CONTESTS

Black Orchid Novella Award: Stories to 15K-20K wds. First prize: $1000 plus publication in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. "No overt sex or violence, emphasizes the deductive skills of the sleuth...no characters from the original series." http://www.nerowolfe.org. Entries must be postmarked by 5/31/07.

Innovative Fiction Contest: Diagram Magazine contest, wants "groundbreaking fiction" from 5 wds to 10K wds.  Entry fee: $5; DL 3/26/07. Winning stories will be chosen by Michael Martone. Prize: $1000. http://thediagram.com.

On the Premises: Contest to be held three times/year. Stories to 5000 wds. Prizes, $130, $90, $50 and $20. No entry fee. http://www.onthepremises.com/index.html

Writers' Journal Write To Win Contest: $5 entry fee. Wants stories to 1500 wds. First prize $150. Honorable mentions, subscription. For story starters, see http://www.writersjournal.com/WritetoWinContest.htm

PAYING MARKETS

5678 Dance Magazine: Quarterly, wants features (humor, technique, interviews, events, stories on dance). Pmt: $35-100. http://www.5678magazine.com/writer.htm

5th Story Review: Ezine, doesn't pay for stories, but has a $100 prize for "best" story in the issue. Sub to stories(at)5thstoryreview.com. http://www.5thstoryreview.com/writers.html

Ancient Paths: Christian literary mag, wants poetry and prose. Pmt: $6/story; $2/poem. Sub to Skylar H. Burris, Editor, Ancient Paths, P.O. Box 7505, Fairfax Station, VA 22039. Reading period begins again in March '07.

The Antioch Review: Literary mag for Antioch College, wants fiction, nonfiction (5000-8000 wds) and poetry. Pmt: $15/printed page. P.O. Box 148, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. GL at http://review.antioch.edu/wg.html

Ballista: "Paranormal, horror, Gothick, psychological, occult & macabre - even SF, dark fantasy or just the downright bizarre will be considered," to 3500 wds. Flash fiction considered. Pmt: £5 via Paypal. http://www.mucusart.co.uk/ballista.htm

Barnwood Magazine: Poetry (no expressions of prejudice such as racism or sexism). Pmt: $25. Reads Sept. 1-May 31. Sub 1-3 poems to Tom Koontz, barnwoodpress(at)earthlink.net. Barnwood Press, P.O. Box 146, Selma IN 47383. http://www.barnwoodpress.org

Between Kisses: “The official newsletter/magazine of Sam’s Dot Publishing, wants sci-fi, fantasy, and horror short stories that “are well-plotted and have memorable characters.” Also poetry. Pmt: amount not listed. www.samsdotpublishing.com/betweenkisses/main.htm

Blazing Adventures: Pulp fiction ezine, wants stories to 5000 wds. Also flash fiction and serialized fiction. Pmt: $5/piece. "Hard-boiled, Detective, noir, adventure/action, sports, mysteries, science fiction and spicy pulp." http://www.blazingadventuresmagazine.com/BlazingAdventuresMagazineHomePage.htm

Contrary: Commentary, fiction, poetry, and, "especially, works that challenge those categories," to 6000 wds (prefers <1000 wds.) Pmt: $20 for each byline regardless of the length, page count, or nature of the submission. $40 more for featured work. http://www.contrarymagazine.com/.

Culture Star Reader: Wants work that is "brash, ribald, hilarious, evocative and unconventional." Sub two stories (to 3000 wds) or three poems. Pmt: $10/story, $5/poem. Email to submissions(at)culturestarreader.com or mail to Culture Star Reader Magazine, 45 Hudson Ave. Suite 743, Albany, New York 12207. http://www.culturestarreader.com/submission_guidelines.html

Dark Energy Speculative Fiction: Fiction 1000-50K wds. “No pure horror, flash fiction, Star Trek or Star Wars-type stories. Not keen on space opera, either.” Pmt: $10. Email subs only to editor(at)darkenergysf.com. http://www.darkenergysf.com.

