There are 21 markets and a couple of contests in this list; they accept fiction, which they podcast. While many of them are open for submissions now (or have announced opening dates), some are not. Most of these are outlets for speculative fiction of some kind. They are listed in no particular order. They all pay writers, from token to pro rates. – S. Kalekar
Escape Artists: Four podcasts
They have four podcasts which publish young adult, horror (this is also open for a horror flash fiction contest), science fiction, and fantasy stories. The open period schedule dates on their website are subject to change.
— Cast of Wonders: This is a young adult (YA) fiction website and podcast. They want “Stories that evoke a sense of wonder, have deep emotional resonance, and have something unreal about them. We aim for a 12-17 age range: that means sophisticated, non-condescending stories with wide appeal, and without gratuitous or explicit sex, violence or pervasive obscene language.” They want fantasy, science fiction, horror (not visceral), comedy, steampunk, age-appropriate paranormal romance, superheroes and many other genres – “All that matters is adherence to our core concept and that critical spark of wonder.” They do not exclusively define YA as stories featuring children or young adult characters, and would particularly like to receive more stories about older people having first experiences. They accept translations and reprints, as well. Send fiction of up to 6,000 words. Pay is $0.08/word. They are open until 19 August 2021 for submissions by writers under 18 years, and may open for submissions by all writers during 1-30 November (see schedule). Details here.
— PseudoPod: This is an online and audio horror fiction magazine – “dark, weird fiction. We run the spectrum from grim realism or crime drama, to magic-realism, to blatantly supernatural dark fantasy. We publish highly literary stories reminiscent of Poe or Lovecraft as well as vulgar shock-value pulp fiction”, according to guidelines. They also accept reprints. Send stories of up to 6,000 words. Pay is 0.08/word, including for the flash contest. They are reading for their flash fiction contest till 31 August (fiction of up to 500 words), and 1-13 September for general submissions (see schedule). Details here.
— Escape Pod: This is an online and audio science fiction magazine. Their guidelines say, “We are fairly flexible on what counts as science (we’ll delve into superheroes or steampunk on occasion) and are interested in exploring the range of the genre. We want stories that center on science, technology, future projections, and/or alternate history, and how any or all of these things intersect with people.” They also accept reprints. Send stories of 1,500-6,000 words. Pay is $0.08/word. Their reading period begins 1 September 2021, and goes on till May 2022 (see their schedule). Details here.
— PodCastle: This is an online and audio fantasy magazine. Their guidelines say, They are open to all sub-genres of fantasy, from magical realism to urban fantasy to slipstream to high fantasy. Fantastical or non-real content should be meaningful to the story. They also accept reprints. Send stories of up to 6,000 words. They pay $0.08/word. Their reading period is 1-30 November 2021 (see schedule). Details here.
DarkNowhere
They publish horror short fiction, which they promote on their site and their biweekly fiction podcast, horror industry news, and horror focused editorial pieces. Their goal is to feature eight original short horror stories a month. “Our ‘brand’ of horror fiction is stories with a strong supernatural angle that feature well-developed characters. We ARE open to more psychological horror as well, but it has to have an extraordinary angle to it — no serial killers.” They want stories of 1,000-5,000 words, and pay $10. They are open now for submissions. Details here.
Hawk and Cleaver: The Other Stories
They publish horror, sci-fi, and thriller fiction on their podcast, The Other Stories, according to their website. They want tales that terrify, scar and haunt. They have several themed call deadlines coming up: Video Gamers (deadline 1st November 2021); Cults (deadline 15th November 2021); Surgery (deadline 1st December 2021); Superheroes (deadline 15th December 2021); Victorian England (deadline 1st January 2022); and Metamorphosis (deadline 1st February 2022). Writers can send up to two stories per theme, of up to 2,000 words each. Pay is £15. Details here (click on submission form for length and payment details).
The Centropic Oracle
This is an audio-only science fiction and fantasy market. The prose must be readable and easily spoken aloud. They want stories “that make you feel and think”. See guidelines for hard sells, and the kind of stories they will not accept. Their guidelines also say, “If we accept your story we will require a bio and a photo from you for promotional purposes on our website. In addition, be prepared to be called to interview with the reader and/or a small panel for a group discussion of your story. Talking points will be sent out prior to the voice-only interview so that you can have anecdotes or comments prepared. If you do not wish to have your photo posted, or appear on the show, do not submit.” Length guidelines are 200-1,500 words for flash, and 1,500-6,500 for short stories. Pay is CAD0.01/word.
