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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

March Past the Blog Chatter and Go Directly to Deadlines

No blog chatter for this post. Just straight to submission windows and deadlines. Happy Writing and Subbing, Everybody! It's a busy freaking month. I don't think I even included everything, but I got most of it listed for now.

New Updates:

Added Cricket to the list of publications which are higher-paying and without specific deadlines (middle grade, 25 cents)

Classic Monsters Unleashed had its pay boosted to 6 cents thanks to the ongoing kickstarter, and might open more slots (deadline: 4/8-5/30)

3/7, Augur Magazine, ~5000 words, 11¢CAD/word ($110CAD/flash), Theme: any SFF (esp. dream-touched realism, slipstream, fabulism, magical realism; and literary spec; not interested in pandemic fiction or hard scifi, mostly want human/character-driven narratives; best submission defies categories; something too spec or not spec enough for other magazines), Poetry (up to 5 pages/poem; up to 5 poems and 10 pages total; $60CAD/word), Simultaneous OK (disclose in cover letter), Multiple OK (up to 2 short stories/window, up to 5 poems, or up to 3 graphic fiction shorts; if mixed types then up to 4 pieces total/window), Art (currently closed to subs; email w/ portfolio), Note: submissions must be anonymous

3/15, Flame Tree (Monthly Flash Fiction Contest), 700-1000 words, 8¢/word, Submit one flash story to the Horror prompt of Deadly Obsession OR one story to the SF prompt of Body Swapping, must subscribe to their newsletter, email subs to Newsletter Editor Molly Rosevear, molly@flametreepublishing.com w/ theme as subject heading and author details/bio at end of story

3/31, WotF Q2, ~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

4/12, Imagine 2200 (contest by Fix), 3000-5000 words, award money (1st = $3,000, 2nd = $2,000, 3rd = $1,000, nine honorable mentions of $300), Genre: climate fiction, Theme: "envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress", see specific judging criteria at submission portal

8/2-4/1, Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, ~250 lines, award money (1st = $2000 + 2-year Duotrope subscription, 2nd = $500, ten honorable mentions of $100 each), Genre/Theme: seeking best humor poetry

3/1-5/31, Darkness Blooms (second anthology of The Dread Machine), 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Theme: must inspire dread and must touch on at least one of the three themes of identity/security/community, Multiple OK (up to 3 for this window), Simultaneous NO

Orion's Belt, ~1200 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: literary speculative

Added on 3/4:

3/1-3/31 (deadline is 11:59 PM EST), Podcastle Flash Fiction Contest VI, ~500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: fantasy, entries will be anonymized and voted on in a members-only forum from April (i.e. you don't lose first publication rights by submitting to this contest)

Added on 3/6:

3/31, FORNEVER AFTER, 2000-6000 words, 6 cents/word, Theme: stories must include elements of horror and tragic love, simultaneous OK, reprints NO

Table of Contents (not clickable; scroll down to each section for the clickable links)

1. Submission Deadlines/Windows (March 2021 and beyond; 5-20¢/word USD)
2. Publications Open for Submissions (No Specified Deadline; 5-20¢/word USD)
3. Publications Currently Closed (5-20¢/word USD)
4. Submission Deadlines/Windows (March 2021 and beyond; 1-4¢/word USD)
5. Publications Open for Submission (No Specified Deadline; 1-4¢/word USD)
6. Possibilities for Submission of Novels (new section; to be expanded)
7. Search for More Submission Windows
8. Motivation 
9. Advice Here
10. More Links

1. Submission Deadlines/Windows (March 2021 and beyond; 5-20¢/word USD)

3/7, Augur Magazine, ~5000 words, 11¢CAD/word ($110CAD/flash), Theme: any SFF (esp. dream-touched realism, slipstream, fabulism, magical realism; and literary spec; not interested in pandemic fiction or hard scifi, mostly want human/character-driven narratives; best submission defies categories; something too spec or not spec enough for other magazines), Poetry (up to 5 pages/poem; up to 5 poems and 10 pages total; $60CAD/word), Simultaneous OK (disclose in cover letter), Multiple OK (up to 2 short stories/window, up to 5 poems, or up to 3 graphic fiction shorts; if mixed types then up to 4 pieces total/window), Art (currently closed to subs; email w/ portfolio), Note: submissions must be anonymous

3/1-3/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)

3/1-3/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is only open to Black, Asian, Latin, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors

3/1/-3/8, Lightspeed (BIPOC Fantasy), 1500-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy, BIPOC only

2/20-3/13 (closes midnight EST), DreamForge Anvil, ~4500, Genre: SF/F/speculative, Theme: positive stories, note: aiming to provide some lucky almost there stories an extra push of collaboration and revision to support new and upcoming authors (see website for details)

3/7-3/14 (BIPOC only window), Nightmare Magazine, 1500-7500 words (up to 1000 words for Horror Labs subs), 8 cents/word ($40/poem), Genre: Horror/DarkFantasy, Multiple Subs: one short story and one sub to Horror Lab (either one flash, one creative essay, or five poems)

