December, 2017 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

December, 2017

New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

The Twisted Book of Shadows (edited by Christopher Golden and James A. Moore)

https://www.gofundme.com/the-twisted-book-of-shadows

Payment: 6 cents a word

Story Length: Not yet given. Assume soft range of up to 5,000 words
Deadline: February 1, 2018—February 28, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Non-themed “unique” horror in the vein of stories from previous anthology series such as BORDERLANDS; WHISPERS; WOMEN OF DARKNESS, or anthologies edited by Charles L. Grant, etc.
NOTE: THIS IS A GOFUNDME campaign, but nearly guaranteed to meet its goals.


If This Goes On (edited by Cat Rambo)

http://parvuspress.com/ITGO

Payment: 8 cents a word

Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: March 1, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: 3 months
Description: Unique stories that offer insights into the shared future of our planet. Tell us how our climate will change if we don’t better protect our planet. Show us how the racial divide in this country is only growing wider. Warn us of a coming era of neo-colonialism if we don’t develop conscientious trade practices. Scare us into taking digital security more seriously as we hand over the keys to our digital lives to governments and non-state powers; Stories must be set at least one generation in the future.


Gorgon: Stories of Emergence (by Pantheon Magazine)

https://pantheonmag.com/submissions/open-prompts

Payment: 6 cents a word (3 cents a word for reprints)

Story Length: up to 1,000 words
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2018–“When Filled” (probably at least until Feb. 28, 2018)
Reprints?: Yes
Response: 1 month
Description: Weird, dark fiction; slipstream; magical realism; horror. Fiction with a touch of mythic quality. We want themes based around transformations—things that are shapeshifting, things that are emerging. Make Ovid’s Metamorphoses contemporary and weird and scary. Flash Fiction.


Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

http://www.alfredhitchcockmysterymagazine.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines

Payment: 8 cents a word

Story Length: up to 12,000 (but the shorter, the better)
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: Up to a year (though tracking status is utilized)
Description: Fiction Mystery: stories of detection of the classic kind, police procedurals, private eye tales, suspense, courtroom dramas, stories of espionage, and so on. Story must be about a crime (or the threat or fear of one). Sometimes accept ghost stories or supernatural tales, but those also should involve a crime (fresh, well told, and absorbing).


Factor Four Magazine (Online Mag ** New Market)

http://factorfourmag.com/submissions/

Payment: 8 cents a word

Story Length: up to 2,000 words
Deadline: Continually open
Reprints?: No
Response: 3 months or less
Description: Short fiction in the genres of speculative fiction, specifically science fiction, fantasy, supernatural, super hero, or any combination of these.  We are looking for stories that are engaging to our readers in such a short word count.

***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”

Tales From the Crust: An Anthology of Pizza Horror (Dark Moon Digest)

http://www.darkmoondigest.com/open-call-short-stories-tales-crust-anthology-pizza-horror/

Payment: 3 cents a word

Story Length: 1,000 – 5,000 words
Deadline: June 1, 2018
Reprints?: Query First
Response: Not given, probably less than 6 weeks
Description: Pizza Horror. Not so much the goofy Goosebumps thing you might imagine with a pizza horror story, but we’re taking it kind of seriously. Like we take our pizza seriously. The humor is inherent in the pizza theme already, so we’re playing this kind of straight. And if you think you’ve got what it takes, like a healthy love of the cheesy cuisine, send us your best work.


Nightscript, Volume 4 (anthology edited by C.M. Muller; publ. by Chthonic Matter)

https://chthonicmatter.wordpress.com/nightscript

Payment: Token $25

Story Length: 2,000 – 7,000 words
Deadline: January 1, 2018—January 31, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: Generally 2 weeks or less
Description: Strange tales: Fictions supernatural, uncanny, weird, and so forth; subtle and darksome literary horror. Though pay is low, editor is very easy to speak with, and he sends out all published work for favorable reviews and best of lists; i.e. good promotions and reputation.

