The rules are simple. Submit at least 1 story to a paying market during the month of January. If you wish to sub to more than 1, that is your choice. These are my selected markets, they should all be open, they are all paying. If you wish, you can sub a story every day. That’s my challenge, if you want to try it as well, feel free. This is a mixture of SF/Fantasy & Horror markets because I cover all those genres.
If you submit to one of the markets listed below, READ THE GUIDELINES!
If you take part, do try to blog about it because I love hearing everyone’s experience trying the challenge. Pretty much everyone who ever took part has sold a story but I can’t guarentee success. Write good pieces, fit the right story to the right market & submit. I’ve made a pro sale (which counted towards becoming a Full SFWA Member) from this challenge so it does work.
The whole point of the challenge is to get you used to submitting, matching stories to markets & frequently having to do that with no warning that it’s not the market you expected. If you have questions, or want to take part you can get in touch with @RayDaleyWriter on Twitter or scream into the void because I don’t check Facebook as often these days.
NOTE:- Not all secondary markets were confirmed as open. Use those at your own risk. Certain markets are only open from or until set days. If I’ve said not to bump them after a certain day, don’t use them after that. Without a doubt this has been the hardest market list to compile in the last 4 or 5 years of the challenge. So many places have closed forever, or are on hiatus. This list was checked on Dec 13th 2023.
A few links had changed, so I updated them. I tried to provide secondary markets for every day but this proved to be impossible.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
January 2023 Submission Challenge Market List
01 – Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/ OR Pelagic Zone (JayHenge) https://www.jayhenge.com/callforstories.html
02 – Clarkesworld http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/submissions/ OR Nightmares Before Bed https://theunderdogpress.com/pages/submission-guidelines
03 – Hexagon Magazine https://hexagonmagazine.ca/submit/ OR Flickers Of Fear https://www.offlimitspress.com/flickers-of-fear (dont bump after 7th)
04 – Waystation https://waystationmag.blogspot.com/p/submissions.html (Jan 14th, latest) (dont bump after 14th) OR The Fantastic Other [flash fiction contest] https://fantasticother.com/submissions/ [Don’t bump after 21st]
05 – Flash Fiction Online http://flashfictiononline.com/main/submission-guidelines-flash-fiction/ (dont bump after 21st, sub sooner than later)
06 – Cosmic Horror Monthly https://www.cosmichorrormonthly.com/submissions/ OR Flash Fiction Podcast http://www.manawaker.com/ffp-submissions/
07 – Beneath Ceaseless Skies http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/submissions/ OR Gwyllion http://gwyllionmagazine.com/submissions/
08 – Imagiatopia https://www.imagitopiapod.com/submissions/submission-guidelines
09 – Bourbon Penn https://www.bourbonpenn.com/submissions OR Bards & Sages Quarterly https://www.bardsandsages.com/contact_us/fiction_submission_guidelines
10 – Dusty Attic https://dustyatticpublishing.com/submissions/ OR Heathen https://heathen.press/
11 – Penumbric https://www.penumbric.com/subs.html OR Metaphorosis https://magazine.metaphorosis.com/guidelines/
12 – The Cellar Door https://www.darkpeninsulapress.com/submissions.html (After Tomorrow/Marshland Horrors themes) OR 34 Orchard https://34orchard.com/guidelines
13 – Asimov’s https://www.asimovs.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines/ OR JOURN-E https://www.mindseyepublications.com/blank-1
14 – Radon Journal https://www.radonjournal.com/submit
15 – Electric Spec https://www.electricspec.com/Submissions.html
16 – Sci Phi Journal https://www.sciphijournal.org/index.php/submission-guidelines/
17 – The Lorelei Signal https://www.loreleisignal.com/Guidelines.html OR Newmyths https://sites.google.com/newmyths.com/newmyths-com-home/submissions
