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Deadline: June 6th, 2025 Payment: 1000-3000 words = $20, 3000-5000 words = $30, 5000-7000 words = $40 Theme: Horrifying holiday travel NEW publisher ROF Publishing House is seeking ooky and spooky, thrilling and chilling holiday travel nightmares for a themed short story collection: SEASON’S GRIEVINGS: Holiday Travel Stories Gone Wrong Missing your flight is scary. So is sleeping in your childhood bedroom with cousins you can’t remember. Are your old band posters talking to you, or is that the ghost of Chanukah’s past? Please send us your horror, thriller, and suspense stories (1,000-7,000 words) about holiday travel. We are interested in publishing stories set around a variety of cultural holidays and traditions. Take us into the mind of a sinister flight attendant on Christmas Eve. Show us the monsters who stalked ancient Winter Solstice festivalgoers. Place us in the middle of a serial killer’s game while on a seniors-only cruise. Give us psychological terror while frying latkes in Grandma’s kitchen. Dazzle us with bonfires and fireworks and arson on New Year’s Eve. Call is open May 6, 2025 to June 6, 2025 Submit stories by clicking this link: Submissions Link Submissions should be Word documents in Shunn Manuscript Format We are not interested in stories that perpetuate stereotypes of gender, race, religion, nationality, ability, or sexuality or that minimize or glorify abuse, violence, or colonialism, including Zionism. If you have questions or need to withdraw your story because another publisher has accepted it, please email [email protected]. Payment is tiered based on word count. 1000-3000 words = $20 3000-5000 words = $30 5000-7000 words = $40 ROF Publishing House requests First North American Serial Rights and First Electronic and Digital Rights. Via: ROF Publishing's Substack.

Submission Window: June 1st - 7th, 2025 Payment: 8 cents per word Theme: Dark and disruptive SF stories that have strong emotional resonance under 300 words in length We open from the 1st-7th of each month, beginning April 2025. What we want: Anomaly is interested in science fiction stories under 300 words in length, for publication on their Patreon, with the right to collect stories into a future anthology. We're looking for dark and disruptive stories that have strong emotional resonance. We like stories that stick with us after reading, that get us thinking about the twisted use of technologies, the way the world may be, or how characters might react to an evolving technological future. What we're asking for: First rights with 90 days of exclusivity after publication, and the nonexclusive right to republish the story in a future anthology that collects Anomaly stories, with permission from the authors. Compensation: .08 per word for original fiction and an electronic copy of any future anthology. Submission Guidelines: Please attach your file to this form in .doc/.docx format. Use Times New Roman 12 point font with Shunn standard manuscript format. Stories must be 300 words or less. No simultaneous submissions. No multiple submissions. No stories written with AI. No reprints at this time. If you need any further assistance, please email us at [email protected]. SUBMIT HERE Via: Anomaly's Patreon.

Submission Window: June 1st - 7th, 2025 Payment: Drabbles and Flash – £5, Short Stories 1001 to 4000 words – £10, Short Stories 4001 to 8000 words – £15 Theme: Stories you’ve poured your soul into but haven’t been able to find the right home for. We do not have set issue themes but feel free to be inspired by the season, seasonal occasions and events. Note: Only publishes creators from under represented and/or marginalized communities. WE ONLY PUBLISH CREATORS FROM UNDER REPRESENTED AND/OR MARGINALISED BACKGROUNDS AND/OR COMMUNITIES We don’t ask for any proof, we take this on trust with the expectation that anyone not from a marginalised background or underrepresented community wouldn’t take up the space of someone who is. We ask you to consider this before submitting. QUARTERLY ONLINE ANTHOLOGY: BRIEF We’re looking for stories you’ve poured your soul into but haven’t been able to find the right home for. We’re looking for stories that make us feel something. Warmth, love, melancholy, rage. We want it all. All genres, styles and themes will be considered and we especially love stories that are outside the box in their telling. Ambiguous endings? Non-linear storytelling? Antagonist’s point-of-view? A story told in just one scene? We love it all. PLEASE NOTE: We will close submissions early if our cut off point is reached Quarterly Online Anthology Submission Schedule: June 1st – 7th (Autumn Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions September 1st – 7th (Winter Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions December 1st – 7th (Spring Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions March 1st – 7th (Summer Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions ​We do not have set issue themes but feel free to be inspired by the season, seasonal occasions and events. We are unlikely to publish stories...

Deadline: June 7th, 2025 Payment: Fiction and nonfiction run in the $10-30 range; poetry in the $5-15 range. Theme: The Uncanny Our summer edition theme is the uncanny, however you interpret that. What happens when settings look fine — happy, even — on the surface, only for a distortion to be lurking just out of sight? What can the uncanny help us understand about ourselves, our relationships, our communities? 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 and lengthier criticism....

