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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...

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...

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: $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...

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: 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...

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...

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...

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 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: $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...

  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: 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: $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...

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...

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...

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: 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...

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: 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,...

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...

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: $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: $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 9th, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Noir cat stories Moggie Noir Volume 2 Cats. Noir. Spectacular Tail. Do it again. Opens: 6/9/24 Closes: 8/9/24 Contracts: 8/24/24 Publication: 9/20/24 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 to grow into a novel, or…..so go ahead and write it, but tuck it away, and revisit it before submitting. Raconteur Press uses Pubshare (pubshare.com) to distribute payments and handle tax forms for anthology authors, so authors who contribute must have a free pubshare account. IMPORTANT: when you set up your Pubshare account you MUST choose the method by which you want to receive your royalties. There are currently two choices: PayPal...

Deadline: August 10th, 2024 Prizes: First: $25 bookshop.org giftcard, Second: $10 bookshop.org gift card Theme: Fantasy stories up to 500 words The Semi-Sages of the Pages is hosting a short fiction contest. We’re looking for fantasy stories, in whatever way that means to you. If it means fairies and elves where true love conquers all, then we want to see it. If it means a dark castle where a wizard preys a town of centaurs, then we’re looking forward to reading it. If it means a college-student makes a wish over a wishing well and falls into a land talking trees…well you get it. The rules: 1) Please keep it to no more than 500 words. Less is fine too, but submitting a longer story, no matter how great it is, will disqualify you. 2) We will be reading this on our YouTube channel, so please keep to a PG-13 level. Cursing and sex is fine, but PG-13 cursing and sex please. 3) We will not tolerate any stories with torture-porn, explicit sex, rape, hurting of children or animals etc. 4) Any age is welcome to apply. 5) Contest opens on July 20th and ends Aug 10th. We’ll send emails to all participants with the date of the announcement of the winners on YouTube. 6) The author keeps the rights to their story. We will read the winners (and maybe 3rd or 4th place) aloud on our YouTube channel. Your story will not be published anywhere, without your permission and a contract to do so. The prizes: First Place: $25 gift card for Bookshop.org Second Place: $10 gift card for Bookshop.org Use this form to submit your story.

Deadline: August 10th, 2024 Prizes: First: $25 bookshop.org giftcard, Second: $10 bookshop.org gift card Theme: Superhero stories up to 500 words In honor of Comic-Con we’re hosting a second contest looking for your superhero stories. Like above, we’re looking for stories of superheroes, in whatever way that means to you. The rules: 1) Please keep it to no more than 500 words. Less is fine too, but submitting a longer story, no matter how great it is, will disqualify you. 2) We will be reading this on our YouTube channel, so please keep to a PG-13 level. Cursing and sex is fine, but PG-13 cursing and sex please. 3) We will not tolerate any stories with torture-porn, explicit sex, rape, hurting of children or animals etc. 4) Any age is welcome to apply. 5) Contest opens on July 20th and ends Aug 10th. We’ll send emails to all participants with the date of the announcement of the winners on YouTube. 6) The author keeps the rights to their story. We will read the winners (and maybe 3rd or 4th place) aloud on our YouTube channel. Your story will not be published anywhere, without your permission and a contract to do so. The prizes: First Place: $25 gift card for Bookshop.org Second Place: $10 gift card for Bookshop.org Use this form to submit your story. Via: No Bad Books Press, LLC.

Open Window: August 1st to the 14th Payment: $50 per poem, $80 per story for flash, 8 cents per word for short fiction Theme: Works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction that engage in a significant way with the long history of fairy tales Upcoming submission windows Submission window for Issue #3: 1 to 14 August (closes midnight AEST on 14 August) We do not accept multiple submissions (one piece per submission window, please!), or simultaneous submissions. Submitting your work All submissions must be emailed to [email protected] Word/line limits Poetry: up to 50 lines (but we’re a little bit flexible!) Flash: up to 1000 words Short fiction/non-fiction: up to 4000 words Payment Poetry: flat rate $US50.00 per poem Flash: flat rate $US80.00 per story (max 1000 words) Short fiction/non-fiction: $US0.08 per word (max 4000 words) We typically pay via PayPal, but we will do our best to accommodate your preferred payment method. Please note, however, that we cannot pay by cheque. What we’re looking for I am all for putting new wine in old bottles, especially if the pressure of the new wine makes the bottles explode (Angela Carter, ‘Notes from the front line’). We are seeking original works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction that engage in a significant way with the long history of fairy tales. We are interested in works that stretch, expand, test, subvert, and challenge the fairy-tale tradition. We are interested in works that are entertaining, but also in works that matter: that is, in works that are both pleasurable to read and thought-provoking. We are interested in works in which the relationship between the your writing and the fairy-tale tradition is complex and thoughtful. Works that—ideally, though this is a Big Ask—open up our hearts and minds, offering us a new way to think or feel about the fairy-tale tradition as well as broader themes and issues. We are...