Fantastic Stories of the Imagination: Quarterly scifi/fantasy mag. Will take mixed genres (i.e., SF mystery). Wants stories 2000-15K wds, average 4000-5000. Pmt: 1-5¢/wd. Also poetry3-20 lines, pmt: $1/line. Sub to Ed McFadden, P.O. Box 329, Brightwaters NY 11718.

Far Sector SFFH: Scifi and dark imaginative fiction. “No porn, excessive gore, or vulgarity unless it directly furthers the story (sparingly, at that). No sword and sorcery, elves, high fantasy, cookie-cutter space opera.” Pmt: $10 plus 25% royalties. John Cullen, Clocktower Books, PMB 260, 6549 Mission Gorge Rd., San Diego CA 92120. http://www.farsector.com

The Fifth Di…: Fantasy and scifi (no horror); also poetry. Pmt: not listed. Sam's Dot Publishing, P.O. Box 782, Cedar Rapids IA 52406. Email: fifth(at)smasdotpublishing.com.  http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/fifth/fifth.com

Fishnet: Wants "quality erotica" to 8000 wds (prefers 1500-4000). "We want hot fiction that goes beyond a mere sex scene." Pmt: 4¢/wd. Sub to H. L. Shaw, fiction-editor(at)blowfish.com or fiction-editor(at)fishnetmag.com. Include Fiction Sub: (story title) in the subject line. http://www.fishnetmag.com/subs.html

Flash Me Magazine: Stories to 1000 wds (firm). Pmt: $5-20 depending on editors' votes. Sub in body of email or as attachment to submissions(at)wingedhalo.com. http://www.wingedhalo.com/guidelines.html

Flashquake: Flash fiction, all genres (no romance), to 1000 wds; also poetry and nonfiction. Pmt: $5-25 and CD copy of issue. Sub to Debi Orton, River Road Studios, P.O. Box 2154, Albany NY 12220 or dorton(at)flashquake.org. http://www.flashquake.org.

Full Unit Hookup: Print mag, wants "the odd piece, the unmarketable manuscript, the quirky poem, the unclassifiable essay." Pmt: $5 for poetry and articles, $10 for fiction stories. Email subs to FullUnitHookup(at)aol.com.  http://members.aol.com/fullunithookup/

Great Mystery and Suspense: Quarterly, wants mystery stories and nonfiction articles, prefers 1500-2500 wds but also accept short shorts of about 750-1000. Pmt: $25-50 ($5 for poetry) and one copy. Current deadlines are Feb. 15, May 15, Aug. 15, and Nov. 15. Sub to Great Mystery and Suspense Magazine P. O. Box 8008, St. Joseph, MO 64508 or email (preferred) to editor(at)greatmysteryandsuspense.com. http://www.greatmysteryandsuspense.com/guidelines.htm.

Green Mountains Review: 20th Anniversary Issue-Literature of the American Apocalypse: poems, stories and essays (literature--darkly comic or dead serious that centers on American dread) for 20th anniversary double-issue. Pmt: $20/page. Sub to Green Mountains Review, Apocalypse Issue, Johnson State College, Johnson, VT, 05656. http://greenmountainsreview.jsc.vsc.edu/AmericanApocalypse.htm

Holy Horrors: Anthology, wants work that "spins, gestates, evolves, devolves, erupts, or otherwise issues, in a spectacularly evil, disturbing, supernatural, horrific, weird, insane, or otherwise grotesque way from religion," not based on hate, to 5000 wds. Pmt: 5¢/wd. http://theteemingbrain.wordpress.com/submission-guidelines-holy-horrors-edited-by-tm-wright-matt-cardin/

Massachusetts Review: Poetry, essays and fiction; Pmt: $50 for essays and fiction, 35¢/line for poetry. Sub to The Massachusetts Review, South College, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003. http://www.massreview.org/

Matrix: Poetry, prose and book reviews. Pmt: $25-40 per poem or page of prose; $15/book review. Sub to Matrix Magazine, 1400 de Maisonneuve West, Suite LB-502, Montreal, Quebec Canada H3G 1M8. Also accepts frontispieces and book reviews by email to matrix(at)alcor.concordia.ca; http://alcor.concordia.ca/%7Ematrix/submit.html

Mouth Full of Bullets: New mystery ezine, wants "mystery/suspense of all types." Also crime-related poetry and nonfiction. Pmt: $5/short stories; $2.50 for flash; $2/poetry; no pay for reprints. Doesn't read Jan., April, July or Oct. http://www.mouthfullofbullets.com.

