Markets with specific deadlines are listed first, with "Always Open" and "Until Filled" markets (if any) at the bottom.
Markets open only to writers in a limited demographic are marked with a [NOTE:] from me, in italics, right after the main header.
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 guidelines on one page, so after you click through you might have to scroll a bit.
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30 September 2018 -- Bubble Off Plumb -- ed. Kathy Finfrock; Feral Cat Publishers
Theme: "Bubble Off Plumb" (BOP) is a colloquial expression for things being not quite right. We’re looking for original fiction short stories of such a nature; odd, unsettling, full of twists, etc. All genres are welcome, if you have a story which doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere else, we might be the home for it! If you’re not sure a story is odd enough: submit it. We know BOP when we see it. If you submit a love story about a dreamy vampire meeting up with a young person, it had better be damn good!
Rules: Story can range from 1,000 to 5,000 words. Multiple submittals will be accepted for consideration, but please do not overwhelm us with unpolished drafts. First world rights are preferred. Reprint rights will be accepted if the story is good enough. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable as well, provided prompt notice is given should the story be picked up elsewhere. Stories may exceed the 5K word count limit, if the story merits, however the advances are limited to a maximum of $150. Downstream royalty shares will be calculated on the actual word count.
Editor: Our Lead Editor is author Kathy Finfrock who, along with Sarah Fields from Dreamlined LLC, will shepherd the work to a polished end product.
Submission Process: All submissions should follow proper manuscript format. Email to submissions @ feralcatpublishers.com. Subject line to read: "BOP-[Author Name],[Story Title], [Reprint or First]". Please attach all submissions in .doc, .docx, or rtf formatted electronic files—No submissions embedded within the body of an email will be considered. Include personal bio and relevant copyright information for story in your cover letter.
Compensation: Selected authors will receive an advance of $0.03/word of final, edited version of their story, plus a pro rata share of downstream royalties less up-front expenses, plus one paperback proof copy, and wholesale unit rates when purchasing extra paperbacks. The authors of the three highest-ranked stories will be listed on the front cover; the remaining authors will be listed on the back cover.
Terms and Conditions: Standard contract terms example available here.
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30 September 2018 -- Ashes and Entropy -- ed. Robert S. Wilson; Nightscape Press
[NOTE: Submissions open only to underrepresented demographics, such as women, people of color, LGBTQ persons, disabled persons, etc.]
Thanks to our amazing Kickstarter backers, the upcoming anthology Ashes and Entropy including stories by Laird Barron, Damien Angelica Walters, John Langan, Kristi DeMeester, Jon Padgett, Nadia Bulkin, Matthew M. Bartlett, Lucy A. Snyder, Jayaprakash Satyamurthy, and more will be open for two short story submission slots to writers from underrepresented demographics (women, people of color, LGBTQ persons, disabled persons, etc.) starting on September 1st through September 30th.
GUIDELINES: We're looking for phenomenal, original and gritty cosmic horror and noir (or neo-noir) stories with a strong emotional core. Stories should be 6,000 words or less. Anything longer than that will be a hard sell at this point. The content guidelines for this book are open for interpretation however, so don't be afraid to color outside of the lines. Great writing, originality and pushing these genres to new heights will get you to the top of the slush pile faster than anything else. No reprints or multiple submissions, please.
PAYMENT: This anthology will pay 6 cents a word up to 6,000 words. Any longer stories accepted, payment will be capped at 6,000 words. If the Kickstarter campaign reaches its Audiobook stretch goal, an audiobook narrated by Jon Padgett will be produced and payment will be doubled.
