Authortunities #33 Nov. 4—Dec. 2
❗ KDP "invitation only" inhouse audio book beta ➕ new Sherlock Holmes drops ➕ FREE Space and Time #14 from February 1972 〓 100 author opportunities for you!
Invite-Only KDP Beta for Audiobooks
Amazon just announced “an invitation-only U.S. beta” so KDP authors can create audiobooks with just a few clicks “using virtual voice narration, a synthetic speech technology.” Audiobooks sell, but to produce an audiobook is time intensive and expensive. Is this something you will sign up to try? Here’s the link to apply.
🔗 https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/article/Invite-Only-KDP-Beta-for-Audiobooks?language=en_US
Speaking of AI (aka “synthetic speech technology” 😂), most of my readers are taking a wait and see approach to AI. That’s my approach too. So far AI has quite a few uses as a productivity tool but ultimately time will tell how it will affect us. Thanks to everyone who took time to vote!
Next question❓
In other news, Sherlock Holmes and The Arcana of Madness: A Horror Mystery from Crystal Lake Entertainment just released! Featuring a story from myself, and Sherlock aficionados Naching T. Kassa and John Linwood Grant, it’s three adjacent tales involving Holmes, Watson and “the mystical allure of tarot cards, designed by the renowned, yet infamous artist, Richard Dadd.”
On Amazon 🔗https://amzn.to/40lc9n7
🚀📦While you’re there, be sure to collect your free issue of Space and Time magazine! This week’s issue is #14 from February 1972 and will be free from Sunday, November 5, 2023, 12:00 AM PDT to Thursday, November 9, 2023, 11:59 PM PST.
This is a win for all of us. When you read for free you support the magazine with your Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count (KENPC). That’s money in our pocket that didn’t come from yours. As always, reviews and shares are welcome.
Read for free: 🔗https://amzn.to/3u0x16S
❗❗❗ Have you had work published in Space and Time at anytime? I’d love to share what you’re doing now.
Send me a message at authortunities@substack.com.
I have another message from reader Laura Kester Duerrwaechter up on my blog today. She traveled back to her high school (class of '74) and donated a copy of each of her books to the next generation of poets and readers. She shares an empowering message of things we can do as authors to make the world around us better.
You can read it here 🔗 https://angelaysmith.com/2023/11/authortunities-33-nov-4-dec-2/
❓Ever wonder where I gather the information for my calendar? I have some great sources and they all deserve credit. My awesome assistant Lenoff and I keep an eye on them all week looking for new opportunities. If you prefer to go to the source, I keep a list at 🔗https://angelaysmith.com/subscribe/
🧡And that’s it from me this week. Enjoy this week’s Authortunities and go write something that matters… because why not?
Organized by emoji! Ctrl F to find what you want.
In this entire calendar share you will find:
21 newly opened submissions 🟢
54 submission deadlines 🔴
1 events for authors ⭐
8 reprint markets ♻️
14 award 🏆
Send comments, items, Signal Boosts+ to 🆕authortunities@substack.com
🔴 NOV 5 · Planet Scumm closes submissions for “Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, sci-fi that melts in your mouth-brain not your hand-brain” of no more than 5,000 words words. Payment is $0.06 per word.
🔗https://www.planetscumm.space/submit
🔴 NOV 5 · Cave Canem invites chapbook-length manuscripts by Black poets for the Derricotte/Eady Prize. The winner receives a $1,000 award, publication, 10 chapbook copies, a residency at The Writer’s Room, and a featured reading at the O, Miami Poetry Festival in April. The deadline is November 5, 2023.
🔴 NOV 5 · Speckled Trout Review is currently open for submissions with the theme "For the Ages" for their Fall 2023 (5.2) print issue. They seek up to 4 poems via email. Please note that attachments will not be read. Speckled Trout Review does not publish poems with overtly political messages. Specific submission guidelines are available at
🔗speckledtroutreview.com/2019/08/04/welcome-to-my-blog/
🟢 NOV 6 · The Fabulist Flash is an exciting flash-fiction project from The Fabulist Words & Art. They are actively seeking fantastical and speculative writings, with a maximum word count of 1,000 words. Upon contracted acceptance, they offer a flat fee of $100 for stories, equivalent to an SFWA-qualifying rate of $0.10 per word. The submission window for stories of up to 1,000 words is open from November 6 to November 12, 2023. Don't miss this opportunity!