Watch out for their next submission window. Details here.
StarShipSofa
This Hugo award winning podcast wants science fiction of all shades, ranging from soft, social science fiction to weird pulp to hard SF and YA adventure. The SF element must be the backbone of the story. They are particularly interested in work that is outside the US/Anglo-sphere and welcome translations. Second person is a tough sell, as are didactic and preachy stories. No fantasy or supernatural horror. They accept reprints, as well. Stories of 3,000-7,000 words are paid $50. They are open now for submissions. Details here.
The NoSleep Podcast
They want horror stories for their podcast, written from a first-person perspective. Stories should provide good audio cues and make good use of dialogue. They would like to see more script submissions – formats written as an audio drama starring two or more characters, with more being preferred. Dramas should ideally last 20-40 minutes. Their flash fiction submissions (up to 800 words, can go up to 1,200 words), which seem to be unpaid, are currently open. It’s unclear whether other categories (short fiction of 1,200-2,499 words, pays $100; regular submissions at least 2,500 words, pays $125) are open now. Details here.
Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast
All fiction genres will be considered, but the story must remain accessible to all ages, which mostly means no erotica or gore-horror. The editor has a particular love for sci-fi stories, so those may get slightly stronger consideration. They also prefer stories that have a plot. They’re currently low on sci-fi stories, and are almost always low on light-hearted stories. They are not accepting any Coronavirus-related stories currently. They are reading for Season 6. The ideal length is around 800 words, but stories as short as 250 or as long as 1500 may be considered. Pay is half a cent per word. They read submissions on an ongoing basis. Details here.
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. Send stories of 7,000-10,000 words. Pay is $25 and $50 (see above). They read work from 21st-28th during certain months, including August; after that, they’ll open submissions in November. Details here (guidelines) and here (episodes).
Breakroom Stories
This is an audio journal that specializes in strange fiction, plays, and poetry. They have listed the work of authors they like. Pieces that can be read aloud in 15-30 minutes preferred; longer pieces may be divided into episodes. They pay $10, and are open now for submissions. Details here.
Nightlight
This is a podcast for Black horror writers. They accept fiction, and reprints that have not previously appeared in radio format from Black writers. They are open for submissions on even months from February to August. Length guidelines are up to 3,000 words for flash, and 3,000-10,000 words for short fiction. Pay is $75 for flash fiction, $200 for short fiction, and $50 for reprints. The deadline is 31 August 2021. Details here.
Night’s End
This is a speculative horror podcast; they also publish scripts. They want stories of 2,000-8,000 words, and are accepting Halloween-themed stories until 15 August 2021. They pay $10 (click on the submission form for payment details). Details here.
Gallery of Curiosities
They publish Curiosities, speculative fiction in digital and print on demand format, and publish some of these stories in a twice-monthly podcast, the Gallery of Curiosities. They had started out as an audio-only venue. Their guidelines say, “This project is a comfortable two-headed beast at play in the curious and often dark corners of retropunk fiction. That means steampunk, dieselpunk, dreadpunk, bronzepunk, others that haven’t even been invented yet punk … but not atompunk.” Take a look at the editors’ preferences and hard sells on the guidelines page. Though they’re closed now, they will open for a themed call in 2021, according to their guidelines page. They also accept multiple submissions (up to three) and reprints. They publish stories of up to 7,500 words. Pay is $0.05/word. Their next reading period is TBA 2021. Details here.
The Overcast
This is a speculative fiction podcast. Their guidelines say, “We are interested in speculative fiction, whatever that means to you, be it Science Fiction, Fantasy, Steampunk, Magical Realism, Slipstream, or an as-yet-unnamed genre. Anything that looks at the world and life from an unexpected angle.” Roughly half the stories they publish are from writers in (or connected to) the Pacific Northwest, and the rest are from around the world. Stories that run for 20-30 minutes are the best fit for them. They welcome reprints that haven’t been previously produced in an audio format. They do not publish horror. Send stories of 1,000-5,000 words (3,000 words is the sweet spot).
