Hey, as always, scroll right down to the deadlines for any updates, if you like. Lightspeed and Flame Tree deadlines are in a few days. The Dread Machine, Grimdark Magazine, It Gets Even Better, We The Cryptids, Upon a Twice Time are all closing before the end of the month.
Blog Chatter
Happy February and a Happy start to the Year of the Ox to you. Ours brought a big earthquake shaking near Fukushima. Hid under the table a while for that one, but no issues, no broken people or items, and no tsunamis. So, moving on.
I believe it's Valentine's and I'm taking this morning to try and meet some deadlines. I've had difficulty focusing on them one at a time, but I think I might just make it in time. Which would be awesome. I decided to resume posting of my statistics, hopefully to inspire the rest of you to continue submitting to the market as well, though if you plan to self-publish, more power to you. I find these deadlines help keep me producing, which is fantastic, but I also feel that not self-publishing is probably shooting myself in the foot, so I will be exploring that route eventually.
If I am not acquainted with any of you, and you'd like to do some writing sprints, exchange work for critique, discuss writing craft, or pursue other creative endeavors, feel free to follow this blog, my social media accounts, and send me a message. It may take some time to get back to you, but I look forward to meeting you. And those I'm already friends with, let's keep motivating each other to snag some wins and recognition, and more opportunities for our creative efforts to be enjoyed by the world at large.
My Current Submission Stats
Submissions made in 2021: 23 (11 short, 3 flash, 9 poetry)
Pending (2020-2021 subs): 21 (11 short, 4 flash, 6
poetry) - 7 still pending from 2020
Rejections (2020-2021 subs): 23 (11 short,
6 flash, 6 poetry) - 9 rejections for subs made in 2021
Other Current Activities
Current Reading: Just started listening to The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron. Ongoing studies of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, M. John Harrison's Viriconium, Campbell McGrath's American Noise, Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad, and John Gardner's The Art of Fiction. I'm also listening to podcasts from several months of The Dread Machine, Nightmare Magazine, Lightspeed, and Asimov's. Oh, and, am slowly catching up on reading for Deep Magic.
Current Listening: to help inspire the story I'm writing for The Dread Machine 1986 anthology, I'm listening to 1986 MTV videos, Beastie Boys' Licensed To Ill, and Run DMC. I'm also listening to a lot of British rapper Dizzee Rascal's 2003 album Boy in Da Corner, as well as Bignic for some nice background noise while writing. Side mention: was just reading about the significance of Boy in da Corner in this article, “Poetry is nothing without its context”: Why ‘Boy In Da Corner’ is still as relevant as ever, from September 2020. Give it a read if interested in music, especially grime, and the importance of context in interpreting creative works.
Current Playing: Children of Morta (if I didn't mention this one, I should say that it's an entire family of characters who are based in a large house surrounded by forest creatures and plenty of details; their conversations are full of info that evolves as you play, with striking moments of family dinners, family ceremonies at the nearby ancient tree, training the children, helping pets and family members to recover, etc.; each character has a chance to shine both emotionally and in terms of action as you make repeated strikes into the dungeons in an attempt to protect the family and home; a must-play if you like good story, good characters, and fun dungeon delves), as well as some fun battles with Destiny 2, Fortnite, and MTGA
Onward, to more submission deadlines and windows.
