured above, are the backbone of our publishing house, and their stories are just as dark and mysterious as any we tell. Your job, in this first-ever anthology, is to help us tell these stories. RG (pictured far left) is the eldest, and can often be found in his laboratory. His interests lean towards cosmic horror, arcane magics, and spells. Before he was confined to a wheelchair, he would scour the world looking to become a powerful magician and sorcerer. Charles (center) has always loved books. As the middle child, he often spent hours in the library, reading the classics, and has spent his life in pursuit of examining the truth behind classic legends. The youngest, Genevieve, is as at home in her garden as she is in...

Deadline: July 31st 2023 Payment: Royalties Theme: Pick a famous incident, an unknown one, or make up your own and let us know what really happened! Note: Not looking for 'extreme' horror What Really Happened (Tentative Title) Swamp gas? Weather balloons? Ball lightning? That couldn’t really have been an atmospheric reflection of Venus, could it? Heck no! And we want you to tell us what it REALLY was! Pick a famous incident, an unknown one, or make up your own and let us know what really happened! I mean, we’re not saying it was aliens, but… Submission Guidelines: Submissions will be open May 1st to July 31st 2023. Send submissions to [email protected] Please attach your story as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file. No PDFs or cloudsharing will be accepted. Anthology expected to be published in or around November, 2023. Word count maximum (firm) of 7,000 words. Anything under 2,000 words will be considered flash fiction. Flash fiction is welcome and will be paid at 1/2 rate. Payment is royalty sharing through Draft2Digital’s Royalty Sharing Program. **If you are not willing to obtain a Draft2Digital account in order to receive royalty shares as payment, then DON’T SUBMIT TO US.** For this anthology, please no extreme horror or graphic sex. Though we want dark stories and even horror, we are not interested in the extremes of the genre. Please keep content and language limited to the equivalent of a “PG-13” rated movie. Please remember, Knight Writing Press will not accept a story that glorifies, supports, encourages, or gratuitously includes hate, hate crimes, rape, sex, sex crimes, or any other forms of inhumanity. There are no genre restrictions on this anthology, as long as the story fits the theme, which means if it is not sci-fi, it’s going to be a hard sell!...

Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: 10 cents per word up to 3,000 words, $500 for novelettes, $50 for short poems, $100 for longer poems Theme: Qualia: instances of subjective, conscious experience; the internal and subjective component of sense perceptions arising from stimulation of the senses by phenomena; the way it feels to have mental states. Nous: intellections; awareness; perception; understanding; reason; thought; intuition; the faculty of the human mind; having the ability to understand what is true or real; practical intelligence. The first volume of Qualia Nous (2014), edited by Michael Bailey, won the Benjamin Franklin Award for science fiction and was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology. It was a Foreword Reviews Book of the Year finalist in horror, science fiction, and a bronze winner for anthologies, as well as a silver medal finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards, a finalist for the Indie Book Awards, and a winner of the International Book Award. It was also the first Written Backwards anthology (of eventually many) to contain work by Stephen King. Usman T. Malik’s “The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family” was a finalist for the Nebula Award and tied to win the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction with Rena Mason’s “Ruminations.” And Marge Simon’s poem “Shutdown” (the only poem in the anthology) won the Rhysling Award from the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association. So, a second volume of Qualia Nous was inevitable, albeit 10 years later, and will again not only feature legends of the craft but showcase today’s emerging talent. What does the title mean? It’s up to interpretation. Qualia: instances of subjective, conscious experience; the internal and subjective component of sense perceptions arising from stimulation of the senses by phenomena; the way it...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2023 Payment: $10 Theme: Stories of any genre as long as they have a witch, wizard, warlock, or combination of them within! THREE COUSINS PUBLISHING, an imprint of WEST MESA PRESS, will be accepting submissions for its next anthology, WITCH WIZARD WARLOCK from June 1, 2023 until midnight July 31, 2023. Stories submitted before or after the submission period will not be considered. We’re looking for stories that fit the anthology title. Submissions must feature a witch, wizard, warlock, two of those, or even all three. Horror, humor, fantasy, science fiction, or even some entertaining, but bizarre mashup of genres that we haven’t considered. Your characters may be young or old and the time frame may be from the dawn of mankind to the far future. Here’s the short list of guidelines. Pay attention, please. These are important. 1, Stories should be submitted in standard format. Here’s a link: https://www.writersdigest.com/.../how-to-submit-short... 2. Double spaced, no tabs, use the indent function in ‘paragraph,’ no extra spaces between paragraphs, and Times New Roman 12 point font. 3. Signal scene breaks by ###. 4 If you want italics, use them. 5. Stories must be between 4,000 and 5,000 words. No slack. Rewrite and edit to fit before submitting. Longer or shorter submissions will be deleted unread. 6. No reprints, but simultaneous submissions are fine, as they always should be, but let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere. 7. Put your contact information on the first page and your 150 word bio and bibliography in your cover letter. Submissions must be in the form of an attachment, doc, docx, or rtf. 8. Email the submission to [email protected]. Put “Submission, your story title, and your name in the subject line, otherwise the gremlins might send your story...

Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: $100 Theme: Fiction or poetry that mix art and Taco Bell Taco Bell Quarterly is a literary magazine that explores the intersection of Art and Taco Bell. Our only guideline is that it must contain a Taco Bell reference. We publish art that explores, provokes, and tests the conventions of creative writing as it relates to Taco Bell. Whether or not you believe any of this is up to you, the creative writer. We are looking for short stories, non-fiction, prose, essays, poetry, art, comics, flash, films, undefinable auras, experiments, and completely ordinary shit that will peak in the seventh issue of a literary magazine in a corner of the internet. You are, were, and always will be a Literary Writer. We are looking for innovative ways to lower the bar. We are looking for ways to degrade ourselves with flair. We are looking for universes that could be extremely traumatizing if the writers weren’t cowards. We are looking for ways to address the nightmares more directly. We are drawn to writing that is urgent. We are drawn to screams and fever dreams. We want to publish: the stuff that no one else gets, the stuff that speaks to the moment, the stuff that speaks to nothing at all, the stuff that is grilled and nacho stuft. Have fun. Make stuff.  Screw your Koch Perception Boxes. Send us your panorama shoeboxes. Run for the border so that we can dismantle the borders altogether. We want to hear from everyone, especially queer writers, trans writers, writers of color, neurodiverse writers, disabled writers, non-literary writers, genre writers, not-even-writers and total outsiders. Simultaneously subbed? Previously pubbed? We have no rules. Shoehorn a bean burrito in it and send it. Taco Bell Quarterly loves you. We pay $100. Is...

Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: $25.00 for original stories, $7.00 for reprints. $6.00 for each poem. $20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. $7.00 for reviews and interviews. $5.00 for interior art Theme: The paranormal 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 with pornographic content. If you...

Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: 8 cents/word and 4 cents/word for reprints Theme: Speculative stories--science fiction, fantasy, horror--with Christian themes, characters, or cosmology Note: Reprints Welcome We are looking for speculative stories--science fiction, fantasy, horror--with Christian themes, characters, or cosmology, and for artwork for this site. Fiction Guidelines Technical details Stories can be up to 9000 words (thanks, Patreon supporters!). This is a hard limit--our submission system will enforce it. We pay 8 cents/word for original stories (or original translations of stories that have not previously appeared in English), and 4 cents/word for reprints (thanks again, Patreon!). Authors are paid once we've agreed on edits and signed a contract, prior to earliest publication (generally on our Patreon page). We are seeking 6 months' exclusive worldwide publication rights for original works (with exceptions for established Best of the Year anthologies), and non-exclusive worldwide print and electronic rights thereafter for both original works and reprints. We want to publish your story online in our webzine and keep it there indefinitely. We're also acquiring the right to offer ebook versions of the stories we publish, as Patreon rewards or for purchase; and to publish a print and ebook anthology of all the stories that appeared in the webzine over a given 1- or 2-year period. For original fiction, we want to be the only place publishing it for the first 6 months; after that, you're welcome to publish it anywhere else in any format you like. No multiple or simultaneous submissions. If multiple writers co-write a story, we consider each distinct group of writers a different submitter. In other words, if two people co-write a story, and they submit the co-written story, and each of them also submits a story written on their own, that would not violate our no multiple submissions policy. Submitting two stories co-written by...

