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Submission Window: May 1st - June 30th, 2025 Payment: .05/word plus contributor’s copies Theme: Mina Harker Issue 7: Mina Harker(To Be Published November, 2025) Mina is teacher, a wife, and the heart and the hero of the novel. Her spirit and intelligence keep her resilient even when darkness closes in. But who is Mina beneath the surface? Did her experiences leave her haunted? How did her connection to Dracula affect her view of the world or her family? Whether it’s before, during, or after the events of the novel, let’s explore her strength, her struggles, and her secrets. Submissions open May 1, 2025-June 30, 2025. Submissions received earlier will be read and considered but will not be responded to until the window opens. We like stories that feel like they could be canon, but we also enjoy fun alternate takes and pastiche. Prequels, sequels, updates, divergent timelines - unleash your creative powers of darkness and show us something exciting. As with every publication the best way to get a feel for what we like is to read what we’ve put out in the past. Stories should be 1500-5000 words. Poetry will be considered, but is not necessarily sought (We are hoping to have an all poetry issue sometime in the future). Compensation will be .05/word plus contributor’s copies. Reprints will be considered. Reprints should be at least 10 years old. Compensation is $55. Simultaneous submissions accepted, but please notify us immediately if accepted elsewhere. Some stories may be chosen for the website, but not the publication. Please adhere to the Shunn format - https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/ Please only send .doc, .docx, or .pdf Filename and email subject should be - “lastname_title_jonathan or “lastname_title_mina” Include short 3rd person bio Email story submissions to: [email protected] Cover Art Submissions What we want Eye catching design....

Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: $5 Theme: Plagues, pandemics, original takes on zombies, outbreaks, and everything related! The HellBound Books team felt enough time has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic to warrant an appropriately themed anthology. We are looking for horrific tales of diseases ravaging mankind, viruses, bacteria, and fungal spores infecting and threatening to eradicate all of humanity - and, yes, we would love to see your terrifying, unique takes on the zombie trope! PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines...  * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 2.5K - 8K word count * Write 'PANDEMIC' 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: JUNE 30, 2025 (please note: all submissions are assessed only AFTER the deadline date and, due to the overwhelming response HBB receives for all anthologies, we are only able to contact the the authors of sucessful submissions). NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Anthology Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: $5 Theme: Extreme horror, brutal, splatterpunk, etc We are looking for your most brutal, bloodied,horrific stories - no holds barred; we challenge you to disturb our most seasoned, desensitized curators with your tales of extreme horror and mind-bending terror... 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-8K word count * Write 'EXTREME' 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 June 2025 (please note: all submissions are assessed only AFTER the deadline date and, due to the overwhelming response HBB receives for all anthologies, we are only able to contact the the authors of sucessful submissions). NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: $5 Theme: Terrifying Tales to be told around a campfire! Send us your creepiest, most spine-chilling tales of terror best told around the campfire or a late-night sleepover! We're looking for mysterious strangers calling from inside the house, weird, inhuman beings lurking in the woods, inexplicable behaviours from once-trusted friends and relatives that may be madness, a brain-altering disease, demonic posession, or something much, much worse... 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-8K word count * Write 'CAMPFIRE' 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 June 2025 (please note: all submissions are assessed only AFTER the deadline date and, due to the overwhelming response HBB receives for all anthologies, we are only able to contact the the authors of sucessful submissions). NO REPRINTS - ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment - $5.00 for first rights. Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.

Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: $35 and a contributors copy Theme: Short horror fiction inspired by early morning kids TV Send us your best short horror fiction inspired by early morning kids TV for our next anthology, Saturday Mourning Television. Tune us in to something scary based on any decade you like: the educational/bizarre 1960’s & 70’s, the advert-packed 80’s, the radical 90’s, the wayward & wacky 2000’s or anything beyond. Even web-based entertainment is fair game. And don’t limit yourself to tales involving kids, what about parents, or performers & hosts, workers behind the scenes, even animated creations. Let your imagination go wild, and remember not to sit too close to the screen! What we’re looking for: All submissions must be in the horror genre. Bizarro, splatterpunk and extreme horror are welcome. Preference will be given to submissions from LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC authors. If you don’t like this, don’t submit. All submissions must be original. We will not accept reprints, or stories/poetry published elsewhere, including on blogs, social media etc. We realise this is a TV-related call but no fanfic or direct use of real-life persons please! No AI/machine generated anything– any AI/machine generated submissions (including covering emails) will be deleted without reply, and the submitter will be blacklisted from any future submission calls, grant programmes & other services offered by Sliced Up Press. Please try to avoid simultaneous submissions. Submit your work in modern or classic manuscript format (as outlined on www.shunn.net/format. Poems may be submitted in whatever form best suits the piece. Please send your submission as an MS Word .doc or .docx attachment. Anything sent in a different file type will be rejected without reply. You do not need to include your postal/mailing address or full birth name anywhere in your submission. These will only be requested if your...

Submission Window: May 1st - June 30th, 205 Payment: $5 Theme: Speculative Poetry SpecPoVerse accepts poems with or without known formalism and also experimental forms. An illustrated poem in which the illustration was created by the poet is also acceptable; this must be submitted as a .pdf file with the embedded illustration. Poems created by AI are not acceptable. To submit your poem, fill out this form by clicking the "SUBMIT" button below. You will be asked to provide contact information and to upload your poem. You may upload 1 -3 files with 1 poem per file, including an illustrated poem. You may submit up to 3 poems per submission period, Because we review all poems author blind, please make sure that your poem(s) has(have) no informatio n identifying the poet; these will be automatically rejected. Note: Google will automatically append your name to your file name. IGNORE THIS. We strip your name from the files before review. Your poem must be submitted in .doc, .docx. or .pdf file format. Once a poem is accepted, the poet may later send an audio or video file of their spoken or sign language-interpreted poem, which will be made available on the Readings page from YouTube or Vimeo. Maximum length: 100 lines or 499 words for a prose poem Rights: SpecPoVerse acquires first publication rights only, so please do not submit poems that have already been published elsewhere. Poets retain their copyright on all works after first publication on the specpoverse.org website. By submitting content to SpecPoVerse, you agree that, should the content be accepted, you grant SpecPoVerse a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right and license to digitally archive and display the content (aka Digital Archive Rights). In the case that we later desire to include your content in any other format (e.g. print, anthology, etc.), those...

Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: 0.08 USD / word and royalties Theme: Science Fiction or Fantasy pirate stories Avast, ye scurvy dogs! It’s time to plunder! Pirates have enchanted and haunted readers for generations, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island to the ill-fated Firefly. Whether it’s Blackbeard, Mal, or Han Solo, we love our swashbucklers, our One-Eyed Willies, and our scruffy-looking nerfherders. In SKULL X BONES, we want writers to give us their best science fiction or fantasy pirates, whether they be on the sailing ships of the deep wide ocean or the spaceships of the black void! The Zombies Need Brains Kickstarter for an SF&F pirate themed anthology called SKULL X BONES has funded! You can check out the Kickstarter here: tinyurl.com/ZNBSkullXBones . This means that the anthology is now open to submissions!!! Submission guidelines are below. If you've got an SF&F idea involving pirates, either on land, at sea, or in space, then writer it up, revise it, polish it, and send it on in! Deadline is June 30th, 2025. Zombies Need Brains is a SFWA Professional market. SKULL X BONES: Submission Guidelines Zombies Need Brains LLC will accept submissions to its anthology, SKULL X BONES, from the moment the Kickstarter funds until June 30th, 2025. This is a one-time open call; there will be no follow-up open calls. Follow us on BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/joshuapalmatier.bsky.social) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/zombiesneedbrainsllc) to keep track of the Kickstarter and the open call. Stories must be submitted in electronic format through the submissions management system Moksha here: https://zombiesneedbrains.moksha.io/. Word count: up to 7500 words. No exceptions. Pay rate: 0.08 USD / word (SFWA professional rate), plus royalties for anthologies (see below) Simultaneous submissions: No. Multiple submissions: Up to three per open call period; please submit each separately. You do not need to wait for one...

Submission Window: June 1st - 30th, 2025 Payment: Stories under 5,000 words will receive $10. Stories up to 10,000 words will be serialized over 2 months and will receive $20 Theme: Speculative Fiction that fits the vibe of unreality, suggest reading previous work from the publisher before submitting Note: Reprints are acceptable if the story is not freely available online Our Ko-fi minizine for subscribers Submissions for this call will be OPENING for the month of June 2025. The Pink Hydra is starting a Ko-fi minizine! This is a way to build a subscriber base and steady income without sacrificing our commitment to accessible fiction. Starting July, every ‘off’ month when we’re not publishing The Pink Hydra, we will post a new, exclusive short story on our Ko-fi, paired with a piece of classical artwork, and accompanied by short reviews of stories or books The Pink Hydra loves. For this eclectic mix of classic and new elements, the minizine will be known as Something Old, Something New. Length: Your story must be a minimum of 1,500 words long. We will read stories of up to 10,000 words, with the possibility of serializing them. However, we will give preference to stories which fit in one issue and are less than 5,000 words long. Simultaneous submissions: Allowed and welcome. Let us know at the submissions email if you need to withdraw a story. Multiple submissions: Only send one story at a time, and please send only one story per open submission period. We aim to get back to you within a month of receipt. Reprints: For this project, we will prefer originals, but reprints are acceptable if the story is not freely available online. Rights: If accepted, we require exclusive digital-only rights to the story for a month after publication. For original stories, we ask for First World Rights, which means you can’t publish the...

Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Queerer weirder softer ragier hopier anarchier lovelier transier resistier indigenousier earth-lovingier resiliencier justicier LESS WHITE stories that are science fiction or fantasy What am I looking for? I want to publish queerer weirder softer ragier hopier anarchier lovelier transier resistier indigenousier earth-lovingier resiliencier justicier LESS WHITE stories. I love both fantasy and science fiction, but tend to be pretty picky about horror. Please no: Splatterpunk Graphic depictions of rape or sexual assault Needless brutalization of women and children Depictions of brutalization or abuse of people with disabilities Graphic abuse of animals I am not currently interested in works that are a part of a series, but works that are a part of a shared universe are okay. I am not looking for young adult, middle grade, or children’s works at this time. I am not interested in publishing works created in whole or in part with generative AI. If I unknowingly accept an AI-generated manuscript for publication, I reserve the right to remove that title from publication at any time. Please submit only one manuscript at a time. I currently have one reading period planned for 2025: April 1 – June 30 To submit: Email a copy of your completed manuscript in .pdf form only to [email protected]. Submissions in any other file format will not be considered. In the email, please include a short biographical statement including publishing history and the word count of your manuscript. What happens after submission? I generally email confirming the receipt of your submission within a week. I do my best to let you know whether or not I am interested in publishing your submission within six weeks. Royalties are based on 30% of gross profits for paperback sales, and 50% of gross profits for ebooks. Dancing Star Press does not charge...

Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Stories where the main character falls in the LGBTQ+ community in any genre Submission Period: April 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025 Theme: Yay! all queer II – An LGBTQ+ anthology. We’re searching for LGBTQ+ characters who have a central position within the story. This will be a diverse and inclusive anthology. There are no restrictions on gender or sexuality. Feel free to create an engaging story with your favorite genre or setting. Mystery, romance, fantasy, or sci-fi are all welcome if the story and characters grab the reader’s interest. Stories that contain infanticide, gratuitous gore, or rape, including dubious consent, will not be considered. Explicit romance will not be appropriate for this anthology, bring it down a notch, and we’ll certainly give it a look. Submission Period: April 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025 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: LGBTQ+ Anticipated Pay: Royalty share of D2D sales Each contributor will receive a share, as will the publisher, from the sales on the D2D platform. This does not include Kickstarter funds unless detailed in the Stretch goals, wholesale to authors, or other retail outlets. Timeline Projections: Submissions close: June 2025 Review: July 2025 Acceptance / Rejection: July/August 2025 Edits: August/September 2025 Production: October 2025 Published: November 2025 Upon acceptance, the author is expected to work with the editors on at least one round of revisions in MSWord. Our publication goal will be in 2025; however, the extensive time needed to review and edit submissions may vary depending upon the submitted works and author’s response times. Inkd Publishing...

Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: $50 Theme: Science fiction that follows the title of the book We at Inked in Gray Press are excited to announce a new anthology in collaboration with AJ Van Belle! STELLAR PARALLAX: HUMAN HOPE IN GRIMDARK WORLDS. Let’s not sugarcoat it — things are rough, and we don’t know what the next year or even month will bring. This is why we need stories in which hope shines through the darkness. Give us your grimdark in space, in a near-future dystopia, in a far-future galaxy, or in a sci-fi version of the present day. This anthology will feature gritty sci-fi in which the personal message is hopeful while the external world is dark. We want world-building that’s vivid, immersive, and believable, with the focus on the characters’ direct experience. Sweeping spans of time and vast civilizations aren’t necessary here, nor are nifty tech or clever political machinations — but feel free to include any of these if they serve the story. Regardless of scale or time period, show us the characters’ sensory perceptions, physical experience, and emotional arc. Sci-fi is a genre uniquely equipped to allow expression of character growth because it lets us explore universal human experience within specific, sharply imagined futures. STELLAR PARALLAX will sit at the place where seemingly impossible circumstances meet the inventiveness of human agency, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with! ANTHOLOGY DETAILS Submission Details Submission Period: April 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025 Theme: All stories should have a message of hope whilst surrounded by darkness Parameters: Please include all trigger warnings, even if only mentioned and not described on the page (ie: References to alcoholism, but character does not drink on the page). Absolutely NO AI Please give us diversity! Mental health rep! Fat rep!...

Submission Window: May 1st, 2025 - June 30th, 2025 Payment: $15 Theme: Speculative fiction, primarily horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Note: Reprints welcome Formatting Guidelines This is proving to be a recurring problem, so we're putting it up front. Please, for all our sakes, read this next part carefully. All submissions should be sent by e-mail (no letters or telephone calls please) to [email protected]. Below are some formatting rules to help us process your submission more quickly. EMAIL AND COVER LETTERS Email is accepted in both text and HTML formats. When submitting, please put this in the subject line: Submission: (Title) - (First and Last name) Include the following in the body of the email and in the attached submission: Your name Name to use on the story (byline), if different Your preferred email address Your mailing address The story's title The story's word count You may also include a cover letter in the body of the email. We get a lot of strange stuff in cover letters, so if you're unsure of what goes in them (and especially what doesn't) please refer to these cover letter tips: How to write a cover letter | What not to put in a cover letter by Jed Hartman SUBMISSION FORMATTING We ONLY accept submissions as attachments! All stories submitted as an attachment must follow standard manuscript formatting. We will no longer read any story not properly formatted. (And we much prefer Courier New to Times New Roman) For explanations and tips on what SMF is and how to do it with word processing programs, please see this article. Please send your submission as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Test Format (.rtf) only. Other formats, such as Works, WordPerfect, Open Office, etc., have proven difficult to open. Please note that we no longer accept "inline" submssions; that is,...

Submission Window: June 1st - 30th, 2025 Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue Theme: Any genre, short story Mission = Revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful. Payout = Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Wait, you mean if this substack gets thousands of subscribers, the winner would get thousands of dollars? Yes! The New Yorker pays roughly $7,500 per story and I sincerely hope to go way past that. What does the timeline look like? Submit stories by the end of the month, winner to be announced on the 15th. There is ONE story that wins and receives the full payout. Where do I send submissions? [email protected] What are the rules for submitting? 1. No Fees 2. Send in Microsoft Word or Google Doc form 3. Any genre 4. 6- 10,000 words. Yes, just 6 words, like Hemingway's famous 6-word story "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn." 5. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute. 6. Acknowledge Distribution Rights on this Substack - You can still sell your story elsewhere but we need to be able to save and publish it here. The goal is to create a library for subscribers. 7. Only the winner will be published and rights will only transfer for the winning story. What do I get for subscribing? One beautiful story every month. The complete library. The joy of supporting artists and doing something interesting. What if I can’t pay right now? That’s ok! If you publish a blurb about this site on your website, blog, or social media, I will send you one full story of your choosing. Best of all, it is...

Submission Window: June 15th-30th, 2025 Payment: 1 cent per word Theme: Merry and monstrous, cozy and cosmic tales about Krampus This fall, Underland Press will explore the cosmic horror inherent in the holiday season with Kozy Krampus, a collection of stories merry and monstrous, cozy and cosmic. The gothic nightmares and horrific haunts of our forebears persist in our fever-fueled dreams. Some monsters are never vanquished; they merely find new shapes. Slip into the dark shadows behind the million flickering holiday lights. Stare down the prehistoric fruit log in which lurks something truly eldritch and batrachian. Hark to the songs sung after midnight by carolers with extra-long tongues and extra-sharp teeth. This is the holiday season with the masks ripped off. Remember: not all gifts are good, and if you open it, you have to keep it . . .  The reading period for Kozy Krampus will be June 15th to June 30th. Stories should run less than 5,000 words. Poetry should run more than a few lines. Pay rate with be $0.01/word, along with standard industry contract terms. Stories should be sent in a .doc or .rtf format to [email protected]. Stories that arrive prior to the reading period will be ignored until the reading period begins. As this reading period is short and succinct, we ask that you not send simultaneous submissions. Via: Underland Press.

Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: 2 Paperback copies or $25 Theme: Very dark stories involving Santa. He still has to be the hero, he just doesn't have to be jolly We had so much fun the first time, we had to bring it back! Inspired by a suggestion from legendary book reviewer, author and multi-term Short Mystery Fiction Society President Kevin R. Tipple, here’s the holiday anthology that’s definitely NOT going to fill you with Christmas cheer. It will, however, be sure to entertain the darker side of your imagination. Christmas time is a season full of stress. Cooking, decorations, trying to find the perfect gift for people you barely know. It’s enough to make anyone snap. Now, imagine you’re Santa Claus and you’ve got the entire world to take care of. Yeah, cookies and milk isn’t going to make that kind of pressure go down any easier. Add in reindeer, elves who slack and Mrs. Claus nagging that you never spend enough time with her during the holidays and it’s enough to make your Kris wanna Kringle, if you know what we mean. Welcome to Santa Rage 2, in which Santa Claus finally snaps and gets his just desserts…and we’re not talking gingerbread. This anthology is based on the idea that one night, while out making deliveries, Santa snaps thanks to the holiday stress and goes on a killing spree. Bonus points awarded for story elements involving meth or drug dealing, strippers, and the best dose of karma Santa ever dealt that did not involve coal. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 1. In case it isn’t readily obvious, we’re looking for dark, dark, dark fiction here. Violence welcome. Horror welcome. Cursing welcome (within reason, not just to be gratuitous). This is NOT an anthology for kids. If you think you’ve gone over the top, you may not have...