🔗https://fabulistmagazine.com/about/submissions/
🔴 NOV 7 · Sand Hills literary magazine, in print since 1973, is now open for submissions for a special online Fall issue with the theme of the fantastical, unusual, and macabre. They welcome speculative, thrilling, eerie, gothic, supernatural, or anything in between. Both emerging and established writers and artists are encouraged to submit. The deadline is November 7, 2023. Get creative and submit your prose, poetry, and art at
🔴 NOV 10 · Rattle Magazine’s “Poets Respond” challenge calls for poems inspired by “ a news story or public event from the previous week, and has been written in the time since.” Selected poems will appear as the Sunday poem at Rattle.com which appears to over 10,000 people via RSS feed and daily email service. Poets will receive $100 and a complimentary subscription to the print magazine. The deadline for each week is Friday at midnight PST.
🔗https://rattle.submittable.com/submit
🔴♻️ NOV 11· The Other Stories Podcast is in search of 2,000 word speculative fiction on the theme of “Infestation” for a $15 GBP flat rate on November 11.
🔗https://theotherstories.net/submissions/
🔴 NOV 11 · Book XI is open to various genres, including personal essays, memoir, fiction, science fiction, humor, and poetry, as long as they incorporate philosophical themes. They offer compensation of $200 for prose and $50 for poetry. Book XI seeks previously unpublished creative work that is informed by philosophy, with a broad interpretation of "philosophically informed." Submissions should consist of one prose manuscript or up to five poems in a single document. Use Submittable for all submissions, and there is no submission fee. The deadline is November 11, 2023, with a cap of 200 submissions before closing. To learn more and submit, visit
🔗https://www.bookxi.org/submit
🔴 NOV 11 · The Other Stories (Audio) is looking for chilling tales that can terrify, scar, and haunt its audience of over 150,000 monthly listeners. If you have the spine-tingling stories they seek, they'll have their skilled narration team bring them to life. With their editor's touch, your story could reach thousands of listeners weekly. The genre focus is horror with the theme for this volume being "Infestation." Accepted submissions receive 15 GBT in payment. The deadline for submissions is November 11, 2023. For more details and to explore themes, visit
🔗https://theotherstories.net/submissions.
🔴 NOV 12 · Empyreal Tree Magazine specializes in speculative fiction, giving priority to character-focused stories across various genres. They welcome works ranging from regal or dark fantasy to tales of magic in urban settings and stories pushing the limits of science and technology. This publication aims to provide a home for genre fiction. Contributors are offered $25 in payment, and the deadline for submissions is November 12, 2023. Explore themes and more at
🔗https://empyreantree.com/rules-for-submission.