Submission Updates
EDIT: Three additions to the Deadlines/Windows
2/22-3/14, Flame Tree: Chilling Crime anthology, 2000-4000 words, 8¢/word, Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK
Table of Contents (not clickable; scroll down to each section for the clickable links)
1. Submission Deadlines/Windows (mid-February 2021 and beyond; 5-20¢/word USD)
2. Publications Open for Submissions (No Specified Deadline; 5-20¢/word USD)
3. Publications Currently Closed (5-20¢/word USD)
4. Submission Deadlines/Windows (mid-February 2021 and beyond; 1-4¢/word USD)
5. Publications Open for Submission (No Specified Deadline; 1-4¢/word USD)
6. Possibilities for Submission of Novels (new section; to be expanded)
7. Search for More Submission Windows
8. Motivation
9. Advice Here
10. More Links
1. Submission Deadlines/Windows (mid-February 2021 and beyond; 5-20¢/word USD)
2/8-2/15, Lightspeed (general SF), 1500-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF, Note: SF only
2/16, Flame Tree (Monthly Flash Fiction Contest), 700-1000 words, 8¢/word, Submit one flash story to the Horror prompt of Fiery Hell OR one story to the SF prompt of Time Dilation, must subscribe to their newsletter, email subs to Newsletter Editor Molly Rosevear, molly@flametreepublishing.com w/ theme as subject heading and author details/bio at end of story
2/25, The Dread Machine's first annual anthology, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: anything dread-inspiring set in the actual 1986 or alternate version, Multiple subs OK but no simultaneous
1/25-2/27, Grimdark Issue #27, ~4,000 words (reprints ~10,000 words), 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: must be grimdark SFF horror, email subs: submissions@grimdarkmagazine.com
2/27, It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility, 15,000 words (under 7000 best), 8¢/word + pro-rata share of 50% royalties, Genre: any spec, Theme: posits queer affirmation and joy, Multiple OK (up to 3 submissions at a time but no simultaneous), Reprints OK (same rates as original)
10/31-2/28, We Cryptids, 3000-6000 (3000-4000=5¢/word), $200/story+royalties, Genre: urban fantasy, Theme: what would happen if cryptids lived among us (modern time period; should be written in 2020 or as close as possible), Tone: noblebright not grimdark or despairing, Simultaneous OK
1/1-2/28, Upon a Twice Time (Autumn 2021 anthology from air & nothingness press), 1000-3000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: Fairy Tales (Grimdark, New Weird, SF, Fantasy, Dying Earth, genre bending/breaking)/stories mashing up two fairy tales and a genre of the author's choice, Submit story to info@aanpress.com
12/15-3/1, Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder (Inkyard Press), 4000-8000 words, $900/story + royalties, Genre/Theme: queer YA stories set in the future by queer authors, Note: only trying to fill two slots from this open call
3/1-3/2 (closes midnight EST), Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, 1000-40,000 words, 6¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/SF, Note: request feedback in the submission comments
3/1-3/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)
3/1-3/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is only open to Black, Asian, Latin, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors
3/1/-3/8, Lightspeed (BIPOC Fantasy), 1500-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy, BIPOC only
2/20-3/13 (closes midnight EST), DreamForge Anvil, ~4500, Genre: SF/F/speculative, Theme: positive stories, note: aiming to provide some lucky almost there stories an extra push of collaboration and revision to support new and upcoming authors (see website for details)
3/14-unknown, Nightmare Magazine, 1500-7500 words (up to 1000 words for Horror Labs subs), 8 cents/word ($40/poem), Genre: Horror/DarkFantasy, Multiple Subs: one short story and one sub to Horror Lab (either one flash, one creative essay, or five poems)
2/22-3/14, Flame Tree anthology: Chilling Crime, 2000-4000 words, 8¢/word, Genre/Theme: "its time to turn to the darker side, the cold cases, the grim murders, the desperate villains, and the race against time to solve the crime", Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK, this will be announced in the Flame Tree blog (was already mentioned in their newsletter)
3/8-3/15, Lightspeed (Fantasy), 1500-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy
3/31, Misspelled – Magic Gone Awry, ~7000 words, $50/story (only 5¢/word if ~1000 word), Genre/Theme: "magic, a magic user, or a magical world where something unexpected happens or something goes horribly wrong" ("must include some sort of magic mishap, whether real or virtual"), Multiple OK (1/email; 3 subs total), Email subs to submissions@CursedDragonShip.com (standard short story format; subject “Submission for Misspelled (last name).”