Deadline: July 1st, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Creature feature horror comedies that have redneck heroes After the success of the previous Trailer Park anthologies, we’ve decided to bring it back for another release of fun Creature Feature Horror. Stories should be original creature-feature, horror-comedy with the same feel as The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, Shaun of the Dead, or Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. And of course, our heroes winning the day in all of their redneck glory. The added challenge this year, should you choose to accept it, volume 5 submissions should have a “Creep Killer Clown” twist to it.   Not sure what we’re looking for? Think Pennywise, Killer Clowns from Outerspace, or John Wayne Gacy.   Genre: Horror Comedy / Creature Feature Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: William Joseph Roberts Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: July 1, 2025 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Trailer Park” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. (***SPECIAL NOTE***) Due to a high volume of submissions, we are currently closed to all new unsolicited novel submissions. We will open a window for new authors/manuscripts during the month of December. The only way to bypass this is to catch one of us at a conference or seminar listed on the Three Ravens calendar, and pitch your story to us then.   Otherwise, the rules are below. 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...

Deadline: July 1st, 2025 Payment: short story, $25; nonfiction/essay, $25, short-short piece under 1000 words, $10; poem, $10; artwork/photography, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Theme: I Wish I'd Said That Upcoming premises (target themes) and deadlines for submission : The Lost Sock (March 1, 2025) ALL SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, POEMS, PHOTOGRAPHS and ART MUST RELATE TO ONE OF THE PREMISES SPECIFIED ABOVE. NOTE: Previously published pieces are welcome, provided that the submission fits the theme and that the author owns the copyright. The premise (target theme) must be an integral part of the story, not necessarily the central theme but not merely incidental. NOTE: Stories longer than 20 double-spaced typewritten pages will not be considered. Indicate premise (target theme) on title page. Be sure to Indicate target theme in cover letter or on first page of manuscript. Include self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with each submission. Rejected manuscripts unaccompanied by an SASE will not be returned. Response time: 3 months after premise deadline. NO READER'S FEE. Mail to: THEMA, Box 8747, Metairie, LA 70011-8747. Outside the US: email [email protected] On acceptance for publication, we will pay the following amount: short story, $25; nonfiction/essay, $25, short-short piece under 1000 words, $10; poem, $10; artwork/photography, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Copyright reverts to author after publication. THEMA isn't for everyone. To find out why, click here. New to submitting manuscripts to journals? Click here to download a PDF file of a few basic guidelines. Unlike many publishers, we prefer works submitted by the authors themselves, without the involvement of an agent. Be sure to indicate premise and include SASE for each submission.  BE SURE to include a separate SASE for each premise. No handwritten manuscripts will be considered. NOTE: We do not accept e-mailed submissions EXCEPT from authors who live outside the U.S. For those living...

Deadline: July 1st, 2025 Payment: $100 or higher depending on Kickstartr Theme: Short stories that explore the theme of pest control in creative, unexpected, and engaging ways. We’re seeking original short stories that explore the theme of pest control in creative, unexpected, and engaging ways. However, don’t be misled by the title—this is not a shared-universe project, nor does your story have to be set in space or on an alien world. Your tale can take place anywhere—on a starship, in a medieval village, deep in the jungle, or even within the microcosm of a single human body. The crucial element is the struggle against some form of infestation, nuisance, or destructive force. Your protagonist might be a seasoned exterminator, a desperate homeowner battling an alien infestation, or even the pest itself, trying to survive against overwhelming odds. We welcome a wide range of tones, from serious and thought-provoking explorations of ethical dilemmas to lighthearted, comedic takes on interstellar vermin problems. Whether your story leans toward hard science fiction, space opera, fantasy, horror, or slipstream, as long as it aligns with the pest control theme, we want to see it! Submission Details Payment: We are committed to paying our contributors. Stories will start at $100 per piece, with higher payments depending on the success of our Kickstarter campaign. Funding: This anthology is being supported through a crowdfunding effort to ensure we can fairly compensate authors and produce a high-quality collection. Competition: We expect a high volume of submissions, so while we encourage everyone to send in their best work, please note that even excellent stories may not make the final cut. Kickstarter: The earliest stories will also get their authors listed in our Kickstarter. How to Submit Confirm your interest then send us your best “Pest Control” story via email to [email protected] and [email protected]. And show us your take on this unique theme! Whether you’re crafting a thrilling...

Deadline: July 1st, 2025 Payment: One cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) Theme: Fantastic Fiction You really NEED to read the description below. The Cafe Irreal is a quarterly webzine that presents a kind of fantastic fiction infrequently published in English. This fiction, which we would describe as irreal, resembles the work of writers such as Franz Kafka, Kobo Abe, Clarice Lispector and Jorge Luis Borges. As a type of fiction it rejects the tendency to portray people and places realistically and the need for a full resolution to the story; instead, it shows us a reality constantly being undermined. Therefore, we're interested in stories by writers who write about what they don't know, take us places we couldn't possibly go, and don't try to make us care about the characters. We would also suggest you take a look at the current issue, archives, and theory (especially the essay, "What is irrealism?") pages on this web site. We accept unsolicited fiction up to 2,000 words in length. Translations are welcome. There is no minimum length. We accept only electronic submissions via e-mail at [email protected]. We cannot, due to the various computer viruses and worms, accept attachments anymore, so please paste your story into the body of the e-mail. Also include your name, address, e-mail address, and a short bio in the text of the submission; please put the word "submission" in the subject heading of the e-mail to ensure that your submission doesn't get lost among all the spam. We pay an honorarium of one cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum) to buy first-time internet rights (the story will then be archived). Payment is made upon publication. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DON'T ACCEPT SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS and are only interested in reprints in unusual cases (e.g., the story has appeared in print but...

