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Open submission calls for writers: September 2023

It seems that editors have spent the summer months preparing their next projects! Here are 16 of the most interesting open submissions calls for writers I’ve found.

And a reminder: sign up for my email newsletter if you want advance notice of open submission calls like these…

Language Evolves
This contest supported by Cardiff University has a really exciting prompt relating to the field of language evolution. As its website states, this could include ‘imagining situations in the past or the future, speculating on how language might have evolved in a different species, or thinking about the consequences of our methods and practice.’
Word count: Up to 2500 words
Payment: £400 prize, with awards for the best Welsh language story and English language story
Deadline: 30 September 2023
Find out more

Crab Tales Magazine
You’re unlikely to have already written a story to meet the requirements of this magazine, but with a word limit of only 250 words, maybe you’d like to have a try at writing a fantastical crab story, finally?
Word count: Up to 250 words
Payment: 3 cents per word
Deadline: 24 September 2023
Find out more

Negative Creep
A very specific call, but one rich with possibility… The editors of this anthology to be published by Book Slayer Press are seeking horror stories themed around Nirvana songs.
Word count: 1000–3000 words
Payment: $50
Deadline: 1 October 2023
Find out more

Night Time Economy
The editors of the new Birmingham-based publisher Floodgate Press are looking for night-time tales by writers from the West Midlands.
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: £20
Deadline: 31 January 2023
Find out more

Feisty Felines and Other Fantastical Familiars
This prompt is a nice twist, with emphasis placed on magical animal familiars rather than their witchy or wizardy partners.
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: 6 cents per word
Deadline: 15 October 2023
Find out more

Hauntings and Hoarfrost
This anthology will be filled with Gothic stories. In the words of editor Rhonda Parrish: ‘What better setting could there be than the deep, dark, depths of winter? When snow and storms can isolate remote locations for days or weeks and bundling up to keep the cold away provides a different kind of anonymity and isolation even in the heart of cities.’
Word count: Up to 7500 words
Payment: $50
Deadline: 7 October 2023
Find out more

Gamut
This well-regarded magazine has recently been revived. When the submission portal opens, you’ll need to hurry, as the submissions slots fill up fast!
Word count: 1000–5000 words
Payment: 10 cents per word
Deadline: Open at the start of each month until submission slots are filled – next opening 1 October 2023
Find out more

Northern Nights
This opportunity’s limited to Canadian writers, but it’s a great opportunity if you fit the bill. Undertow Publications produce some of the best, and most beautifully designed, horror and weird-fiction collections imaginable.
Word count: 500–5000 words
Payment: 10 Canadian cents per word
Deadline: Open 1 October–1 December 2023
Find out more

The Way of Worlds
This anthology from Underdog Press will feature stories themed around space exploration and colonization. The editors note that stories don’t have to be hard SF, though.
Word count: 3500–12,000 words
Payment: 3 cents per word
Deadline: 31 December 2023
Find out more

Screams from the Ocean Floor
For their first anthology, the editors at Broken Brain Books are seeking ‘unique ocean-themed horror stories that will leave the reader thinking twice before stepping near the sea again.’
Word count: 3000–5000 words
Payment: $15
Deadline: 31 October 2023
Find out more

Love Letters to Poe
The third volume of stories connected to Edgar Allan Poe will feature tell-tale tales relating to ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’.
Word count: Up to 4000 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: 1 November 2023
Find out more

Decapitate
It’s a slightly misleading title, this one, as it has nothing to do with horror as far as I can see. Pandemic lockdown project Quaranzine has now relaunched with a new name, and its editors are looking for stories themed around social justice.
Word count: No limits specified
Payment: $25
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more

Death’s Other Kingdom: Horror Tales of World War I
Historical horror specialists The Scythian Wolf are looking for WWI stories that involve the supernatural.
Word count: 4000–9000 words
Payment: $50
Deadline: 1 November 2023
Find out more

Crimson Quill Quarterly
The editors of this fantasy magazine are looking for stories with the subgenres of sword & sorcery, dark fantasy and grimdark.
Word count: Up to 10,000 words
Payment: $25
Deadline: 31 October 2023
Find out more

Paranoid Tree
The flash fiction featured in this online and print zine appear to be unthemed and not limited by particular genre.
Word count: Up to 400 words
Payment: $50
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more

Stonecoast Review
Despite the fairly generic title (it relates to the Stonecoast MFA Program), this magazine features speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and horror, with an emphasis on character.
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: None
Deadline: 1 October 2023
Find out more

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

Open submission calls for writers: August 2023

No newsletter this month due to the usual summer-holiday chaos, but I was determined not to neglect my gathering of open submissions calls for writers…

Do sign up for my email newsletter if you want advance notice of open submission calls in future!


Microbes to the Rescue!
This short story competition from Green Stories and sponsored by the Environmental Biotechnology Network is open to SF stories concerning microbial systems.
Word count: 1000–3000 words
Payment: £500 prize for 1st place, £200 for 2nd place, £100 for 3rd place
Deadline: 21 September 2023
Find out more

Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize
I don’t normally flag contests with entry fees here, but Galley Beggar are a fantastic publisher, so I can’t resist adding this to the list despite the £10 entry fee. There are 200 free slots for low earners. No genre restrictions.
Word count: Up to 6000 words
Payment: £2500 first prize, plus runner-up prizes
Deadline: 30 September 2023
Find out more

The Quiet Ones
The third issue of this creepy online zine will feature horror and dystopian stories themed around ‘The End’.
Word count: Up to 3000 words
Payment: $25
Deadline: 10 September 2023
Find out more

Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction
Another contest, this one free to enter. It may hold particular appeal for SFF and horror writers as the theme is ‘The Uncanny’. Shortlisted stories will feature in an ebook anthology published by the excellent Comma Press.
Word count: 2000–7500 words
Payment: £500 prize, and publication for 10 shortlisted authors
Deadline: 22 September 2023
Find out more

African Ghost Short Stories
This is the latest anthology from the excellent Flame Tree Press. The editors seek stories from African and African-diaspora writers, and describe the anthology as featuring ‘the deep-seated supernatural element in African storytelling – whether reaching back to the spirits, ancestors and ogres of folklore or the vibrantly modern ghosts of today’s African horror’.
Word count: Around 2000–4000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 27 August 2023
Find out more

Escalators to Hell: Shopping Mall Horrors
For this unusual themed anthology, From Beyond Press are looking for horror and dark sci-fi stories about shopping malls past, present and future.
Word count: 1000–5000 words
Payment: 5 cents per word
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Find out more

Orion’s Belt
This online magazine seeks (very) short stories with ‘significant speculative elements’.
Word count: Up to 1200 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 1 September 2023
Find out more

Hearth Stories
This new magazine will feature ‘speculative fiction slice-of-life stories with a focus on connection, family, relationships, comfort, and the natural world’.
Word count: Around 1500–5000 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: 31 October 2023
Find out more

Good luck if you have a try at any of these openings! And remember, you can sign up for my email newsletter for monthly open submission calls direct to your inbox.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Open submission calls: July 2023

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.

Image from The Off-Season submissions page

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.

Favourite albums of the second quarter of 2023

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While there were some terrific albums put out in the first quarter of 2023 (see here for my list), the period between April and June has seen a ton of amazing stuff released! Here goes.

