Hello Everyone! As always, feel free to skim past the blog chatter and straight to the list of deadlines and windows so you get to the submitting. I added a bunch and will continue adding more as I have time. Deadlines coming up on 5/14, 5/15, 5/30, 5/31, so get to it. There's a bunch of news in the blog chatter, so do take a look when you have time.
Congrats
First of all, congrats to all the wonderful results achieved by my fellow writers submitting to Writers of the Future. It's hard to keep up with all the success rolling in! Everyone in the Wulf Pack received honorable mention or above. The biggest news is Brittany Rainsdon receiving 2nd Place for the first quarter of the Writers of the Future, right after her finalist in the previous quarter also being selected for publication, which means she'll be going to the winning WotF gala twice in a row. Brittany's short story published at Deep Magic was also selected for inclusion in the Deep Magic Best of Anthology Vol. 2. Rebecca Treasure Schibler received finalist in the first quarter and she also has made two story sales this month, so look forward to more great work from her. Robert Luke Wilkins also received finalist. Alicia Cay, Chris Henckel, and Jan Nerenberg snagged semi-finalist. I managed to get silver honorable mention (my first!), as did Ari Officer, Crystal Crawford, and Victoria Dixon. And several managed to get Honorable Mentions as well, including Angela Lawlor, Peter Glen Schonefeld, Candice Lisle, Emily Dauvin, Zac Bright, and Alex Harford. I was also glad to see Honorable Mentions from other writers I've worked with, Ania Lukashevich and Mark Taverna, and I hope to see more wins from them soon.
There was also good news from my mentorship group with M. Todd Gallowglass: one writer got published at Every Day Fiction and another got published at Daily Science Fiction.
I've seen such tremendous writing work put in by all, and am glad to see so much recognition received. I look forward to more great news from everyone.
Blog Chatter
A lot of the Wulf Pack members have found wonderful motivation and advice from Wulf Moon, so I would recommend checking out his essay on Dream Forge Magazine here: https://dreamforge.mywebportal.app/dreamforge/stories/show/super-secrets-how-driving-to-the-story-creates-accidents-wulf-moon. He also opened up more slots in his webinar on May 15th here: https://dreamforgemagazine.com/product/nail-your-workshop/
Thanks to those who jumped on my mailing list. Feel free to join anyone that hasn't yet. I will only send out a few emails, nothing that will swamp you like the million other mailing lists out there. Regardless, I hope these posts help keep you motivated in the submissions game.
Did everyone make all those deadlines between 4/30-5/7? I think I made all of them myself. I subbed a ton: stories to Midnight from Beyond, Baen, Mike Resnick, Cryptids Emerging, and a novella to Uncanny; eight poems and a flash to Departure Mirror; another flash to Cryptids Emerging and two flash to The Needle Drops. I just sent three stories off to Darkness Blooms, as well as stories to Fantasy, F&SF, Asimov's, The Deadlands, Daily Science Fiction, Flash Fiction Online, as well as a batch of poems to Fantasy, so I guess I'm not done with this flurry of submissions.
In April, I wrote a new short story for Midnight from Beyond the Stars, and I really liked that one; a weird invasion survival story--my cup of tea. I also wrote a new flash for the Flame Tree prompt; sort of a dark version of other ocean stories I've written (I think my mom's near death experience a few years ago has really inspired; thanks mom, for surviving).
I have some other story starts I'm working on. I hope to be more productive in this month of May and get several stories finished. I still want to get novel work in, but most of my time seems to be spent working on shorter material, which is helping my quality improve I suppose, so yay. Wulf Moon and M. Todd Gallowglas have probably been my biggest influences on improving my quality, so big thanks to them. I have two new stories I will need to send them both by the end of this month.
I also should give the biggest thanks to my writing group. Without the Wulf Pack chat, as well as a few of my other writer friends not in that group, I would be nowhere with my writing. Truly. I'd be scratching on my DJ gear and scratching out bad poetry and fragments on post-it notes and wishing I had tried harder. But thankfully, with their support, I've made some great progress recently and two points of success worth mentioning.