Deadline: July 1st, 2025 Payment: $50 for accepted story, $25 for accepted artwork Theme: Stories/art about America's slide toward authoritarianism - how you feel about it, what you think we can do, what form can and should resistance take, etc. The International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM) issues a call for literary (poetry; short story and essay) and visual responses (submitted as hi-resolution jpegs) to this unique American moment - how you feel about it, what you think we can do, what form can and should resistance take, etc. Work will be judged on quality, relevancy to the topic, and adherence to the IHRAM values: Beauty as a fundamental creative value; sincerity and vulnerability of presentation; opening doorways of engagement and celebrating diversity. How do you feel about it? IHRAM PRESS WANTS TO KNOW!! Submit here Submission Guidelines Submission window open through July 1, 2025 Final decisions by August 1, 2025 We are interested in reviewing and publishing the following for this book: Poetry (you may submit up to 3 pieces) Short stories (2500 words or less - one per author) Essays (2500 words or less - one per author) Visual Art (submitted as 300 dpi jpegs; you may submit up to 3 pieces) Please submit your work along with the following required information: Your full name and/or pen/artist name. Your country of residence. A brief third-person bio (roughly 100 words). If your bio includes references of your past work, feel free to provide links! A brief foreword to your piece (between 300-500 words), explaining your inspiration for creating it, background information, explanation of key characters, and any other key insight for the reader. *If your piece is accepted, we will request a high-resolution author photograph. However, authors are not required to provide photographs of themselves and are always welcome to...

Submission Window: March 1st - July 15th, 2025 Payment: Short Stories: $20, Poetry: $10 Theme: An issue dedicated to hope. Solar-punk, hope-punk, envisioning a better future. Fantasy that explores hope and grace. Spring 2025 Call for Submissions: MYTHO-ANARCHISM An issue dedicated to hope. Solar-punk, hope-punk, envisioning a better future. Fantasy that explores hope and grace. Submissions open March 1, 2025 Closes July 15, 2025, or when full Published Autumn Equinox, 2025 We are on Submissions Grinder and Duotrope Submission Guidelines: https://societyforritualarts.com/rw/2024-spring/submission-guidelines/ “Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We’ll need writers who can remember freedom — poets, visionaries — realists of a larger reality.”  -UK LeGuin, speaks given at National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Short stories: 7,000 word limit. Poetry: under 40 lines. Payment: Short Stories up to 7,000 word (hard limit) $20. No multiple submissions. Simultaneous submissions are OK, but let us know if you’ve placed your story elsewhere. We do not publish dribbles or flash fiction at this time. Poetry: $10 per poem, 40 line hard limit. You may submit up to 5 poems at one time in a single submission. NO blind submissions. Submissions of poetry without your name and contact info on the manuscript will be deleted unread. Use modern standard Shunn manuscript format only. Anything not in this format will be deleted unread. Here is a nice article about formatting: “Proper Manuscript Format” now comes in two distinct flavors Please query for submissions in other media (video, music files, other audio). [email protected]. We have established reading periods for each issue: May (for Autumn) and September (for Spring). Authors are notified within a few days of when the reading...

Deadline: July 15th, 2025 Payment: $20 per story or artwork Theme: Electric Spec prefers science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. Fiction Submission Guidelinessubmissions at electricspec (dot) comIssues are published at the end of February, May, August, and November. We reserve the right to shift publication date slightly, as necessary. We have reading periods for each issue, though we never close to submissions. February closes January 15 May closes April 15 August closes July 15 November closes October 15 We do not consider stories or art created, or partially created, by A.I. We consider stories between 250 and 7000 words with speculative fiction elements. We prefer science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres. We do not consider poetry, stories with over-the-top sex or violence, serials, novels, fan fiction, or non-fiction. We don't accept multiple submissions; in other words, only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before submitting another. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know up front and tell us as soon as it's accepted elsewhere. We do not publish reprints, including anything that has appeared on a website. We pay $20 for each story we publish. We buy first-printing world exclusive rights for four months. Payment will be made shortly after publication using PayPal. We encourage our authors to establish a PayPal account if they don't already have one. We prefer to read submissions in traditional manuscript format. This means indented paragraphs instead of left justification, and Courier or Times New Roman font in 12 pt, double-spaced. Also, please include the title, your name, address, and word length on the first page of your story. To submit your story...

Deadline: July 15th, 2025 Payment: $25 usd Theme: Scifi, speculative fiction, fantasy, not horror that showcases Gen-X Theme:Gen X (Gen X characters and/or themes and/or culture should figure prominently within the story in ways that distinctly identify them as Gen X and/or that have an easily identifiable Gen X “vibe”).We’re especially interested in unique, unexpected takes on the Gen X experience from original points of view. Deadline: July 15, 2025. Submissions are considered on a rolling basis, meaning that acceptance/rejection decisions are made as submissions come in. Authors can generally expect an initial response to their submission within 1-2 weeks. Anthology Release Date: Late 2025-Early 2026 Genres and categories accepted: Literary, Romance, Sci-Fi & Spec Fic, Mystery, Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retellings, Historical Fiction, Humor/Satire, Paranormal, Magical Realism, and others. No horror (spooky is okay), gratuitous violence, erotica, of use of “F-bombs,” please. No essays, CNF, poetry, or anything that isn’t fiction. No AI-generated or AI-assisted stories. All submissions should be original, human-created stories that have never been published or performed/read elsewhere (including, but not limited to, social media, a personal blog or website, live or recorded event, etc.). Reader Demographic: YA to adult (approximately ages 14-100) Word count: Between 1,500-2,000 words Payment for accepted submissions: $25 USD (via PayPal) upon completion of edits. Additional Notes: We are most interested in stories that encompass a complete, compelling narrative arc including an interesting/unexpected hook and/or twist and/or reversal and/or “aha!” moment for the reader. Original, eye-catching phrasing is always a plus as well. A standard, short fiction publishing agreement will be sent to each author upon acceptance. RIGHTS: The publishing agreement grants to Altitude Press Exclusive First World Electronic and Print Rights for three (3) months following date of publication; Non-Exclusive Internet Archival Rights for an indefinite time, in order to include published works, and excerpts of published works,...

Submission Window: June 15th - July 15th, 2025 Payment: $25 Theme: All subgenres of horror (dark fantasy, sci-fi, noir all accepted as long as horror plays a central role). SLUGGER is the creative effort of two horror writer pals. Send us:  In general, we are open to all subgenres of horror (dark fantasy, sci-fi, noir all accepted as long as horror plays a central role). Body horror tickles our fancy the most if we had to pick a subgenre, but SLUGGER will be open to all horror stories. We love subversive and transgressive fiction. Anything that fits the punk ethos is likely to get our attention. Stories can be speculative or not. Our guidelines may change over time, but we are open to the full spectrum of genre to literary fiction, conventional storytelling to experimental, and plot driven to vibes only. Do NOT send us: Bigotry (racism, sexism, genderism, ableism, fatphobia, homophobia, transphobia, you get the idea). It’s fine to explore these topics, especially when a horrible character gets what’s coming to them. But hate for the sake of hate will not be accepted. Exploitive sexual violence. Erotica/graphic sexual content. Classic tropes such as vampires, werewolves, etc. are not a hard sell, but the story needs to stand out. No fanfiction. The Details: Word count: 1,000-4,000 Simultaneous submissions: YES. If your piece is accepted elsewhere, please email us at [email protected] so that we can congratulate you and withdraw your story from consideration. Multiple submissions: NO. Please only submit one story per submission period. Reprints: NO. Original fiction only please. Use of artificial intelligence: ABSOLUTELY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Payment: $25 per accepted story. We hope to increase payment to writers depending upon the success of SLUGGER. Each story will have an original black and white illustration designed by a university student....