Colin Stetson – When we were that what wept for the sea It’s such a relief to hear another proper album from saxophone experimentalist Colin Stetson, after a run of high-profile but oddly muted film soundtracks. This album is rammed with Stetson’s trademark button-clicks, intakes of breath and throat-mic groans, plus Scottish smallpipes by Brìghde Chaimbeul and affecting spoken-word passages.

Romance & Dean Hurley – River of Dreams The masters of hauntological pop team up with Twin Peaks sound designer Dean Hurley once again, following their Celine Dion-inspired Once Upon a Time and a lesser album themed around Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s film The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant. This one’s solid, creepy gold.

Horse Lords – Live in Leipzig Absolutely storming skronky math-post-rock, like Battles battling Beefheart. I would have loved to have seen this show.

Benefits – Nails This Teesside punk band features two of my cousins in its lineup, so I’m biased – but honestly, Benefits are vital in today’s bland indie landscape, and I feel strongly that their politics and anger are true and admirable. This album is as good a reflection of the state of the nation in Britain (i.e. fucked) as you’ll find anywhere.

Hannah Peel / Manchester Collective – Neon There’s more than a touch of Steve Reich’s obsessive repetitions in this short set, and that’s no bad thing. Over 12 minutes it hits that sweet spot between beautiful and maddening.

Herman Dune – The Portable Herman Dune, Vol.3 This final album of rerecorded favourites doesn’t disappoint. David Ivar Herman Dune’s voice is far more raw now, making the oddest moments of these perfect indie-pop songs poignant.

J. Albert – config Excellent dub techno. Last.fm tells me this is one of my most-listened albums this year, which is weird. I’ve been using it as a background to writing, and the time just slips away when you’re in the zone.

Bana Haffar – intimaa’ Their 2019 recording Genera – Live at AB Salon, Brussels is a favourite of mine, and while this doesn’t quite match up, its scratchy, heavenly drones come close.

Lau Nau – 5 × 4 This hazy synth pop doesn’t quite hit the heights of Lau Nau’s HEM. Någonstans soundtrack from 2015, an album still on rotation in my office – but it’s still wonderful.

Alpha Maid & Mica Levi – spresso Oh wow I love this. Alpha Maid has been one to watch since her 2019 and 2021 EPs, and now she teams up with the best soundtrack composer of this century? For a punk garage jam? This EP may be less than 8 minutes long, but stick it on repeat a few dozen times like I do.

Annea Lockwood / Ruth Anderson – Téte-a-téte This one took a few listens to bed in, and the behind-the-scenes story about Lockwood’s tribute to the late Anderson gives it additional power. It may be a demanding, avant-garde experiment, but it’s filled with love.

Afrorack – The Afrorack Absolutely nuts Ugandan synth grooves made using wonky homemade equipment.

Baxter Dury – I Thought I Was Better Than You This witty album seems deeply personal, primarily about his Blockhead father Ian and Baxter’s own self-loathing of being a ‘Prisoner, famous parents, assisted recognition’ whose benefits seem to amount to nothing: ‘But you don’t sound like you / You sound just like him’. But Baxter’s a star in his own right.

Miaux / Lieven Martens – The Pels Organ and Hemony Carillon This is simply outstanding. Even its origins are strange, being the soundtrack to the unveiling of a woven tapestry in the city hall of Hoogstraten, Belgium. The first side, featuring Miaux’s pipe organ compositions, is as magisterial as Sarah Davachi’s release and yet as intimate as Badalamenti. The second side is weirder, featuring field recordings of birdsong and muted traffic. It’s an essential album, I think.

Jam City – Jam City Presents EFM More half-remembered, hauntological not-really-80s pop from the best in the business.

Wild Up – Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? More wonderful interpretations of the great composer’s work by California ensemble Wild Up.

Boris & Uniform – Bright New Disease Are they mocking Metallica at times? I think so. But there’s wit here, and variety, and good humour, and stompingly excellent speed metal.

Bruce Falkian – Bruce Falkian Honestly, I don’t know what this is, or who they are. They’re from France, I think. And I think it’s sort of pop music. It’s funny and odd.

Bendik Giske – Bendik Giske I feel slightly spoiled after the triumphant return of Colin Stetson, and now this. Bendik Giske’s saxophone work features many of the same close-miked technique, and it is very, very good.

Arthur Russell – Picture of Bunny Rabbit These previously-unreleased tracks from the mid-80s World of Echo sessions are as wonderful as you’d hope, particularly the title track and the final messed-up wonkiness wonderfulness on this album.

Rrose – Please Touch So good! Techno to drive fast to – or to write car chases to.

Werner Dafeldecker & Valerio Tricoli – Der Krater The oddest, spaciest double-bass drones imaginable.

Ergo Phizmiz – Angelbread Another triumphant return! When he turns his mind to skewed pop (as on my favourite album of 2010, Things To Do And Make), Ergo Phizmiz is simply unbeatable. He tosses off incredible lyrics that recall The Cleaners from Venus (‘You can feel like Ken Russell / In my Catholic bathroom’) or Hefner or The Wave Pictures at their finest (‘I stayed at the table and put a coaster / Over your wine so flies couldn’t get in’). And ‘Day of the Baboon’ is a genuinely excellent pop song in defiance of Phizmiz’s sometimes self-defeating attitude to writing and recording.

Philip Jeck & Chris Watson – Oxmardyke Affecting and frequently terrifying, Chris Watson’s field recordings of a Yorkshire railway crossing become something far stranger and more illuminating when treated by the late Philip Jeck. An aural, modern-day version of Dickens’ ‘The Signal-Man’.

Appearance on the Tiny Bookcase podcast

When I was invited to be a guest on the Tiny Bookcase podcast I realised I’d never done a podcast recording before, so I was pretty nervous. I needn’t have been! The hosts, Ben and Nico, were really welcoming, and it was a particular help that it was a conversation with a clear agenda. The premise is that I and both hosts read out and discussed short stories we’d each written based on the same prompt: ‘The Horizon’.

The first part is available to listen to now via your preferred podcast app, or online here, and the second part will be released on Monday. My story starts just after the 20-minute mark. It’s another of my Great Robots of History stories, featuring the mythical bronze giant Talos in a contemplative mood.

Open submission calls: June 2023

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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
Find out more

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
Find out more

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
Find out more

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
Find out more

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
Find out more

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
Find out more

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
Find out more

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
Find out more

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
Find out more

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
Find out more

Open submission calls: May 2023

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Here are the most interesting open submissions calls for SFF writers I’ve found this month. Good luck!

