These are calls for fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Some of the themes are knowledge, monsters in women’s lives, connections, disabled people, portals, mechanical miscreants, camouflaged horror, women’s fury, and children’s fiction. Most of these pay writers, from token to pro rates. Also see this list – some deadlines are coming up.
Speculative City: Knowledge
The magazine publishes “provocative works that are centered within a cityscape.” They want fiction, poetry and essays on the theme of ‘Knowledge’. Special consideration will be given to writers and characters underrepresented in speculative fiction.
Deadline: 11 November 2018
Length: Up to 5,500 words
Pay: $20-75
Details here.
Vallum: Connections
This magazine of contemporary poetry is reading on their next theme, ‘Connections’. They also accept essays, interviews and reviews – they accept those online, but poems must be mailed. The deadline is only for poetry, the rest is read year-round.
Deadline: 15 November 2018
Length: 4-7 poems
Pay: Unspecified, though all contributors are paid
Details here.
HerStories Writers: A Fury of Her Own
The non-fiction anthology, called ‘A Fury of Her Own: Midlife Women on Embracing Anger and Changing the World’, “will examine the reasons for women’s anger at this current moment and celebrate the ways (big and small) they are using their rage to create lasting change.”Also, “This anthology will tell the stories of women at midlife who know their anger is real and justified and who are using it — in small and big ways — as tools of resistance, drivers of change, and forces of solidarity.”
Deadline: 25 November 2018
Length: 1,500-3,000 words
Pay: Unspecified, though all contributors are paid
Details here.
Martian Migraine Press: Monstrous Outlines – An Anthology of Camouflaged Horror
The theme of this horror and weird fiction anthology is camouflage: people, entities, monsters, gods, or even concepts, which pretend to be things other than themselves. They also want stories of duplicates, doppelgangers, and shapeshifters.
Deadline: 30 November 2018
Length: 1,500-7,000; enquire for lengths over or below this limit
Pay: CAD0.03/word
Details here.
Grimbold Anthologies: Forgotten Sidekicks, and other anthologies
Their guidelines say, “We all know what happens when the hero saves the day, but what about their sidekicks? Too often the hero is held high and celebrated whilst their sidekicks and comrades are brushed to the side; their own battles forgotten, and their actions airbrushed to nothingness from the tales of victory.” They want stories about these forgotten sidekicks. They are also accepting submissions for two other anthologies – ‘Unexpected Heroines’ and ‘Lost Gods’ – see guidelines.
Deadline: 30 November 2018
Length: 4,000-7,000 words
Pay: £15, anthology copy
Details here.
Villainous Press – Mechanical Miscreants
Their guidelines say, “Ah, those loveable robots, androids, and cyborgs, performing plenty of chores and dangerous jobs so us humans can remin out of harm’s way.But…What happens when something goes wrong? If your computer has a hardware fault, would it kill you in your sleep? Would your microwave turn on only when it was opened? What about robots living a life of crime, Asimov’s 3 Laws of Robotics be damned? The only real requirements for this anthology will be that a major character must be mechanical or electronic in nature and they’re doing something nefarious.” Stories must have a dark undertone. Humor is welcome.
Deadline: 30 November 2018
Length: 5,000-10,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.
Galli Books: Rosalind’s Siblings
They want speculative fiction “about people of marginalized genders/sexes who are scientists: scientists doing good, changing the world, or just getting on with their work of expanding human knowledge in a speculative context, presented in a positive light. This anthology is named for Rosalind Franklin, the so-called Dark Lady of DNA, one of the most famously erased female scientists in history….” They are generally interested in positive portrayals of science and the protagonists doing research. They do not want “mad scientist” tropes or “evil science” tropes, or in disability cure narratives and related tropes, unless they are actively subverted / deconstructed. See guidelines for further details.
Deadline: 1 December 2018
Length: 500-7,500 words
Pay: £0.08/word
Details here.
