8 Great Writing Conferences in February 2020

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Conferences are not only the best way to meet agents, get tips from other writers, and learn about the publishing industry, they make you feel like a writer. We all need community, and this is how we, as writers, get the necessary incentive to keep writing.

All of these conferences and workshops charge tuition, but some offer financial assistance. There are deadlines for applying for aid, so make sure you plan ahead.

For a month-by-month list of conferences throughout the year see: Writing Conferences. (You will also find links to resources that can help you find conferences in your area on that page.)

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San Francisco Writers Conference, February 13 -16, 2020, San Francisco, CA. Attendees will join with 100+ presenters and fellow writers from across the country and around the world at this year’s event. The SFWC events are consistently rated among the top writer’s conferences anywhere. "Our goal is to help writers become published authors as we help them become better at the craft and business of writing. The SFWC is also one of the friendliest conferences. Presenters this year will include bestselling authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers from major publishing houses.  There will be experts on self-publishing, book promotion, platform building, social media, and author websites. The San Francisco Writers Conference has one of the largest faculties of any writer’s conference to ensure the best networking with the people who can help you get published."

Southern California Writers’ Conference (and Retreat). February 14 - 16, 2020: San Diego, CA. Faculty: 60+ working, professional authors of fiction, nonfiction & screen, editors & agents. "Founded and run by professional writers the SCWC provides veteran and emerging talent with authoritative guidance to help distinguish those manuscripts that are ready for market consideration." Cost: $350-$425. Manuscript critique & one-on-one consultation additional. Limited to 175 conferees.

Futurescapes. February 16 - 18, 2020:: Salt Lake City, Utah. Futurescapes Workshop of Utah Valley University, is an intensive, exclusive workshop, offering writers an unparalleled chance to work with top authors and agents in speculative fiction (science fiction, horror, fantasy, paranormal). Each participant will work with three workshop faculty mentors on the first 3,000 words of their manuscript, while receiving substantive feedback on the overall structure of their work in progress and query letters.

Florida Heritage Book Festival & Writers Conference. February 20 - 22, 2020: St. Augustine, Florida. Since 2008, The Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers Conference has brought more than 200 nationally known authors and writers to teach, network, and enjoy time in beautiful St. Augustine, Florida. Thousands of Festival attendees have participated in author presentations, panel discussions, book signings, and a Writers Conference focusing on both the craft and the business of writing.

Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference. February 21 - 22, 2020: Tempe, AZ. "The Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference creates a unique and intimate creative writing experience where writers of all backgrounds, genres, and skill levels gather together and connect through the celebration and study of literary craft, culture, and community. Featuring over 25 faculty members teaching more than 50 sessions, we seek to create a warm and welcoming environment that meets people wherever they are, where writers can learn from and support each other as they work toward their goals. Beyond regular programming, we also feature advanced pre-conference workshops, an exhibitor fair, scholarships, and fellowships. We also offer opportunities to advertise with or sponsor the conference as well."

The Writers Studio, sponsored by the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, February 27 - March 1, 2020, Los Angeles, CA. The conference offers workshops in fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as writing for television and film. Offered by the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, the Writers Studio brings together a community of writing students to workshop with some of Southern California’s most accomplished writers and teachers. From among the 10 offered, participants choose one workshop in which they work closely with a professional writer in classes limited to no more than 15 people.

St. Augustine Author-Mentor Novel Workshop, Feb 27 - March 1, 2020, St. Augustine, Florida. "The St. Augustine Author-Mentor Novel Workshop creates an intimate and professional environment that combines private meetings with small-group workshops, thus enabling aspiring authors to wisely approach the writing and publication of their novel. At the St. Augustine event, aspiring authors will:
1) Work one-on-one with top authors and savvy market professionals.
2) Apply advanced story and narrative technique to their novel-in-progress.
3) Hone and improve their writer voice and style.
4) Learn the necessary inside mechanics of the publishing business.
5) Leave the workshop with a detailed plan to work towards publication of their novel.
Group workshop sessions will be interspersed with agent and author consultations, workshop assignments, as well as consults with workshop leaders."

