Take a look at the most interesting open submissions calls for SFF writers I’ve found this month. Good luck if you have a go at any of these opportunities!

Learning to Be Human
This new anthology from established publisher of high-quality anthologies Flame Tree Press will focus on ‘the interplay between automation, humankind, and what it is to be human’. As you can imagine, I’m pretty excited about this call for submissions myself…
Word count: Around 2000–4000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 2 July 2023
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Shadows on the Water
This is another upcoming anthology from Flame Tree Press, and another exciting theme: myth and folklore, dark fantasies and supernatural tales relating to bodies of water.
Word count: Around 2000–4000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 2 July 2023
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The Utopia of Us
Oh wow, this is a good one. Respected editor and author Teika Marija Smits is seeking stories inspired by Yevgeny Zamyatin’s proto-SF 1924 masterpiece We, with the anthology due to be published by the excellent Luna Press. The deadline’s way off, but the requirements are very specific, so I thought you’d appreciate the time in hand.
Word count: 2000–6000 words
Payment: £75
Deadline: Open 6–8 October 2023
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NPQ
NPQ hopes to ‘help advance critical conversations that can refine nonprofit and social movement policy and practice’. Its upcoming issue will be of particular interest to SFF writers, as it’s due to feature ‘short climate fiction stories that spark imaginative visions of the future’, with stated influences including Janelle Monáe, Octavia E. Butler, and Ursula K. Le Guin.
Word count: Up to 2000 words
Payment: $500
Deadline: 30 June 2023
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Make Your Presence Known
The subtitle of this anthology from Off Limits Press is ‘Stories of Seances, Conjuring, and Mediumship’, which sets the mind going, doesn’t it?
Word count: 1500–5000 words
Payment: 4 cents per word
Deadline: 30 June 2023
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It Was All A Dream
This sounds like fun: an anthology of ‘bad horror tropes done right’. In the words of the editors, ‘What is your least favorite horror trope? Why? Has it been overdone? Is it predictable? Is it unrealistic? Here’s your chance to fix it.’Word count: Up to 3000 words
Payment: 5 cents per word
Deadline: Open 1–15 July 2023
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Solar Press
There isn’t a huge amount of description of the forthcoming anthology from Solar Press on their website, but they’re looking for ‘high-concept’ stories and they include an interesting list of favourite authors including Clive Barker, William S. Burroughs, and Jorge Luis Borges.
Word count: Up to 10,000 words
Payment: $50
Deadline: 31 August 2023
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Cosmic Horror Monthly
Do you write cosmic horror, whether it’s Lovecraftian or a weirder flavour? Either way, this is the magazine for you.
Word count: 1000–6000 words
Payment: 3 cents per word
Deadline: Open 1–7 July 2023
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Diabolical Plots
The editors of this respected online zine seek speculative stories of all sorts. And they pay very well!
Word count: Up to 3500 words
Payment: 10 cents per word
Deadline: Open 17–31 July 2023
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Monstrous Magazine
There are no pretensions whatsoever in this call for fast-paced, pulpy flash fiction featuring monsters.
Word count: 1000–2000 words
Payment: 6 cents per word
Deadline: Open 29 June–27 July 2023
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