Hi everyone,
I hope you've been doing well and still writing and subbing and all those good things. I've slowed down quite a bit, though I recently noticed my first short story sale (December 2021) was mentioned in the Showcasing Art section of my hometown's Gazette-Times. Motivating to see. Have to get more out there for people to read, right? I'll have two stories published later this year I believe, though I do not know the specific dates yet. In the meantime, need to push through with new work. I only have 8 pending currently?! Last year, I almost always had 20 or more works pending at various markets. SO... that's a really low number for me.
Futurescapes: went to it in March and it was nice for what it was. I enjoyed meeting more writers. Now I have another group of writers I can exchange critiques with, so that should be of help. The agent leading our group was engaging and had some useful thoughts on each of our samples, as did the other writers. Some good points about my work; problem being, some criticism only made me want to drill down even further on what wasn't working for them since that's part of the unique draw of my novel. That's how critique sessions go. I think I'll likely re-read the novel that nudged me further down my dark, frenetic path, and will push through a final revision pass to make this novel even more so, then get another handful of critiques before trying to contact agents again.
I took a workshop with Dan Wells, which was a trip for me, since I'm a fan and include his work as an influence on mine. I do have notes but nothing spectacular to share. I enjoyed the Q&A sessions with writers. I especially found some nuggets of motivation when listening to S.L. Huang and Kate Dollarhyde. I took better notes on what Dollarhyde said, so here you are, some actual content that might be of interest.
Dollarhyde talked about her work with video games, which unfortunately I didn't really take good notes on, but she does discuss more of that in her substack here. How impressive to be nominated for a Nebula for a video game you've put so much of yourself in (The Outer Worlds)! I decided to ask about short stories and getting them published. I mentioned that I recently made my first short story sale to an indie publisher, and she said that smaller magazines were first steps for her, too. A slow struggle. To level up her craft, she read for places she wanted to submit stories to, such as Apex Magazine (and I imagine Strange Horizons where she was co-editor-in-chief for a few years). She zeroed in on writers with a style that engaged her (mentioned Seth Dickinson: strong openings, really punchy that goes hard and uses unique protagonists and stylings; also, Vajra Chandrasekera at Strange Horizons who has the story The Translator at Low Tide at Clarkesworld). She read every issue for a magazine she loved (Shimmer). When she gets personal rejections, she revises if she agrees with the criticism, but first she sits with the feedback and asks whether this meets with her own goals. Then she ignores any that doesn't meet her goals and revises in her own direction. Focus on things that felt singular and make your voice sing. She also mentioned influences from new weird stories, China Mieville novels, Jeff Vandermeer, Samuel Delaney. Soaking those authors stories impacted her style. Also, the weird cities of Tanith Lee, Storm Constantine (weird dark, weird relations), The Etched City by K.J. Bishop (also: That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote; and the short story The Art of Dying). Mentioned influence from photography (observant of slant of life, shapes, colors, what people are doing in spaces). Be interested, curious, observant. Mentioned current games/reads/shows she enjoyed: Destiny The Witch Queen, Pyre, How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, Station Eleven show.
Anyway, I've been reading a lot of comics and recently finished a first read of Dhalgren by Samuel Delaney. Lots to say about both, but I'll save that for another time. My comic reading habits have been somewhat random, with some focus on horror (SiKtC) and some just random mot. Might try to dip into what Alyssa Wong's written in comics next, as I loved her horror short stories, though just from a glance her comics seem fairly different (more action flick) and perhaps not quite what I'm reading these days.
Please feel free to browse my latest updates to the lists below. Happy writing and subbing. Best of luck with it all!
R.J.K. Lee
In no way are the listings below complete, but these should help point the way to some good possibilities when sending your work off. I'll add more soon.
Some market updates and changes to note:
The Dread Machine now pays 5¢/word instead of 3 for original fiction up to 5500 words (dark future / cyberpunk / literary SF / slipstream / magical realism)
SFWA's opened its doors to more members. Review the changes here. Cat Rambo detailed some of the reasons she voted for the change here.
Cossmass Infinities only open two months a year: February and October (see October entry below)
Fantasy Magazine is open to BIPOC submissions all year (open to general subs 7/1-7/7 and 10/1-10/7)
Fireside Fiction is closing permanently to submissions (they'll still publish what they have already purchased but after that, they will not be seeking any more stories in the future)
As noted on Locus, "small-press horror press Silver Shamrock Publishing closed" on the first weekend of April. Hence, their Midnight in the Stagecoach anthology window is no more.
