These magazines and anthologies are paying for horror fiction, from token to pro rates. Some also accept other genres. Some of the calls are themed. They are open now, or have said when they will open next for submissions. They are not listed in any particular order. – S. Kalekar
Nightmare Magazine
This is an award-winning magazine of horror and dark fantasy; you can read more about them here. They publish fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. “We feature works spanning the broad spectrum of dark fiction, with an emphasis on fascinating characters and delicious prose. Our motto? Horror is for everyone!” Their website says, “We will be opening to all submission types in from January 14-20, 2024, with an extended submissions window for BIPOC-identifying writers running from January 21-27.” They pay $0.08/word for fiction up to 7,500 words. Details here and here.
Cosmic Horror Monthly
They publish horror and weird fiction, and related nonfiction. They pay $0.03/word for stories up to 5,000 words, up to $150. They have two annual reading periods, 1st to 7th January, and 1st to 7th July. Details here.
Moonstruck Books: Nightmare Diaries
Moonstruck Books is a publisher of “speculative fiction, science fiction, horror, fairy tales, gritty and gothic fiction, and experimental fiction.” They are also open for an anthology of dark fiction titled Nightmare Diaries. They want short stories, fairy tales, flash fiction, and novellas. Pay is $0.10 per word for stories of 500-10,000 words. The deadline is 27 December 2023. Details here (scroll down).
The Dark
They publish horror and dark fantasy. They also accept reprints. Payment is $0.05/word for original stories of 2,000-6,000 words. Details here.
Red Cape Publishing: A to Z of Horror
This is a themed anthology series; the theme open for December is W is for Witchcraft; they want stories of 4,000-8,000 words, pay is £10 and the deadline is 31 December 2023, or until filled, details here – scroll down.
Mysterion
They want science fiction, fantasy and horror stories that engage meaningfully with Christian themes, characters or cosmology. The stories need not teach a moral, or be close to an approved theological position, or be pro-Christian. They are especially interested in stories that show Christians from cultures beyond those of the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. They also accept translations and reprints. They accept stories of up to 9,000 words, and pay $0.08/word. They have two annual reading periods for fiction, January and July. Details here.
Neon Hemlock Press: Baffling Magazine
This is a quarterly online magazine of flash fiction. “We are looking for speculative stories that explore science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a queer bent. We want queer stories and we want trans stories and we want aro/ace stories. We want indefinable stories. We welcome weird, slipstream, and interstitial writing.” They’re reading unthemed, as well as Sex-themed submissions, until 15th December 2023. They pay $0.08/word for stories up to 1,200 words. Details here.
Eerie River Publishing
They want horror fiction themed around tarot cards; for the current reading period, they want submissions on the Wands theme. “Does the story have to be about Tarot Cards… NO. … We are looking for the theme to be the element, not necessarily the card itself, although we would love to read that as well.” The deadline is 31 December 2023 (for non-members). Pay is CAD0.01/word for stories of 1,500-7,000 words. Details here.
Infinite Horrors
Infinite Horrors is a print publication, affiliated with the science fiction magazine, Infinite Worlds. For Infinite Horror, they want horror stories of 1,500-5,000 words. They pay $0.08/word. They also publish comics. Details here.
Apex Book Company: The Map of Lost Places
This is a horror fiction anthology. They want “stories about places where weird things happen. Places that have strange histories, their own traditions and customs, their own dangers. These can be based off real folk tales or old wives tales – think the Mothman in Point Pleasant, WV – or ones that you come up with all on your own. But your story should tell of someone going to one of these places – either intentionally or they just stumble across it – and what happens when they encounter the frightening/strange thing that is in or occurs in that location.” Also, please note, “In order to avoid duplicates in the open submission call, locations already chosen by the featured authors are listed below. This list will be updated as the authors make their decisions, so be sure to check back!” The Kickstarter for this project has been funded. Pay is $0.08/word for stories up to 5,000 words. The deadline is 31 December 2023. Details here.
Bards and Sages Quarterly
Their website says, “This is a quarterly journal of speculative fiction. We are interested in all of the speculative genres (horror, fantasy, science fiction, slipstream, steampunk, magical realism, etc) up to 20,000 words in length.” They also accept reprints. Pay is $30-50 for original fiction. Details here.
Critical Blast Publishing: The Devil You Know Best
This is the third volume in their ‘The Devil You Know’ anthology series. For The Devil You Know Best, they want “stories that involve an encounter with the literary/mythological/theological Devil himself in situations that range from comedy to tragedy, via horror, comedy, fantasy, or science fiction. All genres welcome as long as the theme is met.” Pay is $25 for stories of 2,000-10,000 words. The deadline is 31 January 2023. Details here.