Success
Success #1: I actually got a Silver Honorable Mention from Writers of the Future!!! This was for my story submitted at the end of 2020 titled Meeting the Miracle Man. I finished that story in the Fall of 2019, but I knew something was missing, so I held it back and subbed something else. I poked at every quarter deadline but always subbed something else, until, after a year with the Wulf Pack, I pushed it over to a few more Wulf Pack members for feedback, and revised it further. I finally found a better way to run some of its important threads through from beginning to end, and, most importantly, I finally discovered its perfect ending that circled back to the start and threatened to make tears well up at the corner of readers' eyes. This story is close to my heart, so it's exciting to see it meet some recognition, probably the highest recognition any of my stories have received so far, though I suppose my award in 2005 paid the most on a story I've made yet. But SHM in Writers of the Future feels huge, like a major stepping stone, and paired with my other news...
Success #2: Now this one I can't really give details on yet, as it's still in progress, but an editor liked my story enough to ask me to work with him on it! In a couple weeks, I will schedule a Zoom chat to discuss what the editor wants me to do, then over the summer I'll revise the story to meet their publications needs for that story. Once I finish the revisions, then they'll be publishing my story! Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly! Regardless, I'm excited to work with an editor on my short story. This was definitely among the better ones I wrote last year, so I'm happy to find an editor who enjoyed it enough to give it a chance. If this story makes it through this revision progress and I actually sign a contract for it, then the rates are fairly high among industry standards and so it would be my highest paid story that has gotten published or won awards. Plus, I like the characters in this, and it has a positive meaning which I think everyone should grasp.
Current Stats on my submissions for 2021
- Pending (2020-2021): 45 (1 novella, 19 novelettes or short stories, 7 flash stories, 17 poems)
- Rejections: 59 (26 shorts, 14 flash, 19 poems)
- Accepted: 1 (1 short story; while it's not quite accepted yet, as I still need to meet with the editor, put in the work to revise it, and all that might take the summer to complete, I'm putting this here for the sake of positive enthusiasm and excitement)
- Writers of the Future Results: Q1 SHM, Q2 Pending, Q3 to be written
Recent Reads
- Finished Book 1 of Gene Wolfe's Shadow & Claw. Wow! Lots to learn from that one about perspective, use of time, linking opening and ending, etc. Loved it. Interesting voice. And a fun ride when he gets out into the city.
- In the middle of listening to Adam-Troy Castro's short story collection My Wife Hates Time Travel and Other Stories. I've read some of these before in Lightspeed and Nightmare magazines, but every story is introduced with commentary from Castro himself, so it has helped me learn more from the stories than I originally did. Great creativity and darkness in Castro stories as expected.
- About to start Victories Greater than Death by Charlie Jane Anders. YA is often a miss for me, but when it's a hit, it's wonderful. I have high hopes for Anders' book, as all of her stories have been fantastic. The first two chapters of this novel really grabbed me, so I'm looking forward to the fun romp. Also, what a beautiful hardcover to have facing out on my bookshelf. It actually matches my curtains well and makes the whole room feel like an awesome popcorn SF flick, all gleaming and lavender and excitement. [EDIT: OMG IT'S FANTASTIC]
New Additions to Submission Lists
Specified windows or deadlines (5¢/word or above):
5/2-5/14, The Deadlands (submissions window for poetry), no limit on line count (3 poems / submission), $50/poem, Genre/Theme: speculative fiction that concerns itself with death–but also everything death may involve
5/14, Flame Tree (Monthly Flash Fiction Contest), 700-1000 words, 8¢/word, Submit one flash story to the Horror prompt of Killer Parasite OR one story to the SF prompt of Big Bang, 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
6/1-7/31, Spirit Machine (anthology from Air & Nothingness Press), 1500-3500 words (sweet spot = 1000-3000), 8¢/word, Theme: Seance Fiction (Spiritualism + SF/Steampunk)