3/14-3/20 (general window), Nightmare Magazine, 1500-7500 words (up to 1000 words for Horror Labs subs), 8 cents/word ($40/poem), Genre: Horror/DarkFantasy, Multiple Subs: one short story and one sub to Horror Lab (either one flash, one creative essay, or five poems)

2/22-3/14, Flame Tree anthology: Chilling Crime, 2000-4000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: "its time to turn to the darker side, the cold cases, the grim murders, the desperate villains, and the race against time to solve the crime", Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK, this will be announced in the Flame Tree blog (was already mentioned in their newsletter)

3/15, Flame Tree (Monthly Flash Fiction Contest), 700-1000 words, 8¢/word, Submit one flash story to the Horror prompt of Deadly Obsession OR one story to the SF prompt of Body Swapping, must subscribe to their newsletter, email subs to Newsletter Editor Molly Rosevear, molly@flametreepublishing.com w/ theme as subject heading and author details/bio at end of story

3/8-3/15, Lightspeed (Fantasy), 1500-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy

3/31, WotF Q2, ~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

3/1-3/31 (deadline is 11:59 PM EST), Podcastle Flash Fiction Contest VI, ~500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: fantasy, entries will be anonymized and voted on in a members-only forum from April (i.e. you don't lose first publication rights by submitting to this contest)

3/31, Misspelled – Magic Gone Awry, ~7000 words, $50/story (only 5¢/word if ~1000 word), Genre/Theme: "magic, a magic user, or a magical world where something unexpected happens or something goes horribly wrong" ("must include some sort of magic mishap, whether real or virtual"), Multiple OK (1/email; 3 subs total), Email subs to submissions@CursedDragonShip.com (standard short story format; subject “Submission for Misspelled (last name).”

3/31 (my best guess; could be earlier), Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, ~17499 words, Genre: any SF/Fantasy (Horror okay if includes spec element), Reprints ONLY, final selections made in March

3/31, FORNEVER AFTER, 2000-6000 words, 6 cents/word, Theme: stories must include elements of horror and tragic love, simultaneous OK, reprints NO

3/31-3/31 (only open for 24 hours on that date), Harlan Ellison's The Last Dangerous Visions, ~3500 words, Genre/Theme: "In the broadest sense, a DV story is one that pushes back the borders of storytelling, that is daring and smart and looks beyond the horizon, exploring issues of privacy, gender, politics, climate, technology, but most of all, the emotional core of our humanity.  DV stories are not about the thing, the McGuffin, the device, it's about us, about what William Faulkner called "the human heart in conflict with itself." Bold, provocative, humanistic. Stories that would have difficulty finding a berth in a conventional magazine. Beyond that, it's wide open," Note: editor will provide submission email address the day before the submission window opens, Editor: J. Michael Straczynski, also view the editor's Patreon page here --EDIT the window is the end of April now

3/1-3/31, Theme of Absence: Speculative Philosophical Fiction Contest, 1000 word, $500 winner + two $50 runner-ups (will seek non-exclusive right to publish on website archive), Genre/Theme: a speculative story that revolves around a metaphysical or epistemological issue (nature of time, knowledge of the external world, etc.), email subs to submissions@themeofabsence.com w/ subject format PHILOSOPHICAL SUBMISSION: [story title], [word count] 

3/15-4/1, Constelación Magazine, Original Fiction (~6400 words, 8¢/word), Genre: any speculative in either English or Spanish, Theme: Beyond the Stars (no further details available yet), Art (send link to portfolio for consideration, $1000 for rights)

8/2-4/1, Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, ~250 lines, award money (1st = $2000 + 2-year Duotrope subscription, 2nd = $500, ten honorable mentions of $100 each), Genre/Theme: seeking best humor poetry  

4/1-4/2 (closes midnight EST), Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, 1000-40,000 words, 6¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/SF, Note: request feedback in the submission comments

1/1-4/15, Parsec Short Story Contest, 3500 words, 1st place $200 and publication, 2nd place $100, 3rd place $50, Genre/Theme: "Still Waters, Deep Thoughts" ("This can be conveyed in the setting, plot, characters, dialogue…the only limit is your imagination. The theme must be integral to the story in some way and not just mentioned in passing"), Note: a max of 2 submissions allowed; each should be subbed separately

4/15, Imagine 2200 (contest by Fix), 3000-5000 words, award money (1st = $3,000, 2nd = $2,000, 3rd = $1,000, nine honorable mentions of $300), Genre: climate fiction, Theme: "envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress", see specific judging criteria at submission portal

1/1-4/30, Mike Resnick Memorial Award for Short Fiction, ~7499 words, 1st Place: trophy and $250 with publication at current rate, Four runner-ups: $25 and publication, All five finalists honored at ceremony, Note: award given to a new author who has not had any work published by any SFWA-eligible publishing venue (i.e. no work paid at 6¢/word or more or totaling more than $50), Email submissions to resnick@arcmanor.com, Note: finalists announced by 7/15

4/1-4/30, Uncanny Magazine (call for novellas), 17500-40000 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"

