IWSG - Cover Reveal & April Submission Roundup

It's time for the March IWSG!

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer's Support Group is a monthly blog event where writers can post about their insecurities and lend support to other writers. Anyone can join. Click on Alex's name above and add your blog to the linky list.

This month's co-hosts are Deidre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim, and JQ Rose. Be sure to stop by and visit them!

This month's optional question: Have you ever read a line in a novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

Oh yeah. I am constantly awed by glorious wording (and occasionally plot twists, though I find those harder to come by). I love a good plot twist, but I can't think of one off the top of my head that awed me. The entire opening sections of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca are worth reading for the fantastic wording. Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has some great descriptive sentences. And the opening line of Stephen King's The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger is a great one, as well.

I'm skipping submission stats this month, because I haven't been submitting while I finished getting Happy Ghoulidays II ready. Speaking of which, how about a cover reveal? I don't have the paperback pre-order link yet, but I'll post the e-book link below.

Happy Ghoulidays II releases Friday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day), as the first story in the book involves St. Paddy's. The universal link for e-books is HERE.

If you're willing to help with my book launch this month, you can sign up HERE.

And look what my husband (my cover designer) did!

If you missed L. Diane Wolfe's guest post last week, she wrote about tying books in a series together. Check out the post and her new book!

Open for Submissions

Bear in mind, I'm merely passing these along, not endorsing them. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Dragon's Roost Press is seeking submissions of weird, dark speculative fiction for The Midnight Zone. Must involve a new monster. 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $.03/word. Deadline March 30.

Aurealis is open year round for authors in Australia and New Zealand, but they're open to international submissions once per year for the month of March. Speculative fiction. Pays $20-$60 AUD per 1000 words. Deadline March 31.

Masks Literary Magazine is seeking poetry and prose up to 3000 words. Pays $20-$25. Deadline March 31.

Gordon Square Review is seeking poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Word limit varies per type of submission. Up to 7500 words for prose. Pays $10-$25. Deadline April 1.

ev0ke is seeking pieces with the theme "sex magic." They take a variety of submission types. Pays $5. Deadline April 15 (does not open until April 1.)

Dread Stone Press is seeking horror flash fiction. 500 to 1000 words. $.02/word. Deadline April 15. (Opens April 1.)

Seaside Gothic is seeking flash fiction. Up to 1000 words. Pays .01 pounds/word. Deadline April 16.

Reservoir Road Literary Review is seeking literary fiction short stories and lyrical creative nonfiction. Up to about 8000 words (no hard limit). Pays $5. Deadline April 30 (does not open until April 1).

Khoreo is seeking speculative fiction. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.10/word. Deadline April 30.

Dragonsoul Press is seeking stories featuring pirates for Pirate Gold. Yes, that even includes space pirates. 3000 to 20,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline April 30.

Inklings Press is seeking speculative fiction mystery stories. Up to around 5000 words. Pays $10. Deadline April 30.

The First Line is seeking stories starting with the line: "All the lawns on Mentone Avenue are mowed on Wednesdays." 300 to 5000 words. Pays $10-$50, depending upon submission type. Deadline May 1.

Rock and a Hard Place is seeking literary noir stories about rich people behaving badly for the anthology The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved. 2000 to 5000 words. Pays $25 to $35. Deadline May 1.

December Magazine is seeking literary prose, poetry, and nonfiction. Up to 1000 words. Pays $10 per page. Deadline May 1.

Three Ravens Publishing is seeking post-apocalyptic stories for Tales of the Apocalypse. 5000 to 10,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline May 1.

What are your insecurities? What's your favorite line from a novel (or what novel is it from)? Have you written a series? Any of these publications of interest?

May you find your Muse.

Submission Stats & Open Calls for March

Since I didn't have time last week to add the usual onto my IWSG post, I'm doing it this week. 

First, my submission stats for January. They're awful, BUT that's because I'm busy working on Happy Ghoulidays II, so I don't even feel bad about it. HGII releases March 17!! (I'm looking for folks interested in helping spread the word about HGII in March. You can sign up here. Thank you!)

In January:

3 submissions

3 rejections

12 currently on submission

So. many. needing. submission.

Okay, now for publications taking submissions with deadlines in March. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Hexagon Magazine is seeking speculative fiction short stories. Up to 10,000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline March 7. (Note they are only open for submissions from the 1st to the 7th.)

Solarpunk Magazine is seeking stories by BIPOC authors only for a special themed issue. 1500 to 7500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline March 14. (Note they are only open for submissions from the 1st to the 14th.)

Eye to the Telescope is seeking speculative poetry with the theme of Fungi. 1-3 poems. Pays $.04/word. Deadline March 15. 

EvOke is seeking speculative fiction stories with the theme Gods and Goddesses of Witchcraft. Pays $5. Deadline March 15.

Nunum is seeking flash fiction. Up to 500 words. Pays $20CAD. Deadline March 15.

The Ex-Puritan is seeking a variety of works, including short fiction, poetry, and essays. Pay is between $35 and $200, depending upon type of submission. Deadline March 25, but deadlines roll, so they are continuously open for submissions. Deadline merely determines which issue you're being considered for.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking stories featuring East Asian warriors for the anthology Honor. 3000 to 20,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline March 25.

Munster Literature Center is seeking short fiction for Southword. Up to 5000 words. Pays 250 euros. Deadline March 31.

Cohesion Press is seeking military horror short stories for Snafu: Punk'd. 2000 to 7500 words. Pays $.05AUD/word. Deadline March 31.