Submission Window: July 15th - August 15th, 2024 Payment: $15.00 for short stories, $5.00 for poems and flash (<1000 wds) fiction pieces., $5.00 for reprints Theme: Science Fiction and fantasy stories with complex female characters The Lorelei Signal is a quarterly SF/Fantasy electronic magazine - one that will feature strong / complex female characters. This does not mean your female character has to be the main hero or villain in the story. What it does mean is no shrinking violets, or women who serve only to get into trouble so the male hero can rescue them.Each issue I hope to publish:7 short stories, 1 flash fiction piece and 2 poemsthat meet the following guidelines:My primary guideline is simple:Write a good fantasy story with strong/complex characters.What I am NOT looking for - erotica / slash / or other such stories.Although well written love scenes that are IMPORTANT to the story will be considered on a story-by-story basis.1) Stories should be no longer than 10,000 words.However, tell the story - if it takes more than 10,000 words to tell the story properly so be it.Just try to cut it down if possible - but remember the story is the important part.2) Stories must feature 3 dimensional / complex characters.3) I will accept reprints as long as it has been at least 1 year since the story was previously published,rights have reverted back and you tell me where it previously appeared.These will be limited to 2 per issue.4) Please keep the graphic gore down to a minimum(only what's needed for the story).5) Please keep the obscene language to a bare minimum(again, only what's needed for the story).6) Simultaneous Submissions will be considered IF:a) You tell me up frontb) You inform me immediately if the story has been accepted elsewhereIf I have too many occurrences of finding...

Deadline: August 15th, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Halloween HALLOWED Deadline – 15th August 2024 **EXTENDED** Publication – 31st October 2024 Word Count – 2,500 words to 7,000 Theme – Halloween. Genre – Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Horror Compensation – 40% of royalties split between all authors within the anthology for one year from the date of publication.  Reprints – No Simultaneous Submissions – No When submitting to Iron Faerie Publishing please remember the Submission Guidelines. Each submission should include a brief and polite introduction addressed to the Editor. Please make sure to include the following: Your name, legal name and pen name (if you use one). The title of your submission. The submission’s word count. The title of the anthology that you are submitting to. Author Bio written in 3rd person (150 words or less). Up to three (3) links. No amazon author page links. The following formatting is more or less industry standard, and our preference. Your submission should be in Shunn Short Story Format, and in Times New Roman 12 point font. No tabs. .doc and .docx. only. When sending your submission, please remember the following: All submissions should be sent to: [email protected] All submissions close at midnight of the specified date according to Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00), unless filled early. Email subject lines should read in the following format: ANTHOLOGY NAME – Title – Author Name (eg. HAWTHORN & ASH – Brid’s Lament – A.N. Author) Responses to submissions will be sent no later than SIX WEEKS after the SUBMISSION CALL has CLOSED. We always respond to each and every submission. At this time we ARE NOT accepting novel submissions. We DO NOT ACCEPT simultaneous submissions. Via: Iron Faerie Publishing.

Submission Window: April 16th - Aug. 15th, 2024 Payment: Fiction: 2¢ per word for original, 1¢ per word for reprints. Poetry: $20 per original poem and $10 for reprints. $100 for issue cover art, $30 for back cover art, and $20 for art used on our site Theme: Stories and poetry containing elements of science fiction, anarchism, transhumanism, or dystopia. Note: Reprints Welcome Radon welcomes short stories and poetry containing elements of science fiction, anarchism, transhumanism, or dystopia. ​ We publish quality literature every mid-January, May, and September. Submissions are accepted year-round. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Reprints accepted if writer has the rights. AI submissions are not allowed at Radon. ​ Please click below to submit your work through our no-fee Submittable page: We kindly request a third-person bio that is 100-words or shorter in your cover letter.Author rights: For original work, Radon asks for first English digital rights and non-exclusive, indefinite archival rights. ​ Authors published in Radon cannot be accepted into the issue immediately following, but may submit after this period. ​ Our issue reading periods are: ​ January: Aug. 16 - Dec. 15 ​​ May: Dec. 16 - April 15 ​​ September: April 16 - Aug. 15 Prose We accept flash fiction and short story submissions up to 3,000 words. Radon pays a semi-professional rate of 2¢ per word for original work and 1¢ for reprints. ​ For quicker processing, please use a submission style similar to the modern manuscript format. We ask that you utilize single-spacing. Please note that we do not publish fantasy stories and are looking for work that includes leftist social commentary. Poetry Please submit up to five poems in a single Word document. There is no line limit. Radon pays a semi-professional rate of $20 per original poem and $10 for reprints.We request single-spaced formatting using a standard 11pt font such as Garamond,...

Deadline: August 15th, 2024 Payment: $50 Theme: Urban Fantasy primarily followed by sword and sorcery, some gothic and supernatural horror will be accepted but it will be a harder sell Dirty Magick Magazine publishes short fiction, from 2,000 to 12,500 words. We pay a single-story rate of $50 which is halfway to SFWA qualification and fully HWA eligible. E-mail "submissions dirtymagickmagazine.com" with your story attached. We like a variety of stories but will only publish a few styles. Please read closely as these are the rules and they will not be broken. First and foremost, we are interested in urban fantasy which we define as fantasy adventure fiction which takes place in modern settings. These places can be real or imaginary (although we prefer the former), but the story must have some combination of those typical elements: magic, other sentient races, enchanted objects, and mythical backgrounds. These all may be underground and hidden, but they must play a part in the story. Next, we want sword and sorcery which we define as fantasy adventure fiction taking place in an ancient or alternative world where the protagonists must use their wits and weapons to survive. We contrast this with high fantasy (which we are not interested in) where quests taken on behalf of the rulers are world shaking. We are much more interested in the street level like the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tales of Fritz Leiber and the Conan/Bran Mak Morn tales of Robert E. Howard. Finally, we will consider gothic and supernatural horror. We won’t define this directly, but this is a market to submit vampire, werewolf, ghost, and cryptid fiction. Be warned, it would be best to use these creatures in one of the previously mentioned genres as that would be a quicker path to publication. Now that we’ve...