Qualia Nous
The first volume of this anthology series contained high-profile names and was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology. This new volume looks set to be a bit deal, too. The editor interprets the slightly opaque title as referring to ‘subjective, conscious experience; the internal and subjective component of sense perceptions arising from stimulation of the senses by phenomena… having the ability to understand what is true or real.’ Plenty to chew on there!
Word count: 3,000 – 10,000 words
Payment: 10 cents per word
Deadline: 31 July 2023
Find out more

Luna Press
This wonderful Edinburgh-based SFF publisher, which has received multiple genre awards (and which published both my short story collection And the House Lights Dim and my YA novel Machineries of Mercy) will be open to novels and collections in mid-June. Get your manuscripts polished and ready to go!
Word count: 50,000 words and above
Payment: To be negotiated
Deadline: Open 16–18 June 2023
Find out more

Greater Than His Nature / Open All Night
Atomic Carnival Books are currently preparing two anthologies. The first is Greater Than His Nature, themed around ‘mad science’. The second, Open All Night, is more unusual, to feature ‘retail and service industry-based stories… graveyard shifts, overnight inventories gone bad, and haunted diners’.
Word count: Ideally between 2000–6000 words
Payment: 3 cents per word
Deadline: 30 June 2023
Find out more

Centaur
This publication isn’t explicitly an SFF one, though its editors seek bold pieces of flash fiction that could be classed as ‘fantasy, reality, and everything in between’.
Word count: Up to 400 words
Payment: $20
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more

Graveyard Boots
Horror in the Old West! The editors of this anthology seek ‘stories that add creatures, gunslingers, ghouls, ill omens, bad luck, evil minds, monsters and more to the already desolate landscape and ghost towns’. Sounds ace.
Word count: 2500–5500 words
Payment: Half a cent per word
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Find out more

The Cosmic Background
I like the sound of this new online publication of slipstream flash fiction, largely because their list of influential writers is pleasingly varied, including Kelly Link, George Saunders, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Sarah Pinsker.
Word count: Up to 1000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more

A new story and a ‘year’s best’ inclusion

My story, ‘The Brazen Head of Westinghouse’, has been published on IZ Digital, the online arm of Interzone magazine. It’s about Elektro, the robot that was exhibited at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, who could walk, talk and (oddly enough) smoke cigarettes. It’s quite a sweet and sad little story, I think.

You can read ‘The Brazen Head of Westinghouse’ for free if you’re a subscriber to the Interzone print edition, or if you’re a member of IZ Digital (only 1 euro per month!). Click here to go to the story.

In other news, I’m so pleased to say that I’ll have a story featured in Best of British Science Fiction, alongside stories by writers whose work I love. My story, ‘The Marshalls of Mars’, is about a married couple on a return trip to Mars (though plans go awry, resulting in a fairly profound detour). Neatly enough, it was first published in IZ Digital, like ‘The Brazen Head of Westinghouse’. My thanks go to Gareth Jelley for first publishing it, and to Donna Bond for selecting it for this anthology.

Best of British Science Fiction 2022 will be published by NewCon Press in July 2023 and can be pre-ordered now. See here for all the info, including the full table of contents.

If you can’t wait until July, though, ‘The Marshalls of Mars’ is currently free to read on IZ Digital.

Open submission calls: April 2023

Apologies – I forgot to post April’s open submissions calls here on my website! Below are the ones that are still valid as of today. To avoid disappointment in future, you might want to subscribe to my email newsletter, which contains open submission calls well ahead of them being posted here (if they are at all, *ahem*…).

Horror Story
A new magazine, with a first issue featuring monster stories – either classic monsters or invented ones.
Word count: 2000–10,000 words
Payment: 2 cents per word
Deadline: Ongoing, with no stated cut-off for Issue 1
Find out more

In Another Time…
Another brand-new publication, this time specialising in science fiction and fantasy. The informal theme of the inaugural issue is ‘beginnings’.
Word count: 3000–5000 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: No deadline specified
Find out more

NecronomiRomCom
An unusual-but-fun-sounding anthology that will feature ‘cosmic tales with a light romantic twist’. Oddly, the guidelines contain no specific mention of any horror element being required.
Word count: 1000–6000 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Find out more

Alternate Antarcticas
Sea Lion Press and editor Jared Kavanagh seek alternate history stories set in Antarctica. You’re encouraged to query first with your story idea, to avoid duplication.
Word count: Around 3000–7000 words
Payment: Royalties only
Deadline: 31 July 2023
Find out more

Favourite albums of the first quarter of 2023

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Who says ‘best of’ lists have to be restricted to the end of the year? Here are my favourite new album releases of the first quarter of 2023, for those who might be interested.

Kali Malone – Does Spring Hide Its Joy Three hours of amazing drone work from prolific organist Kali Malone, featuring Sunn O))) guitarist Stephen O’Malley and cellist Lucy Railton.

Tongue Depressor – Bones For Time Ambient drones that sound like the steady breathing of a sleeping giant.

Atom TM – Nacht Intense, moody, minimal techno. (Ideal as background music for writing tense scenes!)

Adela Mede – Szabadság Difficult-to-describe Slovakian almost-pop with beats and field recordings and disorientation.

Bianca Scout – The Heart of the Anchoress More off-kilter beats, and actual vocals, though they’re hazy enough to register only as whispers.

Cisser Mæhl – Innemuseum Listening to vocals while writing or reading works fine for me if I can’t understand the words, and these Danish lullabies put me in the zone immediately.

The Necks – Travel Head-bobbing groove repetition courtesy of Australian’s finest avant-garde jazz trio.

теплота – Skynned Totally nuts jazz-inflected techno that makes a neat partner to the Necks album.

Honour – HBK Vol 1 – Na God Is it an original album? A mixtape? I’ve no idea, but it’s barking mad, and the most fun I’ve had with a hip hop release for ages.

Tresa Leigh – I Remember Rerelease EP of 1970s lo-fi, heartrending songs by a Georgia teenager who, I presume, never quite made it, but should have.

Herman Dune – The Portable Herman Dune, Vol.2 Still my favourite indie band after all these years. These beautiful, stripped-down performances of past triumphs make me fall in love with them all over again. And there’s a third volume still to come!

Adrian Sherwood Presents: Dub No Frontiers An absolute relevation of a compilation: female reggae artists from around the world, singing in Hindi, Romani, Arabic and other languages.

Open submission calls: March 2023

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Whereas last month’s open submission calls all seemed to be horror-flavoured, this month I’ve come across a wealth of science fiction venues seeking story submissions. Maybe horror editors prefer the winter, and the impending arrival of spring is bringing out all the SF publishers?

If you’d like to receive notifications of open submission calls direct to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter.

Metastellar
Currently, this online venue (which has the strapline ‘Speculative fiction and beyond’) is on the hunt for science fiction, fantasy, or horror flash fiction.
Word count: Up to 1200 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 31 March 2023
Find out more

Utopia Magazine
The focus of this hard-SF magazine is refreshing upbeat: ‘enthralling stories set in a future we want to believe in, one we would fight to make a reality.’
Word count: 100–5000 words
Payment: 4 cents per word
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more

Lightspeed
This prestigious venue is rarely open for submissions, so get in there while it’s open! First up is this slot solely for science fiction stories; an open submissions call for fantasy will follow in late April.
Word count: 1500–10000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: Open to BIPOC-only from 24–31 March 2023, open to all from 1–7 April 2023
Find out more

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores
This well-established online zine seeks SF, fantasy and weird stories, both serious and humorous in tone.
Word count: 1000 words or more
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: Ongoing, but only open on the 1st and 2nd of each month
Find out more

Weird Horror
This newish project from celebrated editor Michael Kelly is now well-established and well-respected. It has two reading periods each year: March and September.
Word count: 500–6000 words
Payment: 1.5 cents per word
Deadline: 31 March 2023
Find out more

They Hunt By Night
An anthology that will feature stories set pre-1950, featuring fearsome creatures that… well, hunt by night.
Word count: 6000–9000 words
Payment: Share of royalties
Deadline: 30 June 2023
Find out more

Alone on the Borderland: Tales of Edwardian Dread
This anthology edited by John Linwood Grant will feature weird fiction set between 1901 and 1919 – from the death of Queen Victoria to the immediate aftermath of the Great War and the Spanish Influenza epidemic.
Word count: 5000–10000 words
Payment: Percentage of Kickstarter net profits, plus percentage of first year royalties
Deadline: 30 June 2023
Find out more

Translunar Travelers Lounge
Perhaps there’s been a shift in tastes recently, as this is another speculative fiction publication seeking stories that are fun (a fun story is defined by the editors as one that ‘works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out’).
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: 3 cents per word
Deadline: Open 15–21 March 2023 to writers of colour, then 16 March to 15 April 2023 to all
Find out more

Infinite Worlds
This print publication is very smartly designed. While that’s not everything, it’s certainly a factor, let’s be honest.
Word count: 1500–5000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more

Again, if you’d like to receive notifications of open submission calls direct to your inbox, before they’re posted on this site, sign up for my newsletter.

