Please scroll down for more information regarding open calls.
Submissions to We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2024 for queer short fiction reprints from 2024 are open.
Submissions for Shatter the Sun: Queer Tales of Untold Adventure are open until January 15th.
Flash fiction submissions at Baffling Magazine are open December 1-15 on the theme of “strange forms” as well as for unthemed stories.
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Submissions for the Novella Series are closed. We will re-open again in June 2025 for the 2027 novella series.
General submission notes:
Unless the editors are otherwise specified, you can address cover letters to “Dear editors” or “Dear dave.” Please avoid “Dear Mr. Ring.”
If you joke about how straight white men are underrepresented in speculative fiction, it will not win you any points.
Please query admin@neonhemlock.com if you aren’t sure if your submission went through. We’re happy to check.
Translations always welcome with permission from author. Payment to be split between author and translator, or according to your agreement.
Authors from all countries are welcome to submit.
Thanks for thinking of Neon Hemlock for your work!
Please don’t self-reject.
Submissions to We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2024 for queer short fiction reprints from 2024 are open.
We are looking for:
The best speculative stories published in 2024 under 17,500 words that implicitly or explicitly explores queerness and/or transness.
We refer to queerness that is inclusive of ace/aro stories, trans and nonbinary stories, and intersex stories.
What we don’t want to see: Original/unpublished work, unqueer work, non-speculative work.
Guidelines:
Please submit your story in .pdf, .doc or .docx file, formatted for publication or in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Please use italics and bold as necessary. This should be the final version that was published, not including editor notes or track changes.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, length, where/when the story was published, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome.
Multiple submissions are welcome.
Reprint submissions from 2024 only. This can include self-published stories, and those published on your blog or Patreon.
Submissions are open to all. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
The compensation level for stories accepted to WE’RE HERE: THE BEST SPECULATIVE FICTION 2024 is $0.01/word. Submissions will close December 31st 2024.
Editors are encouraged to recommend work from their publications and can submit multiple stories for consideration. Authors may also submit their own work; authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
Please note that we will not be sending rejections for this anthology, as is standard for other Best Of anthologies. The authors of selected stories will be reached out to in April 2025. We will be announcing our ToC in May 2025.
We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Neon Hemlock Press is open to submissions of short stories for Shatter the Sun: Queer Tales of Untold Adventure.
The anthology, edited by dave ring, will include pulp heroism in conversation with Samuel R. Delany's Nevèrÿon, Conan and Red Sonja, Imaro and Xena.
The compensation level for original stories accepted to this anthology is $0.08/word.
Submit stories on Submittable between November 1st, 2024 and January 15th, 2025. Please contact us if there are any accessibility concerns for any reason and we’ll work with you.
We are looking for:
Wordcount: Under 6,000 words. 1-4,000 words is probably the sweet spot.
Concept: Stories of queer heroes forged and tempered in the fire, fighting dark stars and bright suns, and overthrowing tyranny in all its forms. Sword and sorcery, sweat and sandals, souls and stars.
What we want to see: We are looking primarily for fantasy stories on the gritty, un-epic side of things. We expect there will be a seam of the occult and cosmic horror running through the book. We’ll also probably include a couple sword and planet stories, but that won’t be the focus. We’re using the most inclusive definition of queer. Queer, trans, ace, undefinable. Throughout, we’re looking for rich, varied and nuanced understandings of gender, family and ethnicity.
What we don’t want to see: We’re not interested in work which focuses on unexamined bigotry or sexual violence. While this is a darker-themed anthology, we intend to handle these subjects with care.
Further vibe-check notes after getting some questions about what we are looking for: We’re probably not looking for stories set on Earth. We’re probably not looking for Indiana Jones-type stories either (though maybe a secondary-world decolonial approach would be cool?).
Guidelines:
Please submit your story in .doc or .docx file, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Use italics for italics etc. The editor has a slight aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, length, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Translations are welcome; payment will be split between the author and translator unless there is another agreement for such between the two parties.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Stories should be previously unpublished.
Please no multiple submissions.
Submissions are open to all. Authors from underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
You should receive a confirmation of your submission via email. Please query after 120 days if you haven't heard back from us yet about this project.
We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.