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Thursday, August 6, 2020

Submission Window and Deadlines List (August 2020; Updated on 8/15/2020)

Personal Goal of 100 Rejections in 2020 (current stats)
Rejections: 49 (29 short, 18 flash, 2 poems)
Pending: 19 (14 short, 5 flash)
Total Submissions: 67

Additions to note and deadlines coming soon: Uncanny Magazine opening 8/12-9/4, No Police = Know Future deadline on 8/15, TU Dublin Short Story Competition deadline 8/19, two SLF diversity grants w/ deadlines on 8/31, and more. I also added a few sites where you can continue the submissions search on your own, as well as a few places to get advice on the submissions game. Good luck, skill, magic and enjoy the process for what it is.

Also added three more: 9/30 Future SF Digest seeks positive East Asia short stories, Cemetery Gates Media has a horror flash fiction contest open from now until 12/26, and also added the lower paying (3¢/word) Apparition Literary Magazine as they have interesting flash fiction contests with art prompts as well general story submission windows.

SF-fans might want to write up a quick statement: 8/23, Dreamforge Magazine, 50-word statement of how SF gives you hope for tomorrow and SF-inspired tech makes life better today, prizes for top 3 

New/unpublished writers should plan on submitting to these three: Grimdark Magazine's Matthew Ward's Pay It Forward Writing Competition (8/30-9/5), Writers of the Future Quarter 4 (7/1-9/30), and Dream Foundry Contest (8/10-10/11).

Lists in order of appearance: 
1. Submissions Deadlines in August and Beyond (pay 5¢-20¢/word USD or equivalent
2. Submissions Deadlines in August and Beyond (pay 1¢-4¢/word USD or equivalent)
3. Publications Open for Submission (No specified deadline; pay 5-20¢/word USD or equivalent)
4. Publications Open for Submission (No Specified Deadline; pay 1-4¢/word USD or equivalent)
5. Conferences, Conventions, and Workshops to Sign Up For
6. Where to search for submission windows on your own? 
7. Need motivation for the submission game?

Nothing special to blog about; straight to the updated lists. Click each item to reach the submission page or closest available equivalent. Do tell me of any submission possibilities I should add to the list.


Submission Deadlines in August and Beyond (pay 5-20¢/word USD or equivalent)



8/23, Great River Review, Poetry (1-3 poems), $120, Note: BIPOC poets only, Note: must provide mini reading of your work

8/27, Motherland (Lethe Press), 2000-10,000 words, 6¢/word, Genre: LGBTQ+, Weird, Theme: set in Motherland, a landyke community founded on the Delmarva Peninsula in 1968 by Ida Marmer and Robinia Atwell. Stories can be set during any time period, from the founding of Motherland to the current day. All stories must feature lesbian or bisexual protagonists. We recommend authors read the NY Times article and the book Landykes of the South before writing their submission.

8/28, Fireside Summer 2021 Issue, ~3000 words, 12.5¢/word, Genre: Any (English or Spanish) 

8/15-8/30, Cast of Wonders (Flash Fiction Contest), ~500 words (including title), 8¢/word, Genre: any YA (12-17 year old target audience)

8/31, The SLF $500 Diverse Writers and $500 Diverse Worlds Grants; these are two different grants; to apply provide a ~500-word description of projects, a ~5000-word writing sample, a bibliography of previously published work if any, and for the Diverse Writers grant only provide a brief statement of what aspect of your background relates to diversity; Application Process: Send the 3-4 items listed above to our diversity grant jury as attached .doc files, at diversity@speclit.org. Include a brief cover letter with your name and contact info (e-mail, phone in case of emergency), and please note which grant(s) you’re applying for; Note: "Writers may apply for either or both grants. Please note: your project does not need to center on identity issues. We also do not expect or want work that simply attempts to check off all the boxes in a tokenistic way, but rather are looking for writing that offers deep characterization, complex cultural landscapes, and strong literary quality overall."

