Deadline: April 15, 2023
Prizes: $250/100/50 USD for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
Theme: science fiction and speculative fiction.

See regular flash guidelines below, but with the following exceptions:

-MAXIMUM 500 words (hard limit)

-you can send a total of 3 pieces, which can be all at once if you’d like (each piece must be 500 words or less)

-open March 1, 2023 until April 15, 2023 (last place on Earth that it remains April 15)

-$250/100/50 USD for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place (all published online, no honorable mentions and will also appear in print in Volume 4)

–NO AI-GENERATED SUBMISSIONS (true always, just reiterating)

GENERAL (i.e. non micro-fiction) GUIDELINES

We are currently closed to GENERAL flash submissions (see above regarding micro-fiction contest). We will open sometime in the spring of 2023 for Volume 4. Please check back here for future updates.

We want science fiction and speculative fiction. So long as it falls into one of these categories, we will happily read it. If other elements are present, that is fine, but it must include science or speculative fiction.

• No more than 1000 words. This is a firm limit. Please no queries about longer pieces.

• NO AI-GENERATED/ASSISTED STORIES

• Pay rate is professional – $0.08 US/word

• This is for marginalized members of the sci-fi/spec community—this includes people of color, the LGBTQ2S+ community, members of marginalized genders, and disabled and neurodiverse people. If you are not a person of color, LGBTQ2S+, neurodiverse, disabled, or of a marginalized gender, please DO NOT send us your work. Authors of all accepted pieces will have the option to include a short bio in the anthology. We understand the sensitive nature of gender identity and sexual orientation, so if you wish this status to remain unwritten and/or if you prefer to be anonymous, we will print only what you wish to be printed. If you would like your piece published under a pseudonym, please indicate this on your submission. If you would like your pronouns included, please indicate those as well.

• DO NOT send us anything hateful. No gratuitous violence, torture, rape, or any work that promotes an ideology unbecoming of an inclusive society – no stories supporting racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, or any other of the many forms of hate.

Minutiae

• Please prepare your submission according to standard guidelines, which you can find here. No mailed subscriptions. DOC or DOCX formats only. Please don’t include your address or telephone number—if we need those, we’ll ask for them upon acceptance.

• Please submit only one piece per author at a time, up to three submissions per window.

• Cover letters (must include cover letter): please include a short bio and PayPal email address. Please don’t summarize your piece. If you’re a member of SFWA, HWA, Codex, or other writerly groups, please let us know here.

• Please include all contact information (physical address not required unless your piece is accepted, at which time we’ll only use it to send your print copy) in your file, including your PayPal associated e-mail address.

• All payments will be made through PayPal.

• E-mail all stories to iftheresanyoneleft at gmail dot com (thank the bots for having to type it in) with the following subject line: SUBMISSION: [story title here] AUTHOR [your name here]. Any submissions without this subject heading will not be read.

• Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere so that we can remove it from consideration.

• All stories will be published as an eBook and in print in a single volume. All proceeds from the sale of this anthology will be used to fund the next anthology, with the following exceptions: payment of fees to maintain this website. The more money made by this anthology, the more writers we will be able to include in the next anthology.

• Sample contract can be found here.

• Future submission windows will be provided when there are additional anthologies.

• Submission Grinder is an excellent tool and please feel free to log submissions there.

• Though we may be able to offer feedback sometimes, we regret that we will not be able to provide individualized feedback on all stories. Please understand that choosing stories is a highly subjective process and just because we do not accept your story does not mean it is not excellent. If you DO NOT want to receive feedback, please state that in your e-mail.

• You will not receive a confirmation e-mail.

• No reprints.

• No translations.

• We buy the following rights:

  • worldwide electronic for 6 months from the date of purchase, non-exclusive for the life of the magazine.

  • non-exclusive print and electronic

  • non-exclusive audio rights

Legalese

By sending us your story you understand and agree that:

• You are the original creator of the work submitted to us;

• You are the copyright holder of the work;

• You are at least 18 years of age;

• You are not prohibited by any prior agreement from the transfer of non-exclusive electronic and audio rights to the work;

• All information in the contact and cover sections of your submission is accurate and truthful;

• If There’s Anyone Left publishes in both text and audio; you are offering both of those one-time and archival rights to us when you send us your story;

• You accept sole responsibility for any false statements or encumbrances upon rights not disclosed to us. If we buy your story we’ll send you a contract, and you’ll be bound to all of the above.

Confidentiality

An author’s personal information (name, address, email, phone, or secret identity) will not be shared with anyone outside our editorial staff, except in the following situations:

• if we are compelled by law

• if threats are made against our staff

• if our narrators require your assistance with pronunciation (email only)

• if established year’s best editors would like to include your story in their anthology (email only)

• if the author has instructed us to do so

Via: If There’s Anyone Left.