Submission Window: August 1st - 16th, 2024 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Thriller + Suspense + Psychological Horror that deal with Little Red Flags about cults, cons, and control The warning signs were there: those little red flags. But in the beginning, it all looked rose-colored. You thought you were getting community, belonging, and purpose. Maybe a lucrative new career. Maybe even salvation. Instead, you got control, fanaticism, greed, manipulation, and terror. Bring us your fiction stories of fanaticism, fundamentalism, extremism, and control. We want to read about cons people pull off that make our jaws drop. The horrors hiding just beyond the edges of our better judgment. We want the kind of monsters who hide in plain sight: charismatic cult leaders with a god-complex (think: NXIVM, Twin Flames Universe) and systems built to prey on the vulnerable (think: Lularoe). Give us MLM puppet masters, unhinged homeschooling movements, manipulative or extreme doomsday preppers, and weight-loss cults. We want characters who will give us a peek behind the veneer of a megachurch, an insider's view of the pressure to recruit for a pyramid scheme, an up-close look at love-bombing in action, along with the emotional fallout. NOTE: We’re not interested in stories that revolve around ideologies or theologies. Instead, we’re seeking stories that focus on the ways charismatic predators and extreme ideas lure vulnerable, well-meaning truth-seekers and turn ordinary people into monsters. We will give preference to well-executed, fast-paced, and dark psychological and suspense thrillers. We want twists that are earned and stories that really move and engage. Grab the reader by the eyeballs and don’t let go. This means well-written commercial prose. Think: The Push by Ashley Audrain, or anything Gillian Flynn writes. We want to create the grown-up version of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Stories you’d want to read around the campfire to...

Deadline: August 23rd, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Travels full of hijinks and strange circumstances, danger, humor, and odd encounters as we journey through the universe, the neighborhood, or across town. If you’ve watched our #RaconteurRoadTrip adventures in the North Texas Troublemakers Facebook group, you know we’ve had some…interesting adventures. So why not do an anthology? Tell us travels full of hijinks and strange circumstances, danger, humor, and odd encounters as we journey through the universe, the neighborhood, or across town. What about that time where you and your buddy got lost on the way to the great noodle bar on Asteroid B-643? Or that bunch of folks trying to deliver through a hostile corridor in space? Then there’s the endless side trips and NOW WHAT?! of travels interrupted by…a camel. The more adventure, the better! Opens: 6/23/24 Closes: 8/23/24 Contracts: 9/7/24 Publication: 10/4/24 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...

Deadline: August 30th, 2024 Payment: $5 Theme: Horror, Noir, and all Things Dark, up to 1,500 words Announcing a new venture into short horror fiction - curated by Theresa Scott-Matthews. We are looking for the very best short horror fiction stories - up to 1,500 words (approximately - we're not going to to turn away cracking tales for being a tad over the word count!). Anything goes, subject-wise, as long as it fits HellBound Books' "Horror, Noir, and all Things Dark" philosophy! PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * up to approx. 1,500 word count * Write 'FLASH' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: 30 August 2024 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 75K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Deadline: August 30th, 2024 Payment: $25 plus contributor's copy Theme: A story about a store that sells Gods who are attached to items, or more importantly, the items themselves, further details below This is an anthology different from most we have done. It is the follow-up to the original GODS & SERVICES, and there is a definite theme to which we will require far stricter adherence. There is a store. It wasn't there yesterday. It won't be there tomorrow. There's no way it could have fit where it is. The sign in the window obviously is meant to read GOODS & SERVICES, but one of the Os has fallen. The proprietor is a sort of short, tall, fat, thin, young, old, sometimes a woman fellow named Hiram Priest. The merchandise is flea market quality mixed with priceless and rare antiques all sharing the same space with no apparent organization. Hiram sells gods. He sells gods by selling items to which a god, long out of work, is attached. After an unwary buyer has purchased an item (and the item can be anything), the god attached to it is then obliged, in exchange for the worshipful offering, to make the character's life better -- in the opinion of the god in question. (For inspiration, watch Tony Randall and Burl Ives in "The Brass Bottle" -- or better yet, read the first book.) Your story does not have to reflect any of the information about Hiram, or indeed have any interactions with him. The key ingredients are the item, the god, and what follows after. The story can be horror, fantasy, or comedy. All the stories will be inserted into a larger framework , with Hiram Priest relating them to a prospective buyer. Again, the best advice here is to read the...

Deadline: August 30th, 2024 Payment: $5 Theme: Following on from the resounding success of HellBound's satanic anthology "Satan Rides Your Daughter," our loving homage to the late, great British author Dennis Wheatley, we decided another outing for stories concerning Beelzebub and his denizens of Hell was in order! We want your very best devilish and demonic tales - horrify us with your depictions of the darest, deepest pits of Hades or Hell on Earth... PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines... * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 4K-10K word count * Write 'SATAN' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: 30 August 2024 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 100K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Deadline: August 30th, 2024 Payment: $5 Theme: A new take on pre-existing creatures. So many of God's creatures have been used to gruesome, horrifying effect over the decades - rats, spiders, giant centipedes (HBB's very own 'Pede!), crabs, rabbits, frogs, slugs, worms, myriad members of the insect class, and so many, many more... Our challenge is for you to create something wholly unique using creatures that have been featured before, those who have not recieved a mention thus far (killer koalas, anyone?), or some hideous, creature of your won design - which ever way you choose, make it blood-curdling, terrifying, and as scary as Hell! PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 4K-10K word count * Write 'CREATURES' along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to [email protected] - Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) Deadline: 30 August 2024 NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 100K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books.