The Woodward Review is seeking poetry and prose. Up to 5000 words. Pays $50. Deadline March 31.

Be sure to stop by on February 22 when L. Diane Wolfe stops by!

Have you been submitting? How's it going? Any of these of interest?

May you find your Muse.

IWSG - Book Release News & 2022 Submission Stats

Yep, it's that time again. First Wednesday of 2023 means it's Insecure Writer's Support Group time.

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG creates an environment where writers can share about their insecurities and lend support to their fellow insecure writers. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and add your blog to the list.

This month's co-hosts are: Jemima Pett, Debs Carey, Kim Lajevardi, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, T. Powell Coltrin.

This month's optional question is: Do you have a word of the year? Is there a word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year? What's your word for 2023 and why?

I don't usually do a word, but I might as well! This year's word is Productivity. I started a new job in May and another around July or August, and very little time has gone to writing as I learned the jobs and worked to improve at them. This year is the year of writing and publication.

I'm planning on releasing Happy Ghoulidays II March 17 (St. Patrick's Day), with stories for St. Patrick's, 4th of July, Easter, Halloween, and more. So I'm hard at work on that. I didn't release anything in 2022, and that's unacceptable. I also have at least one other release (preferably with much longer pre-order period than HG II will have) planned in 2023, but have ideas for more, so it will all come down to what I can manage along with the job. I have a novel I've decided to self-pub, but I want to get the second in the series written before I start planning the release. There's another (unrelated) novel I need to be editing.

In other words, this is the year of GETTING SH*T DONE. Because I did not last year. I've been terrible about short story submissions, and that needs to improve, too. If I hadn't taken the class with Storied Imaginarium, I wouldn't have written any stories for several months. I'm so glad I took that class. It got me inspired and ready to move ahead full tilt.

Submission Stats for December:

1 submission

2 rejections

0 acceptances

12 currently on submission

Submission stats for 2022:

103 submissions

6 acceptances

85 rejections

15 other (publications went under)

My acceptance percentage was more than double this before, so I need to work on that, too. I will say, though, that I also branched out into other genres and did a lot of fiddling around with that, and a chunk of those submissions are from me playing with new stuff. There was also experimentation in my horror. So this may have influenced the stats.

These markets are open for submissions. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Neon Hemlock is seeking queer gothic horror for The Crawling Moon: Queer Tales of Inescapable Dread. Up to 6000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 15.

World Publishing Company is seeking stories about the gods for Avitus: Humans, Gods, Demons. 2400 to 4200 words. Pays $10. Deadline January 15.

Fulcrum Publishing is seeking essays on women's productive health. Up to 2000 words. Pays $150. Deadline January 20.

Dark Matter Presents is seeking horror involving monsters and their lairs for Monster Lairs. 2000 to 4000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 30.

Air and Nothingness Press is seeking "stories of massive engineering megastructures that reshape stellar systems" for Gargantua. Should be EXACTLY 1000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 31.

The Bureau Dispatch is seeking fiction and creative nonfiction with the theme "Wayfinding." Up to 1000 words. Pays $50. Deadline January 31.

Brink is seeking short fiction, poetry, and art with the theme "Gravity." Up to 1500 words. Pays $25 to $100, depending upon submission type. Deadline January 31.

Brigids Gate Press is seeking stories about seers and sibyls. 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 31.

The Last Girls Club is seeking horror stories with the theme "Panic." Up to 2500 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline February 1.

The First Line is seeking stories with the opening line "I am the second Mrs. Roberts." 300 to 5000 words. Pays $10 to $50, depending upon submission type. Deadline February1.

Medusa Tales Magazine is seeking stories of transformation and immobilization. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline February 15.

EvOke is seeking stories stories, poetry, and artwork about paganism in the African diaspora. Pays $5. Deadline February 15.

Ghoulish Books is seeking short, fun horror for Ghoulish Times. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.07.word. Deadline February 15. (Note: the editors used to run Dark Moon Digest.)

Other Worlds Ink is seeking hopeful near future stories for Transform the World. 2500 to 15,000 words. $50 to $100, depending upon length. Deadline February 28.

Gwyllion Magazine is seeking speculative fiction. Up to 10,000 words. Pays 10 pounds. Deadline February 28.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking trickster stories. 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline February 28.

Any of these of interest? What's your word for the year? Do you set goals? What's something you want to change for the year? Do you review your submission stats for the year?

May you find your Muse.

*Blue Swoosh - md - OCAL - clker.com

IWSG, Slasher Sports Cinema Podcast, & Open Submission Calls for January

It's the first Wednesday of December and the last first Wednesday of 2022. Can you believe it? That means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. 

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG provides a venue for authors to air their insecurities and support their fellow in theirs. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and put your blog on the linky list.

The co-hosts this month are Joylene Nowell Butler, Chemist Ken, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine.

The optional question this month is: Are the holidays a time to catch up or fall behind on writing goals?

This time of year always ends up being busy, but not solely because of the holidays. It's finals time for the kids, and I've got two high schoolers. There's my birthday (I turned 45 Thanksgiving week!), my mom's birthday, and countless other things that fall into line between October 1 and the second week of January. So writing? Eeeeeeeehhhh....not so much.

I *am* excited that I no longer have a ton of deadlines on the 7th and 8th of each month at the day job, though! They're now all on the 15th. That means I will finally be able to get back to making blog visits for IWSG on Wednesday instead of a week later! But because all those deadlines are now doubled up on the 15th, I'm going to return to putting open market calls on the IWSG posts and probably only posting on first Wednesdays. I'm simply not able to visit people the way I'd like to. That may change in the future.

