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Deadline: June 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Dark Fantasy Do you love dark and gritty fantasy settings? What about situations of overwhelming odds? Then you may want to submit to Darkest Shadow, Brightest Light. A Dark Fantasy anthology where the situation can be as grim as you want it to be, even ending in personal tragedy (Death of the heroes), but they need to succeed in the end.   We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more. Genre: Dark Fantasy Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening by: TBD Edited by: Benjamin Tyler Smith Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: TBD (In the guidelines, on their main call page it indicates June 1st, 2024.) Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Dark Fantasy” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors.   We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore porn) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press for submissions in this genre at tanglewoodromance...

Deadline: July 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Creature Feature Horror Comedy After the success of the previous Trailer Park anthologies, we’ve decided to bring it back for another release of fun Creature Feature Horror. Stories should be original creature-feature, horror-comedy with the same feel as The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, Shaun of the Dead, or Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. And of course, our heroes winning the day in all of their redneck glory. The added challenge this year, should you choose to accept it, volume 4 submissions can have a “Holiday or Vacation” (depending on where in the world you are from) twist to it. Not sure what we’re looking for? Think Bubba and Earl go on a cruise, only to deal with the cruise ship of the damned. Genre: Horror Comedy / Creature Feature Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: July 1, 2024 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Trailer Park” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. Please follow the Three Ravens submission guidelines that can be found here Three Ravens Publishing.

Deadline: July 1st, 2024 Payment: Contributor's Copy Theme: Speculative poems and micro-prose (300 words max.) engaging with themes of environmentalism, climate change, technology, and more through a lens of Midwestern experience. Middle West Press LLC, an independent micro-publisher based in Central Iowa, has issued a call for human-generated poems and micro-prose (300 words max.) engaging with themes of environmentalism, climate change, technology, and more through a lens of Midwestern experience. The working title of this project is Midwest Futures: Poems from Tomorrow's Heartland. Deadline for submissions is Jul. 1, 2024. Publication is projected for Spring/Summer 2025. Submit via Submittable here at this link. This is explicitly a speculative poetry (and related micro-flash-prose) market. We are interested not only in the gritty and grounded, but also near-future science-fiction-infused visions of the possible. For inspirations and vibes, see also movements such “Solarpunk,” “Eco-modernism” and “Climate Fiction” (“Cli-Fi”), as well as these potential exemplars of eco-poetry and other writing: Field Guide to Invasive Species of Minnesota: Poems by Amelia Gorman “Botanical Fanaticism” and “Interpretation of a Poem by Frost” by Thylias Moss “8 Black Eco-Poets Who Inspire Us” - Sierra magazine “Five Indigenous Poets Explore Loss and Love of their Native Lands” - Natural Resource Defense Council Forever War by Kate Gaskin “Imagining the Future of Phoenix” - Arizona State University climate-writing exercise Special “Cli-Fi” issue of Guernica magazine Flyway: Journal of Writing and the Environment While we envision the Middle West as a renewing, evolving, and complicated place, but we are also not blind to the social and environmental challenges we face. We want to illuminate real-world problems specific to the region, including but not limited to climate change, racism, water quality, aging populations, rural/urban divide, and healthcare deserts. We want to imaginatively celebrate new possibilities, solutions, and futures. As with previous...

Deadline: July 1st, 2024 Payment: $20 USD Theme: A story about dogs in any of the following genres: Literary, Romance, Sci-Fi & Spec Fic, Mystery, Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retellings, Historical Fiction, Humor/Satire, Paranormal, Magical Realism, and others. (NOT Horror.) Theme: Dogs (A dog or dogs should figure prominently in the story in some way.) Deadline: July 1, 2024. Submissions are considered on a rolling basis, meaning that acceptance/rejection decisions are made as submissions come in. Authors can generally expect an initial response to their submission within 72 hours. Anthology Release Date: Fall 2024 (exact date TBD) Genres and categories accepted: Literary, Romance, Sci-Fi & Spec Fic, Mystery, Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retellings, Historical Fiction, Humor/Satire, Paranormal, Magical Realism, and others. No horror (spooky is okay), gratuitous violence, or erotica, please. No essays, CNF, poetry, or anything that isn’t fiction. No AI-generated or AI-assisted stories. All submissions should be original stories that have never been published elsewhere (including, but not limited to, social media, a personal blog or website, etc.). Reader Demographic: YA to adult Word count: Between 1,500-2,000 words Payment for accepted submissions: $20 USD (via PayPal, Zelle, or another, mutually agreed upon electronic payment method) Additional Notes: We are most interested in stories that encompass a complete narrative arc including an interesting/unexpected hook and/or twist and/or reversal and/or “aha!” moment for the reader. A standard, short fiction publishing agreement will be sent to each author upon acceptance. While accepted stories will be those that are extremely well-written and polished, authors should expect a relatively brief editing process to occur post-acceptance. Please note that we typically receive many submissions, and not all stories submitted will be accepted. Acceptance is based on quality of the writing (in the subjective opinions of editorial staff), how well the story fits the vision for this specific anthology, and author adherence to...

Deadline: July 1st, 2024 Payment: 2 cents per word and a contributors copy Theme: Poetry of any genre under 50 words in length Note: Reprints welcome Please send no more than five poems of no more than 50 words each. Many long poems are brilliant, but if they are more than 50 words (including title), send ’em elsewhere. We’re all about the number 50 here. Subject matter and theme are open to all possibiliies–except (and in a perfect world, this would not need to be said, but, alas . . .)–send nothing that advocates in favor of the ugly themes: racism, sexism, bigotry, hate speech of any sort, transphobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, etc. No animal cruelty or gratuitous violence. If you have an anti-racist/anti-cruelty, etc., poem you want to submit, send it along. Please, no AI-generated material of any sort. Tasteful hints of erotica may be acceptable, but pornographic material is not for The Number Fifty. We’re not allergic to laughter and are happy to consider comic or humorous poems. If more poets and editors had a sense of humor, poetry might be more popular. The only rights sought are one-time, non-exclusive rights to publish the poem on paper and online at The Number 50. Reprints are welcome as long as you own the rights. By submitting the poems, you assert that you own the rights to them. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but if you need to withdraw a submission, please do so promptly. Before publication, authors of accepted poems will be asked to affirm that they grant one-time rights for the poems to be published on paper in The Number 50 and on The Number 50 at thenumberfivezero.wordpress.com. Send submissions to thenumberfifty aol.com. Standard submission package, please–no more than five poems, and brief cover letter with brief bio. Submitted poems...

Anthology Payment: We offer $10 payment upon acceptance, a digital copy of the book, and authors can purchase physical copies of the book at wholesale price. Payments will grow as we do. Preparing and Sending Your Manuscript Deadline: July 1, 2024 midnight. Word Count minimum: 3,000 words Word Count maximum: 10,000 words Please only submit one story at a time. Simultaneous Submissions are allowed but please let us know if your story has been accepted elsewhere so we can pull it from the stack. Please include your real name, real street address and real phone number as well as your email address (presumably real) in the upper left hand corner on the first page of your manuscript. If you write under a pen name, you would put your pen name underneath the title on the first page of your manuscript. Manuscript should be in Word format with normal margins and 12 point Ariel or Times New Roman font (if you send us something in Comic Sans or Wingdings, we will cry). Title your email and cover letter with (Theme) Story and email it to [email protected] We will let you know if your story has been accepted or not by August 1, 2024. Thank you for submitting! Please Note: Wandwed reserves first publishing rights and rights to the story for one year from date of publication. After that, you are free to post or submit your story elsewhere.

Submission Window: July 1st - 2nd, 2024 Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints, For artwork: $10 for the non-exclusive right to use each image, for as long as the site is online.  If we publish a print collection we will pay a pro-rata share for each image used. Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world. Note: Reprints welcome     Submissions Schedule We have a new submissions schedule as of June 1, 2020: The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T. Only one submission per person. For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers. We pay 8¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 6¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles. For new poetry, we pay $1 a line, reprints would be 50¢ a line, up to 40 lines. We’ll look at longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 6¢ per word. We began The Kepler Award to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways. You can learn about The Kepler Award here. You can read a copy of our standard contract here.   It can be varied as needed to include the rights of translators, voice actors, etc. Writers Guidelines We accept new work as well as reprints, prose and poetry, anywhere from 1000 word flash fiction on up, but all else being equal,...

