September’s Shocking Open Submission Calls

What do the top markets want? 99c - get the inside scoop.

Choose your favorite retailer.

https://books2read.com/TheGuideofallGuides

HINT! CLICK ON PICTURE TO BE TAKEN DIRECTLY TO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR EACH MARKET.

Science Fiction

utopia

Submission Hints

What are we looking for? We want enthralling stories set in futures we might want to live in. Counter to the recent dystopian craze, we publish stories that shine with a more optimistic future, one we want to believe in, one we would fight for.

We're looking for

Captivating world-building
Character-rich, diverse settings
Well-written engaging plots that steer away from common tropes
Tension and conflict that leap out of the page and grab us
A good ending
Hard science fiction, stories based in explained science

Speculative Fiction

apparition lit

Horror

The theatre phantasmagoria

My Insights

I submitted to their Innocence Lost theme and got back a nice, encouraging rejection. Don't we all REALLY appreciate those editors that take the time to do this for us?

Here it is..

Thank you so much for taking the time to submit to our flash fiction series, The Theatre Phantasmagoria; your patience in awaiting this response is much appreciated too. We regret to inform you that your story titled "The Wormhole to Farout" was not selected for this particular window. However, we did thoroughly enjoy reading your piece; your story was compelling and well-written, and the decision to reject any of this month's submissions has been very challenging due to the extremely high degree of quality across the board. With that said, we would be eager to read more from you in the future, and do hope that you will consider submitting to Night Terror Novels for our upcoming themes in this series, or our future open calls. We'd like to extend our sincere thanks for your interest and support in this project. We also wish you the very best of luck in finding a home for this piece, and in all your future writing endeavours wherever they take you.

All Genres

sans. press: Into Chaos

Description

What calling would be strong enough for one to step into darkness? When heading into the unknown, the path is always lined by warnings – and yet, time and time again, characters barrel down that road, daring and unafraid. What is it that drives them on, despite all odds? Is it fear or is it desire? The need to escape or the siren song of adventure?

And, perhaps more importantly, what will they find when they lift the veil and peer beyond?

Be it unhinged mayhem or sublime beauty, we want stories of what happens when characters step INTO CHAOS.

Submission Hints

For our latest anthology, we want stories inspired by our title – INTO CHAOS – and the cover artwork below, created by artist Dominique Ramsey. All genres of writing are welcome, as long as they explore a story of embracing the unknown (which can be as real or as magic as your heart desires)! More than any specific story or style, we want the emotional response the title and artwork evokes in you.

In the words of William Ernest Henley, we want tales where no matter how strait the gate, the menace of the years finds me, and shall find me, unafraid.

Any Genre

our ocean'd Earth

Description

In partnership with OceanCare, Stormbird Press’ opens a call for Our Ocean’d Earth contributions. This call is for nonfiction or fiction writing that conveys one clear and unified message: that our oceans are worth fighting for. To help restore a culture of inspiration and reverence towards Earth’s oceans we are looking for masterfully woven stories from a range of perspectives—from marine life researchers to conservationists, free divers to writers with a deep connection to the sea, and more—who can reveal secrets of the oceans and their inhabitants, or have in some way formed a unique bond with an ocean or its marine life.

Horror / Dark Fiction

dark recesses press

Description

Dark Recesses Press began in 2005 with an idea and desire to create a home where there was none.

It was originally an award winning fiction magazine of dark fiction, art, and non-fiction. After 13 issues we took some time off to regroup, shift our focus, and come back to publish books exclusively – this was in 2014.

In 2017, we grew again. After the acquisition of Belfire Press, DR had taken on a wider dark fiction arena which has opened up avenues towards YA, and Poetry among others. In addition to focusing our attention on novels, collections and anthologies born in the dark corners of your mind, Dark Recesses Press has now resurrected the beloved magazine.

We are currently undergoing a growth spurt so please mind our gangly bits.