For right now, my writing is going to be focused on getting Happy Ghoulidays II out on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. Wish me luck!

For anyone who missed it, I was a guest on Slasher Sports Cinema last month, where we discussed the original Nightmare on Elm Street (and about a billion other things, of course, because it's fun to talk horror with someone who gets it.) It's available on: Anchor | Spotify | Apple | iHeart | YouTube

Before I jump into open markets, it's time for my monthly submission stats. It's been a lackluster month, but reporting on this keeps me accountable.

November stats:

4 submissions

0 acceptances

7 rejections

1 short listing

13 stories on submission

Meh.

Okay, markets open for submissions. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence when submitting.

Amazing Stories is seeking flash fiction with the theme "Sol System." Up to 1500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 2.

The Fairy Tale Magazine is seeking fairy tale short stories and poetry following the theme "Love." 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $50. Deadline January 2.

Kenyon Review is seeking poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for "Luminous Gender Vessel" about gender and being in your body. Up to 6000 words. Paying market, but pay is not specified. Deadline January 5.

The Fantastic Other is seeking short stories, poetry, and flash fiction with the theme of "Mirrors." Up to 3500 words. Pays $5. Deadline January 7.

Cosmic Horror Monthly is seeking...cosmic horror. 3000 to 5000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline January 7.

DBS Press is seeking short stories with the theme of "Renfield." 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline January 15.

Neon Literary Magazine is seeking dark short pieces with the theme "Machines." Up to 5000 words. Pays 2p/word. Deadline January 15.

ev0ke is seeking poetry, short fiction, essays, and other forms with the theme "Tarot and Oracle Decks." Pays $5. Deadline January 15.

The Saltbush Review is seeking short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Up to 3000 words. Pays AUD$150. Deadline January 20.

Alienhead Press is seeking stories about the paranormal around the holidays. 2000 to 4000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline January 20. 

Improbable Press is seeking stories of literary women given a second chance to really live for "Anna Karenina Isn't Dead." Up to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline January 31.

Zoetic Press is seeking prose, poetry, and art with the theme of "Food." Up to 3000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline January 31.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking short stories with the theme of "Sirens." 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline January 31.

What are your insecurities? Are you getting any writing done? Are any of these calls of interest? Anything to share? Have you been submitting?

May you find your Muse.

Slasher Sports Cinema Podcast & December Submission Roundup

Hi there! I'm actually posting on time for maybe the first time in a few months. I feel so accomplished. :D

Before I jump into links for December submissions, I was a guest on Slasher Sports Cinema, where I got to chat with Billy, the host, about Nightmare on Elm Street, my first and favorite slasher film, and one of the first horror films I saw and remembered (after Jaws and Cat People). As someone whose had insomnia since the age of twelve and who has also suffered sleep paralysis that involved a figure standing over my bed (pretty common in sleep paralysis), Freddy always stood out to me as different than the other slashers. And far scarier. 

You can listen to it (and view it, in the case of the YouTube link) in several places: 

ANCHOR - https://anchor.fm/slashersportscinema

SPOTIFY - https://open.spotify.com/show/4FabrHyO4FpbvTHeuG8Ksd

APPLE - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slasher-sports-show/id1633502252

IHEART - https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-slasher-sports-cinema-102543354/

YOUTUBE - https://youtu.be/_h0_3rmI8Fg

Now onto markets open for submissions in December. As we ease our way into winter, the numbers dwindle slightly, but there are still plenty of short story/flash fiction/poetry markets looking!

Please bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

December

Outcast Press is seeking noir-style stories where diners (or similar) are an integral part of the story. 2000 to 7000 words. Pays $25-$100. Deadline December 1.

R. Saint Claire is seeking horror short stories for a new magazine: Book Worms. 500 to 3000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline December 1.

Parabola is seeking stories and articles with the theme "Transformation." Up to 3000 words. Paying market, but I'm not finding the pay. Deadline December 1.

Lost Boys Press is seeking stories involving societies of anthropomorphized animals for Empire of Beasts. 3000 to 9000 words. Pays $40. Deadline December 1.

The Other Stories is seeking short horror stories with the theme "Tunnels." Must be 2000 words, give or take 10%. Pays 15 GBP. Deadline for this theme (other themes are also open right now) December 1.

Crystal Lake Publishing is seeking dreamy, psychedelic or related horror for their Never Wake anthology. 2500 to 4500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline December 4. 

Eye to the Telescope is seeking speculative poetry about Frankenstein and what it means to you. Can submit 1-3 poems. Pays $.04/word. Deadline 15. 

The Showbear Family Circus is seeking stories that involve deities connected to constellations for Of Gods and Globes. Prefer stories under 7500 words. Pays in a royalty split. Deadline December 15.

Freeze Frame Fiction is seeking flash fiction in any genre. Up to 1000 words. Pays $10 per piece. Deadline December 31.

Manawaker Studio is seeking sci-fi retellings of Briar Rose (aka Sleeping Beauty) for Project Briar Rose. 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline December 31.

Arc Poetry Magazine is seeking poetry. Up to 3 poems or 360 lines. Pays $50/page. Deadline December 31.

Dead Fish Books is seeking speculative stories about alien first contacts that start well, but go terribly wrong for Yay! They're Here! 2000 to 6000 words. Pays $5 + royalties. Deadline December 31.

Eerie River Publishing is seeking horror stories involving wind and its various forms. 1500 to 7000 words. Pays $.01CAD/word. Deadline December 31.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking stories for two anthologies: Carried Away (Romantic Comedy) and Liberty (LGBTQ+ Fantasy). 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline December 31.