Release day for BEAUTY OF DEATH 2 anthology I'm in!

Received my contributor’s copy yesterday for the latest anthology I’m in THE BEAUTY OF DEATH - Vol. 2: Death by Water: The Gargantuan Book of Horror Tales (November, 2017 by Independent Legions Publishing)! Edited by Alessandro Manzetti & Jodi Renée Lester, I’m thrilled to be included in another anthology this year in which I get to see my name alongside so many friends and inspirations of horror writing! My story, “A Journey of Great Waves,” is about an orphaned Japanese girl gone to live with family in Hawaii who ruminates upon the shore wreckage of hurricanes, and what it means to her.

Available for sale here: https://www.amazon.com/BEAUTY-DEATH-Death-Gargantuan-Horror/dp/8899569738/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid&sr

Edited by: Alessandro Manzetti & Jodi Renée Lester

Table of Contents includes:

THE DEEPEST PART OF THE OCEAN by Joanna Parypinski
YOU WILL COME TO NO HARM IN WATER by Lucy Taylor
WALKING ON WATER by Dona Fox
A JOURNEY OF GREAT WAVES by Eric J. Guignard
ANTUMBRA by Lucy A. Snyder
THE DROWNING OF COLIN HENDERSON by Stephen Gregory
THE FOURTH BELL by Daniel Braum
THE TARN by Simon Bestwick
THE BALLAD OF BALLARD AND SANDRINE by Peter Straub, Peter Straub
THE DOUBLE LENS by Lisa Mannetti
THE GORGE OF CHILDREN by Daniele Bonfanti
RAISED BY THE MOON by Ramsey Campbell
DROWNING by Gregory Norris
UNDERWATER FERRIS WHEEL by Michael Bailey
THE OLD WOMAN AND THE SEA by Marge Simon
IN THE DREAMTIME OF LADY RESURRECTION by Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan, Caitlín R. Kiernan
TO TAKE THE WATER DOWN AND GO TO SLEEP by Frazer Lee
PERISCOPE OF THE DEAD by Paolo Di Orazio
WET SEASON by Dennis Etchison, Dennis Etchison, Dennis Etchison
WINGS MADE FROM WATER by John Palisano
COME UP by Brian Evenson
BORN OF DARK WATERS by Michael H. Hanson
SEA SLUG by Edward Lee
EVERY BEAST OF THE EARTH by Tim Waggoner
NIGHTHAWK AND LONE WOLF by Gene O'Neill
SIREN by Jonah Buck
GILLS by David J. Schow, David J. Schow
THE EVERLASTING by Anthony Watson
RIVER WATCH by Bruce Boston
FRESH CATCH by Michael Arnzen - Gorelets.com, Michael Arnzen
HIPPOCAMPUS by Adam Nevill
A SONG ONLY PARTIALLY HEARD by John Langan
BY THE SEA by Alessandro Manzetti
SCAPE-GOATS by Clive Barker
THE WASH by Lisa Morton
JUST WATCH ME NOW by Jodi Renée Lester
THE HIKER by Jeremy Megargee
EVEN THE STARS FALL by Nicola Lombardi
ORI by Adam Millard

ANNOUNCING NEW ANTHOLOGY: "A WORLD OF HORROR" !

** ANNOUNCING!!!! ** The Table Of Contents for (one of) my newest anthologies: A WORLD OF HORROR

This is an anthology of all-new dark and speculative fiction stories from authors all around the world that explores mythology, horror, or weird fables of their homeland.

Everybody, everybody, I am soooo thrilled to showcase this—just amazing tales and ideas and creatures that are new and unusual!

