This is a list of anthologies, journals and magazines with themed issues, including anthropomorphic societies facing dystopia, homelessness, Canada in the future, edges of darkness, world myths, aliens, subterranean worlds, summer flings, and healing. None charge a reading fee. Many pay writers; some pay a token amount and some pay up to several hundred dollars.
The themed calls are organized chronologically. The anthology with earliest deadline is listed first, the last is July 31st, followed by two publications with rolling, unspecified deadlines.
Jane’s Boy Press: Conversion Therapy Anthology
Jane’s Boy Press seeks poetry and non-fiction about conversion therapy: by those who have been subject to, closely affected by, or those who oppose it. The deadline has been extended to 15 April.
Word limit: 5,000 for the essay; 2 poems (max 2 pages per poem)
Deadline: 15 April 2017
Pay: Anthology copy
Details here.
Blue Heron Review: Healing
They welcome all meditative, reflective and metaphysical poetry on the theme. Healing could be spiritual, emotional, physical, global, or the healing of our planet.
Word limit: 2-3 poems
Deadline: 20 April 2017
Pay: None
Details here.
The Almagre Review: Environment
They want experience, insight, opinion and stories about the environment. They specially welcome work from Veterans.
Word limit: 10,000 for fiction (prefer under 6,000), including novel excerpts; 1,000 for flash fiction; 6,000 words for memoirs or essays; up to 3 poems, preferably linked by a theme
Deadline: 20 April 2017
Pay: Journal copy
Details here.
Cricket and Spider Magazines: Folktales, Myths and Legends
Cricket (for ages 9-14) and Spider (for ages 6-9) magazines are looking for reinterpretations of folktales, myths and legends around the world: humorous tricksters, strong women, loveable fools, and traditional tales of creation myths. The stories must be well-researched and reflect the meanings and traditions of the story’s cultural background.
Word limit: 300-1,000 for fiction; 3-20 lines for poetry; 1-4 pages for crafts and activities
Deadline: 27 April 2017
Pay: Up to $3/line for poetry (minimum $25); up to $0.025/word for stories and articles; $75 for activities and recipes
Details here.
Cicada Magazine: Aliens
This is a print magazine for YA/children. The theme is Aliens, and can be widely interpreted: about a stranger in a strange land, a visitor from another galaxy, or just about someone trying to navigate an unfamiliar place. They want stories (science fiction/fantasy, realism, or historical fiction), essays and poems. Rolling submissions for flash fiction.
Word limit: 1,000 words for flash fiction; 9,000 for fiction; 5,000 for non-fiction; no line limits for poetry
Deadline: 27 April 2017
Pay: Up to $3/line for poetry ($25 minimum); up to $0.10/word for fiction, up to $0.25/word for nonfiction
Details here.
Hashtag Queer: LGBTQ Creative Anthology
They seek fiction, non-fiction, poetry and scripts by LGBTQ writers, and/or about queer themes for their first print and digital anthology. Word limit: 7,500 words for prose; 5 pages for poetry
Deadline: 30 April 2017
Pay: $5 per page published
Details here.
Make Literary Magazine: Belonging (English and Spanish)
They want work on belonging – acceptance, or the lack of it. They want work around boundaries: physical, social, political or emotional. Submissions can be in English or Spanish.
Word limit: 8,000 for fiction and non-fiction; 3-5 poems
Deadline: 30 April 2017
Pay: Contributors’ copies
Details here.
Inklings Publishing: Electically Heroic anthology
Any conceptualization of heroic will be considered for this anthology.
Word limit: 7,000
Deadline: 30 April 2017
Pay: $25 for fiction and non-fiction, $3 per poem
Details here.
Sediments Literary-Arts Journal: Summer Lovin’
This themed issue seeks stories about summer vacation love affairs.
Word limit: 1,000 words for flash fiction; 3,500 for fiction; 3-5 poems
Deadline: 30 April 2017
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
UFO – Unidentified Funny Objects
All types of SF/F stories with a strong humour element, edited by Alex Shvartsman. Past contributors include George R. R. Martin and Neil Gaiman.