Deadline: June 9th, 2025 Payment: $0.03c per word Theme: Cryptid stories Edited by: Trevor Henderson and Andrew Cull Open call 2k to 4k words. All cryptid stories are welcome. No reprints, please. Payment: $0.03c per word. Subs close on June 9th. Stories to: encounterswithcryptids at gmail dot com. Stories by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors are strongly encouraged Via: Andy Cull on Bluesky.

Deadline: June 10th, 2025 Payment: Royalties Theme: Straightforward science fiction with great characters A Science Fiction Anthology Submission Period: March 10, 2025 to June 10, 2025 Theme: Beyond – Science Fiction. Editor likes: characters, emotion. Dislikes: difficult words to pronounce. Faves: Dune, Expanse, Fifth Element, Foundation Stories that contain infanticide, rape, or gratuitous gore will not be accepted. Submission Period: March 10, 2025 to June 10, 2025 Submissions: No AI, 1 per author; no reprints, no simultaneous submissions; Submission Cost: Free Word Limit: 2,000 to 8,000 words Submission Guidelines: Anonymous submission with no author name in document; 12 pt Times or Arial; .Doc or .Docx; double-space; first line indent; no tabs used. Genres: Science Fiction 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 the Stretch goals are met), wholesale to authors, or retail outlets. Timeline Projections: Submissions close: June 2025 Review: July 2025 Acceptance / Rejection: July 2025 Edits: July/August 2025 Production: August 2025 Published: October 2025 Upon acceptance, the author is expected to work with the editor on at least one round of revisions in MSWord. Our publication goal is dependent on 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 and the continuing non-exclusive right to reproduce the work in Beyond. Authors must provide assurance that their story submission is an original, previously unpublished work, is not currently under consideration elsewhere, and that it will not be submitted for publication elsewhere prior to receiving notification that it has not been accepted for inclusion in Beyond. For the D2D royalty sharing, you can expect ongoing financial compensation from Draft 2 Digital...

Deadline: June 15th, 2025 Payment: $125 and a contributor's copy Theme: Insert Sherlock Holmes into the realm of Lovecraftian Horror Edited by Derrick Belanger & Brian Belanger Description: Imagine Holmes investigating the disappearance of a college student in the mysterious town of Innsmouth, matching wits with a man who can reanimate the dead, or using his deductive skills to help fight creatures from beyond the realm of time and space. These are just some of the stories which could be included in the new anthology The Necronomicon of Sherlock Holmes. The anthology will feature traditional Sherlock Holmes stories blended with one or more of Lovecraft’s tales. Belanger Books is calling for submissions from writers, new or established, which are between 5,000 – 10,000 words (it is okay to be over some). Guidelines: The stories must feel like traditional Holmes and Lovecraft stories. The stories should have the traditional Holmes and Watson working with the traditional characters, creatures, and/or gods of H.P. Lovecraft. Remember, there was a logic to the writing of Lovecraft, a rationale behind the otherworldly beings even if humans couldn’t conceive it, that should blend well with the deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes. Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $125 and a paperback copy of the anthology. Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication. Authors are welcome to submit more than one story for the anthology. Send submissions in a word document that is double spaced, in Times New Roman, and in 14 point font to [email protected] with the subject line ATTN: SUBMISSION FOR THE NECRONOMICON OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Submission Deadline: June 15, 2025. Publication Date: Winter 2025/2026 Via: Belanger Books.

Deadline: June 15th, 2025 Payment: US 4¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25 Theme: Speculative poems about Birds Eye to the Telescope 57, Birds, will be edited by Maria Schrater. Send your speculative bird poems! The endless diversity of birds is one of the great marvels of our world. Migration patterns, flight mechanics, song, life cycle, and more—it's a diverse pool to draw from, with deeper potential with the addition of speculative layers. Guest Editor Maria Schrater has been fascinated by birds since she was a child, learning to imitate their calls and identify local species just by a flash of color. She has rescued baby birds, carefully viewed delicate nests, and watched majestic waterfowl take flight. Apparition readers may remember that Schrater adores out-of-the-box forms. You could even send a poem shaped as a bird. If you pick a traditional form, please name the form in the cover letter so it can be evaluated with that in mind. A generous interpretation will be applied to the definition of bird, but this call is not intended to include dinosaurs unless modern birds are also discussed. We are excited to see your poems! Submission Guidelines SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Use the form at https://bit.ly/SFPAettt57 to submit. Please submit 1–3 unpublished poems in English (ideally, attached as .docx or .txt) and include a short bio. Translations from other languages are acceptable with the permission of the original poet (unless public domain). Inquiries only to [email protected] with “ETTT” in the subject line. Deadline: June 15. The issue will appear on July 15, 2025. Payment and rights Accepted poems will be paid for at the following rate: US 4¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25. Payment is on publication. The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association normally uses PayPal to pay poets, but can also send checks....

