22 Publishers Seeking Novellas, and More Market Updates

The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be after 6/15/2022. Permanent link to this newsletter in the archives: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/may-2022/

Thoughts in Passing

This (theoretically May) update is going out a couple of days late, so it’s extra large. More new markets! More useful links! So the timing seems right to talk about extra large stories: novellas.

tldr; Be patient, keep an eye on current submission calls (YES, I will list novella calls in this market list when I see them), and consider the advantages and disadvantages of publishing in a magazine.

How long is a novella? A novella is 17,500 – 39,999 words long, as defined by the Nebula Award categories.

Selling a novella is hard. Here are some options for science fiction, fantasy, and horror novellas, both publishers and magazines. There are a few publishers known for publishing novellas, but their unagented submission windows tend to be very short and far between, and there’s a lot of competition. Other publishers who occasionally publish novellas will often have special novella calls, but information about their novella publishing schedule is not even listed on their website the rest of the time. There are several magazines who accept novella-length submissions, but although they are open to the idea, they do not publish many novellas, they don’t pay royalties, and your novella will only be distributed as part of that magazine’s issue. (Yes, self-publishing a novella is always an option–there are special challenges there too!–but this is about selling it to a publisher.)

Options:

PUBLISHERS – OPEN

Pressfuls Novellas wants fantasy, horror, adventure, romance, and crime/mystery, pays 35% royalties.
(Pressfuls Magazine appears defunct, but they’re still publishing longer works.) https://pressfuls.com/submit-a-story/

Midnight Bites ANTHOLOGY SERIES wants novelette and novella horror, 10k – 25k words themed and unthemed, pays $50 plus 25% royalties. Currently seeking carnie horror and medical horror. https://cronegirlspress.com/submissions/

PUBLISHERS – UPCOMING SUBMISSION CALLS

Neon Hemlock wants SF, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, and slipstream, especially queer. Pays royalties, or advance plus royalties. Award-winning. Open June 12th to 25th 2022 for trans women writers and writers of color. Open to all writers October 11th to 24th 2022. https://www.neonhemlock.com/submissions

United Faedom Publishing wants novelettes, novellas, and novels, pays $75 for novelettes and ? for others. OPENS JULY 2022. https://unitedfaedompublis.wixsite.com/unitedfaedompub/novelettes-and-novellas

Interstellar Flight Press has a one-time call for horror novellas including SF horror and fantasy horror, pays 30-40% royalties plus possible advance. Open to submissions 10/1/22 – 12/1/22. https://www.interstellarflightpress.com/submissions.html

PUBLISHERS – CURRENTLY CLOSED UNTIL ??

Tor.com (novellas) wants fantasy and SF, pays pro rates of advance + royalties or higher royalty-only rate. Award-winning. CURRENTLY CLOSED. Unclear if/when they will reopen for unagented novella submissions, but it’s been a couple of years. https://www.tor.com/fiction-submissions-guidelines/

Nightfire (Tor) wants horror novels and novellas, pays pro rates of advance + royalties or higher royalty-only rate. CURRENTLY CLOSED. Unclear if/when they will reopen for unagented novella submissions. https://tornightfire.com/nightfire-slush-submission-guidelines/

Uncanny (novellas) wants SF/F, pays $.10/word. Publishes 1 novella a year depending on funding. Award-winning. CURRENTLY CLOSED – LOOK FOR THEM TO OPEN NEXT YEAR. https://www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/

Queen of Swords Press wants novels and novellas of around 40k words, set in fantastical worlds, especially with a queer focus. Pays royalties. CURRENTLY CLOSED. https://queenofswordspress.com/about-queen-of-swords-press/submissions/

Stelliform wants science fiction, fantasy, quiet horror and literary works with speculative elements, pays 2¢ CAD per word advance (up to $2000), plus royalties. CURRENTLY CLOSED. https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/submissions/

Wyldblood Press wants speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy or horror) novellas and novels, pays royalties. CURRENTLY CLOSED. https://wyldblood.com/guidance-submissions/

MAGAZINES

Magazines that accept short novellas (up to the 20-25K word range) include Asimov’s, Reckoning, Pulp Literature, Clarkesworld, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF), and sometimes Escape Pod (reprints only).

