R.J.K. Lee's Figments Blog: Blogger Has Taken Down My Posts (Fixed)

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update. Apparently blogger has taken down several of my posts for no reason whatsoever, including my July post. If I can't get them reinstated here, I'll start looking into migrating my posts to a new site. This is the first time I've experienced this on blogger.com, and hopefully it's not a sign of a system-wide issue.

Thanks for understanding.

UPDATE 2: all of my blog posts have been reinstated. Still not sure what the issue was, as I received no specifics. My general sense of the internet makes me think a troll spammed my blog posts with complaint (something I said?) and so the powers that be dropped most of my blog posts. All better now. Will leave this blog post up though, as it's nice to just jump in and see all the deadlines I'll miss some at the end of the month (lies-->I'll make 5 of them)

UPDATE: all of the posts have been reinstated except for my new post with updated July deadlines. Still waiting for that to be reinstated. Since these deadlines are coming up soon, I'll copy a shortened version of the deadlines of windows paying five cents or above here:

1. Deadlines/Windows (7/27/2022 and beyond; paying 5¢/word or more)

7/21-7/27 (General Submissions), Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words (5000 or less preferred; flash = up to 1500), 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6), anonymous submissions, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple OK (1 short, 1 flash, 1 poetry), open to BIPOC authors throughout 2022, opens for general submissions again 10/1-10/7

7/30, Midnight & Indigo, note: Black women writers only, minimum word counts: 1500 for fiction and 1200 for nonfiction (no maximum?), 7¢/word for short fiction ($100 for speculative published online and $200 for speculative published in other formats; $100 for essays), Genre/Theme: seeking short character-driven fiction in all genres and first-person POV narrative and personal essays, Reprints NO, not sure about simultaneous and multiple (I assume NO), submit via link: https://midnightindigo.submittable.com/submit

7/1-7/31, Tales & Feathers Magazine, up to 2500 words, about 8¢/word (CAD0.11/word), Genre: cozy slice-of-life fantasy (any fantasy genres; can blur genre lines; especially interested in high fantasy, fairy tales, and myth; welcome stories engaging in non-Western fantasy genre traditions), Theme: cozy slice-of-life (quiet character-driven storytelling, gentle moments, rich fantastical worldbuilding, everyday moments, stories that take place before or between or after the epic conflicts, and stories that offer warmth, comfort, and possibility), Translations OK, Reprints NO, Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK (send up to three stories), click here for more details and submissions portal shared with their sister publication Augur, anonymous submissions and place content warnings on manuscript, in cover letter note whether resident of Canada/Turtle Island (CND/TI) / not a resident (INT) / or have a less clear relationship to Canada (OTH), can also note intersection that you identify with

7/7-7/31, Augur Magazine (general submissions window for all creators), up to 5000 words, about 8¢/word (CAD0.11/word; flat $110 for 1-1000 words; CAD$60/poem), Genre/Theme: speculative and literary (especially likes pieces that could be “too speculative” for literary magazines or “not speculative enough” for speculative magazines; also enjoys a good "genre romp"; seeks various genres: Fantasy / softer SF / Dystopia & Utopia / Apocalypse & Post-Apocalypse / Slipstream / Fairytales / Fables / Fabulism / Magical Realism / Dreamy realism), Poetry OK (up to 5 poems; max of 10 pages of poetry), Translations OK, Reprints NO, Simultaneous OK (state in cover letter), Multiple OK (send up to two stories), click here for more details and submissions portal shared with their sister publication Tales & Feather, anonymous submissions and place content warnings on manuscript, in cover letter note whether resident of Canada/Turtle Island (CND/TI) / not a resident (INT) / or have a less clear relationship to Canada (OTH), can also note intersection that you identify with

7/31, khōréō: Music (limited: immigrant and diaspora authors), up to 5000 words (prefers under 3500 words), 10¢/word, Genre: any speculative, Theme: music and "associated forms (sound, noise, song, instruments, etc. etc. etc.) as a vehicle for identity, culture, discovery, change, and any other facets of migration or diaspora.” Reprints NO, Simultaneous OK (note in cover letter), Multiple NO, note genre in cover letter, include content warning below story title and in cover letter, read further submissions details here, submit stories via Moksha link here