California Creative Writers Conference. February 28 - March 1, 2020: Los Angeles, CA.  Educational and inspirational guidance from more than 40 literary agents, veteran educators, industry professionals, professional editors, and publishers in the craft and business of writing fiction, nonfiction, and screenwriting taught by Hollywood veterans. Over three days, you can learn how to take your writing to the next level and what it takes get published.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Open to Submissions - No agent required

Farrar, Straus and Giroux is an imprint of Macmillan, one of the Big Five publishers. The company is noted for its literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children’s books.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux authors have won numerous National Book Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, as well as twenty-two Nobel Prizes in literature. Nobel Prize-winners include Knut Hamsun, Hermann Hesse, T. S. Eliot, Pär Lagerkvist, François Mauriac, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Salvatore Quasimodo, Nelly Sachs, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Pablo Neruda, Eugenio Montale, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Czeslaw Milosz, Elias Canetti, William Golding, Wole Soyinka, Joseph Brodsky, Camilo José Cela, Nadine Gordimer, Derek Walcott, Seamus Heaney, and Mario Vargas Llosa.

That impressive list is equaled by the poets Farrar, Straus and Giroux has published, including Elizabeth Bishop, Ted Hughes, Philip Larkin, John Ashbery, Thom Gunn, and Les Murray.

Astonishingly for a major publisher, they accept unsolicited submissions. All submissions must be submitted through the mail—they do not accept electronic submissions, or submissions delivered in person. Please include a cover letter describing your submission, along with the first 50 pages of the manuscript.

Note: Farrar, Straus and Giroux does not publish commercial or genre fiction. Their children's book division only accepts submissions that are represented by an agent.

Read guidelines HERE.

6 Agents Seeking Mysteries and Thrillers NOW

Here are six agents currently seeking mysteries and thrillers. All work with reputable literary agencies that have good track records.

Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change.

You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients

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Gail Fortune of The Talbot Fortune Agency

Gail Fortune is a former book editor with over 25 years of publishing experience. Prior to becoming an agent she spent 16 years at Putnam Berkley (now part of Penguin Random House), where she rose from Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief to Executive Editor. Her authors have won RITAs and Agathas and have been nominated for Edgar and Anthony Awards. She has edited and agented New York Times bestsellers and Publishers Weekly Books of the Year. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

How to submit: Send your query to: queries@talbotfortuneagency.com. Be sure to include the word "query" in the subject line, and specify whether the query is addressed to John Talbot or Gail Fortune. Below your query letter PLEASE PASTE IN THE FIRST FIVE PAGES of your manuscript (but do not attach those pages as a separate file).

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Bibi Lewis of The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency

Bibi Lewis joined the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency in 2014 as an associate agent and subsidiary rights manager. In addition to her duties as an agent she sells foreign and audio rights for agency clients.

How to submit: Please send submissions to agent@ethanellenberg.com to the attention of Bibi Lewis. Send a brief query letter, followed by your synopsis, followed by the first 50 pages of your manuscript. Paste all materials into the body of the email in the above order.


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Peter Rubie of FinePrint Literary Management

Peter Rubie is a former BBC Radio and Fleet Street journalist and for several years was the director of the publishing section of the New York University Summer Publishing Institute. He was a member of the NYU faculty for 10 years, and taught the only university-level course in the country on how to become a literary agent. Prior to becoming an agent he was a publishing house editor for nearly six years, whose authors won prizes and critical acclaim. He has also been the editor-in-chief of a Manhattan local newspaper, and a freelance editor and book doctor for major publishers. He was a regular reviewer for the international trade magazine Publishers Weekly, and is a published author of both fiction and non-fiction. He is a member of AAR, and regularly lectures and writes on publishing and the craft of writing. He is the author of two published novels and close to ten non-fiction books ranging in subject matter from publishing and writing to music and Shakespeare.

How to submit: Send a query letter with a synopsis of your book, your bio, and the first two chapters (no more than 30 pages) embedded in the body of your email to peter@fineprintlit.com.

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Joseph Perry of Perry Literary, Inc.

Before founding Perry Literary, Joseph began his book publishing career when he attended the New York University Summer Publishing Institute in 2010. After interning at FinePrint Literary Management, Joseph enrolled at St. John’s University School of Law to learn about the legal aspects of publishing and graduated with a juris doctor in 2015. During law school, Joseph interned in the legal departments at Hachette Book Group; Rodale, Inc.; and William Morris Endeavor, as well as the subsidiary rights department at Columbia University Press. Joseph also holds a B.A. and M.A. in English from St. Bonaventure University.

What he is seeking: Legal thrillers.

How to submit: Queries should be sent to jperry@perryliterary.com with the words “QUERY (the title of the manuscript)” in the subject line. Please submit a query letter and the first ten pages of your manuscript within the body of the email (not as an attachment, please).

