What Can Writers Do for Awards Season? (And Best of the Year Anthologies)
tldr; Make an awards eligibility post on your website/blog. Post a thread of your publications this year on social media. Don’t forget to pay the cat pictures tax. 😉
You can call it an awards eligibility post, or an end of year post, or you can just say “This is what I got published this year.” If self-promotion makes you uncomfortable, think of this as an opportunity to reflect on what you’ve accomplished this year and what you’re happy about. John Wiswell’s post is a great example of this (and his stories are also good! go read them!): https://johnwiswell.substack.com/p/all-the-short-stories-i-published. With each story include the link (if available), the wordcount, the date published, and a quick description of what the story is about and why someone might want to read it.
Keep an eye on social media for people who are keeping lists of awards eligibility posts. Don’t be shy in sharing yours! And after you’ve made your eligibility post, remember that this is also a great time to talk about stories that you’ve really enjoyed reading that were first published this year. A rising tide, etc.
Okay, you say, but what else can a writer do? That’s where it gets more complicated. There is definitely a decreasing return on investment at this point. But yes, for many awards, there are other things you can do to increase your story’s visibility.
This is not true of all awards. Notable awards where authors can not offer their work for consideration include the Arthur C. Clarke Award (unless you’re a UK self-publisher), the British Fantasy Award, the BSFA Awards, the Locus Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award, the Mythopoeic Awards, and the Shirley Jackson Award.
For a list of awards (and Best of the Year anthologies), click to view the full-size table of award info and the rest of the market list updates:
Life happens. It’s a truism because it’s true. After the past couple of years, we all understand how quickly our lives can be disrupted. Some disruptions are predictable (summer vacation, a new baby), others are less so (sickness, a dying relative, job loss). In my household, the last couple of months have been a little of column A, a little of column B. We’re all fine now.
My writing schedule, however, is shot. My Pacemaker.press wordcount graph looks terrible. You can really see when my kids came home from school, followed quickly by our whole family getting sick and then having an activity-packed family reunion.
I am not good at giving myself grace. I’m a fairly slow writer, and if I don’t drive myself to write on a schedule, suddenly weeks have gone by without words on the page. And I don’t write well in short spurts. I really need a few uninterrupted hours to sink into deep work mode.
So, grace. Giving yourself grace is not the same thing as giving up. Grace can be saying, “I can’t do as much as I want while [current circumstances], but I will if [better conditions].” Then you do what you can, when you can, under the current circumstances. Sometimes that’s a little, sometimes that’s nothing. Then you can either wait or do what you can until your circumstances change. That might be because they are temporary and have a natural end date. Or it might be because you have worked to get your life closer to those better conditions.
For me, knowing that there is an end condition and planning for it makes all the difference. I can give myself grace, even if right now all I can do is make a list, or take a few notes, or add a reminder to my calendar for later.
(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 tinkered with the way the new market listings table shows up on the website. It should be more responsive for cellphones and smaller screens (will still display best on a larger screen). And now it has a search function! Please do leave a comment in my contact form letting me know what you think.
Other than that, I’m getting snippets of writing done on my space opera novel, when I can. Trying not to wince at how far behind my Pacemaker.press chart thinks I am!
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
We’re looking for speculative stories with a strong humor element. Think Resnick and Sheckley, Fredric Brown and Douglas Adams. We welcome quality flash fiction and non-traditional narratives. Take chances, try something new, just make sure that your story is funny.
Puns and stories that are little more than vehicles for delivering a punch line at the end aren’t likely to win us over. The best way to learn what we like in general is to read a previous volume. You can buy them here and also read the online stories for free. WHAT WE DON’T WANT These are the tropes we see entirely too much of in the slush pile.
You will improve your odds if you steer clear of these:
* Zombies * Vampires * Deals with the Devil / Djinn in a bottle variants * Stereotypical aliens probing people, abducting cattle, and doing other stereotypical alien things.
