HINT - Click on picture to be taken to submission guidelines
Speculative
Once Upon a Future time
Details
Editor: Logan Uber
Deadline - Feb 29
Pay: 5c a word, maximum $400
Word range: 250-15000 words
Simultaneous? No
Reprints? No
Description
Return to a future full of mystery, magic, and malevolence. How can you tell friend from foe when faced with the cold darkness of outer space?
The asteroid belt holds as much danger as the darkened woods, and the huntsman may be just another bounty hunter. The same warnings and concerns that were whispered over baby cradles and guarded by knights in shining armor can be found in the far reaches of space, but just a bit more…alien.
The future is as expansive as the universe and full of untold stories. Rumors whispered in the dark of night and legends shared throughout the day.
Is Cinderella’s fairy godmother truly a fairy, or is she perhaps a visitor from another world? Perhaps the rings of Saturn are giant gems and the far off supergiant is nothing more than glowing cotton candy. Was the beast transformed by a curse, or is he an offworlder in disguise?
There are as many tales as there are stars in the sky and now is your chance to share yours, once upon a future time.
This anthology will be the fourth anthology installment based on fairy tales retold as science fiction.
Submission Hints
Based upon a fairy tale or folk tale (Include title of original tale after author name in the manuscript)
Insights
This was an odd find. I found it while scrolling through Moksha's open subs and then sleuthed the publishers. Here is what they say about themselves: The Brothers Uber works to bring you the best products possible, whether that be innovative and imaginative games, children's books, or amazing art work we work to make each shipment an experience of wonder.
Fantasy
baen fantasy award
Details
Judged by Baen Editorial Staff
OPEN Jan 16- April 30
Pay: 8c a word, $500 free books
Word range: 8,000 max
Simultaneous submissions? No
Reprints? No
must be RTF format & ANON -finalist announced in July
Description
Write and submit a short story of no more than 8,000 words. It must be a work of fantasy, though all fantasy genres are open, e.g. epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, contemporary fantasy, etc.
No entry fee. But only one submission per person...we suggest your best one!
No reprints (i.e. the story must be unpublished).
All entries must be original unpublished works in English. Plagiarism, poetry, song lyrics, settings and/or characters from published gaming worlds or another author’s works of fiction will not be considered.
Submission Hints
What We Want to See
Adventure fantasy with heroes you want to root for. Warriors either modern or medieval, who solve problems with their wits or with their weapons—and we have nothing against dragons, elves, dwarves, castles under siege, urban fantasy, damsels in distress, or damsels who inflict distress.
What We Don’t Want to See
Political drama with no action, angst-ridden teens pining over vampire lovers, religious allegory, novel segments, your gaming adventure transcript, anything set in any universe not your own, "it was all a dream" endings, or screenplays.
Insight
This will be my third go at this contest. I've been stalking Toni Weisskopf on the internet (publisher) and here is an interesting stat. They get thousands of manuscripts annually, but buy 1-2 new authors per year.
Speculative Fiction
cats cast
Details
Escape Artists Podcast
OPEN Feb 1 -11
Pay: 8 cents per word
Word range 6000 max no min
Simultaneous submissions? yes
Reprints? No
Description
CatsCast is looking for speculative cat stories! Specifically, we’re looking for speculative fiction stories about cats. “Cats” in this context are, well, cats — but since this is a speculative fiction podcast, they don’t have to be exactly the same species as the housecats we have here on Earth. The stories should have happy, or at least hopeful, endings for all featured cats. Fun, playfulness, and humor are strongly encouraged but not required.
Submission Hints
Stories MUST NOT have graphic descriptions of cruelty to animals (brief references to acts that occur “off-camera” are okay). Romantic storylines are fine, but please, no graphic depictions of sex. We want our fun cat stories to be fun for everyone, so please avoid offensive stereotypes based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religion, or body size. Feel free to dump on cat-haters, though. CatsCast is not a market for poetry. Please do not submit poetry.
Insight
none. But I've asked my cats for advice. I have three... Boots, Janet, and Alvin.
Speculative Fiction
HAVEN
Details
Managing Editor: Leon Perniciaro
OPEN Feb 1 -28
Pay: 8 cents per word
Word range: max 6000
Simultaneous submissions? Yes
Description
Haven Spec is a speculative fiction magazine featuring stories for a 21st century audience. We love stories with a sense of adventure, stories that teach us, that touch us, that leave us wanting more. We publish six issues every year, two of which (the DRY Issue and the WET Issue) are focused exclusively on the climate crisis and themes of displacement (very broadly defined).