8/23, Friends Journal: Quaker Speculative Fiction Special Issue, 500-2000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: any speculative (including SF, Fantasy, Alt History, Horror, Romance), Theme: how would the world and the way Quakers live in it be different if X were true?, Note: anonymous submissions; welcomes submissions from Friends and non-Friends alike
New entries with no specified deadlines or windows (5¢/word or more):
The Deadlands, ~5000 words (sweet spot = 3-4k), 10¢/word,Genre/Theme: speculative fiction that concerns itself with death–but also everything death may involve, Reprints OK (~5000 words, 1¢/word), Poetry OK (3 poems/submission, $50/poem), Nonfiction OK (1-4k words, $100/essay), Art OK ($100/cover art)
Thirteen, any word count, 1-5¢/word (~1000 words = 5¢/word; 1000-40,000 words = 1-2¢/word), Genre: horror (an audio-drama podcast specializing in "slow-burn atmospheric horror and ghost stories"), submissions formatted as a script have a better chance of selection, first person central narrator with supporting characters works best for their format, see more advice on the website
Uncharted Magazine, 1000-5000 words, 4-10¢/word ($200/story), Genres: SF/Fantasy/Horror/Thriller, Simultaneous OK, Note: debuting on August 2021
Specified windows or deadlines (4¢/word or less):
5/14, The Hero's Journey (Heroic Books anthology), 750-5000 words, £50/story, Genre/Theme fantasy with hero's journey as core, Multiple OK
5/15, Women Slaying Modern Gothic Horror (Tenebrous Press w/ Alex Woodroe), 1000-15,000 words, 4¢/word, Genre/Theme: any fresh modern takes on gothic horror (loves weird/atmosphere/dread/slimy; more on the website), Note: open to all women (including trans, cis, femme-identifying)
5/15-5/30 (6/1-6/7 BIPOC-only), Apparition Literature, 1000-5100 words, 3¢/word, Genre: any speculative, Theme: Contamination, Poetry OK (~2 pages/poem; sub ~5 poems/submission, $30/poem)
5/31, Night Terrors (anthology from Scare Street), 3000-7000 words, 1¢/word, Genre/Theme: horror (wants focus on ghosts/supernatural/paranormal/monsters/dark tales; likes dark, literary, creepy, weird, unsettling, clever but logical twists, new ideas, unusual writing styles, showing over telling, believable dialogues with minimal dialects/slang), Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK (up to 2 stories/author/submission period)
5/31, Railroad Tales, 2000-10,000 words, £50/story (£20/reprint), Genre/Theme: supernatural in connection w/ railroads/railways/any aspect of rail travel or location, Reprints OK (but prefers unpublished work), submit to strangedaysmsa4@gmail.com as a Word/RTF
5/31, Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, ~20,000 words (for Australian/NZ authors) and ~10,000 words (non-Australian/NZ authors, 1¢(AUD)/word (flash fiction of 1-999 words is paid at $10/story), Poetry OK (speculative, ~2 pages, AUD$10), Nonfiction (~5000 words, AUD$10)
6/20-7/3, Generation X-ed, 3000-6000 words, 1¢/word, Genre/Theme: any horror with elements specific to Gen X, Note: only open to writers of Gen X (born 1965-1980), submit to GenX(at)AMInkPublishing.com (with short bio, word count and genre, summary of story, simultaneous status, social media links)
7/15, Inclusive Future Magazine Issue 1, ~3000 words, 8¢/word, Theme: fictional non-fiction (op eds, reviews, ads, advice columns, etc; see examples on their website and further info quoted below), Reprints OK (4¢/word), Simultaneous OK, Collabs welcome, Poetry OK (up to 5 poems or 250 lines per contributor; $1/line and 50¢/word for reprints), Art OK ($100/full page; up to $300/project)
7/1-7/31, Welkin: A Magazine of Fantastic Literature, any word count, 1¢/word (~1500 words unpaid, Reprints OK (flash only but no pay), Art OK ($50/issue), Simultaneous OK, Note: submission periods are March/July/October/January (open to flash fiction year-round)
New entries with no specified deadlines or windows (4¢/word or less):
Guilty Crime Story Magazine, 1000-6000 words (sweet spot = 3k-4k), $10/story, Non-Fiction OK (~1500 words w/ 500-750 preferred, $5/article, pitch first), Art OK ($15/cover art; $10/interior art), submit to guiltycrimemag@gmail.com
Mailing List
One last reminder of the new mailing list. Please sign up if you want to make sure you receive these updates to the deadlines 1-2 times a month, and also just to let me know it's something you find useful.
