April Market Report

Welcome to the April Market Report for SF/F.

Deadlines and Closures to Note:

Alfa Eridiani (Spain) has ceased publication.

Gypsy Shadow Publishing, Unlikely Story, and Urban Fantasy Magazine are closed to new submissions until further notice.

Hyperpulp (Brazil) has not released an issue since 2012.

Intercom-SF (Italy) is currently not publishing.

Jupiter Gardens Press is closed to outside submissions.

The editor of Nowa Fantastyka (Poland) is no longer interested in receiving submissions.

Kosmoport (Russia) is reportedly dead.

Mirror World Publishing is closed to submissions until Fall 2016 (tentative date).

#

Magazine/Webzine News:

Patreon-back prozine Fireside Fiction will close to submissions April 30, 2016. Guest editor, Daniel José Older.

Looking for original, unpublished flash fiction (1,000 words or less) and original, unpublished short stories up to 5,000 words. No unsolicited art, novels, novellas, novelettes, or anything else longer than 5,000 words. “If you submit a novel or anything way over the word count limits, we’ll probably blacklist you…(Note: [Patreon b]ackers do not receive preferential consideration.)”

Fireside pays 12.5 cents/word on completion of edits for first world publication rights and six-month exclusivity plus a one-time, non-exclusive anthology reprint tight.

“We are aiming to respond to all stories by May 31. Please do not query about a submission before May 31. After May 31, you can email editor Brian White at brian at firesidefiction dot com to query. (Please do NOT send submissions here. Any stories sent to this address will be deleted unread.)

“To submit, visit our submissions site.”

#

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the editor of the People of Colo(u)r Destroy Horror issue of Nightmare Magazine. This special issue pays 8 cents/word. The guidelines are here. Ms. Moreno-Garcia has provided additional information about what she’s looking for.

Submissions for this special issue close at 11:59 p.m. ET on May 15, 2016.

#

Anthology News:

New deadline and updated writer’s guidelines for Intimate the Nature of the Phantasms: Queering the Cthulhu Mythos:

Author and Editor Scott David Aniolowski is currently reading for his latest anthology, Intimate the Nature of the Phantasms: Queering the Cthulhu Mythos, a collection of Cthulhu Mythos tales told from an LGBT point of view, for Lethe Press.

H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos has become a genre unto itself, with tales spanning every conceivable setting: gothic horror, splatterpunk, cyberpunk, steampunk, sci fi, dreamy, Gaslight horror, avant-garde, experimental, erotica, fantasy, sword and sorcery, historic, and anything else imaginable, and more! Similarly, submissions for this anthology are open to any and all settings and genres, but told with a LGBT sense of self. What does that mean? You tell me. It does not mean, necessarily, strictly sex. If your tale is an erotic tale fine, but don’t feel compelled to include sex just to satisfy the theme; there is so much more to the LGBT community!

The one firm rule for submissions is that they must be Cthulhu Mythos stories. Please do not feel obliged to slavishly mimic Lovecraft or use just his creations. There are dozens of other wonderful authors and hundreds of stories from which to choose gods, monsters, blasphemous books and haunted settings: Ramsey Campbell’s work is wonderfully British and full of urban decay and sci fi themes; Clark Ashton Smith’s milieu is very dreamy and exotic; Robert E. Howard is known for his pulpy action and sword and sorcery tales, etc. And there are so many more great authors to inspire, or devise your own dark gods, unspeakable horrors, and sanity-sapping tomes.

Seeking works up to 6,000 words. Tell me the story you need to tell but don’t bloat it out just for word count – if your story is only 2,500 words that’s okay; I’m looking for a nice mix of shorter and longer tales to fill the book. Submissions longer than 6k considered, but please query first.

Deadline: May 1, 2016. [New deadline.]

Payment: 3 cents/word and 2 copies of the book.

Submit to: sdaniolowski at gmail dot com.

Formatting: Very important. If you do not submit your story formatted as requested it will be automatically rejected without being read.

Single spacing between lines, double spacing between paragraphs – no indenting.

No double spaces after periods.
Leave italicized as italicized; do not underline to show italics.

No page formatting such as header or footers, page numbering, etc.

Put the story title and your name on the first page only.

Three asterisks (***) between scene breaks as needed.

Submit as .doc or .rtf file.

Include name and story title in subject line of submittal email.

I look forward to reading your story!

#

Sanguine Press is currently open for submissions to our first anthology, Transitions & Awakenings.

Deadline: June 30, 2016

Theme: I Regret Nothing

Too many characters spend their time brooding about the past, whether it’s missed opportunities or mistakes that led to misfortune down the line. For our first anthology, we want your stories with at least one character who has no regrets – either for a specific moment, or in general. Your story must feature a predominantly POC cast to be considered.

Genres: Sci-fi, Fantasy, or Horror (no poetry, please).

Story Length: For this anthology, we’re looking for original, short fiction up to 10,000 words. While we’ll read a piece that’s slightly longer, we will absolutely not consider any story over 12,000 words. Your story must be complete within the stated word count – no serials or other multi-part pieces.

Pay: We pay .10/word for the first 1,000 words, .05/word for the next 5,000 words and .03/word after that.

We solemnly swear we will respond to you whether your work is accepted or not, but please give us at least 2 (two) months to read and get back to you. If you haven’t heard from us by then, by all means, send us a note to see what’s up. We know that’s a long time to wait, and we thank you for being so patient with us!

Click here to submit.

#

Lethe Press anthologies seeking original and/or reprint fiction and paying varying rates ($25/story-3 cents/word) – Gents: Steamy Stories from the Age of Steam, A Scandal In Gomorrah, Survivor, and TranscendentGuidelines here.

#

Editor Alex Shvartsman reports Unidentified Funny Objects 5 is currently open to funny science fiction & fantasy stories (500-5000 words firm). They pay 7 cents/word + a contributor’s copy and are a SFWA-qualifying venue.

The full guidelines and FAQ here.  and the Kickstarter information here.

Deadline: April 30, 2016.

•••

Cynthia Ward has published stories in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Witches: Wicked, Wild & Wonderful (Prime Books), Weird Tales, and elsewhere. She edited the anthologies Lost Trails: Forgotten Tales of the Weird West: Volumes One and Two (WolfSinger Publications). With Nisi Shawl, she coauthored the diversity fiction-writing handbook Writing the Other: A Practical Approach (Aqueduct Press). If you’re looking for more spec-fic market news, Cynthia publishes the monthly Market Maven e’newsletter.  A sample issue is available.