March, 2020 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

HWA L.A.: March, 2020

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

Unidentified Funny Objects, Volume 8 (ed. by Alex Shvartsman)
https://alexshvartsman.com/ufo-unidentified-funny-objects
Payment: 10 cents a word
Story Length: 500-5000 words
Deadline: April 1–April 30, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: 1 week
Description: All styles and sub-genres of speculative fiction stories with a strong humor element. Think Resnick and Sheckley, Fredric Brown and Douglas Adams. We welcome quality flash fiction and non-traditional narratives. Take chances, try something new, just make sure that your story is funny. This volume to include stories by Esther Friesner, Mike Resnick, Jack Campbell, Jim C. Hines, and Ken Liu.


Historic Fantasy (anthology)
https://87bedford.com/anthology-historic-fantasy
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 1,000–5,000 words
Deadline: April 30, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: 1 month
Description: Stories that offer a riveting reimagining of a historic time period imbued with fantasy and magic. We prefer stories with a literary quality built upon strong characters, spellbinding language, and believable world-building.


Bronzeville Books anthologies (2 separate markets, Similar guidelines)
http://www.bronzevillebooks.com/writers/anthology-submissions/

Both anthologies:
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 3,000 words
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown

1. Rigor Morbid 2
Description: Horror tales for Halloween.
Deadline: June 6, 2020

2. Happy Hellidays
Description: Twisted, unexpected holiday stories. Don't limit yourself to Christmas -- we're looking for all kinds of special occasions gone awry.
Deadline: July 11, 2020



Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
http://www.alfredhitchcockmysterymagazine.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines
Payment: 5-to-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).


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 April 13–April 17, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: Unknown
Description: To publish great speculative fiction storytelling, regardless of genre (ex. Neil Gaiman); unique voices.


Thrilling Words
http://www.thrillingwords.com/about-us/submissions
Payment: $160 flat rate for TWO flash fiction stories
Story Length: Two stories to total no more than combined 2,000 words
Deadline: None listed. Currently open (unknown if to be continuous or intermittent)
Reprints?: No
Response: 45 days
Description: Episodic fiction; multiple flash fiction stories written by the same author. Stories that are connected by author, theme, or fictional universe (but not serialized—each to be a standalone). Spec Fiction stories: fantasy, sci-fi, superhero or just plain surreal is not important, the more important thing is to have fun with the story. And it’s this last point, having fun, that’s the most important stylistic element. We are looking for stories that trace their heritage more from pulp traditions than literary. Stories that make you feel more than make you think.



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

In Darkness, Delight: Fear the Future (published by Corpus Press, edited by Evans Light and Andrew Lennon)
https://www.corpuspress.com/call-for-submissions
Payment: 3 cents a word (up to $150)
Story Length: 2,500–4,500 words (soft range)
Deadline: November 15, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: By November 30, 2020
Description: Terrifying stories that deal with futuristic themes, set in the near future or far. Tales can be Earth-based or extraterrestrial, perhaps featuring technological or social upheavals that have frightful implications for individuals or society at large; as examples, the ongoing erosion of privacy and enduring nature of online activity, artificial human enhancement via DNA manipulation or implants, impact of emerging technologies on developing children, and so on. (Think bigger than stories about an interesting app, even though that might be where thoughts go first.) NO Post-apocalyptic stories.


Black Static Magazine (TTA Press)
http://ttapress.com/blackstatic/guidelines
Payment: 3 cents a word (ESTIMATE, as it can vary)
Story Length: up to 10,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: usually within 2 weeks; but up to 3 months
Description: Non-themed, general audience, thoughtful horror.

MY NINE YEAR WRITE-IVERSARY

February marks an important personal milestone as being my annual “Write-iversary.” It’s been NINE years now—since February, 2011—that I decided to pursue fiction writing for the sake of publication.

Here are my annual base stats as of February 15, 2020:

452 Short Story Submissions since February, 2011:

118 Acceptances (**including REPRINTS)

334 Rejections

= 26.11% Acceptance Rate

Of those Acceptances (including REPRINTS):

112 are Published

6 are Pending Publication

In the last nine years, I’ve written 91 original short stories (including smaller Flash Fiction pieces).

Of those 91, I still carry some degree of sentimentality or pride for 70 of them.