Thanks for reading. Wishing you lots of motivation and fun and success in everything. Until next time!
Tally ho! To deadlines and windows!
Table of Contents (scroll down to each section for clickable links)1. Submission Deadlines/Windows (May 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 (May 2021 and beyond; 1-4¢/word USD)
5. Publications Open for Submission (No Specified Deadline; 1-4¢/word USD)
6. Other Submission Opportunities (Kickstarters, Advance/Royalties, Charities, etc.)
7. Search for More Submission Windows
8. Advice, Motivation, and Workshops
9. More Links
1. Submission Deadlines/Windows (May 9th, 2021, and beyond; 5-20¢/word USD)
5/2-5/14, The Deadlands (submissions window for poetry), no limit on line count (3 poems / submission), $50/poem, Genre/Theme: speculative fiction that concerns itself with death–but also everything death may involve, Note: also open to original short story submissions (~5000 words, esp 3-4k, 10¢/word), Reprints OK (~5000 words, 1¢/word), Nonfiction OK (1-4k words, $100/essay), Art OK ($100/cover art)
5/14, Flame Tree (Monthly Flash Fiction Contest), 700-1000 words, 8¢/word, Submit one flash story to the Horror prompt of Killer Parasite OR one story to the SF prompt of Big Bang, 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
5/14 (closes 11:59 EST), Africa Risen (Tor.com), ~5000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: "fantastical Pan-African journey inspired by indgenous African lore, and the richness found in immigrant and Diasporan narratives, gathering new tales of alien entities, scientists, spiritual guides, and deities," Note: only open to subs from contributors of African descent
5/15, Humans Are the Problem: A Monster's Anthology (Weird Little Worlds Press), 1000-5000 words, 6¢/word, Genre/Theme: any speculative about monsters that are creative and fresh and turn tropes on heads, simultaneous OK, Note: submissions should not contain name or personal info, Note: the Kickstarter funding goal for this anthology was met and successful stretch goals bumped the word count limit up to 5000 and the pay up to 6¢/wordl
5/30, Classic Monsters Unleashed anthology (Crystal Lake Publishing), 1000-5000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: dark, scary stories featuring 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 surpassed goal (started on 3/8 and still live)
5/31, One Story, 3k-8k words, $500/story, Genre: any literary, Simultaneous OK, also open to submissions 9/7-11/14
5/31, Escape Pod, 1500-6000 words, Genre: SF (for audio), Reprints OK (1500-7500; 7500-15,000-word novelette reprints are $100/$150/$175 and subbed to a different portal), Note: remove names from manuscript
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
6/1-6/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is open to all authors
6/1-6/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)
6/1~, Zooscape, ~10,000 words, 8¢/word (flash and $80 for longer), Genre/Theme: anything furry/anthropomorphic animal figure, Multiple query, Note: will repoen on 6/1/2021
6/30, WotF Q3, ~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
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)
7/1-7/7, 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
7/1-7/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)
7/15, Inclusive Future Magazine Issue 1, ~3000 words, 8¢/word, Theme: fictional non-fiction (op eds, reviews, ads, advice columns, etc; see examples on their website and further info quoted below), Reprints OK (4¢/word), Simultaneous OK, Collabs welcome, Poetry OK (up to 5 poems or 250 lines per contributor; $1/line and 50¢/word for reprints), Art OK ($100/full page; up to $300/project), Email subs to inclusivefuturemag[at]gmail[dot]com, Further notes on theme for prose subs, as stated on their website: we're looking for pieces [...] that reflect how language, culture, science, and day-to-day life could change over the next 50-ish years to be gender-inclusive in various cultures around the world. Basically, we want any type of article or other text you’d find in a culture magazine, but of course it’ll all be made up. While the editorial team is based in the U.S., this is meant to look like an international popular culture magazine, so we’re very invested in choosing pieces that represent gender inclusivity in cultures often underrepresented or left out of mainstream Western media. Special attention will be given to submissions that meet this criteria.