Dreaming Robot Press: Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide
They want science fiction in all its variants. The main protagonist should be someone a middle-grade reader (aged 8-12) can identify with. “Tell us of adventure, space, science. Give us rockets, robots and alien encounters… Steampunk, time travel, weird west and alternate history are all fine.” They are not looking for fantasy stories, and welcome diversity. See guidelines for further details about the kind of stories they want, and tropes to avoid.
Deadline: 15 December 2018
Length: 3,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.
Zizzle: Flash fiction for children
They accept flash fiction for children. They want work that dives deep into meaning and resists banality, and believe the moral, if any, should evolve naturally from within and not be imposed. The editors want to see “new perspectives to the nuanced joys and tensions in children’s daily lives and imaginations.” They want work that will speak to children as young as 10 (grade 5), and also to grown-ups.
Deadline: 31 December 2018 (for fee-free submissions)
Length: 500-1,200 words
Pay: $100
Details here.
Nothing Without Us
For this anthology, they want fiction about and by disabled people. Their guidelines say, “We welcome writers across the disability, mental illness, developmental disabilities, neurodiversity, blind, and Deaf spectrums. We welcome those who manage invisible and visible disabilities and/or chronic conditions.” Fiction based on lived experiences is welcome. The lead character must be disabled, blind, Deaf, Autistic, neurodiverse, and/or live with mental illness. Canadians will receive preferred status.
Deadline: 31 December 2018
Length: 1,000-3,500 words
Pay: Currently at $0.03/word; will try to increase this amount via Kickstarter
Details here.
Zombies Need Brains: Portals
They want science fiction and fantasy stories on the theme of Portals – stories that contain a portal opening up between two different worlds and the consequences that come from that portal. See guidelines for additional details. They have three anthologies, all Kickstarter funded, and the goal has been met; if stretch goals are met, authors will be paid more.
Deadline: 31 December 2018
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: At least $0.06/word
Details here.
Zombies Need Brains: Temporally Deactivated
For this science fiction/fantasy anthology, they want stories where the author explores what the phrase ‘temporally deactivated’ could mean with regards to a person, place, or thing. See guidelines for additional details. They have three anthologies, all Kickstarter funded, and the goal has been met; if stretch goals are met, authors will be paid more.
Deadline: 31 December 2018
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: At least $0.06/word
Details here.
Zombies Need Brains: Alternate Peace
For this anthology, they want alternate history stories where the divergence from our timeline comes from some kind of peaceful change to our past; writers must explore the consequences of this divergence. See guidelines for additional details. They have three anthologies, all Kickstarter funded, and the goal has been met; if stretch goals are met, authors will be paid more.
Deadline: 31 December 2018
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: At least $0.06/word
Details here (scroll down).
Atlantean Publishing: The Children of Clarke Ashton Smith
They are looking for fiction and poetry for this anthology. They want stories in the vein of the fantasy writer Clarke Ashton Smith.
Deadline: 31 January 2019
Length: Very short to quite long stories
Pay: £0.01/word for prose, minimum £10 for poems and very, very short stories
Details here (scroll down).
Strangehouse Books: Not All Monsters
They want writers who identify as women for this horror anthology. “There are monsters in every woman’s life. And while maybe not ALL monsters are so bad, I want you to tell me about the dark and twisted ones. … Show me women who save themselves. Does the hero slay the beast, or is she the monster? All types of monsters, protagonists, and antagonists are welcome here.” The editor wants speculative fiction of character-driven stories that convey powerful messages, and particularly likes the beautiful grotesque, gothic elements, the macabre, and poetic prose.
Deadline: Until filled
Length: 2,000-8,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
GlitterShip
For this podcast, stories and poetry must be speculative and must have some queer content.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 7,500 words of prose; up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.03/word for fiction, $10 per poem
Details here.
Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy
For this best-of-the-year reprint anthology, they want science fiction and fantasy that has been or will be published in 2018 in America or Canada by writers who are Americans or Canadians. They have a list of criteria that all the stories must meet.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 17,499 words
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