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Marlo Berliner of The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency

Marlo Berliner is an award-winning young adult author, freelance editor, and bookseller. She joined The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in March 2018 as an editorial intern after having completed a previous internship with The Bent Agency. Now, she is actively building her list as an associate agent. She is a member of SCBWI, RWA, NJ-RWA, and YA-RWA. Prior to her career in the publishing world, Marlo was an accounting manager for a Fortune 500 company. She holds B.S. degrees in Economics and Industrial Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

How to submit:  Please submit your query and first 20 pages of your finished and polished manuscript to http://QueryMe.Online/marloberliner


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Claire Harris of Foundry Literary + Media

Claire received her B.A. in English from The University of Texas at Austin and attended the NYU Summer Publishing Institute before joining Foundry Literary + Media. She enjoys the creative process of working with writers and collaborating closely with them throughout all stages of their careers.

What she is seeking: Psychological and commercial thrillers, serial detective stories, works of fiction inspired by actual crimes, mystery, suspense, cozies, and anything involving serial killers.

How to submit: Please send your query letter; Synopsis; First Three Chapters of Manuscript; and Author Bio to chsubmissions@foundrymedia.com.

6 New Agents Actively Seeking Nonfiction, Memoir, Speculative Fiction, Mainstream Fiction, Kidlit, and more

Here are six new agents actively building their client lists. Jennifer Weis is looking for new voices and authors preferably with a platform. Areas of specialty include but are not limited to health, psychology, memoir, current events and narrative nonfiction of special interest to women. Max Sinsheimer represents a range of adult nonfiction, with a particular interest in food and culture. Ben Miller-Callihan's interests include humor, YA and middle grade novels, speculative fiction, cookbooks, mainstream-ish fiction a la David Mitchell and William Gibson, and anything food-related. Callie Deitrick is primarily interested in adult literary or upmarket-commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction.

Sam Farkas wants upmarket fiction of all stripes, but especially historical; fast-paced, high-concept speculative thrillers that make her heart race; lyrical and immersive fantasy; and single-title romance that simmers. Sam is also open to Young Adult and Middle Grade of all genres, but she has a special fondness for thoughtful contemporary, often with a speculative twist; historical with modern sensibilities; fantasy with morally gray protagonists and complicated character dynamics; the very strange, and the very funny. In all categories and genres, she is looking for diverse and underrepresented voices. Jamie Carr represents novelists, short story writers, journalists, activists, and food and culture writers.

Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change.

You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients

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Jennifer Weis of Ross Yoon Agency

Jennifer recently left St. Martin’s Press, where she was Executive Editor for 30 years, to move to the other side of the desk. She joined Ross Yoon this summer. Many things have changed for her but one thing has remained constant: her excitement when engaged in the hunt for page-turning fiction of all kinds as well as compelling nonfiction. Jennifer brings to the table an ability to offer editorial guidance and development as well as an advanced understanding and knowledge of the inner workings of publishing houses and the publishing landscape today.

What she is seeking: In nonfiction, she is looking for new voices and authors preferably with a platform. Areas of specialty include but are not limited to health, psychology, memoir, current events and narrative nonfiction of special interest to women.

How to submit: Please send the following: query letter briefly explaining your idea, media platform, and qualifications for writing on this topic or a complete book proposal featuring an overview of your idea, author bio, media and marketing strategy, chapter outline, and 1-3 sample chapters. Please send these as attachments in .doc or .docx format to submissions@rossyoon.com.

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Max Sinsheimer of Sinsheimer Literary

Max Sinsheimer founded Sinsheimer Literary in the Fall of 2016 after spending seven years as an editor at Oxford University Press. "I treasured the close editor-author relationships I formed, but wanted to represent my authors’ interests more completely. As an agent, I can!"

​What he is seeking: Max represents a range of adult nonfiction, with a particular interest in food and culture.

How to submit: Email Max at max@sinsheimerliterary.com. Write QUERY and the title of your book in the subject line.

In the body of your email include who you are, a short book pitch, and a plot synopsis/overview. Attach your proposal as a PDF file.

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Ben Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency

Ben Miller-Callihan joined Handspun Literary Agency as an associate agent in 2019, after working behind the scenes since the agency's founding in tech support and bookkeeping roles. He spent more than a decade teaching high school English, and has begun taking on his own clients at the agency.

What he is seeking: His interests include humor, YA and middle grade novels, speculative fiction (especially decolonial sff), cookbooks, mainstream-ish fiction a la David Mitchell and William Gibson, and anything food-related.

How to submit: Queries should be sent to query@handspunlit.com.

For fiction: please send a query letter, short synopsis (ideally 5 pages or less), and the first three chapters or 50 pages of the novel, whichever is more.

For nonfiction: please send a query letter and proposal.

Attachments are okay; they prefer Word docs to PDFs.