Magazines that accept full length novellas or have no wordcount limit include Analog, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and ParSec. Be cautious about submitting to places that don’t list a maximum wordcount; they don’t always expect or accept novellas.

Keep an eye out for anthology calls with no word limit whose guidelines explicitly mention novellas, like Sovereign: An Anthology of Black Fantasy Fiction (2023), due 7/16/22.

June’s update will be shorter, and I’ll talk about where to sell flash fiction!

(Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the contact form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.)

What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:

I’ve started work on a new novel, working title Desolation Station Salvage. I love this stage. Everything is shiny and new, and all kinds of fun random ideas are popping up as I write.

I’m looking forward to in-person convention 4th Street Fantasy in a couple of weeks, where I’ll be on panels discussing ambiguous endings and PoV.

Things Shiny or Useful

Archive of all shiny or useful links: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/

The Indie Files: Make the Most of New Book Announcements: https://www.sfwa.org/2022/05/18/indie-files-new-book-announcements/

How to Write a Depressed Character That Won’t Depress Your Reader: https://horrortree.com/how-to-write-a-depressed-character-that-wont-depress-your-reader/

Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists Toolkit: https://springboardforthearts.org/professional-growth/work-of-art-program/

IngramSpark Academy’s How to Self-Publish: https://www.ingramspark.com/how-to-self-publish-course

IngramSpark Academy’s How to Build an Author Platform: https://www.ingramspark.com/author-platform-course-description

From Panic to Process: What Taking Criticism Actually Means: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/from-panic-to-process-what-taking-criticism-actually-means/

Three Agent Types to Avoid and the One You Won’t See Coming: https://nelsonagency.com/2021/02/three-agent-types-to-avoid-and-the-one-you-wont-see-coming/

All the Writing Talent in the World Won’t Save the Wrong Story: https://nelsonagency.com/2022/04/all-the-writing-talent-in-the-world-wont-save-the-wrong-story/

Upcoming Virtual Conventions/Workshops

(Any registration fees are noted.)

Cymera (£50), June 3-5, 2022: https://www.cymerafestival.co.uk/

Westercon (?), July 1-4, 2022: http://westercon74.org/

ChiCon 8 / WorldCon ($30), Sept 1-5, 2022: https://chicon.org/

The Nebula Conference ($150) is over for 2022, but purchasing a membership now still gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://membership.sfwa.org/event-4563942

Featured Market

Award-winning Neon Hemlock will be open for speculative fiction novella submissions June 12 – 25, 2022 for BIPOC and trans women authors, October 11 – 24, 2022 for all. Pays royalties, or advance plus royalties.

:Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Slipstream, & Weird.  Hybrid work or difficult to categorize novellas are also welcome.

Standalone works, although they may be connected to other series or work.

We are particularly interested in work that explores some element of queer experience, broadly speaking.

Neon Hemlock
Neon Hemlock

Basics: speculative fiction, 17,500-40,000 words, pay ?, no reprints, due 6/12/22-6/25/22 and 10/11/22-10/24/22.

Guidelines: https://www.neonhemlock.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.