Buckminster Fuller image from Wikimedia Commons

Open submission calls: February 2023

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Here are some of the most interesting open submission calls for writers I’ve stumbled across this month. Good luck!

The Devil Take You: Tales of Medieval Horror
The editors of this anthology seek weird tales set in the medieval period – a terrific theme! And, while I know it’s not everything, it boasts a truly excellent cover design.
Word count: 3000–6000 words
Payment: $125–$200, presumably based on word count
Deadline: 15 April 2023
Find out more here

Chthonic Matter
New quarterly weird fiction journal from editor C.M. Muller, whose previous work includes the excellent Nightscript series of anthologies. Again, is it superficial to note that the first issue has an incredible cover?
Word count: 2000–6000 words
Payment: Two contributor copies
Deadline: Ongoing
Find out more here

BBC Short Story Awards
Entering this contest would involve punching far above my weight, but why not think big? This prestigious short story award is now accepting submissions.
Word count: Up to 8000 words
Payment: £15,000 for the winner, £600 for four shortlisted stories
Deadline: 13 March 2023
Find out more here

The Deeps
This new journal seeks ‘horror and horror-adjacent’ stories, particularly those that are ‘gothic, folkloric, cosmic, or psychological in nature’.
Word count: Up to 6000 words
Payment: 1 cent per word
Deadline: Opens 1 March 2023, closes 31 March 2023
Find out more here

Mother Knows Best: Tales of Homemade Horror
This anthology already has an impressive lineup of contributors including Gwendolyn Kiste and Kristi DeMeester. Writers who identify as women are welcome to submit stories about bad mothers.
Word count: 1000–5000 words
Payment: 6 cents per word
Deadline: 31 March 2023
Find out more here

Dead Dark Things
Another new magazine, this time intending to specialise in ‘horror with heart’, featuring ‘the weird, the sad, and the horrifically fun’.
Word count: 1000–5000 words
Payment: 2 cents per word
Deadline: Ongoing, as far as I can tell
Find out more here

No Trouble At All
Anthology from Cursed Morsels Press featuring ‘polite horror’, a topic that really sets the imagination going…
Word count: 2000–4500 words
Payment: 4 cents per word
Deadline: Opens 1 March 2023, closes 15 March 2023
Find out more here

Mslexia
The Showcase section of this venerable magazine is a big deal, with past judges having included Hilary Mantel and Carol Ann Duffy. For Issue 98, women are invited to submit stories about ‘hauntings, and welcome or unwelcome visitations from beyond the grave’.
Word count: Up to 2200 words
Payment: Unclear, but publication in Showcase section of the magazine, at least
Deadline: 6 March 2023
Find out more here

We Fear Not the Sea
Here’s another appealing theme for an anthology: stories inspired by sea shanties. Tales should have a speculative element, too.
Word count: 2000–6000 words
Payment: 2 cents per word
Deadline: 30 March 2023
Find out more here

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Open submission calls: January 2023

A new year, a fresh start, renewed ambitions, and so on… January is a great time to send out stories you’ve already written, or to be inspired to write new ones. Below, I’ve gathered some of the most interesting open submission calls for writers I’ve spotted this month. If you have a try at any of these opportunities, best of luck!

To receive more open submission calls like this, sign up for my email newsletter.

Ghoulish Tales
New magazine that celebrate ‘fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky.’ While plenty of horror films are fun, I think it’s trickier to achieve in written fiction, so this is definitely a worthwhile distinction.
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: 7 cents per word
Deadline: 15 February 2023
https://perpetualpublishing.com/2022/12/17/announcing-ghoulish-tales-a-new-horror-magazine-currently-open-for-submissions/

Horror Library
This is the eighth volume of horror stories from Dark Moon Books. Their criteria makes for an interesting list: ‘Imaginative and/or harrowing adventure; beauty of darkness; horror (edgy or quiet); exploration through fears or discovery; original monsters and/or strange lands; life events turned slightly askew, etc.’
Word count: 1500–5000 words
Payment: 2 cents per word
Deadline: Opens 16 January 2023, closes 30 January 2023
www.darkmoonbooks.com/Submissions.html

Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend
The new volume of this longstanding series anthologies will feature fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, and speculative horror stories themed around automation. Despite the genre list, the guidelines don’t seem to require that stories are bleak, which is refreshing.
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: 3 cents per word
Deadline: 1 February 2023
https://parsecink.com/index.php/triangulation-submissions/

Cymera / Shoreline of Infinity Prize for Speculative Short Fiction
Cymera is one of the friendliest and most fun SFF events around. Shoreline of Infinity is one of the most inventive and consistent SF magazines. How could the idea of impressing both of them at the same time not be a good idea? NB it’s open to anyone living in Scotland or who identifies as Scottish ‘by birth or inclination’, which is a lovely phrase.
Word count: Up to 2500 words
Payment: Prize of £150 for the winner plus publication in Shoreline of Infinity, free tickets to two Cymera events for the runners-up
Deadline: 26 March 2023
www.shorelineofinfinity.com/cymera-shoreline-of-infinity-prize-for-speculative-short-fiction-2023/

The First Five Minutes of the Apocalypse
An anthology from Hungry Shadow Press with an excellent theme: ‘the experiences, the points of view, the wild, weird, disgusting, disturbing, beautiful, heartbreaking things that happened at the very beginning of the end of the world.’
Word count: 1500–4000 words
Payment: 3 cents per word
Deadline: Opens 1 February 2023, deadline 28 February 2023
www.hungryshadowpress.com/submissions-the-first-five-minutes-of-the-apocalypse

Seers and Sibyls
Another very specific but fascinating theme for this submissions call. In the editors’ own words: ‘We’re looking for stories about the mouthpieces of gods and goddesses. Who interprets their omens, tells their prophecies, sees their visions, and performs their miracles? And to what end?’
Word count: 1500–5000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 31 January 2023
https://brigidsgatepress.com/submissions

Monster Lairs
This anthology from Dark Matter will feature dark fantasy and horror (and related hybrids such as fairytale horror, gothic fantasy, supernatural horror, cosmic horror). Editor Anna Madden is seeking ‘decidedly inhuman monsters that have been sought out and challenged, befriended, protected, or stolen from their own grounds, roots exposed like naked bone’. I tell you what – the themes for open submissions this month are pretty amazing, aren’t they?
Word count: 2000–4000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 30 January 2023, but then until 5 February 2023 for previously unpublished writers, ESL writers, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, and other marginalized voices
https://darkmattermagazine.shop/pages/monster-lairs-submission-guidelines

