One Throne Magazine - Open for Submissions

One Throne Magazine is a Quarterly online zine that is open to all genres including mystery/crime stories.  This is a non-paying market.  They're looking for shorts up to 7500 words and flash fiction under 1000 words.  You can find the details here.

What Writers are Encouraged to Forget

"And it does no harm to repeat, as often as you can, 'Without me the literary industry would not exist; the publishers, the agents, the sub-agents, the sub-sub-agents, the accountants, the libel lawyers, the department of literature, the professors, the theses, the book of criticism, the reviewers, the book pages--all this vast and proliferating edifice is because of this small, patronized, put down, and underpaid person.'" - Doris Lessing

Larry Brown - An Interview

I found myself Googling Larry Brown today and ran across this interview.  I especially liked his advice for aspiring writers.

Just a Note

Just a note to say that there hasn't been much in the way of markets this past week.  Seems like everything I find is either non-paying or require fees to submit.  Very depressing.  Makes me wonder why I even bother to write.  The joy of writing seems to disappear a little bit more with every market search and the upcoming Holidays don't seem to help matters any.

Anyhoo, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you - May it be filled with family and friends.

ThugLit - New Anthology Now Available

ThugLit has a new anthology out today titled "ThugLit Presents:  Cruel Yule:  Holiday Tales of Crime for People on the Naughty List".  Kind of makes you feel all warm and cozy with that holiday cheer doesn't it? :)  You can check it out here.

Belt Magazine - Non-fiction Anthology Call

Belt Magazine has posted an anthology call titled "A 2016 Race Anthology:  Dispatches From a Segregated City".  The city in this case is Cleveland and the conversations that are taking place to address the race issues in their city.  They're looking for non-fiction of 700 to 3000 words "that push our conversation deeper".  Reprints are acceptable.  The deadline is January 10, 2016.  A stipend payment is mentioned but not an exact amount.  You can find the details here.

Stories of Music - Call for Non-fiction Submissions

"Stories of Music" has posted a call for submission to their second anthology.  They're looking for non-fiction pieces up to 9,000 with music as the centerpiece.  This can be creative non-fiction or memoir.  The deadline is March 1, 2016.  The publisher is Timbre Press and payment is $200.  Submissions are through Submittable.  You can find the details here.

Ember Magazine - Open for Submissions

You never know what you're going to find when doing a search for markets.  But "The Carrot is Mightier than the Sword" caught my eye tonight.  Ember magazine has posted a special call for one story using this title for their next issue.  They want one story to match the cover that's been designed for this issue.  Their audience is geared toward the 10 to 18 year old age group.  The deadline for this special call is December 31 and payment is 2cents a word or $20 whichever is more.  You can find the details here.  Submissions are through Submittable.  If that doesn't inspire you they're also open for general submissions. 

Angie's Desk - Anthology Calls

Angie has published her anthology submissions list for November.  Thanks, Angie!

Apex - Anthology Call

Apex magazine has opened submissions for a new anthology titled "Upside Down:  Inverted Tropes in Storytelling".  they're looking for stories up to 5000 words that examine the tropes of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror.  Poetry and flash are also acceptable for submissions.  They have a long list you can use for inspiration.  This project is to be KickStarter funded and payment will be 6cents a word if successful.  The deadline is December 31.  You can find the details here.

Crime Syndicate Magazine - Update

Crime Syndicate Magazine has announced that the guest editor for their first issue is Eric Beetner.  Submissions for the first issue are open until December 5 for crime stories of 1500 to 4500 words.  Submissions are through Submittable and payment is $25.  You can find the details here.

Intro to Genre by Patrick S. Tomlinson

Finally!  Someone actually gives us the low-down on how to become a best selling author.  And that's said with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek :)

Hat tip to sfsignal.com for the link.