Deadline: July 2nd, 2024 Payment: €175 Theme: Any genre story inspired by the title of 'The Garden' or the cover image provided. Note: Apologies on the short window, this one was just e-mailed in by one of your fellow authors! From June 4 to July 2*, we are reading short story submissions for our new collection, The Garden! We are looking for stories of any genre that respond to our title and/or cover art. Selected writers will receive a flat rate of €175 for accepted submissions. “Now through the white orchard my little dog romps, breaking the new snow with wild feet. Running here running there, excited, hardly able to stop, he leaps, he spins until the white snow is written upon in large, exuberant letters, a long sentence, expressing the pleasures of the body in this world. Oh, I could not have said it better myself.” Mary Oliver, The Storm In the brightness of snow or in the rich colours of an orchard, the world is blooming with tales to be told and life to be lived. There is deep pleasure, sensual wonder – but also horrors untold, and their roots might've grown tangled in the same patch of grass. For our eighth anthology, we want the stories that pick the fruit and take a daring bite; we want to watch the stains the juice leaves behind as it drips. We want to unpick the weaved tapestry of all that builds a garden – colours, taste, the senses, life, death, regrowth; the flowers and the bugs. The Garden is an anthology for stories that engage with the living world in all its glory and messiness. From blossom to decay, stories can interpret the premise in any way; be as metaphorical or literal as you wish – just don't be...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 8th, 2024 Payment: $15 per poem, $0.01 per word ($40 minimum) for short stories, and $50 per art piece via PayPal. Theme: Gothic short stories, poetry, and artwork Diet Milk Magazine is a biannual literary magazine devoted to Gothic prose, poetry, and art. Neatly genred or genre-bending, classically styled or modern, we want your prettiest, most pungent dread. Give us withering romance, creatures that lurk and lure, families to be feared and houses that haunt; give us isolation and creeping, oppressive unwellness. Quietly thrill, terrify, and leave us wanting more. For all our important links, including website, twitter, and support, check out our campsite.bio page! This hub will direct you to anywhere you want to go, as well as put you in contact with our official email. Opens on Saturday, June 1, 2024 12:00 AM UTC (in 50 days) From June 1st - July 8th, Diet Milk Magazine will be accepting submissions for its Fall/Winter issue. We will be open to poetry, prose, and visual art of all kinds. While the most detailed information can be found on our website, here's a quick rundown of what potential contributors need to know! GENERAL GUIDELINES: All submissions must fall under the Gothic umbrella, but aren't required to be a specific genre No reprints or multiple submissions Simultaneous submissions permitted, though we ask to be informed promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere! Poetry/Prose submissions should be .doc, .docx, or .pdf // Art submissions should be .jpeg or .png If you receive a rejection, you may submit again (with new work) immediately P O E T R Y : Poets may submit up to three poems at a time. No single poem should exceed five pages in length. P R O S E : Authors may submit one short story at a time, up to 5000 words. This doesn't have...

Submission Window: June 12th, 2024 to July 12th, 2024 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Speculative short stories (science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, cosmic horror, etc.) that have been rejected from multiple markets. Calendar of Fools is seeking your rejected stories for the Intergalactic Rejects anthology. Sometimes you have a really good story that just hasn’t found a home among the markets and magazines. It doesn’t mean the story isn’t wonderful; it just didn’t fit their needs. Intergalactic Rejects contains 8 rejected stories by highly acclaimed authors, and has room for more. What we’re looking for Speculative short stories (science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, cosmic horror, etc.) that have been rejected from multiple markets. Length: Limit 5,000 words. Format: Standard Manuscript Format (double-spaced 12 pt. Courier or Times New Roman, no extra lines between paragraphs). Include your name and email on the first page of the story. Rejections: Your story must have been rejected at least 3 times. Multiple Submissions: We are not accepting multiple submissions. Simultaneous Submissions: We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know at [email protected] if your submission is accepted elsewhere. And congratulations! Reprints: We are not accepting reprints for Intergalactic Rejects. That would mean your story wasn’t a reject. Languages: We are only able to accept English-language submissions. Stories produced with AI: We do not ever accept stories where AI wrote or generated portions of the text. Submission Period: Submissions will be open from June 12th, 2024 until July 12th, 2024. If you haven’t heard from us in 3 months after the end of the submission window, please contact us at [email protected]. If your story is not accepted for this anthology, please keep writing and editing and molding your story. Every writer faces rejection, and your story will eventually find a home. To submit your story, please use our submission form. Acceptances, Payments, and Rights Rejections, acceptances, and other...

Deadline: July 12th, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Superheroes from 1955 In 1955 there was an unexplained cosmic event that granted some people extraordinary abilities. It was never repeated. Abilities were not passed down to their children. This means that in the not too distant future, the so called “Super Generation” will be nothing but a note in history books. These are their stories, their memoirs, and how they changed history. Opens: 5/12/24 Closes: 7/12/24 Contracts: 7/27/24 Publication: 8/23/24 Guidelines for all our anthologies: 5,000 to 8,000 words. Length and genre are negotiable, as long as the story fits the concept, and is entertaining. Any submission must be in Times New Roman, 12PT, double spaced, with your name, title of the story, and your email on it. Please name the file as -— Send in a .docx format. Please attach the file to your email, no links. Please see the submission guideline graphic on the Raconteur Press Facebook page. Raconteur Press will hold the rights for one year after publication, after one year the rights will revert to the author, but we continue to pay you as long as the anthology is selling. Authors receive an equal percentage share of the proceeds from the anthology, along with the Press, our editors, and administration. Yes, you read that right. We don’t take 80% off the top and split the 20% left over between all the authors. We’re all in this together. This is why our anthologies are limited to ten stories. IMPORTANT: PLEASE do NOT submit stories until the date the call opens. We don’t want to hang on to your piece for longer than necessary. You might find another market for it, or it decides to grow into a novel, or…..so go ahead and write it, but tuck it away, and...

Deadline: July 13th, 2024 Payment: 1 cent per word and a contributor copy Theme: Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? Oxymoron? We don’t think so. One place you can start your exploration of this idea is an article from Nightmare Magazine penned by one of our co-founders. But perhaps the easiest way to understand what we mean is to read stories by some of the old masters we love: Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Roald Dahl. Watch classic episodes of Thriller, The Twilight Zone, and Night Gallery. Read old horror comics. Listen to radio dramas like Suspense, Quiet, Please, and Inner Sanctum Mysteries. Consume enough vintage horror, and you’ll probably begin to get an idea of the type of thing that’s likely to appeal to us. In short, we’re looking to provide a space for a type of storytelling that has largely gone out of style – dark and scary, but playful and approachable with an emphasis on plot. For a concrete example of the kind of thing we’re likely to love, grab a copy of our first issue, ON SALE NOW! To clarify further, here’s a list of things we want and things we don’t, which may help you hit the sweet spot. THINGS WE LOVE: Stories with a moral core. It need not happen in every tale, but we like to see good prevail (or at least evil punished). Ironic justice, in which cleverly nasty things happen to bad people, as in old EC comics, makes us chuckle with ghoulish delight. Well-earned twist endings. There’s nothing we love more than a really good surprise or a clever way to subvert our expectations. Pull the rug out from under us and leave us gasping. High concept settings and situations reminiscent...

Submission Window: July 1st - 14th, 2024 Payment: Advance and Royalties Theme: Atmospheric and thought-provoking novellas that intertwine a fascination of the natural world with horror and dread, and those that explore how we, as individual humans, interconnect with our communities, other species, and whole ecosystems Violet Lichen Books seeks to work with authors who have a strong attachment to the themes, people, or places they’re writing about, and who sling their dark tales straight from the heart. We are especially interested in works by marginalized and under-represented authors. What We’re Looking For We are looking for atmospheric and thought-provoking novellas that intertwine a fascination of the natural world with horror and dread, and those that explore how we, as individual humans, interconnect with our communities, other species, and whole ecosystems. We love weird fiction that unsettles, expands perspectives, and plays with bending reality, traditions, or tropes. Response Please allow at least 12 weeks for a response. After this, feel welcome to query! What We’re Not Looking For   Slasher horror, shock horror, extreme horror. Classic monsters (Unless completely subverted in a new and weird way). High fantasy, sword and sorcery, superheroes space opera. YA or MG. Full-length novels. Short story collections. Reprints. Word Count Novellas of 20,000 to 40,000 words Payment Industry standard advance and royalties. No AI We are not interested in works written by AI in any form or at any stage. We work with human-made art only. Our Wishlist New Weird, Weird, folk horror, eco-horror, eco-science-fiction, surreal horror, body horror, literary SFFH. Via: Violet Lichen Books.