I Want That Twink OBLITERATED! Anthology
They want “pulp-inspired science fiction, fantasy and horror that explores or subverts classic genre tropes through queer protagonists and villains, particularly those who are non-traditionally masculine.”They have detailed guidelines, including, “IWTTO! is seeking classic pulp adventures centring non-traditionally masculine queer heroes and villains. … Whether fantasy, science-fiction or horror, we want to prove that hetero himbos don’t hold a monopoly on giant swords. We want out and proud thrill-rides starring queers who don’t give a fuck what society says. Smash systems, kiss boys, be gay do crime. … Bring us your femboy starship captains, bring us to trans berserkers fuelled by queer rage, bring us your literal demon twinks. Most of all, bring us stories that make you shriek…” And, “The editors are particularly interested in submissions from trans, non-binary, or intersex writers; aro or ace writers; disabled writers; neurodiverse writers; black, south asian, or east asian writers; or other writers of colour.” They want stories up to 6,000 words. Pay is $0.08/word. The deadline is 17 December 2023. Details here and here.
34 Orchard
They accept fiction (1,000-5,000 words) and poetry; they are reading for their Autumn issue during the first half of July. “At 34 Orchard, we like dark, intense pieces that speak to a deeper truth. We’re not genre-specific; we just like scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad.” Pay is $50. Their next reading period is 1st to 15th January 2024. Details here.
Castaigne Publishing: In the Eyes of the Hungry
This is a horror fiction anthology. “One of the great American authors wrote a werewolf novel and sadly, we will likely never see it. But wouldn’t it be great to speculate on what such a book might look like? We invite you to do exactly that.
We are asking for short horror stories … in the style of Steinbeck, in his settings, and/or covering his themes. But we’re not going to limit you to werewolves. What fun would that be? We invite you to populate these stories with any of the classical monsters (think Universal), so if you can find a way to put the Creature from the Black Lagoon into a Steinbeck-style yarn, go for it!” Pay is $50 for stories of 2,500-6,000 words. The deadline is 31 December 2023. Details here.
ergot.
“ergot. is a literary website interested in furthering the innovative and experimental tradition in horror.” They want fiction and hybrid works up to 10,000 words (including excerpts and works in translation) “that push out the boundary of what literary horror is and what it might become.” Pay is $25. Details here.
Underdog Press: Nightmares Before Bed
They are reading submissions for two fiction anthologies, and one of these is a horror anthology. Their general guidelines say, “How you incorporate the quarterly theme in your story is up to you. We do ask that you make sure the theme idea is not an afterthought, but an integral part of the story. We want truly want stories depicting underdogs rising to the occasion when it seems all hope is lost. … If your story is nobledark, noblebright, grimdark, or grimbright or something in the middle of all of those that’s okay.” For Nightmares Before Bed they say, it “is exactly what you think it is. This will be our first horror anthology and we want to be clear, no sexual violence, abuse of children, overly disturbing images and ideas, or gore will be published. We want horror, we want to be scared, but let’s do it in a way that is respectful. We’d love to see fantasy horror or sci-fi horror here.” Pay is $0.03/word for stories of 3,500-12,000 words, and the deadline is 31st January 2023. Details here.
(Their other anthology is The Way of Worlds, “an anthology focused on space exploration and colonization”, deadline 31 December 2023, details here.)
On Spec
This is a Canadian magazine of the fantastic. “Only fantasy, science fiction, horror, or any of their subgenres are accepted. Horror must have a speculative element”. Pay is CAD100 for poems and fiction up to 2,000 words, and $0.05/word for longer fiction (up to 6,000 words). The deadline is 15 December 2023. Details here.
Best of British Science Fiction 2023
This is a reprint anthology. “We are seeking science fiction stories (not fantasy or any other flavour of genre in this instance) that were first published during 2023. Authors must be British, Irish, British-based or ex-pats. … There are no limits on word length, though stories over 10,000 words may prove to be a harder sell. Successful authors will receive payment of 1p a word up to £50.00 for the reprint rights.” The deadline is 17th December 2023. Details here.
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy
This is a reprint series of American science fiction and fantasy stories previously published in 2023, and part of The Best American series by Mariner Books, which is an imprint of HarperCollins (see all the upcoming anthologies of fiction and nonfiction, and link to their submission guidelines, here). They have various criteria for eligibility, including, the story must have been published in a nationally published American or Canadian outlet in 2023; be written in English and written by a writer who is North American, or who has made North America their home; and story length must be 17,499 words or less; the story must be at least loosely categorized as science fiction or fantasy (horror is acceptable if it also has elements of science fiction or fantasy). Please note, there is no mention of payment on the website. The deadline is 31 December 2023. Details here, here, and here.
Polymath Press: Arithmophobia – An Anthology of Mathematical Horror
This is a fiction anthology about math horror. They have detailed guidelines, including, “make sure the mathematical ideas are clearly featured in the story. What kind of mathematical ideas do we want? That’s for you to decide. Think outside the box and give us something interesting. Show us weird geometries, cursed numbers, mathematicians going crazy, you name it. Most importantly of all, remember that we want math AND horror, so make it as scary as you can.” And, “We like all kinds of horror, from the quiet to the extreme. As long as your story meets our standards of quality and fits with our mathematical theme, it has a good chance. However, keep in mind that this is intended to be a more intellectual anthology, so while extreme content or gore is certainly acceptable, it should be used in service of the story and not presented merely for shock value.” Pay is $0.01/word for stories of 3,000-15,000 words (see guidelines). The deadline is 31 December 2023, or until filled. Details here.
