November, 2019 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

HWA L.A.: November, 2019
New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Community of Magic Pens anthology (published by Atthis Arts)
https://www.atthisarts.com/magicpens
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 3,000 words
Deadline: Between Dec. 15, 2019–Jan. 15, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: Unknown
Description: Open to any speculative fiction genre: Stories must play in some fashion on the idea of magic pens. Not just about writing, but about magic pens.


Rebuilding Tomorrow anthology (published by Twelfth Planet Press)
http://defyingdoomsday.twelfthplanetpress.com/rebuilding-tomorrow-submission-guidelines
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 2,000–6,000 words
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: Unknown
Description: Science fiction or speculative fiction (or similar genres) focusing on disabled and/or chronically ill protagonists rebuilding, set in a significant time after an apocalyptic disaster. We want stories that show society getting back on its feet and people who have moved past (or are in the process of moving past) subsistence-level existence into a new, sustainable world, even though it’s one that has been irrevocably changed by an apocalypse.


TWO SEPARATE ANTHOLOGIES from Flame Tree Publishing
http://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/fall/autumn-2019-submissions-announcement
Payment: 8 cents a word (6 cents/ word for reprints)
Story Length: 2,000–4,000 words (soft range)
Deadline: Dec. 1, 2019
Reprints?: Yes
Response: 3 months

1. Bodies in the Library (Crime & Mystery): Tales of crime in stately houses, lonely mansions, ancient castles.

2. Footsteps in the Dark (Horror & Suspense): Tales of terror of the alleyways, the edges of the town, the frontier shacks, the winter forests and lonely mountain hideaways. An emphasis on heightened senses would differentiate the best stories from the rest!


Strange Horizons
http://strangehorizons.com/submit/fiction-submission-guidelines/
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 10,000 words (under 5,000 preferred)
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: 40 days
Description: Imaginative, good speculative fiction, broadly defined (not pure horror), particularly from diverse perspectives; Unusual yet readable styles and inventive structures and narratives.


Midnight in the Pentagram anthology (published by Silver Shamrock Publishing)
https://www.silvershamrockpublishing.com/midnight-in-the-pentagram-anthology
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: up to 6,000 words
Deadline: March 31, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Occult/Demons/ Possession/ Satanism horror stories with an Exorcist/ The Omen/ Rosemary’s Baby/ Hereditary meets EC Comics/ Creepshow/ Tales From the Crypt kind of vibe.


Unfit Magazine (see also Unreal Magazine)
http://unfitmag.com/submit
Payment: 12 cents a word (1 cent/ word for reprints)
Story Length: 500–5,000 words
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: Yes (paid at 1 cent/ word)
Response: 30 days: NOTE: This market ONLY responds to accept. No response within 30 days means rejection.
Description: High quality Speculative Fiction and Science Fiction; Quantum Fiction, Cyberpunk, Alternative Histories and Steampunk.


Unreal Magazine (see also Unfit Magazine)
http://unrealmag.com/submit
Payment: 12 cents a word (1 cent/ word for reprints)
Story Length: 500–5,000 words
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: Yes (paid at 1 cent/ word)
Response: 30 days: NOTE: This market ONLY responds to accept. No response within 30 days means rejection.
Description: High quality fantasy (including Magical Realism and Experimental Fiction). Well written, intelligent, and enjoyable to read. Stories with metaphors and emotional ambience and imaginative descriptive writing. Stories that define the rules of magic at this indefinite point in time.



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

Dark Moon Digest (quarterly)
https://darkmoondigest.submittable.com/submit
Payment: 3 cents a word (1 cent/ word for reprints; also $30 flat for nonfiction)
Story Length: 1,500–7,000 words
Deadline: Until monthly quota is filled
Reprints?: Yes (paid at 1 cent/ word)
Response: up to 3 months
Description: Fiction reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, Tales from the Crypt, and Tales from the Darkside. We want stories with complex characters and ideas spun in ways nobody’s ever conceived. Make our brains hurt. Make our hearts explode with love and terror. Make us fear.


Excalibur 2020: Tales from Beyond Tomorrow Volume 3 anthology (published by Excalibur Books)
http://johnpaulcatton.com/2019/05/excalibur-2020-call-for-submissions
Payment: $100 flat
Story Length: 2,500–10,000 words
Deadline: Dec. 31, 2019
Reprints?: No
Response: T
Description: Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror) story with a thematic connection to the Olympics (or with a focus on Japanese society)! This will tie in to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.