Habitats
This is a new magazine that will specialise in ‘optimistic and uplifting short science-fiction stories on any subject’. There’s not nearly enough warmth and positivity in most SF, in my opinion, so this is another very welcome theme. It’s also the first open submission call I’ve seen which states explicitly that stories written or assisted by AI are not welcome.
Word count: 1000–6000 words
Payment: 10 cents per word
Deadline: Ongoing, as far as I can tell
www.kickstarter.com/projects/samuelcooke/habitats-magazine-optimistic-science-fiction/posts/3701085

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Announcement – JEKYLL & HYDE: CONSULTING DETECTIVES

Exciting news is the very best way to begin a new year! I’m thrilled to announce that Titan Books will publish my novel JEKYLL & HYDE: CONSULTING DETECTIVES, and I’m very excited about it.

Here’s the Publishers Marketplace announcement:

More details soon! If you’re impatient to know more, please consider signing up to my email newsletter, as I’ll be including additional plot tidbits in the first newsletter, to be sent out imminently…

My writing year 2022

This year I had the following work published:

Sherlock Holmes: The Defaced Men (Titan) – my second Holmes novel (after The Back to Front Murder), featuring cinema pioneer Eadweard Muybridge.

Sherlock Holmes – The Twelve Thefts of Christmas

Sherlock Holmes & The Twelve Thefts of Christmas (Titan) – a ‘Christmas special’ of a Holmes novel, featuring Irene Adler’s ‘advent calendar of crimes’ and with central roles for Mary Watson and Mrs Hudson.

Shade of Stillthorpe (Black Shuck) – a weird, folk horror-ish novella about family, fatherhood and changelings.

The Marshalls of Mars

‘The Marshalls of Mars’ (IZ Digital / Interzone) – a short story about parenthood and isolation, featuring Meryl and Rich, the protagonists of my first published Interzone story, back in 2014.

It’s less than in previous years, but still a substantial enough output overall, I think. Most of all, I’m proud of all of this work.

I’ll be honest: 2022 hasn’t been the easiest year for writing and publishing. The year began with the disappointing cancellation of an anthology that would have included one of my stories, and would have represented a huge ambition fulfilled. It was also the first year in around a decade in which I didn’t begin working on a new original novel, which leaves me feeling that I haven’t made proper progress. Instead, most of the year was spent making revisions and editorial changes to two projects begun last year, and drafting the first half of a commissioned tie-in novel.

While I spent just under 300 hours writing, so much of my time was spent editing that I wrote fewer words than I have since 2018 – just over 172,000 words, compared to 286,000 words last year.

The year also involved a great deal of waiting. Though waiting is a fundamental characteristic of the publishing industry, and usually I’m fairly resistant to it, the long delays for feedback on drafts and submissions hit me hard this year, making progress on new projects far more difficult. It’s the first time I’ve been conscious that my writing career can have a negative impact on my mental health.

Another frustration was that my Christmas Sherlock Holmes title, The Twelve Thefts of Christmas, was affected by the IT software issue that has disrupted Waterstones warehousing and supply since the summer. The book was a month late to arrive in bookshops, and even then it failed to appear in most stores, despite (it seems) copies being ordered by booksellers. Given that it’s very much a seasonal novel, it’s now had its chance.

However – I mention these things not as complaints, but simply as a record of my year. I’m aware that I’m in a privileged position, and that I’m fortunate in that my work is still being published. More than anything, I continue to love writing, and I still have the luxury of plenty of time in which to do it.

The year to come is a little unpredictable, but there is one exciting element: the publication of an original novel that I’m really excited about, and that I’ll hopefully be able to announce soon. In fact, I’m determined to do right by this book in terms of publicising it widely, so I’ll be talking about it a lot. Apologies in advance.

Favourite books of 2022

My favourite book published this year was Candescent Blooms by Andrew Hook. It’s an outstanding, confident, often surreal collection, featuring accounts of the final days of Hollywood actors who died before their time. Despite its strong pitch, it remains difficult to describe – the stories are poetic, subjective, dizzying. Though there’s a huge amount of research in evidence, tone and language take precedence over biography. Normally I struggle to read whole collections from start to finish, whereas in this case I told myself I’d take my time, savour the richness of each story, but then raced through the whole lot in a couple of sittings, so that now they all merge in my mind and I couldn’t tell you which I loved most. It’s a huge achievement and a hell of an experience, and I recommend you get hold of a copy immediately.

Another 2022 novel I loved was Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. In many ways it operates as an out-there coda to her previous novel, The Glass Hotel, and though I adored it less than that book, its broader scope, multiple time periods and tangents that double back to become relevant at unexpected moments entirely won me over.

Of the other recently published novels I read this year, the one that meant the most to me was Leonard and Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession (2019). I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this story of humble, modest people achieving humble, modest success. You might describe another of my favourites as an antagonistic twin of this book: No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood (2021), which genuinely made me laugh out loud in the first half and also cry at the end, and I can’t remember the last novel that managed that. One of the most exhilarating books I read in 2022 was By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar (2020), casting Arthurian legend in bizarre new forms, a 21st-century riff on T H White’s already riff-packed The Once and Future King. I’m saving the second of Tidhar’s Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet novels (The Hood) for a later treat, and I can’t wait to find out which legends the final two novels will address. Other novels that I loved unequivocally were The Rotters’ Club by Jonathan Coe (2001), my first Coe, which sparked a season of reading his other linked books, and Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (1989), a big, bold carnival of a carnival novel which was Very Much My Thing even before the speculative elements showed up.

What else floated my boat? Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017), certainly, but I was late to that party. I thought The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton (2020) was superior to his excellent The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, mainly by virtue of several of its high concepts remaining concealed from the reader. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (2019) was one of my favourite fantastical fables of the year. Circe by Madeline Miller (2018) is another novel everybody else read before me, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Similarly, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (2011) was one of those novels that seem to be everywhere for a time, which makes me contrary about refusing to read – which makes me an idiot, as it’s terrific. Three SF novels that I loved this year were The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas (2018), Skyward Inn by the always wonderful Aliya Whiteley (2021) and I Still Dream by James Smythe (2018), an excellent AI novel that seems far more prescient now that my social media feed is full of people opining about AI compositions.

On to older novels. I was blown away by the restrained energy of Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (1980), and the inventiveness of the Jekyll and Hyde-inspired Two Women of London by Emma Tennant (1989) – I must get on to reading more of her work. I found The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe (1962) thrilling in spite, or perhaps because of, its claustrophobia.

Alongside the Stuart Turton mentioned above, my favourite crime novels this year were The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo (1946), which features a murder mystery with the most terrific explanation, and The Riverside Villas Murder by Kingsley Amis (1973), which is startling in its plotting but also its inversion of various mystery tropes, and an unlikely 14-year-old detective.

