All nine of these submission opportunities are due on 10/31 or 11/1.
1) Black Hare Press: Dark Moments
– Irish/Celtic Myths
Black Hare Press publishes horror and dark speculative fiction; they run a
themed monthly drabble challenge, titled Dark Moments, each month. For July,
the theme is Ghost Ships: “we invite you to board the haunted decks of ghost
ships lost to time and storm. Picture spectral vessels adrift in swirling ocean
mist, crewed by the damned and desperate to lure the living into their eternal
voyage. Give us your best 100-word tales—microfiction dripping with maritime
dread, haunted crews, cursed treasures, or phantom calls echoing across
midnight waves. Whether your ship is a tattered wreck or a vanished luxury
liner, let your imagination drift into the unknown. All genres welcome, as
long as your story captures the chilling spirit of the theme.” Submissions have
to be exactly 100 words. They will publish 12 stories in August, from this open
call.
Deadline: October 31 2025
Length: 100 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.04/word
Details here.
2) Cloaked Press: Spring into
SciFi Anthology
This is an annual anthology and they want all sub-genres of science fiction.
“Spring Into SciFi” will contain stories of Space Exploration, Advanced
Technology, AI, Cloning, Robotics and of course, Aliens. We are seeking fresh
faces as well as seasoned Science Fiction pros for this yearly anthology.”
Deadline: 31 October 2025
Length: 2,500-9,000 words
Pay: $15 or a contributor copy
Details here.
3) DMR Books: Walpurgis
Witcheries Anthology
Walpurgis Witcheries is a fiction anthology, a companion to their Samhain
Sorceries anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Like
Samhain, Walpurgisnacht is a time when the veil between
worlds is at its thinnest. Witches gather at Mount Brocken to celebrate the
coming of the spring and to ward off evil spirits. A perfect backdrop for
sword-and-sorcery tales!
For clarification, sword-and-sorcery is a genre that combines swashbuckling
adventure with supernatural elements (usually of a horrific nature) in a
pre-industrial setting. Some of the best-known characters of the genre are
Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Cimmerian, Michael Moorcock’s Elric, and Fritz
Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. … Due to the specific theme of the
anthology, stories submitted for Walpurgis Witcheries must be
set in Central Europe, and Walpurgis must be integral to the plot.”
Deadline: 31 October 2025
Length: 4,000-8,000 words
Pay: $0,01/word, up to $80
Details here.
4) Inkd Publishing: Rebels
This is a speculative
fiction anthology. “Rebels – Rage against the machine, storm the
castle, the space alliance against the hegemony, hackers against the oligarchy,
or however you envision it.”
Deadline: 31 October 2025
Length: 2,000-8,000 words
Pay: Minimum $10 (see guidelines)
Details here (scroll down).
(Inkd Publishing is open for other themed calls too – Phantom Dusk,
deadline 30th November and Dance, When They Want You to
Cower, a fiction anthology with queer protagonists, deadline 15th December
– details here.)
5) Cupid’s Arrow Publishing:
Dalliances Anthology – Swashes and Buckles
Cupid’s Arrow Publishing
accepts stories for themed romance anthologies. For the Swashes and Buckles
anthology, “We are looking for lusty tales that take place upon the seven
seas—and if they involve pirates, even better!” They do not want erotica. Submission
is via a form on their website.
Deadline: 31 October 2025 (extended)
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here
(See their other calls, which are open until filled, on this page.)
6) ALUMINUM CROWN SHORT
STORY CONTEST
https://www.chokeandstroke.com/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 31, 2025. In the year 2101, due to
environmental changes, the Melbourne CBD will be enclosed in a cube: the
Central Business Cube, the CBC. We are looking for stories based around this
speculative event in the future of Australia. We are asking you to think inside
the box. Open to Australian and international writers. Word length between
1000-5000 words. Stories cannot be published elsewhere (including
blogs/Facebook etc). 1st place: $300 (AU), 2nd place: $150 (AU), 3rd place: $50
(AU). (NOTE: $300 Australian is $200 USD)
7) The First Line Journal
They want fiction (any genre) and poetry
that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue (they
primarily want fiction, and also accept some poetry). For nonfiction, they want
critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For
fiction and poetry, the first line for the Winter issue is:
‘When anyone in town needed help, they contacted Rocky Germain.’
Deadline: 1 November 2025 for the Winter issue
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee
for international contributors – see guidelines)
Details here.
8) Utopia Science Fiction: Alien Celebrations
They publish utopian science fiction,
poetry, nonfiction, and art. They have detailed guidelines, please read them
carefully. Their next upcoming theme is Alien Celebrations – “Bring us tales of
celebrations from the far reaches of the galaxy!” This is also their Art
special issue (see guidelines).
Deadline: 1 November 2025
Length: 100-4,000 words preferred for fiction, up to 6,000 words for
nonfiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $30 for nonfiction, $30 per poem
Details here.
(Utopia Science Fiction has other themes listed too, with later deadlines; see
guidelines.)
9) Full Bleed: Inheritance
Full Bleed is an annual print and online journal devoted to the
intersection of the visual and literary arts. They have detailed guidelines for
the Inheritance theme, including, “We are especially interested in innovative
projects combining word, image, and design; collaborations between writers and
artists; ekphrastic creations; and ambitious critical essays.
Inheritances take on many forms: wealth, land, keepsakes, genetic material,
artifacts, entire archives. We can also be said to inherit ideas and aesthetic
traditions, political conflict, inequities, trauma, ecologies, or systems of
belief. An inheritance may be a blessing or a curse. It can be life-changing
and marked by turmoil or escape notice entirely. In some cases, a rightful
inheritance can be forsaken, destroyed, or stolen, leaving future generations
deprived of access to or understanding of the past. Essentially, an inheritance
can be seen as a measure of the past’s ties to the present and future, of the
bonds between generations and disparate peoples. Likewise, acts of
dispossession can sever or disrupt such bonds.” … “We will consider critical
essays, creative nonfiction, poetry, short stories, visual art, and hybrid,
genre-bending works.”
Deadline: 1 November 2025
Length: Up to 4,000 words for prose; up to 3 poems
Pay: $25-50
Details here and here.