7/1-7/30, khoreo, ~5000 words, 8¢/word, any speculative, Note: only open to subs from authors identifying as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms (see their website), Non-Fiction OK, Art OK
7/1-7/31, Departure Mirror, ~12,000 words, 10¢/word ($300/story above 3000 words), Genre: SF/F, Poetry OK (up to 30 lines, $10/poem), Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK
6/1-7/31, Spirit Machine (anthology from Air & Nothingness Press), 1500-3500 words (sweet spot = 1000-3000), 8¢/word, Theme: Seance Fiction (mashup of Spirtualism [seances, ouiji boards, kirlian auras, discarnated entities, ghost talking, etc.] and Science Fiction and/or Steampunk genres), Note: Stories must combine elements of both Spiritualism and SF/Steampunk (no fantasy, no ghost stories, no SF w/o Spiritualism), Reading/Review 8/1-9/30, Submit stories by email at info@aanpress.com
7/1-7/31, Mysterion, ~9000, 8 cents/word, Genre/Theme: speculative w/ Christian themes/characters/cosmology, Reprints OK (4 crnts/word), Art OK (accepted year-round, $100)
8/1-8/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is open to all authors
8/1-8/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)
8/23, Friends Journal: Quaker Speculative Fiction Special Issue, 500-2000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: any speculative (including SF, Fantasy, Alt History, Horror, Romance), Theme: how would the world and the way Quakers live in it be different if X were true?, Note: anonymous submissions; welcomes submissions from Friends and non-Friends alike
8/10-8/31, PseudoPod (Flash Fiction Contest), ~1500 words (500-1000 best), 8¢/word, Genre: any horror, Reprints OK, Simultaneous OK (if not an Escape Artists podcast)
9/1-9/7, 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
9/1-9/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)
9/30, WotF Q3, ~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
10/1-10/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)
10/1-10/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is open to all authors
10/1-10/31, khoreo, ~5000 words, 8¢/word, any speculative, Note: only open to subs from authors identifying as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms (see their website), Non-Fiction OK, Art OK
11/1-11/7, 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
11/1-11/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)
9/7-11/14, One Story, 3k-8k words, $500/story, Genre: any literary, Simultaneous OK, also open to submissions 1/15-5/31
12/1-12/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is open to all authors
12/1-12/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)
12/30, WotF Q3, ~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
2. Publications Open for Submissions (No Specified Deadline; 5-20¢/word USD)
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."
Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, open 1st-2nd every month, 1000-40000 words (shorter preferred), 6¢/word (reprints 2¢/word), Genre: F/SF, Poetry ($1/line, ~40 lines, reprints 50¢/word), Articles (2-6¢/word, reprints 1-4¢/word), Note: great feedback provided if requested in cover letter
Cricket, ~6000 words (best = 1200-1800 & 600-900), 25 cents/word, Genre/Theme: middle grade readers (realistic contemporary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy, folk tales, myths and legends, and humor), also seeking poetry / nonfiction / puzzles / activities / art, Note: other magazines at the link include Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, Ask, Muse
The Dark, 2000-6000 words, 6¢/word,
Genre: Horror/Dark Fantasy/ExperimentalThe Deadlands, ~5000 words (sweet spot = 3-4k), 10¢/word,Genre/Theme: speculative fiction that concerns itself with death–but also everything death may involve, Reprints OK (~5000 words, 1¢/word), Poetry OK (3 poems/submission, $50/poem), Nonfiction OK (1-4k words, $100/essay), Art OK ($100/cover art)
3. Publications Currently Closed (5-20¢/word USD)
Blood Knife, ~1200 words, 9¢/word, Genre: SF/F/H (especially likes dark fantasy, gothic fiction, cosmic horror, and cyberpunk), Theme: "emphasis on tone and style than on strict genre adherence," and "the decadent, the grotesque, the weird, the alienating, and the agonizing," and welcomes political content as well as sex/violence/gore, Simultaneous OK, Non-fiction OK ($60 for 800-word article), Note: "We’re currently closed for new fiction submissions while we work through our backlog. We will be reopening them sometime this summer. Thanks!"