Submission Window: July 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: $25 and a contributors copy Theme: After Tomorrow Title: The Cellar Door - Issue #4: After Tomorrow Theme: Looking for post-apocalyptic suspense and horror stories about how mankind has come to survive after our near annihilation. Humorous stories are welcome. No AI-generated stories. Type: Post-apocalyptic, thriller/suspense, survival horror, creature feature, supernatural/paranormal. Word Count: 2,000 - 10,000 words. Payment: $25.00 + digital & paperback copies. Featured Author: TBA Accepted Authors (so far): Danielle Davis, Nik Patrick. Cover Art: Mikio Murakami Rights: We are seeking first time rights for 1 year after publication. After that time all rights revert back to the author. The publication will appear in both print and digital formats. Reprints: None. Previously unpublished only. Multiple Submissions: None. Simultaneous Submissions: Yes, but state in your email that it is a simultaneous submission, and please email us immediately if the story is sold elsewhere. Also, be sure to follow the Manuscript Format guidelines below when submitting. File Format: Include your story as an attachment in MS Word, LibreOffice, or Rich Text Format. Manuscript Format: Use the Modern or Classic Shunn Format. Include a short bio in the body of your email. Your subject line should read, AT Submission: ("Title") by (Author's Name). For Example, AT Submission: "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury. Attach the story as a separate document. Response Time: 4 weeks after submissions close, if not sooner. Submission Period: July 1 - 31, 2023. Send Submissions to: darkpenpress (at) gmail (dot) com Influential Movies/TV: A Quiet Place, Monsters, 28 Days/Weeks Later, Fury Road, It Comes at Night, Stake Land, Pandorum, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Snowpiercer, Zombieland, The Road, Sweet Home (TV), The Rain (TV), The Last of Us (TV). Influential writings/series: Silo Trilogy by Hugh Howey, Wayward Pines Trilogy by Blake Crouch, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, The Girl With All the Gifts by Mike Carey, Bird Box by...

Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: 3 cents per word for fiction and poetry, $50 for book reviews, $80 for artwork Theme: Fantasy and Science Fiction stories Note: This outlet does accept clearly-labeled AI generated content which will be controversial to many Good news for 2023: NewMyths.com pay rates have doubled! 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. Maximum length is 10,000 words. 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. Artificial Intelligence Policy and contests Both human-only and AI-generated work now welcome If we could detect AI-generated content with 100% accuracy, we would not allow it. But since that is not the case.... NewMyths will accept AI-generated content if you label it as such. Please use the honor system. If you used an AI tool to create a draft of your work, no matter how many times you rewrote it, please label it as an AI-generated story. NewMyths will attach the "AI-generated" label to the published story. Other uses of AI, such as for generating ideas or spell checking, need not be flagged. Copyright and AI This is still being worked out by the courts. NewMyths reserves the right to remove any content from its archives if such content comes under a copyright dispute. AI Creators Contest—Fall 2023 NewMyths will run a human-only versus AI-generated...

Submission Window: July 1st - 31st, 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 Note: This window is for authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. 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....

Submission Window: July 1st - 31st, 2023 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. 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...

Submission Window: July 17th-31st, 2023 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element, even horror). Our planned windows are: July 17-31, 2023: General submission window David Steffen is the editor, who you may also know from reading The Long List Anthology series or from the Submission Grinder, which you can use to find markets for your writing and track your submissions.  Diabolical Plots is a SFWA-qualifying market, so if you have a personal goal to join SFWA, making a sale here would help you toward that goal. If you have already read our guidelines and are ready to submit, you can SUBMIT HERE. FICTION Accessibility Note:  We recognize our submission form may not be accessible to all users. Please send us a message at our contact form or email editordiabolicalplotscom and we will make sure you can submit your story. Genres:  science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element, even horror). Word count:  3500 words or less.  This is a firm limit.  If you submit a longer story, it will be rejected unread and that will count as a submission.  Do not query to ask permission to submit something longer–the answer will be no. Pay rate: 10 cents per word.  Paying by PayPal is preferred by us, but we can mail a US bank check if you live in the US, and if you live somewhere where neither of these things are options, we are exploring other options.  We don’t want unavailability of payment apps for you to be a deterrent to you submitting! Multiple submissions:  No.  In the past, Diabolical Plots accepted two submissions per author per window, but now we ask that you only send one submission per window.  Even if you receive a rejection before the window has ended, we ask that you wait until our next window to submit a...

Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: $25 CAD Theme: choose a mood (e.g. melancholy, frustrated, calm) and a film, TV show, or even a director/actor (as long as the connection to your chosen mood is clear) to write about in any format/genre What are your viewing habits, highs, and hang-ups? In other words, why do you look away and then look again? Why are you so obsessed with the exact shade of pink of Suki’s car in 2 Fast 2 Furious? Or the look on Marnie’s face after she’s fired the shotgun? We want to hear all about it, but you should know that we are terrible at keeping secrets. So… are you in the mood? Submissions are OPEN for In The Mood Magazine Issue 8: MOODS! We’re doing things a little differently this time, so please read the call carefully... Inspired by our Film Recommendation Generator, we’re asking our contributors to choose a mood (e.g. melancholy, frustrated, calm) and a film, TV show, or even a director/actor (as long as the connection to your chosen mood is clear) to write about in any format/genre they wish. The film/show can match the mood or be an antidote. We welcome creative non-fiction, poetry, fan fiction… surprise us! Explore our Film Recommendation Generator for inspiration 😉 - Submission deadline: July 31st, 2023 - Theme: Moods—please indicate the mood you’re pitching - Please note we like to focus on post-1970s media - Word count for final piece: maximum 700 words - Honorariums: $25 CAD upon publication While we prefer pitches, we also welcome completed pieces. If pitching, please include a writing sample—it doesn’t need to be a published piece! ‍ Submissions are always OPEN for our newsletter—pitch us your ideas for short features or film diaries about what you've been watching lately! SEND SUBMISSIONS/QUERIES TO: [email protected] Via: In The Mood Magazine.

Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Payment: $25 Theme: Unconventional Ghost Stories Flash Frog is currently only open for Flash Frogtober submissions until July 31st. This means we want your GHOST STORIES! Send us your traditional ghost stories, the ones that haunt and scare. Send us your unconventional ghost stories, the ones that make us rethink what a ghost story can be. We are open to your interpretation, so surprise us! Please put “FLASH FROGTOBER — your story title” in the subject line. Please do not send us general submissions during this time. They will be returned unread. We will reopen for general submissions on August 1st. All of the standard guidelines below still apply: WRITERS: Flash Frog publishes flash fiction only (no poetry or CNF please). 1,000 words maximum. Please email stories to [email protected]. Please attach the story as .doc, .docx, or .rtf. Please use this format as the subject: FLASH FROGTOBER — your story title Cover letters are okay, but please do not explain or set up your story. Let it speak for itself. Please do include a third-person bio (100 words max) in the body of the email. Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but please email to withdraw your piece as soon as it has been accepted elsewhere. We’d love to congratulate you! Multiple submissions are not okay. Please send only one story at a time and wait until you hear back before sending another. All submissions should be the author’s original work and not previously published elsewhere (this includes blogs, social media, etc.) Publication rights: We ask for the right to display the work for the duration of the journal. Copyright remains with the writer in all cases. If your work is subsequently reprinted elsewhere, please acknowledge Flash Frog as the site of first publication. Response time: Typically within a week, but occasionally longer. Please do not inquire about your submission until 2 months have passed. Payment: Flash Frog pays $25 per story upon publication. Payments are issued via...