*Prior to the Feb., 2011 date, and going back to 1993, I’d written another 15 stories at random times of my life, which I may or may not have submitted to contests or underground ’zines, but which are not included in submission statistics, as I was not tracking them nor had any publishing goals set.

In addition to fiction short stories, I’ve written and published:
1 Novella: Baggage of Eternal Night (JournalStone, 2013)
1 Novel: Doorways to the Deadeye (JournalStone, 2019)
1 Collection: That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction (Cemetery Dance Publications, 2018) (**All stories in this collection are reprints, not calculated in any other acceptance or word count ratios)

Original words of fiction written since Feb., 2011 = 609,171

Total words of fiction in PUBLICATION since Feb., 2011 = 549,692


In addition to fiction, I’ve written and published:

6 Anthologies, edited by Eric J. Guignard

A World of Horror (Dark Moon Books, 2018)

After Death… (Dark Moon Books, 2013)
Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations (Dark Moon Books, 2012)
The Five Senses of Horror (Dark Moon Books, 2018)
+Horror Library+ Volume 6 (Cutting Block Books/ Farolight Publishing, 2017)
Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror (Dark Moon Books, 2019)


Exploring Dark Short Fiction (A Primer Series)
Created by Eric J. Guignard

#1: A Primer to Steve Rasnic Tem (Dark Moon Books, 2017)
#2: A Primer to Kaaron Warren (Dark Moon Books, 2018)
#3: A Primer to Nisi Shawl (Dark Moon Books, 2018)
#4: A Primer to Jeffrey Ford (Dark Moon Books, 2019)
#5: A Primer to Han Song (forthcoming) (Dark Moon Books, 2020)
#6: A Primer to Ramsey Campbell (forthcoming) (Dark Moon Books, 2020)


The Horror Writers Association Presents: Haunted Library of Horror Classics
Edited by Eric J. Guignard and Leslie S. Klinger

Vol. I: Phantom of the Opera by Gaston LeRoux (Sourcebooks, 2020)
Vol. II: The Beetle by Richard Marsh (Sourcebooks, 2020)
Vol. IIII: Vathek by William Beckford (forthcoming) (Sourcebooks, 2020)
Vol. IV: The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson (forthcoming) (Sourcebooks, 2020)
Vol. V: The Parasite and Other Tales of Terror by Arthur Conan Doyle (forthcoming) (Sourcebooks, 2021)
Vol. VI: The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers (forthcoming) (Sourcebooks, 2021)

2 Convention Souvenir Books (2015 HWA Bram Stoker Awards Weekend & 25th Anniversary World Horror Convention; StokerCon 2017 Souvenir Book)

4 Non-Fiction Articles

2 Book Introductions for other authors

3 writer-related cooking recopies


Observations:

I’ve been honored to win the Bram Stoker Award twice. I’ve also been nominated for the International Thriller Award, and nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize, in addition to nominations or winnings in a number of other smaller indie contests or the such.

In addition to writing and editing fiction, I run the indie press, DARK MOON BOOKS. It’s a source of pride, and I’ve learned a lot about the background development of indie publishing. I also learned that I’m absolutely horrible in marketing/ P.R., etc., and I probably make all the wrong decisions in those regards, because I ultimately don’t seem to sell much. I know I have a few fans who will support Dark Moon Books, and buy whatever I put out, but that’s because they appreciate what I’m doing, which is more about expanding the notion of the horror genre as diverse, literary, meaningful, and more weird and psychological, rather than given to the current stereotypes of gore and vulgarity. *** ADVICE: Starting your own press is an even worse decision than deciding to become a writer! (haha)

In addition to writing fiction, my ‘Day Job’ duties consist of corporate contract technical writing, as well as teaching technical writing in the University California system; raising young children; volunteering for organizations and youth groups; and engaging in all other manner of life obligations and responsibilities...