Word limit: 500-5,000
Deadline: 30 April 2017
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.
Sharkpack Poetry Review: Futureplant: A Gothic
They want to explore the post-apocalyptic lives of plants and fungi; and the absence (or very distant presence) of animals, including humans. They want text that is avant-garde/neo-gnostic.
Word limit: Up to five pages of poetry; 2,000 words of fiction or non-fiction
Deadline: 30 April 2017
Pay: Anthology copy
Details here.
Bad Dog Books: Dystopian anthology
They publish books in the furry/anthropomorphic animal genre. For this anthology, they want dystopia – for instance, how would an anthropomorphic society face authoritarian governments, intrusive commercialization, and ecological degradation?
Word limit: 4,000-12,000
Deadline: 1 May 2017
Pay: ½ c/word
Details here.
My American Nightmare: YA anthology
They want horror stories written by female authors, set in America. The protagonist must be aged 13-19 years and stories must be inspired by horror stories from literature, film or music and be given an original spin.
Word limit: 8,000
Deadline: 1 May 2017
Pay: $10
Details here.
Blood in the rain: Vampire erotica
The editors want stories with both a vampire and erotic content.
Word limit: 2,000-7,000
Deadline: 1 May 2017
Pay: $75
Details here.
The Edge: Infinite Darkness
This is an anthology of stories that embody darkness in any way, including psychological. Details are on the editor’s Facebook page.
Word limit: 500-7,000
Deadline: 1 May 2017, or until filled
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
Mamono Menagerie: a monster girl/boy erotica anthology
They want stories of a special kind of Gijinka/humanization, where the anthropomorphic character is a mix between a creature and a human. Stories must have a monster girl or boy, must show the reader how the world has adapted to having monsters in it. The stories could be steampunk, slice of life, noir or other genres.
Word limit: 3,000-12,000
Deadline: 1 May 2017
Pay: ½ c/word
Details here.
Blink-Ink: The Enchanted Forest
This print journal seeks 50-word short stories on the theme of The Enchanted Forest – encounters with the sublime or the notorious. Word limit: 50 words
Deadline: 10 May 2017
Pay: Journal copy
Details here.
Cicada Magazine: Puppets and Dolls
They want children’s/YA stories about Puppets and Dolls. These are used for many purposes: as children’s toys, storytelling props, or conduits for the supernatural. Stories about pulling each others’ strings, how this can harm relationships, or about manipulative relationships are welcome. Rolling submissions for flash fiction. Word limit: 1,000 for flash fiction; 9,000 for fiction; 5,000 for non-fiction; no line limits for poetry
Deadline: 27 May 2017
Pay: Up to $3/line for poetry ($25 minimum); up to $0.10/word for fiction, up to $0.25/word for nonfiction
Details here.
Pole to Pole Publishing: Dark Luminous Wings
They want dark stories that could be about angels, demons, airplanes or dragons. Wings of any kind must be central to the story. The theme is from Richard Henry Stoddard’s poem, Mors et Vita.
Word limit: 3,000-5,000
Deadline: 30 May 2017, or until filled
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.
Upper Rubber Boot Books: 35 Women Up To No Good
This is a dark and speculative fiction anthology around the idea of knowledge. Stories must have female protagonists whose knowledge is central to the plot. Authors must identify as female, non-binary, or a marginalised sex or gender identity.
Word limit: 5,000
Deadline: 30 May 2017
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.
Chiral Mad 4
The editors want dark/speculative, co-authored works on any topic; the only chiral aspect is that the works be collaborative. They want stories that bend or blend genre, experiment structurally, and are not dependent on common tropes.
Word limit: 5,000 for short stories, 10,000 for novelettes and 20,000 for novellas
Deadline: 31 May 2017
Pay: $0.06/word, split evenly between contributors
Details here.
Rice Paper Press: Horror Anthology
They want horror stories for their print anthology.
Word limit: 5,000-10,000
Deadline: 31 May 2017
Pay: Up to $100, depending on word count
Details here.