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

7/1-7/31, Mysterion, up to 9000 words, 8¢/word (4¢/word for reprints), Genre: speculative (SF/F/H), Theme: must engaage with Christian themes/characters/cosmology (see website for details), Reprints OK, Translations OK, Art OK (open year-round for art submissions), Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, submit work via moksha here: https://mysterion.moksha.io/publication/mysterion, also opens to subs in January

7/1-7/31, Podcastle (Limited: members of Black, Brown, and Indigenous cultures), 2,000-6,000 words at 8¢/word, Reprints OK (2,000-7,000 words at a flat $100), Genre: Fantasy / Dark Fantasy, Theme: Indigenous Magic, Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK (1 original & 1 reprint), Editors: Eleanor R. Wood and Shingai Njeri Kagunda, submit via submissions portal at website, Standard Manuscript Format (except without street address & telephone number at the top of the file), does not require anonymous submissions

3/1-7/31, Pseudopod (reprints from 2022 Anthologies and Collections), ~6000 words (1500-6000 for original short fiction; sweet spot = 4500 words; welcomes flash under 1500 words), $100 for short fiction reprints ($20 for flash fiction under 1500 words; 8¢/word for original fiction w/ 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 (1 original & 1 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, include collection/anthology title in cover letter), submit via moksha portal

7/1-7/31, The Maul (Issue Zero), 100-3000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: horror (but they prefer horror mixed with other speculative genres; will also accept literary horror though it's a harder sell), Theme/Audience: wants stories that initiate new readers to horror and enjoys pulp fiction (encourages over-the-top and "exaggeration, melodrama, impossibly imaginative settings, and vivid imagery", Audience: generally skews toward a younger audience but doesn't want to dumb language down and accepts swear words, Art OK (pays $100, color or black and white, especially wants pictures of monsters--grotesque, minimalist, large, small, gothic, modern, etc.), Comics OK (pays $100, seeks three-panel horror, black and white okay), Simultaneous OK, Multiple NO (but will accept 2-3 microfiction pieces of around 400 words or less each), submit stories to themaulmagazine@gmail.com with subject line including "Query" and Shunn Format, cover letter in the body of your email, do not attach story to email (instead, copy and paste the story below the cover letter in the body of your email, find more submissions details here

7/31, Bound in Flesh: An Anthology of Trans Body Horror, note: only open to writers who identify as Transgender and Non-Binary, 3000-5000 words, 5¢/word, Reprints NO, Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK (up to 2 stories/author), Genre/Theme: body horror ("stories relating body dysphoria to horror are fine, but get creative with it! We’d also like to see funny, silly, wacky body horror"), note: wants to uplift Trans/NB voices and new writers are encouraged to submit! Editor: Lor Gislason. Details here: https://perpetualpublishing.com/2022/04/13/announcing-bound-in-flesh-an-anthology-of-trans-body-horror-now-open-for-submissions/

7/31, ShortStory Substack (deadline at the end of every month), 6-10,000 words, Pay: $100 + 50% (you'd have to send them a story of 2000 words or less to make 5¢/word or more), Genre: any, publishes one story a month, winner announced on the 15th. Reprints OK, Simultaneous NO (I assume), Multiple NO. Send submissions in Word or Google Doc form to shortstorystack@gmail.com. Guidelines here: https://shortstory.substack.com/p/coming-soon?s=r. Their June stats are here: https://shortstory.substack.com/p/june-statistics

