If you’re new to my challenge, welcome. Otherwise, welcome back.
So what’s this all about?
3 times each year, I make a list of paying markets for short form genre fiction which covers science fiction, fantasy, horror and literary fiction.
I challenge you, as well as myself, to submit to as many of these markets as you can over the course of January 2022.
For me, the challenge is to sub to all of them. For you, it’s to sub to as many as you feel you can, or wish to see your work at.
There’s a decent mixture, pro markets, semi-pro, paying and token, but all these markets do pay something. We’ve had success before, most people who’ve previously taken part in past years have made sales, I myself made my 1st standalone pro sale from the event to Daily Science Fiction.
All you need are the stories, proofed and ready to be sent out. Of course, you need to read the guidelines for whichever markets you choose to submit your work to and format them accordingly.
So what’s this all for?
The event is about getting skills vital to becoming a better author. Learning the submission process, handling rejection, using feedback & flexibility being able to sub to a new market with almost no notice. These are all good skills which will serve you well as a jobbing writer in the submission trenches. I’m in the exact same position as you, trying to sell my work, competing with my peers, getting rejections and making a sale here and there. The only different between you and me, I’m the one creating these lists every few months, and you’re getting all that hard work done for you.
If you want to use these markets, please do. I encourage any short fic writers to take part, the most common thing I hear on Twitter is “Where can I find places to sell my work?” What I’ve done here is answer that question for you. All I ask is for support, that you acknowledge you used this list and to promote the challenge on social media if you think it’d interest writers you know.
If you also enjoy the process, I’d love to hear you blog about your experience after the fact.
Be aware, availability may change between now and January. The onus is on you to check they are still open. I will update this list between now & then, you can follow me on Twitter @RayDaleyWriter or get in touch with me to join our private Facebook group where we often share extra links not posted here.
So without any further ado, here is the list of markets. Confirmed open & paying by me, on this day 23rd October ’21. EDIT:- Minor changes have been made, some markets moved about. 23rd Nov ’21.
2nd EDIT:- Mythic removed as they have closed forever, Interzone moved. Compelling now confirmed as open/paying. The Overcast were removed, they are also closing forever. I’ve moved Infinite Worlds to that empty spot. 22nd Dec ’21
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01 Fantasy Magazine (short & long form) https://adamant.moksha.io/publication/fantasy/guidelines OR Clarkesworld http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/submissions/
02 Cosmic Root & Eldritch Shores https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/
03 Seize The Press https://twitter.com/SeizePress/status/1471260798303485966 OR Compelling SF Compelling Science Fiction http://compellingsciencefiction.com/guidelines.html
04 Apex Magazine https://apex-magazine.com/submission-guidelines/
05 Dark Recesses https://darkrecessespress.com/submissions/ OR Micro Madness https://www.cosmichorrormonthly.com/micro-madness/
06 Three-Lobed Burning Eye https://www.3lobedmag.com/submissions.html
07 Electric Spec https://www.electricspec.com/Submissions.html
08 Rockets & Robots/Beware The Bugs/Paradoxical Pets http://www.jamesmaxey.net/word-balloon-book-anthologies.html OR Spring Into SciFi https://www.cloakedpress.com/springscifi/
09 Sci Phi Journal https://www.sciphijournal.org/index.php/submission-guidelines/ OR Daily Science Fiction https://dailysciencefiction.com/submit
10 Asimov’s https://www.asimovs.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines/ OR Apparition Lit https://apparitionlit.com/submissions/
11 Penumbric https://www.penumbric.com/subs.html
12 Infinite Worlds https://www.infiniteworldsmagazine.com/submissions OR Dread Stone Press (Dose Of Dread) 1k flash, horror https://dreadstonepress.com/submissions/#dose-jump
13 Analog https://www.analogsf.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines/ OR Cryptid Carnage https://horrortree.com/taking-submissions-cryptid-carnage-early-listing/
14 Cosmic Horror Monthly https://www.cosmichorrormonthly.com/submissions/
15 Fractured Literary https://fracturedlit.com/submit/ or Silver Blade https://www.silverblade.net/submissions-2/
16 Welkin Lit https://welkinmag.com/submit/ OR Planet Scumm https://www.planetscumm.space/submit
17 Anotherealm http://anotherealm.com/faq/submit.php
18 Strange Horizons (before 4pm GMT) http://strangehorizons.com/submit/fiction-submission-guidelines/
19 Interzone http://ttapress.com/interzone/guidelines/
20 Flash Fiction Online http://flashfictiononline.com/main/submission-guidelines-flash-fiction/
21 F&SF https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm
22 The Other Stories (Metamorphosis theme) https://theotherstories.net/submissions
23 Mythaxis https://mythaxis.co.uk/submissions.html
24 Metaphorosis https://magazine.metaphorosis.com/guidelines/
25 Bards & Sages Quarterly https://www.bardsandsages.com/contact_us/fiction_submission_guidelines OR The Society Of Misfit Toys (same link)
26 Not One Of Us https://not-one-of-us.pub/about/guidelines/
27 The Arcanist https://thearcanist.io/tag/submission-guidelines/ OR CRAFT Lit https://www.craftliterary.com/submit/
28 The Future Fire http://futurefire.net/guidelines/fiction.html
29 Newmyths https://sites.google.com/newmyths.com/newmyths-com-home/submissions
30 The Mesozoic Reader https://farthertrees.wordpress.com/mesozoic-reader/ OR The Lorelei Signal https://www.loreleisignal.com/Guidelines.html
31 Escape Pod https://escapepod.org/guidelines/short-fiction/ OR 34 Orchard https://34orchard.com/guidelines/
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NOTHING BELOW HERE IS CONFIRMED OPEN. THESE ARE MERELY SUGGESTED ALTERNATE MARKETS WHICH MAY BE OPEN & DO PAY.
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The Deadlands https://thedeadlands.com/guidelines/ (Possibly Jan 20th?)
Bourbon Penn https://www.bourbonpenn.com/submissions
The Dark Magazine http://thedarkmagazine.com/submission-guidelines/
Tales from the Moonlit Path http://talesmoonlitpath.com/submissions/
Dread Machine https://www.thedreadmachine.com/submit/
Dream Of Shadows https://www.dreamofshadows.co.uk/submission-guidelines
Amazing Stories https://submission.amazingstoriesmag.com/guidelines/
Giganotosaurus http://giganotosaurus.org/submission-guidelines/
Nature: Futures http://blogs.nature.com/futureconditional/2015/04/19/how-to-write-for-nature-futures/
Mithila Review https://mithilareview.com/submission-guidelines/
Centropic Oracle http://www.centropicoracle.com/mainpages/subguide.php
Chrome Baby http://robindunn.com/chrome-submit.html
The Weird And Whatnot https://www.theweirdandwhatnot.com/submit
Hexagon Magazine https://hexagonmagazine.ca/submit/
Underland Arcana https://www.underlandarcana.com/submissions/
The Colored Lens http://thecoloredlens.com/?page_id=8/
No Sleep Podcast https://www.thenosleeppodcast.com/submissions
James Gunn’s Ad Astra http://www.adastrasf.com/submissions/short-fiction-submission-guidelines/
Flash Frog https://flash-frog.com/submit/
Wyldblood Magazine https://wyldblood.com/submissions-2/
SmokeLong Quarterly https://www.smokelong.com/guidelines/