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.), Note: opening date unknown ("We are on hiatus until further notice due to the pandemic)
Mermaids Monthly, Genre/Theme: anything loosely merfolk- or mercreature-related, Original Fiction (1~5000 words, 10¢/word), Reprints (1¢/word with minimum $20), Poetry (any length, $50-$100/poem), Nonfiction (up to 2000 words, 10¢/word), Comics (up to 5 pages, $75-$100/page), Each to Each art and word ($25), spot art ($50), reprint art and comics ($25-$150), Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK (basically one of each type), Note on current closure: "We received a large volume of submissions and are still working our way through them. We expect to reply to everyone who submitted work during our first submission period by the middle of February! Please email us if this presents a problem for you. Thank you for your patience!" and no update since then that I'm aware of
4. Submission Deadlines/Windows (May 9th, 2021, and beyond; 1-4¢/word USD)
5/14, The Hero's Journey (Heroic Books anthology), 750-5000 words, £50/story, Genre/Theme fantasy with hero's journey as core
Closed as of 5/11:3/15-5/15, Lamplight Magazine, ~7000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Dark/Literary, Reprints (1¢/word), simultaneous OK, Note: was open until 5/15 but they tweeted that they are full for the reading period and will open again in the Fall
5/15, Women Slaying Modern Gothic Horror (Tenebrous Press w/ Alex Woodroe), 1000-15,000 words, 4¢/word, Genre/Theme: any fresh modern takes on gothic horror (loves weird/atmosphere/dread/slimy; more on the website), Note: open to all women (including trans, cis, femme-identifying)
5/17, The Other Stories Podcast (Vol 70 Post-Apocalypse II), ~2000 words, 15GBP/story (about 20 USD), Genre/Theme: stories that "terrify, scar and haunt," and match theme of post-apocalypse, sub up to two stories/theme
5/15-5/30 (6/1-6/7 BIPOC-only), Apparition Literature, 1000-5100 words, 3¢/word, Genre: any speculative, Theme: Contamination, Poetry OK (~2 pages/poem; sub ~5 poems/submission, $30/poem)
5/31, The Other Stories Podcast (Vol 71 Mythology II), ~2000 words, 15GBP/story (about 20 USD), Genre/Theme: stories that "terrify, scar and haunt," and match theme of mythology, sub up to two stories/theme
5/31, Die Laughing: An Anthology of Humurous Mysteries (Mystery Weekly Magazine), 1000-8000 words, 2¢/word, Genre/Theme: stories about a mystery or crime that make us laugh ("off-beat characters, bungling detectives, or funny premises"), B&W comics OK ($25)
5/31, Strange Religion anthology (TDOTSPEC), ~7500 words, CAD 2¢/word, Genre: SF/F that thoughtfully explores religious ideas and practices, Reprints OK (CAD 1¢/word), Simultaneous OK
5/31, Strange Wars anthology (TDOTSPEC), ~7500 words, CAD 2¢/word, Genre: SF/F that has a fresh take on military conflict, Reprints OK (CAD 1¢/word), Simultaneous OK
5/31, Wight Christmas anthology (TDOTSPEC), ~5000 words, CAD 0.5¢/word, Genre: Christmas/horror (SF/F okay but must be dark and subvert Christmas tropes), Reprints OK (CAD 0.25¢/word), Poetry OK (CAD 1¢/original, 0.5¢/reprint)
5/31, Railroad Tales, 2000-10,000 words, £50/story (£20/reprint), Genre/Theme: supernatural in connection w/ railroads/railways/any aspect of rail travel or location, Reprints OK (but prefers unpublished work), submit to strangedaysmsa4@gmail.com as a Word/RTF
5/31, Night Terrors (anthology from Scare Street), 3000-7000 words, 1¢/word, Genre/Theme: horror (wants focus on ghosts/supernatural/paranormal/monsters/dark tales; likes dark, literary, creepy, weird, unsettling, clever but logical twists, new ideas, unusual writing styles, showing over telling, believable dialogues with minimal dialects/slang), Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK (up to 2 stories/author/submission period)