I wrote the following thoughts in 2015, but they still hold equally true today (years below amended to include present day calculations):

I’ve made mistakes, but also gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience in publishing, editing, and crafting stories. I’ve made wonderful friends and am still thrilled as a fan-boy each time I get to share a T.O.C. or even just communicate with an author I admire (er, swoon over!). I’ve met and/or worked with Joe R. Lansdale, Bentley Little, Ellen Datlow, Tom Monteleone, Steve Rasnic Tem, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Jones, and others whom I’ve been reading for 28+ years, not to mention authors whom I’ve became familiar with and have inspired my dark fiction reading in the more recent 15-20 years, like John Joseph Adams, Stephen Graham Jones, Jim Butcher, Dennis Lehane, Seanan McGuire, Lauren Beukes, Neil Gaiman, Robert McCammon, and many, many more. Plus there are those other writers who have been particularly supportive and benevolent to me, such as Lisa Morton, Weston Ochse, Gene O'Neill, Jonathan Maberry, Stan Swanson, all the members of HWA L.A. chapter, as well as a hundred others.

My only regret is that I waited so long to even ‘try’ writing. I loved writing in high school but went to college under the impression I needed to focus on ‘serious-minded’ business, and never the twain shall meet. Although I ultimately did pursue other creative endeavors, I waited until I was 35 years old before I decided to attempt that childhood dream of writing... I torture myself now thinking where I could be with an additional fifteen years of experience under my belt. Ah well, I’m elated with the adventures I’ve found thus far and can only hope it all continues for countless more years!

TWO of my 2019 releases are finalists for this year's Bram Stoker Awards!!

Just found out that TWO of my 2019 releases are finalists for Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Awards!!!

These include my debut novel, DOORWAYS TO THE DEADEYE (pub. Journalstone), and my sixth anthology as editor (pub. Dark Moon Books), POP THE CLUTCH: THRILLING TALES OFROCKABILLY, MONSTERS, AND HOT ROD HORROR

Congratulations to all other finalists as well—it makes me so happy to see many friends and well-deserving works listed this year!!

Full ballot listed here: http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/front-page/the-2019-bram-stoker-award-finalists/

February, 2020 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

HWA L.A.: February, 2020

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

Hybrid Fiction (*New Market)
https://www.hybridfiction.net/submissions
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 500–5,000 words
Deadline: Continuous
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Blend themes and elements from two or more different genres. Some examples of hybrid fiction are dark fantasy, steampunk westerns, historical fantasy, weird westerns, and crime fantasy.


Little Blue Marble
https://littlebluemarble.ca/submission-guidelines
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 2,000 (reprints allowed up to 5,000 at <1 cent/ word)
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Speculative fiction that examines humanity’s possible futures living with anthropogenic climate change. We prefer fiction with a hopeful outlook, but the occasional dystopia might fit too.


Local Lore Anthology (title TBD) (Cemetery Gates Media)
https://cemeterygatesmedia.com/2020/01/10/2020-anthology-submission-guidelines
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: 3,000–6,000 words
Deadline: August 1, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: Before September 30, 2020
Description: Personal local lore/oddities. Write something dark into a setting you’ve experienced — it could be a place you’ve lived, or even just somewhere you’ve visited on a vacation. Is there a landmark in your town that you can write a nightmare into? Have you ever legend tripped somewhere and thought, well, that cave, mausoleum, torture tree was neat, but I wish there was more to the story?


Analog Science Fiction and Fact
https://www.analogsf.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines
Payment: 8–10 cents a word (9 cents a word for non-fiction)
Story Length: up to 20,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: 2–3 months
Description: Science fiction stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse.


SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire
https://mochamemoirspress.com/submission-guidelines
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: March 31, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Stories of the black vampire. Stories of vampire hunters, of anti-vampiric heroes/heroines, and more, taken out of westernized culture. They can be in space, superheroes, but they must be from the African Diaspora.


Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores
https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/
Payment: 6 cents/ word original; 2 cents/ word reprint
Story Length: 1,000–40,000 words (focus on shorter form)
Deadline: Open 1 week only: upcoming March 21 to March 28, 2020
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).



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

Unnerving Magazine
https://www.unnervingmagazine.com/submissions
Payment: 3 cents a word
Story Length: 800–5,000 words (up to 9,000 words for reprints)
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: Yes (1 cent/ word)
Response: Up to 6 months
Description: Unthemed horror and suspense (incl. dark science fiction (light), dark fantasy, crime, thriller, and dark literary.)


Midnight Street Anthology (#4): Strange Days (edited by Trevor Denyer)
https://midnightstreetpress.com/submission-guidelines
Payment: £50 flat (about $65 US)
Story Length: 2,000–8,000 words
Deadline: February 28, 2020
Reprints?: Yes (with lower priority than original; pay at £20)
Response: Two weeks
Description: Sci-fi, horror, slipstream, weird, etc. stories that reflect the strange times we are living in and that sum up the precariousness of modern existence. Will the generation that comes after us save the planet? Or will mass extinction occur and include us?