{"source":"other","uid":"AF5F7DFE-95CB-4D94-92BC-11058578C73C_1650375698517","origin":"gallery","is_remix":false,"used_premium_tools":false,"used_sources":"{"version":1,"sources":}","premium_sources":,"fte_sources": Deadline: July 31st, 2023 Prizes: 2 Grand Prizes of $500 for grand winners of Fiction and Non-Fiction., 1 Grand Prize of $250 for Poetry. , 1st prize for each qualifying category – $50 cash prize, plus double royalties for their published submission., 2nd prize for each qualifying category – $25 cash prize plus 1.5 times standard royalties for their published submission.,. 3rd prize for each qualifying category – Free copy of a SOOP Anthology, plus standard royalties for their published submission., Curator’s Choice Award –$50 cash prize each time a “heat” of 25 Qualified Submissions is achieved in a specific category. Theme: Just about anything under the sun, organized by category, see below Something Or Other Publishing provides an extraordinary chance for aspiring authors to show off their work, compete for cash awards, and get their writings published. Our Annual Short Story Contest honors excellence in writing short stories by awarding talented writers with numerous guaranteed cash prizes (totaling over $5,000 this year) and a publishing contract to get their stories out to the world. In addition to the winners, qualified writers can receive a contract offer to publish their work in one or more carefully curated anthologies like 25 Servings of SOOP, Women Write Now: Women In Trauma, Midwest Road Trip Adventures, and other projects under production with royalties generally above industry standards. Overview AT ANY TIME IN THE YEAR: The Author qualifies by submitting a valid story within a category and obtaining 50 votes. AT ANY TIME IN THE YEAR: Once 25 qualified submissions (a heat) are received in a category the Curator reviews them, awards a cash Curator Award, and passes 3 entries on to the semi-finals to be reviewed by our independent panel of judges. AT ANY TIME IN THE YEAR: Authors may receive an invitation for their story to be...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: $5 Theme: Graveyard-themed Horror Madame Gray is excited to announce a call for graveyard-themed submissions for her new anthology, Madame Gray's Graveyard of Blood! Open to all subgenres of horror, as long as the story takes place in, or is connected in some way to a cemetery. The more ghoulish, the better! The scarier, the merrier! And a bit of gallows humor is always welcome, but not required. Well-written tales that are off the beaten path with a twist ending stand the best chance of getting accepted. Compiled and edited by Gerri R. Gray (Madame Gray's Poe-Pourri of Terror, Toilet Zone 2 & 3) and published by Hellbound Books, this anthology (the fourth in the popular Madame Gray series) is open to undiscovered writers and established voices alike. Stories must be original and previously unpublished. Multiple and simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know straight away if your story is accepted elsewhere. No poetry or flash fiction, please. Payment is $5.00 plus a free contributors copy (ebook). PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 2.5K - 8K word count * Write 'GRAVEYARD' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: Aug 1st, 2023 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Capped at...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: £20 and a contributors copy Theme: Evil or demonic toys Title: Terrors from the Toy Box Story Length: 2K words – 7K words Pay: £20 regardless of story length plus a paperback and digital (pdf & Epub.) copy. Deadline: 1st August 2023 Release Date: 1st October 2023 In a dark corner of the attic lies a wooden box burgeoning with forgotten relics from bygone decades. Evil effigies of plastic claw their way out of their dusty confines into your very nightmares. Devil dolls and terrifying teddies, abominable action figures and gruesome games all lying in wait for the opportunity to be free to wreak terror once again. What we want: For our anthology, ‘Terrors from the Toy Box’, we are looking for original short horror stories, from 2K words to 7K words max, with a toy theme.  Works slightly under 2K words or slightly over 7K words may still be considered. We ask for five months exclusive print and digital rights, and non exclusive rights thereafter. You will retain copyright ownership of your work. What we don’t want: We don’t accept simultaneous submissions. We don’t want stories about existing toy brands, toy lines or real people; it needs to be fully fictional, although mentioning toy lines here and there in your story is acceptable. We don’t want to read anything detailing animal cruelty, harm to children, gratuitous sex or any sort of prejudice. We don’t accept flash fiction or poetry.  Format: The anthology will be released in paperback print and ebook formats and sold via Amazon. How to submit: Send your manuscript as an attachment to [email protected] or [email protected] Please follow the Shunn Manuscript Format leaving out headers and page numbers. On the first page, please include: Your pen name, The story title, Approx. word count, Your email...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: $10 Theme: High-End Cannibals It’s that time again. PsychoToxin Press is issuing an open call for our next anthology. What we’re looking for this time is cannibal stories. Now when we say cannibal stories, we’re not looking for stereotypes like headhunters or TCM style hillbillies. What we’re looking for is elevated cannibals. Stories that occur in places like high-end restaurants or secret societies. Maybe it’s a cannibal cooking show on the darkweb. Maybe it’s an exclusive invitation to a dinner. Anything outside of the same tired stories. Submissions should be between 2,000-10,000 words. Pay is $10 plus a digital contributors copy. Please include contact information both in your email and on the first page of your submission. Given that we’re asking for cannibal stories, our guidelines are a little more relaxed for this one, however please keep the following in mind… No excessive gore or violence without a reasonable explanation. If it fits the story that’s great, but gore for the sake of gore is just lazy. No graphic sexual assault or violence against animals or children. Again it’s just lazy and oftentimes only used for shock value. You must hold the rights to publish the submitted work. You wouldn’t want anyone stealing your work, and we expect the same honesty from all contributors. PsychoToxin Press does not claim to hold copyright over your work if chosen for publication, all we ask is that you don’t reprint the story anywhere for at least 3 months after publication of the anthology. All submissions must be submitted by August 1st to be considered for inclusion. All submissions should be sent to [email protected] with your name and title in the subject line. Thanks in advance and we look forward to reading your work. Via: PsychoToxin Press.

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: "As soon as Harriet entered the building, she headed to the seventh floor." Fall: As soon as Harriet entered the building, she headed to the seventh floor. Due date: August 1, 2023 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...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: $.03 per word Theme: Alternative Leadership B Cubed Press is pleased announce an Open Call for Alternative Leadership.    An anthology about leadership. Leadership by the under-represented, by those too often forced to watch as those less qualified, less capable rise in a system that cannot see the value of diversity and change. We’re looking for broken barriers of all kinds.  Can a man lead the National Organization of Women? Can a woman lead the NFL Players Association?  Not in our current world, perhaps, but maybe in alternative worlds? This will be a book about those things, in government, in the PTA, in the Horde, in the town or village.  In the world. About the Orc would be King of the Goblins, the woman who would be Pope.  The only limits are those of your own imagination. So understand there is no magic formula for sex, orientation or race of your protagonist.  We want our readers to enjoy the story, sometimes laugh, but always think. The Alternatives series often uses humor and satire as a way of looking at issues.  You don’t have to write satire or humor to sell us a story, but it sometimes helps. We are unabashedly social justice fans and love redemption.  Your story doesn’t have to reflect progressive perspectives, but again, it helps. But most of all, we want our readers to think about the story after they’ve put down the book. We are looking for good writing, first and foremost. We also want imaginative scenarios, and a good bit of humor in stories, essays or poetry is always appreciated. Write of successes. Write of failures. Write of the perfect, the imperfect, the noble, and the wretched. Write the story of the person who said, “I can be more.” This book...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: Royalties: one (1%) per cent of net sales Theme: “Life is the dance between choice and chance.” “Life is the dance between choice and chance.” How did you come to the point in life where you now find yourself? Two factors were likely in play: choice and chance. The choices you make are clearly a factor in shaping your life. For example: a woman in one universe elopes with her high school sweetheart, but they are too young to make the marriage work and divorce at any early age; in a second universe, she marries him after they graduate from university and happily becomes a stay-at-home mom; in a third universe, she doesn’t marry him and pursues a successful career. Making different choices about the same life goal can lead to very different lives. It’s also true, though, that chance, forces that are out of our control, shapes the choices that are available to us. This may be because of the choices of others which directly affect us, or it may because of the society into which we are born. For instance: a black man sleeps in his car in the drive-thru lane of a fast food restaurant. In one universe, two white cops are sent to deal with him; forty-five minutes later, one of them has shot him dead. In a second universe, one of the white cops and a psychiatrist are sent to deal with him; after a tense confrontation, he is arrested and his car impounded. In a third universe, the psychiatrist and a social worker droid are sent to deal with him; he is sent home to sleep it off and told he can pick up his impounded car the next day. The different outcomes are a product of chance, the...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: $20 Theme: Icing out your enemies, femme-presenting antiheroes, Medusa, the White Witch, snow queens in general Icing out your enemies, femme-presenting antiheroes, Medusa, the White Witch, snow queens in general, Nina Maclaughlin’s Wake, Siren, Madeline Miller’s Circe, Spring Breakers, Merricat from Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle; Promising Young Woman, Alison Rumfitt’s Tell Me I’m Worthless, burning your ex inside of a bear, Ottessa Moshfegh, murderous kitsunes, Onibaba, Bunny by Mona Awad, Lady Vengeance, Emma Frost, The Low, Low, Woods by Camera Maria Machado, Lady Tremaine, sirens in general, revenge ghosts, Carol Ann Duffy’s “Medusa” and The World’s Wife, Beloved by Toni Morrison, Carrie, Lady Macbeth, fashion bitches, Cathy Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights, Fairuza Balk in The Craft, bell hooks’ killing rage, Bertha in Wide Sargasso Sea, Shakira cursing her ex and mother-in-law from the balcony of her home, Sylvia Plath, femme fatales, Gretchen Felker-Martin’s Manhunt, Cersei Lannister, Fragment of the Head of a Queen by Cate Marvin, blud by Rachel McKibbens,  Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi, spitting on graves, villain equality, Lisbeth Salander, Audre Lorde’s “The Uses of Anger,” PJ Harvey, Beyonce’s Lemonade, Kali, Katherine Faw’s Ultraluminous, coming to your house in the middle of the night to cut up all your wigs. If you see yourself in the mirror, submit your work to the newest incarnation of Grimoire by AUGUST 1, 2023 B E F O R E   Y O U   S U B M I T The best way to know what we want is to look in our mirror (see below) and to read past issues of the magazine. You can find our archive here. D R E A M S Regardless of issue theme, we’re also always looking for dreams for our resident dream expert, Billy, to...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: $40 per original poem or per page of original art., $20 per reprinted poem or per page of reprinted art., $0.04 per word for original prose, based on final published word count., $0.02 per word for reprinted prose, based on final published word count. Theme: Chapter Wizards in Space believes that all writers and artists deserve compensation for their work. In line with this belief, all creators with pieces accepted will be paid and retain rights to their work. Submissions are opening June 19th, 2023, for Issue 09: Chapters. All chapters must have an end. A final sentence, a closing line. And so does Wizards in Space. For our ninth and final issue, we’re ready to hear about the chapters of your own journeys. Which pages have you turned, and which are you now opening? We want your cliffhangers, we want your tidy knots, we want your open endings. Fresh starts and sweet farewells. Send us stories that tell half-truths, that contain muddled middles, or cold opens. Pieces that reflect on an adventure — whether you’re still riding it out or looking back with nostalgia. Share with us the chapters of your life that most want to be shared, the ones that spill over their lines and beg you to keep reading. We invite pieces that say hello, how have you been, or until we meet again. We want this issue to be a reflection of everything that Wizards in Space has been over the years: a beginning, a middle, and now — an end. You write the chapters, we’ll put it in the book. And then we’ll start looking for the sequel. After all, the end of one chapter means the start of another, and whatever is next for us and for you, these...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: Short Stories: $400, Narrative Comics and One-Act Plays: $300, Poetry, Flash Fiction, and Graphic Arts: $100 Theme: Speculative fiction written by Latinx authors in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America. We are looking for works that take classic utopian ideas and reexamine them through a radical Latinx lens and create something compelling and new. Editors: Alex Hernandez, Matthew David Goodwin, Sarah Rafael García, Sara Rivera We are currently taking original and unpublished short stories, poetry, plays, and graphic arts for Not Your Papi’s Utopia, an anthology of speculative fiction written by Latinx authors in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America. We are looking for works that take classic utopian ideas and reexamine them through a radical Latinx lens and create something compelling and new. The submissions should not be perfect visions of an idyllic society, but gripping tales of a society trying to do better, to be more in harmony with the environment, and to build more equitable societies. Conflict is necessary for most good stories, but a general sense of optimism about the future or a viable pathway to hope is a must for this collection. We are accepting any of the speculative genres that fit the general theme, but here are some genres we are actively seeking: AfroLatinx Futurism, Indigenous Futurism, Speculative Metafiction, Solarpunk, Ecofiction, Cyberpunk, Steampunk, Slipstream, Apocalyptic/Post- Apocalyptic Fiction, Speculative Non-Fiction, Alien Environments, Alternate Histories/Futures, Multiverse or Parallel Worlds, Secret Histories/Futures The anthology will affirm the diversity of interests, and concerns of Latinas/os, as well as the overlapping identities that contribute to the Latinx experience. Although the anthology will be published in English, submissions can be in English, Spanish, or any Latin American indigenous language–or a mix of all of these. Multiple submissions accepted. The majority of what we’ll be taking...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 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: This One's for the Weirdos The Last Girls Club Magazine is a quarterly feminist horror magazine that publishes international short stories and poems from the female gaze. It is an homage to the scary comics and zines of the late 20th century. This season's theme is This One's for the Weirdos. Most of us know what it is like to not fit in, to not know how to fit in or to even want to. This one is for the freaks, the geeks, the neurospicy, and the monsters who can't quite make themselves fit the mold. The villagers are out there with the pitchforks and torches. What are you going to do hotshot? Or are you the one that fits in and undermines from the inside? Take it where you want. No more than two fiction stories per author per submission period. Fiction is limited to 2,500 words or less. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($37.50 USD max). Flash fiction is limited to under 1,000 words. Authors are paid $0.015 USD per word upon acceptance ($15 USD max). No more than three poems per poet. Poems are limited to 200 words or less for each poem. Poets are paid $10 USD 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] 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...

Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Payment: $25 per poem, $50 for stories less than 1500 words, $50 for Art (1-3 Images), $100 for Art (4+ Images), for work more than 1501 words Theme: "Relief" that is also hybrid, cross-genre work of both emerging and established creatives who often reside outside traditional artistic disciplines. Brink is open for hybrid and cross-genre submissions of any length engaging the theme RELIEBrink is open for hybrid and cross-genre submissions of any length engaging the theme RELIEF. Relief is a form of ease, yes. It’s a delicious feeling of release. It’s that hopeful buoyancy caused by reassurance that overrides our systems when pain and distress are alleviated. Relief is physical. It’s emotional and mental, too. But as a concept, relief implies so much more than deliverance from discomfort. Relief connotes the remains of a thing left behind; the residue, the leftover, the left behind. That which stands when everything else lifts away. Relief is assistance that arrives in the form of aid, support, or help in a time of danger, need, or difficulty. Relief is a distinct vivid contrast. You can throw things into relief. You can bring things into relief. Show us, create for us, those exact things. Take us to the edge, the brink, of relief. Brink has two reading periods per year: January and July. Between July 1 - 31, we will open for submissions engaging the theme of Relief. Through Submittable, we accept a variety of creative work from Nonfiction to Fiction, from Poetry to Translation. But our hearts beat strongest for hybrid work that falls into the cross-genre category we call Evocations. We are interested in work that presses boundaries, uses more than one medium to tell a story, and both looks and feels different on the page. Additionally, we look for submissions...

Submission Window: August 1-2nd, 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: August 4thm, 2023 Payment: 3 cents (euro) per word and 1 cent (euro) per word for a translation reprint Theme: Hard SF that zooms out of the personal and lifts off into the structural, the systemic, the epic. There are plenty of amazing print and online journals out there for ‘character-driven’ fiction, and we encourage you to read them. Sci Phi Journal (SPJ) is not one of them, though. Hence, we are not too keen on stories predominantly about the sentiments and subjective experiences of fictional people. We want hard SF that zooms out of the personal and lifts off into the structural, the systemic, the epic. We yearn for carefully crafted philosophical speculation that puzzles over the questions of the future and alternate pasts. And we have a soft spot for stories created as ‘artifacts’ (fictional, ‘in-universe’ non-fiction). So here are SPJ‘s quests: – Campbellian hard SF. Reaching back to the roots of classic sci-fi, these rigorous tales take themselves seriously and push the boundaries of our scientific imagination, scaling from the nano to the meta. The cast, if any, is functional and disposable. It’s the sociological, technological and indeed cosmic developments that sweep the reader up in an expanding sense of wonder. (For a contemporary long-form example that received mainstream attention, see the latter two books of Cixin Liu’s Three-Body Problem trilogy.) – Fictional non-fiction. The purest, most intimate form of world-building. A transcript of the last UN Security Council meeting before an extinction-level event. The dental bills of a cybernetic vampire. Interviews with eyewitnesses of a battle between Martians and archangels. (Epistolary fiction falls within this category, though we encourage you to interpret it more broadly, across the full spectrum of artifact fiction.) Think ‘World War Z’, not ‘Walking Dead’. – Speculative philosophy. Extrapolating abstract ideas to examine the implications if they were to manifest. (See for instance The End of...

Deadline: August 6th, 2023 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word. Theme: Folk Horror A New Collection of Horror Stories We are very excited to give you advance notice of a new call for submissions on the theme: Folk Horror. Folk horror evokes the spirit of the land. With the steady rhythm of ancient life it breathes in the stories that dwell amongst the shadows, and exhales thick shrouds of darkness to overwhelm the reader with the shivering and writhing of supernatural murmurings. Dark folkloric tales emerge from the forests of the North, the deserts of the south, the mountain passes and the long cold nights under the stars. Can you conjure such fare from your dark imagination? We’re looking for four stories to join the curated selection by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan which will launch our new series, Beyond and Within, next Summer. Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan are the award-winning authors and editors of many books. Together they have co-edited anthologies such as The British Fantasy Society: A Celebration, A  Carnivàle  of Horror: Dark Tales from the Fairground, Hellbound Hearts, The Mammoth Book of Body Horror, Exit Wounds, Wonderland (a Shirley Jackson Award finalist), Cursed, Twice Cursed and The Other Side of Never, featuring authors such as Neil Gaiman, Joanne Harris, Dean Koontz, Catriona Ward and Stephen King. They have also been involved in organizing conventions for twenty years, co-chairing ChillerCon in Scarborough in May 2022. Find out more at their sites shadow-writer.co.uk and marieoregan.net. Submit 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. Please only submit unpublished/original/new stories for consideration. Reprints will not be accepted for consideration. For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word. We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months...

Deadline: August 10th, 2023 Payment: $20 Theme: Shapeshifters September Shapeshifters SUBMISSIONS CLOSE: August 10th Submissions Requirements Submissions will be read in the order they are received. Please only submit one previously unpublished story per month. You will receive notification within one week of your chosen month's submission end date. Please be sure to send in your best work; all submissions are final. Do not send us unrequested re-writes after your initial submission. Please note, we will not consider any submissions written, developed, or assisted by A.I. writing tools; please do not submit A.I. written stories to us. We are looking for a total of 4-8 stories per month, so please get your submission in as soon as possible. We are offering $20 per short story. Please attach your 1500-2000 word story in .docx format (12 pt Times/double spaced) to an email with a brief query. Please specify which month/theme you are submitting for. *Please include a trigger warning in your submissions email for any instances of child/animal death/abuse.   Poetry Submissions Requirements Note: Poetry submissions close on the 20th of each month, 10 days after the story submissions close. Submissions will be read in the order they are received. Please only submit one previously unpublished poem per month. You will receive notification within one week of your chosen month's submission end date. Please send to the correct email. We are looking for a total of two poems per month, so please get your submissions in as soon as possible. We are offering $10 per poem. Please attach your 50 word minimum (maximum of 20 lines) poem to an email with a brief query, including its title (if applicable). Please specify which month/theme you are submitting for. *Please include a trigger warning in your submissions email for any instances of child/animal...

