Themes include haunted house, cozy crime, masquerade, speculative fiction (including Christian speculative fiction and urban fantasy), pilgrimage, magic, tech life, leaving, witches, tales from the classroom, diets, spirituality, cancer, social networking, divorce, dating, military spouses, LGBTQ romance, horror, and stories that incorporate specific lines or phrases. The calls are for fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Most of these pay writers, from token to pro rates. None charge a submission fee.
Shimmer: Final issue
They publish unusual, beautifully written and unclassifiable speculative fiction stories. These are contemporary fantasy, and sometimes science fiction with full plots and strong characters. See their submission guidelines for details about what are hard sells, and the kind of work they do not want. They welcome diversity. This magazine will be closing permanently at the end of 2018 and this is their final submission call.
Deadline: 14 July 2018
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $0.05/word, minimum $50
Details here.
Fantasia Divinity Magazine & Publishing: Masquerade
For this anthology, they want stories around a masquerade theme. The stories can “feature any other elements, genres, or plots as long as a masquerade is featured as the main focus or setting. Is there a murder during the ball? Is a prince trying to discern the identity of that beautiful maiden across the room? Is there an evil plot to take over the kingdom or government while everyone is concealed behind a mask?”
Deadline: 18 July 2018
Length: 500-10,500 words (query for longer)
Pay: Contributor copy
Details here (scroll down).
Thunderbird Studios: “San Cicaro”: Open call for urban fantasy short stories
They are looking for fiction – dark urban fantasy, the weird, the macabre and the hopeful, set in a coastal city in California, where strange things have been happening. See guidelines for the extensive details about the setting and thematic rules. They also periodically post updates about the anthology. They ask for five-year publication rights, with exclusivity for the first year.
Deadline: “At least two months” after 21 May 2018 (they will post an update on their site two weeks before the final deadline)
Length: 4,000-8,000 words
Pay: $125
Details here.
Flame Tree Publishing: Haunted House
They want stories of haunted houses for this anthology. Their guidelines say, “The creaking floorboards, the children hiding in the mirror, the spirits that rake across the flesh of the mind, tell us your stories of hauntings and mansions. Oh, what is that sound within the walls?”
Deadline: 29 July 2018
Length: 2,000-4,000 word stories are “most likely to succeed”
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.
Flame Tree Publishing: Cozy Crime
They want cozy crime stories: “The armchair detectives, the murder in the vicarage, the family secrets unravelling in gossipy ears, such are the ingredients of a gentile bloodbath in an otherwise delightful village.”
Deadline: 29 July 2018
Length: 2,000-4,000 word stories are “most likely to succeed”
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.
Mysterion: Christian Speculative Fiction
They want science fiction, fantasy and horror stories that engage meaningfully with Christianity. The stories need not teach a moral or cleave closely to an approved theological position. Nor do they need to be pro-Christian – see their detailed guidelines on the kind of work they see too often, and what they would like to see. They are especially interested in stories that show the editors Christians from cultures beyond those of the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. They have two reading periods a year, in January and July.
Deadline: 31 July 2018
Length: Up to 9,000 words
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here (scroll down) and here.
Fiyah Magazine: Pilgrimage
This magazine publishes speculative fiction by and about people of the African Diaspora. They will read stories on the Pilgrimage theme during this reading period. Their guidelines say, “this issue is all about the trip, not the destination. We’re looking for stories of journeys to new worlds, of returning to lost worlds, and journeys of the soul. But, like always, make it weird, make it magical, make it Black.” They also accept poetry.
Deadline: 31 July 2018
Length: 2,000-7,000 words; novelettes up to 15,000 words
Pay: $300 for novelettes, $150 for short stories, $50 for poetry
Details here.
Room Magazine: Magic
This Canadian feminist literary magazine accepts submissions by women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. They are accepting fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry on the theme of Magic. Any sub-genre as well as a blend of genres is welcome.
Deadline: 31 July 2018
Length: Up to 3,500 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: CAD50-150
Details here.
