Here are the most interesting open submissions calls for SFF writers I’ve found this month – and there are some very exciting ones included. If you’d like advance notice of calls for submissions, sign up for my monthly email newsletter.

The Off-Season
Oh, this sounds good. Editor Marissa Van Uden is seeking ‘new weird’ stories featuring ‘ocean-loving cults, crumbling seaside mansions, empty resort towns’ and more. I don’t think I’ll have a chance to write something for this call, but I’d certainly like to read the finished anthology.
Word count: 2000–4000 words
Payment: 5 cents per word
Deadline: Open 31 July – 6 August 2023 for marginalized voices; 7 August – 28 August 2023 for all submitters
Find out more

Beyond and Within
This is a terrific opportunity for any horror writers out there. Prolific editors Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane have teamed with Flame Tree Press for a folk horror anthology, and while most of the stories are by invited authors, four slots have been reserved for open submissions. But you’ll need to work fast!
Word count: 2000–4000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 6 August 2023
Find out more

More Fey
A new anthology from Lethe Press, with stories featuring queer/LGBT speculative elements about ‘the strangeness of the fey folk and their interactions with mortals’. Note the distinction between fairy tales and tales with fairies before submitting!
Word count: 2500–10,000 words
Payment: 5 cents per word
Deadline: 1 September
Find out more

Hidden Villains: Betrayed
The Inkd Publishing editors seek dark fantasy, horror or SF stories. Elements of betrayal, cheating, deception etc are vital.
Word count: 2000–8000 words
Payment: 2 cents per word
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Find out more

Shoreline of Infinity
A one-off flash fiction contest from the excellent Scottish SF magazine. The theme is ‘Close to the Edge’, to be interpreted as you see fit.
Word count: Up to 1000 words
Payment: £50 for the winning story, plus 1-year digital subscription to Shoreline of Infinity
Deadline: 3 September 2023
Find out more

Why Didn’t You Just Leave
An anthology of horror fiction from editors Nadia Bulkin and Julia Rios, who are seeking complex answers to the quite sensible question asked in the anthology title.
Word count: 500–5000 words
Payment: 10 cents per word
Deadline: 1–31 August 2023
Find out more

Tales to Terrify
This podcast features horror and dark fantasy stories, and are welcome to the definitions of horror being stretched.
Word count: Up to 10,000 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more

Lucent Dreaming
The editors of this magazine for emerging authors are particularly looking for ‘beautiful, strange and surreal work’, which seems both an interesting mix and a laudable ambition. Interested writers are asked to buy a copy of the magazine before submitting.
Word count: 400–3999 words
Payment: £100
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more

Shub-Niggurath’s Sweater
This anthology from Underland Press will feature ‘cozy cosmic horror’. I bet you can have some fun with that prompt!
Word count: 1000–5000 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: 11 August 2023
Find out more

TSS Publishing
The editors of this online zine state a preference for literary fiction, but note ‘we are open to other genres and styles as long as the characters are convincing and the plot compelling’.
Word count: Up to 3000 words
Payment: £15
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more

To receive lists of calls for submissions for writers direct to your inbox, sign up for my monthly email newsletter.