7/31, FIYAH: Hauntings & Horrors, only open to submissions by and about Black writers from Africa and the African Diaspora, 2,000-15,000 words, (poetry: up to 1,000 words; nonfiction: 800-1,200 words), 8¢/word for fiction (poetry: $50; nonfiction: 10¢/word), For nonfiction: queries only, Theme: haunting and horrors ("We’re turning October into Black Horror Month. Give us your night terrors, your blood-thirsty urban legends, your ancestral ghosts haunting plantation weddings. We want stories that linger in dark corners and aren’t afraid to follow us into daylight”), Poetry OK, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, more details here: https://www.fiyahlitmag.com/submissions/

7/31, SLF $500 Diverse Writers and $500 Diverse Worlds Grants: apply by providing description of project (up to 500 words, must be a book-length project of speculative fiction), a cover letter with short bio (up to 500 words) and bibliography (you do not have to be previously published to apply), and a writing sample (up to 5000 words; more info here: https://speculativeliterature.org/grants-3/slf-diverse-writers-and-diverse-worlds-grants/; submit via form: https://airtable.com/shrHGAASA1ma7EkLG. Note: the Diverse Writers grant supports "speculative fiction writers from underrepresented and underprivileged groups" while the Diverse Worlds grant is open to any work "that best presents a diverse world, regardless of the author's background"

7/31, Nosetouch Press: Fiends in the Furrows III – Final Harvest, 3,500-7,000 words, 6¢/word, Genre/Theme: folk horror (“visions of terror bound up in twisted morality forged in isolation within unforgiving landscapes that summon forth great evils at the fervent hands of human beings held captive by forces they can neither entirely comprehend nor fully control," and "explore the wanton wilderness of Folk Horror, while honoring the elemental essence of this subgenre’s tangled, grasping roots”), Reprints NO, Poetry NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, submit via email to submissions@nosetouchpress.com in .doc or .rtf format with “FIENDS 3” in the subject line, details here: https://www.nosetouchpress.com/call/

Opening late July: Unidentified Funny Objects 4,500-6,000 words, 10¢/word, Genre/Theme: seeking all style and sub-genres of speculative humor, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, https://alexshvartsman.com/ufo-unidentified-funny-objects/, Kickstarter funded: https://bit.ly/3aZ8sy8

7/24-8/1, Diabolical Plots (Diabolical Thoughts Theme), Word Count: up to 3500 words (firm), 10¢/word, Genre: SF/F/H (must have speculative element), Theme: telepathy stories of every shape and style (see details on website), Translations OK, Reprints NO, Simultaneous OK, Multiple NO (1 submission/window), submit stories without identifying information via submissions portal on website, selections made by assistant editor Ziv Wities

8/1, Brute: Raunch, Scares, and Rough Trade (Lethe Press; edited by Lambda Literary Award winner Steve Berman), 2500-9000 words, 5¢/word, Genre: Horror/Dark Fantasy/Weirdness, Theme: dark and speculative short stories that address gay sexuality, desire, masculinity, and the aesthetics of "rough trade", Reprints OK (1¢/word), Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, Note that you must query concept details first before submission

8/3, The Suburban Review: Weeds, 500-2500 words, AUD150-275 for prose (AUD 125-275 for poetry), Genre: fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Theme: weeds. Poetry OK, Art OK, Reprints NO, Simultaneous OK, Multiple NO (only one submission of any kind from each person; up to 3 poems at a time though), more details and submission form here: https://thesuburbanreview.com/submit/

8/1-8/7, Abyss & Apex, ~1000 words (8¢/word), 1001-10,000 words ($80), Genre: any speculative but no horror, wants good flash fiction of 1250 words or less, poetry welcome but has a different submissions window (Nov and May, listed under semi-pro)

8/15 (tentative), Flame Tree (Monthly Flash Fiction Contest), 700-1000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: to be announced in newsletter, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, submit entry to the Newsletter Editor Zoë Seabourne, zoe.seabourne@flametreepublishing.com w/ theme as subject heading and author details/bio at end of story, Note: must subscribe to newsletter to submit; the monthly newsletter will state the new month's genre/prompt

