Sub Ops Across the Pond

Irish SF mag Albedo One has announced the International Aeon Award Short Fiction Contest for 2013: "The Aeon Award is a prestigious fiction writing competition for short stories in any speculative fiction genre, i.e. fantasy, science fiction, horror or anything in-between or unclassifiable." [Note from PBW: there is an entry fee of €7.50 for this one, but they've stated they've tried to keep it low, and the amount doesn't make my left eye twitch much.] Length: up to 10K; Prizes: "...Grand Prize of €1000 and publication in Albedo One! Second and third place contest prizes are €200 and €100 as well as guaranteed publication in Albedo One, the leading Irish magazine of science fiction, fantasy and horror." No reprints, electronic submission only, see contest guidelines and a helpful FAQ for more details. Deadline: November 30th, 2013.

The Alchemy Press in the UK has started a new line of novellas: "In the first instance, we aim to publish four novellas a year as eBooks. Then the novellas will be collected together and published as a print book – so readers have the best of both worlds. Our proposed publication schedule for the eBooks is February, May, August and November, with submission dates two month prior to these months (the first of December, March, June and September), although subs may be sent anytime." What they want to see: "We have eclectic tastes. Alchemy Novellas will cover almost all areas of Fantasy – that’s heroic fantasy, alternate world fantasy, urban fantasy, supernatural, dark crime and horror. Comic fantasy will be considered but not if it’s a parade of puns or bad gags. We are not fans of zombies or heroic vampires. We will not publish hard science fiction. Essentially, acceptance will be based on how well the novella works for us." Length: "We are looking for original, unpublished novellas in the 15,000-35,000 word range (preferred length 20,000-30,000 words)." Payment: "We will pay £50 for the initial (ie, first serial) eBook publication and a further £25 on the subsequent print publication, against royalties, plus a copy each of the eBook and the printed book." Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

UK NewCon Press has an open call for their upcoming anthology Looking Landwards: "The book is being produced in collaboration with the Institution of Agricultural Engineers, which celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year. To commemorate this event, we are looking for original science fiction stories that speculate on what the future might hold for agricultural engineering, farming and food production over the next century." Length: "Ideally stories should be of 4,500 words or less, though this limit is flexible." Payment: "Payment of 1p a word (or equivalent) up to a limit of £45.00 will be made for successful submissions." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: June 10th 2013.