It's the last week of October and while many of you will be celebrating Halloween or Dia de los Muertos, others are preparing for NaNoWriMo and/or the next step.
No matter where you are in your planning, writing, or publishing journey, I thought you might be in need of some inspiration and advice.
Interview With a Gatekeeper: Riverheads Rebecca Saletan
Ask the Editor: An Interview With Sarah Cantin of St. Martins Press
How about you? What is your next step?
1. Undertaker Books: Winter Horrorland Anthology - This is a fiction anthology. “We’re looking for horror stories of all subgenres that take place in winter. Please note that we are not looking for holiday-themed stories, and they will be a hard sell.”
Deadline: 15 October 2024
Length: 1,500-4,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.
2. Shooter Literary Magazine: Coming of Age - They want submissions on the ‘Coming of Age’ theme. “We’re looking for stories, essays, memoir and poetry on anything to do with the transition to adulthood: first love, hormonal angst, Saturday jobs, brushes with the law, experimentation, gaining independence, losing virginity. Literary reflections on books that made an impact during late adolescence would make particularly welcome essays. Tales of college and first steps on the career ladder are also relevant.”
Deadline: 20 October 2024
Length: 2,000-6,000 words for short prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: £25 for short prose, and £5 for flash prose and poetry
Details here.
3. Smoking Pen Press: Time Travel - They want fiction for their Read on the Run anthology series, and the theme is Time Travel. “We welcome stories involving all types and aspects of time travel, and we are open to all genres – Sci-Fi, Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure.”
Deadline: 21 October 2024
Length: 1,200-6,000 words
Pay: $20 or paperback copies (see guidelines)
Details here.
4. Eye Contact Award in Genre Flash Fiction - This is a prize for genre flash fiction by Eye Contact Magazine; for this cycle, they want a romance story of up to 1,000 words. The prize is sponsored by Seton Hill University and its MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. Value: “a cash prize (or gift card equivalent) of $250” Deadline: 25 October 2024 Open for: Unspecified, Details here.
5. Flame Tree Publishing Anthologies - They have periodic announcements for speculative fiction anthologies on their blog. Currently, they are open for — Were Wolf Short Stories – “We are seeking stories about werewolves, shapeshifting humans, rivalries and alliances between vampyr and werewolves. The word werewolf goes back more than a thousand years, coming directly from the Old English wer, meaning Man, and wolf. Also of interest is folklore and mythology which plays on such legends as Fenrir (born of Loki) defeating Odin at Ragnarök, and early Slavic myths and rituals in which were wolf skins are removed and stolen. Stories can explore wolves which might have been human, changing by choice at the howl of the moon, or people cursed and damned to be wolves for all time. Is that why the lone wolf is alone? The wolfish grin is a little shy? Is that why we wolf down our food? Is there a wolf inside us all? In the forests around us? Hunting us, haunting us, protecting itself and its kind.” Length: 2,000-4,000 words, Pay: $0.08/word, due Oct. 27 - Details here.
6. Worldstone Publishing: Summer of Sci-Fi & Fantasy - They want science fiction and fantasy stories for this annual anthology.Deadline: 31 October 2024, Length: 1,500-7,500 words, Pay: $0.005/word; more if Kickstarter is funded, Details here.
7. Rebellionlit: Three x The Fun - They want stories in all genres. While there is no theme, they do want stories that rebel in some way. They accept flash and short stories. They only want stories from writers with a US mailing address.
Deadline: 31 October 2024
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: 1.5 c/word
Details here.
8. Black Beacon Books: Steampunk Sleuths - This is a fiction anthology. “The genre of mystery is designed to get the cogs cranking, but let’s not forget that steampunk is all about cogs too! Why not bring them together? Steampunk Sleuths will be an anthology of four novelettes (15 – 20,000 words) featuring detectives in a steampunk setting solving peculiar crimes. The only requirements for submission will be that the means of committing the crime (murder, theft, kidnapping…) must be clearly steampunk and the reader must be given the tools to crack the case before the solution is revealed.”
Deadline: 31 October 2024
Length: See above
Pay: $50
Details here.
9. Whisper House Press: Dread Mondays - This is a workplace horror anthology. They have an extended submission window for writers of marginalized groups.
Deadline: 31 October for all writers, 30 November 2024 for historically marginalized writers
Length: Up to 4,000 words (prefer up to 3,000 words)
Pay: is $0.06/word
Details here.
| 1. | Denise Covey | 5. | Nilanjana Bose | 9. | Pat Garcia | |
| 2. | Renee Poem 1 | 6. | C. Lee McKenzie | 10. | Beth Camp | |
| 3. | Renee Poem 2 | 7. | J Lenni Dorner | 11. | Christopher Scott | |
| 4. | Roland Yeomans | 8. | Sonia Dogra | 12. | DONNA HOLE |
Welcome to the October 2024 Special Challenge
for WEP - Write...Edit...Publish
October Horrorfest!
Hi, Denise here, announcing WEP is back to offer a flash fiction challenge for October. We didn't want to miss our Thrillfest month.
This is the Horrorfest Challenge in which we ramp up the spook factor, welcoming your creepiest compositions, your most haunting and haunted tales running the gamut of paranormal, speculative, crime and horror genre. However, as always, there are no rigid rules. Feel free to write to any genre if those mentioned are not your thing.
Meanwhile, we've had bi-monthly meet ups here, where we reported on what we've achieved and some of you dropped us a comment and link to give us your news. I want to thank the WEP team for writing my entry when I couldn't face opening my laptop.
The team was devastated with the loss of two of our original members, Sally Stackhouse after a struggle with liver cancer (her combined prose and poems will be sadly missed) and Nancy Williams who was finding much joy in writing as she battled health problems. RIP, ladies. We love and miss you.
There is a tribute page to Sally here:
https://sallystackhouse.muchloved.com/
Post your entries to the Linkup from October 1 to 16, 2024
Remember to add a tagline which should take us to the heart of your story:
"A tagline is more like a catchphrase that conveys a feeling or a promise about the story. A tagline should be catchy, genre-focused, and intriguing."
We'd love it if you'd Tweet or post to FB or any social media site where you network! If you avoid social media, we totally get you.
WEP #writingprompt October 2024s "HORRORFEST" @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2024/10/wep-halloween-flash-fiction-special.html Sign up & post-October 1-16! #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry #nonfiction
Let's write for the October 2024 "HORRORFEST"@DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @SoniaDogra16@jemifraserhttps://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2024/10/wep-halloween-flash-fiction-special.html Sign up & post your entry October 1-16! #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction
Join WEP @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser for the Special Challenge of 2024, "HORRORFEST" Sign up and post your entry October 1-16. https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2024/10/wep-halloween-flash-fiction-special.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction.
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Wishing you an amazing October.
Bring on the entries!
Who knows? Perhaps we'll see you in December! For more information, visit: Write...Edit...Publish -- Online Writing Community (writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com)
Now, IWSG hosts have changed up the format in an effort to make it more fun and interactive. Every month, they will announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Don’t forget to visit others that day to see their answers. Want to join, or learn more? Visit our - Sign-up List.
OCTOBER Question - Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What's your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine.
MY ANSWER - It's difficult to pick just one. The Haunting of Hill House and A Christmas Carol are the first two that come to mind. When you read either one, they just stay with you. At least that has been my experience. A good book always stays with you for a while. However, these two have hung in my mind for years.
What about you? What's your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine.