Deadline: July 15th, 2024 Payment: $20 per story or artwork Theme: Electric Spec prefers science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. submissions at electricspec (dot) comPlease don't query us about your story submission. We don't have the manpower to answer such queries. An editor will email you back as soon as possible with the decision about your story. This can take a few days, or, up to three months. We make every effort to get back to authors in a timely manner but we get a lot of submissions so sometimes it's not possible. A note on our editorial policy: before publication we may work with the author to edit the story for length or readability. However, we always remain true to the spirit of the story and the author has final approval. Issues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. We reserve the right to shift publication date slightly, as necessary. We have reading periods for each issue, though we never close to submissions. February closes January 15 May closes April 15 August closes July 15 November closes October 15 Please do not submit the same story more than once, and please submit only one story at a time. We consider any story between 250 and 7000 words with speculative fiction elements. We prefer science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. We do not consider poetry, stories with over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction, or non-fiction. We don't accept multiple submissions; in other words, only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before submitting another. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know up...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 15th, 2024 Payment: $50 for story, $25 for poem Theme: Speculative fiction including a black cat A black cat approaches, do you eagerly cross its path, or run in the opposite direction? From the superstitious to the unlucky, from a witch's familiar to a soul stealing grave robber, black cats have captured our imagination and remain solidly in the realm of the dark. Dazzle us with your best black cat story or poem. A black cat or a clowder of black cats must be featured predominantly in your story and not simply set decoration. Think outside of the box and show us something we haven't seen before. Submission Guidelines: Each author may submit 1 story and 1 poem, but must make two separate submission entries, one for each piece. Simultaneous submissions are allowed but we ask you withdraw upon acceptance elsewhere as soon as possible (email: [email protected]). All pieces will be screened through AI/Artificial Intelligence detection software and will be auto-rejected if AI is found. Double-check your work before submitting, any misspellings will make us grumpy and less likely to choose your piece. Genres: horror, dark fantasy, sci-fi, erotica, weird westerns, cyberpunk, steampunk...we're open to all but prefer dark fiction. Word Count: 500 - 3,500 words for story, max 25 lines for poetry. These are firm guidelines, one word over or under and it's an auto-reject. Payment: $50 for story, $25 for poem via PayPal Reprints: We are only accepting original work for this anthology. No reprints please, that includes blogs, emails, websites, anthologies, podcasts, etc. Format: Submit your work in Shunn Standard Manuscript Format (Modern or Classic). Do not include your address. Please list your penname and email only. Your manuscript should be in DOC, DOCX, or PDF file format. Submission Window: Opens June 1st, Closes July 15, 2024 at midnight PST. All...

Deadline: July 15th, 2024 Payment: $20, and a hardcover copy of the anthology Theme: horror stories of all subgenres about souls wandering the earth after being separated from their bodies Word Count: 2,000-5,000 Call Open: June 1-July 15, 2024 Publication: One story included in each edition of our bi-weekly newsletter, July thru December 2024. In January, all stories will be published in a special hardcover anthology. Call: We’re looking for horror stories of all subgenres about souls wandering the earth after being separated from their bodies, but before arriving at their final destinations (though part of the story may take place pre-death or post-arrival). Undertaker Books is a royalty-paying, full-service publisher. This means we do not charge fees to the author at any time. We pay a royalty rate of 50% of distribution payouts. This can mean you will earn different rates for books sold through different outlets. Our contracts are for digital and print worldwide English rights. At this stage, we do not provide advance payments unless specified for anthology calls. SUBMISSIONS ARE TO BE SENT TO: [email protected] Modern Shunn Format is preferred. Please review this website if you are unsure how to proceed. Submit the first 20 pages of your manuscript as a single .doc(x) file attachment. If submitting for general consideration, please include a one page synopsis of the plot (including the ending) with working title, category or subgenre, and word count. In the body of your email, please include a cover letter containing: a short author bio,your legal name, pen name (if applicable), social media links, and website. WHAT WE WILL NOT ACCEPT No AI-generated content. If an author’s work is discovered to be generated by AI, the work will be rejected (or unpublished). View our AI Use Policy. No depictions of sexual assault against children. No animal abuse. No reprints or previously published...

Deadline: July 15th, 2024 Payment: $10 Theme: horror stories of all subgenres about executions, public or private, ancient or modern (Charity Anthology benefiting Witness to Innocence) Word Count: 2,000-5,000 Call Open: June 1-July 15, 2024 Publication: September 2024 Call: We’re looking for horror stories of all subgenres about executions, public or private, ancient or modern. The execution does not have to be completed, nor does it have to be government sanctioned. An execution for our purposes is a willful decision to end a life as a consequence for the condemned’s actions. Undertaker Books is a royalty-paying, full-service publisher. This means we do not charge fees to the author at any time. We pay a royalty rate of 50% of distribution payouts. This can mean you will earn different rates for books sold through different outlets. Our contracts are for digital and print worldwide English rights. At this stage, we do not provide advance payments unless specified for anthology calls. SUBMISSIONS ARE TO BE SENT TO: [email protected] Modern Shunn Format is preferred. Please review this website if you are unsure how to proceed. Submit the first 20 pages of your manuscript as a single .doc(x) file attachment. If submitting for general consideration, please include a one page synopsis of the plot (including the ending) with working title, category or subgenre, and word count. In the body of your email, please include a cover letter containing: a short author bio,your legal name, pen name (if applicable), social media links, and website. WHAT WE WILL NOT ACCEPT No AI-generated content. If an author’s work is discovered to be generated by AI, the work will be rejected (or unpublished). View our AI Use Policy. No depictions of sexual assault against children. No animal abuse. No reprints or previously published works. No unfinished stories or rough drafts. At Undertaker Books, we tend to...

Deadline: July 15th, 2024 Payment: $15 and a contributors copy Theme: Dark Humor WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR We're summoning the darkest, most devilishly witty scribes for our upcoming anthology of dark humor. Unleash your ink and submit your darkest chuckles. We're searching for tales that tickle the funny bone while sending shivers down the spine. Dare to delve into the abyss of laughter with us? Submit your morbidly hilarious masterpieces today! SUBMISSION INFO Submissions must be no longer than 2,500 words (Word counts are firm) Title, submitter's name, pen name (if different), story word count and author email address must be at the top of your submission. Submissions must be sent to [email protected] Please include TWISTED LAUGHS SUBMISSION in the subject of the email. AI cannot write submissions (Artificial Intelligence.) I will disqualify any author that submits work that is not written by them from submitting to Exploding Head Fiction in the future and all future anthologies. Submissions must be written in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1" margins, double spaced. All scene breaks must be three asterisks, centered on the page, with no spaces in between (***) Submissions must be in .Docx or .Doc format. Submissions should be clean and edited to the best of the author's ability. Submissions must contain elements of horror and dark humor. Everything else is up to you. Submissions must not have been published elsewhere before in any form. Authors may submit as many stories as they want for review, however, there will be a limit of one published story per author. Please include in the email's body any content warnings (if you chose to use them). Simultaneous submissions are allowed; however, we ask that you inform us immediately if another publisher picks up your story. Twisted Laughs will be released October...

Deadline: July 15th, 2024 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: science fiction and speculative fiction GENERAL (i.e. non micro-fiction) GUIDELINES We are currently OPEN to GENERAL flash submissions. For Volume 5, we will remain open until July 15, 2024. Proceeds from Volume 5 will go toward Palestinian relief organizations. We want science fiction and speculative fiction. So long as it falls into one of these categories, we will happily read it. If other elements are present, that is fine, but it must include science or speculative fiction. NOW ACCEPTING TRANSLATIONS (MORE INFO BELOW) No more than 1000 words. This is a firm limit. Please no queries about longer pieces. NO AI-GENERATED/ASSISTED STORIES Pay rate is professional - $0.08 US/word This is for marginalized members of the sci-fi/spec community—this includes people of color, the LGBTQ2S+ community, members of marginalized genders, and disabled and neurodiverse people. If you are not a person of color, LGBTQ2S+, neurodiverse, disabled, or of a marginalized gender, please DO NOT send us your work. Authors of all accepted pieces will have the option to include a short bio in the anthology. We understand the sensitive nature of gender identity and sexual orientation, so if you wish this status to remain unwritten and/or if you prefer to be anonymous, we will print only what you wish to be printed. If you would like your piece published under a pseudonym, please indicate this on your submission. If you would like your pronouns included, please indicate those as well. DO NOT send us anything hateful. No gratuitous violence, torture, rape, or any work that promotes an ideology unbecoming of an inclusive society – no stories supporting racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, or any other of the many forms of hate. Minutiae Please prepare your submission according to standard guidelines, which you...