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: $10 per story or 1 cent/word rounded to the nearest 100 words, up to a maximum of $25. Theme: 1,000-2,5000 word speculative fiction, including such genres as science fiction, fantasy, horror, and stories involving the supernatural. Effective July 18, 2024, we are open for submissions for our inauguaral issue, planned for publication in the fourth quarter of 2024. We anticipate the initial issue will contain not more than ten stories. We will remain open for submissions until August 31, 2024. We will make final decisions on acceptance not later than September 30, 2024, after which all authors will recieve final notification on the status of their submission. Do not query prior to July 18. Stories may not exceed 2500 words. Our preference is for stories between 1000 and 2000 words. No mulitiple submissions, no simultaneous submissions. No reprints–original fiction only. Prose only–no poetry. No generative AI. Since this is our inaugural issue, the theme will be new beginnings. Stories should reflect this theme in some manner, such as character, plot, setting, or other element. Payment will be the larger of $10 per story or 1 cent/word rounded to the nearest 100 words, up to a maximum of $25. Payment will be rendered via Paypal prior to publication. We cannot issue checks or pay in cash–you must be able to accept Paypal to be paid. If you cannot accept Paypal, payment will be in the form of a copy of the printed issue Please read author guidelines before submitting. Pay special attention to submission requirements. In particular, stories must be submitted via the online form on this site. See the author guidelines for the link. We will acknowledge all submissions via email. Author Guidelines We’re eager to read your stories, but please be sure that your submission is suitable for our publication and meets our requirements....

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Darker legends of the mermaid. Sirens, womenfolk (fishfolk?) who lure men into the sea. The darker the water, the deeper the ocean. The deeper the ocean, the more terrifying the inhabitants. And the ocean is very, very deep. And full of inhabitants. The thing about mermaids is… They’re not always pretty. They’re not always nice. And there’s always a tale. Maybe you’ll be okay, if you just dip your toes… We are looking for darker legends of the mermaid. Sirens, womenfolk (fishfolk?) who lure men into the sea. Of the men (or their wives!) who seek revenge for lost loves, lost fortunes, and wrecked ships. We want Tails of Tragedy and Terror, Stories of Sails and Seas and Sorrow, Accounts of Attractions and Actions, Allegories of Alligators, Apologues of Apologies, Travelogues of Living Logs! Wait. No. Sorry. Got carried away. Anyway, be they romance gone wrong, horror, sci-fi, dark comedy, or whatever genre, we want to see your dark stories about mermaids. Editor Jessica Guernsey Executive Editor Sam Knight Submissions open June 1st through August 31st 2024. Full general submission guidelines for Knight Writing Press can be found here: https://knightwritingpress.com/submissions/ TLDR: (Warning, if you don’t correctly follow the aforementioned guidelines, you will likely be rejected.) Payment: Royalty sharing only, and only through Draft2Digital Wordcount: 2,000 to 6,000 words No reprints. (Not because we don’t want them, but because Amazon is a problem.* See end of this page for more information.) Rights asked for: For both print and electronic, First worldwide, English, Exclusive anthology rights ONLY until publication (because of that Amazon problem again*) and then non-exclusive as soon as the anthology is published, for as long as the anthology remains in print. Submit to [email protected]  with the subject line of: Mermaidens 2 (story name) by (author’s name) as an RTF,...

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: Advance of $500 to $2000 and TBD set of contributors copies Theme: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Literary Fiction Announcing Open Submission for the month of August Who We Are Dark Age Press is a small, independent publisher. We presently focus on Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Literary Fiction. Our mission: to support local, independent bookstores and pop-up bookstores, and, as such, we only sell to those bookstores. Our goal is to publish two works per year. Open Submissions We have open submission twice per year during the months of August and January. We only accept completed works. Authors wishing to submit a work must send a PDF of the first three chapters to: [email protected], and mail a print version of the first three chapters to the address below. The email subject line should say: Attention Submissions - . Authors wishing to have the printed work returned should include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (S.A.S.E.). Submitted works must be postmarked during the month of open submission to be considered. Works submitted outside the submission window that include a S.A.S.E. will be returned. Those submissions that do not will be destroyed. We will respond by the end of December for the August submission window, and the end of May for the January submission window. If we have not responded by the end of the respective period, you can query us regarding the status at [email protected]. All correspondence will come from DarkAgePress.com. Our mailing address is: Dark Age Press Attn: Submissions P.O. Box 470292 Fort Worth, TX 76147-0292 For Authors An author who is selected will receive: an advance of $500 to $2000; cover art; and a set amount of books to use in promotion of the book. Authors will be contractually constrained to selling only at in-person promotions or events for two years. For Bookstores...