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Callie Deitrick of Wendy Sherman Associates

Callie Deitrick graduated from Hamilton College in 2016 with a major in creative writing and a minor in art and completed the Columbia Publishing Course in 2017. Professionally, she has worked as a publicity and editorial intern at Europa Editions, as an editorial intern at Henry Holt, where she illustrated the cover of Number One Chinese Restaurant, and as a bookseller at Little Joe’s. She has been working as an assistant at Wendy Sherman Associates since the fall of 2018 and is currently looking to take on clients.

What she is seeking: Callie is interested in books that change the way we look at the world, whether that is through magical realism, investigative research, or unique perspectives. In whatever she reads, Callie is drawn to strong and unusual voices and thought-provoking and moving stories. She is primarily interested in adult literary or upmarket-commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction.

How to submit: Please send all e-mail submissions to submissions@wsherman.com.  Include your last name, title, and the name of the agent you are submitting to in the subject line.  For fiction, please include a query letter and your first 10 pages copied and pasted in the body of the email. For non-fiction, please include your query letter and author bio.

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Ms. Sam Farkas of Jill Grinberg Literary Management

Sam Farkas grew up in South Jersey and attended the College of William & Mary, where she received her B.A. in History and English. Upon graduation, she moved to New York to intern with Maria B. Campbell Associates, where she discovered her love for collaborating with agents and publishers around the world. She worked in the subsidiary rights department at Penguin before she joined the JGLM team in 2018. She handles foreign rights for all JGLM authors. An avid traveler, Sam has been to 14 countries spanning 4 continents, and dreams of visiting them all. She speaks Spanish, and can often be found on language-learning apps.

What she is seeking: In Adult, Sam is looking for upmarket fiction of all stripes, but especially historical; fast-paced, high-concept speculative thrillers that make her heart race; lyrical and immersive fantasy; and single-title romance that simmers. Sam is also open to Young Adult and Middle Grade of all genres, but she has a special fondness for thoughtful contemporary, often with a speculative twist; historical with modern sensibilities; fantasy with morally gray protagonists and complicated character dynamics; the very strange, and the very funny. In all categories and genres, she is looking for diverse and underrepresented voices.

How to submit: Please send your query to: info [at] jillgrinbergliterary [dot] com. Your subject line should follow this general format: QUERY: [Title of Project] by [Your Name] / [Age Category/Genre]. Please paste your query letter in the body of the text and attach your materials as a docx. file.  For all fiction submissions, please send a query letter and the first fifty (50) pages of your manuscript.

Jamie Carr of The Book Group

Jamie Carr joined The Book Group in January 2020 as an agent. Prior, she worked in the literary department of William Morris Endeavor for almost six years where she championed New York Times bestsellers, award winning titles, and groundbreaking debuts. Born and raised in Lower Manhattan, she has an MFA in fiction writing and began her career in the books department of Tin House.

What she is seeking: Jamie represents novelists, short story writers, journalists, activists, and food and culture writers. Most interested in adult literary and upmarket commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction, she is drawn to writing that is voice-driven, highly transporting, from unique perspectives and marginalized voices, and that seeks to disrupt or reframe what appears to be known.

How to submit: Send a query letter and ten sample pages to submissions@thebookgroup.com. Please include the first and last name of the agent you are querying in the subject line. All material must be in the body of the email.

Most Popular Publishing Posts of 2019

It's traditional for blogs to do a "most popular" retrospective at the beginning of the new year. Since I am a sucker for traditions, here goes.

In 2019, I published 79 posts. (My total number of posts is 746. They just keep multiplying ... like triffids.) All of my posts have to do with publishing, of course, though I occasionally sneak something in about the craft of writing.

In 2019, my two most popular posts were:

30 Traditional Publishers Accepting Submissions - No agent required 17,863 views

24 Publishers Accepting Picture Books - No Agent Required 14,575 views

After those two posts came all of my posts listing monthly Calls for Submissions and Writing Contests. (There are too many to list here.) Following those were Agents Seeking Submissions.

In addition to my 2019 posts, I should mention my most popular posts of all time, since these were visited regularly over the past year. All of these posts have been recently updated.