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT THROUGH
OUR ONLINE SUBMISSION PORTAL
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30 September 2018 -- John Silence -- ed. Lev Mirov; Ginger Goat Press
The John Silence RPG & Anthology is a collective projective reinvisioning Algernon Blackwood's "John Silence" short stories to focus on non-white/POC/ethnically and racially marginalized psychic detectives in an alternate American noir setting spanning the 1920s to the 1990s. The core rules by Josh Jordan for the collaborative, non-violent gameplay will make up part of the anthology. The other half is stories and poems in settings focusing on the adventures and lives of these psychic detectives and their dealings with the Unseen World. Being gifted (cursed?) with the ability to see and interact with the Unseen World compels you to try and protect others from the destruction being wrought by creatures that come through -- but why are they so destructive? What is it they want? What does protection mean? The wide range of time invites many possibilities-- themes I'm especially interested in is how communities (spiritual, physical, linguistic, ancestral, cross-cultural, adoptive) might deal with unseen threats and living in a world where spiritual gifts, so demonized by hegemonic culture, are now valuable assets. Explorations of historical and cross-cultural queer, trans, gender non-conforming, and unclassifiable experiences of gender and sexuality are welcome as protagonists and themes. So is home/away, diaspora/immigration, belonging and loss, family (found, made, and born) and of course, a good old-fashioned glimpse at the scary and the beautiful in our strange and monstrous otherworldly beings. We also love a classic Detective Romp where underrepresented heroes and their communities get to take center stage and shine as the geniuses who save the day through cunning, compassion, or culturally specific values, practices, or beliefs. Religious stories, particularly from religious minorities (including but not limited to Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, folk/marginalized Christianities, African and Afro-diasporic and indigenous religions) are especially welcome. Please don't send me a story about a religion that you don't practice that you don't have some other deep tie to. The setting isn't just weird noir into the 50s. Show me your Cold War immigrant kid pieces and your indigenous resistance songs, an alternate 1970s-- wander far afield in time, as well as locale. Psychic Monsters visit Mobile and Fresno as well as New York and New Orleans.
POETRY
$30 flat fee. Any length. I will work with you to make it fit the physical book copy. I like rhymed verse, so if you like rhymed verse, go wild. I also like "unclassifiables" and oddities-- fake scholarship around your poem, or footnotes, or an unusual form, is also welcome. Multilingual poetry is extremely welcome. All protagonists must be racially marginalized. Borderline prose-poetry also welcome. Submit to gingergoatpress@gmail.com by September 30th using the format described below.
FICTION
$0.06/word, up to 6,000 but with a preference for flash fiction to 4,000 words. (Shorter is better. The shorter your piece can resolve or explore the problems of unseen creatures disrupting life in a satisfying way, the more likely I am to say yes.) There is no budget for works over 6,000 words, sorry. Even if you are famous. If you are a Very Famous Person I will ask you to cut it down to size. Please play with with form! Diary entries, letters, fake newspaper entries, police reports, something weirder -- all are welcome. Surprise me with your form play. All stories must center on a ethnically marginalized person grappling with their psychic abilities (or lack thereof in a world where they're needed?) and the fact that violence cannot fix the problems created by the creatures on the other side of the veil or drive them away. Submit to gingergoatpress@gmail.com by September 30th using the format described below.
At least one space is reserved for an unpublished self-identified author of color or ethnically marginalized author. See FAQs below on what that means.
Please do not send me the following things: horror. Creepy-crawly tension is fine; I don't want to read A Quiet Place or Carrie retold with black girls. I'm not the right editor for that. gore, of any kind, in any genre. dead/tragic gay and trans people (I am aware historically this was a time of huge violence; this is an Alternate Universe, we don't have to go there, and we're not going to) murder or rape in your plot. It's 2018. Come on. We can investigate something else. graphic/R rated material, either in violence or sex level stories where the resolution is violence gratuitous slinging of slur words. no. I don't want to read it and it's not right for John Silence. work about non-racially marginalized people (this should be obvious but hey!) work that doesn't focus on psychic detectives and/or the setting
Things that will excite me: your genuine authentic heart and soul work really inventive use of form, wordplay, etc SHORT stories. I don't mind character studies without the standard Western "three act" tension as long as they explore the universe in a creative way. any poem or story that really embraces the ethos of collaboration and non-violence in the John Silence RPG pieces with heroic disabled protagonists queer and trans protagonists queer trans disabled protagonists!