3/31 (my best guess; could be earlier), Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, ~17499 words, Genre: any SF/Fantasy (Horror okay if includes spec element), Reprints ONLY, final selections made in March
3/31-3/31 (only open for 24 hours on that date), Harlan Ellison's The Last Dangerous Visions, ~3500 words, Genre/Theme: "In the broadest sense, a DV story is one that pushes back the borders of storytelling, that is daring and smart and looks beyond the horizon, exploring issues of privacy, gender, politics, climate, technology, but most of all, the emotional core of our humanity. DV stories are not about the thing, the McGuffin, the device, it's about us, about what William Faulkner called "the human heart in conflict with itself." Bold, provocative, humanistic. Stories that would have difficulty finding a berth in a conventional magazine. Beyond that, it's wide open," Note: editor will provide submission email address the day before the submission window opens, Editor: J. Michael Straczynski, also view the editor's Patreon page here
3/1-3/31, Theme of Absence: Speculative Philosophical Fiction Contest, 1000 word, $500 winner + two $50 runner-ups (will seek non-exclusive right to publish on website archive), Genre/Theme: a speculative story that revolves around a metaphysical or epistemological issue (nature of time, knowledge of the external world, etc.), email subs to submissions@themeofabsence.com w/ subject format PHILOSOPHICAL SUBMISSION: [story title], [word count]
3/15-4/1, Constelación Magazine, Original Fiction (~6400 words, 8¢/word), Genre: any speculative in either English or Spanish, Theme: Beyond the Stars (no further details available yet), Art (send link to portfolio for consideration, $1000 for rights)
4/1-4/2 (closes midnight EST), Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, 1000-40,000 words, 6¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/SF, Note: request feedback in the submission comments
1/1-4/15, Parsec Short Story Contest, 3500 words, 1st place $200 and publication, 2nd place $100, 3rd place $50, Genre/Theme: "Still Waters, Deep Thoughts" ("This can be conveyed in the 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"), Note: a max of 2 submissions allowed; each should be subbed separately
1/1-4/30, Mike Resnick Memorial Award for Short Fiction, ~7499 words, 1st Place: trophy and $250 with publication at current rate, Four runner-ups: $25 and publication, All five finalists honored at ceremony, Note: award given to a new author who has not had any work published by any SFWA-eligible publishing venue (i.e. no work paid at 6¢/word or more or totaling more than $50), Email submissions to resnick@arcmanor.com, Note: finalists announced by 7/15
4/1-4/30, Uncanny Magazine (call for novellas), 17500-40000 words, 10¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Wants: "intricate, experimental stories and poems with gorgeous prose, verve, and imagination that elicit strong emotions and challenge beliefs. Uncanny believes there’s still plenty of room in the genre for tales that make you feel"
11/13-5/1, Cryptids Emerging: Tales of Dark Cheer (anthology from Improbable Press), 5¢/word, ~5000 words, Genre/Theme: contemporary supernatural or historical fantasy about cryptids "emerging" ("cryptids living with humans, or just at the edge of our vision," that are "rising, changing, growing"), Submit to Atlin Merrick at submissions@improbablepress.co.uk, Note: format 1.5 line spacing
