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Submission Sundays: Tor novellas

Welcome to this week’s edition of Submission Sundays. Every week I bring you a new call for submissions. Each call will contain a speculative element and will offer payment upon acceptance.

Where ever you are on your writing journey, calls can inspire creativity and lead you to new markets. If you’re starting out, getting used to submissions – and rejections – is important. Every established writer has a stack of rejections behind them. It takes guts and a willingness to fail.

Ready?

Tor Novellas

Eligibility: polished, original science fiction and fantasy novellas between 20 000 and 40 000 words.

Caveat: they are open to submissions for two weeks, May 1 to May 15th. Not ready? They plan to open again in July, so watch their site.

What makes this call stand out: Tor has published some exceptional novellas, such as Seanan McGuire’s award-winning Wayward Children series.

Submit by: May 15th.

Payment: advance (to be determined) and royalties

Click here to go to the original call.

Happy writing!

Posted on by JenniferShelby

Submission Sundays: the Pirate Anthology

Welcome to this week’s edition of Submission Sundays. Every week I bring you a fresh call for submissions. Each call will contain a speculative element and will offer payment upon acceptance.

Where ever you are on your writing journey, calls can inspire creativity and lead you to new markets. If you’re starting out, getting used to submissions – and rejections – is important. Every established writer has a stack of rejections behind them. It takes guts and a willingness to fail.

Ready? Arrrr!

Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space): a Pirate Anthology

Eligibility: Historical, fantastic, or space pirate stories of 5000-6000 words. Sexual and gender diversity welcome. Reprints and original tales welcome.

Caveat: Reprints must not have been published in the past year.

What makes this call stand out: it has pirates!

Payment: $100 for original tales, $50 for reprints

Submit by: May 15th, 2018

Click here to go to the original call for details.

Speaking of anthologies, check out Tired Tykes, a children’s bedtime story anthology currently crowdfunding. My story “Leif the Story Hunter” waits inside, ready to teach you how to catch wild stories with nothing more than blank notebook. You might even end up with a sentence for a pet. Click here for details!

Posted on by JenniferShelby · 1 Comment

Submission Sundays: The Never Beyond

Welcome to this week’s edition of Submission Sundays. Every week I bring you a new call for submissions, and this week it’s a brand new magazine! Each call will contain a speculative element and will offer payment upon acceptance.

Where ever you are on your writing journey, calls can inspire creativity and lead you to new markets. If you’re starting out, getting used to submissions – and rejections – is important. Every established writer has a stack of rejections behind them. It takes guts and a willingness to fail.

Ready? Allons-y!

The Never Beyond

Eligibility: accepting horror, fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism stories up to 3500 words, including flash, which have not been previously published. Query anything over 3500 words.

Caveat: you must have a PayPal account to receive payment (note: if you’re new to submissions, this isn’t unusual).

What makes this call stand out: while there are no back issues to get a feel for The Never Beyond (I love this title), there is a unique thrill to being published in the inaugural issue of a magazine which has the potential to become quite successful.

Payment: $0.01 per word (currency unknown).

Submit by: no dates given, but as this is a magazine rather than an anthology, temporary closures and re-openings should be expected.

Click here to go to the original call for details.

Happy writing!

Posted on by JenniferShelby

Submission Sundays: UFOs and Neil Gaiman

Welcome to this week’s edition of Submission Sundays. Each week, I bring you a unique call for submissions. Each call will contain a speculative element and will offer payment upon acceptance.

Where ever you are on your writing journey, calls can inspire creativity and lead you to new markets. If you’re starting out, getting used to submissions – and rejections – is important. Every established writer has a stack of rejections behind them. It takes guts and a willingness to fail.

Ready? This week’s call is a favorite of mine:

Unidentified Funny Objects 7

Eligibility: *humorous* speculative fiction from 500-5000 words. No reprints, multiple, or simultaneous submissions.

Caveat: this is a tough market. According to Duotrope, less than 1% of submitted stories are accepted. Does this mean you shouldn’t submit? Heck no. It just means you shouldn’t be discouraged if you receive a rejection.

What makes this call stand out: Neil Gaiman, my favorite author, has headlined a previous issue of UFO. Do I want to be published in the same series as my hero? You bet!

Payment: $0.10 per word (American) plus a contributor copy

Submit by: April 30th, 2018

Click here to go the original call for more details.

Posted on by JenniferShelby · 7 Comments

Submission Sundays: the Horror of Pizza

Welcome to this week’s edition of Submission Sundays. Each week, I’ll be bringing you a unique call for submission. Each call will contain a speculative element and will offer payment upon acceptance.

Where ever you are on your writing journey, calls can inspire creativity. Getting used to submissions – and rejections – is important. Every established writer has a stack of rejections behind them. It takes guts and a willingness to fail.

Ready? Here’s this week’s call:

Tales From the Crust: An Anthology of Pizza Horror

Eligibility: horror stories revolving around pizza, 1000 to 5000 words. Multiple and simultaneous submissions allowed, please query reprints first.

Photo from darkmoondigest.com

Caveat: the publishers want this call taken seriously. No humor. Scare them.

What makes this call stand out: How will writers pull the concept of pizza horror from silly to frightening? Is Soylent Green an available topping?Let the imagination games begin!

Payment: $0.03 per word (currency unknown)

Submit by: June 1, 2018

Click here to go to the original call for details.

Happy writing!

Posted on by JenniferShelby · 4 Comments

Submission Sundays: the Lantern and the Nature of Cities

Welcome to the inaugural post of a new writerly series called Submission Sundays. Each week, I’ll be bringing you a unique call for submission. Each call will contain a speculative element and will offer payment. As I want this to be an inclusive event, if the call is limited to a certain demographic I will offer a second call for submissions without those limitations.

2018-03-17 19.59.43.jpg

Where ever you are on your writing journey, calls can inspire creativity. Getting comfortable with submissions – and rejections – is important. Every established writer has a stack of rejections behind them. It takes guts and a willingness to fail.

Ready? Read on …

 

Engen Books/Kit Sora Flash Fiction Contest

Eligibility: open to unpublished works no greater than 250 words by Canadian writers (not Canadian? Don’t worry, there’s a second call below) in response to this photo by Kit Sora Photography:

kitsoracontest
photo by Kit Sora Photography

What makes this call stand out: visual photo prompts open up the imagination in new and unexpected ways.

Caveat: entrants are required to share the contest via social media.

Payment: $0.10 per word, Canadian.

Submit by: April 14th, 2018. No time is given, so err on the side of caution and submit early!!

Click here to head over to the original call for complete details and submission guidelines.

Stories of the Nature of Cities 2099 Prize for Urban Flash Fiction

Eligibility: unpublished work of fiction, one entry per writer, to the topic of a green city in 2099, under 1000 words. Unlimited demographic.

What makes this call stand out: speculative fiction has historically influenced our current technologies, which means your green city ideas now may have an effect on cities of the future.

Payment: one gold prize of $3000 (currency unknown), two silver prizes of $1500, and 3 bronze prizes of $500. Plus publication.

Submit by:  April 15th, 2018, 11:59 EDT

Click here to go to the original call for more details and submission guidelines.

Good luck to everyone  submitting stories and happy writing always,                                                                                                                                                                              Jennifer