Submission Window: May 15th - June 15th, 2025 Payment: $8.00 ($0.08 per word) Theme: Scifi and/or Fantasy 100-word stories (can include horror but must have a SF or F element) that focus on the theme of 'Train" - any meaning of the word Train is valid. We’ll be opening again for submissions May 15 to June 15 for the theme TRAIN. We will allow one themed and one un-themed submission per writer. All submissions must be submitted via our Google form, which will be available here when we are open. What do we want? Speculative fiction (science fiction or fantasy) Note: We accept horror, but it must have a speculative element, whether science fiction or fantasy. Drabbles (100-word stories EXACTLY) Note: We calculate word count using Microsoft Word. If using Google Docs, please manually count your words. It has a truly baffling definition of a word (e.g., “1,000” = 2 words). Actual, complete stories Even though they’re only 100-words, drabbles still need all the essential elements of a story: character, setting, conflict, theme, and plot. What do we NOT want? Child abuse (of any type) Erotica Rape Revenge stories Hateful content Poems All the details Simultaneous submissions: Yes! Go crazy. Submit everywhere! But if it is accepted elsewhere, please let us know. Response time: Responses will be within 60 days. Please query after this time. Multiple submissions: You may submit two stories per submissions period. Note: Only one story will be accepted per author per period. Reprints: Nope. Stories many not be previously published in any format (including on your blog, Patreon, etc.). Formatting: Please format italics with surrounding _underscores_. You do not need to add indents or manual line breaks. AI use: No. All work must be original and yours. Using AI or plagiarizing will get you banned forever. No redemption arc will be possible. Contract terms: We require first worldwide English electronic...

Deadline: June 15th, 2025 Payment: $20 per 1000-5000 word story, or $10 for stories under 1000 words Theme: Creepy stories, preferabbly with Fall/Autumn and/or specific Halloween setting and themes and not overly-dialogue heavy The Creepy Corner is a new podcast format from Straight to the Point Productions, releasing new and classic spooky stories in the lead up to Halloween. We are seeking original short horror to record and release in an audiobook/podcast format. Deadline - June 15, 2025 Note - stories may be accepted on a rolling basis, and Straight to the Point Productions reserves the right to close submissions early. All authors will be notified within 1 month from the close of submissions. Fees & Compensation - Selected Authors will receive $20 per 1000-5000 word story, or $10 for stories under 1000 words. Submission is free and there is no limit on number of submissions per author. Authors will be credited aloud in the audio of the episode, as well as in the show notes. Content Guidelines - We are accepting stories on any and all themes (with some limits), but with preference for: PG-13 or below rating Fall/Autumn and/or specific Halloween setting and themes Reinterpretations of folklore or classic stories Not overly dialogue-heavy To get a sense of the editorial team’s taste since this is our first edition, some writers we enjoy include Ray Bradbury, Karen Russell, Stephen King, Octavia Butler, China Mieville, Jeff Vandermeer, Shirley Jackson, Tananarive Due, Roald Dahl, Marisha Pessl, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, John Bellairs, and Daniel Handler.   We are also accepting submissions specifically related to Christmas and/or the winter holiday season for a special seasonal edition. Submission Guidelines -  Please submit .pdf or .doc(x) files only. Other file formats will not be considered. Please double-space manuscripts in size 12 font. Restrictions -  Maximum length...

Submission Window: June 1st - 15th, 2025 Payment: Fiction: 8 cents per word, Poetry: $50, Non-fiction: $100 Theme: Stories with anthropomorphized animals as protagonists in any realm of speculative fiction Deeply animal, deeply human We’re on the trail. We got our noses to the ground. In this den there are plott hounds sniffing out for quality animal-centric speculative fiction. Here at Plott Hound Magazine, we want stories that really dig deep into what it’s like to be an animal yet also teach us what it means to be human. Both deeply animal and deeply human. Humans have had enough stories to go around and more. It’s time to make some room for the ones with paws, claws, fangs, and tails. Let’s hear them howl, roar, growl, and hiss. Here, they run wild. Throw us a good bone to chew on. Help us fill this space to make it a dazzling menagerie. Prose Submission Guidelines -Word limit for original short fiction: 1000 (minimum) – 5000 words (maximum) sweet spot/preferred: 3000 – 4000 words -Maximum word limit for original flash fiction: 999 words -Reprints: not accepted at this time -Pay rate: 8 cents/word -Format: Standard Manuscript Format. 12 point Times New Roman, double spaced, .doc or .docx files. Mailing address and phone number are not required on the header. -Simultaneous submissions are allowed! Just make sure to give us a howl if your submission has been accepted elsewhere before we make a decision on it. -Multiple submissions: you may submit one piece per category at a given time. -If a submission is declined and the submission period is still open, you may send another. Currently there is no cooldown period between submissions during an open submission window. -Cover letter do’s and don’ts: > Include author name, name of submission, word count, best 2-3 publishing credits (if...