Submission Window: July 1st - 17th, 2024 Payment: 3 cents per word for fiction and non-fiction, $20 for interior artwork and $100 for cover art Theme: Weird and cosmic fiction What do we want? Weird and cosmic fiction under 5,000 words When do we want it? Twice a year: January 1-7 and July 1-17 How do we want it? Submitted via email to [email protected] as a .doc or .docx file. Please also include a short cover letter with some background information about you, the word count of the story, and a brief synopsis. Other Stuff! Please only submit your work once, and please only submit one work per submission period. Please only resubmit works that have already been rejected if invited to do so. We believe that the horror genre’s diversity is its greatest strength, and we wish that viewpoint to be reflected in our story content and our submission queues. We are especially interested in hearing from those whose voices are underrepresented in the cosmic/weird. If comfortable, feel free to drop this information in your cover letter. We strongly favor stories that use contemporary narrative styles. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please withdraw immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. We pay 3 cents (USD) per word for original fiction. We do not take unsolicited reprints. What we don’t want: We do not take any work that used AI in its creation, work that uses established genre tropes in a standard way, and queries. Work written in an antiquated, Lovecraftian style is a hard sell. Authors we love: Mike Allen, Paula D. Ashe, Mona Awad, Laird Barron, Nadia Bulkin, Nicole Cushing, Brian Evenson, Gemma Files, John Langan, Thomas Ligotti, Preemee Mohamed, Jon Padgett, Hailey Piper Submissions (Non-Fiction) OPEN What do we want? Non-fiction essays that explore weird and cosmic horror concepts under 5,000 words When do...

Submission Window: June 20th to July 20th, 2024 Payment: $50 upon publication Theme: Stories about how we seek out, discover, and grasp onto connection in all genres with a particular fondness for anything that moves beyond realism in form or content or spirit Please read below for details about our next submission window, guidelines, honorariums, and rights. At Astrolabe, we’re looking for work about how we seek out, discover, and grasp onto connection. Into the woods. Across a line. Beneath the ocean. Along a seam. Into the branches of an alternate present or the crevasse of an alternate future. Across the rifts between one another. And then, once we find one other, the myths we make. We’re excited to see as many interpretations of this broad theme as there are stars in the night sky. We’re open to work of all genres, with a particular fondness for anything that moves beyond realism in form or content or spirit. Read about Astrolabe for details on our mission and what we’re doing with the Universe. The details We pay a $50 honorarium upon publication of one or more pieces from your submission. To help fund those payments, we alternate between free and paid submission periods throughout the year. Our free periods begin the day we publish new work—on the spring equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox, and winter solstice—and stay open for a month. Here are the free periods for 2024: March 20th to April 20th June 20st to July 20st September 22nd to October 22nd December 21st to Jan 21, 2025 Some additional details: We currently accept three types of work: fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography & art. See below for genre-specific instructions. We’re not a market for lineated poetry at the moment. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your work was accepted for...

Deadline: July 21st, 2024 Payment: $10 Theme: Horror with a focus on pulp fiction tradition of a modern gothic literature called "cosmic horror. WITCH HOUSE is an amateur magazine that seeks to discover, inspire, and publish emerging horror authors who are enthusiastic about the pulp fiction tradition of a modern gothic literature called "cosmic horror." Writers in this tradition include (but are not limited to) the following: Edgar Allan Poe, M.R. James, Arthur Machen, H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Shirley Jackson, Karl Edward Wagner, Thomas Ligotti, Stephen King, and many more. "Cosmic horror" emphasizes helpless protagonists, unexplainable monstrous menaces, and fictional occult themes such as forbidden lore and evil conspiracy. Some "cosmic horror" blurs the lines separating mystery/noir, crime fiction, and horror, but it is distinguished by a dramatic deviation from the reality principle. At Witch House, we prefer lyrical, literary, and artful terror of the sublime that unsettles subtly rather than gross-out gore. Published by Spiral Tower Press. Read previous issues of Witch House here! • Submission deadline for our 4th issue: Sunday, 21 July 2024 by 11:59 PM EDT. • Editorial decisions: Sunday, 8 September 2024. • Publication of issue: Sunday, 27 October 2024. Fiction Guidelines: We seek short, compressed stories that are nevertheless complete and cohesive narratives spanning 1500 to 2500 words (entirety of entry excluding title and author / byline). No more, no less. Stories over or under the limit will not be read. We mean it, friends! This limit serves two functions: (1) the limit is an artistic challenge. It takes skill to tell a compressed, punchy story. (2) We are an amateur publication and only pay a token honorarium, so save your longer works for better paying markets. At this time, only a single submission (either prose or poetry) per author can be considered for a given issue...

Deadline: July 22nd, 2024 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Speculative Fiction Next window: July 8-22, 2024 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 new story. Simultaneous submissions: Yes!  We strive to respond in a timely fashion anyway, but you can...

Deadline: July 26th, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Alternate histories of WWII that are also realistic to the time period The Big Ones: Stories of an Alternate WWII With Guest Editor Dr. James Young The short story must involve some aspect of World War II. Think “What if Force Z had fighter escort?” to “Trinity ends with a ‘click’…then silence.” The only stipulation is the point of deviation has to be realistic to the technology of the time. If you’re giving the U.S.S. Nevada rail guns at Pearl Harbor, this is the wrong anthology for you. Opens: 5/26/24 Closes: 7/26/24 Contracts: 8/10/24 Publication: 9/6/24 5,000 to 8,000 words. Length and genre are negotiable, as long as the story fits the concept, and is entertaining.   Any submission must be in Times New Roman, 12PT, double spaced, with your name, title of the story, and your email on it. Please name the file as -— Send in a .docx format.  Please attach the file to your email, no links. Please see the submission guideline graphic on the Raconteur Press Facebook page. Raconteur Press will hold the rights for one year after publication, after one year the rights will revert to the author, but we continue to pay you as long as the anthology is selling. Authors receive an equal percentage share of the proceeds from the anthology, along with the Press, our editors, and administration. Yes, you read that right. We don’t take 80% off the top and split the 20% left over between all the authors. We’re all in this together. This is why our anthologies are limited to ten stories. IMPORTANT: PLEASE do NOT submit stories until the date the call opens. We don’t want to hang on to your piece for longer than necessary. You might find another market for it, or it decides...

Submission Window: July 7th – 28th, 2024 Payment: $20 per accepted story Theme: Stories that are told from an alien perspective Here you will find all you need to send us your stories. We look forward to reading them. As a reminder: we only publish five stories per issue. Magazines like ours generally receive submissions numbering in the hundreds. Don't be too hard on yourself if we do not take yours. There is a lot of competition and it mostly comes down to individual editor opinion (which is unpredictable and not a reflection of quality of writing necessarily). We know the submission process is hard and we wish you the very best in your writing. When to Submit Submissions are currently closed Submissions are open: January 7th–28th (closing at 10pm PST on the 28th) July 7th–28th (closing at 10pm PST on the 28th) What to Submit Astral publishes short stories ranging from 1,000–7,000 words. We want stories that are told from an alien perspective. By alien we usually mean extraterrestrial... but other perspectives can also qualify, such as Lovecraftian horrors, plants, bacteria, etc. Send us weird and surreal stories that challenge our notions about ourselves and the universe. We are, broadly, wanting to read stories from non-humanoid points of view. Submitted stories can feature humans, but the main perspective should be alien or should have a narrative focus that interacts with alien consciousness as much as possible. We imagine most of the stories we will be sent will fall into the science fiction category, but we also welcome horror and fantasy stories (particularly if they are "other world" fantasy stories). If you are unsure if your story fits: send it. Don't self-censor (so long as you believe there is some legitimate possiblity that we would be interested in the piece given the above...