Pay is $0.01/word, $20 for stories under 2,000 words. Their next reading period is 1-30 September 2021; they also read submissions during January and May. Details here.
Tales to Terrify
This podcast features short horror, dark fantasy, and other disturbing fiction. They encourage writers to “challenge the definition of horror. Standard tropes and monsters are welcome, but give us your own unique take. Avoid the cliche and expected, unless as devices used purposefully and cleverly to further your story.
Drag us deep into the unsettling atmosphere of a crumbling Gothic mansion. Show us the gritty, real-world horrors of evil people with dark intentions. Make our blood run cold and our breath catch in our throats as we’re hunted by ravenous creatures. Unhinge our minds with reality-bending, psychological horrors. Make us feel the pain and sorrow of a long-suffering spirit.” They’re currently open for flash fiction only (up to 2,000 words), which doesn’t pay, but regularly post calls for short stories, for which they pay. Details here.
Creepy
This is a horror fiction podcast. They have a live feed as well as stories on Patreon. They publish four stories on Patreon every week (up to 25-minute length), and longer stories on Sundays. They have a short list of the kind of stories they currently need, including October/Halloween-themed stories. They publish stories of 1,000-3,000 words for Patreon, and of 3,500-7,000 words for Sunday narration. They have a set rate for all stories, with Sunday stories being negotiable. They are open now for submissions. Details here.
Imaginary Comma: Thirteen
Thirteen is an audio-drama/audio fiction podcast specializing in feature length (~ one hour) productions that are characterized by slow-burn, atmospheric stories horror and ghost stories. Stories with a first person central narrator and supporting characters work best for their format, as do well-crafted stories, full of atmosphere and compelling settings, that take their time getting to the scares. Also, “Submissions of 5,000 words or more are most likely to be selected for wide release. Shorter submissions may be selected for special double feature episodes or episodes exclusive to Patreon supporters and other financial supporters of Imaginary Comma. Any submission that is selected for production, regardless of platform, will be paid.” Pay is unspecified, and they’re open now for submissions. Details here.
Tall Tale TV
For this podcast, the editor wants science fiction and fantasy stories. The guidelines say, “This includes all forms of these genres. From Lord of the Rings to Star Wars. Indiana Jones to X-Files. As long as it has some aspect of sci-fi, fantasy or high adventure that breaks reality it should be good.” Book excerpts must resemble a story. The editor will accept fan fiction, but it will be held to a higher standard. See the website for details on editorial preferences. They also accept reprints, and accept multiple submissions. This is now a paying market. They accept stories of 1,000-6,000 words, pay $10 (see their submission form), and have ongoing submissions. Details here.
Alpennia: Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Fiction Series
They usually open fiction submissions once a year, in January. They publish short stories in the lesbian historic fiction genre, to be produced in audio format for the podcast, as well as published in text on the website. The editors want to see actual historic culture and the plot and characters should be firmly rooted in that time and place. See their past submission call here (closed for submissions – do not send stories now).
FIYAH Magazine and Tor.com: LeVar Burton Reads Contest
This is a contest for US-based writers (see rules). Submissions are open for the inaugural LeVar Burton Reads contest; the theme is ‘Origins & Encounters’. This will be extremely competitive, as they are looking for one speculative fiction story to be featured in Season 10 of the podcast (they define speculative fiction as fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements, including but not limited to science fiction, fantasy, horror, and alternate history). They have extensive guidelines, including: “We are interested in stories that examine the magical joys and tragic pitfalls of blended civilizations and cultural exchanges in all their forms. As our worlds change, what precious things do we carry with us and allow to be altered or demand they remain untouched? What is taken from us and what will we do to get it back? What do we allow ourselves to remember of our histories, our roots, and what do we allow ourselves to forget? What do we leave behind and what do we choose to carry into the future?” Send stories of 2,800-5,200 words. The winner will receive $500, be published on Tor.com, and read by LeVar Burton on an upcoming episode of the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. The second and third prize winners receive $250 and $100 each, and their stories will be published on Tor.com. The deadline is 31 August 2021. 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.
