Anthology Markets

If you've just wandered in off the internet, hi and welcome. :) I do these posts every month, so if this post isn't dated in the same month you're in, click here to make sure you're seeing the most recent one.

Markets with specific deadlines are listed first, "Until Filled" markets are at the bottom. There are usually more details on the original site; always click through and read the full guidelines before submitting. Note that some publishers list multiple antho guidelines on one page, so after you click through you might have to scroll a bit.

***

31 March 2014 -- XIII -- Resurrection House

RESURRECTION HOUSE is seeking science fiction, fantasy, horror, and creative non-fiction for a loosely themed anthology to be released in the winter of 2015. Stories should be between 1,000 and 7,000 words, and pay will be 5 cents/word. Reprints are not out of the question, but will be handled on an individual basis. Deadline for submissions is March 31st, 2014.

Stories should be sent as email attachments in either .RTF or .DOC format to xiiisub@resurrectionhouse.com with the word “XIII” somewhere in the subject line.

When Mark Teppo, the founder of Resurrection House, acquired Underland Press, he wanted to start numbering the titles that would be released under the new imprint. Before doing so, he wishes to acknowledge and celebrate What Was and What Will Be. “Thirteen” is the first month of a new yearly cycle, wherein the old skins have been shed and the newborns are still learning to walk. “One” and “Three” make “Four,” which is the number of completion, of coming home, and of realizing the form that has been in process for some time. Nothing is true; everything is possible. And the more things change, the more they stay the same. The thirteenth Tarot card is Death, and he is the symbol of transformation and rebirth.

This is the genesis and root of XIII.

Some broad examples of transformative stories are Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun, Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, Matt Wagner’s Grendel comic series, and David Lynch’s Lost Highway as well as his Fire, Walk With Me. Also consider the plight of Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Innana’s descent into the Underworld, and the stories of Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, and Attis.

***

31 March 2014 -- Start a Revolution -- ed. Michael Matheson; Exile Editions

The Central Idea:

From green revolutions to anarchist uprisings. From social compacts to social justice movements. Stories that push boundaries and identities. That invoke a rebellious voice. That cry out for tolerance, community, and change.

QUILTBAG stories are about diversity in identity. Sometimes that means focusing on finding oneself. But the movement is so much wider. Identity is communal. Identity is global. And this anthology looks to tell those larger stories. Stories about revolution, rebellion, and reshaping the world, all told from QUILTBAG perspectives.

Stories about quiet revolutions and very public ones. Personal revolutions and global movements.

Some revolutions succeed. Others fail. But in the end it’s the striving for change that matters.

Show us that striving.

Fight the power. Start a revolution.

Summary:

== Length: 2k-10k (under 7.5k preferred)
== Payment: .05/word (and contributor’s copy)
== Rights: First English-Language Rights & Non-exclusive Anthology Rights (Print and eBook)
== Genre: All speculative
== Original fiction only. No reprints.
== Submit To: adarkandterriblebeauty [at] gmail [dot] com
== Subject Line: Start a Revolution: [Story Title], [Last Name]
== Format: Standard Manuscript Format
== File Format: .doc, .docx, or .rtf only
== Cover Letter: Yes. See below.
== Reading Period: Jan. 1, 2014 – Mar. 31, 2014
== All Responses By: Apr. 30, 2014
== Scheduled Release: Spring 2015

Please, no simultaneous submissions. The only exception to this is that you are allowed to submit a story to both Start a Revolution and the $15,000 Vanderbilt/Exile Short Fiction Competition (open until March 10, 2014) sponsored by Exile Quarterly/Exile Editions (see http://www.theexilewriters.com/poetry-and-fiction-competitions/).

You may send multiple submissions over the course of the reading period, but submit only one story at a time. I’ll be rejecting stories over the course of the reading period, so if you receive a rejection before the deadline you may submit another piece.

Also, despite the fact that I’m comfortable with alternate and integrated narrative formats for short fiction, I’m not taking poetry or plays. Short fiction only, please.

Re Cover Letters: Include your name, story title, word count, contact info, a brief bio, and state your nationality (so I can keep track of the 90% Canadian authored content requirement).