To be published in 2018 through the incredibly prestigious, amazing, sought-after (I could go on!) small presses, DARK MOON BOOKS at www.darkmoonbooks.com

·         “Mutshidzi” by Mohale Mashigo (South Africa)

·         “One Last Wayang” by L Chan (Singapore)

·         “Things I Do for Love” by Nadia Bulkin (Indonesia)

·         “On a Wooden Plate, on a Winter’s Night” by David Nickle (Canada)

·         “Country Boy” by Billie Sue Mosiman (United States of America)

·         “The Wife Who Didn’t Eat” by Thersa Matsuura (Japan)

·         “The Disappeared” by Kristine Ong Muslim (Philippines)

·         “The Secret Life of the Unclaimed” by Suyi Davies Okungbowa (Nigeria)

·         “How Alfred Nobel Got His Mojo” by Johannes Pinter (Sweden)

·         “The Nightmare” by Rhea Daniel (India)

·         “Obibi” by Dilman Dila (Uganda)

·         “Chemirocha” by Charlie Human (South Africa)

·         “Sick Cats in Small Spaces” by Kaaron Warren (Australia)

·         “Arlecchino” by Carla Negrini (Italy)

·         “Warning: Flammable, See Back Label” by Marcia Douglas (Jamaica)

·         “Honey” by Valya Dudycz Lupescu (Ukraine)

·         “The Man at Table Nine” by Ray Cluley (England)

·         “The Mantle of Flesh” by Ashlee Scheuerman (Australia)

·         “The Shadows of Saint Urban” by Claudio Foti (Italy)

·         “Warashi’s Grip” by Yukimi Ogawa (Japan)

·         “The White Monkey” by Carlos Orsi (Brazil)

·         “The West Wind” by David McGroarty (Scotland)

To be illustrated by the incredibly talented artist, Steve Lines!

Prepare… #Coming_in_September

November, 2017 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

November, 2017

New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores

http://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/

Payment: 6 cents a word original; 2 cents a word reprint
Story Length: 1,000–40,000 words (focus on shorter form)
Deadline: Open 1 week only: December 21–28, 2017
Reprints?: Yes
Response: abt. 2 months
Description: Well written original stories in science fiction, fantasy, myth, fairy tales, and eldritch. in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world. We care about character, plot, ideas, and storytelling ability. We accept both serious and humorous work (no horror).


Compelling Science Fiction

http://compellingsciencefiction.com/index.html

Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 1,000–10,000 words
Deadline: December 1, 2017 (then opens again in 2018)
Reprints?: No
Response: 6 weeks
Description: Online science fiction magazine focused on ‘hard’ science fiction: entertaining, scientifically plausible, self-consistent, and technically detailed when appropriate. We have a preference for ‘positive’ stories, and also open to humor.


Cicada Magazine YA literary/comics magazine – Monsters issue

https://cricketmag.submittable.com/submit/17820/cicada-magazine-for-ages-14

Payment: 10 cents a word
Story Length: flash fiction up to 9,000 words
Deadline: December 1, 2017 for current them; Open intermittently (and currently) for other non-themed
Reprints?: No
Response: 3–6 months
Description: YA/teen stories about Monsters. How do we view monsters? Grotesque. Other. Twisted. Hungry. We check under our beds for them; we fear their presence at the edges of all our familiar spaces; we drive them out with torches and pitchforks wherever we find them. CICADA wants to see works that cast monsters in a new light. Show us monsters living their best lives. Show us monsters in love. Show us monsters that refuse to apologize for being monsters. Show us monsters embracing their own monstrousness and surviving, no matter what.


Monstrosities anthology (Third Flatiron)

http://www.thirdflatiron.com/liveSite/pages/submissions

Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 1,500–3,000 words
Deadline: Accepting between December 1, 2017–December 31, 2017
Reprints?: No
Response: up to eight weeks
Description: Humor (SF/Fantasy/Horror). Things that are just too big or that don't scale. Whether it's the new shopping mall down the street, kaiju attacking Tokyo, flawed utopian ideas, the supposed ultimate weapon, or somebody who's way too big for his britches, we all have had to deal with humongous blunders. Get it off your chest--share with us your favorite monstrosities.