6/1-8/15, Campfire Macabre Anthology Series from Cemetery Gates Media, 500-1500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Horror, Theme: 5 themes (1: When We Were Getting High; 2: My Last Trick ‘r Treat, 3: Body Grotesquerie; 4: Ominous Visitors From Deep Space; 5: Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes), Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple OK (only 1 story/theme and submit all stories at one time in the same email, submit stories to cemeterygatesmedia@gmail.com and include title/theme/wordcount in the subject line, Warning: might not notify if rejected

5/16-8/15, Dark Recesses (window for Fall Issue), 500-5000 words, 5¢/word, Genre: horror/dark fiction, note variants from standard manuscript format (single-spaced, no indents), Nonfiction OK (but read specifics on their site)

8/1-8/21 (assume: midnight EST/EDT), Flash Fiction Online, 500-1000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: any, Anonymous submissions, Reprints OK (2¢/word), Simultaneous NO, Multiple OK (only one original and one reprint concurrently), Note: open 1st-21st almost every month (closed in December)

8/12-8/21, Pseudopod (general submissions), 1500-6000 words (prefer about 4500; also flash under 1500 welcome), 8¢/word (reprints of flash at $20), Genre/Theme: any horror for audio, Simultaneous OK (with disclosure!), Multiple OK (one original and one reprint)

7/22-8/21, Shakespeare Unleashed (Monstrous Books and Crystal Lake Publishing), 1500-6000 words or 14-line sonnets, 6¢/word ($35 for poems), Genre: horror (seeks horror, "no parodies or humor pieces"), Theme (Fiction): stories based on Shakespeare’s plays and characters (can be set in other time periods / updated / reimagined / merely based on), Theme (poetry): Shakespearean horror sonnets can be based on Shakespeare sonnets / plays / characters (note in submission) or they can be totally original (should evoke Shakespeare), Reprint NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, Kickstarter was successfully funded and is still live at the link here, find submissions details and submissions portal when open here

7/22-8/21 (tentative dates; opens for 30 days as soon as Kickstarter funds), Unidentified Funny Objects 9, 500-6000 words, 10¢/word, Genre/Theme: seeking humorous SF/Fs, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, Editor: Alex Shvartsman, Link to the Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ufopublishing/unidentified-funny-objects-9/description

8/1-8/30, Cast of Wonders (an Escape Artists Podcast): Flash Fiction Contest, ~1000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: generally should be YA, 12-17 age range, include a sense of wonder, have deep emotional resonance, and have something unreal about them, Anonymous submissions, Reprints OK, Simultaneous OK (notify if accepted elsewhere and may consider as reprint), Multiple NO, Editor: Katherine Inskip, send submissions to Moksha link

6/1-8/31 (11:59 PM EDT), Hidden Villains Anthology Series (Inkd Publishing), less than 7000 words, Genre: SF / Fantasy / Horror, Theme: Hidden Villains Arise ("Bold, imaginative fantasy, horror, and sci-fi sculpted to thrill and entertain readers with the bizarre or delve into the shadows"), submit via Duosuma link

7/1-8/31, Les Petites Morts (Ghost Orchid Press), 1000-5000 words (ideal: 2000-4000), 6¢/word, Genre/Theme: seeks erotic horror stories inspired by fairy tales/mythologies/folklore from around the world, anonymous submissions, Reprints NO, Simultaneous OK, Multiple NO, submit stories to lespetitesmortssubs@gmail.com

6/24-8/31, Our Beautiful Reward (a special online issue of Reckoning Magazine by Catherine Rockwood), up to 20,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF / F / General Fiction, Theme: environmental justice and bodily autonomy (a response to the fall of Roe; seeks stories, poems and nonfiction focusing on the intersection of bodily autonomy and environmental justice; hopes to "serve as a creative outlet for the anger and grief the collective loss of safety and self-determination this hideous decision entails for millions of people of all genders, now, and what further fascist regression it threatens for the future”), submit work at the moksha link here: https://reckoning.press/special-submission-call-our-beautiful-reward/, find further submission details here: https://reckoning.press/submit/