Deadline: August 11th, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Cozy cosmic horror UNDERLAND PRESS is publishing SHUB-NIGGURATH'S SWEATER, a cozy cosmic horror anthology. This project will be edited by Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito and Mark Teppo, and it will be launching in October 2023. THE PITCH: We acknowledge the futility inherent in cosmic horror. There are no winners in this life. Ultimately, we are insignificant and existence is meaningless. The best minds gibber at the unholiness of it all, and then cack off because they can't comprehend any alternative. Whatever. The rest of us still have to get up in the morning and go to work. We want to see stories about those who continue on. Stories about those who know their spouses are planning on sacrificing them during the next full moon, but in the meantime, these spouses make a solid mac and cheese and they listen when you bitch about the absurd emptiness that is the day job. Send us stories about those who shed a quiet tear as they wait for the tea kettle to boil, knowing who they buried—for the second time—in the yard less than an hour ago. Tell us tales of those who know where the black wool comes from, but they wear the sweater anyway because it was a gift—an expression of love—and, well, screw being alone because that’s worse than the horror of the unknowable, isn’t it? This is Shub-Niggurath’s Sweater. Wrap it tight. Burn some sage. Light a few candles. Yes, the Old Ones are out there, but there's no reason not to be cozy. THE DETAILS: This project is on an extremely short deadline. The submission window is open now and closes August 11th, 2023. Stories should be between 1,000 and 5,000 words. We'll consider longer stories, but we're not interested in novellas for...

Deadline: August 15th, 2023 Payment: ½ cent a word Theme: Flash feel-good fantasy stories Here are the guidelines for our first flash fiction anthology. It must be a fiction short story, not an essay or poem.1000 words maximum.We want a feel-good fantasy story, if not feel-good, make someone in the story happy. Soft revenge and kismet are under the umbrella of feel good or satisfying, (No outright horror, gore, or overall nastiness.)  IRONY AND HUMOR ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED AS WELL AS A GOOD TWIST. We do not want: Sword & Sorcery, animals living in little animal villages, acting and thinking like humans, and dressing in clothing, current politics or religious opinions in the story, we are not a soapbox, no reprints that have ever been published online and are still available online. (Amazon does not carry eBooks with stories that are available online. ) AND NO AI WRITTEN STORIES WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!Opening The Ides Of May 5/15.  Closing: The dog days of August 8/15 11:59 EST  You may submit up to two stories submitted individually. Submit to: [email protected]  Format: Standard manuscript format. If you don't know what that is look up Shunn Format.  If it is not in proper format it will not be read.   Word .doc and .docx. NOTHING ELSE. Subject line should read: SUBMISSION: Title - author's last name - word countPAYMENT:  ½ cent a word via PayPal. Via: Jersey Pines Ink.

  Deadline: August 15th, 2023 Payment: $10 Theme: Halloween We are now OPEN to poetry and fiction submissions for our Halloween 2023 Issue, as well as fiction submissions for our summer challenge, deadline 8/15/23. Tales from the Moonlit Path publishes dark, eerie, speculative stories. Horror is not a necessary element, although fiction should contain some aspect of the weak, frail, changeable human condition. Gore and explicit sex for the sake of visceral shock will not find a home here, though we are not opposed to it in general, if it belongs in the story. We are interested in character-driven stories more so than plot-driven, and we prefer dark fiction that makes us think, makes us feel, wraps us in its well-spun dream. Hard sci-fi and fantasy are a hard sell for us, but not impossible. Revenge and ironic stories are also a hard sell. Although we would love to publish fiction longer than 2,000 words, it is our experience that reading stories longer than that on a monitor can be tiresome and hard on the eyes. So please, fiction must be no longer than 2,000 words. Please include a short cover letter with your story, your name, email address, paypal information for payment, word count (please make sure an accurate word count is included in your short cover letter) and bio if we choose to publish your work. We accept email submissions only at [email protected]. WE DO NOT ACCEPT ATTACHMENTS. If your story is attached, it will be deleted unread. Please submit your story embedded within the email, with this format in the subject line: Your last name: Fiction-submission. Please use regular formatting. 12 point Helvetica or similar font, double spaced is HIGHLY appreciated. We do NOT send received notifications for fiction submissions but feel free to query us after six weeks if...

Deadline: August 19th, 2023 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Masks 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 96) Masks II: deadline 19th August 2023 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...

Deadline: August 25, 2023 Payment: .10 Per Word Theme: Queer Neurodivergent Horror of any sub-genre/trope A Queer Neurodivergent Horror Anthology edited by Aquino Loayza, Lor Gislason, and Roxie Voorhees. Deadline: August 25, 2023 Payment: .10 Per Word Theme: Queer Neurodivergent Horror of any sub-genre/trope Deep in the recesses of our minds are twisted realities that closely mirror our own. In these pages our nightmares are laid bare, made to manifest. There is no waking up, there is no going back once you fall into the tapestry of terrors that await. Are you ready? Aquino Loayza, author of the queer New England folklore horror novel Deep, Roxie Voorhees, author of The Longest Thirst: A Splatterwestern, and Lor Gislason, the mastermind behind the dark and twisted body horror novel Inside Out present   SPECTRUM   Submission guidelines: Submissions open June 16, 2023. Please email all submissions to [email protected]. All writers are welcomed to submit, but editors heavily encourage Own Voices from marginalized communities. No writer will be asked to out themself or prove their racial identity or neurodivergency. What we’re looking for: Horror prose related to neurodivergency of any sub-genre, genre chimera, or trope. What we’re NOT looking for: Fanfiction, abelist/bigoted stories. Abelist/bigoted characters are okay as long as the overall message isn’t derogatory. Word count: Under 4,000 words   Formating: DOC or DOCx only Standard Manuscript format: Attached is a link to help you, we don’t need your address in this information, just an example: https://www.shunn.net/format/ Save document as: Last, First- Title- Word Count   Content warnings will be utilized. Please include any potential content warnings in your cover letter. Authors may send up to TWO stories each. Simultaneous submissions are allowed but notify us if your story is accepted elsewhere as soon as possible. No reprints. All submissions must be the original, unpublished work of the author....

Deadline: August 27th, 2023 Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Theme: Ghost Stories by African and African-diaspora writers Following our hugely successful Black Sci-Fi Short Stories, First Peoples Shared Stories, Immigrant Sci-Fi Short Stories and Asian Ghost Short Stories, we're now seeking tales from African and African-diaspora writers to be included in our powerful collection of African Ghost Short Stories. The volume will explore the deep-seated supernatural element in African storytelling – whether reaching back to the spirits, ancestors and ogres of folklore or the vibrantly modern ghosts of today's African horror. New and contemporary stories will complement poignant folktales such as ‘The Story of Takane’ from Lesotho and  ‘The Disobedient Daughter Who Married a Skull’ from Nigeria. The book will delve into the fascinating heritage of African ghostly lore and literature, encouraging it to be reclaimed and retold by contemporary African voices. As with the collections mentioned above, this new title in the Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy series will be supported by a new Foreword (written by award-winning Nigerian-British writer Nuzo Onoh) and a new Introduction. We are also proud to announce that we are working in partnership with outstanding African literature magazine Brittle Paper. Nuzo Onoh (foreword) is an award-winning Nigerian-British writer of speculative fiction. She is a pioneer of the African horror literary subgenre. Hailed as the ‘Queen of African Horror’, Nuzo’s writing showcases both the beautiful and horrific in the African culture within fictitious narratives. She is a Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Nuzo’s works have featured in numerous magazines, podcasts, and anthologies, and have been longlisted, shortlisted and recommended. She has given talks and lectures about African Horror, including at the prestigious Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, London. Her works have also appeared in academic and feminist studies and she has also featured in Starburst magazine, the world’s longest-running magazine of cult entertainment. Nuzo holds a...

Newsletter | Flash Fiction Guidelines Authors submitting must sign up to the Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter, here. Submission window announced in each Newsletter, and on social media, at the beginning of each month. Usually one horror, one sci-fi. Themes to be announced each month. Submit by email to [email protected]. Preferred format is .doc, .docx or .rtf, double-spaced, with author email at the top of the first page. Use the story theme as the subject heading on your email. One entry per author. Add full author details at the end of the story, to include published work, influences, hometown and social media links. Only original, unpublished work, will be considered. (although we do accept reprints for our short story anthologies submissions). 1000 word count. Actually we allow a strict range from 700-1000 words. Please indicate at the top of the submission. Submission window usually 2 weeks. Confirmation will be made in the form of acceptance or (polite!) rejection. Successful authors will receive a simple contract for the primary purpose of publication in the Newsletter, and possible publication in a later printed form. Payment will be 8 cents for each word (SFWA qualifying market rate) and 6 cents for reprints. Once the contract is signed by the author and Flame Tree, payment will be made in 30 days by Paypal, (to reduce costs of money transfer for both parties). Alternative arrangements can be made if necessary. Good luck, and thank you...

Submission Window: July 31, 2023-August 6, 2023 for marginalized voices; August 7, 2023-August 28, 2023 for all submitters Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Disquieting and disturbing New Weird horror set in landscapes and communities on the edge of the sea. The Off-Season is an anthology of disquieting and disturbing New Weird horror set in landscapes and communities on the edge of the sea. These coastal stories defamiliarize the ordinary, evoke dread even in the daylight, and haunt like half-remembered nightmares. Think ocean-loving cults, crumbling seaside mansions, empty resort towns, strange fisherwomen, beachside arcades, eerie lighthouses, literal tourist traps, jellyfish swarms, red tides, oil spills, intertidal zones, salt marshes, gaudy luxury hotels reclaimed by sea, the cosmic indifference of capitalism, creeping urchins, thousand-yard stares, wrecked cruise ships, weird biotech, evening dock workers, and slippery marine metamorphosis. I’m especially looking for uncanny ecology, uneasy atmosphere, and strange characters who are either transcending their environment or subsiding into it. I’d love to see unusual coastal settings from around the world, or traditionally romanticized settings transformed into places of unfamiliarity and subtle wrongness. Most of all, I’m looking for fiction that makes the reader feel uncomfortable dread mixed with intense curiosity. Not sure if your story is New Weird? New Weird is a subgenre of horror-fantasy that slides along the margins of other speculative fiction genres, subverts old tropes and conventions, and/or plays with form, style, and ideas. Its roots are in the subtle ambiguity and mystery of Weird horror and the subversive playfulness of New Wave science-fiction, but it is constantly innovating itself. For me, the best of New Weird blends the mundane with the sublime, the grimy with the divine, and the grotesque with the beautiful. It seduces and horrifies at the same time, filling the reader with a quiet kind of dread-fascination. While the genre dwells...