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: $30 plus 1 cent per word and a contributors copy Theme: Genre-bending stories that feature Polarities Autonomous Press is now accepting submissions of short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry for the 10th volume of Spoon Knife, our annual genre-bending lit anthology. Please read this whole page carefully before submitting; some details have changed this time around! Theme The theme for Spoon Knife 10 will be Polarities. Polarities: pairs of opposite forces or qualities or tendencies. Good and evil. Love and hate. Life and death. Heroism and villainy. Feminine and masculine. Night and day. Vice and virtue. Old and new. Order and chaos. The public persona and the hidden shadow self. The mundane everyday world and that which lies beyond. What polarity lies at the heart of your story? In what ways does it manifest? What happens when the two sides of the polarity come into contact or conflict, or when one transforms into the other? What We’re Looking For One of the things that’s always set Spoon Knife apart from other anthology series is the wild diversity of genres represented in each volume. Each volume has its own theme, and we aim to show how that theme can be woven into stories across multiple disparate genres. In a given volume of Spoon Knife, you might find the theme explored in tales of magical realism, science fiction, absurdist satire, swords-and-sorcery, historical romance, and horror, not to mention creative nonfiction and poetry. We especially love stories that defy established genre categories or creatively blend genres. Ultimately, our criteria for assessing a submission boil down to this: is it a good, engaging, and well-written story that plays with the volume’s theme in an interesting way? If you’re not familiar with Spoon Knife, please have a look at our most recent volume (that would be volume 8...

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: One free paperback OR $10 USD Theme: Stories that involve vampires. Your vampire(s) can be the whumpee, whumper, and/or caretaker. We will also consider stories about vampire-adjacent creatures such as dhampirs, succubi, etc. Bring out your vampires! For WPP's fourth anthology, we’re looking for stories that involve vampires. Your vampire(s) can be the whumpee, whumper, and/or caretaker. We will also consider stories about vampire-adjacent creatures such as dhampirs, succubi, etc. Word Count: Up to 17,500 words   For this anthology, we are looking for stories in the following categories: Micro-fiction: 250 words or less Flash fiction: 251-1,000 words Short Story: 1,001-7,499 words Novelette: 7,500-17,500 words Each author can submit one story per category. So for example, you can submit a short story and a micro fiction but you can’t submit two micro fictions. Compensation: ebook contributor’s copy, one free paperback OR $10 USD, and discounts on additional paperbacks 50% of proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to charity. Submissions Open: November 1, 2024 Submissions Close: July 31, 2025 Expected Publication Date: October 2025 Submit here! The Nitty-Gritty (aka more details about submitting) Via: The Whumpy Printing Press.

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: $50 and a contributor’s copy. Theme: Horror stories set in the Ozark mountains Calling all Ozark writers, storytellers, folklorists, and tale collectors!Parlor Ghost Press, an imprint of Watertower Hill Publishing (publishers of 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴, and 𝘏𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴), is taking submissions for our upcoming anthology, 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸: 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, edited by Heather Daughrity, to be released February 2026.What we are looking for: horror stories set in the Ozark mountains--either your own take on a story from Ozark folklore or an original tale featuring Ozark locations/atmosphere/beliefs/etc.We want all the spooks, haints, hags, and boogers. Give us the mist rising out of the hollers and the mysterious sounds from the woods, the strange lights in the sky and the distant cackle of Old Granny in her hidden shack.We want horror, but we want it PG—no extreme horror or erotic horror, please. Just a good modern take on the venerable myths, magic, and monsters unique to the Ozark area.Submissions are open from April 7 to July 31, 2025.Word Count: 3,000 to 6,000 words.Payment: $50 plus a contributor’s copy.Send submissions to: [email protected]. Put “OZARK” in the subject line.Submissions should be double spaced with Times New Roman 12-point font. Please ensure that your name, address, email, and word count are located at the top of your document. Send submissions as attachments to your email; stories included in the body of the email will not be accepted.We look forward to reading your stories! Via: Watertower Hill Publishing.

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Lovecraftian horror Cthulu: Dreams – our Lovecraftian anthology Cthulu: Dreams– This is horror. Express yourself as the theme moves you. Incorporate the Lovecraftian theme as you will into your horror story. Not all need contain an eldritch horror, remember The Alchemist. Good writing will triumph over concepts tightly aligned to a perception of the theme. We encourage you to weave the theme into an engaging story with well-developed characters and deep emotion. Stories that contain infanticide, or rape will not be accepted. Consideration might be made for gratuitous gore, if the story calls for it. Submission Period: May 1, 2025 to July 31, 2025 Submissions: No AI, 1 per author; no simultaneous submissions, no reprints; Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 2,000 to 7,000 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: Horror Anticipated Pay: Royalty Share of D2D sales and Kickstarter Share Each story will receive A D2D royalty share from the sales on the D2D platform and a percent of the Kickstarter. This does not include: wholesale to authors; or non-D2D retail outlets. Links will be available to direct your customers to D2D outlets. Timeline Projections: Submissions close: July 31, 2025 Review: Aug 2025 Acceptance / Rejection: Sep 2025 Edits: Oct 2025 Production: Oct 2025 Kickstarter: Oct 2025 Published: December 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 late fall of 2025; 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 publication rights for four months after publication...