Deadline: June 22nd, 2025 Payment: 15 cents per word for fiction and $75 per page for poetry and artwork. Theme: In a world devastated by catastrophes, we need stories that confront these horrors. Note: Prioritizing work by people with lived experience of war and conflict. It’s time to announce the call for submissions to It Was Paradise*, a special issue of Reckoning edited by Sonia Sulaiman and with cover art by Moníca Robles Corzo. In a world devastated by catastrophes, we need stories that confront these horrors. This is all out war on the planet, on life itself. War and conflict are the themes for this volume of Reckoning. Probe into the heart of extinction, genocide, and climate crisis. Expose the exploitation of the earth. Show us how the world could be on the other side. Send us your stories of environmental justice, of violence, imperialism, fascism, and resistance, of destruction, survival, and of triumph. It Was Paradise is open for submissions now through the summer solstice, June 22, 2025, with tentative release scheduled for October. Payment rate will be 15 cents (US) per word for prose, $75 per page for poetry and art. As always, we’re seeking submissions from Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent, imprisoned, impoverished, and otherwise marginalized human beings from everywhere, but in particular for this issue, we will be prioritizing work by people with lived experience of war and conflict. We’ll continue to accept submissions to our communication-themed regular issue, Reckoning X, throughout. Also, during this submission window only, we’re relaxing our usual rule about multiple submissions to allow folks to submit to both calls simultaneously.   We’re always open to submissions. There are never any fees to submit. We pay SFWA-qualifying “professional” rates upon acceptance; click below to see how much for different...

Submission Window: Marginalized writers from June 1, 2025 to June 15, 2025 and for BIPOC writers from June 1, 2025 to June 22, 2025. Payment: $0.01 USD per word Theme: Speculative fiction from marginalized voices that include a door opening (literally or metaphorically) in some manner. GENRE: Speculative Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror TITLE: Enter Here: An Anthology of Portals For untold years, the door has been closed. But today, the key turns. The lock clicks. The door opens, and you go through it. What awaits you on the other side? ENTER HERE is an anthology of thirteen short stories of speculative fiction from marginalized voices. Breaking into publishing can feel like knocking on a closed door or being turned away from a locked gate. With this anthology, we want to open the doors. Stories in this collection may fall into any genre of speculative fiction and will span the range from cozy to grimdark, but every piece must include a door opening in some manner. Physical or metaphorical, traditional or unusual—make the doors your own. Send us your lushly written, genre-blending stories that look at portals in unexpected or unusual ways. Submission rules: Submissions will be open for all marginalized writers from June 1, 2025 to June 15, 2025 and for BIPOC writers from June 1, 2025 to June 22, 2025. Submissions received after 11:59pm EST on June 15 for general submissions/June 22, 2025 for BIPOC submissions will be deleted unread. We are asking you to self-identify and will not be verifying identities, so please respect these submission windows.   Authors must self-identify as marginalized in some way. Intersectionality and #ownvoices are encouraged. However, you are not required to disclose your marginalizations. The purpose of this item is to ensure that we are capturing stories from marginalized writers, not to make an exhaustive list...

Deadline: June 22nd, 2025 Payment: £10 and each contributor will receive one free contributor copy of the book. Theme: Triumph, Love and Becoming. We are honoured to open submissions for our debut anthology. This anthology is the first offering from Dawn Woven Books, a publishing space devoted to soulful and authentic storytelling. Rooted in love, truth and creative expression. This collection will gather stories that explore themes of triumph, love, healing and becoming. This project is being developed as part of the Artist Incubator Programme with the Black South West Network, supporting creatives to bring powerful, purpose driven work into the world. As a writer, storyteller and vessel of love. I believe that every voice holds wisdom and every story, when told with heart can bring healing. This anthology is a call to Griots, truth-tellers and heart led writers to share the lived experiences that shaped them. Together, we are weaving a tapestry of voices that honour the past, illuminate the present and make space for new light to rise. If you have a true story that speaks to the power of perseverance, ancestral memory, self-love or the beauty of becoming, we would love to read it. Payment: £10 and each contributor will receive one free contributor copy of the book. Genre: Creative Non-Fiction (Personal essays, memoir style pieces and narrative reflections). However, we are very flexible and both fiction and creative non-fiction are equally welcome. We are open to any short story as long as it speaks to the theme. Theme: Triumph, Love and Becoming. Word Count: 1000 - 3,500 WORDS. Rights: We get the first publication rights and hold the rights to your story for three years from publication. After the three years, the rights revert back to you. Join us in bringing forward stories that heal, inspire and...

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...