*** Submissions Paused While Compiling Current Anthology ***

*** No Further Submissions Accepted Until After Publication of Current Anthology ***

Payment of $100 for horror, fantasy and science fiction stories

Professional painters, pianists, and ballet dancers all study and practice constantly for years to learn their crafts. But for some reason, many writers don’t put that effort into their own craft.

Please learn the material in these three short essays, before submitting. If you study and practice the material in just these short essays, you will become an obviously better writer than most of the other authors you compete against, and your list of accepted stories will dramatically increase.

When submitting stories my best advice is, … Know your market. Investigate current stories on T. Gene Davis’s Speculative Blog to understand the styles of stories accepted. Browse the free archives of stories on this blog to get familiar with what plots have already appeared here. Keep up on new stories by subscribing to the free email reminders. I cannot emphasis enough the importance of learning the market before submitting.

T. Gene Davis’s Speculative Blog releases family-friendly speculative stories, mostly by guest authors. “Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history.”(Wikipedia)

By the way, I love magic realism even though it isn’t specified in that list.

Do not confuse “family-friendly” with children’s stories. The stories accepted are for adults with mature themes, but safe to read out loud with children in the room. All stories MUST be written so that adults will enjoy them. Often the only differences between family-friendly stories and other stories are a few wording changes. Please make those minor changes before submitting.

I am glad to post well written stories by guest authors. Stories appearing on my blog will also appear in the blog’s anthology. I pay $100 (US) for the right to publish your story on the blog and in the anthology. Specifically, I purchase first electronic rights and the right to publish your story in any anthologies related to this blog. You keep all other rights, meaning you can resubmit your story to other markets after initial publication on the blog.

Please keep stories between 250 – 6000 words. This includes flash fiction, short stories, novelettes, and novellas. Formatting should be in standard manuscript format.

There are no fixed forbidden topics for stories. A general rule is that if I’d turn red while reading it aloud to my mother and my daughter, then it won’t be accepted.

Expect decisions on stories to take no more than 60 days.

Submit your story here.

Payment for accepted stories is made upon my receipt of the signed author agreement. Payment is sent through PayPal.

Please, familiarize yourself with our sample_author_agreement before submitting.

Include a brief bio or thoughts about your story that can be published if your story is accepted. Things you could include are your life experiences, your goals, ambitions, motivations, dreams, and worries. However, keep the bio or story thoughts under 250 words.

*** Submissions Paused While Compiling Current Anthology ***

*** No Further Submissions Accepted Until After Publication of Current Anthology ***