20 Most Popular Posts - All Time


23 US Children's Book Publishers Accepting Manuscripts Directly From Writers 260,118 views

Agents Looking for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers 134,526 views

3 Major Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts 88,723 views

6 Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts from Writers - No Agent Needed  71,032 views

Mega-List of Speculative Fiction Magazines Accepting Submissions 57,097 views

17 UK Children's Book Publishers Accepting Manuscripts Directly from Writers 55,923 views

325 Paying Markets for Short Stories, Poetry, Nonfiction 52,730 views

19 Poetry Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts 33,968 views

Mega-List of Paying Markets for Horror, Dark Fiction and Poetry 33,116 views

82 UK Literary Agencies Seeking Clients  32,335 views

Mega-List of Online Reviewers Who Accept Self-Published Books 32,105 views

41 Paying Markets for Personal Essays 29,837 views

13 Paying Markets for Humor 26,044 views

5 Established Agents Looking for Writers - Literary fiction, Memoir, MG, YA, Fantasy, Romance and more 25,814 views

28 Paying Markets for Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction 23,350 views

14 Publishers Accepting Unagented Short Story Collections 20,832 views

251 Hashtags for Writers 20,050 views

27 LGBT Publishers Accepting Manuscripts - No agent required (Plus 8 paying journals) 19,963 views

10 Agents Representing Short Story Collections 19,229 views

DAW Books Opens Its Doors to Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers - No agent needed 16,793 views

2020 New Year's Resolution for Writers: Begin

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I rarely make personal New Year's resolutions. (The one time I did, in 2018, it backfired so spectacularly, I will never resolve something personal again. I now take "Be careful what you wish for" very seriously.) However, all failures aside, I always make writer's resolutions. Those I follow faithfully, and without mishap.

In 2017, I resolved to write what I feared. In my case, it was a memoir. Fiction is easy to hide in. I can embed my quirks in a character or two, and write the truth without too much fear of exposure. A memoir was another matter entirely. All those secrets revealed, all that airing of linen, potentially quite dirty, all that risk. The very idea of writing a memoir terrified me.

So, I wrote one, because it was a resolution. And I am a woman of my word.

The following year, I resolved to finish, because my memoir was becoming a lengthy affair. At 120,000 words, and not even close to finishing, I was tempted to simply table the idea and get on with writing something more entertaining. But promises are promises, so I finished. The final product clocked in at 172,000 words, a length one agent characterized as "absurd."

Last year, I resolved to be true to my work. To thine own work be true is a piece of advice that is well taken for any writer. Writing for an audience, or for an agent, or a publisher, will only water down your work and turn it into something that says nothing. The only way your writing can achieve its full potential is if you say what you are compelled to say. Second guessing an audience will get a writer nowhere. So, I (mentally) told the agent who said my proposed memoir's length was "absurd" to go to hell, and added more.

This year, I am at an impasse. After spending two years spilling my guts out on paper, I feel emptied. Finishing a novel never has that effect on me; I only feel a sense of elation a "writer's high." But finishing my memoir about the two years I spent hitchhiking to Argentina has left me wondering what to do with myself. A novel? Another memoir? A screenplay? I don't know where to start.

I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. The important thing is to begin, so that is my 2020 resolution: Begin.

Begin with a sentence, a phrase, a title. Begin with an image, song lyrics, something your mother told you when you were twelve. Begin with a phone conversation, an old letter, a shopping list. It doesn't matter how or what - just start. Inspiration will come after you begin to write. It always does.

So, dear writers, if you are staring at a blank screen ... write something on it. I promise it will take you somewhere you didn't expect to go. That is why we write, after all.

57 Calls for Submissions in January 2020 - Paying markets

Pxfuel

There are more than four dozen calls for submissions in January. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.

I post calls for submissions on the first day of every month. But as I am collecting them, I post them on my page, Calls for Submissions. You can get a jump on next month's calls for submissions by checking that page periodically throughout the month. (I only post paying markets.)

Also see Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.

Happy submitting!

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Vernacular Books: The Way of the Laser – Future Crime Stories. Genre: Crime stories. "We want crime stories that take place in the future. Preferably these stories will go beyond simple murders or capers to reveal something about how technology and the powers that wield it have changed our world. Is poisoning the nanobots responsible for programming the ads in your neural feed a crime? Is organized crime society’s only hope or responsible for its downfall? Consider what will constitute a crime and what unique problems it poses for your characters." Payment: $0.05/word + royalties. Length: 4,000-8,000 words. Deadline: January 1, 2020.

The Temz Review. Genres: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: January 1, 2020.

Full Bleed: Archives. Genre: Criticism, fiction, poetry, graphic essays, belles lettres, artwork, design, and illustration. "We are especially interested in submissions that critique, investigate, or rely on archives of various kinds. We seek new writing about artists working with, playing with, re-contextualizing, or elevating archival materials; art or design projects responsive to historical documents; and essays, fictions, and poetry related to the work of archiving." Payment: Modest honorarium. Deadline: January 1, 2020.