Zombies Need Brains, LLC anthologies (3 separate markets, Similar guidelines)

http://jpsorrow.livejournal.com/488157.html

NOTE: These are successfully-funded Kickstarter campaigns open for public submissions.

All 3 anthologies:
Payment: 6 cents a word + Royalties
Story Length: to 7,500 words
Deadline: December 31, 2017
Reprints?: No
Response: February 28, 2018

Tone for all: Range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark; Not looking for torture porn, nor gratuitous violence of any kind.

1. The Razor’s Edge
Description: Science fiction or fantasy stories that explore the fine line between a rebel and an insurgent. It is a military science fiction and fantasy anthology.

2. Guilds & Glaives
Description: sword & sorcery stories where a guild is featured somewhere in the story. So thieves, assassins, and dark magic, but with a guild or guilds incorporated into the story somehow.

3. Second Round: A Return to the Urbar
Description: To feature stories where the time-traveling Urbar, first used in the anthology AFTER HOURS: TALES FROM THE URBAR, is a central part of the plot. The story may start in the bar, end in the bar, or be in the bar somewhere in the middle, but at some point a significant plot point must involve the Urbar. Stories featuring more interesting historical settings for the bar, and twists on how the bar is integrated into the story, will receive more attention than those with more standard uses of the bar, or where the bar is only incidental to the rest of the story.



***Non-PRO-Paying Markets, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”

The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors (edited by Peter Coleborn and Jan Edwards)

https://alchemypress.wordpress.com/submissions/alchemy-press-book-of-horrors

Payment: .5 pence a word (converts to about 1 cent a word)
Story Length: 3,000–6,000 words
Deadline: January 31, 2018
Reprints?: Possibly will consider
Response: unknown
Description: Horror stories; particularly tales that can be described as “weird”, “strange”, “amazing” and “peculiar”: stories that would have found a home in Weird Tales, Unknown Worlds, Fantastic and Fantasy Tales among other illustrious publications. Your story can be set in almost any era, any place but glimpse at and pervert the usual perceptions of reality – and unreality. We do not want stories that deal with common horror tropes without stretching boundaries.


Everything Change 2018 – Climate Fiction Contest (AZ State Univ.)

https://climateimagination.asu.edu/clificontest

Payment: The winning story will receive a $1,000 prize. Nine finalists will receive $50 each.
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: February 28, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: Unknown
Description: Your submission in some way should illustrate or explore the impact of climate change on humanity and/or the Earth, in the present or the near- or moderate-term future; reflect current scientific knowledge about climate change.

I'm signing books tomorrow at Mysterious Galaxy San Diego!

I'll be signing books tomorrow afternoon at Mysterious Galaxy's San Diego location (SUNDAY), 11/12 at 2:00 p.m. -- This is going to be huge!!

I'll be signing primarily for the HAUNTED NIGHTS anthology (October, 2017 by Blumhouse Books/ Penguin-Random House) edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton, but will also sign anything else you want as well!

This is your chance to make the big bucks on autographed merchandise to turn around and shill on e-bay—Ka-Ching!

Or just say, "Hi." Your call. I’ll be there with: Lisa Morton, Jonathan Maberry, Leslie S. Klinger, Kate Jonez, Robert Payne Cabeen, and Elise Forier Edie.

Hope to see you there!

Mysterious Galaxy
5943 Balboa Ave, Ste 100, San Diego, California 92111

http://www.mystgalaxy.com/event/chilling-horror-afternoon

New Blog Post at RA FOR ALL: HORROR discussing my new PRIMER series

Thanks so much to Becky Spratford (Readers’ Advisory specialist, librarian, and founder of RA for All) and RA FOR ALL: HORROR for hosting my blog post today discussing my new Primer Series on modern authors of short horror fiction and why they deserve to be further studied! http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/2017/10/31-days-of-horror-day-25-guest-post-by.html

With academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD, and gorgeous interior illustrations by artist Michelle Prebich, book #1 launched a few months ago, and I have the next three lined up for 2018 release.

EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION: A PRIMER TO:

#1: Steve Rasnic Tem (July, 2017)

#2: Kaaron Warren (ETA early 2018)

#3: Nisi Shawl (ETA Spring, 2018)

#4: Jeffrey Ford (ETA Mid-2018)

Published by DARK MOON BOOKS at: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Books.html

October, 2017 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

October, 2017

New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Zoetrope: All-Story
http://www.all-story.com/submissions.cgi

Payment: Varies; at least minimum professional rates and upward
Story Length: up to 7,000 words
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown (reports at about 3 months)
Description: Founded by Francis Ford Coppola: Quarterly magazine devoted to the best new short fiction and one-act plays; genre fiction welcome, but to mainstream tastes. Postal mail submissions only.


Holy C.O.W.! Spec Fic stories from the Center of the World (anthology)
http://holycowpublishing.com/guidelines.html

Payment: 7–10 cents a word
Story Length: 500–6,000 words
Deadline: Open between November 1–30
Reprints?: No
Response: 30 days
Description: stories rooted in the ancient Fertile Crescent, Levant and the Middle East, but stretch into the near and distant future. Holy C.O.W.! is seeking all styles and sub-genre, including humorous speculative fiction.


Fireside Fiction Company
http://firesidefiction.com/about/#submissions-guidelines

Payment: 12.5 cents a word
Story Length: up to 4,000 words (flash fiction preferred)
Deadline: Open only Nov. 5–Nov. 11, 2017
Reprints?: No
Response: Unknown
Description: To publish great speculative fiction storytelling, regardless of genre (ex. Neil Gaiman); unique voices.


Clarkesworld Magazine
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/submissions/

Payment: 10 cents per word for the first 5,000 words, 8 cents for each word over 5,000
Story Length: 1,000–16,000 words
Deadline: Intermittent.
Reprints?: No
Response: Unknown
Description: Science fiction and fantasy (include. All associated sub-genres); Science fiction need not be "hard" SF, but rigor is appreciated. Fantasy can be folkloric, contemporary, surreal, etc. Horror can be supernatural or psychological, so long as it is frightening.


Uncanny Magazine
http://uncannymagazine.com/submissions

Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 750–6,000 words
Deadline: Open only Oct. 2–Oct. 16, 2017
Reprints?: No
Response: One month
Description: Passionate, diverse SF/F fiction and poetry... intricate, experimental stories and poems with gorgeous prose, verve, and imagination that elicit strong emotions and challenge beliefs.


Awakenings anthology (Book Smugglers Publishing)
http://thebooksmugglers.com/2017/10/book-smugglers-publishing-open-call-short-stories-submissions-2018-awakenings.html

Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 1,500–17,500 words
Deadline: December 31, 2017
Reprints?: No
Response: One month
Description: Short stories following Fairytale Retellings, First Contact, Superheroes, and Gods & Monsters. When it comes to Awakenings, anything goes. You, the author, should feel free to take this general theme and interpret it in any way you see fit–from a story about an AI’s first hours of sentience, to magical alternate histories featuring characters discovering how to wield power for the first time, anything goes.



***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”

Best of Hardcore Horror, Volume 3 (Best Of/ Reprint antho) (edited by Randy Chandler and Cheryl Mullenax; publ. by Comet Press)
http://cometpress.us/submission-guidelines/years-best-hardcore-horror

Payment: 1 cent a word (reprints only)
Story Length: to 8,000 words
Deadline: December 31, 2017
Reprints?: Reprints only (including stories from self-publishing, online, single-author collections, etc.)
Response: unknown
Description: Hardcore Horror stories that were published in 2017 (bloody, gory, outlandish, pushing boundaries, etc.)