Also Re Cover Letters (Optional): One of the things the Ontario Arts Council asks on their grant forms is a set of volunteered information, specifically about self-definition and identity. It helps them figure out what communities and groups they’re already reaching and aiding, and who they need to do more outreach to better aid. And if people are willing, I would like to do something similar here. Specifically, I’d like to compile and share a map of the submissions, if you will. (Both a map for all submissions, and a comparative map for selected stories.) So, please feel free to also note in your cover letter if you consider, or define, yourself as any of the following: an Aboriginal writer, culturally diverse writer, Francophone writer, and/or new generation writer. (Definitions for same below.) Anyone submitting is also welcome to note their gender (be it binary, multiple, undefined, or a lack thereof) and you can also include if you self-define along the lines of QUILTBAG, fluid, pansexual, or otherwise.

And let me reiterate: all of that volunteered information is entirely optional. And if given, it is going to be shared in a strictly anonymous fashion, and only for the purposes of the submissions mapping.

Lastly, if I’ve already read a story of yours elsewhere (say, at Apex), please don’t send it for this call unless I specifically ask to see it. And if you have questions relating to the anthology, please ask them in the Comments.

[NOTE: There's more info on the guidelines page; definitely click through and read.]

***

31 March 2014 -- Unidentified Funny Objects 3 -- ed. Alex Shvartsman

WHAT WE WANT:

We’re looking for speculative stories with a strong humor element. Think Resnick and Sheckley, Fredric Brown and Douglas Adams. We welcome quality flash fiction and non-traditional narratives. Take chances, try something new, just make sure that your story is funny.

Puns and stories that are little more than vehicles for delivering a punch line at the end aren’t likely to win us over.

Most submissions we’ve received in the past are rejected because they aren’t particularly funny. For this anthology we’re looking for humor, not just lighthearted, optimistic stories. Ask yourself if your story might make the reader laugh out loud, and submit if the answer is yes.

The best way to learn what we like is to read a previous volume volume. You can buy it here and also read the online stories for free.

LENGTH: 500-6000 words.

PAYMENT: $0.05 per word + contributor copy. Payment will be made upon acceptance. Our preferred method of payment is via PayPal, but you may request a check.

FORMAT: RTF or DOC. Standard Manuscript Format or something close to it (We won’t take points off if you prefer Courier to Times New Roman or some such), except please remove your name and any other identifying information from the manuscript as all submissions are read “blind”.

SEND TO: E-mail submissions as an attachment to: ufoeditors @ gmail dot com

Format the subject line as follows: Submission: by (Approx. Length)

Example: Submission: You Bet by Alex Shvartsman (2000 words)

POLICIES & RESPONSE TIME: No reprints, multiple or simultaneous submissions please. Do not send us any story we already considered for a previous UFO volume. We will respond to all subs within 30 days. If you don’t hear by then please check your spam folder, then query at the same e-mail address with the word QUERY in the subject of the e-mail.

If your story is rejected before April 1 you may send another, but we will only consider up to two submissions per author. (To clarify, send the second ONLY after the first one is rejected). If your second submission is rejected, we will ask you to wait until next year, when we’re reading for UFO4.

SUBMISSION WINDOW: March 1, 2014 through March 31, 2014.

RIGHTS SOUGHT: First Worldwide print and electronic English Language rights. Exclusivity for 90 days from date of release. Non-exclusive rights to keep the anthology in print across different publishing platforms afterward. Preview sample contract.

[NOTE: Click through for info on their selection process, and a FAQ.]

***

31 March 2014 -- Women Destroy Fantasy -- ed. Cat Rambo; Lightspeed Magazine (special issue)

WOMEN DESTROY FANTASY! will be a special one-off, guest-edited by former Fantasy Magazine editor Cat Rambo. The issue will contain 8 pieces of fiction (twice the size of a regular issue of an issue of Fantasy back before it was merged into Lightspeed), consisting of 4 original stories and 4 reprints. Cat Rambo will select all 4 of the original stories, and long-time editor of the fantasy half of The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror, Terri Windling, will select the 4 fantasy reprints. Everything submitted to the Women Destroy Fantasy! issue will also be considered for publication in Lightspeed.

== Who can submit stories for consideration for the special issue? Women.

== How do you define “woman”? A woman is any human being who identifies as one, to whatever degree that they do so.