Open - mainly romance

Pen to Publish KDP

Submission Hints

With this contest, Amazon invites writers to submit original and previously unpublished entries in English, Hindi and Tamil languages. An eminent judging panel will analyse the submitted entries including Sudeep Nagarkar and Sudha Nair for English entries, Satya Vyas and Vijay Kakwani for Hindi entries and Naga Chokkan for Tamil entries. Interested budding authors can enrol themselves in the contest by self-publishing their eBook with 5,000 words or more using the KDP service. Participants can submit their entries which will be judged on a number of criteria including originality, creativity, quality of writing, and customer feedback, from 10 July 2022 to 10 September 2022. Unlike previous editions of the contest, this year the top 10 entries in each language will win cash prizes. The winning entry will receive a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, while the first runners up will be awarded ₹50,000 and second runners up will win a cash prize of ₹30,000. The other seven participants from the top 10 will be granted an amount of ₹10,000 each.

Speculative Fiction

translunar TravelLers lounge

Description

Who doesn’t want to submit to a venue that’s looking for fun? Just the name alone of this magazine is absolutely brilliant. Translunar Travelers Lounge is published twice a year and asks for stories that explore the fun side of fantasy and science fiction.  

From the website:  “Put down your bags, take a seat, and relax with our fine selection of short fiction. Broadly defined, the type of fiction we are looking for is “fun”. Yes, that descriptor is highly subjective, and ultimately it comes down to the personal preferences of the editors. However, here are a few road signs to get you started on the path into our hearts."

Submission Hints

A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be silly or lighthearted (though it certainly can be). Joy can be made all the more powerful when juxtaposed against tragedy. In the end, though, there should be hope, and we want stories that are truly fun for as many different kinds of people as possible.

 Swashbuckling adventure, deadly intrigue, and gleeful romance are some of the most obvious examples of what we’re looking for, but we won’t say no to more subtle or complicated topics, as long as they fit under the wider “fun” umbrella.”

Writing hints from the editor of the world's leading mystery magazine

Janet Hutchings from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine shares her insights. What does she buy and why?

Mystery

sherlock is a girl's name

Description

An anthology about a female Sherlock Holmes, written by women What would the Great Detective be like if Sherlock was a woman?

Clan Destine Press and commissioning editors Narrelle M Harris and Atlin Merrick, wonder just that, and seek stories about a female-identifying Sherlock Holmes – young or old, set in any time, place, or culture! Of course, wherever there is Holmes, Watson must follow – in this anthology Watson could be nonbinary, female- or male-identifying, queer or straight. Whatever suits your setting. Who is Ms Sherlock Holmes in your story? Who is her Watson? Her clients? And what are the mysteries only she can solve?

Mystery & Speculative

black beacon

Submission Hints

Black Beacon Books is an independent publisher founded by author and anthologist, Cameron Trost. It began in Australia in 2013 and is now based in Brittany. We publish gripping and intriguing fiction that falls into the genres of mystery, suspense, post-apocalyptic, psychological horror, and folk horror. We like our tales quirky, atmospheric, and thought-provoking.

Why the name? There are many tropes and symbols used in fiction of a dark and mysterious nature. Amongst them, we have keys, mirrors, telescopes, treasure chests, secret passages, graveyards, skulls, churches, castles, caves, telescopes, clocks, the moon, oil lamps and candles, and, of course, beacons and lighthouses. The beacon or lighthouse conjures a setting of darkness, for in daylight they are rendered almost useless. In this darkness, they have a role to play, a crucial role, and that is to either warn away or beckon nearer. That is also the role of Black Beacon Books, to thrust the reader into mystery and darkness whilst providing a distant and guiding light, one that can be seen atop cliffs rising up from a troubled sea or on the peaks of wild mountains. We want stories that both warn you of impending danger and draw you into the worlds they create.

Crime & Mystery

the dark city

Mystery & Crime

tough magazine

Submission Hints

They adamantly only take submission through Submittable and it better be in the RTF format.

Tough publishes three times per month on Mondays, for which we pay a flat rate per story, book review or essay (as of contract date January 23rd, 2021, that rate is $50) --we don't take poems--in exhange for first world serial rights to publish the submission on the website and one-time anthology rights. Query toughcrime@gmail.com for details or to pitch reviews, essays and reprints. Fiction need not be queried.

