September, 2024 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

HWA L.A.: For September, 2024
New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Unréal (AE)
https://aescifi.ca/unreal-call-for-submissions-lappel-des-textes/
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 1,000–5,000 words
Deadline: November 15, 2024
Reprints?: No
Response: by January 31, 2025
Description: Stories and poems in with fantastical or speculative elements set on the island of Montréal. Submissions may be science fiction, fantasy, horror or any adjacent genre. They may be set in the distant past, the distant future, or any time in between. They may feature Montréal as we know it today or an alternate Montréal that has never been. The island or city of Montréal must, however, be an essential element of the story.


TWO SEPARATE ANTHOLOGIES from Flame Tree Publishing
Payment: 8 cents a word (6 cents/ word for reprints)
Story Length: 3,000–4,000 words (soft range)
Deadline: September 22, 2024
Reprints?: Yes
Response: within 4 months of the submission deadline

1. Morgana le Fay: Fiction short stories about the Arthurian character, Morgana le Fay.
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/morgana-le-fay-submissions-0

2. Achilles: Fiction short stories about the Greek mythological character, Achilles.
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/achilles-submissions-call-0


The Deadlands
https://thedeadlands.com/guidelines/
Payment: 10 cents a word (1 cent for reprints)
Story Length: up to 5,000 words (preferably 3,000–4,000 words)
Deadline: Open between September 1–September 30, 2024
Reprints?: Yes
Response: Two weeks
Description: Speculative fiction stories about death, or what death may involve. EX: A ghost in a shadowed wood. An afterlife discovered through a rusted door. An abandoned house in the middle of a haunted field. A skeletal figure moving with intent toward something unseen. Death personified; stories from a worldwide perspective, different cultures, different approaches to death.


You, Human, Vol. 2 (Written Backwards)
https://nettirw.com/submissions/
Payment: 10 cents a word (capped at 5,000 words, thus max of $500)
Story Length: 7,500–15,000 words
Deadline: Open between September 1–September 30, 2024
Reprints?: No
Response: Within three months
Description: Dark sci-fi and all blended sub-genre (horror, fantasy, etc.) novelettes regarding: What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be real? What does it mean to exist? What does it mean to be human?


Utopia SF Magazine (Flash Fiction issue)
https://www.utopiasciencefiction.com/submit
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 1,000 words for flash fiction issue (normally up to 4,000 words)
Deadline: November 1, 2024
Reprints?: No
Response: Up to four months
Description: See site for quarterly themes! December issue is Flash Fiction and Poetry. Mag is also interested in art and non-fiction, all science-fiction related.


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.



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

Solarpunk Conflicts
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o9cXEU-IJLIq6Qpufrxl9UgbstygkycE/view
Payment: 5 cents a word (Canadian; translates to about US 3 cents/word)
Story Length: 2,500–8,500 words (also open to poetry, no longer than 2 pages)
Deadline: November 1, 2024
Reprints?: No
Response: By January 1, 2025
Description: The conflicts related to the hopeful and optimistic nature of Solarpunk; Stories and poetry should explore a solarpunk conflict, either one manufactured entirely for the story, or one based in a real-world point of contention you feel currently divides solarpunks, or that has done so in the past. Conflicts can be as small or as grand as you would like, though the story as a whole should be legibly solarpunk and should not champion a non-solarpunk ethos.


Strange New Moons
https://frenchpresspub.blogspot.com/2024/08/open-call-strange-new-moons.html
Payment: 3 cents a word
Story Length: 2,000–5,000 words
Deadline: Open between September 1–September 30, 2024
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Werewolf stories! Looking for something wild, strange, and new!

Book Chain 6: How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie

Book Chain Campaign: BookChain6: Tracking Log for:

How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie:

i. Bought on Amazon, June 22, 2024



ii. Given from Eric J. Guignard to Stephen Woodworth at Comic-Con, July 28, 2024

iii. Where to next...? Only chance and the last reader involved may determine! #BookChainChallenge

###

NOTES: 

Book back copy: “Horror isn't horror unless it's real.

Max Maurey should be on top of the world. He's a famous horror director. Actors love him. Hollywood needs him. He's making money hand over fist. But it's the 80s, and he's directing cheap slashers for audiences who only crave more blood, not real art. Not real horror. And Max's slimy producer refuses to fund any of his new ideas.

Sally Priest dreams of being the Final Girl. She knows she's got what it takes to score the lead role, even if she's only been cast in small parts so far. When Sally meets Max at his latest wrap party, she sets out to impress him and prove her scream queen prowess.

But when Max discovers an old camera that filmed a very real Hollywood horror, he knows that he has to use this camera for his next movie. The only problem is that it came with a cryptic warning and sometimes wails.