Submission Window: July 7th – 28th, 2024 Theme: Stories that are told from an alien perspective (See below for more details.) Payment: $20 per story Here you will find all you need to send us your stories. We look forward to reading them. As a reminder: we only publish five stories per issue. Magazines like ours generally receive submissions numbering in the hundreds. Don't be too hard on yourself if we do not take yours. There is a lot of competition and it mostly comes down to individual editor opinion (which is unpredictable and not a reflection of quality of writing necessarily). We know the submission process is hard and we wish you the very best in your writing. When to Submit Submissions are open: January 7th–28th (closing at 10pm PST on the 28th) July 7th–28th (closing at 10pm PST on the 28th) What to Submit Astral publishes short stories ranging from 1,000–7,000 words. We want stories that are told from an alien perspective. By alien we usually mean extraterrestrial... but other perspectives can also qualify, such as Lovecraftian horrors, plants, bacteria, etc. Send us weird and surreal stories that challenge our notions about ourselves and the universe. We are, broadly, wanting to read stories from non-humanoid points of view. Submitted stories can feature humans, but the main perspective should be alien or should have a narrative focus that interacts with alien consciousness as much as possible. We imagine most of the stories we will be sent will fall into the science fiction category, but we also welcome horror and fantasy stories (particularly if they are "other world" fantasy stories). If you are unsure if your story fits: send it. Don't self-censor (so long as you believe there is some legitimate possiblity that we would be interested in the piece given the above...

Submission Window: June 1st, 2024 to July 30th, 2024 Payment: Contributors copy and Story: $25, Poems: $15. Non-fiction: $15, Query for art submissions Theme: Stories about Deep Ones A cultural, geographic and unnatural history Dive Deep into the Weird The stories we are looking for are all about Deep Ones. But not just “I met a Deep One and I fainted because the Innsmouth Look is just that jarring to my fragile psyche.” We want stories that are truly about Deep Ones: Deep One pirates willing to raid some truly unusual ships, beach bums sharing a smoke with a new friend. How do you handle the call to the sea when you live in Kansas? How did encounters with Romans, Vikings, and rum runners play out? Maybe they were the Sea People leading to the Bronze Age Collapse. Did they sink the White Ship that messed up English Royal succession? Or what or a more distant, perhaps primordial past? The “non-fiction” should be articles about aspects of Deep One culture, biology, history and everything in-between. Nothing from New England or South Pacific seas unless you give us a time period we haven’t seen before. Dive deep and grasp the Weird. Submissions window: June 1, 2024-July 30, 2024 Publication target: Summer 2025 Length: Stories: 500-6000 words. Poems: No more then 2 pages please Non-fiction: 500-1000 words Pay Rate for original works, via PayPal: Story: $25 Poems: $15 Non-fiction: $15 Query for art submissions Plus an author's copy and the ability to purchase copies at a reduced rate. (Please contact us for reprint pay rate.) Technical Details: Submit a docx with Modern Shunn Format using the Google form here: If there is an issue with the form, please let us know. DO NOT submit via email; email submissions will be ignored. Editors: Gevera Bert Piedmont Author of...

Submission Window: July 23rd-30th, 2024 Payment: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum. Theme: Diverse sci-fi and fantasy fiction. We are open to submissions within the following periods: January 23rd-30th April 23rd-30th July 23rd-30th October 23rd-30th Submissions received outside of these dates will unfortunately be lost and therefore not responded to. When open, we seek and offer the following: Length: 1,000-5,000 words. These are firm limits. Shorter or longer works will be considered, but the further a story goes outside these bounds the more it will need to impress. Compensation: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum. Please be aware that payment is via PayPal only. If you do not receive an acknowledgment within 24 hours of submission, please get in touch. We aim to accept or reject within 14 days of acknowledgment, but rl (real life) and rl (reading load) can get in the way. If you do not hear from us after 30 days, feel free to query. REQUIREMENTS Mythaxis seeks speculative fiction (sf/f/h) of all stripes for our first three issues each year. We are also interested in submissions of crime fiction for our end-of-year “all crime” issue. All these genres are equally welcome in each submission window. We acquire First Print and Digital rights with a six month period of exclusivity from the date of publication, and will discuss the possibility of an audio format release with interested contributors. We also ask permission to potentially include accepted pieces in future anthologies; in event of agreement, an additional payment and digital copy will be offered in compensation. All other rights remain entirely with the author. See here for an overview of our editorial process. Simultaneous submissions are not only accepted, they are encouraged. Please tell us if you sim-sub, and we merely ask that you notify us of acceptance at another market as soon as possible. In...

Deadline: July 30th, 2024 Payment: $5 and royalties Theme: The story of a hero or villain's sidekick Madame, Don’t Forget Your Sword Length: the target range is between 2000-6000 words. Time: June 1st - July 30th Pay per story: $5 + royalties This anthology is dedicated to all the minions, sidekicks, and henchpeople: the ones responsible for getting the takeout, picking up the kids, and making sure that the evil plan actually works. The ones dedicated to showing how the monster works before the hero comes to save the day! Give them their spotlight: What drama happens when you work HR for a mad scientist? What happens if the sidekicks unionize? What if the red shirts accidentally don’t die? We welcome new authors, and will work with all authors to bring their stories into the vision of the book. The final draft will be sent to the author for final approval. Authors retain the right to retract their stories up until the contract is signed. Please note that response times are likely to be slower than normal this year. Da Mama is getting her knee chopped off and reinstalled with a more workable (or at least less likely to collapse entirely) version, and has no idea how this will go. Potential publication date will be late November, depending on how getting the other knee chopped off goes. Guidelines (common sense guidelines, but stated as clearly as we can): 1) Submit your story as an *.rtf file attached to your cover letter. (Go to "Save As" and click on Rich Text Format or rtf.) 2) One-inch margins, double-spaced text is preferred. 3) Please do not use tabs. Please use the paragraph formatting tool to indent the paragraphs, and either use CENTER to place your section dividers, or just leave them on...

  Deadline: July 31st, 2024 Payment: $20 Theme: Rodeo-themed, any genre We are looking for stories up to 7500 words in length that feature the sport of Rodeo. They can be in any genre as long as the sport of Rodeo is a key part of the story. Stories must revolve around the sport, the riders or the animal athletes involved in Rodeo and while being realistic to the sport must also portray it in a favorable light. We do hope to receive stories that cover all of the events in Rodeo: Bareback Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding, Bull Riding, Tie-Down Roping, Steer Wresting, Team Roping, Steer Roping, Barrel Racing and Ladies Breakaway Roping. Stories can also feature Bull Fighters, Barrel Men, Pick Up Men, the medical teams (human and veterinarian) – or anyone involved in the sport. Seventy-Five percent of all proceeds from this anthology will be donated to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund - an organization that provides help to injured riders and their families. Break the story-writing rules if you want. If you use a tried-and-true plotline, twist it in an original and interesting way. Original stories are preferred. Query for reprints. ALL writers are encouraged to submit. Doesn’t matter if you’re a pro with years of credits, a beginner just starting out, or a teenager - please feel free to send the editor a story. In your cover email, please tell the editor a bit about yourself and a quick one-line synopsis of the story. Include genre. If experimental, please explain the type or how so the editor doesn’t edit out the form or reject it out of hand. Thank you. In the Subject line please put Submission: Dragon Hoard: Title of your story: Your name. Attach as a .rft file, please send to: [email protected] Submissions Open:  Mar...

Deadline: July 31st, 2024 Payment: $0.02 per word Theme: Science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between Story Guidelines Flash Point Science Fiction wants speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 words in length. Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short. We here at FPSF are partial to flash fiction and want to see the flash market grow. So as much as it pains us, please take your 10,000 word tour de force elsewhere. We’re not looking for the next Brandon Sanderson. (Unless you are, in fact, Brandon Sanderson, in which case we’d be delighted!)   What we’re looking for: -Fantasy (all kinds—epic, adventure, contemporary, urban, grimdark, fairy tale, magical realism, myths and legends, etc.) -Science Fiction (all kinds—hard, space opera, military, near future, science fantasy, cyberpunk, dystopian, etc.) -Slipstream (make it as weird as you want, so long as it works) -Seasonal (we love stories with holiday and/or seasonal themes, but please submit AT LEAST 3 months in advance of the relevant occasion) -Anything that makes us laugh, cry, think, or smile. What we aren’t looking for: -Horror—it can be spooky or menacing, but we’re not a horror market, so the fright factor should not be the primary appeal. DARK fantasy and sci-fi, however, are welcome. -Literary fiction—this is a genre market, so there needs to be an SF&F element, however slight. -Gratuitous sex or violence—we’re big fans of Love Death + Robots, but don’t be that guy. -Fanfic—original concepts only, please. We know there was a lot going on in Hobbiton while Frodo was away, but that’s not our property and it’s not yours either. -Stories previously published in a different language. Submission Specs In terms of how your story should look, we recommend you read William Shunn’s Proper Manuscript Format. This is the...