I'm not going to say you're unrealistic. work you're convinced nobody else would ever buy, it's too weird your secret voice you were told to make sound more commercial. Whisper to me in your real voice. I cannot promise I will accept your real work, but I promise I will honor the privilege of reading it.
[NOTE: There are a lot of FAQs on the linked page if you click through, plus more info if you poke around the Kickstarter project pages. If you want to write for this book, I suggest you read everything there before you start writing.]
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1 October 2018 -- American Psychos -- ed. Randy Chandler and Cheryl Mullenax; Red Room Press
Note: Anthology updates will be posted in the right hand column [of the web page] (accepted authors, tentative contributors, etc.)
Red Room Press is seeking stories for a new dark crime/thriller/horror anthology, American Psychos: A Serial Killer Anthology. Inspired by the most disturbingly violent and graphic crime thriller novels of our time, including Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho, Shane Steven’s By Reason of Insanity, Michael Slade’s Headhunter, our goal is to make American Psychos a brutal, suspenseful, nightmare-inducing hard ride into hell.
Stories must be about a serial killer, obviously. The story can either be based on a real serial killer or a fictional serial killer. Stories should primarily be set in the USA, but the character may travel abroad. We want stories that are brutal, graphic, disturbing and violent. The above referenced books will give you a good idea of what we are looking for. Serial killers must be human; no supernatural elements, monsters, or vampires. They can have supernatural beliefs, however, and they can be any gender or race.
Publication Date: Early 2019
Length: 3500-5500 words.
Response Time: 4-8 weeks
Payment for original stories: $100 ($150 if we meet our crowdfunding campaign goal, See sidebar for details and other anthology updates)
No unsolicited reprints or multiple submissions.
What to Send
In the body of an email:
== Author name
== Story title
== Word Count
== A brief bio
== A short description of the story.
== Attachment of entire manuscript in rtf, doc, or docx format only. Standard formatting.
We’ll send a notification within 48 hours that we received your submission. If you don’t get this, please inquire. We may not have received it.
EMAIL TO: americanpsychos@redroompress.com
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1 October 2018 -- Crash Code -- ed. Kevin Holton; Blood Bound Books
The future is now. At least, that's what we're told, but the more advanced technology gets, the more ways people find to hurt each other. Many say that technology changes the way we define 'human.' In this anthology, we'll erase the definition entirely.
That's what you'll answer. In Crash Code, we want to see the pinnacle of our technology meeting the depths of our depravity. Let's talk voluntary amputations so we can wear cybernetic limbs as fashion statements. Tell us how commercial interplanetary flight changes human tracking. Show the world what the criminal underworld can do in an age of quantum computers. This anthology is going to focus on just how far human kind is willing to fall in pursuit of the next innovation, whether it's paying for bionic sex in bitcoins, five-year-olds browsing the Dark Web, bar code tattoos, mainstream holographic snuff films, or corrupted neural implants driving their users mad.
Think Neuromancer with even more drugs and crime. Imagine Blade Runner meets Saw. Picture Wrath James White's version of Brave New World. Imagine a test-tube baby made from George Orwell and Jack Ketchum. If your story makes people think American Mary merged with Altered Carbon, we want it.
These are just some ideas. Pick one if you like, or come up with your own sick, twisted future. Just make sure it answers one question:
In a world where everything demands a dollar sign and subscription fees, is humanity something we can afford to lose?
Stories must be previously unpublished in any form
Email: bbbcrashcode@gmail.com
Length: 1,500 words up to 7K
Deadline: October 1st 2018
Multiple Submissions: No
Simultaneous Submissions: No
Payment: 3 cents/word
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1 November 2018 -- Unlocking the Magic -- ed. Vivian Caethe
Word limit: 3000-6000 words.
Pay rate: $300/story + royalties
Genre: Fantasy only (no Science Fiction or Horror, although horror elements may be present in the story). Urban Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Steampunk, and other genres of fantasy are all encouraged.
Language: English (translations are welcome).