Mslexia: "We aim to publish some new voices in every copy of the magazine." Pmt: £25/poem and £15/1000 words of fiction. http://www.mslexia.co.uk/menu/submit.html.

Mysteryauthors.com: Now accepting flash fiction 100-1500 wds. Pmt: $5 for lead story, others get credit only. Sub to MysteryAuthors(at)verizon.net.  http://www.mysteryauthors.com/submit.html

Mythlog: "Literature of mythic proportions," wants short fiction or graphic short (500 - 7500 words); pmt: $5; flash fiction to 500 wds; pmt: $3; poetry, pmt: $1 and essay/review, pmt: $1. http://www.mytholog.com/guidelines.html

The Pedestal Magazine: Poetry and fiction; pmt: $30/poem, 5¢/wd for fiction to 6000 wds. Genre literary fiction is accepted. Sample online at http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com. Email: John Amen, pedmagazine(at)carolina.rr.com. Website: http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com.

Poetry from the Trenches: Chapbook to accompany anthology "From the Trenches." Wants speculative war poems. Pmt: $5 plus copy. Email subs to slusher.sam(at)gmail.com.

SCYWEB BEM: Audio publication for "science fiction with a smidge of fantasy" stories to 8500 wds. Pmt: 1¢/wd, min $10, max $50. Sub to Riamac Group, attn: SCYWEB BEM, P.O. Box 691298, Charlotte, NC 28227
http://www.scywebbem.com/html/submissions.html

Science Fiction Trails: Scifi anthology, wants stories to 8000 wds. Stories are "set in the Wild West, but contain some aspect of science fiction in them. Stories must take place on earth between 1850 and 1900." Pmt: $10 plus one copy. Email subs to David Riley at trailsmag(at)yahoo.com. http://www.ralan.com/antho/listings/sf-trails.htm

Socket Shocker Magazine: “considers writing in every genre, but the major underlying theme…is steadfast (not radical) environmentalism, vegetarianism, animal and human (particularly women's) rights, organic living and natural health." Pmt: 1/2¢/wd for fiction (1000-2500 wds), nonfiction (500-3500 wds), poetry (4-35 lines) and columns. Sub to Jennifer Farley, SAMPLE Press, P.O. Box 471159, Fort Worth TX 76147. www.socketshocker.com

The Southern Review: Literary pub. of Louisiana State Univ. Wants poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. Pmt: $30/printed page. Doesn't read in June, July and Aug. Sub to Editors, Old President's House, Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge LA 70803. http://www.lsu.edu/thesouthernreview/submissions.html

Spacesuits and Sixguns: Contemporary pulp fiction, "simple, straightforward storytelling with an emphasis on action." Not looking for "Lovecraft or Howard pastiches, or stories set in the 1930s. Read a dozen pulp fiction stories, soak it all up, then ask yourself: what if this happened in my hometown today?" Pmt: 3¢/wd to $100. Sub to submissions(at)spacesuitsandsixguns.com http://www.spacesuitsandsixguns.com/

Spinetingler Magazine: "...Compelling stories that capture the reader with intriguing characters and quality writing." (mystery, thriller, suspense, supernatural, ghost story, love, fantasy or scifi, 1500-6000 wds. Pmt: $10/story. http://www.spinetinglermag.com/submission.htm

Storyteller Magazine: Canadian magazine, wants fiction of all genres (no religious, erotica, hardcore, Americana, stories where nothing happens), 2000–6000 wds. Pmt: 1/4-1/2¢/word. Tyo Communications, 3687 Twin Falls Place, Ottawa ON K1V 1W6 Canada. www.storytellermagazine.com