== What can women submit? Fantasy short stories, 1500-7500 words. Dark fantasy (which normally would be OK to submit to Nightmare, should go here instead for this issue).

== When is the submissions period? Submissions open March 15, 2014, and will close at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern on March 31, 2014.

== What rights will you be buying? Please see the Lightspeed standard contract templates (originals | reprints) for details; this issue will use that same contract template.

== Pay rate? 8 cents/word.

== Response time? Up to 45 days

== Note: Stories submitted to the Women Destroy Fantasy! special issue will also be considered regular issues of Lightspeed as well, if they are not selected for the special issue.

== When will the issue be published? October 2014.

== How do I submit? Submit via the following submissions portal: submissions.johnjosephadams.com/women-destroy-fantasy

== What the heck is this about? What do you mean by "destroy"? Read this and just substitute "fantasy" any time it says "science fiction" (more or less).

Some additional thoughts from guest editor Cat Rambo:

== I want fantasy that showcases the amazing emotional range of the genre and the spectrum of forms it can take.

== I’ll want at least one tearjerker and one humorous piece.

== I’ll want something that draws on fairytale or myth, but which does so in an amazing, interesting, and fresh way, and I’m hoping to find something that feels urban fantasy-ish as well, also in a fresh and interesting way.

== Fantasy that often hits well with me: superheroes, non-cutesy talking animals, linguistic-related, the weird.
== I like language: make yours wonderful, but never at the cost of the story.

== Your character should make me care about their fate (and for this issue, probably a female protagonist is, quite frankly, probably going to be a better fit).

== I’ll want at least one piece with an utterly amazing landscape, that immerses me in a fantasy world that delights my heart.

== Diversity does matter to me. It doesn’t trump quality, but when you’re going to be up against the very best, score your points where you can.

== I don’t want retellings of D&D adventures. Or pirates. I really don’t like pirates and I’m not particularly fond of zombies. Typos are another big turn-off: proofread your work.

== This is not a time to go for the low-hanging fruit or play it safe. I have four, count ‘em, four slots. Send me something — but make it the very best you have, something that is unique to your voice, something that you and only you could write.

***

3 April 2014 -- Streets of Shadows -- ed. Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon; Alliteration Ink

Life on the streets was tough...before things started getting weird.

This project is getting initial funding via Kickstarter.

You think you're safe. What a joke.

You don't think about the places you pass every day. The side streets. The alleys. Under bridges. The shadows.

All you'd have to do is take a step to the side.

Then you'd know.

Life on the streets ain't easy. It takes someone tough like me to survive. Danger lurks in the shadows. Yeah, there's muggers and gangs. Sometimes you get zombies, vampires, and ghouls. And if you're real unlucky, you run into the scary stuff.

Whether it's the dirty streets of Detroit, the paved-over cobblestones of London, or the patched asphalt of your hometown, people like me are all that stand between death and your door.

Our world isn't made up of parks and malls. Our world is the streets, covered in shadows.

These are our stories.

From the editorial team that brought you Dark Faith comes Streets of Shadows, a collection of urban fantasy crime noir. These original tales of the dark and magical side of the urban landscape will be published by Alliteration Ink in late summer 2014.

ATTACHED AUTHORS

Currently attached authors include Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kevin J. Anderson, Tim Lebbon, Seanan McGuire, Brandon Massey, Tom Piccirilli, and Lucy A. Snyder.

THE EDITORS

Maurice Broaddus has written hundreds of short stories, essays, novellas, and articles. His dark fiction has been published in numerous magazines, anthologies, and web sites, including Asimov's SF, Cemetery Dance, Apex Magazine, Black Static, and Weird Tales Magazine. He is the co-editor of the Dark Faith anthology series (Apex Books) and the author of the urban fantasy trilogy, Knights of Breton Court (Angry Robot Books). He has been a teaching artist for over five years, teaching creative writing to elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as adults. Visit his site at www.MauriceBroaddus.com.

Jerry Gordon is the Bram Stoker nominated co-editor of the Dark Faith and Last Rites anthologies. His fiction has appeared in Apex Magazine, Shroud, and The Midnight Diner. You can find him blurring genre lines at www.jerrygordon.net and saying inappropriate things on Twitter @jerrylgordon.