The Sunlight Press: Tech Life
The press wants to hear about “the ways people turn toward light and hope, whether it is through the arts, culture, spirituality, or humor, and also how they respond to the darkness and navigate unknown spaces. Epiphanies are born from the ordinary and the extraordinary; whether it’s a reflection unfolding during a morning walk, after the loss of a loved one, or in the middle of unexpected laughter, we want to know about these moments.” They publish twice weekly and are looking for fiction, nonfiction, poetry and reviews on the theme of Tech Life.
Deadline: 31 July 2018
Length: Various; see guidelines
Pay: Undisclosed; one winning entry to get $75 in addition to payment
Details here.
Also see details about their flash fiction prize on their guidelines page. All flash fiction submitted during the window (1 August to 30 September) will be considered for a $100 prize.
Blue Cubicle Press: The First Line
All stories must be written with the first line provided, which is “The window was open just enough to let in the cool night air.” All genres are accepted. They also accept nonfiction – short critical essays about your favourite first line from a book.
Deadline: 1 August 2018
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction, 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $5-10 for poetry
Details here.
The WAiF Project: Leaving
The WHERE AM i FROM Project publishes creatively-written true stories by people who migrate. They want narrative nonfiction on the theme of Leaving. This project seeks submissions that are equal parts personal anthropology and creative narrative. All forms of creative narrative are accepted, as long as it is a true story – long form, short form, personal essay, graphic narrative (i.e. illustration, comic art), or poetic prose. They are interested in universal themes found in individual experience. They are not interested in bias, political manifestos, or opinion. But if writers have an insight learned through experience, they want to hear about that experience.
Deadline: 3 August 2018
Length: Up to 2,500 words
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
Release the Virgins! Anthology
This is a call for stories that include, somewhere in the story, the phrase ‘Release the Virgins.’ The phrase should be relevant and necessary to the story. They require an email proposal before the submission. The editor advices authors to avoid unicorns.
Deadline: 1 September 2018
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.
Eye to the Telescope: Witches
This quarterly online journal publishes speculative poetry, and the theme for their upcoming issue is Witches. Their editorial guidelines say, “A witch is defined as someone who is said to possess usually malignant and supernatural powers…we’re going to focus on ‘usually’ in that definition. I want any take on witches with any gender.” The editor prefers traditional formal and metrical verse done well.
Deadline: 15 September 2018
Length: 1-3 poems
Pay: $0.03/word ($3-$25)
Details here.
Less Than Three Press: Life After All
This LGBTQ+ press wants stories for their apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic/pastoral apocalyptic anthology; stories about the life after an apocalypse being far from hopeless. Stories should have a happily ever after or happy for now ending.
Deadline: 30 September 2018 (extended)
Length: 8,000-15,000
Pay: $150
Details here.
Blue Cubicle Press: The Last Line
All stories must end with the last line provided, which is “I will visit again if I am ever back this way.”
Deadline: 1 October 2018
Length: 300-5,000 words
Pay: $20-$40; see guidelines about payment to international authors
Details here.
Red Room Press: Year’s Best Hardcore Horror
This is a reprint anthology for horror – extreme, harder side of horror which breaks boundaries and taboos. They want work that has been (or will be) published in a 2018 anthology, single author collection, magazine, or online magazine. Self published anthologies and collections are also ok.
Deadline: 31 December 2018
Length: Up to 6,000 words; longer works accepted
Pay: $0.01/word, up to $60
Details here.
Workers Write! More Tales from the Classroom
Workers Write! publishes work about jobs that define who we are as individuals and communities. For this anthology, they want stories and poems about anyone who works in classroom settings – fiction about teachers, councelors, admins, school librarians, principals, or janitors.
Deadline: 31 December 2018, or until filled
Length: 500-5,000 words
Pay: $5-50
Details here.
The Introspecionist: Several upcoming themes
This feminist magazine follows a theme every month. Some upcoming themes are: social networking, diets, lying, spirituality, divorce, cancer, military spouses and dating. Their nonfiction includes essays, creative nonfiction and in-depth information pieces. They also publish fiction and poetry. Writers should specify which edition/theme they are writing for. They want pitches, not completed articles.
Deadline: Rolling
Length: 100-5,000 words
Pay: $25-200
Details here.