11/13-5/1, Cryptids Emerging: Tales of Dark Cheer (anthology from Improbable Press), 5¢/word, ~5000 words, Genre/Theme: contemporary supernatural or historical fantasy about cryptids "emerging" ("cryptids living with humans, or just at the edge of our vision," that are "rising, changing, growing"), Submit to Atlin Merrick at submissions@improbablepress.co.uk, Note: format 1.5 line spacing

4/8-5/30, Classic Monsters Unleashed anthology (Crystal Lake Publishing), 1500-5000 words, 6¢/word, Genre/Theme: dark, scary stries featuringr a classic monster or monsters or even a star secondary character from the classic monster universe (think 1960 horror movies; see character list at link), holding at least one spot for a new author, email subs to james@deadjack.com w/ subject line: Classic Monsters - [story title] - [author name], Note: Kickstarter campaign begins 3/8

1/15-5/31, One Story, 3k-8k words, $500/story, Genre: any literary, Simultaneous OK, also open to submissions 9/7-11/14

3/1-5/31, Darkness Blooms (second anthology of The Dread Machine), 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Theme: must inspire dread and must touch on at least one of the three themes of identity/security/community, Multiple OK (up to 3 for this window), Simultaneous NO

6/15-7/1, Constelación Magazine, Original Fiction (~6400 words, 8¢/word), Genre: any speculative in either English or Spanish, Theme: Love Needs No Translation (no further details available yet), Art (send link to portfolio for consideration, $1000 for rights)

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)

9/7-11/14, One Story, 3k-8k words, $500/story, Genre: any literary, Simultaneous OK, also open to submissions 1/15-5/31


2. Publications Open for Submissions (No Specified Deadline; 5-20¢/word USD)



Analog Science Fiction and Fact, ~20k (8-10 cents/word), 40k-80k serials (6 cents/word), poetry ($1/line), 4k-word fact articles (9¢/word), Genre: SF, Multiple Yes

Anathema: Spec from the Margins, 1500-6k words (if 1500-2k words pays 5¢/word), $100 CAD/story ($50/poem), Genre: SF/F/H, Simultaneous OK, Poetry OK (under 100 lines, Non-Fiction OK (1500-3000 words), Limited demographic: queer/two-spirit person of colour/Indigenous/Aboriginal, Note on Genre/Theme: "We are open to any form of genre or speculative content. We talk about what we do as "SF/F/H, the weird, slipstream, surrealism, fabulism, and more," elsewhere on the site. But we are not limited to those genres. Use them as a starting point and send whatever you want: as long as it's got some kind of speculative content we'll consider it. And we are also interested in seeing work that has been difficult to place because of content or perspective."

Apex Magazine, ~7500 words, 8 cents/word, Genre: F/SF/Horror




























3. Publications Currently Closed (5-20¢/word USD)




 


4. Submission Deadlines/Windows (March 2021 and beyond; 1-4¢/word USD)

3/31, Misspelled – Magic Gone Awry, ~7000 words, $50/story, Genre/Theme: "magic, a magic user, or a magical world where something unexpected happens or something goes horribly wrong" ("must include some sort of magic mishap, whether real or virtual"), Multiple OK (1/email; 3 subs total), Email subs to submissions@CursedDragonShip.com (standard short story format; subject “Submission for Misspelled (last name).”

1/22-4/1, Tales from the Magician's Skull (Goodman Games), ~10,000 words (6k might be best and flash is unlikely to work for them), 4¢/word, Genre/Theme: sword and sorcery

7/1-4/30, Timeless Tales, ~2000 words (less than 1500 preferred), $30/piece, Genre/Theme: Tales of the Arabian Nights (retellings of specific tales or original stories featuring creatures of Arabian/Islamic folklore), specify in cover letter whether original story or retelling and which story is being retold (avoid Aladdin), PG-13 but also enjoys dark side of tales, Poetry OK (send up to 3 pieces as long as 1500 words or less), Reprints OK

3/15-5/15, Lamplight Magazine, ~7000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Dark/Literary, Reprints (1¢/word), simultaneous OK

3/28, Whetstone Magazine, 1500-2500 words, $10/story, Genre/Theme: pulp sword and sorcery (prefers secondary world settings)


5. Publications Open for Submission (No Specified Deadline; 1-4¢/word USD)












6. Possibilities for Submission of Novels (new section; to be expanded)



7. Search for More Submission Windows










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


8. Motivation 

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


9. Advice Here

Wulf Moon's Super Secrets: a ton of great advice on writing short stories that win (he runs a workshop that you can peek in on and learn from as it goes)

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

Cat Rambo's Website: lots of good resources and classes


10. More Links

This is a listing of speculative award winners. Go read, study, and improve yourself.

Here are grants to apply for with the Speculative Literature Foundation

This is a listing at critter.org that shows general response times of various publications

Publisher's Pick Free Ebook of the Month (Maintained by Arc Manor of Galaxy's Edge)


On writing cover letters for submissions to the short fiction market by Christie

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