The calls are for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, scripts, and puzzles. The themes include: journey, World War II, food horror, art and music, encountering nature, all aboard, a new beginning, hair, frontier, and midnight in the witch’s kitchen.
All of these pay contributors. Also see this list of submission calls – some deadlines are coming up.
Claw
& Blossom: Gnaw
This new
literary magazine wants fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry on the ‘Gnaw’
theme. All work must also contain elements of the natural world.
Deadline: 6
June 2019
Length: Prose up to 1,000 words; one poem
Pay: $25
Details here.
Mslexia:
Journey
They accept
writing by women writers, and want fiction, poetry, and scripts on the
‘Journey’ theme: “Hard roads, walks, leaps
of faith, holidays, moving home, migration, running away, climbing mountains,
diving deep, returns…”
Deadline: 10
June 2019
Length: Stories of up to 2,200 words, poems of up to 40 lines, scripts of up to
1,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.
Across the Universe – Beatles Spec Fic Anthology
The editors have changed the payment details for this anthology from a flat
rate previously to a per-word rate, and have specified on the website what kind
of stories they’re currently looking for. The theme of the anthology is
‘Beatles – What if?’ Their guidelines say, ” What if Brian Epstein hadn’t
managed the band? What if George Harrison hated sitar music? What if Ringo had
been the true star of the band all along? What if the Beatles had been aliens?
Or magic users? Or zombies? Or American?”
Deadline: 14 June 2019
Length: 1,000-4,000 (prefer 2,000-4,000)
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.
Helios
Quarterly Magazine: Special call
This is a magazine of
horror, science fiction, and fantasy. For their special submission call – the
magazine is turning five years old in 2020 – they are especially looking for
horror fiction and poetry by Black, Indigenous, and other poets and writers of
color. They are interested in Dieselpunk, Solarpunk,
Arcanepunk, Weird Westerns, Cyberpunk, Magic Realism, Gothic Romance,
Retrofuturism, Afrofuturism, Cli-Fi and other lesser-known sub-genres. They accept reprints and translations.
Deadline: 15 June 2019
Length: 100-7,500 words
Pay: $0.06/word for fiction, $50 for poetry
Details here.
Gallery
of Curiosities: Special Session – WW2
They want
retropunk fiction set during the World War II era, from the rise of Nazi
Germany to the troop homecoming era. Retropunk could include “steampunk,
dieselpunk, dreadpunk, bronzepunk, others that haven’t even been invented yet
punk … but not atompunk”, according to their guidelines. They also accept
reprints, multiple, and simultaneous submissions. Stories
will be published in eBook, print on demand, and potentially also audio formats.
Deadline: 30 June
2019
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $0.04/word
Details here.
Blood Bound Books: Chew On This!
This is
an anthology of food horror stories. Their guidelines say, “we are looking for
food-related stories, but we need you to dig deeper and get creative when it
comes to the substances that keep us alive. Food should be integral to the
story in some way, but not the entire focus. The plots can revolve around a
wide range of cultures and belief systems, science and superstition, settings
in the future or past. Above all we want stories that are macabre, scary,
unsettling, and even gross.” See guidelines for the kind of stories and tropes
they will not accept.
Deadline: 30 June 2019
Length: 3,000-7,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here.
Cricket Media: Six themes
Cricket Media produces literary magazines for children of various
ages – Babybug (for ages 6 months to 3 years), Ladybug (ages 3 to 6), Spider
(ages 6 to 9), and Cricket (ages 9 to 14). The magazines have several themes
coming up. They publish fiction, nonfiction,
poetry, puzzles, crafts, and recipes.
So Silly – They are looking for “your silliest stories, poems, action rhymes, and
fingerplays. We welcome pieces about funny games and goofy situations as well
as nonsense rhymes and wordplay that elicits little ones’ laughter. We’re
looking for rhythmic writing that babies and toddlers will want to hear again
and again.”
All Aboard – For Ladybug: They want “short
stories, retellings of folk and fairy tales, rebus stories, poems, action
rhymes, nonfiction, and songs about travel. For a young child, a walk to
the park, a trip by boat or airplane, or a game of make believe might all seem
like voyages. We like playful stories with childlike points of view; they
need to be short, too (under 800 words). Most of our readers live in the United
States, and sensitive explorations of different cultures are welcome.”
Hey, Neighbor! – For Spider: They want “stories, nonfiction, poems, and short plays about neighbors
and neighborhoods: urban or suburban, rural or fantastical. What unique
relationships blossom between people (and animals) who live near one another?
Who would be neighbors on a space station or in a magical kingdom? How can
kids, real or fictional, make an impact in their neighborhoods? Inter-cultural
and inter-generational relationships welcome. Humor always encouraged.”
Art and Music – For Spider: They are looking for
“stories, nonfiction, poems, short plays, and activities for the theme Arts and
Music. We want pieces that capture the magic, creativity, frustration, and many
hours of practice that come with learning an instrument or new art skill. We’re
looking for all kinds of stories about kids and their creative outlets, as well
as true stories about unusual instruments, strange stories about familiar
instruments, odes to artistic practice, and activities to inspire young
artists.”
Encountering Nature – For Cricket: They
are interested in “fiction, nonfiction, and
poetry on the theme of an encounter with nature. You might write about a
record-setting blizzard or the joy of the first day of spring; conquering
Everest or exploring a local cave; meeting a mountain lion while hiking, a
squirrel in the backyard, an itsy-bitsy spider in the shower; or about a young
nature lover who helps an injured animal or strives to preserve something of
wild and natural beauty.”
