Space and Time Subs are OPEN - 157 Subs in Three Days
Authortunities #97 │January 18 — February 15
Space and Time submissions are open until January 31. Since we opened 3 days ago we have 157 submissions of poetry and prose. Someone just asked me what tends to make it through our slush. Here was my answer:
“We tend to go for the thought provoking stories that comment on our human flaws with solutions to fix things.” This is just my observation. We have a team of First Readers and a team of Final Readers to keep the publisher from picking too much horror. 😂 Scroll down to the start of the calendar section.
In other news, Fantasy Magazine has officially returned with a new publisher! Co-Editors-in-Chief Arley Sorg and Shingai Njeri Kagunda will curate a wonderful selection of short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, and more in quarterly issues for publisher Psychopomp. The first issue is scheduled for June 2025 publication. Fantasy plans to open to submissions on January 22 (originally February 1 - 7). In the calendar, but here’s a peek at their guidelines now.
🌳What’s in this issue?
I just started reading The Goddess of Loneliness by John Straughn. I recently met him at a book swap at Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) and he seems very nice. Love the cover and the title, and so far, this story has lived up to my expectations. Free on Kindle Unlimited here.
I just became a paying subscriber to Becky Tuch. It’s a book club for lit mags AND you get a chance to meet the editors behind the slush pile. You can find Lit Mag News here.
This Jan. 21 at 8:30 PM EST the HWA Quarterly Town Hall will take place with Umair Kazi of the Authors Guild, speaking followed by a Q&A with Board members. To register or submit your questions for the board, visit your members-only area at horror.org.
Thank you to the
for introducing me to the Substack! Right now Chortle is paying $40 for sharp, humorous posts up to 600 words. Details in the calendar below.Congratulations to Linda D. Addison and Jamal Hodge on their new poetry collection Everything Endless. You can pre-order yours here.
Authortunities may contain affiliate links that might earn a small fee at no extra cost to you. Any comments, questions, compliments or concerns?
My authortunities are organized by emoji! Use your “Ctrl+F” keys to find what you want fast. Video tutorial on how to do this.
🟢 opening subs
🟡 opening/closing subs
🔴 closing subs
⭐ networking
💼 conference
🎤 open mics
🎓 education
♻️ reprints
🏆 awards
💰 grants
🟡 Ongoing · BookLife is open until February 1 for submissions of “self-published romances and nonfiction titles devoted to the topic of relationships” for their Indie Spotlight feature, a thematic roundup of self-published books both online and in print in Publishers Weekly magazine. Each Indie Spotlight is open to all types of books as long as they match the month's topic.
https://booklife.com/about-us/booklife-s-indie-spotlight.html
🟢 JAN 18 · Reedsy Prompts is open until the following Friday for short fiction between 1,000 - 3,000 words based on one of five prompts. Writers have until the following Friday at 11.59 pm EST to enter. No fee to enter and have work posted. $5 fee to be eligible for the $250 cash prize. This week’s prompt is: Journeys from Home with Sohini Ghose 🗺️.
https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
🟢 JAN 18 · Space and Time Magazine is open until January 31 for fiction up to 5k words and poetry in the speculative genre. Payment is .01 per word for fiction prose and $5 per poem.
https://spaceandtime.net/submissions/
🟢 JAN 18 · Chortle on Substack is always open for sharp, original humor up to 600 words. Submit finished pieces to greg@chortle.blog with the word SUBMISSION and the name of the piece in the subject line. Payment is $40. No submission guidelines posted, originally posted on The Freelance Writing Network.