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: $150 Theme: works of literature that intersect with Taco Bell My kids make books all the time for fun. Both of them want to be writers and artists when they grow up. I feel like this is my fault. I’ve made it look too fun. They bring me their stacks of pages, begging for the stapler, as if the stapler contains magical powers, as if the act of binding together the book is what makes it real. I staple three neat clicks and I’ve made it look real. Something more real to pretend with, at least. We are back, pretending to make our literary magazine again. We are the Taco Bell Quarterly, a Prestigious Literary Magazine that is opening for submissions on 4/20/25. We are looking for prose, poetry, art, and beyond for our eighth issue, which will be available to read for free online, and to buy in print in the late fall. We will pay $150. What are we looking for: works of literature that intersect with Taco Bell Does it have to be about Taco Bell? Does it have to mention it? It’s the Taco Bell Quarterly. The joke is that it’s our only guideline. Also, we do not have any guidelines. We have no rules. You can say whatever you want. We have an aesthetic. We have a vibe. Read our last 3 issues especially to get a sense of the direction we’ve been going in. But also, yes, it can and should be about Taco Bell too, because that is the joke of the literary magazine, in which every piece has a recurring product placement. Because life might happen in a Taco Bell, or with a Taco Bell logo in the background for a moment. That moment of product placement may be chosen...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 Payment: $0.02 per word Theme: Science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between Note: Reprints Welcome 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...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 Payment: $10 or a contributors copy Theme: Speculative stories featuring a family with at least one type of supernatural family member THREE COUSINS PUBLISHING, an imprint of WEST MESA PRESS, will be accepting submissions for its fourth annual anthology with the working title, Family, Fae, Fiend, Friend, and Foe from June 1, 2025 until midnight July 31, 2025. Stories submitted before or after the submission period will not be considered. This is a themed anthology and stories that don’t fit the theme will be rejected. Submissions must be speculative and feature a family with some type of supernatural family member or members. Vampires and fairies, gnomes and zombies, leprechauns, bigfeet, ghouls, and poltergeists are all welcome. Horror, humor, fantasy, science fiction, or even an entertaining, but bizarre mashup of genres that we haven’t considered. Your characters may be young or old and the time frame may be from the dawn of mankind to the far future. Here’s the short list of guidelines. Pay attention, please. These are important. 1, Stories should be submitted in standard format. Here’s a link: https://www.writersdigest.com/.../how-to-submit-short... 2. Double spaced, no tabs, use the indent function in ‘paragraph,’ no extra spaces between paragraphs, and Times New Roman 12 point font. 3. Signal scene breaks by ###. Scene breaks are welcome, but chapters aren’t. 4 If you want italics, use them. 5. Stories must be between 4,000 and 5,000 words. No slack. Rewrite and edit to fit before submitting. Longer or shorter submissions will be deleted unread. 6. No reprints, but simultaneous submissions are fine, as they always should be, but let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere. 7. Put your contact information on the first page and your 150 word bio and bibliography in your cover letter. Do not...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 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...

Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 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...

  Submission Window: June 1st - July 31st, 2025 Payment: $25 and a contributor's copy Theme: Stories about monsters living in a mundane setting Announcing our latest horror/fantasy anthology, the follow-up to THE MONSTERS NEXT DOOR! MORE MONSTERS NEXT DOOR will be accepting 20 short stories, each one focused on a monster living in a mundane setting. The Tudor house across from you may be Dracula's summer home. That apartment down the hall may be Cthulhu's downsizing goal. The hairy guy who just moved into the trailer court sure does make a lot of noise during the full moon. The genre may be classic horror, comedy, science fiction -- so long as your story meets the theme, it is up for consideration. Manuscripts should be submitted as a Word docx file, in the William Shunn format. Submissions should be emailed to [email protected]. Reading period is open from June 1, 2025 through July 31, 2025. Word Length: 2500 / 10K Payment: $25 USD + contributor's copy. Extra contributor copies are available at print cost. Via: Critical Blast.

Deadline: July 31st, 2025 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Stories for lovers of the unexplored depths of our planet and universe 💥OPEN CALL: DEEP ANTHOLOGY (Title TBD) with Death’s Head Press Anticipated Release: Late Spring 2027💥 Death’s Head Press continues its exploration of dark horizons. This time we seek the abyss. We’re putting together an anthology for lovers of the unexplored depths of our planet and the universe. We are looking for stories between 2,500 and 10,000 words that dive into the dark. Please send submissions to [email protected] under the subject line “DEEP ANTHOLOGY–STORY TITLE–AUTHOR NAME” Attach the full story as a separate document, and include a brief summary in the body of your submission email, and tell us a little about yourself. Please follow APA guidelines for formatting and grammar. Submissions open on May 1st and go until July 31st. *Stories will be paid at $0.05 per word. Via: Death's Head Press's Instagram.

Submission Window: June 13th - July 31st, 2025 Payment: $15 USD per page Theme: Horror, no specific theme, but stories should be hard hitting We’re looking for comic scripts for DARKEST DEPTHS VOL. 1, a new horror anthology series to be published by Monstrous Books and Crystal Lake Publishing. COMIC WRITERS WANTED! Darkest Depths Guidelines: Length: Up to 8 pages Pay: $15 USD per page Submissions Period: June 13 to July 31, 2025 (please, do not send scripts before June 13; they won’t be read) Theme: Horror, no specific theme, but stories should be hard hitting, though not X-Rated. Some nudity is okay, adult language is okay, violence and gore is okay. But be reasonable. Email scripts to jamesmonstrousbookscom and use this format for the subject heading: Darkest Depths - Title - Author Name. Include a short bio in your email. Please, send only one script. If you get a rejection, you can send another script, as long as its within the deadline. Check out our Kickstarter to familiarize yourself with what we’re looking for. Via: Monstrous Books.

Deadline: August 1st, 2025 Payment: $10 and a contributors copy Theme: Sword and sorcery stories between 2,000 and 8,000 words What we Want: Good sword and sorcery stories between 2,000 and 8,000 words for our upcoming anthology. No science fiction or horror. What we Don’t Want: We don’t want splatterpunk or porn. No poetry. We don’t want pure romance stories, but of course you can have romance in the story (You know what we mean). If you don’t have a clue, then just send it anyway. As long as it has magic, heroes with swords, or involves mythical adventures, we’ll read it. Payment: Royalties are $10 for the story and one free copy of the anthology when it’s printed. Deadline: August 1, 2025. Rules and Guidelines: Story submissions must be under 8,000 words or we will not read it. Also, only one submission per author. If we want more than one submission from you, we will reach out to you and ask. How to Submit: Email submissions to [email protected] with a story attached in Microsoft Word. We will try to reply to your submission within 4 to 6 weeks. Please put EXACTLY the following in the subject line: ATTN: SORCERY. Via: Howdy Dude Paperbacks.