By the time Max discovers the true evil lying within, he's already dead set on finishing the scariest movie ever put to film, and like it or not, it's Sally's time to shine as the Final Girl”

(pub. Redhook, 2024)

Available here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/craig-dilouie/how-to-make-a-horror-movie-and-survive/9780316569316/?lens=redhook

And reviewed on:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Horror-Movie-Survive/dp/0316569313

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-make-a-horror-movie-and-survive-craig-dilouie/1144153518

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199263513-how-to-make-a-horror-movie-and-survive

###

AND READ WHAT #BOOKCHAIN IS ABOUT HERE!  

https://ericjguignard.blogspot.com/2024/06/book-chain.html

Book Chain 5: Tiny Dreadfuls: Horrors, Oddities, and Tales of the Dark by S. Faxon

Book Chain Campaign: BookChain5: Tracking Log for:

Tiny Dreadfuls: Horrors, Oddities, and Tales of the Dark by Sarah S. Faxon:

i. Bought on Amazon, June 24, 2024 (Pictured here with author Sarah S. Faxon)



ii. Given from Eric J. Guignard to KC Grifant at Comic-Con, July 28, 2024

iii. Given from KC Grifant to David Neuhausal at Scream Diego, October 13, 2024

iv. Where to next...? Only chance and the last reader involved may determine! #BookChainChallenge

###

NOTES: 

Book back copy: “Prepare yourself for a tour through the dark! Inspired by the classic Victorian Penny Dreadfuls, this collection of horror short stories and oddities from award-winning author S. Faxon takes you through cursed orchards, opium-stoked alleyways, haunted houses, and to the high-seas. With some of these stories based on real-life paranormal encounters, this book is a must-read for those who love the fanciful and unexplainable!”

(pub. No Bad Books Press, 2021)

Available here: https://sfaxon.wordpress.com/tiny-dreadfuls/

And reviewed on:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Dreadfuls-Horrors-Oddities-Tales/dp/1735726184

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57838235-tiny-dreadfuls

###

AND READ WHAT #BOOKCHAIN IS ABOUT HERE!  

https://ericjguignard.blogspot.com/2024/06/book-chain.html

Book Chain 4: Exploring Dark Short Fiction #1: A Primer to Steve Rasnic Tem

Book Chain Campaign: BookChain4: Tracking Log for:

Exploring Dark Short Fiction #1: A Primer to Steve Rasnic Tem, edited by Eric J. Guignard, with fiction written by Steve Rasnic Tem:

i. From Dark Moon Books, May, 2024 (Pictured here with author Steve Rasnic Tem way back in 2014!)



ii. Given from Eric J. Guignard to Rena Mason at StokerCon, June 2, 2024

iii. Where to next...? Only chance and the last reader involved may determine! #BookChainChallenge

###

NOTES: 

Book back copy: For over four decades, Steve Rasnic Tem has been an acclaimed author of horror, weird, and sentimental fiction. Hailed by Publishers Weekly as “A perfect balance between the bizarre and the straight-forward” and Library Journal as “One of the most distinctive voices in imaginative literature,” Steve Rasnic Tem has been read and cherished the world over for his affecting, genre-crossing tales.

Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard bring you this introduction to his work, the first in a series of primers exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction. Herein is a chance to discover—or learn more of—the rich voice of Steve Rasnic Tem, as beautifully illustrated by artist Michelle Prebich.

Included within these pages are:

•  Six short stories, one written exclusively for this book

•  Author interview

•  Complete bibliography

•  Academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD (former humanities chair and professor of the year, Seton Hill University)

•  … and more!

Enter this doorway to the vast and fantastic: Get to know Steve Rasnic Tem.

(pub. Dark Moon Books, 2017)

Available here: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Primer_1.html

And reviewed on:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Dark-Short-Fiction-Primer/dp/1949491080/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/exploring-dark-short-fiction-1-eric-j-guignard/1126739559?ean=9781949491081

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35674991-exploring-dark-short-fiction-1

###

AND READ WHAT #BOOKCHAIN IS ABOUT HERE!  

https://ericjguignard.blogspot.com/2024/06/book-chain.html

August, 2024 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

HWA L.A.: For August, 2024
New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Little Red Flags: Stories of Cults, Cons, and Control
https://darkmattermagazine.shop/pages/little-red-flags-submission-guidelines
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: 1,000–4,000 words (hard range)
Deadline: Open between August 1–August 16, 2024
Reprints?: No
Response: 45–60 days from date of submission
Description: Fiction stories of fanaticism, fundamentalism, extremism, and control. We want to read about cons people pull off that make our jaws drop. The horrors hiding just beyond the edges of our better judgment.


Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
https://www.elleryqueenmysterymagazine.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines/
Payment: 5-8 cents a word
Story Length: 2,500–8,000 words soft range (additionally, ‘Minute Mysteries’ of as little as 250 words)
Deadline: Ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: Three months
Description: (No Horror, but Mystery and Crime) Every kind of mystery short story: the psychological suspense tale, the deductive puzzle, the private eye case—the gamut of crime and detection from the realistic (including the policeman's lot and stories of police procedure) to the more imaginative (including “locked rooms” and “impossible crimes”). We need hard-boiled stories as well as “cozies.”


Calliope Interactive
https://calliopeinteractive.com/open-call
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: 100–1,000 (flash) or 2,000–4,000 words (short story)
Deadline: ongoing/intermittent (?)
Reprints?: No
Response: estimated within 2 months
Description: Unthemed genre fiction; anything to do with high fantasy, operatic sci-fi, heart-stopping action, that’s our jam.


This Way Lies Madness (Flame Tree Publishing, edited by Lee Murray and Dave Jeffery)
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/this-way-lies-madness-submissions-call-0
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 2,000–4,000 words (soft range)
Deadline: October 13, 2024
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: In the tradition of Poe’s “A Tell-tale Heart” and Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, This Way Lies Madness (publishing September 2025) will bring together a twisted tangle of dark stories featuring monstrous manifestations of trauma and guilt, paranoia and persecution, anxiety, addiction, and crippling terror. In these pages, readers should expect to find madness in all its forms, without the tired stigmatizing tropes.


Asimov’s Science Fiction (magazine)
http://www.asimovs.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines
Payment: 8+ cents a word
Story Length: 1,000–20,000 words (generally less than 7,500 words)
Deadline: Continually open
Reprints?: No
Response: Five weeks
Description: Character-oriented Science Fiction stories that is serious, thoughtful, yet accessible (occasional humor), including borderline fantasy, slipstream, and surreal fiction (and some poetry).


Story Unlikely
https://www.storyunlikely.com/#submit
Payment: 8 cents a word (up to $200 cap; no longer minimum “pro” pay after 4,000 words)
Story Length: up to 10,000 words
Deadline: September 29, 2024
Reprints?: Yes (paid at 1 cent/ word up to $75)
Response: 90 days
Description: Good stories that elicit emotion. Any genre. NOTE: Submissions require (free) subscription to monthly e-mag publication.



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

Dirty Magick Magazine
https://www.dirtymagickmagazine.com/submissions.html
Payment: $50 flat
Story Length: 2,000–12,500 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: Not stated by the publisher, but The Grinder indicates less than 15 days.
Description: Original tales of fantasy, horror, sword & sorcery, Gothic, Magic, etc.; good balance between plot and character; tell a strong story with believable protagonists, strong setting, and fresh ideas.


Error Code (Riverfolk Publishing)
https://www.riverfolkbooks.com/rabid-otter-horror
Payment: $100 flat
Story Length: 6,000–10,000 words
Deadline: September 30, 2024
Reprints?: Yes
Response: unknown
Description: Technology-based horror short stories (“Man-made horrors beyond our comprehension!”)

Book Chain 3: The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Book Chain Campaign: BookChain3/ 3b: Tracking Log for:

The Hunger by Alma Katsu:

i. Bought on Amazon, February 2, 2024

* I brought this book to StokerCon 2024 and set it down on a table, and it then vanished. Guessing someone "really" wanted to read it! I presume this particular Book Chain to be dead, but I did affix the log inside the cover, so perhaps someone will realize they have this copy, and come upon this Book Chain promo idea, and then set the book onto its rightful course!

Otherwise... I got a new copy and created for this Book chain a "start-over" as BookChain3b:

i. Bought again on Amazon, July 28, 2024



ii. Given from Eric J. Guignard to David Sandner at Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Glendale, August 25, 2024

iii. Where to next...? Only chance and the last reader involved may determine! #BookChainChallenge

###

NOTES: 

Book back copy: “Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere.

That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos. They cannot seem to escape tragedy...or the feelings that someone—or something—is stalking them. Whether it's a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner (who some think might be a witch), their ill-advised choice of route through uncharted terrain, or just plain bad luck, the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history.

As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains... and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.

Effortlessly combining the supernatural and the historical, The Hunger is an eerie, thrilling look at the volatility of human nature, pushed to its breaking point…”

(pub. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2018)

Available here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-hunger-alma-katsu/12277542?ean=9780735212534

And reviewed on:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735212538

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hunger-alma-katsu/1126551874

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30285766-the-hunger

###

AND READ WHAT #BOOKCHAIN IS ABOUT HERE!  

https://ericjguignard.blogspot.com/2024/06/book-chain.html