Griffith Review 69: The European Exchange (Australia). Genre: Essays and creative non-fiction, reportage, fiction, poetry, memoir and picture stories. "Griffith Review seeks new work that illuminates the evolving connections between Europe and Australia – work that asks not only how Europe speaks to the rest of the world, but how the rest of the world speaks back." Payment: Negotiated. Deadline: January 2, 2020.

BE MY GRUMPY VALENTINE: GRUMPY OLD GODS VOLUME 6. Genre: Speculative fiction. "We’re looking for stories of humans who manage to find love or just escape Grumpy Old Gods whose love mojo is a little shaky – (maybe their eyesight isn’t so good…maybe they just don’t have the juice…maybe they are tired as hell of making matches and really need to retire). We’re looking for happy endings in this one – humans finding love despite the ‘help’ of cranky deities, people who didn’t want their free will subverted escaping to have a beer with friends on Valentine’s…even people breaking free of love spells to find true love on their own." Length: 3000-4000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 3, 2020.

Havok. Genre: Mystery, scifi, comedy, thriller, and fantasy on theme of Strange New Worlds.  Length: 300 to 1,000 words. Payment: $10. Deadline: January 5, 2020.

Novel Noctule. Genre: Horror fiction and poetry. Payment: $10. Deadline: January 5, 2020.

Crone Girls Press: Coppice and Brake. Genre: Fiction submissions of dark fantasy, supernatural, and eerie horror. Length: 500-1,500 words for flash fiction, 3,000-8,000 words for short stories, and 12,000-25,000 words for novellas. Payment: $0.02/word or $25/story, whichever is greater. (Seriously? $25 for a novella?) Deadline: January 6, 2020.

Crone Girls Press: Stories We Tell After Midnight. Genre: Chilling horror. Length: 500-1,500 words for flash fiction, 3,000-8,000 words for short stories, and 12,000-25,000 words for novellas. Payment: $0.02/word or $25/story, whichever is greater. (Again, seriously? $25 for a novella?) Deadline: January 6, 2020.

Nosetouch Press: Fiends in the Furrows II. Genre: Folk horror. "Folk Horror continues to stalk sunlit fields and shadowed groves with its grafting of the mundane and the sublime. The pervasive themes of isolation, paranoia, depravity, loss of individuality, and rustic madness captivate and terrify audiences." Length: 4,000-8,000 words. Payment: $0.04/word. Deadline: January 7, 2020.

Scum. Genre: Feminist-friendly work of any variety, but as a general rule your piece should be under 2000 words (50 lines for poetry, max. 3 poems) and able to be classified as “fiction”, “culture”, “memoir”, “column”, “poetry”, and/or “review”. Payment: $60 AUD. Deadline: January 7, 2020. Opens to submissions on January 1.

Prairie Fire. Genre: Fiction, creative non-fiction, essays, and poetry on the topic of walking.  General submissions (non-themed) also open. Payment: Prose: $0.10 per word. Poetry: $40 per poem.  Deadline: January 10, 2020.

MUSE. Genre: MUSE is a discovery magazine for children and teens ages 9 - 14. The editors seek fresh and entertaining articles from the fields of science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: January 13, 2020.

PodCastle. Genre: Speculative fiction: podcast. Payment: $0.06/word. Deadline: January 15, 2020. Accepts reprints.

Pixie Forest Publishing: Phobia! An Anthology of Fear. Genre: Short stories that feature a phobia. Stories should be between 1500 and 4000 words. Payment: $10. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

Kanstellation: The Dark Side of Science. Genre: Poetry, fiction, flash fiction, art. "We’re looking for writing and art that explores the unintended side effects or consequences of scientific advancement, including but not limited to the areas of biology, physics, chemistry, and geology.” Payment: $120/essay, $100/flash, $60/poem, illustration, or photograph. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

The New Gothic Review. Genre: Gothic fiction. Payment: $15. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

Camden Park Press: Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse. Genre: Short stories about cats and their women – their badass women. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

Death’s Head Press: Dark Stars. Genre: Science fiction horror. Payment: $20. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats. Genre: True stories and poems. Payment: $200. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Dogs. Genre: True stories and poems. Payment: $200. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

Women Artists Datebook. Genre: Poems and artwork by women on theme of social justice.  Payment: $70. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

Great Weather for MEDIA: Annual Print Anthology. Genres: Poetry, flash fiction, short stories, dramatic monologues, and creative nonfiction. "Our focus is on the fearless, the unpredictable, and experimental but we do not have a set theme for our anthologies." Payment: $10. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

Carte Blanche. Genre: Fiction, CNF, art, and poetry. Payment: Modest honorarium. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

AE Micro: Stars. Genre: Micro science fiction about stars. Length: Up to 200 words. Payment: CAD 0.10/word for fiction; CAD 50-300 for art. Deadline: January 15, 2020.