Genre Mash-up

tumbled Tales

Submission Hints

We’re looking for genre authors who cross boundaries. Authors whose stories twist the tropes to showcase in a cross-genre anthology of stories that entertain, but read fresh and new.
Send us the story that you can’t classify: a story that can’t be pigeon-holed into a single subgenre, or that pushes against your genre’s boundaries. We want to showcase authors who write uncommon fiction. For example:

Witches in space,
Romances that flip gender roles,
Alternate histories set in the near-future,
Medical thrillers set in the distant past,
Fairy tales that start after the ‘happily ever after,’
Something cool and exciting that we haven’t imagined!

Dracula Fiction

renfield

Description

Since its initial publication in 1897, Bram Stoker’s Dracula has inspired countless authors to pick up the pen and re-imagine his characters in prequels, sequels, alternate settings, and more. DBS Press is dedicated to continuing this tradition. Our flagship journal, Dracula Beyond Stoker, will present the best new fiction based on Stoker’s characters, locations and themes, and sometimes Stoker, himself. Join us as we celebrate the legacy of a legend. Issue #1 is scheduled for publication November 2022.

Horror

unspeakable horror

Description

Coming 2023 this horror anthology will explore the terror growing among the LGBTQIA community as they continue to make great strides forward.

The third volume in the Unspeakable Horror series, Dark Rainbow Rising, builds on the award-winning success of its predecessors. From the Shadows of the Closet, was the first—and still only—expressly LGBTQ anthology to ever be nominated or win the prestigious Bram Stoker Award since the Superior Achievement in an Anthology category was added to the awards in 1998..

When the pendulum of civil rights and social change initiatives swings toward progress, the LGBTQIA community often holds its collective breath in anticipation of the inevitable backlash when the pendulum swings back..

Even with these gains, we are constantly looking over our shoulder—waiting for the next shoe to drop, for the next attack on our personhood. The community’s enemies see progress as a perceived danger to their own heteronormative bubbles—and any advancement threatens to burst those fragile bubbles. Even as we hoist the rainbow flag in celebration, a dark rainbow rises on the horizon…

Submission Hints

Questions to explore: Does the unspeakable horror manifest in a subtle, growing sense of unease that our enemies must surely be plotting to thwart our efforts—or does it present in outward paranoia? Do we settle into a false sense of security and not see the unspeakable terror that rises behind us? Do we turn on each other now that our external enemies are (seemingly) defeated? Do we leave part of our community behind in some misguided act of self-preservation? Stories can be set in any time period, as long as the narrative includes some historical LGBTQ+ civil rights/social movement/moment as a direct or indirect backdrop.

This is an LGBTQIA/horror anthology. Stories must have a strong, central gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer focus/slant/theme. § Stories with a strong, literary feel and crafted with language that captivates § Stories with a strong sense of atmosphere § Stories that shock and/or provoke—but for the right reasons. We want that shock and provocation to sneak up on us versus clobbering us over the head. We want material that elicits an emotional response of some kind and leaves us with our jaws hanging open upon conclusion. § Above all, this is a horror anthology—we want stories that are scary and unsettling, stories that evoke a sense of dread or unease or excruciating tension. Think horror that’s rooted in existentialism, folklore, psychology, the avant garde, body horror, survivalist horror, eco-horror, the supernatural, occultism, urban gothic, suburban gothic, and weird fiction.

Speculative

The Science fiction tarot

Description

The Tarot has been a source of mystery for centuries. But what would a card reading of the future look like? This anthology aims to deliver 22 stories based around concepts concerning relevant themes and topics within the genre of Science Fiction. As a collection, The Science Fiction Tarot will introduce short stories dedicated to concepts replacing the Tarot Deck's major arcana, looking forward to the world ahead: The Alien. The Colony. Cyberpunk. Technocratic archetypes to rival rival the well known Fool, The Hanged Man -- even Death itself.