Deadline: July 31st, 2024 Payment: 3 cents per word and a contributor's copy Theme: Horror-themed Mafia stories October Nights Press will be seeking submissions for “GabaGhoul: A Mafia Horror Anthology”. This anthology will merge the thrills and chills of horror with the dark underworld and dealings of the mafia. A hitman haunted by past contracts? A boss who dabbles in the dark arts? A ghastly horror lurking in the shadows that chills the most hardened capo to the bone? There are so many themes to explore and organized crime groups from around the world. We are accepting stories from all horror sub-genres. Slow burn, splatter, erotica, extreme, etc are all welcomed so long as they marry horror with the mafia. Guidelines: - Stories should have a minimum word count of 3,000. Payment caps at 5,000 words. - Stories must be horror and mafia themed, including mafia famalies and crime organizations from all over the world. - No reprints - Simultaneous submissions are fine but please let me know - Absolutely no AI-written or AI-assisted stories. Seriously, you’ll be whacked. Payment - One physical author copy (Domestic shipping only)* - Ebook copy - 3¢ per word payment up to 5,000 words; payment made upon acceptance of final edited story * For international authors, physical book options will be discussed between editor and author. Deadline Submissions will be accepted until July 31, 2024 How to Submit Please send your completed story as a word document to [email protected] with the subject line: “GabaGhoul Submission: .” For any inquiries or further information, please contact me at [email protected]. Estimated publication date will be 4th Quarter 2024. Write me a story I can’t refuse. Buona fortuna! Mark C. Scioneaux Editor/Godfather Via: October Nights Press.

Deadline: July 31st, 2024 Payment: $5 Theme: Something a little... W3IRD A Literary Journal with Some Art, Comics, and Analysis Thrown in for Good Measure As Quarter Press continues to grow, we’re adding another coin to our pocketful of change. We want to offer a space for shorter works to mingle with art and other bits of nonsense, so we bring you The Quarter(ly): It just makes cents. Issues are themed; however, we consider all interpretations. 2024’s Themes and Deadlines: W3IRD (July 31) ~ W3IRD - July 31 - At this point, the “Weird” themes have become some of my favorite issues, so let’s keep it weird with a third installment! 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. We WILL NOT Accept any AI-Generated art. 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”...

Submission Window: June 1st -July 31st, 2024 Payment: 3 cents/word with a minimum payment of $50 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Book reviews for $50. Art for $80. Theme: Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading past issues is the best way to know if your submission is a good fit for NewMyths.com. We like to balance each quarterly issue between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. Our readers are not fixated on a single style or tone or genre, but prefer a quality sample of the field. Think tapas or dim sum. Maximum length is 10,000 words. Please keep submissions PG or cleaner. 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.  Book Reviews NewMyths publishes original book reviews. No reprints, please. Reviews should be between 500-1,000 words. We prefer reviews of novels published within the past year but also consider reviews of older works, and reviews of poetry collections, anthologies, and nonfiction works related to fantasy and science fiction. Pay is $50. Send inquiries to Candy at [email protected].   NewMyths publishes several book reviews per year, and we’d like to publish more. Unfortunately, with several thousand submissions per year, our hardworking editors don’t have a lot of time to review novels. If you are an author, agent or publisher, and have a novel or other work related to fantasy and science fiction that you would like to have reviewed, send an inquiry to Scott at [email protected]. If you don’t receive an answer, please assume that we simply don’t have the staff to review it. A solution might be to find someone who can write a review and...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2024 Payment: $10 Theme: Stories of any genre by writers who identify with and as any of the following descriptors: trans, two-spirit, disabled, neurodivergent, Mad, queer, crip, nonbinary, genderqueer, intersex. We welcome submissions by those who identify with and as any of the following descriptors: trans, two-spirit, disabled, neurodivergent, Mad, queer, crip, nonbinary, genderqueer, intersex. This is a space for the words, works, and worlds of and by those whose bodyminds defy social expectations and invite new ways of thinking and knowing. We do not need to know the specifics of your identity/diagnosis/experience unless you want us to. We invite closeted and questioning people to share their work, as well as those whose experiences fall outside the confines of the language we used above. We welcome submissions from creators of all ages. We particularly encourage unpublished/emerging/young creators to submit. If you know an incarcerated/institutionalized creator who would like to submit, email us for information as to where to mail the submission, or clearly indicate in your message that you are submitting on their behalf. We publish on a quarterly schedule, with issues coming out on: February 15 May 15 August 15 November 15 We are open for all submissions EXCEPT during publication months. That is to say, we are open for submissions January, March, April, June, July, September, October, and December. Things to note This is a leftist magazine. We hate capitalism, “america,” cops, prisons, borders, neoliberalism, and all the rest. We don’t tolerate white supremacy, zionism, cisheterosexism, ableism, transmisogyny, xenophobia, fatphobia, intersexism, and anti-sex worker sentiment here. We reserve the right to reject and/or remove content from creators whose work does not align with our values. We do not tolerate AI-generated or -assisted submissions. Anyone found to be using AI will have their content immediately rejected/removed...

Deadline: July 31st, 2024 Payment: $25 and a contributor copy Theme: Horror/Scifi that deals with the strange and unusual and must involve your death. Send us your best (previously unreleased) 2,000 to 4,000 word speculative fiction with a leaning towards horror/sci-fi or a combination of both. We want something strange and unusual. There's just one catch... Your death has to feature somewhere within the story. If your soul is accepted, you will receive $25 and a contributor copy. We are looking for 8 stories in total for this anthology. Submissions are open until midnight 31st July 2024. Please send all work in 12pt, TImes New Roman font, double spaced with 1 inch margins. Any scene breaks must be 3 asterisks centered on the page (***). The email to send your submission to is: [email protected] Please send in either .docx or .doc format. In the body of the email, please provide the title of the work, submitters name, total word count, and author email. ANY AI WORK WILL BE DISREGARDED. No simultaneous submissions please. Via: Infested Publishing.

Submissoin Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2024 Payment: $10 Theme: Speculative fiction that deals with time travel THREE COUSINS PUBLISHING, an imprint of WEST MESA PRESS, will be accepting submissions for its next anthology, THE TROUBLE WITH TIME, from June 1, 2024 until midnight July 31, 2024. Stories submitted before or after the submission period will not be considered. This is a Themed Anthology and we’re looking for stories that fit the anthology theme. Submissions must have something to do with time travel. Horror, humor, fantasy, science fiction, or even some entertaining, but bizarre mashup of genres that we haven’t considered are welcome. 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/improve-my-writing/how-to-submit-short-stories-formatting-basics Double spaced, no tabs, use the indent function in ‘paragraph,’ no extra spaces between paragraphs, and Times New Roman 12 point font.  Signal scene breaks by ***. 4 If you want italics, use them. Stories must be between 3,000 and 5,000 words. No slack. Rewrite and edit to fit before submitting. Longer or shorter submissions will be deleted unread.  No reprints, but simultaneous submissions are fine, as they always should be, but let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere. 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. No pdfs. 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 into time purgatory where it will languish unread and unloved until...

Submission Window: July 1st - 31st, 2024 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...

Deadline: July 31st, 2024 Payment: Fiction: $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. Theme: Paranormal - this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores. 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...

Deadline: July 31st, 2024 Payment: 50% cut of net royalties Themes: Traditional/classic/high fantasy stories We are delighted to report that we will be opening for submissions on June 1st! The window for submissions will remain open until July 31st, and we will be reviewing all types of work from novels to flash fiction, or anything in between. Please keep in mind what we at OMAM do, and do not, publish. We want traditional fantasy stories. By this, we are largely focused on classic fantasy settings, as in second-world and pre-modern. We don’t want anything with modern technology (electricity, cars, modern weapons, magical doors in the London Underground, lovestruck vampires brooding on the roofs of skyscrapers, etc). Also, we do not want stories set on Earth, whether historical or mythological. That being said, our focus on classic settings does not at all preclude the exploration of new ideas inside those settings. Issues of class, sex, gender, racism, mental health, education, economics, politics, war, trauma are all welcome. Indeed, we find that pre-modern, second-world settings are often idea for exploring such topics without being bogged down by technology or earthbound inferences. That being said, your story does not need to have a heavy social moral. If you just want to write a story about a hero who does hero stuff, that’s fine by us. Just make sure you have a great character arc, since character is what drives traditional fantasy. Now, let’s dive into the details. What are we looking for? OMAM would like to pick up a limited number of full-length projects for publication in 2025. These can include novels, novellas, short story collections, or the like. The number of projects we accept will largely depend on the combined length. For this reason, among others, we have a slight preference for novella length...

Submission Window: July 1st - 31st, 2024 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...