Submissions close: November 1, 2018
Rights: We claim first world English rights (no reprints). For an excellent break down of what this means, please see Neil Clarke’s post here.
In fantasy, we read about how people with mental illness are more susceptible to magic, closer to breaks in reality, more likely to be able to see the unseen. These stereotypes are harmful and contribute to keeping people from seeing the good in getting help, taking their meds, or talking to someone.
This anthology is about changing the narrative and telling stories of strength and perseverance, of getting help despite the darkness. Not the myth that getting help will kill creativity and magic. Not the story our society tells about mentally ill people: that art and magic must come from suffering.
I want stories that show what can be accomplished when we take care of ourselves and seek help. I want stories that show the reality of being mentally ill within a fantasy setting. I want to see how mental illness and its treatment affects the magic that lies within all of us. I want to read realistic portrayals of mental illness in magical worlds.
Send your stories formatted in Standard Manuscript format attached as a .doc to cuppateaanthologies at gmail dot com. Include your name, byline, email address, mailing address, and approximate word count. In your cover letter, also include the mental illness diagnosis your story addresses (e.g. depression, PTSD, bipolar, etc).
When writing your story, consider that you’re writing about real experiences that real people have, not just something fictional characters have to deal with. Do your research and write with compassion. I am looking for noblebright, not grimdark.
Submissions from diverse individuals and those with mental illnesses are encouraged.
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30 November 2018 -- Monstrous Outlines -- Martian Migraine Press
[NOTE: The guidelines page lists the due date as 31 November. November has only 30 days, so I adjusted the date. If you want to take a chance and sub on 1 December, which is sort of the equivalent of 31 November, that's up to you. :) ]
Monstrous Outlines will be an anthology of horror and weird fiction with a focus on the theme of camouflage: people, entities, monsters, gods, even concepts, that masquerade as things other than themselves. Predators in plain sight, deities on their down time, sublime extra-dimensional terrors slumming in 4D. We want to see stories of exceptionally well done camouflage, all the more baffling and frightening for its seamless nature. We want to see stories of seeming where the hidden thing is poorly hidden for a number of reasons: perhaps there are layers to its camouflage, or perhaps it doesn’t care how well it hides. Imagine the moment when the perfectly hidden thing reveals itself. When the poorly hidden thing reveals itself. We’re also interested in duplicates, doppelgangers, and shapeshifters. Think John W. Campbell’s Who Goes There? and its cinematic offspring, The Thing, for the latter. The seed story for this anthology will be Algernon Blackwood’s classic tale, The Willows, a story of two worlds touching, of men meeting the unnameable through the medium of the nearest natural analogue, the titular willow trees.
Submission period closes 30 NOVEMBER 2018. The anthology will be released in trade paperback and electronic book formats in early March 2019.
SUBMITTING
Please use Standard Manuscript format when submitting. That's double spaced, left justified, Times New Roman or Courier or something at least readable, a header on the first page (at least) with your author info and word count and… well, you know the drill. RTF or DOC files preferred, but DOCx and text files also accepted. Obviously, you could send us something that's not in Standard Manuscript format, but it will lower your chances of it being looked at seriously.
We will look at both original work and REPRINTS.
To submit a story to Monstrous Outlines, send an e-mail (with the story file attached, not in the body of the email) to: submissions@martianmigrainepress.com, with subject line: OUTLINES, title of your story, and your name.
LENGTH
For short fiction, we’d like to see anything from 1,500 to 7,000 words. If your story goes over 7k, please inquire first.
FLASH FICTION: got something under 1500 words? Send it in. However, the following still applies…
NO POETRY.
PAYMENT
All accepted submissions will be paid .03CAD per word, via Paypal, as well as a contributor copy (paperback) of the anthology, and copies in all electronic formats (mobi, EPUB, and PDF). Authors are also entitled to complete access to all titles in the MMP ebook catalogue.
REPLIES AND QUERIES
We will try to acknowledge receipt of your submission within a week of its arrival in our inbox. The submission period itself will close on 30 NOVEMBER 2018 and we should be responding to all submissions, yay or nay, by early January 2019. If you haven’t heard from us by 15 January 2019, please query.