A list of wonderful novels I read this year and that I should have got around to reading much sooner includes: the amoral The Murderess by Alexandros Papadiamantis (1903), the lively Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh (1928), the unexpected pleasures of The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. Chesterton (1905), the proto-SF The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster (1909) and the intense and startlingly modern The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1899). Even odder, and somewhat embarrassing, omissions until 2022 were the wonderfully bizarre The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz (1934) and The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers (1895).

Most of the non-fiction I read this year represented writing research of one form or another. My favourite non-fiction book that I read purely for pleasure was The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn (1988).

In total, I read 51 books in 2022. I’m a bit ashamed to say 36 of them were written by men; I’m determined to equalise the ratio next year.

Favourite film, TV and videogames of 2022

Film

Despite a return to cinema viewing being viable for the first time in a couple of years, I saw only two films in the cinema in 2023. However, they were among my favourite films I saw this year, and the atmosphere was certainly an important part of that. Though lighter than my usual fare, I thought that the 1950s mystery pastiche See How They Run (Tom George, 2022) was near-perfect in the sense of achieving everything it set out to achieve. Seeing it with my wife, followed by Italian food and stand-up comedy on our first date night in years, was the happiest viewing experience imaginable. We saw the Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream (Brett Morgen, 2022) together a week later, which I found almost overwhelming, and which prompted intense conversation about art and ambition.

At home, the films I loved the most were the epic Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra, 2015) and the moving SF-inflected social drama Gagarine (Fanny Liatard / Jérémy Trouilh, 2020). On the back of the once-a-decade Sight & Sound poll, my most exciting discoveries didn’t include the new #1, (Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles), which I finally watched and appreciated well enough, but rather the masterful and hallucinatory Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 2000) and the 14-minute Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), the missing link between Luis Buñuel and David Lynch.

Recently-released films I loved included the uncomfortable, oddly overlooked family drama The Nest (Sean Durkin, 2020), the heartfelt and sweet time-travel piece Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021), impactful Icelandic folk horror Lamb (Valdimar Jóhannsson, 2021), the triumphant (though perhaps fractionally lesser than the first film) sequel The Souvenir Part II (Joanna Hogg, 2022), the terrific debut of one of my favourite British filmmakers, Katalin Varga (Peter Strickland, 2009), and the effective music documentary The Velvet Underground (Todd Haynes, 2021). Honourable mentions go to moral drama A Hero (Asghar Farhadi, 2021, Lady Diana horror film Spencer (Pablo Larraín, 2021), one-take restaurant-set thriller Boiling Point (Philip Barantini, 2021), sweet coming-of-age drama Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2021), and anti-Hangover ‘buddy movie’ Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg, 2020).

Older films that I saw this year for the first time and loved included the startling The Magician (Ingmar Bergman, 1958), the intense, remarkably faithful adaptation Woman in the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964), fantastic eco-thriller The Day the Earth Caught Fire (Val Guest, 1961), Wages of Fear remake Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977), Beat-era improvisation Shadows (John Cassavetes, 1959) and his much later masterpiece A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and downbeat but ultimately alarming made-for-TV domestic horror The Appointment (Lindsey C. Vickers, 1982).

TV

My favourite TV shows in 2022 were wonky sitcom The Witchfinder (2022) and the first of the two seasons of odd arthouse documentary How To With John Wilson (2020), both of which delighted me again and again. This is Going to Hurt (2022) was the most important TV drama I saw this year, and I hope it proves influential on policies relating to NHS funding. I loved the understated Drôle (Standing Up) (2022), the first season of Only Murders in the Building (2021) and Peter Jackson’s absorbing fly-on-the-wall documentary The Beatles: Get Back (2021). I finally got around to watching all seasons of Detectorists and Ted Lasso, both of which are as good as everyone says. I enjoyed bitesize comedy Cheaters (2022), sketch show Ellie and Natasia (2022), the first season of rotoscoped time-travel mindtrip Undone (2019), and the overlong but ultimately compelling Bad Sisters (2022). My guilty pleasure was the double-crossing mystery game show The Traitors (2023), though I found myself more preoccupied with the convolutions required of the production team than the bickering of the contestants.

Videogames

As usual, most of my favourite PC games I played this year were indie affairs: idiosyncratic card-game Lovecraftian mystery Inscryption (2021), monochrome Zelda-esque romp Death’s Door (2021), superb roguelike brawler Hades (2018), plant-detective simulator Strange Horticulture (2022) and compulsive timesinks Stacklands (2022) and Loop Hero (2021). Despite each of these sucking up far more of my time, my favourite indie experience of all was the 5-hour experience of The Case of the Golden Idol (2022), an Obra Dinn-esque mystery based around a series of crude fixed tableau and a click-and-drop language interface, which featured a story as compelling and labyrinthine as any novel I’ve read this year.

This year I finally succumbed to buying a Nintendo Switch for the family. Together, me and my sons  played lots of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017), Super Mario Party (2018) and Yoshi’s Crafted World (2019) as well as charming indie coop gateway-RPG Child of Light (2014) and nutso platform brawler Adventure Pals (2018). In the evenings, I poured hours into (in ascending order) heart-halting Metroid Dread (2021), the beautifully serene The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) and, at long last, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) – though I loved the essentially endless questing, plus in-world card game Gwent, I skipped almost every cutscene. Does that make me a bad gamer?

Favourite albums of 2022

Modern composition / minimalism / drone

California collective Wild Up’s performances of Julius Eastman’s works (Vol. 1: Femenine / Vol. 2: Joy Boy) were two of my favourite albums of 2022, and continue to surprise me each time I relisten. Oren Ambarchi provided two excellent albums this year, both of which build directly on the intense, repetitions of his other recent releases. Ghosted is inflected with Mingus-esque bass grooves, whereas Shebang is lighter and more slippery; both are as wonderful as you might expect from Ambarchi, who rarely puts a foot wrong. Opening Performance Orchestra’s version of Phill Niblock’s Four Walls Full Of Sound is the most engrossing, enveloping drone imaginable. Equally maddening (in the best possible way) is Reich/Richter by Steve Reich, an absorbing soundtrack to Gerhard Richter’s abstract film Moving Picture (946-3). After a run of soundtrack work that doesn’t stand up well without visuals, Colin Stetson released Chimæra I, a chilly drone that features little of his ultra-physical saxophone performances of the past, but is no lesser for it. Anna von Hausswolff’s towering Live at Montreux Jazz Festival is similarly grand, with staggering vocal performances. Sow Your Gold In The White Foliated Earth by DEATHPROD deployed odd instruments designed by experimental composer Harry Partch to great effect. In Promise & Illusion, Ecka Mordecai reaches almost the same heights with her voice. Laura Cannell had a great year, with her folk-drone EP We Long to be Haunted my favourite, closely followed by the lighter but eerier Antiphony of the Trees. Living Torch by Kali Malone is another long drone that ranges from barely-there to punched-in-the-chest. Sarah Davachi continued her wonderful work with the restrained Two Sisters.