Susurrus: Bimonthly avant-garde online magazine, wants nonfiction (essays, humor, opinion, nonsensical rants, 10-2000 wds; pmt: to $5), fiction (Erotica, experimental, fantasy, horror, humor, scifi, slice-of-life, surreal, 10-5000 wds; pmt: to $5). Sub to Susurrus Press, 535 Fourth Ave., Suite 3, Huntington WV 25701. http://www.susurrusmagazine.com

Trabuco Road: Webzine that will publish 1-2 stories/month, wants "intelligent, literary stories that include speculative elements" to 15K wds. No poetry or nonfiction. Pmt: 3¢/wd to $103. Sub to trabucoroad(at)gmail.com. http://www.trabucoroad.com/

Turtle: Magazine for preschoolers, wants nonfiction, fiction and fillers with health-related theme. Pmt: 22¢/wd, to 350 wds for all rights. Sub to Turtle, Children's Better Health Institute, P.O. Box 567, Indianapolis, IN 46206.http://www.cbhi.org/cbhi/writersguidelines.shtml

ViewOnline: Game, movie, television review online magazine, wants nonfiction (how-to, interview/profile, new product, technical), 800-1200 wds. Pmt: $80-120. Query to editor(at)viewonline.com; sub to J. Kevin Tumlinson, ViewOnline, Inc., 405 E. Jackson, West Columbia TX 77486. http://www.viewonline.com

Vista: Bilingual Sunday supplement, wants articles on health, education, "timely topics" of interest to Hispanics. Pmt: 25-50¢/wd for all rights. Sub to Carmen Teresa Roiz, Vista Publishing Corp., 1201 Brickell Avenue, Suite 360, Miami, FL 33131. email croiz(at)vistamagazine.com. http://www.vistamagazine.com

NON-PAYING MARKETS

Crime and Suspense: Crime stories to 4500 wds; flash to 1499 wds and serials. Complete GL at http://www.crimeandsuspense.com.

Litbits.ca: Stories (fiction and creative nonfiction) to 500 wds. Sub with story in body of email to christina(at)litbits.ca. http://www.litbits.ca/submit/

The Rose and Thorn Literary Ezine:  Fiction, 250–2000 wds, nonfiction (literary essays, articles on the craft of writing), to 2000 wds. http://www.theroseandthornezine.com

Southern Poetry Review: Literary mag of Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah. Send 5-7 poems with SASE. Sub to Southern Poetry Review, Dept. of Languages, Literature and Philosophy, Armstrong Atlantic State Univ., 11935 Abercorn St, Savannah, Georgia 31419.

VerbSap: “Concise Prose. Enough Said.” Wants nonfiction (essays, humor, creative nonfiction to 3000 wds) and fiction (no horror, gothic, violent, or drug-related writing). Email to editor(at)verbsap.com. http://www.verbsap.com.

West/L.A. Times: Newspaper, runs unpublished short fiction to 2500 wds. Stories must be set in California. Sub to Martin Smith, martin.smith(at)latimes.com. May sub to, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, 90012 but electronic submissions preferred.

Writer's Post Journal: Stories 2500-5000 wds. Sub to writerspost(at)comcast.net or to Writers Post Journal, 1434 Park Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15216. http://gojake.com/lbf.html         

WEB TIPS AND EMAIL SUPPORT GROUPS

DorothyL: Email list for readers and writers of mystery fiction. Subscribe at the homepage at http://www.dorothyl.com

Free online writing classes from the BBC: "Improve your writing with professional advice and exercises " http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/minicourse

Pet Peeves of Literary Editors: What not to do when submitting to literary journals by Skylar Hamilton Burris. http://www.googobits.com/articles/350-the-top-ten-pet-peeves-of-literary-magazine-editors.html

Writing for Anthologies: A terrific article by Tim Waggoner on writing for anthologies can be found at http://www.timwaggoner.com/antho.htm