A New Beginning – For Cricket: They are looking for “fiction,
nonfiction, and poetry on the theme of making a new beginning. Stories might
focus on the immigrant experience; on a middle schooler facing up to
responsibilities or changes in the family; the end of one friendship and the
start of another; try-trying again after a setback; or taking on a new hobby,
sport—even a whole new persona.”
Deadline: 1 July 2019
Length: Varies
Pay: Up to $0.25/word for fiction, $3/line for poetry
Details here.
Necro Publications:
Blasphemous Rumours
This is a religious horror anthology. They want “dark short
stories that focus on religion and spirituality, stories that may be considered
blasphemous by the standards of your religion of choice. We are looking for
quality dark fiction, not hate-filled rants against religion.”
Deadline: 31 July 2019
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here.
Room Magazine: Hair
They are accepting poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction on the
theme of ‘Hair’. Their guidelines say, “Intimate space. Roots. Growth.
Identity. These are all things we think of when we consider hair. How does hair
define us and affect the way we navigate the world? Our hair holds history,
memory, tangible sacrifice, intangible inheritances, culture, fierceness,
boldness, and sometimes even indifference.” They accept work from women
(cis and trans), trans men, Two Spirit and non-binary writers. They are
also accepting artwork.
Deadline: 31
July 2019
Length: Prose up to 3,000 words, up to five poems
Pay: CAD50-150
Details here.
The
First Line
For this journal, they want a short story or poem beginning
with a pre-set first line. To celebrate 20 years of the journal, they are
inviting writers to select any one of the first lines from their previous
journals (Volume 11, Issue 1 to Volume 15, Issue 4 for the Fall edition). They
also accept nonfiction.
Some of the first lines are:
— For two weeks now, I’ve been trying to figure out if people are laughing
with me or at me.
— “My life is a sham.”
— Working for God is never easy.
— Three thousand habitable planets in the known universe, and I’m stuck on the
only one without ___________. [Fill in the blank.]
— “We need to talk.”
— A light snow was falling as Charlie Reardon left the diner and made his way
down Madison Street.
— I started collecting secrets when I was just six years old.
— There must have been thousands standing in the rain that day.
— I came of age in a time of no heroes.
Deadline: 1 August 2019
Length: 300-5,000 words
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $5-10 for poetry, $25 for nonfiction
Details here.
Underland
Press: Eighteen
They want mystery, crime, dark fantasy, horror,
and other speculative types of fiction for a loosely-themed anthology. The
anthology is called ‘Eighteen’ which, according to their guidelines, “is
symbolic of the great river at night, where the wolves howl and all doors are
open. All thresholds are possible, and every truth is elusive. The Eighteenth
Tarot card is the Moon, and those who raise their arms to her know she offers
Mercy and Severity in equal measure. These are stories of mischief and mayhem.
These are stories of magic.”
Deadline: 1 August 2019
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
Monsters
Out of the Closet: Various themes
This LGBTQ+ Horror Fiction podcast is accepting work on
several themes, including ‘Frontier’, ‘Uncanny’, and ‘Games’
(scroll right down to the video panels under ‘Forthcoming themes’ at the
bottom, and click on each to see the themes that are open). They also accept
reprints and only accept work from LGBTQ+ artists.
Deadline: Unspecified
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.
Unfit Magazine: Stories that bend
the rules of science fiction
They publish fiction: Quantum Fiction,
Cyberpunk, Alternative Histories and Steampunk.
They want stories with metaphors and emotional ambiance and imaginative
descriptive writing. Currently, they’re looking for stories that bend the rules
of science fiction. They also accept nonfiction, and reprints.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 500-3,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word for fiction; $0.01/word for nonfiction
Details here.
Unreal
Magazine: Stories that bend the rules of fantasy
They
publish fiction: fantasy, magic realism, and experimental fiction. They also
accept nonfiction, and reprints. Currently, they are looking for stories that
bend the rules of fantasy.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word; $0.01/word for nonfiction
Details here.
Alban Lake Publishing: Midnight in
the Witch’s Kitchen
The theme – ‘Midnight in the
Witch’s Kitchen’ – is taken from a series of two to three connected short
stories by the editor which will appear throughout the anthology in relation to
Granny Barnes and her kitchen. Their guidelines say, “Everyone depends on
Granny Barnes. The side door to her old house is the direct entry to her
kitchen. During the day, she’s a grandmother whose family and friends flock to
her house daily for meals or her sage advice. Everyone seeks both her wisdom
and her recipes.
However, Granny’s kitchen becomes something else after midnight. Those who knock on her kitchen door then have come for another reason altogether. Granny is witch . . . and those who come to her for help after dark should never enter her kitchen without serious pause as to the cost or the consequences.” What the editor will be looking for from all other writers is that their short stories must have a paranormal, horror or fantasy/dark fantasy aspect and must involve a witch. The stories must not be overly gory or erotic.
Deadline:
Until filled
Length: 4,000-10,000 words
Pay: $20
Details here.
Through
the Gate: Fantastical poetry
They publish fantastical poetry of literary and emotional
depth. Their definition of fantastical is quite fluid, encompassing
fantasy, magic realism, myth, folklore, surrealism and slipstream. They are not
interested in work that is strictly science fiction or mainstream, but poetry
that blurs the lines between such genres and the fantastical is welcome.
Deadline: Rolling
Length: Up to three poems
Pay: $20 per poem
Details here.
