September, 2022 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

HWA L.A.: For September, 2022
New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Crack in the Code: Cybernated Stories of Rebellion
https://mochamemoirspress.com/write-for-us/
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 7,500 words
Deadline: September 30, 2022
Reprints?: No
Response: November 30, 2022
Description: Science fiction and fantasy stories where the androids, robots, and/or cyborgs have been naughty, going off programming, cracking their internal code, etc. Give us dramatic stories, mischievous stories, stories that stun, but not offend us… where the artificial lives become alive and share their stories.

Obsolescence: A Dark Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Anthology (Shortwave Media)
https://obsolescencebook.com/submission-guidelines
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 2,000–5,000 words
Deadline: September 16, 2022
Reprints?: No
Response: Mid-November, 2022
Description: Submissions focused on horrifying or fantastical interactions with technology. How you incorporate the theme in your story is up to you. We want to stress the definition of “technology” ranges from modern smartphones and smart house IOT devices, back to some of humanity’s earliest inventions, like the wheel or the written word itself.


Merciless Mermaids: Tails from the Deep (ed. by Edited by Kevin J. Anderson and Allyson Longueira)
https://wordfirewestern.moksha.io/publication/merciless-mermaids-tails-from-the-deep/guidelines
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Open: August 31, 2022–October 7, 2022
Reprints?: No
Response: December, 2022
Description: Stories about malevolent and merciless merfolk of all kinds. Give us your mermaids who fought for the wrong reasons, made tough by their circumstances or by their own choices. Show us their schemes and villainous wiles, the fairytales that end in blood. Or laughter. Tempt us with their twisted workings across time and space, colors and creeds.


Aniko Magazine (Issue 4)
https://www.anikopress.com/submit
Payment: $125 AUD flat
Story Length: up to 1,500 words (or 50 lines of poetry)
Deadline: September 15, 2022
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: The theme of Issue 4 is “Double.” Think doppelgängers, body doubles, déjà vu. What does it mean to live a double life? Explore double crosses, double standards or double-edged swords. Or name a more iconic duo - we’ll wait. Have us seeing double! To include poetry, flash fiction, short stories and creative nonfiction.


Tiny Tales (Podcast)
https://www.tinytalespodcast.com/submissions
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: 500–1,200 words
Deadline: September 7, 2022
Reprints?: Yes, as long as not previously published in audio form
Response: unknown
Description: Fantastic, bizarre, and enthralling fiction stories to turn into podcast episodes.


Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores
https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/
Payment: 8 cents/ word original; 2 cents/ word reprint (range for non-fiction)
Story Length: 1,000–40,000 words (focus on shorter form)
Deadline: Opens the 1^st and 2^nd day only of each month.
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). Also interested in non-fiction.



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

Pressfuls
https://pressfuls.com/about
Payment: 3 cents a word
Story Length: 2,000–3,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: 6 weeks
Description: Original horror, Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Crime/Mystery short stories.


Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet (Small Beers Press)
https://smallbeerpress.com/about/submission-guidelines/
Payment: 3 cents a word
Story Length: up to 6,000 words
Deadline: ongoing/ intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: within 6 months
Description: NOTE: PAPER SUBMISSIONS ONLY (no email): Non-themed literary speculative fiction (no gore, sword and sorcery, or erotica), as well as non-fiction, poetry, and black and white art.