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1 December 2018 -- Rosalind's Siblings -- ed. Bogi Takács; Galli Books
[NOTE: DO NOT SUBMIT BEFORE 1 NOVEMBER.]
Rosalind's Siblings is an anthology of speculative stories about people of marginalized genders/sexes who are scientists: scientists doing good, changing the world, or just getting on with their work of expanding human knowledge in a speculative context, presented in a positive light. This anthology is named for Rosalind Franklin, the so-called Dark Lady of DNA, one of the most famously erased female scientists in history, and a direct relation of the founder of Galli Books. The anthology is being edited by Bogi Takács.
The stories do not need to problematize gender/sex, though this is also welcome, and we would like to publish a mix of approaches. We are generally interested in positive portrayals of science and the protagonists doing research, but this can include a critical reappraisal. (E.g., we would very much like to see stories in which science is decolonized and/or Indigenized, or in some other ways incorporates approaches beyond Western neo-positivism.) We are not interested in "mad scientist" tropes or "evil science." We are also not interested in disability cure narratives and related tropes, unless they are actively subverted / deconstructed.
Stories must contain a speculative element. We are happy to read works from any speculative subgenre: science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternate history, magical realism, fabulism, mythic work, Weird fiction and so on. Any amount of science detail is welcome with thoughtful engagement.
Protagonists can be trans and/or nonbinary people, women, intersex people, genderqueer or gender-nonconforming people, people of culturally specific genders/sexes, and any combinations thereof. They do not need to identify as women, feminine or femme specifically, but those stories are particularly welcome; as are stories with trans, nonbinary and/or intersex men or masculine protagonists. Protagonists can have any sexual orientation.
You do not need to belong to any marginalized group to submit, but we are very happy to consider submissions from people who belong to underrepresented / marginalized groups in speculative fiction, including Black, Indigenous people and/or people of color, non-Western and/or non-Anglophonic people, migrants, QUILTBAG+ people, disabled, chronically ill and/or neuroatypical people. We welcome people from all letters of the QUILTBAG+, including trans, intersex, asexual, aromantic and bisexual people, who are more commonly ignored. Please don’t self-reject!
You do not need to disclose your marginalizations in your cover letter, but you are welcome to do so. Please send submissions to galli-books@galli-books.co.uk with "ROSALIND" in the subject line and the story title. Format submissions reasonably close to Standard Manuscript Format, and send them in .doc, .odt, .rtf formats, or .pdf if the story has unusual formatting that needs to be preserved. Please do NOT send .docx files.
Submissions open on 1st November and close on 1st December. Please do not submit outside that window.
We pay £0.08/word upon signed contract and are interested in previously unpublished short stories between 500 and 7500 words, and nonfiction essays on our theme.
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ALWAYS OPEN -- Future Visions Anthology Series -- ed. Brian J Walton; Camton House Publishing
The Future Visions Anthologies is a science fiction anthology series, aiming to deliver excellent and diverse short story collections on a quarterly basis. In the tradition of great television anthology series such as The Twilight Zone, and Black Mirror, the Future Visions Anthologies will broadly explore all genres and traditions of science fiction and speculative fiction, seeking in each story to explore deeply themes that are relevant to a modern audience.
Themes:
What do you hope the future will bring? What are you afraid we may become? How do our visions of the future inform and give shape to the hopes and fears that we have today?
These questions are what defines anthology series like The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. Rather than mandating a theme for each publication, (one publication for cyborgs, one for time travelers, etc...) I want authors to feel free to explore these larger questions using any and all of the popular science fiction tropes: new technology, exploration, nightmarish dystopians, alien species, baffling utopias, the list goes on...
Diversity:
The Future Visions Anthologies seeks to bring diversity to all aspects of their publications, from the stories and authors we publish, to the themes and genres we explore. All authors may apply regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or political affiliation.