Jersey Devil Press - Special Issue Call

Jersey Devil Press has posted a call for a Sherlock Holmes special issue.  They want all kinds of Sherlock stories up to 8000 words.  They will also consider reprints so long as they're no available online.  The deadline is December 30.  Submissions are through Submittable.  You can find the details here.  This is a non-paying market.

Tree Lion Press - Anthology Calls

Tree Lion Press has three anthology calls posted.  All are seeking speculative fiction stories of 500 to 10,000 words based on themes for each anthology.  Payment is a $5 advance plus royalties.  Here are the themes:

"The Land of Dust and Bones" - weird Westerns - deadline March 30, 2016
"Keeping Pace With Eternity" - stories set in the world of long distance running - deadline January 15, 2016
"Menschen and Minyanim" - stories about the Jewish experience but no Nazis - deadline February 29, 2016

I've linked to the weird Westerns page where you find links to the other anthology calls and their specific details. Just scroll down the page

Visual Adjectives - Anthology Call

Visual Adjectives has posted an anthology call for a second superhero anthology titled "New Legends:  The Hero - The Antihero - The Vigilante, Book 2".  They're looking for stories of 2500 to 8000 words in any genre with your story relevant to the theme.  You can use one or all three (hero, antihero, or vigilante)  for your characters.  The deadline is February 8, 2016 and payment is $25 plus a royalty share.  You can find the details here.

Hat tip to horrortree.com

Comet Press - Best Of Anthology Call

Comet Press has posted a call for your best hardcore horror short stories or novelettes that were published in 2015 for "The Hardcore Horror Annual 2015".  This will be a "best of" anthology so only reprints will be accepted.  Self published work is also acceptable for this call.  There's no mention of pay but this is a press that usually pays the writers.  Something you'll have to query.  You can find the details here.  The deadline is January 30, 2016.

The Lovecraft eZine - Open for Submissions

The Lovecraft eZine has reopened to fiction submissions.  They're looking for cosmic horror stories up to 5000 words that feature the themes of Lovecraft.  Payment is $25 for stories under 3000 words and $50 for stories over 3000 words.  You can check out the details here.

The Uber Story Cupboard

There are story ideas everywhere, even on TV.  Today I was watching a commercial for Uber, a company that supplies drivers with cars to transport people around a city.  I've never been fond of getting into cars with strangers so my imagination took flight.  Checking out their website I discovered that they actively seek ex-military personnel as drivers.  I had already thought of several ideas like a stalker pursuing one of his passengers or maybe a driver forced to drive for a group of bank robbers or kidnappers or maybe even a serial killer.  If you add in the military angle you've got a great action story.  And while you can't use Uber you can make up your own car and driver company and place it in any city in the world.  Story ideas are only as far away as your imagination can take you.

Belt Magazine - Call for Non-fiction Anthology

Belt Magazine is seeking non-fiction essays and long form journalism of 1000 to 4000 words for the next book in their Rust Belt anthology series.  The city for this anthology is Flint, Michigan.  The deadline is February 1, 2016 and payment will depend on what funding they can raise.  You can find the details here. 

Upstreet - Open for Submissions

Now here's a rare thing - a literary magazine that pays.  Upstreet is currently looking for submissions of poetry, short fiction, and essays for issue #12.  Stories should be under 5000 words.  The deadline is March 1, 2016 and payment is $50 to $250.  They have an online submission form.  You can find the details here.  There are issues posted online in pdf form so you can get a feel for what they're looking for.

Dark Moon Digest - New Management

Dark Moon Digest has been purchased by Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing who will continue to publish the print quarterly.  This is a horror market but dark crime stories could also work here.  With the new ownership payment will be 1cent a word for both flash and short stories.  Submissions are through Submittable which contains the guidelines. 

A Guide to Classic Mystery & Detection

For those of you interested in the history of the mystery genre I ran across this site called "A Guide to Classic Mystery & Detection".  There's loads of links and information for you to check out.  It looks like it's been around for a while but I don't remember ever seeing it before. 