🟢 JAN 18 · Berkeley Fiction Review is always open for “innovative and reflective short fiction from new and emerging writers across all genres.” Payment is $25.
https://berkeleyfictionreview.org/submit/short-fiction/
🟢 JAN 18 · Noncorporeal III: Nightfall is open until January 31 for spooky short fiction between 2,000 to 6,000 words. “We’re searching for the spooky stories. This is not horror, though there may be suspense and even a dash of horror.” Payment is royalty Share of D2D sales.
https://inkdpub.com/submissions/
🟢 JAN 18 · Beach Reads is open until February 28 for romance short fiction between 2,000 to 6,000 words. “We’re searching for the light and fun stories for those longer, warmer days. These might be a slice of life or a simple romance – anything that might bring smiles, and maybe a tear.” Payment is anticipated to be $20 and Royalty Share of D2D sales.
https://inkdpub.com/submissions/
🟢 JAN 18 · Behind the Shadows III: Dark Secrets is open until March 31 for horror short fiction between 2,000 to 7,000 words. “There is no restriction as to how you incorporate the theme into your story as long as the genre falls within Speculative Fiction, including Sci-Fi or Fantasy.” Payment is anticipated to be $20 and Royalty Share of D2D sales.
https://inkdpub.com/submissions/
🟢 JAN 18 · Phantom Worlds: The Cellar Door Issue #6 is open until January 31 for dark fiction “that take place when alternate realities invade our own” from 2-8k words. Payment is $50.
https://www.darkpeninsulapress.com/phantom-worlds-the-cellar-door-issue-6.html
🟢 JAN 18 · Utopia Science Fiction Magazine is open until April 1 for “enthralling stories set in a future we want to believe in, one we would fight to make a reality” from 100-4,000 words and poetry along the same theme. Payment is .08 per word for prose, $25 per poem. Theme: disability pride.
https://www.utopiasciencefiction.com/submit
🟢 JAN 18 · Utopia Science Fiction Magazine is open until June 1 for “enthralling stories set in a future we want to believe in, one we would fight to make a reality” from 100-4,000 words and poetry along the same theme. Payment is .08 per word for prose, $25 per poem. No theme.
https://www.utopiasciencefiction.com/submit
🟢 JAN 18 · This World of Vile Wonder: Horror Tales of the Scientific Revolution is open until February 28 for horror fiction of all subgenres “set between the years 1500 and 1700 ce.” Work should be from 5-10k words. Payment is $75.
🟢 JAN 18 · The Joining: Scenes of Wedding Terror is open until March 1 for horror stories between 2,500 and 5,000 words in length concerning the rite of matrimony. Stories “need not concern only the event itself. They might take place at any time, so long as nuptials are central to the narrative.” Payment is .02 per word.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xVEpj9Mg2JebvkDObUIeVYc9VC-vxlVyxrSn-pqGJ-M/edit?usp=sharing
⭐🎓 JAN 18 · PARSEC, Pittsburgh’s premier Science Fiction & Fantasy Organization, welcomes the public to their monthly meetings held the third Saturday of each month beginning at 12:30 pm EST. Virtual Zoom meetings are available for those unable to attend in person. This month’s speaker will be Maren Cooke of Pittsburgh’s Sustainability Salon.
🎓 JAN 18 · Writing the Occult: The Uncanny Writing the Occult is a boutique series of events brought to you by the Society of Ink Slingers, in partnership with Alex Davis Events. Our approach is to bring together the fiction world with folklore and academia to bring a well-rounded view to a specific area of interest to both speculative fiction writers and those with a hankering for the esoteric. From £38.02. Check the listing for times.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/writing-the-occult-the-uncanny-tickets-1119630497959
🔴 JAN 19 · Witch Craft, a new collection of Folk Tales & Horror Stories from FlameTree Publishing is closing for submissions on the theme of witchcraft, for their Beyond & Within series. Payment is 8 cents/6 pence per word.
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/witch-craft-submissions
⭐🎤 JAN 19 · Rattlecast livestreams, is part interview and open mic with a prompt-based open mic. Hangout with Rattle editor Timothy Green and Katie Dozier. Each Rattlecast begins with an interview, a writing prompt, and poets reading from the last week’s prompt. | Rattlecast at 8 pm EST.
