Abomination Magazine is looking for "submissions of horror, science fiction, and dark fantasy between 1,000 to 7,500 words in length. We want you to scare us. If your story doesn’t incite dread, give us nightmares, or make us feel extremely unsettled, it’s probably not for us. Gore is acceptable, but not at the cost of story." Payment: one cent per word. No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.
E-book publisher Eggplant Literary Productions is looking for novella-length fiction: "All types of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction and horror) are welcome and reprints will be considered; however, you should query first with story and publication information before submitting a reprint. Short story collections, full length novels (40,000 words or more), poetry collections or non-speculative fiction novellas will not be considered for open submissions" Length: 20 – 40K; Payment: "$250 (USD) advance + 25% royalty of list price". See guidelines for more details.
Eggplant Literary Productions also has an interesting open call for short pieces: "Inspired by such fantasy libraries as those found in Robin McKinley’s Beauty and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, Eggplant Literary Productions presents Miscellanea: a transdimensional library. The shelves will be filled with books of the other: books that have never existed and that haven’t been written yet. What I am looking for are excerpts from such books. I’m looking for works 300 words in length or shorter. These must be works that have not been published elsewhere, that will not be published for the 6 months they’ll be featured on the library. I’m keeping my expectations wide open with this project: excerpts from fiction works, otherworldly recipes, snatches of poetry, faux reviews of imagined books, articles from cryptozoological texts, parapsychology manuals, works written in fairy languages, pictograms or mathematical equations, footnotes, even dedications are fair game. Let’s get creative here." Payment: $10 flat rate upon acceptance. See guidelines for more details.
Horror on the Installment Plan, a weekly subscription-based ezine, is looking for themed stories: "They must be linked to one of given themes. You need to register to access the themes. I want my authors to be registered because I'm going to write interviews and feature many of them online in the Purgatory Blog." Length: less than 3K (firm); Payment: 5 cents per word on publication, no reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.
In Fabula-Divinos ~ the tale-tellers a monthly e-zine and annual antho, is looking for stories to workshop for publication strictly from writers who are as yet unpublished: "Speculative in nature (that is, science fiction, fantasy or horror)" or "a meld of genres eg fantasy romance, science fiction crime." Length: less than 2k; Payment: $100.00 AU. No reprints (obviously), electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.
Liquid Silver Books is looking for hero-centered novels: "When you think of classic romance, what stories stick in your mind? What do all the best-loved stories have in common? We think that special something is a Hero. Liquid Silver Books is looking for stories that feature Heroes. Whether these Heroes are on the nightly news, or unnoticed, or hidden as they go about their work, they all deserve that one person who’s not only their perfect partner, but who also brings them a very special “happily ever after.” These stories’ protagonists must be strong and capable, but should not be perfect – they should feel real, complex, with normal faults and problems, and they should learn important lessons about themselves as they fight to overcome the odds. There can be strong secondary characters, but the building relationship between the protagonists while they battle an intense and gripping conflict or villain must be the main thrust of the story. Heroes stories can fall within any heat level, fitting our Platinum, Sterling, Liquid, or Molten guidelines – see www.liquidsilverbooks.com/guidelines.htm for more information on our heat levels. But they are romance stories, not erotica – there must be a strong and compelling story linking everything together, not a series of sex scenes. They must be at least 15K, and can take place in any setting, from small town America to the vast light years of outer space. They can include paranormal elements, such as shifters or alternate worlds, but the underlying Heroes theme must ring true. Do you have a larger-than-life Hero fighting against all odds in your latest manuscript? If so, we want to see it. We think strong ethics and leadership are in greater need today than ever, and we want to tell stories that showcase these qualities and entice our readers to add new books to their list of favorites." Offers 35% royalties on net sales, see guidelines for more details.
On the Premises is holding a contest for humorous fiction: "Humorous prose is not taken seriously in today’s literary world. We aim to rectify that. We dare you to write a short piece of fiction that makes us laugh, or at least smile. If you can make us laugh and think, or laugh and feel deeply about someone or something, all the better. We will not accept parodies of another author’s specific fictional characters or world(s). No exceptions! Any genre except children’s fiction and exploitative sex or horror is fine. Our sense of humor is broad and forgiving, but you might want to read our special tips for issue 17 on our “Hints for Winning” page anyway." Length: 1-5K, Prizes: Prizes according to Ralan are $180/140/100 & 0-3 HMs@$40 [which I'll interpret as $180.00 for 1st place, $140.00 for second, $100.00 for third, and $40.00 for a maximum of three honorable mentions] No reprints, electronic submissions only, see contest page for more details. Deadline: May 31st, 2012.
New YA literary magazine One Teen Storyis looking for "...great short stories written for the young adult audience ages 14 and up. We’re open to all genres of literary fiction between 2,000 and 4,500 words. Because of our format, we can only accept stories that are strong enough to stand alone." Payment: $500.00, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.
The Saturday Evening Post is sponsoring their first annual Great American Fiction contest: "The winning story will be published in the Jan/Feb 2013 edition of the magazine and on our website. The winning writer will receive a payment of $500. Five runners-up will be published on our website and receive payment of $100 each." As for what they want: "Entries must be character- or plot-driven stories in any genre of fiction that falls within the Post’s broad range of interest—one guided by the publication’s mission: Celebrating America, Past, Present, and Future." Length: "1,500-5,000 words in length", no reprints, electronic submissions only, see contest page for more details on content and format. They're charging a $10 entry fee, which greatly annoys me, but for some of you the opportunity and exposure might be worth ten bucks. Deadline: July 1st, 2012.
Most of the above market listings were found among the market listings over at Ralan.com as well as the forums at AbsoluteWriter.com.
Thank you for this post. I will certainly check these links out
ReplyDeleteWith all the stuff you do, I don't know how you find the time to regularly post these Sub Ops...but I'm so glad you do!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links.
I was published in Atomic Avarice's first publication. At this point, they have breached their contract with me as I was to be paid prior to publication. They have not answered any of my three emails to date, even to simply open conversation in case of an error.
ReplyDeleteI think this needs to be known.
Scott L Vannatter
"The Way It Is"
I'm sorry to hear this, Scott, but I appreciate you sharing the info. As I don't endorse anyone who treats writers like this I'll note the same in the post and strike them off the list.
Delete