Submission Hints

The biggest must is a well-told story that fits the Science Fiction genre. It doesn’t have to be hard SF by any means, and it can even play with genre boundaries a bit, but we’ll want something with a prominent aspect that we can distill into a card. So, if someone submitted ‘Blade Runner’ (let’s pretend just the movie since I still gotta read ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ – I’m getting around to these masterpieces, I promise!), that might be distilled to a number of possibilities: ‘The Synthetic’, or ‘Cyberpunk’ or even, ‘The Corporation’. That said, some stories can be difficult to break down into even one archetype or subgenre. This can be harder than it looks! But be prepared for us to work with you on this if you’re selected. Length can also be a factor. We’re breaking some of these softer rules, but there’s definitely a bias towards stories that can tell their tale in under 5,000 words. Beyond that, try to send us something that nobody else is doing. No small ask, eh? We plan to announce some story-specific cards as we go which will be an indication of what we already have, and might serve as an indication to either go in a different direction, or feature another aspect of your story more prominently. Just because we’ve chosen a clone story doesn’t mean we won’t also choose yours if it has clones, but if there’s something else in there that could also fairly represent your submission? You’ve got a much better shot.

Stories Inspired by Stephen King

hush don't wake the monster

Description

Twisted Wing Productions publishes stories by female identifying writers.

Everybody (unless you live under a rock) knows Stephen King, the modern-day master of horror novelist. With a career spanning so many years and over eighty books published between novels and short story collections there’s a lot of material to be inspired by! We’re looking for Stephen King retellings/homage of his novels or short stories with a feminist edge. Focus on themes he explores in his own writing (but not limited to this is only to give an idea) such as: Ordinary people dealing with extraordinary/supernatural events/entities, loss of innocence, coming of age, good vs. evil, and much more. The genre is HORROR. Stories MUST have elements of horror in them.

Dark Speculative

obsolescence

Description

Info on the Editors: Kristina’s published two anthologies already alongside her team at 84th Street Press, with a third in the works now. While this will be my first anthology, I published my debut novel, Face the Night, earlier this year. Face the Night has already won the Hoffer Award for Best Commercial Fiction, has been a finalist for numerous other awards, and received a starred review from Kirkus. We’re confident we will put together a high quality, darkly satisfying anthology filled with unique, independent voices. We’d be honored if you’d trust us with your support, and maybe your story!

All leaps in technology are scary. Mysterious. Misunderstood. Until they slowly creep into our daily lives and become impossible to get rid of. Like an evolving parasite.

OBSOLESCENCE is a new collection of short stories about horrifying or fantastical interactions with technology.

The broken cell phone that can only text with your dead husband. The backyard tire swing that becomes a portal to another world. The Radio Shack Walkie-Talkies that pick up an alien GPS… In OBSOLESCENCE, technology gets repurposed, subverted, and redefined.

SPECULATIVE & LITERARY

flash fiction online

Literary

grain magazine

Literary

journal of compressed creative arts

Description

The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts is a non-profit publisher of compressed creative arts, such as micro fiction, flash fiction, prose poetry, compressed poetry & visual arts, and whatever other forms compression might take.

The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts is looking for, as you might guess, "compressed creative arts." We accept fiction and creative nonfiction, as long if they are compressed in some way. Work is published weekly, without labels, and the labels here only exist to help us determine its best readers.

Our response time is generally 1-5 days. Also, our acceptance rate is currently about 2% of submissions

Submission Hints

For all submitters, we aren't as concerned with labels—hint fiction, prose poetry, micro fiction, flash fiction, and so on—as we are with what compression means to you. In other words, what form "compression" takes in each artist's work will be up to each individual. However, we don't publish erotica or work with strong, graphic sexual content.

In short, we want to fall in love with your work. That might happen in the way we've fallen in love with work we've previously published, or it might happen in a way we have yet to experience. Maybe reading that other work will help in knowing whether you should send your work to us, but in truth, such a thing might not be discoverable.

Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror

Dream of shadows

Description

Dream of Shadows comes from the city of Jack the Ripper (London, England) and wants to offer readers: honest and daring stories - stories of struggle, stories without happy endings, where the two not-so-sexy leads don't fall in love simply because they have to.”  One short story is featured on the website every month.  The website says:  “We're not too fond of science-fiction. While we will sometimes consider stories of something coming down to Earth from another planet if the focus is horror or fantasy, we're not really looking for space adventures.  We particularly like honest and daring stories with strong characters pursuing goals, although we recognize that if a story is good, it's good.  We're realists, so we don't need a happy ending. Send us those stories that other publishers rejected because they were too dark.  Having said that, we don't want stories with gratuitous and/or over-the-top sex, violence or swearing. And it should go without saying, but we won't allow discrimination either.  On a similar note, we're also not very fond of preachy stories, where one character explains to another how terrible humans are. We get it, people suck.”

Submission Hints

The editor provides extra tips of what he is looking for:  Stuff we like : • a good old tale of a character who wants something and tries to get it, meeting obstacles along the way  • prose that grabs us and moves us and makes us feel for and with the character  • supernatural elements. While we personally like a good serial killer or coming-of-age story, Dream of Shadows is all about that supernatural stuff  • Stuff we're not too fond of  • stories where the character doesn't want anything or woe-is-me stories where the character spends most of the time complaining, without doing anything to change it  • second-person narration. It just sounds too much like meditation tapes or choose-your-own-adventure games to us. Sorry  • pieces that are too experimental, like stream-of-consciousness stories or stories told from really odd points of view (like a flower or a walking stick) or stories that are basically just descriptions  • romance. We don't mind if love or a relationship is used to drive inner conflict, as long as it's not the focus of the story.”  

Science Fiction

INTERZONE DIGITAL

speculative

b Cubed press

Submission Hints

Bob Brown is trying to ignite change with fiction. From his website...
In November of 2016, America was faced with a choice. Regardless of your choice, we were all hopeful for the future - and B Cubed Press made a pact: within the first 100 days of the new administration, we would release a book.

Alternative Truths hit the shelves and was widely reviewed and loved. Since then, we have released multiple books every year, exploring the nation, humanity, and the future. From poetry to essays, fiction to absurd, we explore what it means to be human in the age of anti-humanity.

Science Fiction

AD Astra

Description

James Gunn defines science fiction as “the literature of change” and states that it “incorporates a belief that the most important aspect of existence is a search for humanity’s origins, its purpose, and its ultimate fate.” A tall order but a worthy goal. Our editorial vision for James Gunn’s Ad Astra calls for raising our eyes above the horizon and not limiting the scope of speculative fiction. It is in this spirit that we welcome great stories that range from the near-reality to the far reaches of the what-if.

Suggestions about what we’re looking for can unnecessarily constrain writers. That said, we can offer this advice: Be sure your story actually tells a story. And be sure it requires your speculative element in order to hold together.

Beyond that, the sky (the stars, the edge of the next universe over) is the limit.

Speculative Flash Fiction

the arcanist

Description

The Arcanist is an interesting venue for short fiction. They pay well and publish content on a bi-weekly basis (every Friday).  From the website:  “We strongly believe that fantasy and sci-fi are two of the most important genres in the literary world, helping us escape to distant lands, reflect on our shared humanity, and gaze into the future. We want to provide readers snippets of the genres they love and we want to give writers of these genres a paid place to publish their work. (That’s right, we pay you.)”  

Submission Hints

The very best SFF stories combine imaginative world-building elements with hardened, time-honored storytelling techniques, which is obviously a lot easier said than done (especially in under 1K words!).  We get a lot of stories that have a great premise or an imaginative world where we find ourselves in awe that someone actually thought them up. Then you get through the piece and there’s no character growth, no choices being made, no movement, and those are vital for a story of any genre to succeed.  A good story will have active characters, a fully constructed plot, etc. A good SFF story will have all of the elements that make a lit fiction story tick plus fantastic elements that dazzle us. It’s a delicate balance!”

My Insights

I’ve submitted 6 stories here and received my rejections in good time (less than a month). Here is the typical letter I’ve received:  “Thanks for giving us the chance to read The Foreign Student. After careful consideration, we are unfortunately going to pass at this time. If you have other works that you think might be a good fit for The Arcanist, we encourage you to submit them through our Google form. We look forward to reading more of your work in the future and hope that this piece finds a home as well.”