ANNOUNCING! The acquisition of A STICK OF DOUBLEMINT by Gene O’Neill

ANNOUNCING! The acquisition and soon-to-be published latest book by Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard:

A STICK OF DOUBLEMINT (Book 4 in the series, THE CRIME FILES OF KATY GREEN) by renowned, award-winning author Gene O’Neill !!

Read the thrilling case file in this final book in the series: An innocent young woman is gunned down during a gang-related drive-by shooting. Then those involved start turning up dead, with a stick of Doublemint gum in hand. What does it mean, and who’s responsible? Private investigators Katy Green and Johnny Cato are brought in to help stop the vigilante killings!

Coming, May, 2020. With interior illustrations by Greg Chapman, series afterword by Gord Rollo, and exclusive interview by B.E. Scully!

More as it’s revealed here: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/doublemint.html

January, 2020 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

HWA L.A.: January, 2020

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

Silk & Steel: An Adventure Anthology of Queer Ladies (Cantina Publishing)
https://www.cantinapublishing.com/submissions
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 10,000 words
Deadline: February 22, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Queer female protagonists (f/f): stories of high adventure that feature one weapon-wielding woman and one woman whose strengths lie in softer skills, but who is just as powerful in her own right. You’re free to choose any setting – from historical to modern to wildly futuristic.


Future Science Fiction Digest
http://future-sf.com/submissions
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: 30 days
Description: Non-themed science fiction stories.


CRAFT Fiction (online literary journal)
https://craft.submittable.com/submit
Payment: $100 for flash fiction and $0.10/word up to $200 for longer pieces
Story Length: up to 7,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: possibly
Response: unknown
Description: Fiction that shines because of its exploration of craft. All genres and styles are welcome ; our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft. We want to be wowed. Bend genres, experiment with structure, and write your heart out. Each selected piece will include an editor’s introduction as well as a craft note from the author.


Drabblecast (online speculative fiction magazine and podcast)
https://www.drabblecast.org/submissions
Payment: 6 cents a word (3 cents a word for reprints)
Story Length: 500–4,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: Yes
Response: Up to 3 months
Description: “Strange Stories for Strange Listeners,” often also classified as “Weird Fiction” … or any and all genres, but largely centers around those of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.


Flame Tree Publishing (Flash Fiction Monthly Contest)
https://www.flametreepress.com/submissions
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 700–1,000 words
Deadline: January 24, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: Presumably by the end of the following month.
Description: Original Flash Fiction written to the month’s theme; must be subscriber to the newsletter to receive the monthly prompt. This month: The Horror theme is Blood Suckers (Vampires). The Sci-Fi stories theme is Hollow Earth.


Flash Fiction Online
http://flashfictiononline.com/main/submission-guidelines/
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 500 to 1,000 words
Deadline: Intermittently open
Reprints?: Yes (payment at 2 cents/ word)
Response: Within one month
Description: A very short but complete story of flash fiction. Strong, interesting characters, in genres of dark sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, crime, horror, and even literary.



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

Gallery of Curiosities (fiction anthology print and podcast)—RETROPUNK AUDIOFICTION
https://gallerycurious.com/fiction/
Payment: 4 cents a word
Story Length: up to 7,500 words
Deadline: January 1–31, 2020
Reprints?: Yes (paid at 1 cent a word)
Response: One week for initial short list acceptance, then varying timeframe thereafter
Description: Short stories that entertain. We want to be taken on an adventure in a time that never was, be it weird tales, steampunk, retro-futurism, vintage horror, mad science, amazing cities, monsters, impossible machines, clockworks, alt-history adventures, unexpected surprises, weird westerns, and things that shouldn’t work.


Multispecies Cities (World Weaver Press, in partnership with the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan)
https://www.worldweaverpress.com/submit-anthologies.html
Payment: 3 cents a word
Story Length: 500–5,000 words
Deadline: February 1, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Science Fiction tales: Futuristic cities where people and wildlife can thrive together, or urban landscapes re-designed to heal past ecological destruction. Stories should end on a positive or hopeful note.