🔴 NOV 12 · Ornithopter Press is open to full-length poetry manuscript submissions, specifically in PDF format. They recommend manuscripts that range from 70 to 100 pages. During a reading period, please submit only one manuscript. While individual poems or text passages within the manuscript may have been previously published in various outlets, the manuscript as a whole should be a new, unpublished work. Compensation is based on royalties. The deadline for submissions is November 12, 2023. For additional information and submission guidelines, visit
🔗https://www.ornithopterpress.com/submissions.html
🟢 NOV 13 · The Stinging Fly publishes new, previously unpublished work by Irish and international writers with a particular interest in promoting new voices and the short story form. Each issue features a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They also welcome submissions of poetry and prose in translation. For accepted work, they offer compensation of €30 per magazine page for fiction and nonfiction, €50 per poem, and €250 for Featured Poets. Submissions open on November 13, 2023, and the deadline for your contributions is November 28, 2023. For detailed submission guidelines, visit
🔗https://stingingfly.org/submissions/
🔴 NOV 14 · Apparition Lit’s Reality Show Madness Flash Fiction Prompt closes to submissions of speculative flash fiction (under 1k words) prompted by “Do your worst month (Canada’s Worst Handyman, America’s Ugliest House, Nailed It)” until the 14th. Payment is $30 USD. 🔗https://apparitionlit.com/submissions/
🟢 NOV 15 · Apparition Lit is a speculative fiction magazine that publishes themed issues four times a year, this volume’s entry is “BLIGHT.” They are open to unpublished speculative fiction stories and specific poems. If you're a speculative fiction writer, you can submit your work to Apparition Lit, submission periods are extended by a week for BIPOC creators only. For submission details and guidelines, visit 🔗https://apparitionlit.com/submissions/
🔴🏆 NOV 15 · Perugia Press Prize: Perugia Press seeks to empower women poets through its annual prize. The award comprises $2,000, publication by Perugia Press, and 10 author copies. Poets identifying as women with a first or second poetry collection can submit manuscripts of 45 to 85 pages. The entry fee is $30, which includes a Perugia Press title, or $15 for the reduced rate. BIWOC poets are exempt from the entry fee. The deadline is November 15. For comprehensive guidelines and online submission, please visit
🔴🏆 NOV 15 · The Pushcart Press Editors’ Book Award offers $1,000 and recognizes worthy manuscripts that have been overlooked by commercial publishers. Eligible submissions include fiction or nonfiction manuscripts. These manuscripts must be nominated by an editor at a U.S. or Canadian publishing company, accompanied by a formal letter of nomination. The deadline for submissions is November 15, and there is no entry fee. For detailed guidelines, please visit
🔴🏆 NOV 15 · The Story Prize awards a significant $20,000 annually for a story collection written in English and first published in the United States during the current year. The prize also includes $5,000 for two runners-up and the $1,000 Story Prize Spotlight Award. To be eligible, books published between July 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, can be submitted by publishers, authors, or agents. The entry fee is $75 for two copies of a book, with one allowed to be an electronic copy. The deadline for submissions is November 15. For necessary forms and comprehensive guidelines, please visit 🔗http://thestoryprize.org
🔴 NOV 15 · evOke is closed to "art and music" themed submissions of artwork, poetry, short fiction, essays, interviews, lifestyle and reviews on things "Pagan, polytheist, and witchy." Also interested in video and audio content. Payment is $5.
🔗https://ev0kepublication.com/contributors/
🔴 NOV 15 · Songs of Eretz Poetry Review seeks winter solstice poems for their winter issue for “a semi-professional rate of seven dollars per poem.”
🔗http://www.songsoferetz.com/p/poetry-and-artwork-guidelines.html
🟢♻️ NOV 15 · Samovar, published by Strange Horizons, seeks speculative fiction, review-essays, poetry, interview/conversations, and reprints in translation. Payment for fiction is 8 US cents per word to the author, and 8 US cents per word to the translator. Payment for reprints is a flat $100 USD to the author and $100 USD to the translator. Payments for poetry are $40 USD to the author and $40 USD to the translator. Payment for interview/conversations is $40 USD to each participant. Payment for review-essays is $40 USD.
