There are calls for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama. Themes include music, home, eating disorders, otherworldly women leaders, beast-slaying and mystery-solving heroines, politics, social justice and human rights, humorous science fiction and fantasy, haunted houses, underdogs, ice culture, fairies and their treacherous bargains, pulp stories, fables using summer as a backdrop, dark stories against a snowy background, as well as nightscape, inter-dimensional and deep-space horror. Many of these pay writers. Also see this list for some more upcoming deadlines.
Unnerving Magazine: Haunted are These Houses
They want Gothic fiction and poetry for this anthology, on the theme. They publish horror, dark science fiction (light), dark fantasy, crime, thriller, suspense, and dark literary, and lean strongly towards horror. See guidelines for editor preferences. They ask for non-exclusive print-on-demand rights for five years.
Deadline: 28 April 2018
Length: 400-6,000 words, up to 500 lines for poetry
Pay: $0.01/word for fiction, $0.012/line for poetry
Details here.
Fiyah: Music
This magazine publishes speculative fiction stories by and about people of the African Diaspora. They want stories where music plays a central role: maybe the devil really does hand out talent at the crossroads, or maybe that lounge singer isn’t quite what she seems. They want stories featuring music as magic, or music as catalyst, or other things writers can think of. Stories should reject regressive ideas of blackness, respectability politics, and stereotype, and be the writers’ bravest, blackest, most difficult to sell stories that are well written and easy to read on a screen. They encourage submissions from women, members of the LGBTQIA community, and members from other underrepresented communities within the African Diaspora. They also accept speculative poetry.
Deadline: 30 April 2018
Length: Short fiction of 2,000-7,000 words; novelettes of up to 15,000 words
Pay: $150 for short stories, $300 for novelettes, $50 for poetry
Details here.
UFO – Unidentified Funny Objects
This is an annual anthology of humorous science fiction and fantasy. Past headliners have included George R. R. Martin and Neil Gaiman.
Deadline: 30 April 2018
Length: 500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.
Elf Saga: Beyond Doomsday
Elf Saga is a series about heroines coming together to solve mysteries, slay beasts and save innocents, but with snark. This anthology is set around the time of the novel Elf Saga: Doomsday. Writers are encouraged to read the (free) ebook to get a sense of the world and the tone, and to create stories with their own characters and explore new corners of that fantasy world. The story can be set during, before or after the novel.
Deadline: 30 April 2018
Length: 5,000-10,000 words
Pay: $50 and a share of profits
Details here.
Bandit Fiction: Underdog
Bandit Fiction is a not-for-profit organisation set up with the aim of helping emerging writers and artists, especially those in education, get started. They offer a space for new and unpublished writers (see their FAQ) of fiction and narrative creative nonfiction. They are reading for their Underdog themed issue in April.
Deadline: 30 April 2018
Length: 250-3,500 words (see guidelines)
Pay: None
Details here.
Mad Scientist Journal: Battling in All Her Finery
The theme is Battling in All Her Finery: Historical Accounts of Otherworldly Women Leaders. They want speculative fiction stories about women leaders in any field. The editors use an inclusive definition of “woman” and “female,” and welcome stories about anyone who identifies as a woman on some level. They are particularly looking for stories from authors who are underrepresented in fiction: people of color, LGBTQ, non-Western religions and cultures. Each story will be written from the perspective of someone who has been or been around the woman leader in question. Like their regular magazine, this narrator will also have a bio.
Deadline: 30 April 2018
Length: 500-8,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.
Visions: Home
This is a new biannual publication for science fiction. Their first issue will centre on the concept of home in the broadest sense, from the physical structure to the social construct. They want science fiction and speculative short stories. They will consider pitches for non-fiction.
Deadline: 1 May 2018 (extended)
Length: Micro fiction to 5,000 words
Pay: About $0.06/word (see guidelines)
Details here.
Midnight Hour: Volumes 1 & 2
This is their flagship anthology. They want horror, dark sci-fi, dark speculative fiction, and cyberpunk stories.