Submission Window: July 1st - 31st, 2024 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Stories with traditional historical and mythological settings from heroic fantasy, but they will have a lot more nudity, sex, and gore than what you usually see published Hi! My name is J. Manfred Weichsel, and I am an author and editor who has self-published twelve really wild books. I would like to invite you to submit your scandalous adventure story to my latest anthology. “Sword & Scandal” is a play on the popular Italian sword and sandal genre of epic films. These will be stories with traditional historical and mythological settings from heroic fantasy, but they will have a lot more nudity, sex, and gore than what you usually see published. They will be subversive without becoming Grimdark and will retain the sense of fun you would want from a pulp adventure, and the sense of wonder you would want from a weird tale. If you have read my books, then you know that I am an experimental author who takes big risks with everything he does. Unlike other publishers who tend to play it safe with their selections, I am looking for the wild, strange, and outrageous. So, if you have an off-beat or off-the-wall idea rattling around in your head, but which you have been afraid to write because you don't think you can place it, now is the time! I believe that literature should be dangerous, and I want to provide you with a safe space to write unsafe fiction. Humor is also a big part of what I do. I am actively looking for stories that incorporate a similar sense of humor as mine: dry, sardonic, and satirical. But any type of humor is acceptable and encouraged, from farce to surreal humor, to...

Deadline: July 31, 2024 Payment: Royalties and Digital Copy Theme: Scary Campfire Stories You're sitting around the campfire; it's dark, the moon is high in the sky, the wind is whistling through the trees, and the sense of isolation is pervasive. You hear a twig snap in the darkness, everyone is tense. What's the story you tell your friends to terrify them? What's in the dark, stalking the camp: an axe murderer, a werewolf, or something so far beyond our mortal understanding that just the sight of it will drive each of us insane? Tell me a ghost story, I want to be afraid and I want everyone reading to be afraid of what they'll read yet feel brave enough to turn the page. Submission Requirements: This will be a horror anthology, so tell me a scary story. Content doesn’t entirely matter but it should make sense (I do not object to erotica or gore if it makes sense, stories should include a content warning if it's appropriate), which means the story should be a complete story. I’m not looking for any story that attacks a specific ethnic group, gender, religion, etc (if your story is about a ghost that only attacks women, that’s different, I’m talking about pure hate speech); if I read it I’ll reject it. The deadline is July 31; I’ll strive to make a final decision by August 10, and contracts will be sent out soon after with a 2 week deadline (the sooner they come in, the sooner the book goes to the printer). I am one person so, while I’ll strive to contact everyone who submits, that’s not always possible. The distributor is Draft2Digital which primarily releases ebooks but also offers print books to physical retailers (it’s a large market that includes Amazon, Barnes...

Deadline: July 31st, 2024 Payment: 2 Contributors Copies Theme: Tales from the darkside. Its contents range in tone from the quiet horror of Shirley Jackson to the bleak stylings of Thomas Ligotti — and everything in between. Note: Chthonic Matter Quarterly is open to submissions. Close date is July 31st, 2024. Chthonic Matter is a quarterly offering of tales from the darkside. Its contents range in tone from the quiet horror of Shirley Jackson to the bleak stylings of Thomas Ligotti — and everything in between. In order to better understand the type of fiction I am looking for, be sure to review my previous series, Nightscript. All eight volumes are available for “free” via Kindle Unlimited. Each edition of Chthonic Matter will include eight stories. New editions will appear at the outset of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, and will be published in paperback and eBook formats. Authors should submit their original tales (between 2,000 and 6,000 words) via the email provided below and allow up to two months for a response. > Submit: .doc or .pages files to: [email protected]  Send only one story per submission — and, please, no reprints. Simultaneous submissions are welcome — just let me know. Payment is two contributor copies. Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to reading your work! C.M. Muller, editor & publisher Via: Chthonic Matter.

Deadline: July 31st, 2024 Payment: $20 and a contributor's copy Theme: A store that takes place in the 1980s or 1990s that features a porcelain doll found in a unique private collection, details below Deadline: July 31st, 2024 at 11:59pm CST Length: 5,000-10,000 words   Format: Must be submitted as a Google Doc file which must have [email protected] as an owner with editing turned on. You will provide the shareable link in the form upon submission. Use only one tab and do not use spaces to start a new paragraph. Do not write "The End" at the end of the story. In the header, please include the following: 1) your name, 2) the title of the story, and 3) the word count of the story. Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will not be read.   Compensation: Selected authors will receive (1) contributor mass market paperback copy of the anthology as well as a one-time payment of $20, along with two copies of the audiobook, and a copy of the ebook. You will also receive a discount on author copies when purchasing through Terrorcore.   International Submissions: While Terrorcore Publishing loves receiving submissions from international writers, the truth is that is very costly to ship items across the world. At this time, we ask that if you are international (outside of the U.S.A.) that you provide the difference. Terrorcore will pay at most $10 to ship the contributor copy and anything in excess will need to be covered by the author. In lieu of shipping the item, international writers can receive $25 (which is the standard commission + the cost of the one copy you would have received).  Rights: The author will retain all rights to their story. It can be published elsewhere in full. The publisher will not keep said rights nor prevent the author from selling their story elsewhere. However, it is...

Submission Window: July 15th - 31st, 2024 Payment: $10 for flash – 2 per issue, $25 for shorts – 4 per issue, $30 for cover art Theme: Stories that are both funny and scary What we want: That sweet spot of horror comedy that is genuinely funny but also genuinely scary. Can be as goofy, gory, or smutty as you like! Work that punches up, not down. (“If the person on the gallows makes a grim joke, that’s gallows humor. If someone in the crowd makes a joke, that’s part of the execution.” – Alexandra Erin, Twitter.) Do not self reject! (Unless your story has one of the below unfunny things, in which case feel free to self reject.) For cover art submissions, please see toward the bottom of the page. What isn’t funny? Overall, bigotry (racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, antisemitism, fatphobia, etc, etc) has no place here. (Laughing AT bigots is fine, BEING bigoted is not – as Ria’s mom once said, making fun of fascists is a Mitzvah.) Sexual assault as a punchline or Holocaust jokes will have your story yeeted into the sun faster than you can say “you just don’t understand my comedic genius!” Mel Brooks says comedy is tragedy plus time, but we prefer to avoid specific and true tragedies when it comes to humorous horror. When is Die Laughing accepting submissions? We’ll be accepting submissions for Issue 1 from July 15-31, 2024. Anticipated date of publication is October, 2024 (spooky!). When submissions open, the link will be at the bottom of the page. More details: Word count: Up to 1000 (flash), 1001-5000 (shorts). We tend to prefer stories less than 3000 words long, and have a soft spot for the ever cursed 1000-2000 word region. Payment: Token ($10 for flash – 2 per issue, $25 for...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $10 for poetry, $25 for artwork, 1 cent per word for fiction Theme: False Memories Note: Reprints Welcome NonBinary Review is currently open for submissions on the theme of FALSE MEMORIES. False memories first came to public consciousness in the 1980s when a group of pre-schoolers at a California preschool were coached by well-meaning social workers and police investigators into "remembering" Satanic abuse that never happened. The fallout from that episode wasn't just the persecution of an innocent family, but a nationwide mass delusion now known as "the Satanic Panic," where authorities were warning the public about supposed widespread satanic cults committing heinous acts of abuse. Not a single one of these warnings were founded in fact, and it is now known that a large number of them were propaganda. But false memories aren't always bad. There is a common phenomenon wherein people hear stories of their early childhoods so often that those stories turn into "memories." It is common in dreams to have "memories" of things that happened to the dream self, but not to the real self. Or a person might believe that they took their regular medication, brought in the garbage bins, or picked up the mail when they haven't. We're looking for weird and wonderful stories of not just the memories themselves, but of their production, their repercussions, their wider meanings. We're looking for false memories that might have changed history, that led to remarkable discoveries, that impacted lives. We're NOT looking stories of recovered memories. Recovered memories are memories of real events that have been suppressed because they're traumatic, and are a widely disputed phenomenon. We would also like to avoid stories centering abuse, trauma, and violence. Zoetic Press publishes the best in speculative lit - experimental, interstitial, luminous. We welcome submissions from EVERYONE....

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Car Wars GameLit Fiction Genre: Car Wars GameLit Fiction Theme: Have you ever looked at someone, and just know that they have one hell of a tale to tell? First-hand accounts from the road, told by the bounty hunters, highwaymen, and Federal Marshals out there in the mix. Concept: We’re looking for stories from those trying to make a difference out there in the wastes. No matter if they are upholding the law, or tending to their small flock of survivors, these are the stories that inspire others to get off their tail and get something done. We want plenty of high-intensity action and carnage possible, backed by compelling character-driven stories. Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 (standard word count) Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: August 1, 2024 Email Submissions to: [email protected] with “Broken Highways” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore porn) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press...