🎓 JAN 21 · Writing with the Soul of Your Book with Laura Thomas Join this immersive workshop about connecting with the soul of your book, overcoming internal barriers, and telling the story you can tell in a way only you can tell it. Through potent content, clarifying exercises, and heartfelt sharing, Laura will guide you in an intimate process of building a relationship with your book that will support you through your whole writing journey–from the beginning to “the end.” Free event. Check the listing for times.
https://writeordiemag.com/workshops/p/writing-with-the-soul
🟢 JAN 22 · Fantasy Magazine is open until January 29 for anonymous submissions of fantasy flash fiction up to 1,500 words, short stories up to 5,000 words and poetry. Payment is 10¢/word for original fiction and $50 for original poetry.
https://psychopomp.com/fantasy-magazine-guidelines/
⭐ JAN 26 · Writers Circle Join this virtual Science Fiction and Fantasy focused writing group sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society to workshop your latest WIP, get feedback from fellow local authors and advice on getting your work sold to professional markets from people who've done it! Every second and fourth Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 pm EST. Virtual meetings take place on Zoom.
https://zoom.us/j/91064908740pwd=TENjZ25HenRNOHhtcHFaRlZnOGE3dz09#success
🔴 JAN 24 · 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 free print magazine subscription. Each week's deadline is Friday midnight PST.
https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/30232/poets-respond-online
🎓 JAN 24 · How Does Literary Talent Get Discovered Today? Ann Kjellberg of Book Post and Jane Friedman will discuss questions raised by the current market environment, which writerly frustrations are new and which are old, and what opportunities and practices are worthwhile for writers seeking to proactively move forward with their careers (rather than passively waiting for an agent or publisher to respond). Free event. Check the listing for times.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nJCGlwr2SnOmEqCSL6NZUQ#/registration
💼 JAN 25-26 · Indie Author Weekend is a two-day virtual self-publishing conference from the Romance Writers of America designed to ignite your indie author potential! Whether you're starting your journey to self-publish a romance novel or a seasoned author looking to level up, this event connects you with key industry experts who’ll provide straight answers to propel your career forward. Costs Members: $149 / Non-Members: $199.
https://www.rwa.org/indie-author-weekend
🎓 JAN 25 · Becoming an Editor Fahmidan's workshops are as little as $5 with pay-what-you-can options up to $25. All workshops will be recorded via Zoom. Check the listing for times.
https://fahmidanjournal.submittable.com/submit/308885/fahmidan-workshops-2024-2025
⭐🎤 JAN 26 · Rattlecast livestreams, is part interview and open mic with a prompt-based open mic. Hangout with Rattle editor Timothy Green and Katie Dozier. Each Rattlecast begins with an interview, a writing prompt, and poets reading from the last week’s prompt. | Rattlecast at 8 pm EST.
⭐ JAN 26 · Baltimore Science Fiction Society’s Tabletop RPG Join their in-progress Tabletop RPG group as they rotate through various systems. They will be running for all levels and have pre-made characters available! Virtual sessions from 1-5 pm EST on the last Sunday of each month.
For more info, email yoshi@bsfs.org
🔴 JAN 27 · Rough Cut Press is closing for submissions of work in all genres from members of the LGBTQIA community up to 650 words. The theme is “reach.” Payment is $25.
https://roughcutpress.com/submit/
🎓 JAN 28-30 · Three-Day Submission Strategy Workshop Go over your rejections, queries, first pages, submission list, personalization, overall strategy, and more. You’ll leave feeling confident, knowing you’re making the best possible choices for your book–and supported by your new writer community. Includes two live panels–one to interpret your rejections, and one query and page feedback panel with agents John Cusick (Folio Literary) and Chelsey Emmelhainz (Copps Literary). Costs $39.99.
https://manuscriptacademy.com/product/three-day-submission-strategy-workshop
🎓 JAN 28 · Concept is King: Elevating Story Concepts Veteran screenwriter and teacher Tom Vaughan defines concept and shows how to exploit it for your narrative projects. This session will offer a whole new insight into what is meant by commercial viability. Class costs $35 USD. Check the listing for times.