Anterior Skies
This is an annual anthology of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They will publish “cosmic and weird stories, ranging from fantasy (preferably low fantasy, but high fantasy will be considered) to sci-fi to noir, as long as there’s a dab of horror somewhere in there.” The anthology is divided into six sections, by theme. Pay is $0.01/word, up to $50. They are open for submissions until 1st January 2024. Details here.
Creepy Podcast
This is a podcast “dedicated to creepypastas and scary stories from around the internet.” They’re currently looking for stories that female and gender-neutral narrators can read, and are also looking for stories read by male narrators, of 1,000-5,000 words. They also want single-narrator stories of up to 3,000 words. They have detailed guidelines, including, “If you’re submitting a story for a special event or holiday like Christmas, Easter, etc. Or for our 31 Days of Horror, (or a story for one of their special calls) please let us know in the subject line of the email.” Pay is $0.02/word up to $70 for stories of 1,000-3,000 words, and $100 for Sunday Narration stories of 3,500-7,500 words. Details here.
Hawk and Cleaver: The Other Stories Podcast
Hawk and Cleaver publishes horror, sci-fi, and thriller fiction on their podcast, The Other Stories. They want tales that terrify, scar and haunt. Their upcoming theme is ‘The End’; pay is £15 for stories up to 2,000 words. The deadline is 9 December 2023. Details here (click on submission form for length and payment details).
The House of Gamut
Gamut publishes dark speculative fiction, non-fiction, poetry, as well as reprints of all these genres, and anthologies. They’re open now for non-fiction and poetry; fiction is scheduled to reopen on 1st January 2024. “For stories, we are looking for fantasy, science fiction, horror, thrillers, neo-noir, new-weird, transgressive fiction, magical realism, and literary fiction that leans into genre. Our publishing arm will look for novels, collections, and anthologies that are similar in nature.” “We will pay ten cents a word for original work, and three cents a word for reprints. Poetry is $50 per poem for new work and $25 per poem for reprints. Stories will typically be in the 1,000-5,000 word range, the same for non-fiction. Poetry is pretty open.” They also will open later for a dark urban fantasy anthology. Details here and here.
Seize the Press Magazine
They accept fiction submissions and non-fiction pitches. “Seize The Press Magazine is an anticapitalist publication looking to publish dark speculative fiction. Bleak sci-fi, dark fantasy, horror and all kinds of weird, messy, genre-defying stories that defy labels. We’re looking for stories that aren’t didactic or moralistic. We want stories where everything isn’t wrapped up neatly at the end. We want to promote a diverse range of voices from authors who write messy characters, so give us your problematic queers and your angry women—we want your difficult and morally questionable characters in unpleasant situations who don’t slide neatly into a narrow definition of positive representation and don’t fit the model minority mould.” They pay 3 pence (GBP) per word for stories up to 5,000 words. Details here.
Grendel Press: Uncanny & Unearthly Tales (Vol 2) – The Midnight Labyrinth
This is a fiction anthology. The general submission guidelines for the press say they publish stories of dark fantasy, horror, and romance. For this anthology, “Each story should feature a tale delivered from a character who stepped through a door and found themselves someplace unexpected. On their journey, they will notice a book called Midnight Labyrinth. No requirement to read or interact with it; it just needs to appear. Genre-bending is welcome! Sci-fi, steampunk, horror, fantasy, etc. … This anthology is an exploration of PLACE and FANTASY, so the MC in the story needs to actually find themselves in a new world/city/place that they’ve either never been before or haven’t been for a long time.” Pay is $0.05/word for stories of 2,500-7,000 words. The deadline is 31 December 2023. Details here and here.
Escape Artists: PseudoPod
PseudoPod publishes horror fiction in audio and online formats. “We’re looking for horror: dark, weird fiction. We run the spectrum from grim realism or crime drama, to magic-realism, to blatantly supernatural dark fantasy. We publish highly literary stories reminiscent of Poe or Lovecraft as well as vulgar shock-value pulp fiction. We don’t split hairs about genre definitions, and we do not observe any taboos about what kind of content can appear in our stories. Originality demands that you’re better off avoiding vampires, zombies, and other recognizable horror tropes unless you have put a very unique spin on them. What matters most is that the stories are dark and compelling.” They will open for their Anthologies and Collections reprint call on 15th March 2024; see their schedule. They pay $0.08/word for original horror stories up to 6,000 words. Details here.
SPOOKY Magazine
This is a new magazine; their website says, “SPOOKY is a new fiction magazine in the old style. We’re horror with a gentler touch.” They have detailed guidelines about the kind of stories they want, including “Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror?” Pay is $0.01/word for stories up to 5,000 words. The deadline is 31 December 2023. Details here.
Flickers of Fear
They are reading horror fiction and poetry submissions for Issue 1 from 1st to 7th January 2024; the theme is Rites of Spring. Pay is $10 for stories of 300 words and poetry. Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