The crisis facing our planet is immediate and all-encompassing, and it will affect people of color, people living in poverty, and the working classes most of all. The popular metaphor is going over a cliff, but we prefer the tempest, the torrent, the flood. The waters are rising, but we can save ourselves.
Submission Hints
We like stories that are subtle in their telling and stick with us long after we've finished. We're more likely to buy stories that balance a sense of wonder with a bold plot and emotional depth. Meditative stories that all take place in a single room, for example, are less likely to capture our imagination. Basically, we want it all: character, concept, dialogue, tone, plot, a strong opening and ending, and everything else!
Insight
The last time I sent something to them was May 2022! No idea why this amazing mag fell off my radar.
Speculative Fiction
apparition lit
Details
Managing Editor: Tacoma Tomilson
Flash Fiction Prompt
OPEN Feb 1 -14
Pay: 5 cents per word
Word range: under 1,000
Simultaneous submissions? No
Reprints? No
Description
Every month Apparition Lit holds a flash fiction contest and buys a story based on their prompt.
This year, flash is a celebration of all the recipes and meals that shape your worlds, your communities, and your lives. We want rich, unique flavors, vivid stories, and adventurous tastes.
February is Drinks, Teas, Coffees.
Submission Hints
Send us stories with enough emotional heft to break a heart, with prose that’s as clear and delicious as broth. We love proactive characters and settings that feel lived in and real enough to touch. Stories with style, stories with emotion, stories with character.
What ceremonies are associated with tea in different cultures? Mexican Atole, etc...
Insight
My friend Akis Linardos finally sold something to this market! He writes some very dark, lyrical stuff. I've been trying consistently for six years. A few personals but no sales. Look for his piece,
Details
Editor: Cavan Terrill
OPENS: Jan 29 (and editor says he hopes to keep window open!)
Pay: 4 cents per word - max $400
(cdn)
range: 2000-15,000
Simultaneous submissions?Yes
Reprints? yes
Description
Science Fiction, or Sci-Fi tinged literary fiction.
Although any science fiction subgenre is fair game, our tastes lean towards slipstream, cyberpunk, post-apocalypse, and anything with a little taste of the bizarre. FF prefers character-driven stories, and often skews towards quiet, reflective pieces. If the primary tone of your story is one of high adventure or humour, it’s probably not the right fit for FF. That said, quality always outstrips genre preference in terms of importance, so feel free to send us anything that even vaguely resembles science fiction.
Submission Hints
A friend in my writing group shared this insight from a story that made it through several rounds with FF:
My story had a WOW premise rooted in SF (terminal disease patients log into some sort of software reliving their childhood dreams) and it was dual POV, present tense.
My Experience with Them
None yet. But I do have 13 rejections!!
Horror
zombies
Details
Editor: DL Russell
OPEN till Aug 1st
$100 a story
Word range: 3000-12000
Simultaneous submissions?
Reprints? No
Description
I found this post on Facebook. Look on the Open Call: Speculative Markets - Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy page. It is run by the wonderful Kevin David Anderson. (I can't WAIT to take his class at Superstars this year.) The publisher listed all the rules of this world.
Submission Hints
SUBMIT TO blackbookspublishing@gmail.com
My Insight
I spoke to the editor through his Facebook page, and he gave me very specific instructions on the plot of the story he wants to see from me. He asked me questions about my life and writing and then came up with this:
Prompt - a family has many of their horses stolen before realizing it was only a certain type.
The local authorities only do a basic investigation because the Zombie Apocalypse has given them an excuse to just sit around collecting paychecks.
Not until its over does the family begin to realize Zombies have been stealing the horses.
Note: 2 years prior, one of their hired hands was bitten by a zombie.
If you would like a prompt or have interest in participating in this project, you can contact him on Facebook.
When I find more calls... I will be posting them here!
My website can’t hold all the info I find each month, so as I find new open calls, I will add them to my Patreon. Along with exclusive hints and interviews with publishers, authors, and editors. It’s FREE. Someday I might have some premium content, but for now, I share everything.
Details
Editors: Storm Walden & Greg Clumpner
Open till Feb 29th
Pay: 3 cents per word
range: 5000 max
3,000 sweet spot
Simultaneous submissions? No
Reprints? No
Description
Hospitium is a Greco-Roman concept of hospitality, where both the guest and host have an obligation to treat the other with kindness and respect, regardless of external quarrels. We’re looking for outstanding fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, and speculative horror from both new and established writers.