🔗http://samovar.strangehorizons.com/submit/
🟢 NOV 15 · The Fine Arts Work Center offers annual Writing Fellowships, providing a seven-month residency in Provincetown, Massachusetts, to four poets and four fiction writers who haven't published a full-length book in any genre. Each fellowship encompasses a private apartment, a monthly stipend of $1,250, and an exit stipend of $1,000. If you wish to start your fellowship in October 2024, submit your work online by November 15 with a $40 entry fee. Submissions are also accepted with a $55 entry fee from noon on November 15 to before noon on December 1, and from noon on December 1 to December 15 with a $65 entry fee. The submission should include up to 15 pages of poetry or 35 pages of fiction (including a synopsis for novels), a personal statement, and the required entry form. For detailed guidelines, please visit
🔴 NOV 15 · Swim Meet Lit Mag is currently seeking poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction (such as memoir and personal essays), visual art, and photography submissions. They encourage you to send them hybrid work that stretches the boundaries of creativity and that you'd be proud to see published. Compensation for Australian writers is $30 AUD per poem and visual art piece, and $50 AUD for prose and cover art. Submissions must align with their themes. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2023. For theme details and submission guidelines, visit
🔗https://swimmeetlitmag.com/submit/
🔴 NOV 15 · Bad Day Book is compiling a humorous de-motivational motivational book featuring stories about people's funny bad days. It's the perfect gift for those going through a rough patch or a pick-me-up for your own bad days. The theme for this volume is "On Vacation." They are accepting poetry and prose submissions, and payment ranges from $40 to $75, depending on the length of your contribution. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2023. For more information and to check the themes, please visit
🔗https://thebaddaybook.com/faq/
🔴♻️ NOV 15 · Luna Station Quarterly is dedicated to publishing speculative fiction exclusively from women-identified authors. They believe that women write amazing characters and compelling stories, and they want to showcase it to the world. Luna Station Quarterly welcomes stories from women writers, regardless of their experience or writing background. If you identify as a woman in any significant capacity, your work is welcome here. They are particularly interested in fantasy, science fiction, space opera, new fairy tales (not retellings), stories with a touch of creepiness, tales that explore original worlds, big events from an everyman perspective, unique settings and storytelling forms, and well-written stories with strong characters. This call is exclusively for women writers, and payment is $5. Some reprints are accepted. The submission deadline is November 15, 2023. For more details, please visit
🔗http://lunastationquarterly.com/submissions/
🔴 NOV 15 · Severn River is open for submissions of full-length works in various genres, including Crime Fiction, Legal Thriller, Mystery, Military Thriller, Historical Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Thriller, Science Fiction, Dystopian, and Young Adult works within these accepted genres. While the provided information doesn't specify payment details, Severn River offers royalties. The submission deadline is November 15, 2023. For more information, visit
🔗https://severnriverbooks.com/pages/submissions
🔴 NOV 15 · Two For the Show is looking for fiction submissions in all genres. They are particularly interested in English language stories that rebel in some way. You can submit super short stories (1,500 words or less) or short stories (1,500 – 10,000 words). Please note that this opportunity is open to writers in the United States. Accepted submissions will be paid at a rate of 1.5 cents per word. The submission deadline is November 15, 2023. For more details and to submit your work, visit
🔗https://rebellionlit.com/anthology-two-for-the-show/
🔴 NOV 15 · The Lorelei Signal, a quarterly electronic magazine, is dedicated to SF/Fantasy stories that feature strong and complex female characters. They are particularly interested in works that depict women in roles beyond the traditional shrinking violets or damsels in distress. While your female character doesn't have to be the main hero or villain, they should be robust and contribute significantly to the story. The call is open for Fantasy short stories, flash fiction, and poetry, and they offer a payment of $15 for short stories, $5 for poems and flash fiction pieces under 1000 words, and $5 for reprints. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2023, and they also accept reprints. For more information and to submit your work, visit
🔗https://www.loreleisignal.com/Guidelines.html
🔴🏆 NOV 15 · Yale University Press Younger Poets Prize: Yale University Press offers the Younger Poets Prize, providing a $1,000 award, publication, and a writing fellowship at the James Merrill House in Stonington, Connecticut, to poets residing in the United States who have not published a full-length poetry book. The manuscript should be 48 to 64 pages. To enter, submit your manuscript with a $25 entry fee by November 15. For comprehensive guidelines, visit
🔗http://youngerpoets.yupnet.org
🔴🏆 NOV 15 · The Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition awards a $3,000 prize along with travel and lodging expenses for the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference to the winner of the best short short story. A $1,500 second-place prize is also granted, and both winning stories will be published in Writer’s Digest. Submit your story, up to 1,500 words, with a $30 entry fee by November 15, or with a $35 entry fee by December 15 using the online submission system. For detailed guidelines, please visit
🔗http://writersdigest.com/writer
🔴🏆 NOV 15 · The Commonwealth Club of California presents the California Book Awards, offering five prizes of $5,000 each annually for outstanding works in poetry, fiction, first fiction, creative nonfiction, and nonfiction that relate to California. Additionally, there are three more prizes of up to $2,500 in the fiction, first fiction, and nonfiction categories. Books written by California residents published in 2023 are eligible. Publishers can submit six copies of eligible books by November 15, and there is no entry fee. For the required entry form and complete guidelines, visit
🔗http://commonwealthclub.org/events/california-book-awards
🔴🏆 NOV 15 · The National Federation of State Poetry Societies sponsors the Barbara Stevens Poetry Book Manuscript Competition, awarding a $1,000 prize, publication by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies Press, and 50 author copies, along with an invitation to read at the National Federation of State Poetry Societies convention with a $300 travel stipend. The competition welcomes poetry collections of 48 to 80 pages. Edward Hirsch will judge. Submit your manuscript with a $25 entry fee ($20 for NFSPS members) by November 15. Find complete guidelines at
🔗http://nfsps.com/stevens1.html.
