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Deadline: June 1st, 2025 Payment: AU 1c/word Theme: What happens to a person after a major transformation Submissions open until 1st June 2025 The Morning After is an anthology about what happens after a sudden transformation. This could be an individual person transforming into something new or a mass change that effects humanity as a whole. How does this person or society react to no longer being human? As an editor, I am keen to see how people react in this unique situation. Focus on struggles and adaptation to new forms are highly encouraged. Despite the name of the anthology, the story does not need to begin with waking up in this new reality – but it should start shortly after the transformation has taken place. Submission guidelines Stories should be within 2000 words and 10,000 words. Please enquire with stories above or below this wordcount. Stories may be of any age rating including explicit 18+ stories. Stories may be of any genre so long as they include the transformation elements. As a variation to our usual guidelines, authors do NOT need to be trans, non binary, or female. Cis male authors are encouraged to submit. Payment will be AU 1c/word. Original/unpublished stories only for this anthology. how to submit Submissions should be sent to submi...@tfpublishing.com.au Please use the subject format of: MORNING AFTER SUBMISSION: [Work Name], by [Author Name]. Include the story as a .doc or .docx file attachment. Via: Transcendent Fiction Publishing.
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Submission Window: April 1st – 30th, 2025 Payment: Stories: 10¢ per word, Poems: $50, Drabbles: $50 Theme: Weird westerns that are pulpy, unexpected, character-driven stories written by women Women of the Weird West Publisher: Brigids Gate Press Editor: KC Grifant Release Date: Planned for June 16 th , 2026 What We Are Seeking Traditionally, women authors have been vastly underrepresented in westerns and weird westerns, so this anthology will highlight diverse women-identifying authors and non-binary authors and their speculative western short stories. We are looking for original Weird West stories. These should be generally set in what approximates the “Old West” location and timeframe (North America circa late 1800s) and should have a strong speculative element, such as horror, fantasy and/or sci-fi. We are most interested in pulpy, unexpected, character-driven stories and are open to some weird westerns set outside the typical historical time period and setting (e.g., space westerns) as long as there are strong Old West aesthetics and inspiration. The goal of this anthology is to showcase a diverse group of Old West stories beyond the typical archetypes. We strongly encourage women, women-identifying and nonbinary writers of all backgrounds to submit regardless of writing experience. We are interested in showcasing emerging writers as well as established writers for this anthology. Potential Inspirations/vibes Prey, The Warrior (TV series), The Harder They Fall, Godless, Power of the Dog, The Winds, The Quick and the Dead, Back to the Future 3, Dead in the West, Jonah Hex, The Dark Tower, Deadlands, The Good, The Bad & the Uncanny: Tales of a Very Weird West Submission Window April 1, 2025 through April 30, 2025 Word Count Stories: Up to 5,000 words. No minimum length. 2,000 words is an ideal target. Poems: Up to 32 lines Drabbles: 100 words Compensation Stories: 10¢ per...
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Deadline: March 31st, 2025 Prizes: First-place receives $200 and publication in the Confluence program book.*, Second-place receives $100, Third-place receives $50, Youth Story Prize receives $50 Theme: Roots The 29th annual Parsec Short Story Contest opens on January 1st and closes on March 31st. There is never a fee to enter the Parsec Short Story contest thanks to the donations from our members and supporters . . . people like you! Thank you for your support! If you would like to help support the annual contest, please make a donation here. Your donation ensures the continuation of this writing contest. VIEW PREVIOUS WINNERS HERE The 2025 Contest theme is “ROOTS” Roots. The point of origin, the source of life. Buried in earth and history, they are links to the unseen. Roots can crack stone and carry messages; they can bind us to solid ground or trip us up and send us sprawling. The 2025 Parsec Short Story Contest welcomes science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories that include all types of roots: family legends, genetic inheritance, plant-like aliens, root directories, symbiotic mycorrhizal systems . . . you get the idea. Convey the theme through setting, plot, characters, dialogue; the only limit is your imagination. The theme must be integral to the story in some way and not just mentioned in passing. Please note: We do not accept stories written by AI! We trust you to honor this request. Any submissions known to be created using AI will be automatically disqualified. (Use of spell check and voice-to-text dictation tools are unobjectionable.) We welcome submissions from young writers for our Youth Story Prize! Teen writers age 19 or younger and currently attending high school may submit to either the main short story contest or to the youth story prize, but not both. Dates and Deadlines: Contest opens on...