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: $30 CAD per feature and $20 CAD for film diaries Theme: Period Piece Theme: PERIOD PIECE Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Stuck in the past? We want to hear about it. For our 11th issue we are looking for submissions on period pieces. From ancient times (Last Temptation of Christ) to recent past (Uncut Gems) we want to hear your take on how films have represented, invented, or misunderstood a previous era. Send us personal pieces, film diaries, fan fiction, and experimental pieces on anything set in the past. This could be a specific film, era or historical figure, an aspect of filmmaking (candlelight in Barry Lyndon), or a broader trend in film history or present. If you need some inspiration, check out this wildly comprehensive list. Please keep in mind that we generally do not cover films made pre-1970, and please do not send pitches on films set in the future—that’s for another issue! 😉 ‍ Some ideas 💡 - Films that stick to historical accuracy or play with anachronism - Directors who engage with/avoid the current moment - Some of our favourite period films: Moulin Rouge, Gothic, Sleepy Hollow, Benedetta, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Daughters of the Dust, Embrace of the Serpent - Revisionist history and era subversion: Posse, Wuthering Heights (2011), Zama, In the Realm of the Senses - Biopics: Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters, Wolf of Wall St., Saint Laurent (2014), 24 Hour Party People - Recent history period pieces: Uncut Gems, The Bling Ring, May December - Directors: Ang Lee, Jane Campion, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee - Overrated and underrated eras: Victorian, Tudor, 1970s… - Adaptations of specific authors: Jane Austen, Daphne Du Maurier, Patricia Highsmith… - TV: Watchmen, Lovecraft County, Mad Men… - Shakespeare Adaptations: updated and classical ‍Please note that this issue will only feature 10-12 pieces, so send us your best! What We Publish We’re looking...

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: Stories 2500-4500 pay $10 CAD, Stories 4501-6500 pay $15 CAD, reprints are accepted at half payment Theme: Funny stories about aliens Note: Reprints Welcome THEME: COMEDIC ALIEN STORIES. SCHEDULED FOR PUBLICATION IN 2025.​ We will accept short story submissions for this anthology call between August 1, 2024, and August 31, 2024.  ​ Theme Description: Wow us with your funniest alien stories. Seriously, we want our cheeks to hurt from giggling. Examples of comical circumstances include first contact stories, abductions, interactions or curiosities, love, bumbling or blundering aliens, secret missions, capers, attacks (whether successful or foiled), and any other inter-alien or inter-species situations. Yep, humans can be in your story, too. Having touches of dark humour is okay, but we don’t want to see full on horror comedies. We also don't want to see any sexual assault (although brief, non-explicit mentions are fine only if necessary to further the story), nor any animal/child abuse depicted within the story (again, a brief mention of a past incident is okay only if it serves the story). Please do not send us any body “probing” stories. However, it's acceptable for the act of probing to be mentioned in passing for comedic effect. No erotica. Some violence is fine as long as it is befitting a comedic tale and not excessively graphic. Stories can be set on Earth, other planets, a ship, or elsewhere in space. Be as creative as you like. We’re looking for all things lighthearted, rollicking, action-filled, sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek, quirky, cute, unique, twisty, romantic, oddball, unexpected, and just plain fun. ​ Guidelines: Decisions will be made within six months of the call’s closing date. Original stories are preferred. However, we will consider reprints if they haven’t been published within two years and aren’t currently under contract. No...

Submission Window: August 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...

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Stories that evoke nuanced feelings and leave a lasting impression that take place in LA Note: Authors/writers who are based in Los Angeles, lived here, or have a strong tie to the area. Note: We are open for submissions for Made in L.A. Vol. 6, starting April 20 through August 31, 2024. See below for our submission guidelines and to sign up to our newsletter for updates about open submissions periods. The Made in L.A. indie author co-op is a Los Angeles-based group of writers dedicated to the support and appreciation of independent authors. We publish work by new, emerging, and established writers, including those who have been underrepresented or historically misrepresented, with a preference for writers who currently live in and around Los Angeles. Previously published and unpublished fiction will both be considered. Submissions are free. Submission Guidelines for Made in L.A. Vol. 6 Made in L.A. Writers is open for submissions starting April 30 through Aug. 31, 2024, for our sixth volume of short stories. We seek stories that evoke nuanced feelings and leave a lasting impression. We want to meet vibrant characters, hear their distinct voices, and—as always—see the action unfold in a strong Los Angeles setting. There is no word count minimum or maximum though we generally prefer stories in the sweet spot of 2,000 to 10,000 words. We accept previously published stories; please include your story’s publication history with your submission. All submissions must be double-spaced in 12-pt Times New Roman font with one-inch margins, formatted as a MS-Word, RTF, or PDF document. Please include a word count, your name, and your email address at the top of your story. To submit, we’re providing two options: Submit your manuscript via a Google Form (preferred) Email your...

Submission Window: August 1st - 25th for all authors with an extended window of August 26th - 31st for authors from from marginalized communities Payment: 5 cents per word and a contributor's copy Theme: A punk/emo/rock song for inspiration, and which creatively channels that song’s ‘energy’ into a horror short story PUNK goes HORROR A Mixtape of Musically Inspired Goth-Rock-Horror Bangers Published by Truborn Press Edited by William Sterling         Guidelines: This is an open submission call for a fiction anthology. Open call submission window opens August 1, 2024-August 25th, 2024. Extended submission window exclusively for writers from marginalized communities August 26th, 2024-August 31st, 2024. The anthology will be a mix of solicited stories and stories selected from the open call submission period. What are we looking for? Short fiction, between 2000 to 4000 words (firm limit), which uses a punk/emo/rock song for inspiration, and which creatively channels that song’s ‘energy’ into a horror short story. What kind of stories are we looking for? This is going to be a horror-centric anthology. Punk (and Rock in general) can evoke skulls, ghosts, death, human monsters, love, loss, and rage all amongst burning wastelands galore, and we think that the right stories for this collection will find fun ways to reflect that aesthetic. Please understand that the term “Punk Rock” is being used loosely, just like it was in the POP goes PUNK album series (August Burns Red is “Punk?” Okay, then). We’re excited to see stories from all across the rock spectrum. Pop Rock is fine. Metal is fine. Emo, Hardcore, Glam Rock, Stadium Rock, have fun. NOTE: The songs you choose should serve as inspiration only. One or two uses of direct lyrics are fine, but please use them sparingly.  We will only be selecting one story per band.  You...