EDIT:
Just noticed on Twitter that Zooscape will not open in August after all. They will open to submissions from December (12/15) and I updated the list accordingly.
Table of Contents:
1. Deadlines/Windows (4/20/2022 and beyond; paying 6¢/word or more)
2. Open Publications (no deadline; paying 6¢/word or more)
3. Deadlines/Windows (4/20/2022 and beyond; paying up to 5¢/word)
4. Open Publications (no deadline; paying up to 5¢/word)
5. Deadlines/Windows (4/20/2022 and beyond; advance/royalties or benefit/charity)
6. Search for More Markets Here
7. Browse Links to Advice/Lists/Workshops
4/30, Bioluminescent: A Lunarpunk Anthology (Android Press), 500-7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Lunarpunk (see explanation on their website), Poetry OK (5 poems or 5 pages; $30/poem + contributor copy), Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, Editor: Justine Norton-Kertson, submit at the Moksha link here
5/31, Literally Dead (Halloween Ghost Anthology from Alienhead Press), 2000-4000 words, 6¢/word, Genre/Theme: creepy and dark ghost stories of PG-13 or R ratings (classic paranormal, poltergeists, ghosts, spirits, haunted places and objects, and the eerily unexplained that take place on or around Halloween), Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, submit .doc or .docx to: submissions.alienheadpress@gmail.com with subject line: GHOST ANTHOLOGY - “Story Title” by “Author Name”
3/1-7/31, Pseudopod (reprints from 2022 Anthologies and Collections), ~6000 words (1500-6000 for original short fiction; sweet spot of 4500 words; also welcomes flash under 1500 words), $100 for short fiction reprints ($20 for flash fiction under 1500 words; 8¢/word for original fiction with window opening in August), Genre/Theme: any horror for audio (dark, weird fiction; dark humor; any subgenres from grim realism and crime drama to magic-realism and supernatural dark fantasy), Simultaneous OK (must provide disclosure), Multiple OK (one original & one reprint) publishers send collections / anthologies published in 2022 (highlight stories original to that publication), authors ask their publisher to send the book (if they're not interested, still submit story and include collection/anthology title in the cover letter), submit via moksha portal)
7/31, Little Blue Marble, ~2000 words, CAD 10¢/word (will match USD 8¢/word if CAD/USD rates drop), Genre/Theme: speculative (fiction that examines humanity’s possible futures living with anthropogenic climate change; prefers hopeful outlook, but the occasional dystopia might fit; "while science is an important piece for solving the climate change puzzle, we challenge writers to also examine our existing social, cultural, political, and economic frameworks and envision new ones to help see us through to a better, more sustainable world"), Reprints OK (~5000 words, 1¢/word), Poetry OK, Non-fiction OK (1000-2000 words), Simultaneous OK, Multiple NO, send submissions to submissions@littlebluemarble.ca
2. Open Publications (no deadline; paying 6¢/word or more)
Infinite Horrors, 1500-5000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Horror, Art OK ($75-$150 for commissioned, $30 for non-commissioned), Comics OK (seeking new, unpublished comic or graphic novel shorts of 4–10 pages at rates negotiated with the artist), Reprints NO, Multiple NO, Simultaneous NO, send submissions to info@infinitehorrorsmagazine.com (note that they may not send a rejection notice; if 90 days have passed, consider the submission rejected)
The Antihumanist, ~1000 words, 5¢/word, Genre: any genre that fits the theme, Theme: fiction that "challenges human centred narratives" and "forces us to confront our place in the universe," Simultaneous OK
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 during open periods (currently closed since June 14th; when open: 3 poems/submission, $50/poem), Nonfiction OK (1-4k words, $100/essay), Art OK ($100/cover art), closing 12/19/2021-1/19/2022
3. Deadlines/Windows (4/20/2022 and beyond; paying up to 5¢/word)
2/15-2/28 (all authors) and 3/1-3/7 (BIPOC only), Apparition Literature (Wanderlust theme), 1000-5100 words, 3¢/word, Genre: any speculative (F/SF/Horror/Literary; wants strange, heart-breaking emotion, pro-active characters, and style; see more details on website), Theme: Wanderlust (upcoming: Omen in May and Nostalgia in August), Poetry OK (~2 pages/poem; sub ~5 poems/submission, $30/poem), submit stories to submissions@apparitionlit.com (use Shunn manuscript format, Times New Roman or Arial font, title file using story title and last name, attach to email as RTF file, email subject line of SUBMISSION: title of story)