Unidentified Funny Objects
Basics: humorous speculative fiction, 500 – 6,000 words, pays $.08/wd, no reprints, 2022 submissions close 8/25/22.
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.
July '22 Update
New and updated science fiction, fantasy, and horror publication listings for Aswiebe's Market List, July 2022 edition.
Name
What they want
Pay Per Word USD (originals)
Flat Pay USD (originals)
Website
Notes
Unidentified Funny Objects ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY - DUE 7/26 – 8/25
What even is flash fiction? Because the major awards don’t have a “flash fiction” category, there is no standard definition. Most publications agree that if it’s under 1,001 words, it is flash fiction. Some stretch that to under 1,501 words or even 2,001 words. Some ask for fiction that’s under 501 words. (And then there’s micro-fiction, which is usually under 300 words, and drabbles, which are exactly 100 words long.)
How do you know if a publication is flash fiction friendly? Even if they don’t list a minimum wordcount in their guidelines, flash fiction may be a hard sell. If they specifically mention flash fiction in their guidelines, that’s a good sign! If they say that they have more room for shorter stories, that’s a good sign!
What’s the best place to sell flash fiction? Flash fiction contests are worth considering. Low risk, high reward! Publications that specialize in flash fiction are a good bet. When comparing publications, remember that a flat pay rate instead of a per-word pay rate may be a better deal for flash fiction. And for these very short pieces, it’s great to find publications with a minimum guaranteed payment.
Here are 27 places to sell your flash fiction.
Name
Min Wordcount
Max Wordcount
What they want
Pay Per Word USD (originals)
Flat Pay USD (originals)
Payment Notes
Website
Notes
Factor Four Magazine
0
1,000
All speculative flash fiction, especially SF, fantasy, supernatural, and superhero fiction
Horror 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
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
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.
SUBMISSION PERIODS: Recommended Reading (short stories) has 2 1-week open submission periods, usually in Spring and Fall, The Commuter (flash fiction) has 4 1-week submission periods. NOTE: Long response time.
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:
My cozy, funny, queer story about a haunted drag show and an unusual pest control specialist is now up at PodCastle! Go to Episode 740 to read or listen, or find it in your preferred podcast stream.
Note: ASL is its own language, with its own grammar and syntax that is different from English. This story is written to convey the meaning, not as a direct word-for-word translation. Special thanks to Anna Dudda for providing a Deaf expert reading.
Beck’s Pest Control and the Case of the Drag Show Downer
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
Mysterionwants speculative fiction that engages with Christianity. Open for submissions during July 2022.
We are looking for speculative stories that meaningfully engage with Christianity.
Your story doesn’t need to teach a moral or cleave closely to an approved theological position.
Your story doesn’t need to be pro-Christian. We’re unlikely to publish anything that insults us, but we do want to read stories that challenge us. Having said that, there are tropes we see too often in stories critical of Christian faith and tradition: evil preachers, theocratic dystopias, Christians abandoning their faith because something inexplicable happened, crazy Christians trying to bring about the apocalypse by doing something in Israel, an unambiguously evil God. Any of these will be a hard sell.
There are tropes we see too often on the pro-Christian side, too. Stories where the plot resolution hinges on one or more characters becoming Christian, apocalypse stories based on a literal reading of Revelation, rapture stories, spiritual warfare with angels and demons as characters, retold Bible stories, allegory, theocratic utopias, anything that reads like C.S. Lewis fanfic. You’d have to do a very unique take on one of these to get anything other than a quick rejection.
Mysterion
Basics: themed speculative fiction, up to 9,000 words, pays $.08/wd for original work, $.04/wd for reprints, reprints okay, annual submission periods in January and July.
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.
Test
Name
What they want
Pay Per Word USD (originals)
Flat Pay USD (originals)
Website
Notes
Alternate History (Flame Tree Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/11/22
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
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/
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Horror 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
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 6/30/22
Speculative fiction, themed to a helpful traveling librarian
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 7/31/22
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 Unlikely
All genres, including bizarro and speculative fiction
): 