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Short horror tales set in the bleakness of space There’s nothing out here. Out in the void. Just the infinite vacuous expanse between stars, the dead zone. We were interstellar when the core died. Just shut off. Leaving us stranded. We try to name the stars, (That one’s Arcturus, I think) but they all look the same out here. Identifying our own is pointless. It’s one pinprick of light amongst thousands. There’s no one to call to. Not that they could hear from out here anyway. It’s just the three of us, me on my own sled. The repairs have not gone well. Jasmine says she’s seen something moving out in that void. I’ve seen it too, sliding along in the black, always just within the peripheral. Tar, she says. More like blackened blood, bubbles coalescing from the void. It wants to be seen, but just barely. It’s just us … dear God, just us. I know it, and she knows it too. There’s something out here. Songs from the Void is an upcoming anthology of short horror tales set in the bleakness of space. We are seeking submissions for this anthology, which will see its launch on Kickstarter mid-2025. Send us your sci-fi terrors, your Lovecraftian leviathans, your monsters lurking through corridors, your isolation fears. Whatever it is, if it’s in space and scary, we want to see it. Please follow our guidelines for what we don’t want to see, found at Submissions. Please be certain your story is formatted with standard short story formatting with your personal details on the first page. We prefer Garamond or Alegreya, 12 pt font. Stories must be at least 3,500 words long, and our loose upper limit is 12,000 words. Please, if you submit a piece longer than this, be certain...

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: ~2,000 to 5,000 words - $20 USD, ~5,001 to 10,000 words - $25 USD Theme: Tumbleweed. Inspired by the eerie spectacle captured in this video Do you have a tale to tell that will send shivers down our spines? Are you ready to explore the sinister depths of a mysterious phenomenon lurking in the desolate landscapes of Utah, or any other real or fictional setting of your choosing? Black Hare Press is thrilled to announce an open call for submissions to our upcoming anthology: Tumbleweed. Inspired by the eerie spectacle captured in this video, we invite you to unravel the secrets hidden within the relentless advance of thousands of tumbleweeds. What if tumbleweed isn’t just tumbleweed? Where does it originate? What dark forces propel its relentless advance? What horrors does it bring with it? Does it herald the onset of an apocalyptic upheaval, a world consumed by its sinister presence? If your story is post-apocalyptic, delve into the shadows and unleash your imagination upon a world gripped by the Tumbleweed Apocalypse. Submission Guidelines: Word count: 2,000 – 10,000 words Ensure your first 500 words compel the reader to want to go further. Follow our blind read process; do not include personal information in your manuscript. Include your personal information (name, bio, etc.) in the email body. Co-authored submissions are allowed. Reprints and simultaneous submissions are not accepted. Author Compensation: Monetary awards based on wordcounts after edits: ~2,000 to 5,000 words - $20 USD ~5,001 to 10,000 words - $25 USD Plus one digital copy and print discounts. Publication Formats: Paperback, hardcover, digital, and audio. Submission Email: [email protected] Submission Deadline: 31st August 2024 Please allow 12 weeks after the call closes for a response. Dare to venture into the sinister world of Tumbleweed, where each gust of wind may bring...

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: $25 Theme: Crime Fiction Inspired by Heavy Metal Hits Ozzy Osbourne. Lita Ford. Metallica. Megadeth. Kiss. So many heavy metal bands have put their stamp on the music industry. With searing guitar riffs, fierce drums and a headbanging attitude, heavy metal continues to rock out and melt faces from their origins in the 1970s through today. The intensity of that music genre lends itself perfectly to crime fiction. That’s where you come in. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 1. Your work must be based on a song that’s an original heavy metal song and cannot be a cover of a pop song. For example, although Peyton Parrish has an amazing metal cover of “Let It Go” from Frozen, it is not eligible for this anthology. Feel free to reference the list HERE for inspiration. 2. Your work must relate strongly to the song it’s inspired by, whether that’s by the lyrics or the name. 3. You still must have a STORY and a good crime/mystery. 4. LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC characters and authors very, very strongly encouraged. Be authentic! 5. All works must be original to this publication and cannot have been published or self-published previously. 6. We’re perfectly ok with simultaneous submissions to other publishers, but please let us know if you’d like your story withdrawn from consideration. 7. Please make sure your song choice is not too obscure. From past musical mystery anthologies we’ve found that readers have a lot more interest if there are songs they immediately recognize. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES 1. We’re not looking for flash fiction, but we’re not against it if it works. Prefer more in the regular short story length (3000-5000 words). 2. All submissions need to be in DOC, DOCX or Pages format. Everyone knows by now that we don’t care about fonts and spacing...