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Deadline: February 28th, 2025 Payment: $20 Theme: Unique horror stories where 90% of the story takes place in the kitchen That Old House: The Kitchen The slice of a knife. The heat of the oven. If you can’t handle the heat? Stay out of the kitchen. Voices is seeking stories for the next installment in the That Old House! This time we take the journey into the horrors of the kitchen! SUBMISSION WINDOW: Jan 1st- Feb 28th WORDCOUNT: 1k-4k PAYMENT: $20 per accepted story, due before release date (Est December Release) WHAT THEY’RE SEEKING: We are seeking unique stories where 90% of the story takes place in the kitchen. Houses have many stories to tell, but each room can be a different experience. Do not limit yourself to a haunted house! Reach into your imagination and show the horrors that can happen in the kitchen. PLEASE DON’T SEND: Stories that are not horror No erotica or smut. (This includes stories that are centered around sexual intercourse or masturbation. After last time, I feel I need to be specific.) Stories that do not reflect the theme of the call. Your story MUST take place 90% in the kitchen or it will not be considered for acceptance. Nothing racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/etc. Bigoted characters are fine (we’d love to see a few of those get eaten) but we won’t be accepting stories with harmful takeaways. This should go without saying, but we’re going to say it, NO AI GENERATED STORIES. We will blacklist you if you submit a story that you did not write. REPRINTS: [YES/NO] SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: [YES/NO] We are allowing simultaneous submissions BUT please include a note if it is being considered elsewhere, and please let us know as soon as possible if you have a piece accepted elsewhere or otherwise need to...
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Deadline: June 30th, 2025 Payment: $5 Theme: Plagues, pandemics, original takes on zombies, outbreaks, and everything related! The HellBound Books team felt enough time has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic to warrant an appropriately themed anthology. We are looking for horrific tales of diseases ravaging mankind, viruses, bacteria, and fungal spores infecting and threatening to eradicate all of humanity – and, yes, we would love to see your terrifying, unique takes on the zombie trope! PLEASE read and adhere to our submission guidelines… * Word format saved in .doc, or .docx * 12 pt times new roman * Double spaced * Absolutely NO extra lines between paragraphs! * 2.5K – 8K word count * Write ‘PANDEMIC’ along with your name and story title in the header of your email *The body of your submission email will be considered the cover letter. * The submission documents are to be separated and Word (.doc or .docx) documents are to be attached to your submission email. To submit, email your polished story to submi...@hellboundbookspublishing.com – Make sure that you check your mss for grammar and punctuation, use our guidelines to help you: DOWNLOAD YOUR HBB GUIDE TO GRAMMAR HERE (PDF) DEADLINE: JUNE 30, 2025 (please note: all submissions are assessed only AFTER the deadline date and, due to the overwhelming response HBB receives for all anthologies, we are only able to contact the the authors of sucessful submissions). NO REPRINTS – ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORKS ONLY Payment – $5.00 for first rights. Anthology Capped at 120K words in total. Via: Hellbound Books Publishing.
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Writing Prompt Wednesdays: Writing Prompt Wednesdays: On a Ghost Hunt Welcome to “Writing Prompt Wednesdays,” a haven where your imagination can roam free in the realms of speculative fiction. As we embark on this weekly journey, it’s thrilling to think about the untold stories waiting to be penned in the domains of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Whether you’re a seasoned author or a budding wordsmith, these prompts are your gateway to unexplored worlds and untapped potentials. Every Wednesday, we’ll serve up a fresh, thought-provoking prompt designed to ignite your creative spark and challenge your storytelling prowess. Think of these prompts as a key, unlocking the doors to uncharted territories where your creativity is the only limit. From eerie, shadow-laden corridors of Gothic horror to the farthest reaches of interstellar space, and the mystical depths of high fantasy, our prompts are a kaleidoscope of possibilities. Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to approach these prompts. They are mere stepping stones, guiding you towards the vast landscapes of your imagination. Use them to break free from writer’s block, to experiment with new ideas, or simply as a fun exercise to keep your writing skills sharp. This week’s writing prompt: As a special birthday surprise, a boyfriend decides to buy tickets for their partner to sleepover at a Ghost Hunt event. The boyfriend doesn’t believe in ghosts, but decides to come along in support. The Ghost Hunt is at an asylum hospital and orphanage. They join the group to discover if they can detect any spirits. However as time ticks away, the boyfriend must confront his beliefs. For if the group can detect the spirits, the spirits can detect them. What happens next is up to you…Let your imagination run wild! If you’d like an early preview of our prompts, subscribe...