8/31, Strange Horizons (Mexico Issue), ~4000, 10¢/word, Genre: any speculative, Note: only for Indigenous people in Mexico, Mexican people, and people of Mexican origin

8/12-9/4 Uncanny Magazine, 750-6000 words, 10¢/word, Genre: SF/F Wants: "intricate, experimental stories and poems with gorgeous prose, verve, and imagination that elicit strong emotions and challenge beliefs. Uncanny believes there’s still plenty of room in the genre for tales that make you feel." Note: currently closed to poetry.

9/4, On the Premises Short Story Contest 36, 1000-5000 words, prize money (1st $220, 2nd $160, 3rd $120, HM $60), Theme: Smell, Genre: any except children’s and gross horror, https://onthepremises.com/current-contest/

8/30-9/5, Matthew Ward Pay it Forward Writing Competition (Grimdark Magazine), ~4000 words, Genre: grimdark (SF/F), 1st Place = 7¢/word (AUS), Note: only eligibile if you haven't sold a short story that pays more than token (~US$100) or royalty only (also no published novelists)

9/22, Reckoning: 5th Issue, ~20,000 words, 8¢/word ($30/page for poems), Genre: SF/F/General, Theme: enivironmental justic, Simultaneous OK, Poetry OK (prefer multiple 3-5 poems <10 pages, but send only one if longer)

9/25, Incoming Magazine, Pitches for 20-page black and white comic, Genre: SF, £ 800/$1000, email story outline (text/storyboard) and a selection of concept art/past work to: magincoming@gmail.com

9/1-9/30 PodCastle, ~6000 words (3000-4500 best), 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy, Simultaneous OK, Reprints ($100 for >1500 words, $20 for flash)

9/30, Future Science Fiction Digest, 500-10,000 words (~5000 preferred), 8¢/word, Genre: SF, Theme: positive East Asia

7/1-9/30, WotF Q4, ~17000 words (aim for 3000-10,000), 8¢/word, prize money (1st $1000, 2nd $750, 3rd $500, annual grand $5000, plus Hollywood workshop; semi-finalists get feedback), Genre: F/SF, Note: contest for new writers w/o 4+ pro-level publications; the forum is very helpful, especially the Super Secrets thread; free workshop available on website

8/10-10/11 Dream Foundry Contest, Words ~10,000, prize (1st $1000, 2nd $500, 3rd $200), Note: contest for new writers (have published 4000 words or less, earned $320 or less from those words and never been nominated for a major award)

10/31, Chiral Mad 5, ~5000 words (poetry: ~50 lines, up to 5 poems), 6¢/word (poems:$1/line) Theme: The End Is The Beginning / The Beginning Is The End, Note: for underrepresented demographic only, "If you are not part of an underrepresented demographic (POC, LGBTQIA+, female), please do not submit at this time, but feel free to send recommendations", Note: proceeds go to BLM

11/1 Weird Christams Flash Fiction Contest (3rd annual), ~350 words, prize money (1st=$50, 2nd=$25,10+HMs=$5, Genre: SpecFic/SF/F/H/Humor/Weird, Reprints: query, Note: accepts narrative poetry, multiple entries OK

10/15-11/2, PseudoPod (General Submissions), 1500-6000 words (4500 best), 8¢/word, Genre: any horror, Reprints OK 

11/30: Cast of Wonders (General Submissions), ~6000 words (best 3000-4500 or flash <1000), 8¢/word, Genre: any YA, Note: good feedback provided last time I submitted

11/30-12/4, Fireside (Autumn 2021 Issue), ~3000 words, 12.5¢/word, Genre: Any (English or Spanish) 

8/7-12/26, Cemetery Media Gates Untitled Flash Fiction Anthology, 500-1000 words (submit 1 story per theme, up to 5 stories), 8¢/word, Genre: Horror, Theme: Cemetery Chillers, Spook Houses, Supernatural Slashers, Witchcraft, Within the Woods

7/1/2020-2/28/2021, two anthologies from Open Air and Nothingness Press, 1000-3000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/Fantasy/Grimdark/New Weird/Dying Earth/genre-bending, Note: overall story call for both anthologies linked here (direct pdf linked to anthology themes detailed below)