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: A contributors copy and Royalties or $20 Theme: Dragons! Submission Period: June 7, 2024 to August 31, 2024 Theme: Dragon Mythicana There be dragons, that’s all we ask. They can be friends or foes. Dragons in space, flying dragons, dragon-shifters or whatever you have. Express yourself as the theme moves you. There is no restriction as to how you incorporate the theme into your story. We encourage you to weave the theme into an engaging story with well-developed characters and deep emotion. Stories that contain infanticide, rape, or gratuitous gore will not be accepted. Submission Period: June 7, 2024 to August 31, 2024 Submissions: No AI, 1 per author; no reprints, no simultaneous submissions; Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 2,000 to 6,000 words Submission Guidelines: Anonymous submission with no author name in document; 12 pt Times or Arial; .Doc or .Docx; double-space; first line indent; no tabs used. Genres: Speculative fiction, fantasy Anticipated Pay: Option: Royalty share of D2D sales, or $20.00 If D2D royalty share selected, then each story will receive a share, as will the editor and publisher, from the sales on the D2D platform. This does not include: Kickstarter funds unless detailed in the Stretch goals; wholesale to authors; or non-D2D retail outlets. Links will be available to direct your customers to D2D outlets. Timeline Projections: Submissions close: August 31, 2024 Review: September 2024 Acceptance / Rejection: October 2024 Edits: Nov-Dec 2024 Production: Mar 2025 Published: Mar 2025 Upon acceptance, the author is expected to work with the editor on at least one round of revisions in MSWord. Our publication goal will be the spring of 2024; however, the extensive time needed to review and edit submissions may vary depending upon the submitted works and author’s response times. Inkd Publishing LLC will hold first...

