These markets pay $50 to $250 for fiction, and a few accept other genres like non-fiction and poetry, as well. They are open for submissions now, or are scheduled to open shortly. — S. Kalekar
Night Shift Radio: The Storyteller Series
This podcast has The Storyteller Series and they choose two stories to publish each month. One story will be chosen for the Full Cast Audiobook treatment; that author will receive $50 for audio rights and non-exclusive print rights. A second piece will be chosen for their mid-month print only piece. The author of that piece will be offered $25. They publish fiction, nonfiction, memoir – anything that reads with tension and excitement. They read work from 21st-28th during certain months.
Reading period: 21-28 May 2021
Length: 7,000-10,000 words
Pay: $25, $50 (see guidelines)
Details here (episodes) and here (guidelines).
Anthology: What One Wouldn’t Do
This is a dark speculative fiction and poetry anthology, about the lengths one might go to. The editor says, “What one wouldn’t do for…what? Power? Safety? Love? Revenge?
I’m looking for sacrifices, risky wagers, high stakes, and especially … the unintended consequences and fallout of said things. I’m interested in the lengths characters would go to “fill-in-the-blank-here.” I’m open to anything in the dark speculative fiction realm. I think blending genres/sub-genres around this theme could make for something special.”
Deadline: 29 May 2021
Length: 1,000-4,500 words
Pay: $0.02/word for fiction; $20 for poetry
Details here.
TDotSpec: Strange Religion; Strange Wars; Wight Christmas
They’re reading speculative fiction for three anthologies; one of them also accepts poetry. Two anthologies, Strange Religion and Strange Wars, have been successfully funded by Kickstarter.
— Strange Religion: This anthology “thoughtfully and respectfully explores religious traditions and ideas through speculative fiction. These are stories about the rituals, theology, and spirituality of aliens, AI, and the denizens of fantastic worlds depicted by scripture and religious folklore.
How do Muslims on other planets pray and perform the hajj? How would AI worship or read scripture? How would interreligious dialogue change if shamanic magic turned out to be real? What would the Bible be like if it were written by elves? How would the Buddha get by today? Suppose the remains of Krishna were found—what then? What if prophets didn’t only see the future but were from the future? … These stories reconsider theological topics—incarnation, reincarnation, revelation, miracles, and the like—through the lens of science fiction and fantasy. They put religion in dialogue with other human activities, including science, philosophy, and art.” They also accept reprints.
— Strange Wars: This anthology “explores military conflict through speculative fiction. … For science fiction stories about war: What will warfare look like in a hundred years? How will technology reshape war? Will they still be fought on traditional battlefields, or will completely new frontiers open? … We are interested in stories that explore military implications of: drones, Lunar and Martian colonies (or expansion into space generally), cryptocurrency, privatized military forces, non-state actors in military conflict, 3D-printing, hacking, environmental catastrophe, renewable energy sources, artificial intelligence, and other themes.
For fantasy war stories about war: How can magic, gods, parallel worlds, or otherworldly societies reshape our conception of war? Are other forms of organized conflict possible? Can such fantastic visions serve as thought experiments and expand our understanding of conflict? What kind of magic could make a world without war possible? … These fantasy stories explore war through speculative world-building, inventing fantastic premises and revealing their consequences through exciting and entertaining narratives.”
— Wight Christmas: This is an anthology of holiday horror, and in particular stories that subvert Christmas tropes and seasonal clichés. “We are seeking dark reinterpretations of seasonal traditions, and stories that reimagine holiday characters as ghosts, demons, spirits, supernatural entities, or other paranormal phenomena.
Fantasy and science fiction genres are both okay, but in all cases, submissions are more likely to be successful if they are dark and subversive.
No Krampus.” They also accept reprints. They will also publish poetry, and poetry reprints.
Length: Up to 7.500 words for Strange Religion and Strange Wars; up to 5,000 words for Wight Christmas
Pay: CAD2c/word for Strange Religion and Strange Wars; CAD0.005/word for fiction, CAD0.01 for poetry for Wight Christmas
Deadline: 31 May 2021 for all anthologies
Details here (scroll down).
Dark Moon Digest: Night Frights
This call is for the annual young adult edition of horror fiction, titled Night Frights. Their guidelines say, “We want to introduce young minds to the fabulous world of horror fiction. … We want stories with complex characters and new ideas. Scare us. But also, inspire young readers into a lifelong obsession with the genre.
Cool it on the profanities, no sexual situations, nothing too graphic.”
Deadline: 31 May 2021
Length: Up to 3,500 words
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here.
Scare Street: Night Terrors
They want short horror stories with a focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales for their Night Terrors anthology. They want work that is dark and literary.
Deadline: 31 May 2021
Length: 3,000-7,000 words
Pay: “$10 per 1,000 words” ($0.01/word)
Details here.
GigaNotoSaurus
They publish science fiction or fantasy (or any combination thereof). They publish one story a month.
Deadline: 31 May 2021 (see their Tweet here) – plans to reopen in July
Length: 5,000-25,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here.
Apparition Lit: Contamination
They accept speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, literary) and poetry and they have opened submissions for the ‘Contamination’ theme now. They have extended their reading period by a week for BIPOC writers only. Their next reading period is in August, for another theme. (They also have a monthly themed flash fiction challenge, which runs from the 1st to the 15th of every month, and pays $30.)
Deadline: 31 May 2021 for general submissions; reading 1-7 June 2021 for BIPOC-only submissions
Length: 1,000-5,000 words for fiction, up to five poems
Pay: $0.03/word for prose, $30/poem
Details here.
Prairie Fire
This prestigious Canadian literary magazine reads fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. Submissions have to be mailed — see guidelines for exceptions.
(They’re also reading submissions for a themed issue, Roots & Routes – for this issue, they accept emailed submissions, as well.)
Deadline: Ongoing for unthemed; 31 May 2021 for themed issue
Length: Up to 6 poems, up to 10,000 words for unthemed issue;
up to 3 poems, up to 5,000 words for themed
Pay: CAD40/poem; CAD0.10/word up to CAD250 (approx. USD200) for fiction and creative non-fiction; varies for others.
Details here (guidelines for unthemed submissions); here (payment details); and here (guidelines for themed submissions).
Three-Lobed Burning Eye
This is a magazine of speculative fiction – horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Their guidelines say, “We’re looking for short stories from across the big classifications and those shadowy places between: magical realism, fantastique, slipstream, interstitial, Weird fiction.” They like voices that are “full of feeling, from literary to pulpy, with styles unique and flowing, but not too experimental.” They do not want extreme horror. They welcome translations. Their issues include audio readings.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: 1,001-7,500 words
Pay: $30-100
Details here.
The Massachusetts Review: Working Title
Working Title publishes fiction and non-fiction that is longer than what is published in their print magazine. Work in this digital platform will also incorporate visual and interactive elements. They will accept mailed submissions only for Working Titles between May 1 and 1 October, when regular submissions are closed for The Massachusetts Review. There is no fee for mailed submissions.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: 7,000-25,000 words
Pay: $250
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She is the author of 182 Short Fiction Publishers. She can be reached here.