Tales from the Lake, Vol. 5 (Crystal Lake Publishing)
http://www.crystallakepub.com/crystal-lake-submissions/

Payment: 3 cent a word
Story Length: to 6,000 words
Deadline: December 1, 2017
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Non-themed horror, with a preference for believable, quiet horror and dark fiction with a literary bent.

Release day for HAUNTED NIGHTS anthology I'm in!

Received my contributor’s copy, just in time for release day of the latest anthology I’m in “HAUNTED NIGHTS” (October, 2017 by Blumhouse Books/ Penguin Random House)! Edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton, I’m thrilled to be included alongside some of my peers, inspirations, and idols of writing! My story, “A Kingdom of Sugar Skulls and Marigolds” is about varrio self-discovery in East L.A. on Dia de los Muertos, with gangs, talking sugar skulls, and dark magic.

Available for sale here: https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Nights-Lisa-Morton/dp/1101973838/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Edited by: Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton
Table of Contents includes:

"With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfbane Seeds" by Seanan McGuire
"Dirtmouth" by Stephen Graham Jones
"A Small Taste of the Old Countr" by Jonathan Maberry
"Wick’s End" by Joanna Parypinski
"The Seventeen Year Itch" by Garth Nix
"A Flicker of Light on Devil’s Night" by Kate Jonez
"Witch-Hazel" by Jeffrey Ford
"Nos Galen Gaeaf" by Kelley Armstrong
"We’re Never Inviting Amber Again" by S. P. Miskowski
"Sisters" by Brian Evenson
"All Through the Night" by Elise Forier Edie
"A Kingdom of Sugar Skulls and Marigolds" by Eric J. Guignard
"The Turn" by Paul Kane
"Jack" by Pat Cadigan
"Lost in the Dark" by John Langan
"The First Lunar Halloween" by John R. Little

DOUBLE JACK by Gene O'Neill available for sale!

Received over the weekend, the first box of Gene O'Neill’s novella, DOUBLE JACK!! This is the first book in the trilogy, “The Crime Files of Katy Green,” and the second book I’ve published through my press, Dark Moon Books! With Introduction by John Palisano and stellar illustrations by Greg Chapman!

Taking orders for all major book chains and for you! Buy, buy, buy! Online at: https://www.amazon.com/Double-Jack-Crime-Files-Green/dp/0998827568/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506960227&sr=1-1&keywords=double+jack+gene+o%27neill

I guest star on this week's Podcast episode of The Fanbase Weekly!

Tune in to this week's Podcast episode of The FANBASE WEEKLY where I’m a guest discussing the latest in Pop Culture News!

Special thanks to Barbra Dillon and Bryant Dillon at Fanbase Press for including me as we discuss IT the movie, Harley Quinn, Apple iPhone X, and the legacy of Len Weim!

http://fanbasepress.com/index.php/audio/podcasts/the-fanbase-weekly/item/8186-the-fanbase-weekly-episode-044

Cover art reveal for: EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION #2: A PRIMER TO KAARON WARREN!

Absolutely thrilled to finalize the cover art and design for the SECOND Primer in the new “EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION” series, and to announce this edition as a study and introduction to Australian extraordinaire, Kaaron Warren!

With scholarly commentary provided by Michael Arnzen, PhD, and gorgeous illustrations by artist Michelle Prebich. Expected release date by Dark Moon Books in early 2018!

http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Primer_2.html

September, 2017 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

September, 2017

New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

PseudoPod Flash Fiction Contest
https://pseudopod.submittable.com/submit/43701/pseudopod-flash-fiction-contest
Payment: $30 flat payment (thus, 6 cents a word)
Story Length: 500 words
Deadline: September 15, 2017
Reprints?: No
Response: Unknown (probably 1 to 3 months)
Description: Must adhere to the general Pseudopod submission guidelines. Most importantly, it needs to be a horror story (all types of horror welcome)!


Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People (ChiZine)
http://chizinepub.com/other-covenants-alternate-histories-of-the-jewish-people
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 500 – 15,000 words
Deadline: February 4, 2018
Reprints?: Possibly
Response: One month
Description: Jewish alternate history: fictional narratives into the “what-if”s of the past, and explores the infinite number of historical roads not taken in the past, present, or future of the Jewish people.


Reckoning Journal
http://reckoning.press/submit
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 1 to 45,000 words
Deadline: September 22, 2017
Reprints?: Query first
Response: 1 to 3 months
Description: Diverse fiction stories (and poetry) including speculative element: Searingly personal, visceral, idiosyncratic understanding of the world and the people in it as it has been, as it is, as it will be, as it could be, as a consequence of humanity’s relationship with the earth.


Tales of Ruma  (Azure Keep Publishing)
http://azurekeep.com/fiction/tales-of-ruma/
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 500 – 5,000 words
Deadline: September 30, 2017
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: (This is a Kickstarter-funded campaign that already met its funding goal.) Tales of Ruma is an anthology of stories inspired by Greek and Roman mythology. Some of the stories are set in the world of the Ruma: Dawn of Empire tabletop role playing game, while others are in worlds of their own, perhaps even alternate versions of Earth.  Original stories set in the world of Ruma, Earth, or another world, which build upon the themes (such as heroism, the gods, and the arcane) and imagery of Greek and Roman mythology.  Ruma is an alternate Roman Empire set on an alternate version of Earth where the gods and magic are real. The RPG is set at the beginning of the Ruman Empire, somewhat akin to 0 A.D. on Earth.


Gumshoe Review (Mystery/ Crime, monthly e-mag)
http://www.gumshoereview.com/php/Review-id.php?id=1852
Payment: $50 flat payment (thus, 5 cents a word or more)
Story Length: flash fiction to 1,000 words (also non-fiction welcome to 1,000 words)
Deadline: Continually
Reprints?: No
Response: vague… est. 1 to 3 months
Description: Stories is a complete mystery in 1,000 words or less. We don't want character studies or mood pieces. We'd like it to lean towards noir but being a mystery. Stories where the investigator is the protagonist, or at least a significant character, and the focus is on solving a solving a crime, or getting someone out of a jam, or seeking some sort of justice."


Mind Candy (Myriad Paradigm Publishing *new press*)
http://hig4s09.wixsite.com/myriadparadigm/home
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: to 5,000 words
Deadline: ‘Until Filled’
Reprints?: No
Response: average about one week
Description: Short speculative fiction that in some way address the intricacies of the mind. Mind control, mind augmentation, multiple memories, mental powers, or any other idea where mental oddities are key to the story line. I prefer science fiction, but will consider any speculative fiction that is not too depressing, violent or graphic.​


***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”

Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing Newsletter (ed. Max Booth III)
http://perpetualpublishing.com/2014/08/27/call-for-submissions-flash-fiction
Payment: $25 flat payment
Story Length: up to 1,000 words
Deadline: Ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: Less than 1 month
Description: Dark fiction in the horror, science fiction, crime, and noir genres to be published in monthly e-newsletter. Accepted stories will also be recorded on the WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? podcast.

August, 2017 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

August, 2017

New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes

At Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Mother of Invention (anthology, Twelfth Planet Press)

http://motherofinvention.twelfthplanetpress.com/submission-guidelines

Payment: 6 cents a word

Story Length: 500–5000 words

Deadline: August 31, 2017

Reprints?: No

Response: November 30, 2017

Description: diverse, challenging stories about gender as it relates to the creation of artificial intelligence and robotics. We want to cover a variety of AI tropes, from the virtuous to the dangerous, from the purely computerised to the freshly built physical body. We’re looking for a diverse range of authors, story settings, time periods, cultural backgrounds and protagonists. Magic, history, fantasy, steampunk, mythology, etc. are all options for you to play with.

