Grindhouse Fiction - Call for Novella Submissions

Via Alec Cizak comes a new press called Grindhouse Fiction.  They're looking for novella length fiction (15,000 to 20,000 words) for an anthology of stories that reflect those old action movies that we love so much.  The deadline for queries is April 1.  There's no mention of payment.  You can find the details here. 

The 2014 Agatha Award Nominees

Malice Domestic has announced the 2014 Agatha Nominees.  Of special interest here is the short story nominees which I've posted below.  Special congrats to friends of the blog Art Taylor and Barb Goffman!  And a shout out to Terrie Farley Moran for her first novel nomination!  Congrats to all the nominees!!  You can find the entire list here.

 "The Odds are Against Us" by Art Taylor (EQMM)
"Premonition" (Chesapeake Crimes Homicidal Holidays) by Art Taylor (Wildside Press)
"The Shadow Knows" (Chesapeake Crimes Homicidal Holidays) by Barb Goffman (Wildside Press)
"Just Desserts for Johnny" by Edith Maxwell (Kings River Life Magazine)
"The Blessing Witch" (Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave) by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Level Best Books)

Hidden Youth - Anthology Call

"Hidden Youth:  Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History" is an anthology that will be published by Grossed Genres Publications.  They're looking for stories of 2000 to 8000 words that are set before 1935 CE (Common Era - same as AD without the religious overtones, and yes, I had to look it up).  The story also must feature a young person under 18 years of age who is marginalized in his time and place ( ie: slavery, women, gay, handicapped, etc.).  The stories must contain elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror, or the weird.  The deadline is April 30 and payment is 6cents a word.  You can find the details here.

Meerkat Press - Anthology Call

Meerkat Press is a new market that has posted a submission call for an anthology titled "Love Hurts".  They're looking for stories of 1000 to 5000 words in the genres of speculative fiction, science fiction, and fantasy.  The deadline is April 30 and payment is 1 to 4cents a word.  I'm guessing payment will be based on the length of the story.  You can find the details here, just scroll down the page to the short story category.

Belle Books - Open for Novel Submissions

Belle Books has opened for novel submissions.  For you mystery writers out there they're looking for both cozy and non-cozy mysteries, suspense, and thrillers.  There are also looking for novels in other genres and mixed genres.  You can find the details here.  They do pay an advance but how much is not mentioned.

Anthology Calls via The Lovecraft eZine

If you're looking for anthology markets that feature Lovecraftian or Weird Fiction stories check out this list of anthology calls posted over at The Lovecraft eZine.

Poisoned Pen Press - Open for Novel Submissions

Poisoned Pen Press has opened for mystery/crime novel submissions.  You can check out the details here, submissions are through Submittable.

Despumation Press - Open for Submissions

Despumation Press is currently open for submissions to their print journal.  They're looking for short stories of 3000 to 5000 words set in the heavy metal world (they have a page you can click on to get an idea of exactly what that means).  The deadline is April 30 and payment is $10 plus a hard copy.

They'll also be opening up for novelettes, novellas, and novels on April 1 until June 30.  These should also be set in the heavy metal world.  You can find the details for both here.

Pagan Writers Press - Open for Submissions

I ran across a submission call for flash ebooks that's going to put out by Pagan Writers Press.  There will be three flash collections:  Paranormal Romance, Erotica, and Halloween/Samhain.  Their flash length is 1000 to 2500 words.  The deadline for this call is March 1, payment is a royalty split.  You can find the call here.

Submissions are through Submittable and checking there I found that they're also looking for novella length work of 15,000 to 35,000 words for their Twisted Tales line, novels in a variety of genres that includes Mystery/Suspense, and non-fiction books about the art and business of writing.  You can find all these guidelines here as their website doesn't have much information.

Myth Ink Books - Anthology Call

Myth Ink Books has posted an anthology call for "Legends of Sleepy Hollow".  They're looking for horror stories of 2000 to 8000 words set in Sleepy Hollow, NY.  You can use any time period.  Payment is $5 plus one copy.  The deadline is May 1.  You can find the details here.

Wordpool Press - Call for Novel Submissions

Wordpool Press has opened for novel submissions and they're interested in both thrillers and mysteries.  There is no information about payment so that is something you'll have to query.  You can check them out here.