Submission Hints
IDEAS:
What would the Red Wedding look like between allied planets vying for domination of the solar system?
Perhaps a journey into Lovecraftian territory… Eat, Pray, Sacrifice?
A parlay between the Elves and Orcs?
Who is the Anthony Bourdain of outer space?
How does a dragon with a gluten allergy react when a sentient mushroom offers their finest fermented ale?
Dazzle us with interactions we have yet to dream of.
Insight
I sold a story to their last anthology based on a challenge we all worked on. "The Time Modules" is in The Seven Day Weekend.
I've already sent them in a story that was rejected. They are getting lots of stories that really focus on Greek and Roman gods. You might want to try another approach. Brandon Ketchum wants to see more horror.
The call says "We accept science fiction, fantasy, and horror–and enjoy intelligent blends of the three. Stories without a speculative element will not be considered." Though my story was pure Sci-fi, my friend R.J.K. Lee sold them a wild story that mixed fantasy with sci-fi.
Learn more from Greg Clumpner (co-editor with Brandon)
Horror, Bleak Sci-Fi, Dark Fantasy
seize the press
Details
Editor: Jonny Pickering
ongoing
Pay: 6 Pence per word
Word range: 2,000 max
Simultaneous submissions?Yes
No
Reprints? No
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?
Smart, Weird, Funny
AHOY COMICS
Details
Editor: Hart Seely
Open: ongoing
Pay: $200
Word range: 500-1500
Simultaneous submissions? Yes
Reprints? No
Description
WE ARE ACCEPTING SHORT FICTION AND COMMENTARY SUBMISSIONS. But but BUT... we are moving slowly. If you write quality short fiction, send us your stuff. But you might need to wait, as AHOY has been buried by submissions.
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.
My Insight
I recently sold a story here into one of their comic books. The Dead Sellers Market can be found in Project: Cryptid Vol 4 which came out in December.
Here is some advice direct from Hart:
"Keep it short. I believe two things in America have become too long: Baseball games and short stories.
We draw a hard line at 1,500 words and prefer fewer. Build a character. Maybe two. Make them real. Make them funny. Tell a story. End with a punch. And don’t ask for more space. When you die, they’ll carve your epitaph onto one stone. You won’t get an extra 25 characters.
At AHOY, we take humor seriously, and short stories are our secret sauce. Every comic includes one, often two."
Details
Editor: Wendy Lesser
Closes April 15
Pay: $400
range: max 4000
Simultaneous submissions? NO
Reprints? No
Description
"The Threepenny Review is as lively and original a literary magazine as exists in this country. Mercifully compact, uncompromisingly elegant, animated by the curiosity of its editor, it mixes the legendary and eminent with the unknown, which the eminent were when Wendy Lesser first published them. Not an issue goes by without some unexpected marvel." —Louise Glück
Submission Hints
--All online submissions must consist of a single document in Word format (.doc or .docx). If you are submitting prose, the document should consist of a single article or a single story. If you are submitting poetry, please group your poems into one document containing no more than five poems, because the online system will not accept more than a single document from each person. Please include your name and address somewhere on the document as well as in our submission form.
-- We do not print material that has previously been published elsewhere, and we emphatically do not consider simultaneous submissions. We do our best to offer a quick turnaround time, so please allow us the privilege of sole consideration during that relatively brief period; writers who do not honor this request will not be published in the magazine.
--Response time for submissions can range from two days to two months. Please do not submit more than a single story or article, or more than five poems, until you have heard back from us about your previous submission. If you have not heard from us within a couple of months, you should assume that either your communication or ours has gone astray.
6. We strongly recommend that you stay within our length limits. As a rule, critical articles should be about 1200 to 2500 words, Table Talk items 1000 words or less, stories and memoirs 4000 words or less, and poetry 100 lines or less. (Exceptions are occasionally possible, but longer pieces will have a much harder time getting accepted.) We prefer to read prose submissions that are double-spaced; poetry can be single-spaced or double-spaced.
My Insights
I would love to make $400 writing under 4000 words, right?
Horror & Dark Fantasy
the dark magazine
Details
Editor: Sean Wallace
ongoing
Pay: 5 cents per word
Word range: 2,000-6,000
Simultaneous submissions?
No
Reprints? No
Description
The Dark Magazine sends out rejections fast and furiously. It’s one of the reasons I like submitting to them. Instant results. They publish horror and dark fantasy. Sean Wallace is the founder, publisher, and editor of The Dark, and has also edited for Clarkesworld and Fantasy Magazine.