4/8-5/30, Classic Monsters Unleashed anthology (Crystal Lake Publishing), 1500-5000 words, 5¢/word, Genre/Theme: dark, scary stries featuring a classic monster or monsters or even a star secondary character from the classic monster universe (think 1960 horror movies; see character list at link), holding at least one spot for a new author, email subs to james@deadjack.com w/ subject line: Classic Monsters - [story title] - [author name], Note: Kickstarter campaign begins 3/8
1/15-5/31, One Story, 3k-8k words, $500/story, Genre: any literary, Simultaneous OK, also open to submissions 9/7-11/14
6/15-7/1, Constelación Magazine, Original Fiction (~6400 words, 8¢/word), Genre: any speculative in either English or Spanish, Theme: Love Needs No Translation (no further details available yet), Art (send link to portfolio for consideration, $1000 for rights)
8/10/2021-8/31/2021, PseudoPod (Flash Fiction Contest), ~1500 words (500-1000 best), 8¢/word, Genre: any horror, Reprints OK, Simultaneous OK (if not an Escape Artists podcast)
9/7-11/14, One Story, 3k-8k words, $500/story, Genre: any literary, Simultaneous OK, also open to submissions 1/15-5/31
2. Publications Open for Submissions (No Specified Deadline; 5-20¢/word USD)
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, ~20k (8-10 cents/word), 40k-80k serials (6 cents/word), poetry ($1/line), 4k-word fact articles (9¢/word), Genre: SF, Multiple YesAnathema: Spec from the Margins, 1500-6k words (if 1500-2k words pays 5¢/word), $100 CAD/story ($50/poem), Genre: SF/F/H, Simultaneous OK, Poetry OK (under 100 lines, Non-Fiction OK (1500-3000 words), Limited demographic: queer/two-spirit person of colour/Indigenous/Aboriginal, Note on Genre/Theme: "We are open to any form of genre or speculative content. We talk about what we do as "SF/F/H, the weird, slipstream, surrealism, fabulism, and more," elsewhere on the site. But we are not limited to those genres. Use them as a starting point and send whatever you want: as long as it's got some kind of speculative content we'll consider it. And we are also interested in seeing work that has been difficult to place because of content or perspective."Apex Magazine, ~7500 words, 8 cents/word, Genre: F/SF/Horror
Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, open 1st-2nd every month, 1000-40000 words (shorter preferred), 6¢/word (reprints 2¢/word), Genre: F/SF, Poetry ($1/line, ~40 lines, reprints 50¢/word), Articles (2-6¢/word, reprints 1-4¢/word), Note: great feedback provided if requested in cover letter
Reckoning, ~20,000 words, 8¢/word ($30/page for poems), Genre: SF/F/General, Theme: enivironmental justic, Simultaneous OK, Poetry OK (prefer multiple 3-5 poems <10 pages, but send only one if longer)Smokelong Quarterly, ~1000 words, $50/piece, Genre: Literary, Simultaneous OK, Notes on what they want: language that surprises and excites, narratives that strive toward something other than a final punch line or twist, pieces that add up to something, often (but not necessarily always) something profound or emotionally resonant honest work that feels as if it has far more purpose than a writer wanting to write a story
3. Publications Currently Closed (5-20¢/word USD)
Hybrid Fiction, 500-5000 words (or serialized novellas), 6¢/word, Genre: speculative hybrid/cross-genre (blend of 2+ genres, such as dark fantasy, steampunk western, historical fantasy, weird western, crime fantasy, etc.), OPENING DATE UNKNOWN ("We are on hiatus until until further notice due to the pandemic.")