Weird / electronica

The most remarkable electronic album I heard this year was I was born by the sea by Hull-based artist Richie Culver, featuring upsettingly jarring, glitchy electronica underpinning dour Sleaford Mods-esque state-of-the-nation pronouncements like ‘There’s more mobility scooter repair shops and bookies than there are bookshops.’  I had no less than three minimal techno releases by Deepchord on regular rotation this year, my favourite of which were the EP Functional Extraits 1 and album Functional Designs. Another act to secure more than one slot on this list is Romance, whose haunting collaboration with Twin Peaks sound designer Dean Hurley, In Every Dream Home a Heartache, is wonderful – but not as wonderful as Once Upon a Time, a vaporwave oddity stretching Celine Dion vocals beyond breaking point. Mattering and Meaning by Dan Nicholls is a superficially beautiful collection of piano loops and field recordings that becomes stranger the more you listen. I loved the ambient soundscapes Nachthorn by Maxime Denuc and the more jittery Koko maailma by Olli Aarni. Finally, I don’t know how to describe Context by Lasse Marhaug, other than it’s as dark and compelling as the entrance to a train tunnel or a looming storm cloud.                         

Indie / rock / vocal

The Ruby Cord by Richard Dawson (or ‘Richard Dawson of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne’, as the album cover emphasises) is a towering success, building on previous albums Peasant and 2020. He’s become by far my favourite vocal artist, and no matter how sweet some of his material becomes, his experimental, bloody-minded attitude shines through. Herman Dune brought the nostalgia with reworkings of favourite songs on The Portable Herman Dune. Horse Lords proved themselves reliable Beefheartians with the wonderful Comradely Objects. My favourite rock albums were Most Normal by Gilla Band and Super Champion by Otoboke Beaver, which drove my kids wild. My favourite calm albums were Gravskrift by Vessel, Ghosts by Haress, Optimism by Jana Horn and the sweet indie debut caroline by caroline.

Wild beats

I somehow missed Native Soul last year, but their 2021 release of South African amapiano house tracks, Teenage Dreams, has been on constant rotation whenever I’m driving alone. In 2022 they produced Native Roots, a more minor album featuring guest vocals, but great fun all the same. Twenty-One Sabar Rhythms is a terrific collection of precisely what it promises, from The Doudou Ndiaye Rose Family. Finally, I’m not connoisseur of house music, but Decius Vol. I by Decius & Lias Saoudi strikes me as the best sort imaginable.

Compilations

There were some terrific compilations this year! My favourite was perhaps Music from Saharan WhatsApp (Sahel Sounds), which contains the most incredible grooves imaginable. The unlikeliest collection I loved was V4 Visions: Of Love & Androids (Numero Group), featuring 90s pop and R&B tunes that sound like hits from a parallel dimension. Very different but similarly out-there was the dark and strange Síntomas de techno – Ondas electrónicas subterráneas desde Perú (1985-1991) (Buh). I loved the uplifting Soul Jazz Records Presents Studio One Music Lab (Soul Jazz), and the first and third volumes of I Had the Craziest Dream: Modern Jazz and Hard-Bop in Post War London (Death Is Not the End). More conventional (for me) delights were found in the drone wash of Hallow Ground presents: Epiphanies (Hallow Ground). Some of the strangest and most exciting compilations I heard this year were Luke Schneider Presents… Imaginational Anthem, Vol. XI : Chrome Universal – A Survey of Modern Pedal Steel (Tompkins Square), the bizarre-but-calm Thorn Valley (World of Echo) and the completely unclassifiable Elsewhere VXIII (Rocket Recordings), which ought to be unlistenable given its breadth of artists, sounds and languages, but which comes across as the most coherent mixtape you’ve ever been gifted.

Reissues

The biggest reissue release this year was the Super Deluxe edition of Revolver by The Beatles. The mournful demo of Yellow Submarine alone is worth the price of admission. Almost as exciting is the bumper ‘Farewell Horizontal’ edition of my favourite Pavement album, Terror Twilight, and a remastered version of often-overlooked electronica favourite Body Riddle by Clark. The smoky trip-hop Glass Lit Dream by Dawuna is my favourite 2021 release that I missed last year, though its reappearance in 2022 barely counts as a reissue. I played previously-hard-to-come-by Mother Is The Milky Way by Broadcast endlessly, along with the beautiful calmnesses of Tan-Tan Therapy by Tenniscoats and Sings Reign Rebuilder by Set Fire To Flames and the wonderful Peel Sessions by Movietone, and a brilliant album and band I’d never encountered before, Hydroplane by Hydroplane. The funkiest reissues I came across were Air Volta by Volta Jazz, Heart of the Congos by The Congos, Vol. 1 by Orchestre Les Volcans du Benin and the treasure trove of Charles Stepney demos, Step on Step. One of the most exciting discoveries was the Trunk release of the soundtrack to the 1976 TV show Children of the Stones, by Sidney Sager and the Ambrosian Singers.                      

Recommendations aplenty

As anybody browsing my previous blog posts can deduce, I love lists. Yes, they can be reductive, sometimes elitist, but they work amazingly as catalysts in terms of recommendations. Find a top-ten list of any media that includes some things you love, and the chances are you’ll also love the list items you don’t yet know.

On that note, I was recently asked to complete a book list for Shepherd.com. Given that my headspace has been so occupied with Sherlock Holmes recently, I opted to put together a list of ‘The best books containing satisfying mysteries’. I don’t think it’s too spoilery to show you this image of my choices, and you can read the whole article if you’d like to know my reasons for selecting them.

Tim Major - satisfying mysteries book listIf there’s one thing better than making a satisfying list, it’s being included on someone else’s. Having your work noticed by an amazing editor like Ellen Datlow goes some way to staving off the imposter syndrome (for a while) – so I’m delighted that Ellen included my story ‘The Cardboard Voice’ in her longlist of 2021 recommendations, alongside many writers whose work I love.

The story’s available to read in Nightscript vol VII, edited by CM Muller. It’s about identity, deepfakes and old audio technology.

Most importantly, if you’re interested in the state of horror fiction right now (and in my opinion, it’s in a wildly healthy state), I’d recommend you scour Ellen’s list from start to finish. That’s what I’ll be doing.

Publication day: Sherlock Holmes and The Twelve Thefts of Christmas

My new Sherlock Holmes novel, The Twelve Thefts of Christmas, is published today! Here’s a picture of me in an unironed but halfway-festive shirt to celebrate.

Sherlock Holmes and The Twelve Thefts of Christmas
There are plenty of knotty mysteries within the shiny golden covers of this beautifully designed hardback, but I’ve also tried to make the tone like a sort of ‘holiday special’. It features loads of Holmes favourites in prominent roles: Irene Adler, Mrs Hudson, Mary Watson, Inspector Lestrade, even good old Toby the dog.

Here’s the description:

Sherlock Holmes’s discovery of a mysterious musical score initiates a devious Christmas challenge set by Irene Adler, with clues that are all variations on the theme of ‘theft without theft’, such as a missing statue found hidden in the museum gallery from which it was taken.

In the snowy London lead-up to Christmas, Holmes’s preoccupation with the Adler Variations risks him neglecting the case of his new client, Norwegian arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who has received a series of threats in the form of animal carcasses left on his doorstep. Could they really be gifts from a strange spirit that has pursued Nansen since the completion of his expedition to cross Greenland? And might this case somehow be related to Irene Adler’s great game?

Find out more about the book here.