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Deadline: February 28th, 2025 Payment: $20 Theme: Science fiction stories that fit snugly within the imagery, concept, and theme of first contact Samak Press is planning our first science fiction anthology Ripples in Space for publication in 2025. The anthology’s title, Ripples in Space, alludes to a central theme of first contact between intelligent species and what happens during these encounters. First contact could involve aliens visiting Earth, Explorers from Earth visiting an alien world, or aliens discovering other aliens. All of these scenarios are open territory meant to be explored in this anthology. What we want For this anthology, Samak Press seeks original science fiction stories that fit snugly within the imagery, concept, and theme of first contact. Tales submitted to Ripples in Space can encompass more than one science fiction subgenre or blend other speculative genres into the narrative, if the central sci-fi thematic element is present in the story. We want suspenseful stories you can’t put down and thoughtful tales that linger with you long after the final page. Original compelling stories will grab our attention. Stale retreads of familiar sci-fi cliches will banish you straight to the slush pile, never to return. Dare to think beyond the usual tropes. Resist the urge to travel down the lazy path and craft a tale that feels like it’s ripped straight from the writer’s room of a Star Trek or Star Wars series or reads like fanfic for a major franchise like Alien or The Terminator. Avoid lazy cliches and tropes like omniscient paternalistic aliens sending Earth a message or space marines battling virtually unstoppable alien monsters. Craft deep, layered characters, paint mind-blowing visuals, and evoke a sense of wonder or dread. Surprise us with your story. Make us think. Samak Press will automatically reject stories with extreme gore or stories that glorify sexual violence, child abuse, cruelty to animals, or other deviant...
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Submission Windows: Jan 22-25 BIPOC writers only, Jan 26-29 general submissions Payment: 10¢/word for original fiction and $50 for original poetry. Theme: All forms of speculative fiction that fall into the fantasy genre We plan to open January 22-29, 2025 Jan 22-25 BIPOC writers only, Jan 26-29 general submissions Fantasy only accepts anonymous submissions. Please do not include your name, address, phone number, or other similar identifiers in the manuscript itself. All original fiction and poetry submissions will be read anonymously on first read: moving on to further consideration will depend on the merit of the work alone. Please make sure the title is on the manuscript. For poetry, please ensure that the title of each poem is in the manuscript. Please note: Submissions and purchase decisions at Fantasy have no bearing on any decisions Arley makes as a literary agent, and vice versa. Please do not use Fantasy email addresses, submissions channels, social media, etc., to query or follow up with Arley for literary agent concerns. All opinions expressed by Arley are his own, and do not necessarily reflect ideas, opinions, or values of various organizations, including kt literary. Please see his website for more information on querying. Please read the FULL guidelines before submitting. Note that even if you have read through these guidelines once, we may update them from time to time, as our own perspectives on publishing can change over time and conversations. Definitions… and what we want! Fantasy means many things to different people. Often it means a shifting of perspective, which seems to imply that there is more, that wherever you are, the world or universe is bigger yet. Whoever you are and wherever you are, that location which seems mundane to you is also Fantastic to others. Fantasy is philosophical as well as experiential, it is thought provoking, and often insists on a sense...