12/20-1/9, Mermaids Monthly, Genre/Theme: anything loosely merfolk- or mercreature-related, Original Fiction (1~5000 words, 10¢/word), Reprints (1¢/word with minimum $20), Poetry (any length, $50-$100/poem), Nonfiction (up to 2000 words, 10¢/word), Comics (up to 5 pages, $75-$100/page), Each to Each art and word ($25), spot art ($50), reprint art and comics ($25-$150), Simultaneous OK, Multiple OK (basically one of each type)
4. Submission Deadlines/Windows (mid-February 2021 and beyond; 1-4¢/word USD)
2/1-2/15, Apparition Lit, ~1000 words, $30, Genre/Theme: speculative flash based on the historical figure provided in each monthly prompt, February Prompt: Mary Shadd Cary (writer, educator, lawyer, abolitionist; the first black woman in North America to publish a newspaper), Note: contest open every month 1st-15th with new prompt
2/28, Cosmic Horror Monthly, 1000-7500 words, 1 cent/word, Genre: Horror/Dark Fantasy, Submit to submissions@cosmic-horror.net, Reprints OK (half cent a word), Poetry OK (50 cents/line), Art OK ($20 for interior, $50 for cover)
1/1-2/28, NewMyths, ~10k words, 1.5¢/word w/ min $30, Genre: any speculative, Simultaneous OK, Also seeking: Poetry, Book Reviews, and Art; also open 6/1-7/31
2/28, Terrifying Tales, ~1000 words, $25 for winner, Genre/Theme: inspired by their art prompt provided and must contain a horror element, winner will be published with audio narration
3/31, Misspelled – Magic Gone Awry, ~7000 words, $50/story, Genre/Theme: "magic, a magic user, or a magical world where something unexpected happens or something goes horribly wrong" ("must include some sort of magic mishap, whether real or virtual"), Multiple OK (1/email; 3 subs total), Email subs to submissions@CursedDragonShip.com (standard short story format; subject “Submission for Misspelled (last name).”
1/22-4/1, Tales from the Magician's Skull (Goodman Games), ~10,000 words (6k might be best and flash is unlikely to work for them), 4¢/word, Genre/Theme: sword and sorcery
7/1-4/30, Timeless Tales, ~2000 words (less than 1500 preferred), $30/piece, Genre/Theme: Tales of the Arabian Nights (retellings of specific tales or original stories featuring creatures of Arabian/Islamic folklore), specify in cover letter whether original story or retelling and which story is being retold (avoid Aladdin), PG-13 but also enjoys dark side of tales, Poetry OK (send up to 3 pieces as long as 1500 words or less), Reprints OK
3/15-5/15, Lamplight Magazine, ~7000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Dark/Literary, Reprints (1¢/word), simultaneous OK
3/28, Whetstone Magazine, 1500-2500 words, $10/story, Genre/Theme: pulp sword and sorcery (prefers secondary world settings)
5. Publications Open for Submission (No Specified Deadline; 1-4¢/word USD)
The Common Tongue Magazine, 600-6000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: only high fantasy with a dark tone (dark fantasy, grimdark, sword & sorcery), Languages: English or Spanish (translations also accepted), Poetry OK (up to 40 lines), Note: seeking original stories or stories set in their Arthuruin Shared Universe, Nonfiction OK (~2500 words, 3¢/word), Art OK ($200-400)
6. Possibilities for Submission of Novels (new section; to be expanded)
7. Search for More Submission Windows
Where to Submit Short Stories: 30 Magazines and Websites That Want Your Work, a decent list with a literary focus
28 Themed Submission Calls for August by S. Kalekar, submission possibilities including a few good ones I haven't had time to add to the lists above
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: plenty of updated lists of agents, calls for submission, contests, conferences, recipes, and more
8. Motivation
Submitting Short Fiction: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Genre Edition by Holly Lyn Walrath, a useful guide on playing the submission game written in 2019
Submission Tetris: An Analytic Approach by Laurence Raphael Brothers, a brief but useful consideration of what and where to submit in the submissions game from SFWA
9. Advice Here
Wulf Moon's Super Secrets: a ton of great advice on writing short stories that win (he runs a workshop that you can peek in on and learn from as it goes)
Charlie Jane Anders' advice: chapters from her forthcoming non-fiction book Never Say You Can't Survive with new chapters released every Tuesday
Delilah S. Dawson's page of links, including her advice on how to get published
Cat Rambo's Website: lots of good resources and classes
10. More Links
This is a listing of speculative award winners. Go read, study, and improve yourself.
Here are grants to apply for with the Speculative Literature Foundation
This is a listing at critter.org that shows general response times of various publications
Publisher's Pick Free Ebook of the Month (Maintained by Arc Manor of Galaxy's Edge)
On writing cover letters for submissions to the short fiction market by Christie
