Here’s this month’s list of the most interesting open submissions calls for writers I’ve found!
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Cursed Cooking
Alongside actual recipes, this anthology will contain stories of food-based horror. (But note that, reasonably enough, its editors state that cannibalism is a hard sell.)
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: 5 cents per word
Deadline: 30 April 2024
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khōréō
This very well-designed online zine features SFF and horror stories with a speculative element. Its editors are particularly partial to tales about migration.
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: 10 cents per word
Deadline: Open 15 April – 15 May 2024
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Eat the Rich
In the words of the editors: ‘Eat the Rich is a speculative fiction anthology of billionaires being eaten. That’s it, full stop. Give us carnivores, cannibals, kaiju, cryptids, and, of course, capitalist comeuppance.’ They say other, ruder, things too.
Word count: Up to 8000 words
Payment: 5 cents per word
Deadline: 30 April 2024
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Long Division
This anthology has the subtitle Stories of Social Decay, Societal Collapse, and Bad Manners. Well-respected editorsDoug Murano and Michael Bailey are on the lookout for ‘stories of transgression, of the mechanisms behind what’s fraying the bonds that bind us.’
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: 10 cents per word
Deadline: Open 1 May 2024, with 500 submissions permitted in total
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Nonbinary Review
The new issue of this online zine will feature stories related to the theme of heredity.
Word count: 1000–3000 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: 1 May 2024
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Don’t Ask, Ghosts Tell
This is quite a specific call for submissions, but the book that results from it ought to be interesting. Editors Vince A. Liaguno and Sirrah Medeiros are seeking horror stories loosely related to military service, by writers who identify as LGBTQ+.
Word count: Up to 2000–5000 words
Payment: 3 cents per word
Deadline: 30 April 2024
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Stories to Take To Your Grave
Have you written or would you like to write a mortuary-themed horror story? Then send it here!
Word count: 3000–6000 words
Payment: $20
Deadline: 30 April 2024
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100-Foot Crow
I mean, that’s some title, isn’t it? This new zine will publish 100-word horror stories with a speculative element.
Word count: Exactly 100 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: Open 15 April – 15 May 2024
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Impressions
The first volume of this new anthology series from Emberletter Press will feature dark speculative fiction.
Word count: 2000–5000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: Open 15–30 April 2024
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foofaraw
This new zine will feature SFF and experimental stories. The list of influences is encouraging, including Cory Doctorow, Haruki Murakami and McSweeney’s.
Word count: 250–2500 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: Ongoing
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Nightmares of Strangers
Despite the quite specific-sounding title, this annual anthology from TouchPoint Press accepts unthemed horror stories.
Word count: 3000–7000 words
Payment: $50
Deadline: 31 May 2024
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Back Into The Ground
In contrast, this generic-sounding anthology is actually veryspecific – only horror stories inspired by the Pacific Northwest are wanted.
Word count: Up to 7500 words
Payment: $40
Deadline: Open until filled
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Costs of Living
Whisper House Press seeks ‘carefully constructed horror stories with a focus on the oft-unclear distinction between a scary-enough reality and our less-or-more-frightening imagination, both in personal and social realms’ – which covers quite a lot of ground, really.
Word count: 500 to 4000 words
Payment: $25
Deadline: Unspecified
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New Edge Sword & Sorcery
A slightly confusing pitch, this one: the editors of this magazine are seeking a single 850-word short story to be printed on a sticker in the upcoming issue. I think.
Word count: As close to 850 words as possible
Payment: $70
Deadline: 1 May 2024
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Good luck if you submit a story to any of these venues! And remember, you can sign up for my email newsletter for monthly open submission calls direct to your inbox.

Image from Wikimedia Commons.