Superior Shores Press: Heartbreaks & Half-Truths: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense. Genre: Short stories of mystery and suspense with an overarching theme of heartbreaks and half-truths. Payment: $10 USD for reprints and $20 USD for previously unpublished. Deadline: January 15, 2020. Accepts reprints.

The Stinging Fly. Genre: Fiction and poetry. Payment: Token. Deadline: January 16, 2020.

Rattle Postcards. Genre: Poetry. "The poems may be any style or subject, but must have been written on and be accompanied by a related postcard. Homemade postcards, artists you know, or public domain/Creative Commons licensed art is preferred. Our goal is to support and encourage the act of writing poems on postcards and sharing them in this personal and intimate way." Payment: $100. Deadline: January 16, 2020.

Jaggery. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, art, and poetry. Jaggery seeks engrossing, entertaining, and enlightening fiction from or about South Asia and its diasporas. Payment: Fiction $100, Poetry $25, Essays and interviews $25, Art $25. Deadline: January 16, 2020.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on theme of Silence. Payment: $5. Deadline: January 20, 2020.

Human/Kind. Genre: Poetry, prose and art on themes. (See site for themes.) Payment: $5 for each poem, prose, art, video, experimental or hybrid piece and $3 for each micropoem. Deadline: January 21, 2020.

Rogue Blades: Mostly dead! Genre: Short stories based on the Princess Bride. Length: 3000 words minimum. "This is a fantastical romance adventure sequel to RBE's fantastical romance adventure SOMEBODY KILL THE PRINCE! A continuation of our classical fairy-talish homage to THE PRINCESS BRIDE (book and movie by William Goldman). The theme to SOMEBODY KILL THE PRINCE! was that of diabolical machinations defeated by ‘Last Boy Scout’ good-guy/gal-ism! The theme to MOSTLY DEAD! is that of diabolical tortures defeated by ‘Last Boy Scout’ good-guy/gal-ism!" Payment: $42. Deadline: January 26, 2020.

Every Day Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction up to 1000 words. Suitable stories for February, including Groundhog Day, The Day the Music Died, The Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, getting tired of winter / cabin fever. Payment: $3. Deadline: January 27, 2020.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories about Christmas. Genre: Stories and poems about the holidays. "We are looking for stories about the entire December holiday season, including Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and New Year’s festivities too. We want to hear about your holiday memories and traditions. The rituals of the holiday season give a rhythm to the years and create a foundation for our lives, as we gather with family, with our communities at church, at school, and even at the mall, to share the special spirit of the season, brightening those long winter days. Please share your special stories about the holiday season with us." Payment: $200, publication, and 10 author copies.  Deadline: January 30, 2020.

The Overcast. Genre: Speculative fiction podcast. Payment: $20 minimum. Deadline: January 30, 2020. Accepts reprints.

The Genre Hustle: Murder Park After Dark Volume 3. Genre: Horror dark fantasy stories of no more than 2000 words. Sci-fi is also welcome so long as it’s scary. Payment: $0.02/word up to 1,500 words; $30 for comics and visual stories. Deadline: January 30, 2020.

The Rumpus. Genre: Fiction, poetry. Payment: $300 divided among all contributors (?). Deadline: January 31, 2020.

The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns. Genre: Nonfiction. "Known, lesser known and obscure cases are welcome. Add something new to the discussion, a different viewpoint or angle. First-person accounts are especially welcome from writers with some connection to the crimes. Stories can take place anywhere in the world and during any time frame. Material must be meticulously fact-checked before submission, including dates, names, locations etc." No reprints. Payment: $130. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Dragon Soul Press: Reign of Queens. Genre: Speculative short stories: "In these stories, women rule and worlds governed by men are a thing of the past. Whether righteous or downright sadistic, these authoritative female figures shape their worlds for better or worse despite the trials thrown their way." Word Count – 5,000-15,000. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Room. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and art by women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. Theme: Neurodivergence. Payment: All contributors will be paid upon publication: $50 CAD for one page, $60 for two pages, $90 for three pages, $120 for four pages, $150 for five or more pages. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Split Lip Magazine. Genre: Fiction (flash and short stories), memoirs, and poetry. with a pop-culture twist. Payment: $50 per author (via PayPal) for our web issues. Payment for print is $5 per page, minimum of $20, plus 2 contributor copies and a 1-year subscription. Deadline: January 31, 2020. Note: Submit early in January to avoid submission fees.