2/28, Mud Season Review, ~6000 words, $50, Genre/Theme: general/literary (wants fully realized stories that remind us of what it means to be human, that take risks, that show us something new, and that stand up over multiple reads, deepening with each encounter), Poetry OK (portfolio 3-5 poems, up to 10 pages), Non-fiction OK (~6000 words), Art OK (1-6 images), submit via online portal
3/18, Disabled Authors SFF Anthology (Forest Avenue), ~5000 words (flash welcome), $100 (reprints $25), Genre: SF/Fantasy/Speculative by disabled writers living in the USA (literary with a touch of genre OK; a story that borders horror might be OK), Reprints OK, submit via online portal
3/31, Triangulation: Energy, ~5,000 words (sweet spot = 3,000; no poetry limit but over 100 lines a hard sell), 3¢/word (Poetry: 25¢/word), Genre: SF/Fantasy/Horror/Weird (must have a speculative element), Theme: the possibility of creating sustainable energy with alternative technologies or social change, Poetry OK, Reprint NO, Multiple NO (but can sub another story if rejected before end of reading period), Simultaneous NO, sub via Submittable link w/ a short bio in the cover letter
3/31, SNAFU: Dead or Alive (Cohesion Press), 2,000-10,000 words, AU5¢/word, Genre: SF/Fantasy/Horror, Theme: action-based horror in the wild west
5/15-5/31 (all authors) and 6/1-6/7 (BIPOC only), Apparition Literature (Omen theme), 1000-5100 words, 3¢/word, Genre: any speculative (F/SF/Horror/Literary; wants strange, heart-breaking emotion, pro-active characters, and style; see more details on website), Theme: Omen (upcoming: Nostalgia in August), Poetry OK (~2 pages/poem; sub ~5 poems/submission, $30/poem), submit stories to submissions@apparitionlit.com (use Shunn manuscript format, Times New Roman or Arial font, title file using story title and last name, attach to email as RTF file, email subject line of SUBMISSION: title of story)
5/1-5/31, Abyss & Apex (poetry window), prefers "lineated free verse with a limited amount of traditional form poetry with at least 9 lines or prose poems at least 50 words in length but we will publish brilliant shorter work", $5.50/poem, Genre/Theme: any speculative (seeks strong, emotionally resonant, literary-quality poetry with a clear speculative element), dark poetry welcome but not horror
4. Open Publications (no deadline; paying up to 5¢/word or more)
Black Hare Press, 5000-17,000 words, $25 (5k-10k), $50 (10k-17k), Genre: anything dark, anonymous submissions, wants British spellings, anthology in print and digital formats, include in email real name, pseudonym, ~100 word bio w/ ~4 social links, 40-word blurb, ~500-word synopsis
Bourbon Penn, 2000-7500 words, 2¢/word, Genre: speculative (odd/imaginative ones), especially slipstream/cross-genre/magic realism/absurdist/surreal
Crow Toes Quarterly, ~3000 words, $25 (1-1500 words) or $50 (1501-3000 words), Genre: playfully dark fiction for children ages 8-13, Poetry OK (1-5 pieces in a single doc/pdf; $20/poem), Art OK (1-5 pieces; $20-60), Simultaneous OK, Multiple NO, submit to ctqsubmissions@gmail.com with brief bio (include type of submission, title of submission, and name of artist/author in the subject line)
Dark Moon Digest, opens on the 1st every month and closes when full 1500-7000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Horror (complex, creepy, like Twilight Zone or Black Mirror, Simultaneous OK
GigaNotoSaurus, 5,000-25,000 words, $100, Genre: SF/Fantasy (or any combination of the genres), English Translations OK, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, submit stories via Moksha submissions portal
The Dread Machine, ~5,500 words, 5¢/word, Genre/Theme: dark future / SF / cyberpunk / slipstream (wants: magical realism, literary SF, alternative realities, diverse protagonists, unique dystopias/utopias, unconventional societies), Reprints OK (~7,000 words, 1¢/word, will not accept if available online for free), Poetry OK (~50 lines, $10/poem), Anonymous Submissions, Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK (up to 3 submissions sent separately), submit here after creating free account
5. Deadlines/Windows (4/20/2022 and beyond; advance/royalties or benefit/charity)
Where to Submit Short Stories: 30 Magazines and Websites That Want Your Work, a decent list with a literary focus
SFWA Market Report—April 2022
7. Browse Links to Advice/Lists/Workshops
M. Todd Gallowglas does some fun and engaging classes that really inspire you to produce meaningful new work; check out his shows on Twitch or his workshops
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
Grants to apply for with the Speculative Literature Foundation
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