Fantastic Trains: An anthology of Phantasmagorical Engines and Rail Riders (EDGE/ Tesseract)

http://edgewebsite.com/books/fantastictrains/fantastictrains-catalog.html

Payment: $50 for stories up to 1,500 words, rising to a maximum of $150 for stories up to 5,000 words (depending on word length, may be less than 5 cents/ word)

Story Length: 5,000 words (shorter length preferred)

Deadline: September 30, 2017

Reprints?: No

Response: 15 days

Description: Stories of trains—fantasy, steampunk, science fiction, horror, slipstream, urban fantasy, apocalyptic, set in any time, any place,—we’ll buy a ticket on all of them. We’d like to see what you can do with a train. A good part of your story should take place on a train—or most, if you can do it. We don’t care what era, what planet, or how the train might look differently there (it might even be alive!) or even if the train is moving. We just want that train—what you do with it is your magic.

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine

https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm

https://ccfinlay.moksha.io/publication/fsf/guidelines

Payment: 7–12 cents a word.

Story Length: up to 25,000 words

Deadline: None listed. Closes intermittently

Reprints?: No

Response: Two months

Description: Stories that appeal to science fiction and fantasy readers (the SF element may be slight, but it should be present); character-oriented stories. Humor very welcome. (** now allows online submissions)

Shimmer Magazine

http://www.shimmerzine.com/guidelines/fiction-guidelines

Payment: 5 cents a word

Story Length: To 7,500 words (prefer 4,000)

Deadline: Intermittent. Just reopened, usually for only 1-2 months at a time.

Reprints?: No

Response: One month

Description: Mostly SPEC Fict, fantasy, some horror; Unusual and beautifully-written speculative fiction stories with full plots and strong characters. We’re most drawn to contemporary fantasy, and seek out stories with a strong emotional core. We like unusual stories with a fluid and distinctive voice, with specific and original images. Send us your odd, unclassifiable stories.

Spider Magazine (for children, ages 6–9)

https://cricketmag.submittable.com/submit/17817/spider-magazine-for-ages-6-9

Payment: 25 cents a word

Story Length: 300 to 1,000 words (poetry up to 20 lines) (non-fiction 300–800 words)

Deadline: See below Issue themes; Open intermittently (and currently) for other non-themed

Reprints?: No

Response: 3–6 months

Issue theme: Spaceships and Superheroes

Deadline: August 31, 2017

Description: Fiction, poetry, activities, crafts, and recipes for the theme Spaceships and Superheroes. We’re interested in science-fiction and superhero stories about protagonists that save the day with help from super suits, super powers, or self-made gadgets. We’re especially interested in future technology like flying cars, interplanetary travel, holograms, robots, and teleporters. Take us on a time traveling mission or to the heart of a city that could use some saving. Especially welcome: twists on familiar comic book or sci-fi tropes, and female, people of color, and kid protagonists

Issue theme: Children’s Activities

Deadline: September 30, 2017

Description: Children’s activities, including clearly worded, playful step-by-step directions for crafts, activities, games, science experiments, and recipes for children ages 3 to 9. The strongest activities will engage a child’s imagination and creativity, can be done at home, and require little adult supervision. We also seek word games, tongue twisters, jokes, riddles, picture-based crossword puzzles, and foreign language activities.

Grievous Angel (online fiction)

http://www.urbanfantasist.com/-submission-guidelines.html

Payment: 6 cents a word

Story Length: Flash Fiction and Poetry to 700 words

Deadline: Continually open

Reprints?: No

Response: 28 days

Description: Any speculative fiction sub-genres, including Urban Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Horror, Mythos, Steampunk and Magical Realism, as well Humour/Satire riffs on these genre.

***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”

The Mammoth Book of Halloween Stories (ed. Stephen Jones)

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1868294530086061&id=100007165968267

Payment: advance of around $15-20 per 1,000 words against a pro-rata share of any royalties or further sales

Story Length: up to 10,000 words

Deadline: September 1, 2017

Reprints?: No

Response: unknown

Description: Smart, previously unpublished horror stories set around Halloween/ Samhain/ Day of the Dead.