NameWhat they wantPay Per Word USD (originals)Flat Pay USD (originals)WebsiteNotes
UncannySF/F$0.100https://uncannymagazine.com/submissions/Fast response time. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION CLOSURE UNTIL ?
Worlds of Possibility (Julia Rios)SF and fantasy, with a sense of hope$0.100https://worldsofpossibility.moksha.io/publication/worlds-of-possibility/guidelines
Augur MagazineLiterary SF/F, fabulism, slipstream$0.088http://www.augurmag.com/submissions/80% Canadian. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIOD: Opens 6/30/22
MetastellarFantasy, SF, and horror flash fiction$0.080https://www.metastellar.com/write-for-us/flash-fiction-story-submission/ONE-TIME SUBMISSION WINDOW 10/1/22 – 10/31/22. NOTE: submission gives right of publication, even without a contract signing
Pseudopod (Podcast)Horror and dark fantasy$0.080http://pseudopod.org/submissions/An Escape Artists publication. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIODS: 3/1/22-7/31/22 (2022 anthologies and collections), 8/12/22-8/21/22
Gargantua (Air and Nothingness Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 12/1/22-1/31/23All genres, flash fiction, themed to massive engineering megastructures$0.080http://aanpress.com/submissions.html
Monstrous Futures (Dark Matter Ink) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/1/22-6/30/22Near-future dark SF$0.080https://darkmattermagazine.shop/pages/dark-matter-presents-monstrous-futures
World of Juno, The (Space Wizard Science Fantasy) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – PITCH DUE 6/1/22Shared world science fiction$0.080https://spacewizardsciencefantasy.com/submissions/Note the 150-word story pitch is due 6/1/22. The story itself is due 7/14/22.
Crack in the Code (Mocha Memoirs) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 9/30/22SF themed to robots, AI, or cyborgs going off-programming$0.080https://mochamemoirspress.com/write-for-us/
Asimov’s Science FictionCharacter-oriented SF, borderline fantasy, slipstream, surreal. No sword & sorcery.$0.080http://www.asimovs.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines/
Baffling Magazine (Neon Hemlock)All speculative flash fiction$0.080https://www.bafflingmag.com/submissions
Campfire Macabre Vol 2 (Cemetery Gates Media) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/1/22-8/15/22Horror flash fiction, themed to When We Were Getting High, My Last Trick ‘r Treat, Body Grotesquerie, Ominous Visitors from Deep Space, or Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes$0.080https://cemeterygatesmedia.com/submissions/
Solarpunk MagazineSolarpunk$0.080https://solarpunkmagazine.com/submissions/ONE-TIME 2022 Submission periods: 6/20-7/4/22 Solarpunk at Work, 9/1-9/14 and 11/1-11/14 general solarpunk.
Cast of Wonders PodcastClean YA SF/F/H$0.080http://www.castofwonders.org/submissions/ONE-TIME 2022 SUBMISSION PERIODS: 06/15/22 – 06/30/22 (Young Authors), 08/01/22 – 08/31/22 (Flash Fiction Contest) ### Query first for > 6,000 words.
Constellation / Constelación MagazineSpanish or English speculative fiction, themed$0.080https://www.constellationmagazine.com/submissionsONE-TIME CLOSURE until mid-September 2022
Dark Matter MagazineScience fiction and sci-fi horror$0.080https://darkmattermagazine.com/submission-guidelines/NOTE: This is NOT the same publication as Dark Matter Zine.
Podcastle (Podcast)Fantasy fiction$0.080http://podcastle.org/guidelines/An Escape Artists publication. Original fiction up to 6,000 words, reprints up to 17,000. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION THEME: Indigenous Magic (#ownvoices) 7/1/22 – 7/31/22
Librarian, The (Air and Nothingness Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/30/22Speculative fiction, themed to a helpful traveling librarian$0.080http://aanpress.com/submissions.html
Galaxy’s EdgeSF and Fantasy$0.070https://www.galaxysedge.com/submissions/Submissions open early on Mondays when they’re taking submissions, then close when they hit their quota. May be closed to submissions even if Moksha says they’re open, if there is no submission type to select. Long response time.
Fiends in the Furrows III, The: Final Harvest ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/22Folk horror$0.060https://www.nosetouchpress.com/call/
Dracula Beyond StokerHorror inspired by Dracula, themed issues$0.050https://www.dbspress.com/submissions
Planet ScummSF and weird fiction$0.050https://www.planetscumm.space/submitRIGHTS: Also takes audio rights. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIOD: opens 7/8/22