Deadline: 1 May 2018
Length: 1,500-8,000 words (can submit longer but pay will be capped at $160/story)
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.
Midnight Hour: Midnight Before Christmas
They want holiday related horror, dark sci-fi, dark speculative fiction, and cyberpunk stories. The editors like stories with Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza themes. Or the stories can simply take place during the holidays, or just involve wintery or snowy settings.
Deadline: 1 May 2018
Length: 1,000-10,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here (scroll down).
SHANTIH Journal: Politics/Social Justice/Human Rights
They accept fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, drama and poetry that reflects the theme. The work should emphasize the current political moment. The editors are especially interested in work that reflects America’s moment of national and global crises. The writing can range from the subtle to the overt, but should express the pain and strife caused by the obvious barriers confronting all those who seek personal, communal, national and global peace in an atmosphere that glorifies selfishness, greed, violence, supremacy, and domination of the powerful over the weak. They welcome underrepresented voices.
Deadline: 4 May 2018
Length: 1,000-10,000 words for fiction and nonfiction, up to 1,000 words for flash, up to 7 poems, 20 pages of drama
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
Enchanted Conversation Magazine: Folklore, Fairy Tales & Myths – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
They want writers to use the season of summer as a backdrop to their fable, fairy tale or myth. Stories can be retellings of established stories or use original characters in the fairy tale, folklore and mythic template. They do not want sci-fi, dystopian, erotica, high fantasy, excessive world building, time-travel, futuristic, or space travel stories.
Deadline: 20 May 2018
Length: 700-2,000 words
Pay: $20
Details here.
Black Coffee & Vinyl: Ice Culture
For their first issue, they want work that features the physical and spiritual beauty of ice, explores the life of the people and cultures that are connected to the ice, and addresses important political issues related to ice. Apart from fiction, nonfiction and poetry submissions, they are also accepting artwork, photography and music.
Deadline: 31 May 2018
Length: Prose of up to 2,000 words; up to three poems
Pay: $50
Details here.
Gehenna & Hinnom Books
They are looking for novellas, novelettes and chapbooks of weird fiction and cosmic horror. The chapbooks are themed: 1) Nightscapes (think nightmares, night terrors, unfathomable dreams); 2) Have you ever seen a portal? (think inter-dimensional horror; portals, gateways, archaic and ancient worlds); and 3) Void beckoning (think deep space horror; monstrosities on ancient moons, malevolent spirits aboard spaceships, mining facilities on other worlds uncovering ancient evils). See guidelines for further details.
Deadline: 31 May 2018
Length: 15,000-40,000 words for novellas; 7,500-15,000 words for novelettes; 1,500-5,000 words for chapbook stories
Pay: $300-400 signing bonus against royalties for novellas; $0.02/word for novelettes – $150-300; $0.02/word for chapbook stories – $30-100
Details here.
Spring Song Press: Oath and Iron
For the editors, oath and iron is a reference to fairies and the treacherous bargains they make. They are interested in both classic and new interpretation of fairies. They want stories with speculative elements and want fantasy rather than science fiction. The editors strongly prefer noblebright stories.
Deadline: 1 July 2018
Length: 1,000-10,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
Richmond Moms Blog: Eating disorders
This anthology is to provide hope to people who are suffering from eating disorders. They want personal stories by women who have recovered or are recovering from eating disorders/disordered eating. The focus should be on the journey to recovery. The editors can also conduct in-person or telephone interviews, so stories can be transcribed or presented. Submitters can write anonymously if they wish. A portion of the proceeds from the book will be given to the National Eating Disorders Association.
Deadline: Unspecified
Length: 2,000-7,500 words
Pay: Contributor copy
Details here.
Broadswords and Blasters: Pulp stories
They are looking for stories in the pulp magazine tradition, including those of sword and sorcery, westerns (Weird or otherwise), horror, detective tales, two-fisted action, and retro science fiction. There should be strong characters and visceral action. However, do not want to propagate the limited cultural ideals that old-school pulp magazines often propagated; they welcome diversity. Stories should have a hard R rating.
Deadline: Unspecified
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: $15
Details here.