Terms:
The Future Visions Anthologies seeks to engage authors with fair and equitable terms through participation in the anthologies. The anthologies will be enrolled in Kindle Unlimited for an initial six-month term, during which stories will be exclusive to the anthology. After this, anthologies will continue be available as an ebook (not in KU) for an additional six-month term. During this term, partial publication rights will return to the author to publish as an ebook, except for in KU. After one year, the ebook will be unpublished, returning all rights to the author.
Payment will be based on a profit-share model with a guaranteed minimum payment of $150. Authors will receive royalties during the first six months of membership. At the end of the royalty period, if the author's royalties do not meet the minimum payment of $150 then the remaining amount will be paid. There is no cap to the amount of royalties that may be earned. Earning reports for the anthology will be provided to all participating authors to ensure complete transparency. Specific terms will be available after initial acceptance of the author's story.
Submission Guidelines:
== Authors must read and be in agreement with the above before submitting.
== There is no fee to submit.
== Submissions must be original, never before published works.
== Submissions may be set in a larger universe, but should be a complete story; do not send excerpts, parts, or volumes.
== Word Count is 2k-7k words (exceptions for up to one story per anthology can be made).
== Submissions should be written to the best of the author's ability. Professional editing is not required but may help in the consideration of your piece. Camton House Publishing will provide professional editing and proofreading, approved by the author, and a final, edited version will be submitted to the author upon publication.
== Adult language and sexual situations are permitted, but no hate speech, erotica or "X-rated" material.
== Formatting: 12pt Times New Roman font with 1.5-line spacing; 1-inch margins on all sides; no extra spaces between paragraphs; leading indentations, but no tabs.
== Include "Future Visions Short Story Submission" in the header and the following information in the body of the email:
o Author Name
o Story Title
o Word Count
o Brief Bio, written in the third person. 100-300 words.
== Submissions should be submitted in docx format as an attachment.
== Submissions should be emailed to futurevisionssubmissions@gmail.com
Submissions that do not follow the above guidelines will not be considered.
Deadlines:
Submissions are always open. Authors who have submitted will be notified within 4-6 weeks of submission regarding whether their story has been selected.
[Okay, this is different. I'll be treating this one like an "Until Filled" market, in that I'll be checking every month to make sure they're still alive. Unlike a UF, I'll keep posting this so long as it's still alive. (Unless it turns morbid or skeevy, the usual.) Note that this is a royalty split with a guaranteed minimum, which works out to pro rates up to 2500 words, and semi-pro after that. Best practice IMO is to assume that the minimum is all you'll ever get from this market; that way, so long as you do get paid, all your surprises will happy ones.
Interesting business model; it's basically a magazine that's being treated like an antho series, more or less. I'll be keeping an eye on this one, and may revisit the listing in the future.]
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UNTIL FILLED -- Black Superheroes Do It Too! -- Black Books Publishing -- First Listed January 2018
We are currently accepting submissions for our Black Erotica/Superhero Anthology (Working Title: Black Superheroes Do It Too!). Submissions should be full stories, not just sex scenes and between 3500 and 10,000 words. Writers, feel free to query to ensure your story idea hasn't already been submitted.
This anthology pays $100US. The submission period will remain open until our goal of a 225+ page anthology has been reached.
Thoroughly edited material has the best chance of acceptance. You don't need to pay someone to edit your material, but if you're serious about your writing, we do recommend it. At a minimum, we suggest you have others read over your work for typos and grammatical errors.
All manuscripts should be in Microsoft Word and should be double spaced with an extra space between each paragraph. THIS EXTRA SPACE SHOULD BE DONE IN MICROSOFT WORD, THROUGH YOUR PARAGRAPH SETTINGS, NOT BY YOU ACTUALLY HITTING "ENTER" TWICE. There should be no indention at the start of each paragraph.
Send to: submissions@blackbookspublishing.com with "Superhero Erotica" in the subject heading.
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If you've found this listing useful, and especially if you've sold a story to a market you found here (score!) I'd love to hear about it. You can e-mail me at angiepen at gmail dot com.
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