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Deadline: February 25th, 2025 Payment: .02 cents a word, $20 per accepted artwork Theme: Found diary/journal entries from vampire hunters through out history. VAMPIRE HUNTERS: An Incomplete Record of Personal Accounts Submissions Open January 15 – February 25 on Query Manager Vampire Hunters: An Incomplete Record of Personal Accounts will be a collection of found diary/journal entries from vampire hunters through out history. There would also be illustrations, charts, anatomy sketches and pieces of articles texts ect. interspersed throughout. https://QueryTracker.net/query/SpecPub To submit to the query manager you need your complete manuscript, formatted in standard Shunn Format, (double spaced, times new roman ect) We want: 1000 – 5000 word Diary/Journal Entry type stories from vampire hunters throughout history. These can be based off real people and characters or entirely made up but the history should be more or less sound. Be mindful of copy protected characters and material. Stories should be formatted like a journal or diary, with a date. There can be one or several telling a story. We would also prefer a line or two (up to a paragraph) of context that would head each story in the anthology as to why this entry is included in the incomplete record. For example: Louis Bernard was well known for his trumpet playing all over western Europe, but few were aware he also hunted vampires until he disappeared in 1897. This was the last entry into his journal. Payment is .02 cents a word. Also looking for original art. Sketches, paintings, photos that would appear in a vampire hunter’s journal, such as charts, weapons, maps, anatomy. $20 per piece. NO AI ART OR STORIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. PLEASE NOTE: We have revised our submission standards. IF SUBMISSIONS DO NOT FOLLOW ALL THE GUIDELINES THEY WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY REJECTED WITH NO RESPONSE....
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Deadline: February 28th, 2025 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Horror from the windy city by authors who live in or near Chicago The Second City is second to none when it comes to terror. From H.H. Holmes, America’s first serial killer, to the Jane Byrne Interchange at rush hour, there’s an ill wind blowing through the Windy City. In this new anthology, twenty stories by twenty authors from the Chicago area take you on a bloodcurdling tour of the best city in the world. Featuring new stories by Cynthia Pelayo, Nick Medina, Sahar Mustafah, LP Kindred, and Christopher Hawkins, Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories unearths the horrors, both real and supernatural, that populate the White City. 20 Stories by 20 Authors We’ve invited five authors to headline the collection: Christopher Hawkins – author of Downpour and Suburban Monsters LP Kindred – Author and editor of Voodoonauts Presents: (Re)Living Mythology among others. Nick Medina – author of Sisters of the Lost Nation and Indian Burial Ground Sahar Mustafah – author of The Beauty of Your Face Cynthia Pelayo – Bram Stoker Award winning author of Forgotten Sisters, The Shoemaker’s Magician, and others The rest of the book (around 15 more stories) will be chosen from the open call for submissions. Regional Bias In addition to our five invited authors, we’ll be holding an open call for submissions during the month of February 2025 to fill out the rest of the book (approximately 15 more stories). We believe in paying people for their work, so we’re paying HWA pro rates (5 cents per word) for horror stories of 1000-5000 words that take place primarily in Chicago. To submit, you must live or have lived in the following Illinois counties: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will, as well as Lake County, Indiana. General Info The submission window will be open from February 1, 2025 to February 28, 2025 Submissions should be 1000-5000 words Stories should be written primarily...
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Deadline: March 31st, 2025 Payment: $25 and a contributors copy Theme: Fantasy stories that take place, in full or partially, within the Turning Leaf Tavern and a recipe for food mentioned within the story The Turning Leaf Tavern is a way-station for people travelling throughout the fantasy realms. Here, you can find Hobbits and Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Half-feet, and representatives of a hundred different races and fictional worlds. They find themselves at the tavern’s door when need calls, and within its walls they find succor and good cheer. The tavern itself is in its own universe, designed by M. Allyson Szabo, and has its own stories to tell. Tales from the Turning Leaf Tavern will not be just about the tavern, though. The stories within its pages will come from you, the writers of the world. The anthology will be comprised of somewhere between 15 and 25 stories, each with a recipe or four at the end, so that readers may share in the glory of the story’s victuals. That said, Allyson has decided to provide some preliminary tales about the tavern and its denizens for writers to riff off of. You, the authors, have permission to use the Turning Leaf Tavern and its people in your writing, though M. Allyson Szabo retains the copyright to the tavern itself and the characters she created to go with it. Your stories, even the ones with Turning Leaf and the folk within, belong to you, the original authors. This anthology will be comprised of fantasy stories that are original and unique, paired with recipes that go along with the tales that are told. If you have a story that is set in a fantasy world, is between 2500 and 6000 words, and that involves a tavern and its food in some way, then...
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