Deadline: August 30th, 2023 Payment: $5 Theme: Short stories about casual encounters of fictional people with serial killers Have you ever wondered about the ordinary people who came in contact with famous serial killers before everyone knew them for their depraved, murderous acts? What did Jeffrey Dahmer's plumber experience when he unclogged the notorious cannibal's toilet? Or how about the guy who worked in the music shop where Charles Manson had his guitars strung? The girl who waited on Ted Bundy at his favorite coffee shop? Jack the Ripper's neighborhood bartender? How about one of the kids who had John Wayne Gacey perform as a clown at their birthday party? For this anthology, we're looking for short stories about casual encounters of fictional people with serial killers, that turned creepy or deadly. Stories can be straight crime/thriller stories or ones with a supernatural bent (haunted objects, ghosts, demons, etc.). Characters and victims, aside from the serial killers, must be fictional—real names of victims or family members can not be used. Also, feel free to use lesser-known killers like Richard Speck or The Boston Strangler, in case the Bundy and Manson stories start piling up like the bodies of their victims... Note: Stories should not lionize or celebrate the serial killers, or promote racism, bigotry, or depictions of violence against children. PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * Up to 5k word count (although we are incredibly flexible for awesome stories!) * Write SERIAL KILLERS along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated...

Submission Window: April 2nd to August 31st Payment: Half cent per word Theme: Speculative Fiction taking place in the Wild West Graveyard Boots: The Old West. Lawless. Filthy. Challenges were numerous. Justice was haphazard. One could die from a gunshot, a snakebite, a disease, or any number of reasons. It was not a place for the weak of heart. And that was just the wild west all by itself. For “Graveyard Boots,” we seek stories that add creatures, gunslingers, ghouls, ill omens, bad luck, evil minds, monsters and more to the already desolate landscape and ghost towns. Yet there was still humor back in those days of yore, and with “Graveyard Boots,” stories with humor will give you a leg up. "Graveyard Boots" Guidelines: Here are a couple of tips to put your story in better position to be accepted. 1. Fit the theme. Old West. Horror. Of course, Jolly Horror Press loves humor. 2. Be within our word count guidelines (for “Graveyard Boots”, 2500 to 5500) or query us for shorter/longer. 3. No matter how good your story is, if it hasn't been edited, there is a big chance we won't accept it. In the past, we've accepted stories that needed a lot of editing work, but it took so much effort to make them presentable. We aren't doing that anymore. If within a page or two of reading the story we find a bunch of editing issues, it's going to be rejected. 4. Be unique. No matter what the theme of the anthology is, you should always be unique. If it's a stalker anthology for example, and your ex or some guy you work with is your stalker, it's trite. If your grandma is stalking your fiancée, well, that's unique. 5. At Jolly Horror Press, we prefer subtle horror. We generally don't like gruesome and overly bloody stuff. If someone...

Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Payment: 2 cents per word and royalties and a paperback for US authors Theme: Bold, imaginative fantasy, horror, and sci-fi sculpted to thrill and entertain readers with the bizarre or delve into the shadows. Finish it off with a twist of betrayal! Our 2024 edition. Submissions open on June 1, 2023. Theme: Hidden Villains: Betrayed– Bold, imaginative fantasy, horror, and sci-fi sculpted to thrill and entertain readers with the bizarre or delve into the shadows. Finish it off with a twist of betrayal! Betrayed- double-cross, fail, deceive, cheat, sell-out, let down, stitch up, rat out, turn traitor, rat on, expose, reveal, lay bare, stab in the back. There is no restriction as to how you incorporate the theme into your story as long as the genre falls within Speculative Fiction, including Sci-Fi or Fantasy. We encourage you to weave the theme into an engaging story with well-developed characters and deep emotion. Suspense and thrillers are encouraged over horror for this anthology, but a great horror story will rise to the top. Stories that contain infanticide, rape, or gratuitous gore will not be accepted. Submission Period: June 1, 2023 to August 31, 2023 Submissions: 1 per author; no reprints, no simultaneous submissions, no AI; Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 2,000 to 8,000 words Submission Guidelines: Anonymous submission with no author name in document; 12 pt Times or Arial; .Doc or .Docx; double-space; first line indent; no tabs used. Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi Anticipated Pay: .02 per word + Royalty share from all Draft 2 Digital sales. A paperback author’s copy will be provided for US authors. Authors outside of the US will receive at least a digital copy, depending on shipping costs on a case by case basis. Each story will receive a share from Draft 2 Digital’s wide...

Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Payment: AU$5.00 - under 3.000 words,. AU$10.00 - between 3,000 and 7,000 words, AU$15.00 - between 8,000 and 11,000 words, AU$20.00 - between 11,000 and 20, 000 words Theme: All genres, all themes! Yabblins is our theme-free collection. All themes, all genres, all the time. Deadline: August 31 2023 Word count: 1000 - 20,000 words Payment: AU$5.00 - under 3,000 words AU$10.00 - between 3,000 and 7,000 words AU$15.00 - between7,000 and 11,000 words AU$20.00 - between 11,000 and 20,000 words Please ensure that you read through the general guidelines and format your submission accordingly. If you have any specific questions please contact us using the form on the home page or via the listed social media accounts. To help make sure that your submission gets to the correct place, please include the following in the subject line of your email: Yabblins - Story Title. Via: Gypsum Sound Tales.

Deadline: August 31t, 2023 Payment: $5 Theme: Weirder Still 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. 2023’s Themes and Deadlines: Weirder Still (Aug. 31) What’ve you got to show us? Stories and / or Poems For Stories: We’re open to micro works all the way up to 10,000 words. Just keep two things in mind: We want to be engaged and the submission must be completed (no pitches, please!) For Poems: We’d love to see up to five poems from you, but you can always just send one, too. Art As long as it has some tie to the current issue’s theme, we’re open to see any art created in any medium at any time. Just know that it will need to “work in print” and—might—be presented in black and white. For ART ONLY, you may choose to submit via email by sending jpgs, PDFs, or PNGs to chrisatquarterpress(at)gmail(dot)com 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. For Graphic Work / Comics, you may choose to submit via email by sending jpgs, PDFs, or PNGs to chrisatquarterpress(at)gmail(dot)com 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...

Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Payment: $50, three physical copies of the anthology, and a lifetime subscription to all future Solar Press Horror Anthologies Theme: All forms of horror welcome. A brand new anthology project designed to give new voices in the genre a chance to be heard. Whether you write subtle, gothic ghost stories, or extreme, high-concept body horror, if it's good, we want it! 1. Stories must be provided as a .doc or .docx file, attached to an email. 2. Email subject must be formatted as follows: , , by . 3. The body of the email must only contain a plot synopsis. No other information. 4. 10,000 words maximum, no minimum. 5. Stories must be in English. 6. Stories must be fully edited and ready to print. 7. Stories made (or contributed to) with AI will be immediately rejected and you will be banned from submitting stories to future anthologies. 8. Author must be willing/able to provide exclusive worldwide reprint rights for a period not exceeding 1 year, and non-exclusive worldwide reprint rights for as long as the anthology remains in print. 9. No more than 2 submissions per author. 10. Submissions are international. If you can get your story to us, we'll consider it. Submissions close August 31st. If you have not heard from us by September 30th, please feel free to contact us about the status of your submission. Accepted stories will receive slight formatting edits if required. Outside of obvious typos or spelling errors, the text itself will not be edited. Not a word of your story will be changed. Contributors included in this year's anthology will receive $50, three physical copies of the anthology, and a lifetime subscription to all future Solar Press Horror Anthologies. All profits from this year's anthology will be donated to charity. TIPS: 1. We...

  Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Payment: $20 + a contributor copy of the magazine. We pay $10 (per piece) for work published in our online venues. Theme: ALL genres of horror, as well as sci-fi and dark fantasy Broken Antler is a literary magazine and publisher of work that is dark, speculative, experimental, unsettling, and absurd. BAM Quarterly, Broken Antler’s online journal, publishes creative work four times a year (during the months of October, January, April, and July). Submissions for Issue 1 open June 1 and close August 31. The Marrow, Broken Antler’s blog and home of our LGBTQIA+ creator series, is updated biweekly and currently accepting pitches for interviews, reviews, and essays, as well as creative submissions of micro fiction, poetry, and art. And Broken Antler Magazine is our annual print publication, featuring creative and critical work from emerging and established writers, artists, creators, and individuals working within the horror space. What We Publish: Broken Antler publishes ALL genres of horror, as well as sci-fi and dark fantasy. The editors are partial to a wide range of subgenres—body, cosmic, folk, gore, etc. (and our EIC likes any writing that screws with her sleep schedule). If your work fits into the horror genre, or is some version of fucked-up, send it our way. For poetry, creative nonfiction, and hybrid submissions, we’re looking for work that is haunting and monstrous, weird and bizarre. Extra points if your work is experimental or doing something unusual with form. Do NOT send us work featuring gratuitous sexual assault, violence against women and/or marginalized groups, or hate speech. Broken Antler is 100% run by women, several members of our editorial staff identify as LGBTQIA+, and we are committed to uplifting these and other previously silenced voices. NOTE: Submitted work should be previously unpublished. We do...

Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Payment: $20 Theme: An LGBTQ+ Alice in Wonderland themed anthology We’re opening the call for our newest anthology, Queens in Wonderland. This is an LGBTQ+ Alice in Wonderland themed anthology, and we want want to see it all. Throw some of those iconic characters into space. Put them in an urban fantasy. We’d love to see a cyberpunk or decopunk (or any punk!) version. A classic Lewis Carroll version would be good too. Feel free to take any of the characters (don’t forget about the White Queen or the Dormouse) or use any of the world-building from the classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass and what Alice Found There you wish. If you need more inspiration, consider these prompts: It’s time for tea, but your main character’s running late The Queen of Hearts has invited your character to a garden ball The Mad Hatter is nowhere to be found The White Knight is talking backwards and you need them to solve a mystery Cheshire has appeared in an urban downtown, and is directing you down an alley Requirements: 1,500-5,000 word count LGBTQ+ Nothing with gratuitous violence, rape, or abuse of animals/children Cursing is fine, within reason Romance and sex is fine within reason, but no erotica Submissions close on Aug 31st Payment: We will be paying $20 USD dollars upon signing of the contract and you’ll receive an e-book once publication is complete. Paperback contributor copies at cost plus $2.00 will be available too. How to submit: Please format according to these standards Double spaced, readable font, aligned to the left 12 Font Times New Roman Please don’t hit “tab” Please don’t put two spaces between sentences This article goes into other details that make a huge difference in the presentation of...

Submission Window: July 30th to August 31st, 2023 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Horror that takes place in shopping malls There’s something amiss at the mall. Elderly mallwalkers are being devoured by an unseen creature. A mad scientist is building a doomsday device out of Radio Shack parts. Post apocalypse, survivors attempt to recreate their 90s memories in a ruined mall. Each day when a boy checks Google Maps, the fancy new mall looks bigger—and closer to his village. Escalators to Hell: Shopping Mall Horrors is a new collection of horror and dark sci-fi stories about shopping malls past, present, and future. Emerging in the United States as a paragon of post-World War II prosperity, the shopping mall was imagined as a cheery, futuristic, well-designed alternative to the messy and hazardous downtowns of old, providing housewives and children with a safe space to shop and entertain themselves. Malls served middle-class suburbanites dependent on cars and eager to spend their disposable income on mass produced goods. The mall has often been a subject of derision as a harbinger of cultural zombification and whitewashing. As the decades have passed, the mall has declined in prestige but also become more accessible to broader groups of people in the US. Shopping malls, too, have spread to most countries around the world. Pop-culture has viewed malls through many lenses: optimist and innovative, symbolic of racist city planning and policing, a source of nostalgia for freer spending and youthful naivety, a place for community, and a signifier of a nation’s wealth and connections to a global consumer network. But in this collection, one thing is universal: something ominous is happening at the local mall. Escalators to Hell: Shopping Mall Horrors is a document of one-stop shopping gone wrong. Kickstarter We’re raising $3500 to help defray the costs of publication—but...

Submission Window: 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 emotional depth. Meditative stories that...

Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $5 per poem Theme: Where cosmic horror meets campy romantic comedy! Romance. Laughter. Tentacles... Welcome to where cosmic meets cute Welcome to the Necronomi-RomCom! About this Project On the face of it, blending the Necronomicom and a Rom-Com seems obvious.  Once the idea came into my mind in the summer of 2022, it wouldn’t leave until I decided to make it into a reality.  The goal is to see how many engaging ways people can blend humor, love, and the mythos. Love can be funny and it can be scary, why can’t it be both?  While also having big teeth, or tentacles, or even too many eyes? We hope this is just the first project that will link disparate concepts in unusual ways. Just because the cosmic flirts with disaster doesn’t mean it can’t flirt with other things! In this anthology, we’re looking for cosmic tales with a light romantic twist. Think couples visiting Leng on blind dates and Carcosa on their honeymoons, Valentine's Day roses tinted with the Color Out of Space, and brains in jars finding everlasting love with Mi-go. Think the lost pages of the Necronomicon written in sonnet form, Shoggoths shape-changing to impress the objects of their affection, and Nyarlathotep crushing on someone while Azathoth is piping a love song. Send us your best blend of cosmic and romance… just no erotica. Satire is great, and a little bit of dark is always welcome—after all, just because depressed, angry Deep Ones meet cute too doesn’t mean it’s all a bed of roses. That said? We look forward to reading your most imaginative comic romance fantasies! Open to poetry, and stories 1,000 to 6,000 words, in English. We are not considering stories written, or co-written, by AI at this...

Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Payment: Royalties and a contributors copy Theme: An anthology of new, original weird and strange fiction set between 1938 and 1946 CORE CONCEPT: An anthology of new, original weird and strange fiction set between 1938 and 1946 – from (and including) the Spanish Civil War to the immediate winding down of conflicts after World War Two. Weird fiction is a mode of writing which includes the subversion of many standard tropes, or more imaginative interpretations, and has a strong psychological component, so please bear that in mind. SETTING: Geographically, stories should fall in the zone from Ireland to Russia, the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean shores. Stories can be set during direct military conflicts or far from battle, where distant wars have local repercussions for society or individuals. We’re not looking for ‘war stories’ so much as stories set DURING the war across Europe and showing some awareness of its impact. This was a bleak time for most. Go inventive with this one, such as (a few throwaway illustrations): Something unnatural walking through the fires of the London Blitz German occupiers learning terror in an isolated Norwegian village Dread and disquiet amongst the Free French in Tunisia US troops lost in the Ardennes Families in Britain sensing a wrongness about returnees Torn loyalties and minds in Ireland Horror in the snows of the Eastern Front An Italian soldier dealing with fear by disassociating from reality Balkan partisans trapped in the mountains Communities trying to pretend that there is no war APPROACH: Submissions could cover themes such as the intrusion of the ab-natural into the natural, the changing nature of society, and psychosocial issues at any level. Cosmic Horror is very relevant — explore the realisation that we are potentially insignificant in the cosmos, and that our understanding of the...

Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Prizes: First Place – £20, Second Place – £10, Third Place – £10 Theme: Halloween Short Stories We are currently OPEN for submissions. The winners of the 2023 Halloween competition will be announced in October. We’ll be back with another competition in the new year! Keep an eye out for the next theme. Submit stories to [email protected] – please read the below guidelines before submitting. 2023 Halloween Short Story Competition We want your spookiest horror short stories! Anything goes: from your classic ghosts, vampires and werewolves to something a little stranger. We are looking for short stories of no longer than 2,500 words that include horror elements. This means the overall genre can be non-horror, but there must be something in there that is spooky and gives us a scare. It could be a monster story, a killer on the loose, someone/something unnatural, or somewhere haunted. It’s up to you! If it keeps us up at night, it counts. Closing Date: August 31st 2023, 11:59 PM Winners Announced: October 2023 Prizes: First Place – £20 Second Place – £10 Third Place – £10 The top 15 to 20 stories will be published in our Halloween anthology in October 2023. For this competition, all submissions from young writers (aged 16 and under) will be judged separately for our Young Writer’s Award. The prize for this is £10 and website publication. Submission Guidelines Your story must be no longer than 2,500 words (not including the title) Only one story permitted per person; you can enter again if you entered our previous competitions Stories must be in English All stories should be written in Times New Roman, in 12pt, and double spaced. Stories must be submitted in Microsoft Word Please include your name (or preferred pseudonym), age, story title,...

Submissions Window: August 1st - 31st, 2023 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Upbeat and/or comedic fantasy, science fiction or horror stories Got an original, unpublished story? We would love to feature your upbeat and/or comedic fantasy, science fiction or horror story. Our next submission window will be 1st August to 31st August. Submissions will be accepted via an email address that will be posted here at that time. Formatting   We accept documents as .doc, .docx or, if you must, .rtf. Please follow Shunn’s modern manuscript format. Multiple Submissions   Please submit one story at a time. Unless otherwise directed, please wait 7 days to submit in the event that your story isn't a good fit. Word Limit   100-6,000 words. We intend to accept an equal number of flash-fiction and short stories. Simultaneous Submissions   Submitting to us and others at the same time is not only accepted, but encouraged! We do ask that you notify us as soon as possible if your submission is accepted elsewhere. Payment and Rights   We pay $0.01 per word for original, unpublished fiction. Payment is via PayPal only. We require First Print and Digital rights with a six-month period of exclusivity from the date of publication. All other rights remain with the author. Time Length   We aim to make our final decisions within a month of the submission window closing. You will often receive a response much sooner. If you haven’t heard from us by that time, please query via e-mail with query in the subject line. What we don’t want: Non-speculative fiction   If there is not an element of fantasy, science fiction or horror then we are not the target market for your story. Reprints   We accept reprints by request only (Although we do intend to change this...

