9 Submission Opportunities Due by November 1st.

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 30^th November and Dance, When They Want You to Cower, a fiction anthology with queer protagonists, deadline 15^th 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.