https://symposium.pipelineartists.com/event/concept-is-king-elevating-story-concepts
🔴 JAN 29 · Fantasy Magazine is closing for anonymous submissions of fantasy flash fiction up to 1,500 words, short stories up to 5,000 words and poetry. Payment is 10¢/word for original fiction and $50 for original poetry.
https://psychopomp.com/fantasy-magazine-guidelines/
🔴 JAN 29 · Baubles From Bones closes for “that broadly falls in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. We’re open to most subgenres and themes but have a particular fondness for compelling adventures, folk-retellings, stories of hope in the dark, emotional healing, love of all sorts, environmentalism, and the humanity (or lack of it) among the fantastical and speculative.” Payment is $.01 USD per word.
https://www.baublesfrombones.com/submission-guidelines.html
🎓 JAN 29 · The Art of Foreshadowing With Tiffany Yates Martin, foreshadowing isn’t just for mysteries and suspense stories. Elegant and well used foreshadowing can heighten suspense, tension, and reader anticipation in every genre. And it’s not just a hoity-toity literary device for Important Works of Literature. No matter what you’re writing, skillful foreshadowing makes a story feel plausible and cohesive, as well as inevitable. Foreshadowing adds nuance and heightens reader understanding of the story and its impact. Class costs $25. Check the listing for times.
https://janefriedman.com/the-art-of-foreshadowing-with-tiffany-yates-martin/
🔴 JAN 31 · Space and Time Magazine is closing for fiction up to 5k words and poetry in the speculative genre. Payment is .01 per word for fiction prose and $5 per poem.
https://spaceandtime.net/submissions/
🔴 JAN 31 · Parsec Ink’s annual Triangulation Anthology is closing for science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories and poetry, and “intelligent blends of the three.” The theme is Dark Hearts, “a women-centered theme for which anyone can submit stories.” Payment is 3 cents per word, $5.50 minimum payout for prose and 25 cents per line, $5.50 minimum payout for poetry.
https://parsec-sff.org/triangulation/
🔴 JAN 31 · 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 free print magazine subscription. Each week's deadline is Friday midnight PST.
https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/30232/poets-respond-online
🔴 JAN 31 · Apex Magazine Monthly Flash Fiction Contest Submissions close to all for speculative flash fiction at midnight. Winner will be announced no later than the 15th of the following month and be paid $0.08/word or $10, whichever is more, as well as published on the Apex Magazine Patreon as an exclusive the month following and will be included in the forthcoming issue of Apex Magazine.
https://apexbookcompany.moksha.io/publication/apex-magazine-flash-fiction
🔴 JAN 31 · Strange Horizons is closing for speculative poetry with Vanessa Jae (she/her/hers) as January’s editor. Payment is $50 USD per poem, regardless of length or complexity.
http://strangehorizons.com/submit/poetry-submission-guidelines/
🔴 JAN 31 · Phantom Worlds: The Cellar Door Issue #6 is closing for submissions of “horror stories that take place when alternate realities invade our own.” Payment is $50 USD.
https://www.darkpeninsulapress.com/phantom-worlds-the-cellar-door-issue-6.html
🔴 JAN 31 · Noncorporeal III: Nightfall is closing for spooky short fiction between 2,000 to 6,000 words. “We’re searching for the spooky stories. This is not horror, though there may be suspense and even a dash of horror.” Payment is royalty Share of D2D sales.
https://inkdpub.com/submissions/
🔴 JAN 31 · Phantom Worlds: The Cellar Door Issue #6 is closing for dark fiction “that take place when alternate realities invade our own” from 2-8k words. Payment is $50.
https://www.darkpeninsulapress.com/phantom-worlds-the-cellar-door-issue-6.html
🟡 FEB 1 · BookLife is open until March 1 for submissions of self-published books related to travel, global culture, and food for their Indie Spotlight feature, a thematic roundup of self-published books both online and in print in Publishers Weekly magazine. Each Indie Spotlight is open to all types of books as long as they match the month's topic. Submissions close for self-published romances and nonfiction titles devoted to the topic of relationships.