Crossed Genres Magazine - Closing

Sad to say that Crossed Genres Magazine is closing its doors after the December issue.  You can find out the reasons here.

ThugLit - Open for Submissions

ThugLit is open for submissions of crime noir stories of 3000 to 6000 words.  Payment is $50.  You can find the details here.

Pankhearst - Anthology Call

Pankhearst has posted an anthology call for "Life During Wartime".  They're looking for future dystopia blues stories up to 10,000.  The deadline is January 31, 2016.  This is a non-paying market but you might be able to fit in a crime story.  They have a long list of ideas to get you started.  You can check it out here.

Hat tip to Thomas Pluck.

Reinventing the Short Story Market by Benoit Lelievre

Benoit Lelievre has an excellent essay titled "Reinventing the Short Story Market" on his blog Dead End Follies.  I'm a sucker for short stories and I just wanted to scream Yes! Yes! Yes! when I finished reading.  Go check it out!

The Big Click - New Issue

The November/December issue of The Big Click is now available for purchase or to read online through the month.  This issue looks pretty cool as it is centered on noir comics.  Check it out here.

Ninestar Press - Open for Submissions

Ninestar Press is a LGBTQA market for Romance and Erotica stories but the genres you can write in are wide open.  They are currently looking for Romance ranging from 12,000 to 120,000 words, Erotica in the 5000 to 12,000 word range.  They also have an anthology call titled "Summer Love".  Here they're looking for romance stories with a summer theme.  This is a royalty paying market (FAQ's page).  You can find the details here. 

Ilanot Review - Open for Submissions

I'm always looking for markets that might be a fit for crime fiction and while The Ilanot Review (An Israeli Journal of Creative Writing in English) is a literary market and non-paying the theme for their Winter 2016 issue might work for those of you who write noir.  The theme is "Constraint" or the lack thereof.  They're looking for poetry and non-fiction but also short stories up to 5000 words.  Submissions are through Submittable and the deadline is November 30, 2015.  You can find the details here.

Nosetouch Press - Anthology Calls

Nosetouch Press has posted an anthology call for "Blood, Sweat & Fears:  Horror Inspired by the 1970's".  The reading period for this one opens on December 1 and ends February 29, 2016 so you'll have plenty of time to research the seventies if you didn't get a chance to live through them.  They're looking for horror stories of 3000 to 10,000 words that have a seventies (1970 - 1979) vibe.  They mentioned the Son of Sam murders so crime fiction with a horror twist should be a good fit.  Payment is $25.  You can find the details here, just scroll down the page.  They also have an anthology call for "Wax & Wane" that you can check out if you have a witch story tucked away in your files.  Payment for this one is $13.

Crime Syndicate Magazine - New Crime Market

From the lovely Michael Bracken comes a link to a new crime fiction market.  Crime Syndicate Magazine will be a quarterly online zine.  They are currently seeking stories of 1500 to 4500 words for their first issue and they are open to all types of crime/mystery stories.  Submissions are through Submittable and payment is $25.  You can find the details here.

Mystery Weekly - New Issue

And the November issue of Mystery Weekly is now available.  Check it out here.

ThugLit - New Issue

Issue #20 of ThugLit has hit the streets.  Available for your Kindles or in print.  Check it out!

Broken River Books - Anthology Call

Broken River Books posted a call back in July (which I some how missed ) for an anthology titled "The Broken River Review".  They're looking for crime based fiction stories up to 3000 words.  Be sure to take a look around their site because they have a very particular taste in the sort of crime fiction they publish.  The deadline is December 1 and payment is 5cents a word.  You can find the details here.

Darkhouse Books - Anthology Call

Darkhouse Books opened submissions today for a new anthology titled "Stories From the Near Future".  They're looking for upbeat science fiction stories of 2500 to 6000 words set five to fifteen years from now.  They will accept reprints for this one.  The deadline is January 31, 2016, payment is a royalty split.  You can find the details here.