‘O Cul-de-Sac!’ reading on Podcastle

I was so delighted when this popped up in my Twitter notifications last night, as I’d spent the day being grumpy with a bad cold…

O Cul-de-Sac! by Tim Major

My sentient-house story ‘O Cul-de-Sac!’ features on the current edition of fantasy podcast PodCastle, read by Nicola Seaton-Clark. While I haven’t had a chance to listen to the full reading yet, I can tell you that Nicola’s delivery is spot on. Hearing her read my story makes me very proud!
Click here to hear the reading, or you can find PodCastle via your usual podcast app. In addition, you can read the full text onscreen, for free.
If you’ve enjoyed this story, you may like to check out the book in which it first appeared: And the House Lights Dim, my first story collection, published by Luna Press.

Open submission calls: October 2022

John Lennon typing

Shall we ignore the fact that I didn’t post submissions calls in August or September? Sorry, sorry, and I’ll try to be more reliable in future. Anyway, as always (though not always, clearly), here are some of the most interesting open submission calls for writers I’ve spotted this month. If you have a try at any of these opportunities, good luck!

Game On!
Anthology featuring stories which represent ‘unique science fiction and fantasy takes on games, game playing, and games in culture’. (Note the emphasis on games; anything that classifies as a sport won’t be accepted.) Several notable authors such as Aliette de Bodard and Cat Rambo have already signed up to provide stories.
Word count: Up to 7500 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 31 December 2022
https://zombiesneedbrains.moksha.io/publication/game-on/guidelines

Our Ocean’d Earth
Anthology featuring non-fiction and fiction focused on ‘defending nature and empowering communities’. The editors are seeking stories ‘from a range of perspectives—from marine life researchers to conservationists, free divers to writers with a deep connection to the sea’.
Word count: Ideally 1000–3000 word
Payment: €200
Deadline: 30 October 2022
https://www.stormbirdpress.com/news/our-oceand-earth/

A Darkness Visible
Anthology from Ontology Books, with a focus on postmodern horror – reference points include Mark Danielewski, Bret Easton Ellis, William Burroughs and Thomas Pynchon.
Word count: 3000–8000 words
Payment: £80
Deadline: 31 October 2022
https://www.ontologybooks.com/submissions

Come October
One-off anthology from editor C.M. Muller, who’s been responsible for the fantastic Nightscript series. This anthology is dedicated to ‘autumnal horror’.
Word count: 1000-6000 words
Payment: Contributor copy
Deadline: Opens on 31 October 2022, deadline 31 December 2022
https://chthonicmatter.wordpress.com/come-october-2/

ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award
The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society’s prestigious annual short story contest.
Word count: Up to 5000 words
Payment: Prizes of £2,000, £1,000 or £500
Deadline: 31 October 2022
https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/alcs-tom-gallon-trust-award/

FABLE: An Anthology of Horror, Suspense & the Supernatural
Anthology featuring horror, mystery, crime, thriller, and/or suspense stories in which ‘supernatural elements are encouraged’.
Word count: 1000–39,999 words
Payment: 8 cents per word for the first 1000 words, then 1 cent per word after that
Deadline: 30 November 2022
https://pridebookcafe.com/fable-an-anthology-of-horror-suspense-the-supernatural

Under the Stairs: An Anthology of Homebound Horror
Anthology seeking ‘horrific stories about what happens when one’s sense of home is lost’.
Word count: Up to 3000 words
Payment: 3 cents per word
Deadline: 31 October 2022
https://www.underthestairsmag.com/submissions

Paramnesia
Grendel Press is planning a series of themed anthologies, the first of which concerns ‘a condition or phenomenon involving distorted memory or confusions of fact and fantasy, such as confabulation or déjà vu’.
Word count: 3000-7000 words
Payment: 5 cents per word
Deadline: Open until the anthology is filled
https://grendelpress.com/anthology-submissions/

Frivolous Comma
Website featuring SFF/horror stories ‘from or about diverse perspectives and traditionally under-represented groups, settings, and cultures, written from a non-exoticizing and well-researched position, and dealing with transition & intersectionality.’
Word count: 1000–4000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: Open until 300 submissions have been received
https://www.frivolouscomma.com/submit/

This World Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Horror Stories about Bugs
A fairly self-explanatory theme, though the editors elaborate with some examples: ‘Bugs as ill omens, bugs burrowing into bodies or thoughts, bugs taking over your town, giant bugs eating your friends, bugs giving you the side-eye at the supermarket’.
Word count: 500–5000 words
Payment: 5 cents per word
Deadline: 30 November 2022
http://frombeyondpress.com/submissions/

US publication day – Sherlock Holmes: The Defaced Men

I was away on holiday when it was published in the UK, so failed to post about it here, but as today is the publication date for my Sherlock Holmes novel THE DEFACED MEN, I thought I’d take the opportunity to celebrate its release!

In this novel, Holmes’s new client is Eadweard Muybridge, the godfather of cinema, whose life is under threat. Holmes and Watson will need to draw on technology associated with cinema in order to solve a mystery that continues to grow and grow.

I had such fun incorporating my love of early cinema into a Holmes adventure! Hopefully it resulted in a satisfyingly knotty mystery, too. You can find more details about the novel here.

Open submission calls: July 2022

It’s that time again! Here are some of the most interesting open submission calls for SFF/horror writers that I’ve come across recently. As always, best of luck if you pursue any of these opportunities!

CloisterFox
This excellent new British weird-fiction mag launched last month after a successful Kickstarter. The first issue was terrific, and I have high hopes for this magazine in the longer term. The theme for Issue 2 is water.
Word count: 3000–4000 words
Payment: £30 plus copy
Deadline: 24 July 2022
https://cloisterfox.com/submissions/

Diabolical Plots
Well-established online mag featuring any science fiction, fantasy or horror with a speculative element. Open submissions last until 14 July, then from 24–31 July is a specific submission call themed around telepathy.
Word count: Up to 3500 words
Payment: 10 cents per word
Deadline: 14 July 2022 (open submissions) / 24–31 July (telepathy theme)
https://www.diabolicalplots.com/guidelines/

Augur / Tales and Feathers
Well-respected magazine featuring all types of SFF and horror, plus sister publication Tales and Feathers which specialises in ‘cozy slice-of-life fantasy’ stories.
Word count: Up to 5000 words (Augur) / Up to 2500 words (Tales and Feathers)
Payment: $0.11 cents (CAD) per word
Deadline: 31 July 2022
http://www.augurmag.com/submissions/

34 Orchard
Fairly new online literary journal looking for stories that are ‘scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad’.
Word count: 1000–5000 words
Payment: $50
Deadline: 15 July 2022
https://34orchard.com/guidelines/

Little Blue Marble
Online zine featuring fiction that ‘examines humanity’s possible futures living with anthropogenic climate change’, mainly hopeful in tone.
Word count: Up to 2000 words
Payment: 11 cents (CAD) per word
Deadline: 31 July 2022
https://littlebluemarble.ca/submission-guidelines/

The Maul
New magazine that will feature stories that skew towards younger readers, with influences including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Roald Dahl and Shirley Jackson.
Word count: 100–3000 words
Payment: 8 cents per word
Deadline: 31 July 2022
https://themaulmag.com/?page_id=31

Faber Imagined Futures prize
The prestigious publisher is seeking young adult novels or collections of short stories that can be (loosely) defined as science fiction. First prize is a worldwide publishing contract with a £15,000 advance.
Word count: First 10,000 words
Payment: Subject to contract and level of prize
Deadline: 9 September 2022
https://www.faber.co.uk/journal/imagined-futures-prize/