Submission Hints
Don’t be afraid to experiment or to deviate from the ordinary; be different—try us with fiction that may fall out of “regular” categories. However, it is also important to understand that despite the name, The Dark is not a market for graphic, violent horror.
Sample Rejection
I have 53 Rejections from this market.
Speculative Fiction
behind the shadows ii
Details
Ink'd Pub
OPEN till March 31
Pay: $20 or anthology share
Word range: 2000-7000
Simultaneous submissions? No
Reprints? No
anon subs
Description
Inkd Publishing LLC presently focuses on anthologies. We are building a stock of enjoyable reads focused in the fantasy and sci-fi genres.
Submission Hints
Behind the Shadows II– This is horror. Humor and mystery beats are welcome.
Express yourself as the theme moves you.
There is no restriction as to how you incorporate the theme into your story as long as the genre falls within Speculative Fiction, including Sci-Fi or Fantasy. We encourage you to weave the theme into an engaging story with well-developed characters and deep emotion.
Stories that contain infanticide, rape, or gratuitous gore will not be accepted.
Insight
They've held a story of mine before, but I've yet to make a sale with this publisher.
Looking for Free Books? Check out This promotion. Some true wild horror here.
Speculative Fiction
New Myths
Details
Publisher/Editor: Scott T. Barnes
(WofF winner)
And Susan Shell Winston
OPEN till Feb 28
Pay: 3 cents per word, min $50
Word range: max 10,000 words
Simultaneous submissions? yes
Reprints? No
Description
The tag line is "Life From A Side View Mirror...."
Submission Hints
We like to balance each quarterly issue between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. Our readers are not fixated on a single style or tone or genre, but prefer a quality sample of the field. Think tapas or dim sum.
Insight
They have been holding a story of mine called "Rocket to Love" for a few months. Fingers crossed...
Speculative
found #2
Details
Editor: Andy Cull & Gabino Iglesias
Deadline - March 31, 2024
Pay: 3c word
Word range: 2000-4000
Simultaneous? Yes
Reprints? No
Description
Not much info on this one, it comes from a twitter post!
Submission Hints
send your story to whatwasfoundtoo@gmail.com word or pdf only
Insights
I found a review of their last anthology here: https://thebookbeard.wordpress.com/2023/02/24/found-an-anthology-of-found-footage-horror-stories-edited-by-andrew-cull-gabino-iglesias/
Speculative
the dragon's hoard
Details
Editor: Carol Hightshoe
Open till March 31, 2024
Pay: $15 plus royalites
Word range: 2500-7500
Simultaneous submissions? No
Reprints? Query
Description
At WolfSinger Publications, we love all kinds of creatures – especially DRAGONS.
Dragons love…well…their hoard. Be it a hoard of gold, gems, books, virgins, whatever your dragon loves to collect and hoard. Or maybe your dragon doesn’t have a hoard—well then WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR DRAGON? —All dragons have a hoard—don’t they? If he doesn’t—then explain why not.
We’re looking for stories about dragons—their hoard or lack thereof must factor into the story in some way.
Since dragons are primarily a creature of fantasy I’m sure we’ll get plenty of fantasy stories; but we’ll take science fiction as well as any other speculative fiction genre, but you MUST be creative. A creative twist on the idea of dragons and their hoards is the most important part of the story.
Submission Hints
Break the story-writing rules if you want. If you use a tried-and-true plotline, twist it in an original and interesting way.
My Insights
none
Speculative Fiction
grendel Press
Details
Head Harpy: Susan Russell
Keep an eye here-- EARLY LISTING (a little bird tells me April?)
Pay: 3 cents per word, min $50
Word range: max 10,000 words
Simultaneous submissions? yes
Reprints? No
Description
TBA --But the rumour is it should be focused on villains somehow. I'm hoping to interview Susan Russell and get us some good advice on what she's looking for in regards to this call.
Submission Hints
We like to balance each quarterly issue between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. Our readers are not fixated on a single style or tone or genre, but prefer a quality sample of the field. Think tapas or dim sum.
Insight
They have the best DISCORD. You can ask the editor why your story was rejected and she will give you the actual true tea of what was said about your story. Warning... if your story makes it to the next round, they send such a lovely email that you think you they want to buy your story.
The best guide for learning the market. NEWLY UPDATED FOR 2024!
Many new markets! Lots of great hints for success! This book can help you find a home for your story in the easiest, most organized way.