Big News!
My full market list is now, finally, fully searchable online! I am so excited about this!!!
I’ve been fiddling with the page for the last couple of weeks … mostly learning which things I can’t do using these plug-ins. So the actual updates from this newsletter are from the middle of April, and you should expect another update in the near future. Going forward, I’ll update the online version at the same time that I send the newsletter out. Of course, you can still download the complete spreadsheet and keep your own copy on your own computer.
Go ahead, go to the Online Market Listings, search for “anthology theme” and see if any of your stories match current calls!
What Does Easy Writing Mean for You?
What kind of scene is easiest for you to write, and why? I was asked this question recently, and I think it’s a good one for any writer to think about.
For me, it’s food scenes. This isn’t terribly surprising. I like to savor my food, I like to watch cooking shows, I’m the main cook for my household so I have some idea what I’m talking about, and description is one of the writing tools that I got for free. But those aren’t the deepest reason why feasts are easy for me to write, they’re just the price of admission.
Food is visceral. It draws me in. Writing about it kicks my imagination (and my salivary gland) into overtime. I hit flow faster. The movie that plays in my mind as I write becomes more vivid. And when it’s more vivid for me, hopefully I do a good enough job writing it that it also becomes more vivid for my reader. And if they are my ideal reader, they are probably drawn in by the same things that I am.
The other kind of writing that I find easy, for the same visceral reasons, is body horror. This despite the mid-writing research required to keep it physically possible. Theoretical research only, I assure you. 😉
Now, does this mean that I should put a feast scene (or a body horror scene) in every chapter I write? Well, no. Although if I did both, I could probably churn out a pretty good horror novella in a month or two (note to self). Balancing scene types and tension and plot is important. But it does mean that I can lean in when I see an opportunity for a feast scene or some good old-fashioned enucleation. And if I’m plotting a story and there’s a choice between a cannibal feast or a dramatic love scene, I know which one will fit my voice and style better.
Writer, know thyself!
What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:
Let’s just say there’s nothing like a 4theWords special event to get me pushing to meet new word challenges … or to leave me with a hot mess of a chapter that has a lot of “put this bit here, move that bit there, double-check this detail, did I already say this?” inline notes that I now need to go through and clean up to get a proper first draft.
Things Shiny or Useful
Archive of all shiny or useful links: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/
How to Pitch: 3PO Edition: http://candleinsunshine.com/musings/how-to-pitch-3po-edition/
An Open Letter to the 2023 Hugo Finalists: http://corabuhlert.com/2023/05/01/an-open-letter-to-the-2023-hugo-finalists-whoever-they-may-be/
Clock Outline: http://candleinsunshine.com/musings/clock-outline-blades-in-the-dark-style/
7 Ways to Spring Clean Your Writing: https://careerauthors.com/7-ways-to-spring-clean-your-writing/
The Basics of Crafting Terror: https://horrortree.com/how-to-write-horror-the-basics-of-crafting-terror/
Email Lists From Scratch Tutorials: https://sellingforauthors.wistia.com/projects/2nsyj3aru4
Query Shark October Newsletter-Personalization: https://tinyletter.com/QueryShark/letters/query-shark-october-newsletter-personalization
Isabel Yap’s thread: how i write with a full-time job: https://twitter.com/visyap/status/1638337852256710656
Upcoming Virtual Conventions/Workshops
(Any registration fees are noted.)
The Nebula Conference, May 12-14, 2023 ($150). Purchasing a membership also gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://events.sfwa.org/
Wiscon, May 26-29, 2023 ($25): http://wiscon.net/
The Orange County Library System has many upcoming free virtual writing talks: https://www.ocls.info/writers-corner
Featured Market
Uncanny Magazine‘s novella call is still open until 5/15/23!
Uncanny Magazine is seeking passionate, diverse SF/F fiction and poetry from writers from every conceivable background. We want intricate, experimental stories and poems with gorgeous prose, verve, and imagination that elicit strong emotions and challenge beliefs. Uncanny believes there’s still plenty of room in the genre for tales that make you feel.
Uncanny Magazine
Basics: speculative fiction novellas, 17,500 – 40,000 words, pays $.10/wd, no reprints, due 5/15/23.
Guidelines: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/
Market List Updates
To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, as well as hundreds of other listings, go to Aswiebe's Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet. Note: going forward, limited demographic market listings will be italicized.