Deadline: August 1st, 2025 Payment: $10 and a contributors copy Theme: Pure science fiction stories between 2,000 and 8,000 words What we Want: Good science fiction stories between 2,000 and 8,000 words for our upcoming anthology. No fantasy or horror. We will read any science fiction stories. What we Don’t Want: We don’t want porn. No poetry. We don’t want pure romance stories, but of course you can have romance in the story (You know what we mean). If you don’t have a clue then just send it anyway, I reckon. Payment: Royalties are $10 for the story and one free copy of the anthology when it’s printed. Deadline: August 1, 2025. Rules and Guidelines: Story submissions must be under 8,000 words or we will not read it. Also, only one submission per author. If we want more than one submission from you, we will reach out to you and ask. How to Submit: Email submissions to [email protected] with a story attached in Microsoft Word. We will try to reply to your submission within 4 to 6 weeks. Please put EXACTLY the following in the subject line: ATTN: SCIENCE. Via: Howdy Dude Paperbacks.

Deadline: August 1st, 2025 Payment: 1 cent per word for fiction, $10 for poetry, $25 for artwork or $50 for cover artwork Theme: Solarpunk Note: Reprints Welcome NonBinary Review is currently open for submissions on the theme of SOLARPUNK. We want your rusting Teslas still chugging along for a hundred years. Your wooden bicycles pulling hitches rigged with wind turbines. Your crumbling brutalist towers, softened by time, now home to moss, mushrooms, and grizzly bears. Solarpunk is not just about sustainability, it is about adaptation, resilience, and the beauty of a world where humanity and nature thrive together. If you are looking for inspiration, think Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers; Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke and Castle in the Sky; or the quiet satisfaction of making coffee with a Chemex, dumping the used grounds in your compost, and watching the worms enjoy their breakfast too. We are NOT looking for “climate change is a myth, stop worrying!” stories, sexual coming-of-age narratives, or anything that does not fit within the speculative genre. IMPORTANT NOTICE Zoetic Press does not accept AI generated content. If our editors judge that your content is AI-generated, it will be declined. All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme, and be double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman or they will be rejected. NonBinary Review  pays 1¢ per word for prose with a limit of 3000 words. If your work was accepted for Issue #39: Mistaken Identity or is accepted Issue #40: Epiphany, we're sorry, but we cannot accept your work at this time (see our general guidelines.) Zoetic Press publishes the best in speculative lit - experimental, interstitial, luminous. We welcome submissions from EVERYONE. The only requirement is that they be in English, or translated into English (we love a translation). If your writing is outstanding, no matter who you are, we...

Deadline: August 1st, 2025 Payment: $35 Theme: Shared Universe set on the Starship Blunder, most genres welcome, you DO need to read the guidelines for details and characters Galactic Misadventure Continues! Freshly promoted Commander Sarah Hawkins has been assigned to the brand-new Starship Wonder. The rest of her crew, however, have taken to calling their recently acquired vessel Starship Blunder. No new parts were fabricated specifically for the Wonder—it was assembled using extra pieces, cast-off parts, and old components removed from other, nicer crafts. The Conglomeracy hopes the spiffy name of the untested starship will inspire the crew to achieve something, anything. It doesn’t work. Just like its predecessor, the Starship Wonder struggles even to take off, let alone complete a mission. Can the crew find it in themselves to at least successfully deliver an unimportant package, or will the namesake “Blunder” stick with them forever? Although the original vessel Starship Blunder blew up in fantastical fashion at the end of the first anthology, the characters you know and love are back at it again! As soon as the Starship Wonder goes on her inaugural mission, it becomes clear to her crew that there’s nothing wonderful about the new starship. They immediately start referring to their new ship as Starship Blunder as they wonder, did the Conglomeracy commission a new starship because the fleet needed another vessel, or because they just wanted somewhere to stuff the misfit crew away from the more elite spacecraft? Whatever the reason, Commander Sarah Hawkins, Mechanic Xylo, Daycare Teacher Luna Knight, and Chef Bluebottle make the best of a less-than-stellar situation as they embark on another year of missions and misfortune. Submission Guidelines WHAT WE WANT: Theme: This is a shared universe anthology. Stories should be set in the Starship Blunder universe. Embrace humor, delve into deeper themes, or spin a romantic tale under the stars. Include some diverse characters...

Deadline: August 1st, 2025 Payment: $25 USD and a contributors copy Theme: Adult queer body horror that somehow strongly incorporates the use of emoji   Emojis carry a lot of weight in contemporary societies drenched by social media interactions. This theme is very open, but must feature emojis as the primary driving force of the narrative. Give me sentient emojis, cursed emojis, a secret combination of emojis that unlocks a demon, a serial killer whose signature is the love heart reaction, disaffected youths whose use of the shrug emoji comes back to haunt them, a coder with an emoji axe to grind… The potential here is limitless. What I want: Adult queer horror body horror. I will also accept horrormance, splatterpunk, and extreme. As long as your story revolves around emojis (any emoji, I don’t care), has the body horror element, and is queer, I am in. I want believable, authentic characters, and crazy fucking scenarios. Please edit to the best of your ability before submission. I edit everything anyway, but help out and make things are easy for me as you can. What I will not accept: No rape, bestiality or pedophilia. No gender or sexuality-based phobia unless you’re doing revenge horror or something where it’s actually needed. Vampires and werewolves are done to death now, so if you are doing that, make it really unique. Important information, please read: Word Count: 4000–7500 (anything outside this range won’t be read and won’t be considered). Submissions open: May 1, 2025 Submission deadline: August 1, 2025 (don’t worry about timezones, please. If your calendar says August 1, it’s August 1). Expected publication: December 2025 Payment: $25 USD + paperback + ebook Submission email: [email protected] In your submission email, just title it as: Fearmoji Sub + + A note about queerness— Slashic publishes...

Deadline: August 1st, 2025 Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry Theme: Story must begin with: Her truck took the sharp turns of the mountain road with ease. Fall: Her truck took the sharp turns of the mountain road with ease. Due date: August 1, 2025 We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line. Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that's cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions. One more thing while I've got you here: Writers compete against one another for magazine space, so, technically, every literary magazine is running a contest. There are, however, literary magazines that run traditional contests, where they charge entry fees and rank the winners. We do not - nor will we ever - charge a submission fee, nor do we rank our stories in order of importance. Occasionally, we run contests to help come up with new first lines, or...