5/31, Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, ~20,000 words (for Australian/NZ authors) and ~10,000 words (non-Australian/NZ authors, 1¢(AUD)/word (flash fiction of 1-999 words is paid at $10/story), Poetry OK (speculative, ~2 pages, AUD$10), Nonfiction (~5000 words, AUD$10)
6/14, The Other Stories Podcast (Vol 72 Doppelgängers II), ~2000 words, 15 GBP/story (about 20 USD), Genre/Theme: stories that "terrify, scar and haunt," and match theme of dopplegangers, sub up to two stories/theme
6/20-7/3, Generation X-ed, 3000-6000 words, 1¢/word, Genre/Theme: any horror with elements specific to Gen X, Note: only open to writers of Gen X (born 1965-1980), submit to GenX(at)AMInkPublishing.com (with short bio, word count and genre, summary of story, simultaneous status, social media links)
7/1-7/31, Welkin: A Magazine of Fantastic Literature, any word count, 1¢/word (~1500 words unpaid, Reprints OK (flash only but no pay), Art OK ($50/issue), Simultaneous OK, Note: submission periods are March/July/October/January (open to flash fiction year-round)
8/15-8/30 (9/1-9/7 BIPOC-only), Apparition Literature, 1000-5100 words, 3¢/word, Genre: any speculative, Theme: Wonder, Poetry OK (~2 pages/poem; sub ~5 poems/submission, $30/poem)
9/15-11/15, Lamplight Magazine, ~7000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Dark/Literary, Reprints (1¢/word), simultaneous OK, Note: they are limited to 300 submissions/month and will close each month after that limit is reached
5. Publications Open for Submission (No Specified Deadline; 1-4¢/word USD)
The Common Tongue Magazine, 600-6000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: only high fantasy with a dark tone (dark fantasy, grimdark, sword & sorcery), Languages: English or Spanish (translations also accepted), Poetry OK (up to 40 lines), Note: seeking original stories or stories set in their Arthuruin Shared Universe, Nonfiction OK (~2500 words, 3¢/word), Art OK ($200-400)
6. Other Submission Opportunities (Kickstarters, Advance/Royalties, Charities, etc.)
Novellas/Novels:
Worthwhile submissions for charity:
6/20 (11:59 PM Mountain Time), A Hero of a Different Stripe (Hemelein Publications and LTUE Press), ~17500 words, no pay ("royalty proceeds go to support the symposium’s mission of education, training, and inspiring authors, artists, and editors in producing the next generation of amazing speculative fiction works"), Genre: SF/F/light horror, Theme: give supporting characters the starring role, up to two submissions per author 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. Advice, Motivation, and Workshops
Eric Witchey has some excellent workshops this month to check out, all leading up to his year-long intensive year-long fiction fluency series I'd highly recommend based on my experience speaking with him on fiction-related topics and reviewing his work in the past
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)
Wulf Moon also has great workshops at Fyrecon, and is available as a professional editor and voice actor; check out his website for more info
Cat Rambo's Website: lots of good resources and classes
Submitting Short Fiction: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Genre Edition by Holly Lyn Walrath, a useful guide on playing the submission game written in 2019
9. 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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