🔴🏆 NOV 15 · Nightboat Books annually offers up to four Poetry Prizes, each granting $1,000 and publication. The contest is open for poetry collections. The editors will serve as judges. Using the online submission system, submit your manuscript, ranging from 48 to 90 pages, with a $28 entry fee by November 15. Detailed guidelines are available at
🔗http://nightboat.org/poetry-prize
🔴🏆 NOV 15 · The Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival awards an annual Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize of $500 and publication on the festival's website for a nonfiction work set in Brooklyn, New York, that portrays the borough’s unique character through the author's experiences. Submit an essay of up to 2,500 words by November 15. There is no entry fee. For full guidelines, please visit
🔴 NOV 16 · ellipsis… literature & art is open for English submissions of poetry, accepting up to 5 poems per submitter per year. When submitting, please title each poem, combine all poems into a single document with your name and contact information, and use a 12 pt. font (page breaks at the end of poems are helpful). They also accept short fiction, drama, and creative non-fiction. For prose, they offer a payment of $3 per page, and for poetry, the payment is $10. However, please note that payments are only available for American writers. The submission deadline is November 16, 2023. For detailed guidelines and to submit your work, visit
🔗https://ellipsis.submittable.com/submit
🔴🏆 NOV 17 · The Community of Literary Magazines & Presses presents the Firecracker Awards annually. These awards include three prizes of $2,000 each for a book of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction published by an independent press in the current year. Translations and graphic novels are eligible. Using the online submission system, publishers can submit books of poetry or prose published in 2023. The entry fee is $65 ($55 for CLMP members) for the first entry and $30 ($25 for CLMP members) for each additional entry. Submissions are accepted until November 17. Find complete guidelines at
🔗http://clmp.org/programs-opportunities/firecracker.
🔴 NOV 17 · Rattle Magazine’s “Poets Respond” challenge calls for poems inspired by “ a news story or public event from the previous week, and has been written in the time since.” Selected poems will appear as the Sunday poem at Rattle.com which appear to over 10,000 people via RSS feed and daily email service. Poets will receive $100 and a complimentary subscription to the print magazine. The deadline for each week is Friday at midnight PST.
🔗https://rattle.submittable.com/submit
🔴 NOV 18 · Flora & Fungi is seeking horror stories with a maximum length of 4000 words. Please note that they do not consider previously published works, and if your submission is accepted, Horns and Rattles Press will claim First North American Publication Rights. . They also accept simultaneous submissions. Submissions should adhere to a 4000-word limit, and standard Shunn manuscript formatting is preferred. If your work is accepted, you will receive one copy of the book, and Horns and Rattles Press will cover shipping fees up to $20. Additionally, all contributors will be paid a one-time flat fee of $20 per accepted submission, with payments sent via PayPal. The submission deadline is November 18, 2023. For more details and to submit your work, visit 🔗https://www.hornsandrattlespress.com/submit
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