Horror, Wonder & The Weird

Three-lobed Burning eye

Submission Hints

“Original speculative fiction: horror, fantasy, science fiction. We’re looking for short stories from across the big classifications and those shadowy places between: magical realism, fantastique, slipstream, interstitial, and the weird tale. We will consider suspense or western, though we prefer it contain some speculative element. We like voices that are full of feeling, from literary to pulpy, with styles unique and flowing, but not too experimental. All labels aside, we want tales that expand genre, that value imagination in character, narrative, and plot. We want to see something new and different.”

Insight

I've sent three stories here, and all rejected. I just threw a new one out there. "What Slays in Vegas." It features vampires inspired by the movie "Bit" -ps if you haven't seen this movie it is amazing. Not your average fang banger drama.

Here is my previous letter: “Thank you for sending your story to Three-lobed Burning Eye magazine. Unfortunately, we have decided not to accept it for publication. We regret that we cannot offer more feedback and wish you the best in finding a home for this piece.”

Horror & Dark Fantasy

the dark magazine

Fantasy & Science Fiction

Clarkesworld

Submission Hints

The submission guidelines state:  “Science fiction need not be “hard” SF, but rigor is appreciated. Fantasy can be folkloric, contemporary, surreal, etc.  That said, there are some things that we’ve grown tired of and can be difficult or impossible to sell to us: (this is not a challenge)  • stories that include zombies or zombie-wannabes  • stories about sexy vampires, wanton werewolves, wicked witches, or demonic children  • stories about rapists, murderers, child abusers, or cannibals  • stories where the climax is dependent on the spilling of intestines  • stories in which a milquetoast civilian government is depicted as the sole obstacle to either catching some depraved criminal or to an uncomplicated military victory  • stories where the Republicans, or Democrats, or Libertarians, or . . . (insert any established political party or religion here) take over the world and either save or ruin it  • stories in which the words “thou” or “thine” appear  • stories with talking cats or swords  • stories where FTL travel or time travel is as easy as is it on television shows or movies  • stories about young kids playing in some field and discovering ANYTHING. (a body, an alien craft, Excalibur, ANYTHING).  • stories about the stuff you just read in Scientific American or saw on the news  • stories about your RPG character’s adventures  • “funny” stories that depend on, or even include, puns  • stories where the protagonist is either widely despised or widely admired simply because he or she is just so smart and/or strange  • stories originally intended for someone’s upcoming theme anthology or issue (everyone is sending those out, wait a while)  • your trunk stories  • stories that try to include all of the above”  

Dark Fantastical Fiction

Apex Magazine

Submission Hints

Apex Magazine is an online zine of fantastical fiction. We publish short stories filled with marrow and passion, works that are twisted, strange, and beautiful. Creations where secret places and dreams are put on display. We publish in two forms: an every-other-month eBook issue and a gradual release of an entire issue online over a two-month period. Along with the genre short fiction, there are interviews with authors and nonfiction essays about current issues. Additionally, we produce a monthly podcast of narrated original short fiction.”

Mystery

alfred hitchcock mystery magazine

Description

Finding new authors is a great pleasure for all of us here, and we look forward to reading the fiction you send us. Since we do read all submissions, there is no need to query first; please send the entire story. You don’t need an agent. Because this is a mystery magazine, the stories we buy must fall into that genre in some sense or another. We are interested in nearly every kind of mystery: stories of detection of the classic kind, police procedurals, private eye tales, suspense, courtroom dramas, stories of espionage, and so on. We ask only that the story be about a crime (or the threat or fear of one). We sometimes accept ghost stories or supernatural tales, but those also should involve a crime.

Submission Hints

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine publishes mystery, crime, and suspense short stories. Debuting in 1956, you could find stories from writers such as Donald Westlake, Ed McBain, and Hillary Waugh. The editor Linda Landrigan advises: Great stories of any genre are rooted in characters — well-drawn, individual, and credibly motivated. Interesting characters responding to the extraordinary pressures of crime — this is what I like to read and to publish, and I hope you like that too.” 