OPEN SUBMISSIONS

We're looking for stories with depth that push the boundaries of their genres. Stories that make you think, that comment on the human condition and the social order. Stories that are rich in their language use. Stories that entertain and thrill. Stories between 2000 and 4000 words for which we'll pay 6 cents per word.

Submissions will be accepted from 3/3/2014 until 4/3/2014. Unsolicited stories received outside this time frame will be deleted unread.

Please include a cover letter with your submission and only one story at a time. No reprints. Simultaneous submissions will be accepted as long as you tell us up front (and immediately withdraw the story if you sell somewhere else).

All submissions must be emailed as an RTF file to Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon at streetsofshadows AT gmail dot com.

***

15 April 2014 -- Intelligence -- Third Flatiron Anthologies

Stories could include AIs, the Singularity, military/industrial/political intelligence, nonhuman/uplifted or hybrid/human species, extreme thinking (ESP/telekinesis), ethical hacking.

Third Flatiron Publishing is an e-publishing venture based in Boulder, Colorado. We are looking for submissions to our quarterly themed online anthologies. Our focus is on science fiction and fantasy and anthropological fiction. We’re looking for tightly plotted tales in out-of-the-ordinary scenarios.

Please send us short stories that revolve around age-old questions and have something illuminating to tell us as human beings. Fantastical situations and creatures, exciting dialog, irony, mild horror, and wry humor are all welcome. Stories should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Inquire if longer.

Role models for the type of fiction we want include Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke, Dan Simmons, Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, and Ken Kesey. We want to showcase some of the best new shorts available today.

Click through to the "Submissions" tab for preferred formats, etc.

For each anthology, we will also accept a few very short humor pieces on the order of the "Shouts and Murmurs" feature in The New Yorker Magazine (600 words or so). These can be written from a first-person perspective or can be mini-essays that tell people what they ought to do, how to do something better, or explain why something is like it is, humorously. An SF/Fantasy bent is preferred.

Your story must be original work, with the digital rights unencumbered. Accepted stories will be paid at the flat rate of 3 cents per word (U.S.), in return for the digital rights to the story. All other rights will remain with the author. We no longer offer royalties. If your story is selected as the lead story, we will pay a flat rate of 5 cents per word, in return for the permission to podcast or give the story away as a free sample portion of the anthology.

Third Flatiron will price and market your story to various e-publishing venues. We will format the story for the most popular electronic readers and platforms. You agree that we may distribute a sample (portion of the story) to potential customers.

For non-U.S. submissions, we prefer to pay via PayPal, if you have such an account.

Authors selected for publication will also be entitled to one free online copy of the anthology.

***

30 April 2014 -- Spindles -- ed. Raechel Henderson; Eggplant Literary Productions

Spindles word limit = 5,000

Payment = 5 cents per word; 2.5 cents per word for reprints

Rights bought: First World English-language Rights

Multiple submissions welcome

No simultaneous submissions

Stories should follow the standard fairy tale structure, but can be placed in any time period. We’ll only be publishing one version of each story (so one Cinderella, on Snow White, etc.) so authors are encouraged to submit as many different stories as they want. We are looking for fairy tales from all over the world; not just Grimm and Anderson.

Please send fiction submissions to submissions@eggplantproductions.com.

Send submissions in the body of the e-mail. No attachments!

[NOTE: there are lots of great questions and answers on the comments under the guidelines post, so click through and read if you're thinking of subbing here.]

***

30 April 2014 -- Triangulation: Parch -- PARSEC Ink

Submissions Close: April 30, 2014 — or until filled

Theme: "PARCH"

Word Count: We will consider fiction up to 10,000 words. There is no minimum word count.

Topics: We are interested in publishing a wide variety of entertaining and literate speculative fiction stories, so the more space a story would take, the more it will need to impress us. We publish science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction.

Compensation: We pay 1.5 cents per word plus a $100 Editors’ Choice award to each of three stories that most effectively and ambitiously incorporate the theme. Authors will also receive an e-book version of the anthology and wholesale pricing for printed copies (typically 50% of cover price).

Rights: We purchase North American Serial Rights, and Electronic Rights for downloadable version(s). All subsidiary rights released upon publication.