Onyx Neon Shorts - Some Clarification From the Editor

Editor Jeffrey Martin of Onyx Neon Shorts stopped by the blog today and left a message addressing my concerns about the cover art.  This is a paying market that publishes short stories up to 20,000 words in many genres.  You can check out their guidelines here.  Below is Mr. Martin's comment.

Hi Sandra
This is Jeffrey Martin, the Head Editor of Onyx Neon Press. I know it's been a long while since you posted this, but I just found it on google while digging through Onyx Neon Shorts listings.
I wanted to write a comment and clear up the confusion you may have had about cover art. We didn't mean to imply that we wouldn't pay for art, or images, or make sure we weren't publishing copy righted images. What I mean is that right now I'll be handling the graphic design duties while we work our way up. I have a bachelors in Visual Communications and have a large portfolio, mostly consisting of book covers at this point. So, for now—since we're trying to play this close to the chest and keep things small—that we aren't able to afford paying an outside person to do that for us. It's especially unnecessary since I am more than capable of handling it.

I hope that alleviates any tension about the issue that reading our guidelines might have caused.
If you haven't already, please check out our listing of all the shorts we've done so far to see all the covers we covered last year: http://shorts.onyxneon.com/category/shorts/

Dead Gun Press - Call for Novellas

Dead Gun Press Presents is seeking novella length work of 20,000 to 60,000 words in the genres of science fiction, western noir, horror, crime fiction, and old time hardboiled detective.  The deadline is June 1 and payment is royalties. You can check out the details here, scroll down the page.

Evil Girlfriend Media - Anthology Call

Evil Girlfriend Media has posted an anthology call for "Women in Practical Armor".  This call is open to male and female authors but you have to have a strong female warrior in the story.  Stories should be 2000 to 5000 words in length.  Payment is 6cents a word for original stories and 1cent a word for reprints.  The deadline is April 1.  You can find the details here. Scroll down the page.  Please note that this anthology will only be published if they have a successful Kickstarter.

Aporkalypse - Comic Anthology Call

Aporkalypse has posted a call for a post-apocalyptic humor comic anthology.  They want six to eight pages set in their created world.  The deadline for queries is February 15.  Payment is shared royalties. You can find all the details here.

Snuff Zine - Open for Submissions

Dirge Magazine has an open call for a themed issue called "Snuff Zine".  They're looking for stories of 2000 to 4000 words where 1.  Someone must die, and 2.  Someone should be watching (even if it's the reader).  There's no deadline listed, payment is $25.  The guidelines are at Submittable.

Another Dimension - Open for Submissions

Another Dimension has opened submissions for issue #2.  They're looking for stories of 1000 to 3000 words of classic-style horror and dark fantasy ala The Twilight Zone.  The deadline is March 31 and payment is 3cents a word.  You can find the details here.

The 2015 Edgar Award Nominees

The MWA have announced the nominees for the 2015 Edgar Awards.  Of special interest here are the short story nominees posted below with a special congratulations to friend John Floyd.  You can read the entire list here.

"The Snow Angel" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Doug Allyn (Dell Magazines)
"200 Feet" – Strand Magazine by John Floyd (The Strand)
"What Do You Do?" – Rogues by Gillian Flynn
(Penguin Randomhouse Publishing –Bantam Books)
"Red Eye" – Faceoff  by Dennis Lehane vs. Michael Connelly (Simon & Schuster)
"Teddy" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Brian Tobin (Dell Magazines)

Strange Musings Press - Anthology Call

Strange Musings Press has reopened submissions for "Alternate Hilarities 3: Hysterical Realms".  They want stories that combine fantasy and humor.  Flash of 500 to 1500 words pays 1/2cent a word plus royalties and shorts of 1501 to 6000 words pays 1cent a word plus royalties.  The deadline is March 10.  You can find the details here.

Good Mourning Media - Just a Reminder

Good Mourning Media posted this call back in October but there's still time to get a story in.  "No Place for Us" is the anthology and they're looking for "romantic fiction which takes place in a post-apocalyptic world".  Stories can be up to 15,000 words and the deadline is January 31.  Payment is $30.  You can find the details here.

Dark Corners - Open for Submissions

Dark Corners is open for submissions to issue #3.  They're looking for pulp fiction of 2000 to 5000 words in all the usual genres.  The deadline is March 1 and payment is in copies.  You can find the details here.