Any of these of interest? Are you submitting? Anything to share? Know of any open calls? Do you enjoy slashers?

May you find your Muse.

Submission Roundup

Time again for the submission roundup for now through the end of November. Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting to a market.

Accepting Submissions

October

World Weaver Press is seeking solarpunk stories with nonhuman characters (can be interacting with human characters) for Solarpunk Creatures. Up to 7000 words. Pays $.03/word. Deadline October 31.

War Monkey Publications LLC is seeking horror stories based on "regional legends and tall-tales" for From the Yonder Volume IV. 1000 to 7500 words. Pays $10. Deadline October 31.

Zoetic Press is seeking submissions with the theme Family for Nonbinary Review. Up to 3000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline October 31. 

Lucky Jefferson is seeking stories by black authors following their prompt for Awake. Poetry or flash fiction up to 1000 words. Pays $15 to $50, depending upon submission type. Deadline October 31.

November

The First Line is seeking fiction, poetry, and nonfiction with the first line: "When he died, their father had two requests." 300 to 5000 words. Pays $5 to $50, depending upon submission type. Deadline November 1.

The Other Stories (a podcast) is seeking horror stories. Must be within 10% of 2000 words. Current theme is Mother Nature. (Can also submit to future calls: Tunnels, Strange Weather, Imaginary Friends.) Pays 15 GBP per story. Deadline November 1.

The Last Girls Club is seeking stories with the theme Homeless Nation. Up to 2500 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline November 1.

Ninth Letter is seeking fiction, poetry, and nonfiction with the theme Constellations. Up to 3500 words. Pays $25 to $75, depending upon submission type. Deadline November 1.

Fanatical is seeking "sci-fi and fantasy stories inspired by tabletop games." 2000 to 6000 words. Pays 20 pounds. Deadline November 5.

Bag of Bones Press is seeking co-authored dark fantasy for Double-Edged Sword. 4000 to 6000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline November 8.

Berlin Lit is seeking poetry. Up to 5 poems. Pays 20 euros. Deadline November 12. 

Presses Renaissance Press is seeking stories about disabled superheroes written by disabled authors for Mighty. Speculative fiction. Cross-genre welcome. 500 to 3500 words. Pays $.08CAD/word. Deadline November 14. 

Eerie River Publishing is seeking cosmic horror stories. 2000 to 7000 words. Pays $.01CAD/word. Deadline November 15.

Word West Revue is seeking stories about the west. Up to 5000 words. Pays $25 to $100, depending on whether it's accepted for print or online. Deadline November 15. 

Dragon Soul Press is seeking science fiction romance for Union (3000 to 15,000 words) and monster romance for Beastly Tales (3000 to 20,000 words). Pays in royalties. Deadline November 30. 

Pride Book Cafe is seeking horror, suspense, and supernatural short stories by diverse authors for Fable. 1000 to 39,999 words. Pays $.08/word for the first 1000 words, then $.01/word after. Deadline November 30.

Abandon Journal is seeking a variety of submission types with the theme Abandon Love. Work count varies per submission type. Pays $15. Deadline November 30.

From Beyond Press is seeking horror stories about bugs. 500 to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline November 30.

April Bradley is seeking flash narratives on chronic illness for Flare. Up to 750 words. Pays $10. Deadline November 30.

Any November submission calls to share? Any of these of interest?

May you find your Muse.

Super Late Submission Roundup

It's late, but it's here! Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Late September Deadlines

Night Terror Novels is seeking flash fiction pieces for The Theatre Phantasmagoria. The theme for October is "Something Wicked." Stories should be centered around fall/Halloween. Up to 2000 words. Pays a flat rate of 10 pounds. Deadline September 30.

Crystal Lake Publishing is seeking horror stories that address the horror that grows from successes/progress in the LGBTQ+ community. The pendulum, in other words. Up to 6000 words. Pays $.10/word. Deadline September 30.

Rhonda Parrish is seeking stories about women and the sea for an anthology. Up to 7500 words. Pays $50 CAD. Deadline September 30.

Mocha Memoirs Press is seeking F/SF tales of robots/AI have gone off their programming for Crack in the Code. Up to 7500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline September 30.

Clan Destine Press is seeking stories of Sherlock as a female for Sherlock is a Girl's Name. Up to 5000 words (paid). Pays $.05AUD/word. Deadline September 30.

Brigid's Gate Press is seeking gothic romances with an emphasis on both the horror and the romance. Must have a HEA. 2000 to 6000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline September 30.

Kenyon Review is seeking short fiction, poetry, plays, and essays with the broad themes of food and women's health. Up to 7500 words. This is a paying market, but pay is not specified until a contract is offered. Deadline September 30.

October Deadlines

The Evil Cookie Publishing is seeking extreme horror stories dealing with water for Dead & Bloated. Up to 3000 words. Pays $.03/word. Deadline October 1.

The Last Line is seeking stories that end with the line: "The shredder roared to life, grinding the letter into tiny pieces of confetti." 300 to 5000 words. Pays $20-$40. Deadline October 1.

Quill & Crow Publishing House is seeking "gothic tales of dark magic and wizardry" for Rituals & Grimoires. 5000 to 8000 words. $40 per story. Deadline October 1.

Mythulu is seeking co-authored speculative fiction for Symbiosis. 500 to 2800 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline October 2.

TDOTSPEC is seeking SF tarot stories for The Science Fiction Tarot. Must give a premise for a SF tarot card design. Up to 7500 words. Pays $.03/word. Deadline October 4.