| Name | What they want | F | SF | H/DF | Pay Per Word USD (originals) | Flat Pay USD (originals) | Website | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strange Horizons | All speculative fiction and poetry | Y | Y | Y | $0.100 | http://strangehorizons.com/submit/fiction-submission-guidelines/ | ONE-TIME CLOSURE until end of 2023. | |
| Uncanny | SF/F | Y | Y | N | $0.100 | https://uncannymagazine.com/submissions/ | Fast response time. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIOD: 5/1/23 – 5/7/23. ONE-TIME NOVELLA SUBMISSION PERIOD: 5/1/23 – 5/15/23 | |
| Uncanny (novellas) | SF/F novellas | Y | Y | N | $0.100 | https://uncannymagazine.com/submissions/ | ONE-TIME NOVELLA SUBMISSION PERIOD: 5/1/23 – 5/15/23 | |
| Lightspeed Magazine | Science fiction and fantasy | Y | Y | N | $0.080 | https://adamant.moksha.io/publication/lightspeed | Prefers < 5,000 words. SUBMISSION PERIODS: 3/24-3/31 BIPOC SF, 4/1-4/7 general SF, 4/23-4/30 BIPOC fantasy, 5/1-5/7 general fantasy, 5/24-5/31 BIPOC flash SF, 6/1-6/7 general flash SF, 6/23-6/30 BIPOC flash fantasy, 7/1-7/7 general flash fantasy | |
| Elegant Literature | All genres, monthly theme. Limited demographic: non-pro writers only. | Y | Y | Y | $0.100 | https://www.elegantliterature.com/contest/ | Submission to magazine is free. Submission to monthly contests requires paid membership. | |
| Qualia Nous, Vol. 2 (Written Backwards) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/23 | Dark SF and other cross-genre SF (no hard SF) fiction and poetry | N | Y | N | $0.100 | https://nettirw.com/submissions/ | ||
| Thyme Travelers (Fernwood Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 5/31/23 | Themed: Palestinian speculative fiction. Limited demographic: Palestinian and Palestinian diaspora | Y | Y | Y | $0.080 | https://soniasulaiman.com/thyme-travelers-call-for-submissions/ | ||
| Cosmic Background, The | Weird and slipstream flash fiction | Y | Y | Y | $0.080 | https://www.thecosmicbackground.com/guidelines | ||
| Scissor Sisters: Sapphic Villains (Brigid’s Gate Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 5/1/23-5/31/23 | Horror themed to predatory lesbians (incl. heroes and anti-heroes etc, not just villains) | N | N | Y | $0.080 | https://brigidsgatepress.com/submissions | ||
| Off-Season, The (Dark Matter) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/23-8/28/23 | New Weird sea-themed horror | N | N | Y | $0.080 | https://darkmattermagazine.shop/pages/the-off-season-submission-guidelines | ||
| Pleasure in Pain, The (Dragon’s Roost Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/1/23-7/1/23 | Queer horror erotica. Limited demographic: queer authors. | N | N | Y | $0.050 | https://www.roxievoorhees.gay/submissions | ||
| Dread Machine | Dark SF, horror, magic realism, slipstream, and poetry | N | N | Y | $0.050 | https://www.thedreadmachine.com/submit/ | Reprints up to 7,000 words. | |
| Playlist of the Damned (Weird Little Worlds) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 5/1/23-5/31/23 | Horror themed to music | N | N | Y | $0.050 | https://weirdlittleworlds.com/submissions/?mibextid=q5o4bk | ||
| Dracula Beyond Stoker | Horror inspired by Dracula, themed issues | N | N | Y | $0.050 | https://www.dbspress.com/submissions | ONE-TIME SUBMISSION THEME: 5/15/23-6/30/23 Lucy | |
| Grendel Press ONGOING ANTHOLOGIES | Dark fantasy, horror, and dark romance, themed and unthemed | N | N | Y | $0.050 | https://grendelpress.com/anthology-submissions/ | ONE-TIME CLOSURE for 2023 anthologies – new themes TBD in late 2023 | |
| Greater Than His Nature (Atomic Carnival) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/30/23 | Weird fantasy, SF, bizarro, and horror themed to mad science | Y | Y | Y | $0.030 | http://www.atomiccarnivalbooks.com/submissions/ | ||
| Open All Night (Atomic Carnival) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/30/23 | Weird fantasy, bizarro, and horror themed to open all night | Y | N | Y | $0.030 | http://www.atomiccarnivalbooks.com/submissions/ | ||
| Big Bearded Bookseller | All speculative fiction | Y | Y | Y | $0.025 | http://www.bigbeardedbookseller.com/2023/03/19/submissions/ | ||
| Shoreline of Infinity | SF | N | Y | N | $0.025 | http://www.shorelineofinfinity.com/submissions/ | RIGHTS: Incl. audio rights. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIODS: 4/27/23-5/11/23 climate change, 6/12/23-9/3/23 flash fiction contest (theme TBD), 9/21/23-9/24/23 general submissions | |
| Diet Milk Magazine | Gothic fiction and poetry | N | N | Y | $0.010 | https://www.dietmilkmag.com/submit | ||
| Black Hare Press Patreon Monthly Challenge | Dark fiction | N | N | Y | $0.010 | https://www.blackharepress.com/submissions/ | ||
| Shadowed Realms (Horror Tree) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 5/31/23 | Reprint dark speculative fiction (not just horror) first published in 2022 and paid < $.05/word | Y | Y | Y | $0.010 | https://horrortree.com/taking-submissions-shadowed-realms-the-2022-indie-dark-fiction-anthology/ | ||
| Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror (Crystal Lake Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/1/23 | Horror written in epistolary (letters etc.) format | N | N | Y | $0.010 | https://www.crystallakepub.com/authorcentral/ | ||
| Sapiens Plurum & Future of Life Institute Short-Fiction Contest ANNUAL CONTEST – DUE 4/22 – 6/15 | Optimistic SF | N | Y | N | $1,000.00 | https://sapiensplurum.org/ | ||
| Fairy Tale Magazine, The | Fairy tales, new or retold, themed. ONE-TIME 2023 THEME: love. | Y | N | Y | $50.00 | https://www.fairytalemagazine.com/submissions | FKA Enchanted Conversation. Submission periods: 5/1/23 – 6/2/23. Occasional calls for longer works. | |
| Solarpunk Magazine Micro Fiction Contest – QUARTERLY CONTEST | Solarpunk with a quarterly theme | N | Y | N | $25.00 | https://solarpunkmagazine.com/micro-fiction/ | ONE-TIME 2023 SUBMISSION PERIODS: 5/14-5/21, 8/14-8/21, 11/14-11/21 | |
| Short Reads (Black Hare Press) | Dark fiction | N | N | Y | $25.00 | https://www.blackharepress.com/submissions/ | ||
| Terrors From the Toy Box (Phobica Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 8/1/23 | Horror themed to toys | N | N | Y | $24.98 | https://www.phobicabooks.co.uk/submission-guidelines | ||
| Diet Milk Minis ANNUAL CALL – DUE 5/1 – 5/31 | Gothic fiction and poetry | N | N | Y | $20.00 | https://www.dietmilkmag.com/submit | ||
| Electric Spec | All spec-fic | Y | Y | Y | $20.00 | http://www.electricspec.com/Submissions.html | ||
| Borne in the Blood (WolfSinger Publications) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/15/23-12/15/23 | All genres themed to things carried in the blood | Y | Y | Y | $20.00 | https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/borne-in-the-blood-guidelines | ||
| Monsters Next Door, The (Critical Blast) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/30/23 | All speculative fiction, themed to a monster living next door | Y | Y | Y | $20.00 | https://www.criticalblast.com/content/publishing | ||
| Cowboy Up (WolfSinger Publications) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 3/1/24-7/31/24 | All genres, themed to the rodeo | Y | Y | Y | $20.00 | https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/cowboy-up-guidelines | ||
| Cry Baby Bridge (Speculation Pub) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 4/27/23-5/29/23 | All genres, themed to the story behind bridges that cry | Y | Y | Y | $20.00 | https://www.speculationpub.com/submissions | ||
| Dragon’s Hoard 2, The (WolfSinger Publications) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 11/1/23-3/31/24 | All speculative fiction, themed to dragons and their hoards | Y | Y | Y | $15.00 | https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/dragons-hoard-guidelines | ||
| Space Brides, LLC (WolfSinger Publications) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/30/23 | SF themed to mail order brides | N | Y | N | $15.00 | https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/space-brides-guidelines | ||
| Coven of Witches, A (West Avenue Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/30/23 | Fiction and poetry themed to witches | Y | N | Y | $12.41 | https://www.westavenuepublishing.co.uk/p/anthology-submissions.html | ||
| Witch House | Cosmic horror | N | N | Y | $10.00 | https://witchhousemag.blogspot.com/p/submissions.html | ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIOD: due 6/18/23 | |
| In the Bleak Midwinter (Diet Milk Magazine) ANNUAL CALL – DUE 10/1 – 10/31 | Gothic micro fiction, flash fiction, and poetry | N | N | Y | $5.00 | https://www.dietmilkmag.com/submit | ||
| Timber Ghost Press Flash Fiction & Poetry | Horror fiction and poetry | N | N | Y | $5.00 | https://www.timberghostpress.com/submissions.html | ||
| Dark Moments (Black Hare Press) | Dark fiction drabbles, monthly theme | N | N | Y | $4.00 | https://www.blackharepress.com/submissions/ | ||
| Small Wonders | Speculative flash fiction and poetry | Y | Y | Y | $0.10 | https://smallwondersmag.com/submissions/ | Up to 1,100 words for reprints. | |
| House of Zolo’s Journal of Speculative Literature, The | SF and poetry, themed | N | Y | N | https://houseofzolo.com/submit-to-hoz/ | |||
| Tenebrous Press Novella and Novel Call | New Weird horror | N | N | Y | https://tenebrouspress.com/submissions | Submission period: open for pitches all year long | ||
| Dark Recesses Magazine – DEAD MARKET | Horror and dark fiction | N | N | N | $0.050 | http://darkrecessespress.com/submissions/ | ||
| Needle Drops, The (Urhi Publications) – DEAD MARKET | Horror | N | N | N | $138.37 | https://www.urhi.co.uk/post/urhi-submission-guide |
Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!
Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Keeper of Lists
Aswiebe’s Market List
Abra Staffin-Wiebe’s Author Website
Feel free to share this blog post/newsletter with others by whatever means you like, as long as you include all of it. The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be after 05/15/2023. If you don’t want to miss an update, subscribe to the Aswiebe’s Market List newsletter: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/subscribe-to-market-list/