The Liz McMullen Show - Anthology Call

Liz McMullen has posted an anthology for "Laughing Out Loud:  A Lizzie's Bedtime Stories Humor Anthology".  She's looking for essays of 2000 to 4000 words and short stories of 3000 to 4000 words that make you laugh out loud.  The deadline is September 30 and publication is in the Spring of 2016.  Payment is $50 plus two print copies.  You can find the details here.

On Edgar Allan Poe by Marilynne Robinson

The New York Review of Books has an interesting piece called "On Edgar Allan Poe" by Marilynne Robinson.  You can read it here.

All Due Respect - New Issue

Issue #5 of All Due Respect is now available for your Kindle.  Check it out here.

Fur Planet - Anthology Call

Fur Planet has posted an anthology call that you crime writers might have some fun with.  The call is for noir stories with a "furry" twist - they must have feral or anthropomorphic characters.  You have up to 10,000 words.  The deadline is March 1 and payment is 1/2cent a word.  You can find the details here, just scroll down the page as there are also other open calls.

See the Elephant - New Market

"See the Elephant" is a new online magazine looking for speculative fiction stories of 500 to 5000 words.  The editors have posted some of their own stories so you can get an idea of what they're looking for in a story.  Payment is 6cents a word with a max of $200 and 2cents a word for reprints with a max of $100.  The reading period ends on February 15, submissions are through Submittable.  You can find the details here.

Robocup Press - Anthology Call

Robocup Press has posted an anthology call for "Revenge".  They're looking for non-fiction, short stories, and poetry with the theme of revenge.  While they seem to be a literary press, they accept genre work so your crime stories would be a fit here.  The deadline is April 15.  Sadly the only payment is a print copy.  You can find the details here.

Angie's Desk - Anthology Calls

Angie has posted her anthology calls list for January.  Thanks, Angie!

Stone Skin Press - Anthology Call

Stone Skin Press has posted an anthology call for "Swords v. Cthula".  They're looking for historical or fantasy action tales up to 5000 words.  The reading period is February 1 to March 1 so you have some lead time to get started.  Payment is 5cents a word.  You can find all the details here.

Zimbell House Publishing - Anthology Call

I'm not in favor of non-paying markets from book publishers but I'm posting this one because it's an opportunity for mystery writers.  Zimbell House Publishing has posted four anthology calls one of which is "The Mysteries of Suspense".  They're looking for who-done-it stories but you can cross genres into steampunk, paranormal, etc.  The deadline is March 15 for stories up to 9500 words and payment is one print copy.  You can find the details here, just scroll down the page.

Minotaur Books - 2015 First Novel Competitions

Minotaur Books has opened all of their 2015 Novel Competitions.  For your consideration is The First Crime Novel Competition sponsored by MWA, Best First Traditional Mystery Novel sponsored by Malice Domestic, and Best First Private Eye Competition sponsored by PWA.  There are no fees to enter and the deadlines vary. 

The Arizona Mystery Writers - Jim Martin Memorial Story Contest (fees)

The Arizona Mystery Writers has opened submissions for their annual Jim Martin Memorial Story Contest.  The contest is open to everyone with the $10 entry fee.  They need crime stories up to 2500 words.  The deadline is June 1.  Prizes are $200, $100, and $75 for the top three winners.  You can find the details here.

Supposed Crimes LLC - Anthology Calls

Supposed Crimes LLC is a publisher of gay fiction in any genre. They currently have two anthology calls posted. Both looking for stories of 2500 to 8000 words with payment of $40.

"Young Love, Old Love" is looking for LGBT stories that feature of May/December romance.  The deadline for this one is February 28.

"Downpour" is looking for stories with a butch lesbian protagonist and thunderstorms.  The deadline for this one is July 31.

You can find the details for both here.

Amoeba Ink - Anthology Call

From Michael Bracken we have a link to "The Tomato Anthology".  Yep, they want stories in any genre up to 7500 words where tomatoes play a large part.  In other words, you can just mention the tomatoes in your salad.  The deadline is February 1 and payment is $10 to $20 depending on length.  They're also looking for poems.  You can find all the details here.

Broken Eye Books - Anthology Calls

Broken Eye Books has just announced two anthology calls for this year.  The reading period for both will be March 1 to April 1 so you have plenty of lead time here.  Both are looking for stories up to 4000 words and the payment is 6cents a word.  The titles are "Ghost in the Cogs" and "Tomorrows Ctulhu".  You can find the call here with links to the individual titles.