Apparition LitSpeculative fiction, themed. Separate monthly flash fiction contest.$0.050https://apparitionlit.com/submissions/Submission periods: 2/15 – 2/28, 5/15 – 5/31, 8/15-08/31 (ONE-TIME 2022 THEME: Nostalgia), 11/15 – 11/30, with a 1-week extension each period for BIPOC.
Story UnlikelyAll genres, including bizarro and speculative fiction$0.050https://www.storyunlikely.com/#submit
Old Moon QuarterlyWeird sword-and-sorcery$0.050https://www.oldmoonpublishing.com/what-we-want
Hidden Villains: Arise (Inkd Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/1/22-8/31/22All speculative fiction, themed to the title$0.050https://inkdpub.com/submissions/
Ember: A Journal of Luminous ThingsAll genres for all age groups, especially children ages 10-18$0.020https://emberjournal.org/submission-guidelines/
Utopia Science FictionSF, especially hard SF$0.010https://www.utopiasciencefiction.com/submit
Dread ImaginingsQuiet horror$0.010https://dreadimaginings.com/submissions/
Tales to Terrify PODCASTHorror and dark fantasy$0.010https://talestoterrify.com/submissions/
We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction (Neon Hemlock) ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY – DUE 12/31Queer speculative fiction published this year.$0.010https://www.neonhemlock.com/submissionsReprints only from the current year.
RakehellSwashbuckling tales, all genres$0.010https://rakehellmagazine.com/submissions/
Reader Beware! (DarkLit Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 8/1/22YA horror themed to 80s-90s nostalgia$0.010https://darklitpress.com/reader-beware/
Cosmic Horror (Eerie River Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 9/15/22-11/15/22Cosmic horror themed$0.008https://www.eerieriverpublishing.com/open-submission
Folk Horror (Eerie River Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/1/22Themed to folk horror$0.008https://www.eerieriverpublishing.com/open-submission
It Calls From Below (Eerie River Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 8/1/22-9/1/22Horror themed to the underground$0.008https://www.eerieriverpublishing.com/open-submission
Phantasmical Contraptions and More Errors (JayHenge Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/22Steampunk, dieselpunk, biopunk, etc.$0.005http://www.jayhenge.com/callforstories.htmlStill open to subs 1/9/22
Professor Feiff’s Compleat Pocket Guide to Xenobiology for the Galactic Traveller on the Move (JayHenge Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/21Themed to alien flora and fauna$0.005http://www.jayhenge.com/callforstories.html
Sapiens Plurum & Future of Life Institute Short-Fiction Contest ANNUAL CONTEST – DUE 4/22 – 6/1SF, themed to optimistic SF. ONE-TIME 2022 THEME: Inventing Beautiful Futures$1,000.00https://sapiensplurum.org/
riddlebirdLiterary fiction, including literary genre fiction$100.00https://www.riddlebird.com/submission-guidelines
Etherea MagazineAll speculative fiction, especially F/SF.$71.88https://ethereamagazine.com/submissions/Length: 500 – 1,000 words and 2,000 – 5,000 preferred
Paranoid TreeFlash fiction, all genres$50.00https://www.paranoidtree.com/
Taco Bell QuarterlyLiterary, all genres, themed to Taco Bell$50.00https://tacobellquarterly.org/submission-guidelines/
Consultations of Sherlock Holmes, The (Belanger Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 9/15/22Mysteries themed to traditional Sherlock Holmes$50.00https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDerrickBelanger/posts/3294508860834029
Detective and the Clergyman, The (Belanger Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 10/15/22Mysteries themed to traditional Sherlock Holmes partnering with traditional Father Brown$50.00https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDerrickBelanger/posts/3294508860834029
Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H.P. Lovecraft (Belanger Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 11/15/22Mysteries themed to traditional Sherlock Holmes in a Lovecraftian world$50.00https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDerrickBelanger/posts/3294508860834029
Horrifying Tales of Wonder (House Blackwood) PODCASTThemed to weird fiction set in the 1880s-1940s$50.00https://www.houseblackwood.net/horrifying-tales-of-wonder/
Midnight Bites ANTHOLOGY SERIESNovella and novelette horror, themed and unthemed$50.00https://cronegirlspress.com/submissions/ONE-TIME THEMES OPEN UNTIL FULL: carnival horror, medical system horror