Submissions: Our focus is on original stories. Please do not send previously published stories, even if they’ve only been published on your blog. Please, no simultaneous submissions (wait for a response from us before submitting elsewhere). We do not publish poetry. Sorry. No hand-written manuscripts. We gotta draw the line somewhere.

We love creative interpretations of our themes. Don’t ask us what it means – tell us what it means with a story that convinces us you’re right.

We will run mature content if we like the story and if the mature content is integral to the story. So make sure there’s an actual story in that mature content.

No fanfic, even if it’s of a fictional universe that has passed into public domain.

No thinly-disguised transcripts of role playing sessions, no settings obviously based on D&D or other such games. Don’t get us wrong, we love to game ourselves, which means our imaginations are probably cluttered with elves and dwarves and orcs and the like as it is.

How To Submit: Electronic submissions make our lives easier. Please upload your story via Submittable. If this is your first time submitting to a publication that utilizes Submittable, you will need to create an account with them. It’s free.

Manuscript Format: Please use industry standard manuscript format. There’s disagreement on some of the exact details of the "standard". We’re not testing you to see if you can follow each and every niggling detail, we just want a manuscript that is easy for us to read.

We accept manuscripts in the following formats:

== .doc or .docx (MS Word)
== .rtf (Rich Text Format — generic document format that most word processors can create)
== .odt (OpenDocument Text — format used by the OpenOffice.org suite)

If you absolutely, positively cannot submit electronically, please send the manuscript (with either a SASE or a return email address) to:

Triangulation 2014
312 N Beaver St.
New Castle PA 16101

Feedback: We are (in)famous for our feedback on submitted stories. We work with writers to improve accepted stories, as well. The results have been strong reviews from places like Tangent Online, and a reputation for consistent quality.

Response: Expect to hear back from us within a month. Please report your response times at Duotrope’s Digest.

Eligibility: All writers, including those who are known or even related to the editorial staff, are permitted to submit to the Triangulation anthology. That doesn’t mean we’ll automatically publish them; just that we’re willing to look at their work. (We’re not worried about nepotism; if our friends' writing sucks, we tell them.)

General Information:

We have no interest in getting more specific about the term "speculative fiction." Science fiction, horror, fantasy, magic realism, alternate history, whatever. If there’s a speculative element vital to your story, we’ll gladly give it a read. We do prefer traditional narrative to experimental technique. Our intent is to provide a strong story experience for our readership.

We publish both new and established writers; the level of experience for the authors gracing our pages has ranged from "first time in print" to "Hugo winner" and "Nebula winner". The majority of our stories usually wind up being from American authors, but we’ve had a number of international contributions; we’re happy to consider work from anywhere in the world, as long as it’s written in English.

Who We Are:

Triangulation is an annual short fiction anthology produced by PARSEC Ink, the publishing wing of the PARSEC science-fiction association in Pittsburgh, PA. We publish science fiction, fantasy, horror, and any other speculative fiction that catches the editors’ fancy. Every year since 2003 (save for a brief hiatus in 2006 when we changed over to an international format) we have a new theme. We pay for the work we select and issues are available online at places like Amazon.com. We are a small press but we work hard to produce a quality product.

Triangulation shares an informal relationship with Parsec’s annual short story contest. Note, though, that the Parsec contest and the Triangulation Anthology are two completely different publications and have different requirements and submission guidelines, including eligibility and word length.

***

16 May 2014 -- Sword and Sorceress 29 -- ed. Elisabeth Waters

[NOTE: DO NOT SUBMIT BEFORE 19 APRIL.]

Stories should be the type generally referred to as "sword and sorcery" and must have a strong female protagonist whom the reader will care about. See previous Sword and Sorceress volumes for examples. We do not want stories with explicit sex, gratuitous violence, or profanity. We are NOT a market for poetry. We are willing to consider stories set in modern times (urban fantasy), but we won't buy more than one or two of those for the anthology. We always want something short and funny for the last story.

No reprints. No simultaneous submissions.

With regard to multiple submissions, do not submit more than one story at a time. If we've rejected your first one, you may send one more, as long as it's before the deadline. We have occasionally bought someone's second sumbmission. We have never bought a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth submission. If you send us two stories, and we don't hold either of them, wait until next year to try again. Please do not re-submit stories we have already rejected (including stories rejected in previous years).