Wolf Singer Publications - Anthology Calls

Wolf Singer Publications has posted their anthology calls and reading periods for 2015.  Payment is a $5 advance plus royalties.  The titles are "Under a Dark Sign" and "Misunderstood".  At the present time the only one open for submissions is "Extinct Possibilities" but there is a disclaimer on this one that Wolf Singer is willing to publish but is not the chosen publisher at the present time.  The deadline for this one is April 30.  Payment is not mentioned in the guidelines probably because a publisher has not been decided on yet.  You can check out the calls here.

Nightscript - Anthology Call

Nightscript is a brand new market that hopes to publish once a year.  They're looking for "strange tales" primarily in the horror genre of 2000 to 7000 words.  They will be publishing in both print and ebook format.  The submission period ends on March 31 and the finished product will be published in October.  Payment is $25.  You can find the details here.

All Due Respect - New Website

All Due Respect, both the magazine and the publishing company, has a bright shiny new website.  Check it out here.

Crossed Genres Magazine - Open for Submissions

Crossed Genres Magazine is open for submissions for their May issue with the theme "Failure".  Stories should be 1000 to 6000 words in length.  The deadline is January 31 and payment is 6cents a word.  You can find the details here.

Shock Totem - Closed

Print magazine Shock Totem has closed up shop for 2015.  You can find out why here.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Publications - Anthology Call

Science Fiction and Fantasy Publications has issued a call for short stories for their first anthology (magazine) titled Unbound.  The theme for this issue is "Lost Friends".  They're looking for stories of 3000 to 20,000 words.  The deadline is March 31 payment is 1cent a word with a maximum of $150.  You can find the details here.

Sirens Call - Open for Submissions

Sirens Call Publications has opened submissions for Issue #19 of their ezine "The Sirens Call".  The theme for this issue is Women in Horror month, so only the ladies can submit this time.  They need flash of 300 to 1000 words, shorts of 1000 to 2500, and drabbles.  Reprints are acceptable.  The deadline is February 3, this is a non-paying market.

Also open, actually reopened, is the anthology "Mental Ward:  Experiments".  Here, they're looking for stories of 4000 to 8000 words set in a mental hospital.  The deadline for this is March 1 and payment is $25.  You can find the details for both calls here.

Darkhouse Books - Anthology Call

This call came through the SMFS board from Darkhouse Books editor Andrew MacRae:

Call for Submissions - Destination: Mystery!
An Anthology of Destination Mysteries

Darkhouse Books is seeking stories for “Destination: Mystery”. A collection of mystery and crime stories set in locations popular for vacations.

We are looking for stories residing on the cozy side and that highlight the attraction and appeal of the setting – though please, no puff-pieces. We prefer stories with locations where average people vacation, including sandy resorts along Lake Michigan, log cabin lodges in the Adirondacks, quaint, coastal towns on any coast, and legions of other places forever enshrined in generations of family photo albums. Since we want the locations to be recognizable, stories should not be set prior to mid-twentieth century.

The submission period is now open and will remain open through 11:59pm (PST), March 31st, 2015.

We are seeking stories in the 2500 to 7500 word range, though if it’s truly knockout material, we’ll consider any length.

The anthology will contain between twelve and twenty stories, depending on the overall length. Authors will share equally fifty percent of royalties received.

We accept MS Word .doc and .docx files. Submissions must be in standard manuscript format. Links to formatting guides are available here.

Previously published work will be considered, provided the author has the power to grant us the right to publish in ebook, audio, and print versions, and that it has not been available elsewhere more recently than January 1st, 2014.

Submissions may be sent to submissions (at) darkhousebooks (dot) com.  Please leave “Submission-Destination-“ in the subject line and add the name of your story.

Andrew MacRae
Darkhouse Books

2015 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award - Open for Submissions

2015 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award has opened for submissions.  They're looking for fantasy stories up to 8000 words.  The deadline is April 1, there's no fee to enter.  Grand prize is publication on Baen Books website and pro payment for the published story, plus a $500 book package.  Second prize is a $500 book package, and third is a $300 book package.  You can find the details here.

Less Than Three Press - Novella Calls with Themes

Less Than Three Press has posted three new calls for what they calling "Collection Calls".  Basically they're looking for novellas to publish as singles but with a theme.  Payment is 45% of the cover price through their store and 40% of the gross through other distributors.  And the themes:

Intertwined - 10,000 to 50,000 words with a January 31 deadline.