9/1, Orion's Belt, under 1200 words (not including title and byline), 8¢/word, Genre: literary speculative (must contain significant speculative elements), Poetry OK, Art OK, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple OK (up to 2 times/month, submitted separately; poetry up to 3/month), submit work to orionsbelt.submissions@gmail.com

9/1-9/14, 500-7500 words, 8¢/word, Solarpunk Magazine (General Subs for 2023 Issues), Genre/Theme: solarpunk speculative ("speculative elements should be apparent but not dominating; our disbelief suspended not by necessity, but immersion"; "any genre of science fiction, interstitial fiction, magic realism, or fantasy has potential as a solarpunk forum"), Poetry OK (up to 5 poems or 5 pages of poems, whichever is shorter; $40/poem), Nonfiction OK (1000-2000 words; $75/essay or article), Art OK (cover art: $100 for reprints, $300 for original unpublished; interior art: $50 for reprints, $150 for original unpublished), Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO (but 1 submission per category per period okay), submit via moksha portal

9/15 (tentative), Flame Tree (Monthly Flash Fiction Contest), 700-1000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: to be announced in newsletter, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, submit entry to the Newsletter Editor Zoë Seabourne, zoe.seabourne@flametreepublishing.com w/ theme as subject heading and author details/bio at end of story, Note: must subscribe to newsletter to submit; the monthly newsletter will state the new month's genre/prompt

9/1-9/21 (assume: midnight EST/EDT), Flash Fiction Online, 500-1000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: any, Anonymous submissions, Reprints OK (2¢/word), Simultaneous NO, Multiple OK (only one original and one reprint concurrently), Note: open 1st-21st almost every month (closed in December)

7/1-9/30, WotF Q2, ~17000 words (generally should aim for 3000-10,000), 8¢/word, prize money (1^st $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 (8¢/word pro rates); the forum is very helpful, especially the Super Secrets thread; free workshop available on website, also check out Wulf Moon's workshops for extra help on crafting winning stories and mindset

9/1-9/30 (may close earlier if reach submissions cap), The Cincinnati Review, ~10,000 words, about 10¢/word (specifically $25/page), Genre: general/literary, Poetry OK ($30/page), Simultaneous OK, three submissions windows (opening the 1st of September, December, and May and closing at the end of the month or when they reach a cap on submissions)

10/1-10/7 (general submissions), Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6), anonymous submissions, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple OK (only one in each category of short, flash, and poetry), Note: open to BIPOC authors throughout all of 2022

10/1-10/14 (under-represented authors) and 10/8-10/14 (all authors), Cossmass Infinities, 1000-7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Reprints NO, Simultaneous OK, Multiple NO

10/15 (tentative), Flame Tree (Monthly Flash Fiction Contest), 700-1000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: to be announced in newsletter, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, submit entry to the Newsletter Editor Zoë Seabourne, zoe.seabourne@flametreepublishing.com w/ theme as subject heading and author details/bio at end of story, Note: must subscribe to newsletter to submit; the monthly newsletter will state the new month's genre/prompt

10/1-10/21 (assume: midnight EST/EDT), Flash Fiction Online, 500-1000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: any, Anonymous submissions, Reprints OK (2¢/word), Simultaneous NO, Multiple OK (only one original and one reprint concurrently), Note: open 1st-21st almost every month (closed in December)

11/15 (tentative), Flame Tree (Monthly Flash Fiction Contest), 700-1000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: to be announced in newsletter, Reprints NO, Simultaneous NO, Multiple NO, submit entry to the Newsletter Editor Zoë Seabourne, zoe.seabourne@flametreepublishing.com w/ theme as subject heading and author details/bio at end of story, Note: must subscribe to newsletter to submit; the monthly newsletter will state the new month's genre/prompt

11/1-11/21 (assume: midnight EST/EDT), Flash Fiction Online, 500-1000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: any, Anonymous submissions, Reprints OK (2¢/word), Simultaneous NO, Multiple OK (only one original and one reprint concurrently), Note: open 1st-21st almost every month (closed in December)