Wordfire Press is seeking dark mermaid stories for Merciless Mermaids: Tails From the Deep. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline October 7. 

Translunar Travelers Lounge is seeking F/SF stories. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.03/word. Deadline October 15.

The Other Stories (a podcast) is seeking horror stories with the theme Possession. Must be right around 2000 words. Pays 15 GBP. Deadline October 15.

Stormbird Press is seeking fiction and nonfiction showing our oceans are worth fighting for for Our Ocean'd Earth. 1000 to 3000 words. Pays 200 euros. Deadline October 30.

Black Beacon Books is seeking mystery short stories. 3000 to 9000 words. Pays 20 euros. Deadline October 31.

Horroraddicts.net is seeking horror stories set in one house of the same manor, set between 1880 and 1980. 2000 to 3500 words. Pays $10. Deadline October 31.

Ontology Books is seeking postmodern horror for A Darkness Visible. 3000 to 8000 words. Pays 80 pounds. Deadline October 31.

No Deadlines

The Vanishing Point is seeking dark speculative fiction. 1500 to 6000 words. Pays $15. No set deadlines.

Shrapnel Magazine is seeking fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and essays. No specific word limit. Pays $30 to $60, depending upon piece submitted. No set deadlines.

Uncharted Magazine is seeking F/SF, Horror/Thriller, and Mystery/Crime. 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $200. No set deadlines.

Go Nomad is accepting pitches for travel stories. 1200 to 2000 words (on average). Pays $25. No set deadlines.

The Sunlight Press is seeking essays, poetry, and fiction. Up to 2000 words, depending upon category. Pays $15 to $40, depending upon category. No set deadlines.

That's it for this month. Any of these of interest? Have you been published by any of these publishers and have recommendations or words of caution? Anything else to share?

May you find your Muse.

September Submission Roundup

I'm a day late, but the roundup is here!

Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting. 

Accepting Submissions:

Inked in Gray is seeking speculative fiction short stories with the theme "Joy is Resistance" for Reclaiming Joy. Up to 8000 words. Pays $45. Deadline August 30.

Wyldblood Press is seeking fantasy short stories involving the sea for From the Depths. 1000-12,000 words (sweet spot is 3000 to 5000). Pays .01 pounds per word. Deadline August 31.

Bert Edens is seeking horror stories based on Alice Cooper's songs. 3000 to 5000 words. Pays $25 with proceeds going to Alice Cooper's charity Solid Rock Teen Centers. Deadline August 31.

Apparition Lit's brief submission window will be open soon. Speculative fiction and poetry with the theme "Nostalgia." 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Submission window open August 15 to 31.

Timber Ghost Press is seeking horror set in the Old West for Harrowing Trails. Up to 6000 words. Pays $10 to $35. Deadline August 31.

The Quiet Ones is seeking horror and dystopian with the theme "Nocturnal Animals." Up to 3000 words. Pay $25. Deadline August 31.

Input/Output Enterprises is seeking vampire horror for And the Dead Shall Sleep No More. Up to 6000 words. Pays $15. Deadline September 1.

Writers Victoria is seeking fiction and nonfiction with the theme "Unravel." Up to 1200 words. Pays $70 to $200. Deadline September 5.

Belanger Books is seeking mysteries involving police who go to Sherlock Holmes for help for The Consultations of Sherlock Holmes. He cannot be the main investigator. 5000 to 10,000 words. Pays $100 or $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter proceeds (whichever is more). Deadline September 15. 

Pyre Magazine is seeking dark speculative fiction. Up to 3500 words. Pays $10. Deadline September 18. 

Dragon Soul Press is seeking dragon stories for Reign of Fire. 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline September 30.

Mocha Memoirs Press is seeking "cybernated stories of rebellion" for Crack the Code. Up to 7500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline September 30.

The Bombay Literary Magazine is seeking fiction, poetry, and graphic fiction. 2000 to 7000 words. Pays Rs. 5000 (about $65). Deadline September 30.

Brigids Press is seeking gothic romance. Female and nonbinary authors only. 2000 to 6000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline September 30.

Any of these of interest? Any other calls to share?

May you find your Muse.

July Submission Roundup

It's time for the monthly submission roundup! Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Augur is seeking speculative fiction for their regular magazine (Augur) and cozy SF/F stories for Tales & Feathers. They mostly take Canadian/First Nations. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.11/word. Deadline July 31.

Pikes Peak Writers is seeking short stories and poetry that takes the reader to a new world. Up to 6000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline July 31.

Superlative is seeking short fiction with the theme "Futures." Up to 1500 words. Pays 10 pounds. Deadline July 31.

Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing/Ghoulish Books is seeking body horror stories written by transgender and nonbinary authors for Bound in Flesh. 3000 to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline July 31. (Note that I have worked with this press before with their magazine Dark Moon Digest, and they are always a pleasure to work with.)

Black Beacon Books is seeking post-apocalyptic short stories for Tales from the Ruins. 5000 to 10,000 words. Paying market. Deadline July 31. 

Metaphorosis is seeking SF/F short stories about an interesting museum. 1000 to 8000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline July 31.

Three Ravens Publishing is seeking high fantasy short stories for Embers of Corsari, a shared world anthology and horror comedy short stories for It Came from the Trailer Park II. 7000 to 10,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline August 1.

Lethe Press is seeking dark speculative short stories about "gay sexuality, desire, masculinity, and the aesthetics of rough trade" for Brute. 2500 to 10,000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline August 1.