https://booklife.com/about-us/booklife-s-indie-spotlight.html
🟢 FEB 1 · TeenQuill Writing Contest is open for poetry and play monologues from to students aged 12 to 19. Authors of selected works will receive a $50 Amazon e-gift card and publication in Kinsman Quarterly. Selected works will also be featured on its website, promoted on social media platforms, and included in printed advertisements. One student will be selected each seasonal quarter.
https://www.kinsmanquarterly.org/teenquill-writing-contest
🟢 FEB 1 · Write or Die Magazine is open for free submissions of essays and essays and fiction for the first week of the month. There is a $3 submission fee for the rest of the month. No fee for author interviews. “Payment is approx. $50.”
https://writeordiemag.com/submission-guidelines
🟢 FEB 1 · The Other Stories Podcast opens until September 30 for 2,000 word speculative fiction on the theme of THE WORKPLACE. “Give us stories of the slow death — office politics, chaos from the cubicle, stories from the ant farm, the workshop, the assembly line, the burnout, the boss from hell.” Payment is $15 GBP.
https://theotherstories.net/submissions/
🟢 FEB 1 · Strange Horizons is open until February 28 for speculative poetry with Lisa M. Bradley (she/her/hers) as February’s editor. Payment is $50 USD per poem, regardless of length or complexity.
http://strangehorizons.com/submit/poetry-submission-guidelines/
🟢 FEB 1 · Fahmidan Publishing is open for manuscript submissions for their digital chapbooks at a maximum of 30 pages for poetry and 7500 Words for prose until February 28. Payment is 30% royalties.
https://www.fahmidan.net/publishing-submissions
🟢 FEB 1 · The Threepenny Review opens until “mid-April” for submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Payment is $400 per story or article, and $200 per poem or Table Talk piece.
https://www.threepennyreview.com/submissions.html
🟢 FEB 1 · Electric Spec is open until April 15 for speculative fiction stories of “science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre” between 250 and 7000 words for their May issue. Payment is $20 per piece.
http://www.electricspec.com/Submissions.html
🟢 FEB 1 · Rattle Magazine’s Ekphrastic Poetry Challenge opens until the last day of the month for ekphrastic poetry in response to selected visual art posted on their page. Two winners receive $100 and publication online.
https://www.rattle.com/ekphrastic/
🟢 FEB 1 · Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter calls for monthly themed submissions from newsletter subscribers only (free to subscribe) up to 1k words for $0.08 per word USD for original fiction.
https://www.flametreepress.com/submissions/
🎓 FEB 1 · Generating Poetry/Generating Flash Fiction & Short Fiction: Narrative Development & Beyond Fahmidan's workshops are as little as $5 with pay-what-you-can options up to $25. All workshops will be recorded via Zoom. Check the listing for times.
https://fahmidanjournal.submittable.com/submit/308885/fahmidan-workshops-2024-2025
🔴♻️ FEB 1 · NonBinary Review, Zoetic Press is closing for prose, poetry and visual art. Submissions may close before the closing date as there is an acceptance cap for each issue. Payment is $0.01 USD per word for prose up to 3k words, $10 for poetry and visual art $25 USD flat rate. Theme is “MISTAKEN IDENTITY.”
https://nonbinaryreview.submittable.com/submit
🔴 FEB 1 · Last Girls Club is open until February 1 for feminist horror short stories and poems. Payments for short story-2,500 words or less is $0.015 USD per word ($37.50 USD max); Flash Fiction-less than 1,000 words $0.015 USD per word ($15 USD max); Poems-less than 200 words $10.
https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/last-girls-club-lImp7
✨ 🗓️ From this point on, exclusive access to upcoming weeks and always-open markets are a special perk for my amazing paid subscribers as a thank you for your support. 🌟
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Authortunities to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.