Upon a Once Time (Theme: mashup of two fairytales)
The Wild Hunt: Stories of the Chase (Theme: The Wild Hunt's folklore, myths, and drama)

8/10/2021-8/31/2021, PseudoPod (Flash Fiction Contest), ~1500 words (500-1000 best), 8¢/word, Genre: any horror, Reprints OK, Simultaneous OK (if not an Escape Artists podcast)


Submission Deadlines in August and Beyond (pay 1-4¢/word USD or equivalent)

8/1-8/15, Apparition Literary Magazine Flash Fiction Contest (monthly), ~1000 words, $10 for the winning story, Genre: Speculative/Fantasy/SF/Horror/ Literary, Theme: artwork prompt of From Mother Earth Flows the River of Life by Daphne Odjig (see site) 

8/16, FU Review Issue 9 Interrupt, no word limit (~2 prose pieces and/or ~5 poems), €20 per author, Theme: "When the internet cuts off, when the light goes out as you sit down to read, when the heart doesn't beat, when a heart doesn't beat for you, when the visa is rejected, when the binary breaks, when you fall in love, when two worlds collide, when — we pause this program for an important announcement — a dog barks (the autoplay ad starts) when the lightning strikes the picnic the stranger asks for directions the rain starts the statue of the slave trader hits the water when the the rain ends when a missile —"

8/30, Heartwreck: Romantic Disasters at Sea, 2000-5000 words, 2¢/word, Seeking personal essays and creative memoir about love gone wrong at sea

8/15-8/31, Apparition Literary Magazine, 1000-5000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Speculative/Fantasy/SF/Horror/ Literary, Theme: Satisfaction 

5/1-8/31, Under the Hooded Monster Contest, 1000-10,000 words, grand prize $100, Theme: YA fantasy short stories about a person facing and overcoming a monster

8/31, Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies, 1500-5000 words (not strict), 6c (AUD) per word, Genre: speculative, Theme: body horror related to pregnancy/birth/babies, Note: for Australian writers only, Reprints OK (sort of)

9/15-11/15, New Tales of Fairy Godmothers by Kate Wolford, 4000-7500 words, 1¢/word, Genre: fairy tale fantasy, Theme: new fairy godmother tales that refresh/subvert the trope, simultaneous OK

9/15-11/15, Lamplight Magazine, ~7000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Dark/Literary

1/4-11/15, In Darkness Delight Anthology (Corpus Press), 2500-7500 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Horror, SF (soft)

12/1 Worldbuilding Fantasy Anthology, 3500-7000 or 9000-15,000 words, flat payment (short $100; novella $200), Theme: Politics as Conflict. Genre: any Fantasy (PG-13)

3/15/2021-5/15/2021, Lamplight Magazine, ~7000 words. 3¢/word, Genre: Dark/Literary


Publications Open for Submission (No specified deadline; pay 5-20¢/word USD or equivalent)











CLOSED TO SUBS UNTIL FEB 2021 Hybrid Fiction, 500-5000 words (or serialized novellas), 6¢/word, Genre: speculative hybrid/cross-genre (blend of 2+ genres, such as dark fantasy, steampunk western, historical fantasy, weird western, crime fantasy, etc.)










Where to search for submission windows on your own?




Where to Submit Short Stories: 30 Magazines and Websites That Want Your Work, a decent list with a literary focus

28 Themed Submission Calls for August by S. Kalekar, submission possibilities including a few good ones I haven't had time to add to the lists above

Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: plenty of updated lists of agents, calls for submission, contests, conferences, recipes, and more


Need motivation for the submission game? 

Submitting Short Fiction: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Genre Edition by Holly Lyn Walrath, a useful guide on playing the submission game written in 2019

Submission Tetris: An Analytic Approach by Laurence Raphael Brothers, a brief but useful consideration of what and where to submit in the submissions game from SFWA


Also, great advice at these links below

Charlie Jane Anders' advice: chapters from her forthcoming non-fiction book Never Say You Can't Survive with new chapters released every Tuesday

Delilah S. Dawson's page of links, including her advice on how to get published

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