Submission Window: July 1st, 2024 – August 1st, 2024 Payment: $25.00 (USD) per piece Theme: Quiet Horror and Intimate-Scale Dystopian Fiction Accepting: Short Stories up to 3000 Words Flash and Micro Fiction up to 1200 Words Fiction-in-Verse up to 1200 Words Author Compensation: $25.00 (USD) per piece Rights: We request first worldwide and digital rights for four months following publication. Thereafter all rights revert to the author. All copyright remains with the author. Genre: Quiet Horror and Intimate-Scale Dystopian Fiction (see our updated FAQ page for more on how we define Quiet Horror and Intimate Dystopia). Publication: Digital Format (PDF) Submission Period: July 01, 2024 – August 01, 2024 Decisions By: September 30, 2024 Release Date: October 31, 2024 EMail Submissions To: [email protected] ~ Submission Guidelines ~ For all open calls, submit your work by email to [email protected] with the subject line formatted as such: “ ” (ex.“2024 – Vampires Of Mars – Emily Young – Adult”). Please submit your work as an email attachment in .doc/.docx format. Authors may submit up to two pieces per issue. We request that each piece be submitted via its own individual email. Annual issues of The Quiet Ones do not have a specific theme, but keep in mind that your submission should be within the realms of quiet horror and/or intimate dystopia. Ensure your document contains your story title, your name (or pen name), and an approximate word count. In the event that your story is selected for publication, we will need your legal name for the contract. Please include a header on each page of your document with your surname, title and page number. Your document should be formatted in Times New Roman, 12pt., with double line spacing and indented paragraphs (double line spacing does not apply to poetry). We presently do not accept works in translation, visual art, non-narrative poetry, or nonfiction. In case of acceptance, please also include a brief...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $0.01 per word for new stories or $25 for reprints. Theme: Pirate Horror Editor: Austrian Spencer Note: Reprints Welcome In conjunction with the successful Kickstarter campaign for DarkLit Sails and the editor that brought you The Sadeiest, comes a new collection of piratical horror stories that are certain to plunge readers into the heart of darkness on the high seas, where cursed pirates and spectral ships reign with terror and betrayal, promising no soul safe passage through their nightmarish waters. THE ROUGHER THE SEAS, THE SMOOTHER WE SAIL Please read carefully. Submissions must meet the guidelines to be accepted. Submissions will be accepted up to August 1st, 2024. Please submit to [email protected] , ensuring In The Gallows Wake is in the subject line. What we are looking for: Diverse voices in pirate stories transform the high seas into a vibrant canvas of human experience, weaving a rich tapestry that blends historical accuracy with untold narratives, ensuring every wave and whisper carries the weight of authenticity and boundless imagination. This approach not only breathes life into the sails of traditional tales but also charts a course toward a more inclusive and multifaceted exploration of freedom, identity, and adventure. What we are NOT looking for: Please, do not submit stories that do not fit the theme. Submissions cannot contain graphic rape scenes. Please ensure any scenes of a sexual nature are necessary and non-exploitative. Submissions must be between 4,000 and 6,000 words. Title, Author’s name, pen name (if different), word count, and author's email address must be centered at the top of your submission. Submissions must be written in 12 pt. Times New Roman and double-spaced. We do not require exclusivity. You hold the copyright, licensing us for this publication. If your story is a reprint, please include its...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: "When she was eight, Alice Henderson briefly held the world record for filling her mouth with marbles." Fall: When she was eight, Alice Henderson briefly held the world record for filling her mouth with marbles. Due date: August 1, 2024 We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $100 Theme: Real World Based Zombie Horror WORKING TITLE: Zombies in the New Normal STORY QUANTITY  - 12 TO 15 WORD COUNT - 3000 TO 12,000 PAY - $100/Story GENRE - Real World Based Zombie Horror SUBMISSION DEADLINE - 1/August/2024 RELEASE DATE 1/October/2024 FORMAT - Word document. Un-indented. Single space with double spaces between paragraphs. Stories from editor's prompts have the best chance of acceptance. SUBMIT TO - [email protected] The stories in this anthology will be by individual writers, but each story will share a common thread of parameters as background. ANTHOLOGY PARAMETERS * No Zombie is just a Zombie. They were all once human and deep inside they still have aspects of their general and personal humanity. They know they have become Zombies, but that doesn't mean they all have to like it. They can't help what they have become. * All Zombies must eat human brains. There is something within human brain tissue that Zombies ingest in order to stay in their undead state. If they don't consume enough of this tissue, they will die-die. There is no coming back from this state of dead. * Zombies can't speak in the way humans do but they can communicate with other of their kind telepathically. This is a learned skill and the better one becomes, the more Zombies they can reach out to and communicate with at once. Most Zombies can only communicate with those they know, and for many there must be a direct line-of-site between them. When a Zombie tries to speak using their mouth, the only sounds they can make are monster-like gibberish, full of snarls and growls. * Just like Humans, any Zombie with a physical or mental handicap will have limitations based on that handicap. A Zombie with a damaged...

Submission Window: July 1st - August 1st, 2024 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: Demagogues 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 Demagogues. Demagogue is defined as a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using a rational argument. Some synonyms for a demagogue are fanatic, fomenter, hothead, incendiary, inciter, instigator, politician, rabble-rouser, radical, rebel, revolutionary, troublemaker. It's an election year in the US. Things are promising to get weird and/or violent. The rest of the world looks like their having the same fight coming to their doors. 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 homage to the scary comics and zines of...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Tarot (Vol 102) THE TAROT, 1st August 2024 Pull a card; tell a story. If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories! If accepted, we'll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week. *** WHEN WILL I HEAR IF MY STORY HAS BEEN ACCEPTED OR NOT? We carefully review every single submission that comes through our door. If you’ve submitted a story to us, please be patient. We WILL let you know if your submission has or hasn’t been successful. Having said that, if you haven’t heard anything up to twelve weeks after the deadline has passed, feel free to ping us an email to check in on it. 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...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: $5 Theme: Splatter-friendly extreme horror stories We want solid, entertaining writing that evokes feelings. Carnage House is a splatter friendly web ’zine—so nothing against cozy, but cozy, we’re not. We’re looking for gore, extreme horror, splatterpunk, and horror with sexual elements to it. For a better understanding of what we’ll take, think of the Hot Blood book series or Love in Vein. Or, as a more practical proposition, read our back issues at carnagehouse.com. We invite LGBTQIA and BIPOC themes, and we encourage authors from diverse backgrounds to submit to us. Hard NOs: NO sex with children, NO sexualization of children, and NO child rape. If you’re writing a story about a child predator who gets what’s coming to him—great. But we don’t want to read about that predator violating his victims. We won’t publish anything supporting a racist, transphobic, or homophobic agenda, so don’t try it. No stories written by AI; all work must be 100 percent original. Our description includes the words “splatter” and “friendly” for a reason. We love splatter, and we’re super friendly. Carnage House is about supporting writers and entertaining readers, and we’re dedicated to both in equal measure. We look forward to reading your work in all its splattertastic glory. Submissions: We want solid entertaining writing. That has to be clearly stated because we are open to gore, extreme horror, splatterpunk, and horror with sexual elements to it. Sounds great? Like anything too good to be true, there is a catch. We have some hard “Nos.” Before you go off about the freedom of expression, remember, this is a web ‘zine, not a government. We donate our time to it and if we’re not getting joy from reading your story we’re not going to publish it. This website runs...

Deadline: August 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Space Coasties Genre: Speculative Fiction Theme: A collection of stories dealing with Space Coasties! Concept: We’re looking for a story that shows a modern Coast Guard in a speculative fiction setting. These can be set in any speculative fiction setting that you want, so long as the story covers a Coastie in action. Generally speaking, we want action stories, but we want your creativity to be the only limiting factor! Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 (standard word count) Edited by: JR Handley & Bayonet Books Opening Essay by: TBD Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: August 1, 2024 Email Submissions to: [email protected] with “Space Coasties!” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality.   What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore porn) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press for submissions in this genre at tanglewoodromance (at) gmail.com Gratuitous Abuse/Violence: While we at Three Ravens Publishing understand that graphic situations can alter or otherwise move the plot forward in ways that the reader may not expect when properly used,...