The Devil's Land - Westerns of 10,000 to 50,000 words with a March 31 deadline.

Solitary Travelers - 15,000 to 40,000 words with a April 30 deadline.

You can find all the details here.

Tor.com - Free Stories

Tor.com has put together a free ebook anthology of stories they published online in 2014.  You can check it out here.

Hat tip to Bill Crider!

The Big Click - New Issue

The Big Click's January/February issue is now available for purchase or to read online throughout the next two months.  Check it out here.

Grey Matter Press - Anthology Call

Just a reminder that Grey Matter Press has an open anthology call for "Monsters".  This one is great place for some of your crime/noir stories as they want horror stories that show "the monster that is man".  Stories should be 3000 to 7500 words.  The deadline is January 30 and payment is 5cents a word.  You can find the details here.

Plan B - Open for Submissions

Glad to see that Plan B magazine is open for submissions.  They're looking for mystery/crime stories up to 5000 words for Volume 5.  Payment is 1cent a word with a maximum of $50.  There's no deadline listed.  You can check out the details here.

A big thank you to Stephen Rogers for the heads-up!!

Level Best Books - Anthology Call - New England Writers

Level Best Books has opened submissions for their 13th anthology.  They're looking for crime/mystery stories up to 5000 words written by New England writers.  The deadline is April 30 and payment is $25.  There's no mention of the title or a theme for this anthology.  You can find the details here.

Unlikely Stories - Open for Submissions

Unlikely Story has opened submissions for "The Journal of Unlikely Academia".  They're looking for stories up to 8000 words that involve "strange" schools or researchers studying forbidden tomes, just any kind of strange academic studies.  The deadline is March 1 and payment is 6cents a word.  You can find the details here, just scroll down the page.

Wayward Ink Publishing - Open for Submissions

Wayward Ink Publishing publishes GLBT Fiction and GLBT Romance in ebook format.  Currently they're open for novel and novella submissions in all genres.  These are paid with royalties.  They also have two anthology calls open.  The first is "Encore" which is looking for m/m romance with a musical (theater) setting.  3000 to 15,000 words with a March 27 deadline.  The second is "Of Heaven and Hell" which is looking for m/m fiction which features an angel or demon.  3000 to 15,000 words with a March 8 deadline.  Payment for short stories is a flat fee of $50 to $80 depending on length.  You can find all the details here.

No Surreal South this Year?

From the looks of it Press 53 will not be publishing an issue of Surreal South this year.  Submissions were supposed to open on January 1 but there were no details on the site and today there's no mention of the magazine in their submission guidelines at all.

Malice Domestic - Anthology Call

Mystery Convention Malice Domestic has posted an anthology call for "Murder Most Conventional" to be presented at their 2016 convention.  They're looking for mystery stories of 3500 to 5000 words with a convention setting.  The deadline is May 1, 2015, there's no mention of payment.  You can find the details here, this link opens a pdf file.

PAYMENT UPDATE:  January 9, 2015

"All royalties earned from sales of Malice Domestic 11: Murder Most Conventional
will be used for the Malice Angels Project. Each year, the Malice Angels Project
provides comprehensive registration for up to two individuals who are in need of
assistance to attend Malice Domestic. No remuneration will be paid to authors for
stories selected for inclusion in the anthology."

Muzzleland Press - Anthology Call

Muzzleland Press has posted a call for an anthology titled "Quiet Desert, Lonely War - Short Stories of the Afghanistan Conflict".  Writers must have some connection to the war, such as a veteran or sub-contractor, etc.  Stories of 1000 to 6000 words can be in any genre.  Deadline is when full and payment is $15.  You can find the details here.

Grimdark Magazine - Open for Submissions

Grimdark Magazine is based in Australia.  They're looking for grimdark stories up to 4000 words with medieval fantasy or sci-fi settings.  Payment is 6cents a word AU.  You can find the details here.

Jack Hardway's Crime Magazine - New Issue

The January/February issue of Jack Hardway's Crime Magazine has gone live.  Check it out here.

World Weaver Press - Anthology Call

World Weaver Press opened submissions today for a new anthology titled "Far Orbit:  Apogee".  They're looking for sci-fi adventure stories up to 10,000 words.  The deadline is March 31 and payment is 1cent a word.  You can find the details here.

ThugLit - New Issue

Issue #15 of ThugLit is now available for your Kindles.  Check it out here.