The First Line is seeking fiction, poetry, and critical essays with the first line "Lily unlocked the back door of the thrift store using a key that didn't belong to her." 300 to 5000 words. Pays up to $50.00 depending upon submission type/length. Deadline August 1.

The Last Girls Club Magazine is seeking feminist horror with the theme "Thoughts & Prayers." Up to 2500 words. They also accept poetry and flash fiction. Pays $.01/word. Deadline August 1.

Rayne Hall is seeking horror stories dealing with trains for The Haunted Train. No length restriction. Pay is flat fee of 10 Euro. Deadline August 15.

Ghost Orchid Press is seeking erotic horror fairy tales for Les Petite Morts. 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline August 30.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking contemporary women's fiction for Life at Its Best and Christmas stories for Magick & Mistletoe. Up to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline August 31. 

Gwyllion is seeking pulp/low-brow speculative fiction. Up to 10,000 words. Pays 10 pounds. Deadline August 31.

Eerie River Publishing is seeking dark short stories for It Calls from Beneath. 2000 to 7000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline September 1 (does not open for submissions until August 1). They are also taking water themed horror for their elements series. 1500 to 7000 words. Same pay. Deadline August 31.

Timber Ghost Press is seeking horror stories set in the Old West for Along Harrowed Trails. Poetry, flash, and short. Up to 6000 words. Pays up to $35. Deadline August 31.

Apparition Literary Magazine is seeking speculative fiction poetry and short stories with the theme "nostalgia." 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline August 31 (not open for submissions until August 15.) 

War & Whiskey Publishing is seeking horror SF set on another planet for Strange Sunsets. 2500 to 7500 words. Pays $30. Deadline August 31.

Hellbound Books is seeking horror short stories paying homage to Poe for Madame Gray's Poe-Pourri of Terror and space SF horror for Hellbound Sci-Fi. 3000 to 8000 words for Poe and 4000 to 10,000 words for Hellbound. Pays $5. Deadline September 1. (I've been published with this market and had a good experience, but please note that they don't always send out rejections, as far as I know.)

Head Shot is seeking noir short stories for Bang! 2000 to 8000 words. Pays 10 pounds. Deadline September 1.

Orion's Belt is seeking SF stories. Up to 1200 words. Pays $.08.word. Deadline September 1.

Taco Bell Quarterly is seeking literary fiction, poetry, and more that involves Taco Bell in some way. 500 to 1500 words. Pays $100 per piece. Deadline September 5.

Any of these of interest? Any open calls to share? Are you submitting?

May you find your Muse.

Visits & Submission Roundup

Okay y'all, I've had to download Mozilla Firefox to do it, but I think I can finally visit other blogs and comment on them (and respond to comments on my own blog)! As far as I can tell, unless others are having issues with blogger, too, my issues are stemming from adding work accounts and keeping my Google Drive access to them open. Which I've had to do before, without having these issues, but that was before I was using the newer Office setup that keeps me online.

Anyway, whatever the issue, I *think* I have things back to normal as long as I use a separate browser. Fingers crossed!

I ended up getting sicker after my IWSG post, and simply didn't have the energy to work on it until now.

Moving on! 

It's time for the June and July submission roundup. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Freeze Frame Fiction is seeking flash fiction. Up to 1000 words. Pays $10 per piece. Deadline June 30.

Brigid's Gate Press is seeking short stories, poetry, and drabbles in horror and dark fantasy for Dangerous Waters: Deadly Women of the Sea. 500 to 3500 words. Pays $.08/word for short stories, $50 per poem/drabble. Deadline June 30.

War & Whiskey Publishing is seeking science fiction taking place on other planets for Strange Sunrises: Tales From Distant Planets. All sub-genres, but they have a specific sci-fi horror call in the future, and would prefer horror be saved for that one. 2500 to 7500 words. Pays $30. Deadline June 30.

New Gothic Review is seeking short stories that re-imagine gothic literature for the 21st century. 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $65. Deadline June 30.

Strange Aeon is seeking cosmic horror short stories. 5000 to 10,000 words. Pays $20. Deadline June 30.

Dark Matter Magazine is seeking sci-fi horror for Monstrous Futures. Black Mirror-type stories. 2000 to 4000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline June 30.

Unsettling Reads is seeking fantasy, horror, and science fiction themed around winter/snow and that must feature a tree. Short stories and poems. 1500 to 5500 words. Pays $20. Deadline July 1.

The Cafe Irreal is seeking irreal stories (defined on their site). Up to 2000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline July 1.

Minola Review is seeking poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by those identifying as women or nonbinary. Up to 5000 words. Pays $175 per short story or creative nonfiction and $25 per poem. Deadline July 1.

Substantially Unlimited is seeking work by those who are disabled, especially focusing on invisible disabilities. Current theme is "stigma." 1 to 15 pages. Pays $15. Deadline July 1. 

Pillow Talking, a podcast, is seeking first-person narrative/creative nonfiction real-life bedroom conversations. 350 to 2000 words. July themes are "sanctuary" (July 2 deadline) and "I remember..." (July 16 deadline), but they take unthemed pieces at any time. Pays $25 AUD. 

Aurelio Leo is seeking fantasy short stories by authors of the African diaspora for Sovereign: An Anthology of Black Fantasy Fiction. Up to 39,999 words. Pays $.08/word up to 1000 words then $.01/word after. Deadline July 1.

Arelia Leo is also seeking urban fantasy dealing with elemental fire magic for From the Ashes. Same word count and pay as above, but in addition 10% of net proceeds will be donated to charities supporting burn victims. Deadline July 16.