DREAD INDUCING FICTION

THE DREAD MACHINE

UPDATE

I have a story called "What Slays in Vegas" in consideration for this call. As of today it has been under review for 9 days. Moksha says the response time average is 8. However I am 101 in the queue... betcha I get a rejection in the next couple days. I've had two rejections from this market: Unfortunately, we have decided not to accept "The Secrets of the Gargoyle" for publication, but thank you so much for submitting to The Dread Machine. If you'd like to meet other writers and work on writing together, please consider joining our community. We've also pulled together a Resources page where you can find similar markets that might be interested in picking up "The Secrets of the Gargoyle." Please don't hesitate to share your work with us again in the future!

Horror, Bleak Sci-Fi, Dark Fantasy

seize the press

Description

Seize The Press is the literary melding of Ursula Le Guin, Thomas Ligotti and Rosa Luxemburg. A brand new online magazine for dark speculative fiction and anticapitalist sci-fi, fantasy and horror pop culture analysis. Neon, dragons and gore. We pay pro rates to writers and aim to build a solid community where writers are paid well for their work and readers get some top tier fiction and media criticism. And if we get to dunk on Disney in the process then that’s just the cherry in the pie.

Submission Hints

Seize The Press Magazine is looking to publish dark, transgressive speculative fiction. Bleak sci-fi, dark fantasy and horror only. We’re looking for stories that aren’t didactic or moralistic. We want stories where everything isn’t wrapped up neatly at the end. We want to promote a diverse range of voices from authors who write messy characters, so give us your problematic queers and your angry women—we want your difficult and morally questionable characters in unpleasant situations who don’t slide neatly into a narrow definition of positive representation and don’t fit the model minority mould.

My Insights

The stories are free to read on this website. And they are strange. I read "Eating Bees From The Ass of God" and "Some Seeds Only Bloom After Burning." They were both a tad disturbing and well-written. So, this market is a curiosity for me. Who doesn't like to let their inner weird rage?

I got a standard rejection from Jonny Pickering. "Thank you for submitting "Dolores and the Dark Dilemma" to Seize The Press Magazine. I appreciated the chance to read it. Unfortunately, the story is not what we're currently looking for. I'm going to pass this time, but I wish you the best of luck finding a home for the story."
But I am trying again with a story I wrote about a weird Greek festival Skirophoria. It is an actual thing where women eat cookies baked in the shapes of male genitalia.

Smart, Weird, Funny

AHOY COMICS

Submission Hints

Mostly, we want short fiction for mature readers, pieces that uphold the story-telling legacy of comics. It could be a delirious rant, a personal anecdote, a tale of horror or even poetry. It can be about anything, but we have a soft spot for submissions with a dash of humor. These stories can be political, but they must not be based on events that might be outdated by the time we publish. Whatever the subject, it must still be relevant a year from now. Also, the 1,500-word maximum is pretty much carved into stone. We don’t plan to go above that limit. Our ideal length is about 654.53 words, give or take.

Funniest horror story you will hear...

So this guy dated a witch and got turned into a horse. Six minutes you will thank me for.

https://readmeanightmare.buzzsprout.com

What do the top markets want? 99c - get the inside scoop.

HINT! CLICK ON PICTURE TO BE TAKEN DIRECTLY TO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR EACH MARKET.

Science Fiction

utopia

Details

Description

Submission Hints

Insight

Speculative Fiction

apparition lit

Details

Description

Submission Hints

Insight

Horror

The theatre phantasmagoria

Description

Submission Hints

My Insights

All Genres

sans. press: Into Chaos

Description

Submission Hints

My Insights

Any Genre

our ocean'd Earth

Description

Submission Hints

My Insights

Horror / Dark Fiction

dark recesses press

Description

Submission Hints

My Insights

Open - mainly romance

Pen to Publish KDP

Details

Description

Submission Hints

Insight

Speculative Fiction

translunar TravelLers lounge

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Sample Rejection

Mystery

sherlock is a girl's name

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My Insights

Mystery & Speculative

black beacon

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Crime & Mystery

the dark city

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Mystery & Crime

tough magazine

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My Insights

Genre Mash-up

tumbled Tales

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Dracula Fiction

renfield

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