If you have not previously sold to Sword & Sorceress, please read What is a Short Story? and Why Did my Story Get Rejected? before submitting to us.

Please do not explain or describe your story in the e-mail (cover letter). If your story can't stand on its own, fix the story.

Reading period: Saturday, April 19 to Friday, May 16, 2014. Stories received before or after this period will be deleted unread.

Response time is expected to follow MZB's traditional standards: you should hear within a week if we're holding your story for the final line-up or rejecting it.

Deadline: May 16, 2014.

Length: up to 9,000 words, with preference given to shorter stories. The longer a story is, the better it has to be. Long stories should be submitted early in the reading period.

Formatting and Submission:

Format with one-inch margins on all four sides of page.
Please do not use a header or footer.

Your name, full mailing address, and email address must be in the upper left corner, single spaced.
Skip two lines, center the text, then put the title, with your name (or byline) on the next line. We're not going to be as rigid as MZB was about pen names, but we expect them to be reasonable, rather than cute.

The rest of the manuscript should be single-spaced, with the first line of each paragraph indented 1/2 inch.
If you need to indicate a break, put "#" on a line by itself, centered.
Do not underline; use italics instead. Do not use bold face. We prefer Courier New font, size 12.

Word count will be determined by our word processor; that way it will be the same for everyone.

Save your document as an .rtf file (rich text format or interchange format, depending on what your computer calls it). E-mail as it as an attachment to . The subject line should be "SS29, your last name, story title" (e.g.: SS29, Bradley, Dark Intruder) -- we don't want submissions caught in the spam filter.

Rights purchased: first rights, non-exclusive eBook and audio book rights.

Payment: 5 cents per word as an advance against a pro rata share of royalties and foreign or other sales.

***

31 May 2014 -- Torn Pages -- Weird Bard Press

== Word Count: 1000-5000.
== Multiple submissions: wait to hear back on your first submission before sending another.
== Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know and update us if the story is accepted elsewhere.
== No reprints.
== Poetry and Nonfiction: please query first.
== Everyone will hear from us no later than July 1st, but our goal will be a 1 month response time (or at least an update if your story is under consideration.)

Pay Rates & Rights

We pay 2¢ per word for fiction. Authors will also receive an electronic ARC of the anthology.

Weird Bard Press takes First World English Rights. Works sent to us should not have been published elsewhere.

We will use a traditional copyright, but authors may choose any Creative Commons license for their individual story if prefered.

Genres/Themes

There are no genre limitations associated with Torn Pages. Mainstream and genre stories alike are welcome.

Read this article for background on what led to the anthology. Stories that fit Torn Pages will take that article and situations like it as their prompt.

Updated 02/09/14:

Given the title, Torn Pages, the ideal submission will deal in issues such as religion in the science classroom, censorship, historical revisionism, chilling effect, book (media) burning, net neutrality, or Orwellian concepts like Newspeak and Thoughtcrime. Watching the recent Nye/Ham debate we were reminded of Burrough's assertion that language is a virus. Think books. Think classroom. Think logical fallacies, partisan politics, and education standards in the balance.

Acceptable as well are stories related to a real-life wrong so great or insidious that the issue must be told, though it may not relate directly to books or the classroom, such as abuses of political or social power. Pussy Riot, Occupy, or Anonymous may be good starting points, but refrain from propaganda for or against any one of these.

Inherent in this project is an interest in stories from under-represented points of view, be they ethnic, gender, cultural, sexual orientation, or others we have not considered. The person who comes from what they perceive as a mundane background may have an equally important story to tell.

There is a cultural upheaval we wish to see reflected in these stories. In our article, it is a struggle of the secular and the religious, the individual against senseless power structures, and finally censorship and altered history (and, perhaps, a struggle of value systems related to issues of sexuality...) but your story may address totally different issues. Issues we may not know about right now. Awesome. We're keeping the guidelines intentionally vague.

These stories may skew more political than some markets normally prefer, but no matter if we agree or disagree with your politics, stories right for this project will not be partisan soap boxes. It's a difficult line to walk. The best stories will be those that bridge between the different points of view in the given story. We are all human and we all believe that we are the good guys.