Jaggery is seeking work by those of the South Asian diaspora. Art, essays, poetry, fiction. No specific word count. Pays $100 for fiction, $25 for all else. Deadline July 17.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking women's contemporary fiction for Life at its Best. 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays royalties. Deadline July 30.

Water Dragon Publishing is seeking speculative fiction exploring the impact of the pandemic for Corporate Catharsis: The Work from Home Edition. 2000 to 10,000 words. Pays $.02/word. Deadline July 30.

Brink Literary is seeking creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry with the theme "reverence." No specific word count. Pay ranges from $25 to $100. Deadline July 30.

Hellbound Books is seeking splatterpunk for In Celebration of Splatterpunk. 4000 to 10,000 words. Pays $5. Deadline July 31.

Wolfsinger Publications is seeking science fiction of any sub-genre with your take on "ring of fire" for Ring of Fire. 1000 to 7000 words. Pays $15 plus royalties. Deadline July 31.

Zoetic Press is seeking poetry, short stories, and visual art with the theme "in motion" for Nonbinary Review. Up to 3000 words. Pays $.01/word for prose, $10 for poetry, and $25 for art. Deadline July 31.

Fiyah is seeking fiction and poetry by authors of the African diaspora with the theme "hauntings and horrors." 2000 to 7000 words for short stories or up to 15,000 words for novelettes. Pays $.08/word for prose, $50 for poetry, and $.10/word for nonfiction. Deadline July 31.

Sliced Up Press is seeking is seeking blood-free horror shorts stories and poetry for Bloodless. 1000 to 3000 words. Pays $30. Deadline July 31.

The Sprawl Mag is seeking poetry short stories, and visual art of a speculative nature. Up to 1000 words. Pays $20 CAD. Deadline July 31.

Are any of these of interest? Anything to add? Are you submitting? Any submission news? 

May you find your Muse.

May Submission Roundup

I was briefly locked out of my blog for some reason, which freaked me out, but I changed the password and got back in. I would have thought I'd been hacked, but it was Blogger weirdness. Either way, all is well now.

Hey, I don't think I announced I won runner up in the April WEP Challenge!

Since I skipped sharing submission links last week, I'm doing it this week. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting, and don't submit if you're not comfortable with the publisher.

Accepting Submissions

Utter Speculation Publications is seeking speculative fiction about the dancing plague and what was behind it. (Funnily enough, I just covered this on the podcast!). Up to 10,000 words. Pays $10. Deadline May 24. 

Space Fantasy Magazine is seeking "stories that challenge our relationship with space." The theme is "Is There Anybody Out There?" Up to 1250 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline May 31.

Off Topic Publishing is seeking poetry and flash fiction with the theme of "Exhaustion: Limited Reserves." Up to 1000 words. Pays $15 CAD. Deadline May 31. 

Worldsmyths is seeking F/SF stories with the theme of "Seasons" for Seasons Unceasing. 2000 to 8000 words. Pays $.005/word. Deadline May 31.

Alienhead Press is seeking ghost stories having to do with Halloween for Literally Dead. 2000 to 4000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline May 31.

Night Terror is seeking horror stories for "There Used to Be a House Here." 2500 to 8000 words. Pays 25 pounds, plus 100% of proceeds are donated to the charity Shelter, Shelter. Deadline May 31.

Death Knell Press is seeking astronomical horror for Nightmare Sky. 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline May 31.

Red Cape Publishing is seeking horror stories for O is for Outbreak. 4000 to 8000 words. Pays 10 pounds. Deadline May 31. (Note: I've been published with them and it was a pleasant experience.)

Apparition Literary Magazine is seeking horror short stories and poetry with the theme "Omen." 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline May 31.

Eternal Haunted Summer is seeking short stories for Other Than Human Realms. No word limits. Pays $5. Deadline May 31.

The Massachusetts Review is seeking poetry, nonfiction, or fiction from those who identify as disable, chronically ill, neurodiverse, etc. Up to 7000 words. Pay is not listed on this particular call, but I'm assuming it's the usual $100. Deadline June 1.

Dracula Beyond Stoker Magazine is seeking stories about Dracula for their first issue. 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline June 15.

Eye to the Telescope is seeking SF/F poetry about Veterans of Alien Wars. Preference will go to actual veterans. Pays $.03/word. Deadline June 15.

Mythulu is seeking unique, poetic fairy tales. No retellings. 500 to 2800 words. Pays $.04/word. Deadline June 17.

The Bureau Dispatch is seeking epistolary stories for Dear X. 500 to 1500 words. Pays $50. Deadline June 17.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking horror short stories for Beautiful Darkness. 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays royalties. Deadline June 30.

Periculum Press is seeking queer pagan stories for Rites of Passage. 2500 to 7500 words. Pays $25 to $75. Deadline 30.

The Dragon's Roost is seeking Eldritch humor for LOLcraft. Up to 4500 words. Pays $.04/word. Deadline June 30. 

Quarter Press is seeking myths, fables, and folklore for The Quarter(ly) Journal. Up to 10,000 words. Pays $5. Deadline June 30.

Air and Nothingness Press is seeking stories about a Librarian's adventures through the multi-verse. 1000 to 3000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline June 30.

Anything of interest? Anything to share? Are you submitting?

May you find your Muse.

Guest Post, Podcast Appearance, Call for Guests, & Links

Hello! I was remiss in posting a couple things that popped on IWSG day, so even though I added them to the post that evening after my hosting duties, I wanted to give them due credit before posting this month's submission links.