Pickman’s Press: Corporate Cthulhu
This is a Lovecraftian horror anthology about the intersection of the Cthulhu Mythos and corporations or other large bureaucracies. They want stories set in corporate bureaucracy, or any large private-sector bureaucracy set in the modern industrialist capitalist era (1800 and up). No romance or erotica, or works in government or public-sector bureaucracies.
Word limit: 2,000-7,000
Deadline: 1 June 2017
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here.
Dark Helix Press: Trump: Utopia or Dystopia
Dark Helix Press is an indie publisher of multicultural fantasy, science fiction and raw non-fiction. They want speculative fiction stories of dystopian or utopian scenarios under the current government.
Word limit: 500-1,500 for flash fiction; 1,501-3,500 for short stories; 10-100 lines for poems
Deadline: 4 June 2017
Pay: $5 for flash fiction; $10 for short stories; $2 for poems
Details here.
Dark Helix Press: Futuristic Canada
They want speculative fiction stories with diverse characters about where Canada will be in the future. Bonus points for getting in Canadian cultural references. This anthology celebrates Canada’s 150th year. Preference will be given to Canadian writers.
Word limit: 500-1,500 for flash fiction; 1,501-3,500 for short stories; 10-100 lines for poems
Deadline: 4 June 2017
Pay: $5 for flash fiction; $10 for short stories; $2 for poems
Details here.
Thurston Howl Publications: Wolves of Light and Darkness
They want to see wolves as caretakers, pack members, subordinates, in the moonlight, or in any way the theme can be interpreted. No wolves can be shown in a negative way. No erotica or profanity. Thurston Howl publications is also open for other anthologies at later dates; the details are on their submission page.
Word limit: 15,000 for short stories/non-fiction/essays; 300-1,000 for flash fiction; 3-200 lines for poetry
Deadline: 15 June 2017
Pay: Proceeds will go to the National Wolfwatcher Coalition
Details here.
Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers
They want original horror stories on the above theme by writers from Texas. They specially welcome work by up-and-coming writers.
Word limit: 1,500-10,000
Deadline: 1 July 2017
Pay: Roughly $25 for 1,500, $100 for 5,000, and $200 for 10,000 words
Details here.
Martin Migraine Press: Chthonic: Weird Tales of Inner Earth
They want weird fiction that explores caverns and subterranean spaces, exploring bizarre civilizations, horrific rituals or mad science. This anthology will include one seed story: H.P. Lovecraft’s The Rats in the Walls.
Word limit: 1,500-7,000 words for fiction; 1,500 for flash fiction
Deadline: 31 July 2017
Pay: CAD0.03/word
Details here.
Geeky Press: Dear America: Reflections on Race
They want personal stories and reflections from people of diverse backgrounds, of what makes their America. The anthology isn’t meant to advocate a position. All submissions, including those not selected for the anthology, may be shared on the Youshare Project website; authors should indicate at the time of submission if they don’t want this.
Word limit: 1,000-5,000 for fiction and non-fiction; 10 minutes of script; 5 pages of poetry
Deadline: 31 July 2017
Pay: Royalties
Details here.
The Pulp Horror Book of Phobias
The editor wants stories with specific phobias listed on the site (some are now closed to submissions). The stories must have a strong pulp element.
Word limit: 4,000-6,000
Deadline: 31 July 2017
Pay: $50
Details here.
Specul8: Where’s Holmes? An Absent Sherlock Anthology
For stories of the characters set in Sherlock Holmes’ world, using his techniques and the characters that inhabit Arthur Conan Doyle’s work – without the detective actually being present. These can be set in 19th Century London, modernised or set in the future. For Australian and New Zealand authors only.
Word limit: 5,000-15,000
Deadline: Until filled
Pay: AU$15
Details here.
One Person’s Trash: Stories of homelessness
This quarterly print literary journal seek poems, short stories and creative non-fiction about the realities of homelessness: about isolation, stigma, or compassion. The focus is on sharing stories about homelessness and providing a supplemental income to people in poverty by letting them sell the journal and keep the proceeds.
Word limit: Unspecified, but brevity is appreciated
Deadline: Rolling; open now for inaugural issue
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