Gallery of Curiosities. Genre: Retropunk fiction: "steampunk, dieselpunk, dreadpunk, bronzepunk, others that haven’t even been invented yet punk … but not atompunk." Payment: 4 cents a word USD for original fiction and a penny a word for reprints, with a minimum of $30 USD for stories less than 1000 words. Deadline: January 31, 2020. Opens January 1.

Planet Scumm. Genre: Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, speculative fiction, weird fiction, slipstream. Payment: $30. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Nashville Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry, art, and nonfiction. Payment: $25 per poem & song selection; $100 per selection for all other categories, including featured artwork. Translators receive $25 per poem & $100 for prose selections. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Aether&Ichor. Genre: Fantasy. Payment: £5 (or equivalent currency) per 1,000 words, at a minimum of £5. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Be You. Genre: True stories about women."You are in charge of your life and the decisions you make. A woman doesn’t have to lose her femininity or become a bully. A woman doesn’t have to be single or divorced to be looked upon as independent. Married women and women in relationships are independent, too. We are looking for your true stories on how you are running your life, how you became empowered and achieved independence. Your story will help young women feel stronger, more capable, and more confident… more empowered." Payment: $200, publication, and 10 author copies. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Sub-Terrain Magazine: House Made of Dawn (Visions of the Cultural Ramifications of Current and Future Trends in Digital Technologies) Genre: Essays, creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. “This special issue of subTerrain will code readers into ecstatic dream worlds that are just around the bend of the collective mind. We will be searching for a new cosmological culture amongst the Ones and Zeros of the near and distant future.” Payment: $50/poem; $50/page of prose. Deadline: January 31, 2020. No fee for mailed submissions.

Twelfth Planet Press: Rebuilding Tomorrow. Genre: Post-apocalytic short stories. "Rebuilding Tomorrow is a followup anthology to Defying Doomsday, which was an anthology of apocalypse-survival fiction with a focus on disabled characters. Rebuilding Tomorrow will again focus on disabled and/or chronically ill protagonists but, rather than focussing on survival in the immediate aftermath of an apocalypse, we want stories set a significant time after an apocalyptic disaster. We want stories that show society getting back on its feet and people who have moved past (or are in the process of moving past) subsistence-level existence into a new, sustainable world, even though it’s one that has been irrevocably changed by an apocalypse." Payment: $0.08/word. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Quommunicate Publishing: Hashtag Queer – LGBTQ+ Creative Anthology, Vol 4. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and scripts on LGBTQ+ themes. Payment: $5/page. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Flash Bang Mysteries. Genre: Mystery/Crime. This magazine is looking for original mystery/suspense of all types (police procedural, private eye, amateur sleuth, cozies, hardboiled, etc.). Flash fiction ONLY between 500 and 750 words. "Basically, if it involves a crime and it is within our guidelines, we would love to consider it. We want stories that feature believable characters who speak naturally, realistic situations that bleed conflict, and surprise endings that stay with us long after we reach the final period. We welcome new and established authors." Payment: $20. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge (Online). Genre: Poetry. There's a long tradition of poetry responding to art (and vice versa). Every month Rattle will post an image on their Ekphrastic Challenge page. Poets will then have one month to write a poem in response to that specific image. Payment: $50.   Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Negative Space: An Anthology of Survival Horror. Genre: Survival horror genre of video games. Payment: $50.00 + digital copy. Deadline: January 31, 2020. Opens January 15.

JMS Books: LGBTQ Romance: Lend a Helping Hand. Genre: LGBTQ romance stories. "Stories where romance blooms when someone extends a helping hand to someone else." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

NGY Review. Genre: Story on theme of An abandoned place. Poetry on any theme. Payment: Token. (Payment in Japanese yen.) Deadline: January 31, 2020. Reprints accepted.

Timeworn Literary Journal. Genre: Historical fiction stories in English under 5,000 words. They should be set before 1996, rooted in history and voice-driven. "We're looking for "Historical Fiction from the fringe." Work with a bend toward the surreal, the dream-like, the strange. The offbeat kind of story that settles into your heart long after reading. That said, we also value beauty and warmth and a generally well-written story with soul. Romance, Mystery, Crime and the Gothic are all acceptable. Speculative elements strongly encouraged." Payment: $25. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Qwerty. Genre: Poetry and prose about ecology. "For this special issue, Qwerty invites decolonial, innovative approaches to and encounters with the environment—its physical, social, and linguistic spaces." Payment: $10. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Circumference. Genre: New translations of poetry and drama. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: January 31, 2020.

Port Yonder Press: Eastern Iowa Review. Genre: Lyric essays and prose poems, creative nonfiction and hybrid works. Payment: $10. Deadline: January 31, 2020.