Tales from Brackish Harbor (Quill and Crow Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/1/22Shared world Gothic cosmic horror$40.00https://www.quillandcrowpublishinghouse.com/brackish-harbor
Extremely Bizarre (Planet Bizarro) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/1/22Extreme horror with bizarro elements or vice versa$36.75https://www.planetbizarro.com/submissions
On the Premises Mini-Contest RECURRING CONTESTThemed contests with very limited wordcounts.$35.00https://onthepremises.com/current-contest/Mini-contest submission periods vary
Along Harrowed Trails (Timber Ghost Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 8/31/22Horror set in the Old West$35.00https://www.timberghostpress.com/along-harrowed-trails.html
Fear Forge Quarterly AnthologyHorror and dark fantasy, themed$30.00https://www.horrorsmithediting.com/opencallONE-TIME WINTER QUARTER 2022 THEME OPEN UNTIL FULL: forges
Bloodless (Sliced Up Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/22Horror, themed to no mention of blood$30.00https://sliceduppress.com/submissions/
Solarpunk Magazine Micro Fiction Contest – MONTHLY CONTESTSolarpunk with a monthly theme$25.00https://solarpunkmagazine.com/monthly-micro-fiction-contest/ONE-TIME 6/17/22-6/23/22 THEME: solarpunk, no special theme
Dismember the Coop ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/1/22 – 8/31/22Horror themed to the music of Alice Cooper$25.00https://www.facebook.com/groups/1030647144551138/posts/1030647424551110/Paid charity anthology.
Short Reads (Black Hare Press)Dark fiction$25.00https://www.blackharepress.com/submissions/
Space Horror (Ladies of the Fright) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE UNTIL FULLSF horror$25.00https://www.ladiesofthefright.com/blog/2022/5/4/space-horror-submission-guidelines
Et Sequitor MagazineAll genres, themed: continuing from the previous story$25.00https://www.etseqmag.com/Submissions.php
Their Ghoulish Reputation (Dark Lake Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE UNTIL FULLFolk horror$25.00https://darklakepublishing.com/migrate/folk-horror-anthology-submission/
Tales From the Ruins: A Post-Apocalyptic Anthology (Black Beacon Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/22Themed to Post-apocalyptic fiction$21.31https://blackbeaconbooks.blogspot.com/p/submissions.html
Still of Winter (Unsettling Reads) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/1/22 OR UNTIL FULLCreepy stories themed to a tree in winter$20.00https://unsettlingreads.squarespace.com/submissions-stillofwinter
Sprawl Mag, TheSpeculative fiction$15.50https://www.thesprawlmag.ca/guidelines
Fall Into Fantasy (Cloaked Press) ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/10Fantasy$15.00https://www.cloakedpress.com/fallfantasy/
Hexagon MagazineAll speculative fiction (SF/F/H)$11.87https://hexagonmagazine.ca/submit/
Framework of the Human Body (Bell Press Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/15/22Literary, weird fiction, and speculative fiction, themed to the human body$11.86https://bellpressbooks.com/submissions/
Love Letters to PoeGothic flash fiction themed to Poe stories$5.00https://loveletterstopoe.com/submit-a-story/
Interstellar Flight Press NovellasONE-TIME THEME 10/1/22-12/1/22: Horror novellashttps://www.interstellarflightpress.com/submissions.html
Neon Hemlock NovellasScience fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream, and weird, especially queer storieshttps://www.neonhemlock.com/submissions2022 SUBMISSION PERIODS: June 2022 PoC and trans women, October 2022 all authors.
Valravn (Raven Canticle Press) ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY – DEAD MARKETFantasy, horror, SF, and espionage/thriller, especially with horror elements$0.100https://www.ravencanticlepress.com/submissions/
Lamplight – DEAD MARKETDark literary, horror, dark spec-fic, and noir$0.060http://lamplightmagazine.com/submissions/
Kanstellation Magazine – DEAD MARKETGeneral fiction and SF, themed$30.00
Fabled Journal – DEAD MARKET (no longer accepting submissions)Myth, folklore, gothic, paranormal, and historical flash fiction.$10.00https://www.fabledcollective.com/journal-submissions.html
Asylum Diaries, The – DEAD MARKETCosmic horror or body horror$9.63
Aswiebe’s Market List May Updates

Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!

Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Compiler of Lists
Aswiebe’s Market List
Abra Staffin-Wiebe’s Author Website

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