I visited Damyanti Biswas with a guest post on Writing Short Stories: Benefits for Novelists. As creatives, we always have to be thinking on our feet. My post discusses some ways novelists can use short stories to their benefit. Plus, did you know Damyanti has a new book up for preorder? Blue Bar can be found in various online shops.

Myth & Magic fantasy podcast for writers

In addition, I was a guest on Myth & Magic, a podcast hosted by Neil Mach. He was a delight to speak with. Because he's in England and I'm in Colorado, USA, we met up at 2 AM my time and first thing in the morning for him. You can listen to that episode via Apple Podcasts or via Google Podcasts. Myth & Magic is a fantasy podcast for writers. He also has several novels available for sale.

Neil Mach, host of Myth & Magic

Both of my above hosts are great resources for writers, albeit in different formats. Another resource I've found to be wonderful is PodMatch. It's a website that matches podcasters up with guests. I first found it for my true crime podcast, but haven't actually used it to book anyone yet. It allowed for me to set myself up as both a guest and a host, so I put myself out there as a guest, as well, and have been invited by several interesting podcasts to be a guest. Myth & Magic was one of those. As was DJ Curveball's podcast a few months ago. And I'll be recording with an Italian podcast next week, which is exciting! I'll pass that information along once I have air date and links. As authors, this is a helpful resource, so I wanted to pass it along.

We're always seeking writing guests for Mysteries, Monsters, & Mayhem. If you'd be interested in being a guest, which would involve you telling us and our listening audience about a true crime, a haunting, or something similar with which you have some sort of personal connection (even if that connection is that this is a thing that has interested you for a time and you want to look into it further and chat about it). You would have about 20 minutes for your piece, and we would each also be presenting a [possibly] related story for 20 minutes each. We record Sundays at 2 PM MT. We always chat for the first few minutes in order to ask you to introduce yourself and your books. If you're interested, please fill out the Google form.

Okay, NOW it's time for links. We're in a busy season for short submissions, so there are a lot in the rest of March and April. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

B Cubed Press is seeking short stories, essays, or poetry with the theme of speculative fiction holidays for Alternate Holidays. 100 to 7500 words, but longer stories are a hard sell. Pays $.03/word, plus royalties, and a portion of profits goes to the ACLU. Deadline March 30.

B Cubed Press is also seeking short stories, essays, or poetry with the theme of female leaders for Madam President. Same details as their anthology above.

Bag of Bones Press is seeking stories set in 2022 in the genre of horror or dark speculative fiction for Annus Horribilis. Up to 2022 words. Pays £6.66. Deadline March 31.

Iron Faerie Publishing is seeking short stories for fairy tale retellings involving a mirror. Speculative fiction. 2500 to 7000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline March 31.

Hiraeth Publishing is seeking paranormal short stories for ParAbnormal. 3000 to 6000 words. Pays $25. Deadline March 31.

Android Press is seeking solarpunk and/or cyberpunk stories for an anthology. 500 to 7500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline March 31.

Lackington's is seeking speculative fiction about prehistories. 1500 to 5000 words. Pays 1 cent CAD/word. Deadline March 31.

Cohesion Press is seeking weird western action horror for SNAFU: Dead or Alive. 2000 to 10,000 words. Pays AUD5c/word. Deadline March 31.

Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing is seeking speculative fiction stories about previously full spaces that have been abandoned for Legion of Dorks Presents: Abandoned--An anthology of Vacant Spaces. Up to 7000 words. Pays $50. Deadline March 31.

Eric Raglin is seeking body horror stories for Shredded: A Sports and Fitness Body Horror Anthology. 2000 to 4500 words. Pays $.03/word. Deadline March 31. 

Cemetery Gates Media is seeking short stories set in a graveyard for Picnic in the Graveyard. Must take place in a cemetery/graveyard. 2000 to 4000 words. Pays $.07/word. Deadline April 1.

Android Press is seeking lunarpunk stories for Bioluminescent. 500 to 7500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline April 1.

Bullshit Lit Mag + Press is seeking ridiculous riddles, stories, poems, art, and word games. Up to 2500 words. Pays $5. Deadline April 1.

Camden Park Press is seeking stories that combine fantasy (magic) and cozy/soft-boiled mystery for Witches of a Certain Age. The main character must be a female/female-identifying witch over 40. 6000 to 8000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline April 1.

Seaborne Magazine is seeking short stories and vignettes having to do with the sea. 1500 to 4000 words for short stories. Pays £5. Deadline April 3.

Terrain.org is seeking stories, poetry, nonfiction, and art about wildfires. Fiction is up to 5000 words. Pays $200. Deadline April 4.

Donnie Goodman is seeking marijuana-related horror for the Strange Weeds Anthology. 1500 to 4200 words. Pays $10. Deadline April 20.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking steampunk stories for Age of Artifice. 5000 to 15000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline April 30.

Ghost Orchid Press is seeking horror stories inspired by neurodiverse experiences for Rewired. 1000 to 6000 words. Pays $.03/word. Deadline April 30.

Kopfkino Publishing is seeking fairy tale themed horror for Midnight in the Dying Garden: Fairy Tales for the End of the World. 1000 to 7000 words. Pays $25-$150CAD. Deadline April 30.

Water Dragon Publishing is seeking short stories with positive visions for the future for The Future's So Bright. 2000 to 8000 words. Pays $.02/word. Deadline April 30.

Have you listened to Myth & Magic before? Have you heard of Podmatch? Do you have any questions about possibly being a guest on the podcast? Any of these submission links of interest? Are you submitting right now? How's it going?

May you find your Muse.