Deadline: August 31st, 2024 Payment: $150 - $250 Theme: Original weird tales and essays set in the Middle East that explore the human (and inhuman) experience through the lens of weird fiction and horror Sentinel Creatives has opened up for submissions for our anthology of Middle Eastern Horror: “Children of the Blind Owl”. Deadline for Submissions: 31 August 2024 Wordcount: 3,000 - 6,000 Remuneration: $150 - $250 Simultaneous Submissions: Yes WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR We’re looking for original weird tales and essays set in the Middle East that explore the human (and inhuman) experience through the lens of weird fiction and horror. We are looking to secure 11-13 tales of weird fiction and 1-3 essays (any length). Submissions should delve into the history, folklore, ideas, experiences, identities, religion, and philosophies of the region in some way. Time Period: We are looking for stories in both historical and contemporary settings. As the title of this anthology suggests, one of the inspirations behind this project is Sadegh Hedayat's "The Blind Owl," a surrealist, horror, weird fiction, novella completed in the 1930s. Though we hope the stories in this anthology take inspiration from Hedayat's work, we are not looking for stories set in or derived from his novella or other works. Rather, we are hoping writers will take cues from the themes Hedayat grappled with: alienation, futility, despair, rage, transgression, to name a few. Ahmed Saadawi's "Frankenstein in Baghdad" is another work that serves as a good example of what we'd like to see from the stories in this anthology. Saadawi uses, to great effect, some of the vocabulary and motifs from horror to illustrate the problems facing modern-day Iraq, with the corpse itself representing, in some ways, the various ethnic and religious groups and ideologies sewn together as Iraqi pluralism. Give us your tales of the uncanny, of the monstrous and surreal! Contributing...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: $25 (US) or two copies of the book, if you're local to me (Maryland, USA) or the shipping is reasonable. Theme: Science fiction short stories that take place in a shared universe (details below) that feature a mysterious space station, strange aliens, and more! Enigma Station is a ShareVerse anthology featuring a mysterious space station, strange aliens, and more! Planned for publication in late 2024 or early 2025. General Setting information Situated in a solar system lightyears from Earth, the Banahatti Station is home to thousands of humans and aliens of several different species. It lies on a convenient path between several major planetary systems, and the solar system it lies in is home to mineral rich asteroids, seven planets and their moons (none habitable without environmental domes). Nominally under the Earth Republic's jurisdiction, its location means little oversight. The Earth Republic keeps one destroyer-class ship, the Antioch, docked at the station, but the administration of the station itself is handled by a security force (basically police) at the station. The station has shops, ship repair, medical facilities, hydroponics for growing food, ample living space, even a few areas where people can raise animals such as chickens or pigs. The space station still has unused areas that haven't been converted to human (or alien) use. However, a few adventurous explorers have reported strange happenings throughout the station, particularly in the unexplored areas. Strangely-shaped objects appear, change shape, then disappear. Rooms and hallways change their shape. Unexplained signals of energy - far below the level that would endanger anyone - burst into existence, then vanish. Some inhabitants also report feeling strange sensations within their body, but cannot find an explanation. The news has spread throughout the Earth Republic and the alien civilizations, and more superstitious folks...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Shakespeare (Vol 103) SHAKESPEARE, 1st September 2024 Pay homage or re-imagine the Bard’s timeless works. We’re looking for stories of star-crossed lovers, tragic heroes, cunning jesters, and more. 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...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: $10-$30 for fiction, $5-$15 for poetry Theme: American Gothic Our fall edition theme is American gothic, however you interpret that. We are particularly interested in stories that consider themes of class, non-city living, the institution of motherhood, and gender, but all facets of American culture are welcome for exploration. One might consider writers like Shirley Jackson, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner, and Stephen King as stand-out examples in the genre. Submissions may be sent using this Google Form. We manage submissions through Google Forms, linked above. The details: Non-fiction under 4,000 words, fiction under 2,000, and poetry just generally kept to a minimum Please submit one prose piece or two poems. Turnaround times vary. Expect a response within approximately one month of submissions closing. Talk Vomit believes wholeheartedly in simultaneous submissions and raises their eyebrows at places that don’t. BUT, if your piece is accepted elsewhere, please email [email protected] as soon as you can. If you don’t, it stands to be quite embarrassing for both of us. Talk Vomit asks for first serial rights. We aim to share most work on our website, our Substack, and in print, as space allows. Upon initial publication, all rights revert back to you, although we ask you credit Talk Vomit in the event of republication. Some stuff we particularly like: Gothic stories. Not high fantasy stuff, usually, but moody and atmospheric pieces that take a microscope to the underbelly of our communities and relationships Flash satire Essays that weave first-person with cultural criticism; essays with a fresh coming-of-age narrative (one can come of age at many times in their life, in many ways; Monica is currently particularly interested in coming-of-age stories related to motherhood, fwiw) Cultural criticism, in general Book reviews, especially those in the 300-600 word range — unless you’re baking in some first-person narrative...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Conspiracy Theories Who doesn’t love a good “WHAT-IF” discussion that Conspiracy Theories can invoke? Then you may want to submit to SEEMS A LITTLE CRAZY!. Packed full of Aliens, Deep State government, Reptilian Overlords, and more! Show us your freakiest Conspiracy Theory! We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more. Genre: Speculative Fiction Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: September 1, 2024 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Seems a Little Crazy!” 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...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: 8 cents a word for fiction and essays (1500 words or less). $25 for short poems (ten lines or less), $50 for longer poem. Also, a contributors copy Theme: Witchy stories for the Halloween special All of Them Witches As Book Worms Horror Zine enters its second year, we’re thrilled to announce that this year’s Halloween issue will be all about Witches. This time around, we’re looking for fiction, poetry, and essays of the witchy kind. Frequently Asked Question: What kind of stories are you looking for? We generally enjoy “fun”, “80s style” horror reminiscent of the zine’s old-school vibe, but we’ve also been blown away by fresh voices that take the genre in a new direction. That being said, the best chance for your story being accepted by Book Worms is to follow the submission guidelines. Make sure your story is of the horror genre, mail in your submission versus email, meet the deadline, and don’t exceed the word count limit. And if your story doesn’t make it, please keep trying. We’ve had to turn down many excellent stories due to space constraints alone. A good way to get an idea about what we’re looking for is to read our current issue or one of our back issues that are still available. A Few Tips: Mail early. Unfortunately, we’ve had a few submissions lost in the mail and that didn’t arrive until weeks after the deadline. Consider writing shorter stories. Sometimes we have just enough room to a 500-800 word flash fiction piece. It might also be helpful to explain what we don’t want. Paranormal romance (Love the genre. It’s not right for Book Worms.) Anything with a political theme. Beyond the pale violence or pornographic material. Keep it fun, kids. Submission Guidelines Deadline: September 1, 2024 Payment is...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: 8 cents per word for fiction and $25 for artwork Theme: Literary Science Fiction and Fantasy The Basics Stories should be submitted to [email protected]. All stories must be under 1200 words (not including the title and byline). All stories over 1200 words will sadly be rejected automatically. All stories must contain significant speculative elements. This does not mean all sci-fi stories must have lasers and rockets. It just means a non-speculative story doesn’t become speculative if you include a single line clarifying the story takes place on Mars. When to Submit Because of the time needed to evaluate submissions and prepare stories for publication, Orion’s Belt has a limited submission window. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to you. Stories submitted outside the submission window will not be deleted, but they will not be read until the submission window re-opens. Our current submission window opened March 1st. This submission window will be open until September 1st. Art Submissions Art submissions are currently open. We’re looking for cover art for issues of our magazine. Payment is a flat $25. The art should fit the ethos of this magazine and thus should feature speculative elements, but there are otherwise no major restrictions on what we’re looking for. If you have artwork you would like us to consider, submit it to us with a subject line that’s some variation on the basic format of “Art Submission - Artwork Name (Artist’s Name).” All art submissions should be directed to [email protected]. Keep in mind that we tend to take significantly longer to respond to art submissions than to story submissions, though we will eventually respond to every submission. For examples of what we’re looking for, check the cover art of Flash Fiction Online or Uncanny Magazine, though keep...

Deadline: September 1st, 2024 Payment: £20 & 3 author copies Theme: Vampires Creature Feature Classics #2 Creatures of the Night ​ Creature Features #2 will be the second in an anthology series exploring everybody's favourite horror monsters. The sequel to our lycanthropy anthology; this one is all about blood-sucking vampires! We're looking for a variety of stories so feel free to go in any direction your brain might wander - the more whacky, the better. We want a mixture of sub-genres so stories that think outside of the box will have a stronger chance of success. The less classic, haunted middle-age castle stories the better - if you feel strongly about yours do send it, but we want our inbox to be packed with variety. Horror with humour is warmly invited too. ​ Hard word limits of 3,000-8,000 ​ Follow the guidelines found under the 'submissions' page for formatting, content and how-to-submit guidelines. The subject line should read ​ SUB/BLOOD - TITLE - SUBGENRE - WORDCOUNT - SURNAME ​ Compensation: £20 & 3 author copies ​ Submissions close midnight, September 1st 2024. *Unfortunately we are not accepting reprints for this anthology* Via: Snake Bite Books.