Feel free to tell us more about the issue or cite sources in your cover letter. Stories will be accepted on their merit alone.

Diversity statement:

Queer, POC, strong female main characters, disabled characters, and other under-represented points of view are welcome and encouraged.

What we don't want (and other considerations):

This is not an erotica market. Sexual situations and themes are fine. This is not a YA market either, but we hope the final product is suitable for high-school age consumption. Profanity will not lead to rejection, but if accepted, we may edit those words. We'll work closely with you if this is the case.

Violence is fine. Excessive gore is not. Stories that portray abuse in graphic detail are not welcome. For example, the main character is a bad guy who does bad things for most of the story, until, in the final act, he gets what is coming to him. Don't send us that story.

Stories based on familiar genre tropes are hard sells. Vampires, zombies, werewolves, etc.

Format:

Standard manuscript format. Word, OpenOffice/LibreOffice, Rich Text are all fine. Send to us as attachments in your email. We are not sticklers, but do avoid odd fonts, colors, or creative formatting that makes reading or editing your text difficult.

Reading Period:

We open to submissions on March 1st and will remain open through May 31st, or until filled so don’t wait. Submissions received outside of the reading period will be deleted.

Email submissions to: editors(at)weirdbard[dot]com

Please include in your subject line:

Fiction Submission: Story Title

or some similar indication of your email contents.

Questions may be directed to the same address.

***

1 June 2014 -- Diabolic Tales IV: The Psychology of Death -- Diabolic Publications

Submissions will open for Diabolic Tales IV -- The Psychology of Death starting on November 1, 2013 and will close on June 1, 2014. We want the most deranged scary stories you have ever written about death. We are looking for original stories only in which some facet of death derived by the mind of the killer is the main focus, it needs to be physical, sociological, psychological. All stories must be strong and realistic, with believable characters. No brutality or overt blood and gore. We want to be afraid, really afraid.

== All stories must be in doc., docx., or .rtf format.
== All stories must be a minimum of 2500 words but not more than 5000 words.
== Please use 12 point font, Times New Roman and double space your text. 1 inch margins on all sides.

In the body of your submission in the left hand top corner, include your contact information (Real Name or official pen name, not your online name), the word count of the work you are submitting and contact information, please include a cover letter with a brief biography and any publishing history you feel we might want to know about. Make certain to use an email address that you have access to at all times as correspondences from us come through email only!

You will receive an email if your story has been accepted or rejected as soon as a decision has been made.

NO MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS, NO REPRINTS! WE ONLY ACCEPT SUBMISSIONS THROUGH SUBMITTABLE.

When you are ready, please submit your material here: http://diabolicpublications.submittable.com/submit

PAY: Is made through Paypal only, if you don't have a paypal account please get one.

We require a written and signed agreement which will be sent with an acceptance email.

Fiction: US$.05/word, payable upon publication. Plus, one copy of the edition in which the work appears.

RIGHTS: Exclusive First World English Rights for print, and First Electronic Rights for two years from date of publication. Rights are then no longer exclusive and revert back to the author after the two year period.

***

UNTIL FILLED -- Thresholds -- Dreadful Cafe ** First Posted December 2013

We cross boundaries every day - the door to a room, a crack in a sidewalk, the border of a city.

The stories in Thresholds will take the reader to another time, into the dark, into the arms of a lover, to another world, or to the dark recesses of the mind.

Are you ready?

Sometimes strange, always original, the stories we publish are of the highest production standards, from thrilling premise all the way to professional editing.

We are now soliciting query letters (fiction) and samples (art) for Thresholds, our second anthology of art and fiction. All genres are eligible, but preference is given to works that cross more than one and which reflect the flavor and theme described above.

For FICTION:

Manuscripts must be between 1,000 and 25,000 words and not previously published by anyone but the author. Self-published works are accepted and encouraged!

Please refer to our Submission Guidelines.

Upon acceptance of your completed manuscript, Dreadful Cafe pays for non-exclusive, unlimited, 5-year publishing rights on the following schedule:

== Short Stories (1,000-7,000 words) — $125
== Novelettes (7,001-13,000 words) — $250
== Novellas (13,001-25,000 words) — Negotiable

Estimated Publication: Third Quarter of 2014

[Click through for more info.]