18 – The Devil You Know Best https://www.criticalblast.com/content/publishing OR Anotherealm http://anotherealm.com/faq/submit.php
19 – Pyre Mag https://www.pyremagazine.com/submissions OR Planet Scumm https://www.planetscumm.space/submit [TBC]
20 – Interzone https://interzone.press/submissions/ OR Fusion Fragment https://www.fusionfragment.com/submissions/
21 – Astral, Alien Fiction http://astral-af.org/submissions.html [Don’t bump after 28th] OR James Gunn’s Ad Astra http://www.adastrasf.com/submissions/short-fiction-submission-guidelines/
22 – The Fairy Tale Magazine https://www.fairytalemagazine.com/submissions OR Apex Magazine https://apex-magazine.com/submission-guidelines/
23 – Silver Blade https://www.silverblade.net/submissions-2/ OR Mythaxis https://mythaxis.co.uk/submissions.html
24 – Analog https://www.analogsf.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines/ OR The Farthest Star [Leadership Gone Right] https://fartheststarpublis.wixsite.com/farthest-star/general-8
25 – Flash Point SF https://flashpointsf.com/submissions/ OR The Fabulist https://fabulistmagazine.com/about/submissions/ [TBC]
26 – Brilliant Flash Fiction https://brilliantflashfiction.com/submissions/ OR Amazing Stories https://submissions.amazingstories.com/guidelines/
27 – Seize The Press https://www.seizethepress.com/submissions/ OR Three-Lobed Burning Eye https://www.3lobedmag.com/submissions.html
28 – The Dragon’s Hoard 2 (Anthology) https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/dragons-hoard-guidelines OR The Colored Lens http://thecoloredlens.com/?page_id=137752
29 – The Dark Door https://illadvisedrecords.com/thedarkdoor OR Spellbinder Mag https://www.spellbindermag.com/submission-guidelines/
30 – The Future Fire http://futurefire.net/guidelines/fiction.html
31 – Escape Pod https://escapepod.org/guidelines/short-fiction/
NOTHING BELOW HERE ARE CONFIRMED OPEN. THESE ARE MERELY SUGGESTED ALTERNATE MARKETS WHICH MAY BE OPEN & DO PAY. THESE LINKS ARE UNCHECKED & MAY NOT BE CURRENT OR CORRECT.
Allegory https://www.allegoryezine.com/submissions
Aphotic Realm https://aphoticrealm.com/submissions/
Apparition Lit https://apparitionlit.com/submissions/
Augur https://www.augurmag.com/submissions/
Best Of British SF http://www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.asp?id=218&referer=Catalogue
Chrome Baby http://robindunn.com/chrome-submit.html
Compelling Science Fiction http://compellingsciencefiction.com/guidelines.html
Dark Void Magazine https://www.darkvoidmagazine.com/submissions
Dream Of Shadows https://www.dreamofshadows.co.uk/submission-guidelines
Factor Four Magazine http://factorfourmag.com/submissionsinfo/
F&SF https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm/
Giganotosaurus http://giganotosaurus.org/submission-guidelines/
Horror Library (Dark Moon) http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Submissions.html
Infinite Worlds https://www.infiniteworldsmagazine.com/submissions
Mithila Review https://mithilareview.com/submission-guidelines/
Nature: Futures http://blogs.nature.com/futureconditional/2015/04/19/how-to-write-for-nature-futures/
Nightmare Magazine https://adamant.moksha.io/publication/nightmare/guidelines
Not One Of Us https://not-one-of-us.pub/about/guidelines/
Old Moon https://www.oldmoonpublishing.com/submissions
Tales from the Moonlit Path http://talesmoonlitpath.com/submissions/
The Dark Magazine http://thedarkmagazine.com/submission-guidelines/
The Dread Machine https://www.thedreadmachine.com/submit/
The Mesozoic Reader https://farthertrees.wordpress.com/mesozoic-reader/
The Other Stories https://theotherstories.net/submissions
The Periodical, Forlorn https://www.periodicalforlorn.com/submission-guidelines
Timeworn Lit https://www.timewornlit.com/submit
Triangulation https://parsecink.com/index.php/triangulation-submissions/
Underland Arcana https://www.underlandarcana.com/submissions/
Wyngraf https://wyngraf.com/submissions/
raywriteswrongs 
Leave a comment