Submission Window: August 15th - 31st, 2023 Payment: $0.05 per word for fiction, $50 per poem Theme: Reclamation Apparition Lit is open for poetry and short story submissions four times a year. February 15-28 (March 1-7 BIPOC creators only) May 15-31 (June 1-7 BIPOC creators only) August 15-31 (September 1-7 BIPOC creators only) November 15-30 (December 1-7 BIPOC creators only) Submissions received outside of posted open dates will be deleted unread. Please note that we will not accept AI-generated content submissions. This includes stories or poetry that are written or co-written by AI. We will only accept previously unpublished, complete stories between 1000-5000 words. If the story is complete with an extra hundred words, then it will still be considered. Any stories over 5,100 words, excerpted from a larger work, or incorrectly formatted, will automatically be rejected. Apparition is a semi-pro magazine, paying $0.05 per word, a minimum of $50.00 USD (excluding flash contest). 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. We are now accepting submissions through Moksha. Please follow the guidelines below when submitting your work: Format the story using the Shunn manuscript  — you do not need to include your physical address or phone number. Please only use Times New Roman or Arial font in your document. Name the file using the story title and your last name, i.e. THE SWAMP EXCHANGE_Barker. This helps us find your story in the submissions list. Provide a brief cover letter that includes your full name, the title of the short story, word count, and any relevant publications. Please do not include a synopsis. All acceptances and rejections will be emailed by the 15th day of the following month after submissions close. We currently do not have the available time...

Submission Window: August 1st - 31st, 2023 (Listing early so you can start writing.) Payment: 10 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: Why doesn't your character just leave the scary situation that they find themselves in? Why Didn’t You Just Leave submission call (August 2023) Nadia Bulkin and Julia Rios are excited to read your submissions for Why Didn’t You Just Leave, an anthology of original horror short fiction. It’s the question asked of any story about a haunting: why didn’t you just leave? If accounts of people who have stayed in haunted houses are any indication, it’s never that simple. There are a lot of reasons why people don’t just leave scary situations, and we’d like to see smart, spooky stories that reflect the complexity behind that question. A link to our Moksha submissions portal will appear here on August 1, 2023. What we’re looking for: Stories that focus on all the possible reasons why people don’t just leave haunted places – including finances, family, legal restrictions, health, etc. Stories about “ordinary” people and places (including apartments, workplaces, schools, military bases, hospitals, churches, etc.)  as well as extraordinary situations. Our editorial team is BIPOC and queer, and we especially encourage submissions from writers of marginalized and traditionally-underrepresented groups. Timeline This anthology will be funded via Kickstarter in summer 2023. Our submissions period will be open from August 1 – August 31, 2023. Acceptances will go out in September 2023, with edits to follow in the fall. We anticipate publication in spring of 2024. Word count 500 – 5,000 words. Simultaneous submissions are fine – just let us know if your story gets accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions are fine – maximum 3 per author. No reprints, please – we’re looking for original fiction only. Formatting: Format your story in...

Submission Window: August 1-31st, 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 on the...

Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Stories that are ghoulish or "fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky" We are…blown away by this cover, and we can’t wait to fill it with a bunch of gnarly stories. 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. GUIDELINES: Deadline: August 31, 2023 (11:59 PM CST) Word count: 5,000 max (short stories); 3,000 max (non-fiction) Payment: 10c per word Simultaneous Submissions: Yes Multiple Submissions: No (Please only submit one story per open call. If we reject you, do not resubmit until we reopen for the next issue.) Reprints: No AI Submissions: No. Please note if you are caught sending us an AI story, you will be blacklisted from ever publishing with us in the future. Don’t do it. How to submit: Send all stories & essays to ghoulishsubmissions @ gmail dot com with – – in the subject line. Please do not copy/paste the story in the body of the email. We prefer Word doc attachments if possible. All inquiries can also be directed to the same address. As you wait, feel free to come hang out in the GHOULISH discord. Thank you and good luck, ghouls! Via: Ghoulish Books.

Deadline: August 31st, 2023 Payment: 10 cents per word for the magazine (free to submit) $3,000 for the contest (fee to submit.) Theme: Write a story involving Sunken Secrets, and a jewel. Note: Elegant Literature has a magazine that is free to submit to and a contest that there are fees to submit to. We're obviously hyping the magazine portion as we don't believe in fees but want to include all of the details for those who are interested. Plunge into the abyss. Embrace the cold, unfathomable depths. What secrets lie beneath these waves? Descend, deeper still, until the sunlight becomes a distant memory… Shipwrecks, submersibles, and silence. Ancient secrets in watery graves. Strong currents pull you through cities cloaked in coral, where unknown creatures lurk in the shadows. Siren songs echo in the deep. A mermaid’s melody—Poseidon’s puzzle. Down here, far from tides and tempests, the world above is a lifetime away. Or is it what you’ve anchored deep within yourself, a buried truth? The pressure turns your own thoughts to monsters. Claustrophobia, drowning, the unknowable void. The frozen sea of an icy moon, the magic at the bottom of a Faerie pool, the treasure lost in quicksand. There’s life below, so dive into the abyss or the subconscious. Sunken Secrets are ready to be revealed… can you handle them? This contest invites you to explore Sunken Secrets, whatever that means to you. Elegant Literature is the first short fiction magazine to pay professional rates but not accept submissions from pros. Our mission is to help new writers earn their first publishing credits—and their first dollar—from writing stories. To date, we have published 165 new authors across 21 issues, and put over $100,000 into the hands of writers around the globe. It’s free to submit to the magazine, and...

Deadline: September 1st, 2023 Payment: $25 for art, 8 cents per word for fiction Theme: Stories that contain significant speculative elements. The Basics Stories should be submitted to [email protected]. All stories must be under 1200 words (not including the title and byline). All stories over 1200 words will sadly be rejected automatically. All stories must contain significant speculative elements. This does not mean all sci-fi stories must have lasers and rockets. It just means a non-speculative story doesn’t become speculative if you include a single line clarifying the story takes place on Mars. When to Submit Because of the time needed to evaluate submissions and prepare stories for publication, Orion’s Belt has a limited submission window. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to you. Stories submitted outside the submission window will not be deleted, but they will not be read until the submission window re-opens. Our current submission window opened March 1st. This submission window will remain open until September 1st. Art Submissions Art submissions are currently open. We’re looking for cover art for issues of our magazine. Payment is a flat $25. The art should fit the ethos of this magazine and thus should feature speculative elements, but there are otherwise no major restrictions on what we’re looking for. If you have artwork you would like us to consider, submit it to us with a subject line that’s some variation on the basic format of “Art Submission - Artwork Name (Artist’s Name).” All art submissions should be directed to [email protected]. Keep in mind that we tend to take significantly longer to respond to art submissions than to story submissions, though we will eventually respond to every submission. For examples of what we’re looking for, check the cover art of Flash Fiction Online or Uncanny Magazine, though keep...

Deadline: September 1st, 2023 Payment: 5 cents per word for original and 1 cent per word for reprints Theme: speculative elements and involve the strangeness of the fey folk and their interactions with mortals. Deadline is September 1, 2023 Stories must have speculative elements and involve the strangeness of the fey folk and their interactions with mortals. Please be aware there is a difference between fairy tales and tales with fairies. If you have not read So Fey... why are you even submitting to us? Stories do not need to be romantic; endings do not have to be happy. But any work that punishes an individual for being queer will not be accepted. When in doubt, query us. Stories should be 2,500 to 10,000 words. Standard formatting please (Times New Roman 12, double space, etc). Payment for original fiction will be 5 cents a word for one-time print and digital rights. Payment for reprints is a bit more than 1 cent a word. Additionally, contributors will receive two copies of the finished book. Publication will be sometime in 2024. Via: Lethe Press Books.

Submission Window: September 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: September 2nd, 2023 Payment: $10 and a contributors copy Theme: A throwback to old-school lit mags Welcome to the Unstamatic Newsprint Issue, Vol. 2! The Newsprint project is a throwback to old-school lit mags that were, once upon a time, printed in newspaper format and distributed on the streets, guerrilla style. We’re bringing it back.What we’re looking for: Prose of 500 words or fewer Poetry of 25 lines or fewer Visual art of any sort (but bonus if it’s small/can be scaled down to fit the margins) We’re primarily interested in unpublished pieces, though we may consider exceptional previously published works, so long as you currently hold the rights. Submissions close Sept. 2, 2023 Unstamatic pays $10 USD per accepted piece, plus a complimentary contributor copy. The Newsprint Issue will be available first as a physical publication for order, and later as a downloadable digital publication. We hope to have the Newsprint Issue Vol. 2 in our hands by October 2023, though this is a tentative timeline subject to change. We ask for first publication rights, and upon publication all rights revert back to you. If you want to know more about what you’re getting into, hit up our store page for a free download of Vol. 1. Via: Unstamatic.